Writer: Soo Lee
Art: Soo Lee
Publisher: Dynamite Comics
Price: $3.99
Release date: June 7th, 2023
If you’re interested in this comic, series, related trades, or any of the others mentioned, then simply click on the title/link to snag a copy through Amazon as you read the Disney Villains: Maleficent #2 Review.
THE DISPATCH
Disney Villains: Maleficent #2 builds off the first issue. At the end of the last issue, Maleficent turns a young boy into a wolf, and in this issue, his brother comes looking for him. This issue doesn’t really provide more backstory on Maleficent or present connections to the Sleeping Beauty film, but it does show variations of Maleficent’s power not seen before. For instance, this comic shows she can turn into a snake. This might shock some readers, who are expecting her to turn into a fire-breathing dragon.
A snake transformation is more fitting for a villain like Jafar from Aladdin, but it shows that she has more than one trick up her sleeve. It seems like the direction Lee is going for in this series is more along the lines of cautionary tales about the dangers of trifling with evil instead of trying to make connections to the Sleeping Beauty film. Maleficent only really serves as a personification of evil in this comic, rather than a character with an in-depth backstory. This is likely meant to pay homage to old fairy tale stories, which were often meant to serve as cautionary tales to children about the dangers of the world.
Nevertheless, Maleficent is still reminiscent of the classic Disney version here, especially when she talks to her pet raven, as well as when she laughs. Readers can practically hear the haunting, eerie, evil laugh of Eleanor Audley, the original voice of Maleficent as they read. Her interaction with Reynaud’s older brother, Prince Gavin, in this issue proves yet again that the Mistress of all evil is not one to be messed with. She is a force to be reckoned with, and doesn’t allow mortal men to intimidate her.
ART
The art in Disney Villains: Maleficent #2 continues with its manga-esque style. There are a lot of green colors, mixed with black, reflecting the eerie color-scheme of Maleficent herself, and provides and spooky and unsettling nature to the feel of the story, as the reader wonders when and how Maleficent will inevitably strike. Maleficent is surrounded by thorns for much of this story, paying homage to how she tried to trap Prince Philip in a forest of thorns in the movie. Prince Gavin’s fight with Maleficent as a giant snake is depicted very well too.
FINAL THOUGHTS
While Disney Villains: Maleficent #2 doesn’t offer backstory or connections to the Sleeping Beauty movie, it does still present Maleficent as a character to be feared. It shows that she is a powerful sorceress, and shows us capabilities of her powers that haven’t been seen before. It shows the dangers of tangling with Maleficent, but also shows a character who is unwilling to back down for good, in that of Prince Gavin. It remains to be see whether Maleficent and Prince Gavin will cross paths again, and what will be the outcome of that encounter if they do.