Writer: Danny Lore and Ivan Cohen
Art: Marco Failla and Enrica Eren Angiolini
Letters: Carlos M. Mangual
Publisher: DC Comics
Price: $3.99
Release Date: July 5th, 2022
The Earth-11 version of the Teen Titans splits off into separate missions in Multiversity Teen Justice #2, as we see the inner workings of Sister Blood’s church, and part of the team makes a horrific discovery in a far-off land. I doubt you’ll see more locations and characters in any other book this month. Make sure your seatbelts are locked in and get ready to hit a LOT of spots on Earth-11 and in space!
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The Story
Multiversity Teen Justice #2 proves yet again that Earth-11 is a fun world, where all the heroes are gender-swapped. Here, Robin, Superboy (here called Supergirl), Klarion the Witch Boy (here called Klarienne the Witch Girl), and Aqualad (here called Aquagirl) are all female, and Donna Troy (here simply called Troy), Jesse Quick and Raven are male.
It’s a fun concept and I love the character designs of this world, especially for Supergirl, who sports shorts with stretch pants, a sleeveless shirt with the “S” symbol emblazoned on it, a makeshift red scarf/headband combo instead of a cape, and most importantly, huge red sneakers that look nearly 2 sizes too big for her. It’s a cool costumer design, because it looks like something a teenager would actually throw together, unlike Earth-1’s Superboy, whose costume always looks perfectly tailored and immaculate.
After the last issue’s reveal of Sister Blood/Sinestra (Earth-11’s version of Sinestro) as the big bad, the team splits off into separate groups this issue. Raven and Troy attempt to infiltrate Sister Blood’s church and encounter Gigi, the teen runaway from the last issue who was taken in by the church. Raven and Troy are definitely crushing on each other, and put on a show for the church members, but things soon go awry.
Gigi is an interesting character, she’s lost, lonely, and desperate, but seems to love being a member of Sister Blood’s church. She reminds me of Dani from the film “Midsommar”, gladly letting herself be taken in by the cult, no matter what happens to her. I feel she’s going to have some type of power that will be revealed over the next couple of issues, but whose side will she fight for?
Robin, Supergirl, and Kid Quick go on a separate but related mission and run into a horrific scene. They also run into two characters from the last issue who may or may not be malevolent, and it turns into an awkward standoff. This version of Robin (who appears to be the daughter of Earth-11’s Talia Al’Ghul) reminds me very much of Dick Grayson’s Robin during the Wolfman/Perez run of “The New Teen Titans”. She’s the first to leap into a fight, despite the fact she has no powers, and she has an attack plan for every situation, barking out attack formation codes in combat like a star quarterback. This is a fun scene, showing the difference between Robin’s quick temper and Supergirl’s more laid-back manner.
Klarienne the Witch-Girl and Aquagirl visit the Justice Guild’s satellite. The Justice Guild is Earth-11’s version of the Justice League. There, Klarienne runs into one of the Justice Guild members, who’s a surprising twist on an Earth-1 Justice League member.
We visit a couple of other places over the course of the issue too, so it’s an excellent whirlwind tour of Earth-11.
I’m loving all of the characters, which is a rarity because there are usually at least two characters in team books I don’t like. But all the characters here are written with such diverse and unique personalities, it’s fun to watch them interact with each other and their world. The malevolent cult/church trope is a bit cliché, but it works here, because the writers put a normal character (Gigi) in the thick of it, and we get to view the church through her eyes. I hope her character continues after this story, maybe as a Snapper Carr-type mascot for the team.
The Art
Marco Failla’s art on Multiversity Teen Justice #2 is filled with beautifully designed characters and costumes. Most impressive are Supergirl and Klarienne the Witch-Girl, who looks vaguely like Shadow Lass from The Legion of Super-Heroes with a dark costume resembling a collared ballerina’s tutu. It’s a great minimalist design.
He draws the character’s attacks and movements at funky angles. Reading the comic at times feels like watching a movie filmed with a handheld camera, everyone’s constantly moving or swooping in at odd angles. It keeps the book moving at a great clip.
Final Thoughts
Multiversity Teen Justice #2 is a great continuation from the last issue’s cliffhanger. It’s filled to overflowing with locations, characters, and subplots, and ends with another great cliffhanger. Highly recommended.