DC Comics Heroes in Crisis #2 Review

Heroes in Crisis #2 Review

DC Comics Heroes in Crisis #2 Review

Heroes in Crisis #1 was a total bust here at The Revolution. The debut issue of this new big event was a weak start. Heroes in Crisis #1 did not stand up to prior Crisis events. To make things even worse, Heroes in Crisis is having to compete with another DC big event in Doomsday Clock that is offering up a far more complex and compelling read. Having said all of that, Tom King is a talented writer. There is no doubt that King can rebound from a weak start and turn in an exciting second issue. This is a nine issue event so if King can pick up the pace and deliver a well plotted issue then this big event might turn out to be a compelling read. Let’s hope for the best and hit this review for Heroes In Crisis #2.

Words: Tom King
Art: Clay Mann & Travis Moore
Colors: Tomeu Morey & Arif Prianto

Story Rating: 3 Night Girls out of 10
Art Rating: 7 Night Girls out of 10
Overall Rating: 5 Night Girls out of 10

Synopsis: We begin with Poison Ivy talking to the Sanctuary camera. Ivy says that she should not be here. Suddenly, Harley Quinn appears and “boops” Ivy’s cheek. Ivy asks why Harley is here. That Harley can get in trouble for being here. Harley then “boops” Ivy in the cheek again. Ivy asks if Harley watered her plants for her. Harley responds that she did not and that she is going to “boop” Ivy in the cheek again. (….welp….this is a riveting start to this issue…my hopes are growing dim that King is going to rebound with this issue…And does this mean that Poison Ivy got killed by the Sanctuary murderer?)

We cut to present day with Harley beaten and bloody and arriving at Penguin’s arctic hideout? Or is it a restaurant that Penguin has taken over and held the waiter captive? Or is that captive person the maitre d’? Or maybe this is Penguin’s restaurant and the captive person is a rival criminal? Maybe a cop? Who knows? King ain’t telling us any of these answers!

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Harley says that “they” are coming for her. Penguin asks who is coming for her. Harley says “everyone.” (Four pages in and this is just as riveting a start as humanly possible.)

We cut to Batman performing an autopsy on Commander Steel. Superman and Wonder Woman are with Batman. Superman and Wonder Woman both accuse Batman of knowing what the victims told to the computer at Sanctuary. Batman replies that he does not know. That Sanctuary is anonymous. That all information shared is immediately deleted. That everything is erased and nothing is reported. Therefore, Batman does not know who else was at Sanctuary and who murdered the victims.

Superman and Wonder Woman do not believe Batman. They accuse Batman of having built a back door to Sanctuary’s computers. That Batman is always prepared if any of Earth’s heroes turn evil. Superman says that Batman probably has kryptonite hidden in his bat-belt.

Batman replies that he does not have kryptonite hidden on him. (We all know that Batman is lying, right?) Batman says that he does prepare. But, that Sanctuary needed to remain anonymous. Batman knows this because he was there often.

Batman then points out that Commander Steel’s nearly impenetrable skin was perfectly intact. But, that there was a minor bulge in his neck. As if someone forced something down his throat. Batman then pulls out a wind up set of toy teeth from Commander Steel’s throat.

We flashback to Batman talking to the Sanctuary camera. Batman removes his mask. Batman says that he trains partners and they become his family. And he has watched so many of them die. Batman stops talking and begins to cry. Batman then says “I’m sorry.” (Yeah…so…this is like watching your parents fuck. Nobody wants to see this.)

We zip back to the present. We see Skeets waking up Booster. Skeets says that he used his tech from the future to heal Booster from his injuries. Booster then tells Skeets that he saw Harley kill everyone at Sanctuary. Then the two of them fought and his shield failed. Then Harley stabbed him and nearly killed him. (Booster acts nonchalant and “wacky” as if he had not just witnessed a bunch of heroes being brutally killed and then battling Harley Quinn to the near death. Fantastic.)

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We cut to Harley Quinn in her old school costume and playing cards with a penguin. (Yeah…an entire page…for a card playing penguin gag. Awesome.) Suddenly, Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman appear on the scene. (Hopefully, our heroes brought something called plot progression with them.) Harley introduces the heroes to the penguin. Harley says that he is actually pretty good at cards.

We shift to Booster and Skeets flying through the air. Skeets says that Booster should turn himself in. Booster says that whenever you are in a tricky situation that you just have to ask yourself what would Batman do? Booster says that Batman would solve the mystery. Skeets says that he was hoping for turning himself in. Booster says he is 99% sure that Batman would solve the mystery. Skeets replies “Ninety?” Booster replies that he is seventy-seven percent sure. (You know what this story needs? Zany clowns rolling out of a tiny car! Yup. Wacky humor totally makes sense given this story in general and everything that Booster has seen and been through up to this point.)

We cut back to Harley, Batman, Wonder Woman, and Superman. Batman tells Harley that she cannot hide. Harley said that she went to Penguin for a safe-house because she was trying to come up with a quick way for Batman to find her so she could talk to him.

Wonder Woman asks Harley what happened at Sanctuary. Harley said that it was terrible. That Booster Gold killed everyone. Wonder Woman hugs Harley. Harley says that the heroes are probably not going to believe her and are going to want to fight and punch her. Especially if she told them that she totally killed Booster for killing everyone at Sanctuary. Harley said that she wanted the heroes to know the truth before they did the fighting. We see Harley is touching Wonder Woman’s lasso of truth. (We don’t know if Harley was touching it while she said Booster Gold killed everyone or if she was holding it after she said Booster killed everyone.)

Harley then grabs the lasso of truth and punches Wonder Woman. Harley then wraps the lasso around Batman’s neck. Wonder Woman says that the lasso can break Batman’s neck. Harley says that Batman cannot lie now that the lasso of truth is touching him. Harley asks Batman if he has any kryptonite in his bat-belt. Batman answers that he has some in a lead container on the left. (Heh. This is easily the best moment of this otherwise dull read.)

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Harley pulls out the Kryptonite and takes down Superman. Harley then lets go of the lasso and Batman. Harley then jumps out of the window of the building. (Aaaaand…why doesn’t Wonder Woman just use her invulnerability, super strength and enhanced speed to just grab Harley and take her down with one punch?)

We shift back to Wonder Woman talking to the Sanctuary camera. Wonder Woman recounts a childhood tale of her mother screaming in pain from a golden arrow in her side. There was much yelling and blood. That Wonder Woman hid in her room. That Wonder Woman continued to have nightmares many nights after that. Wonder Woman then says that she appreciates Sanctuary’s work. But, that she thinks there are others suffering more than her. Wonder Woman says that she would prefer to bite her upper lip. Wonder Woman then leaves.

We cut back to the present, with Booster Gold arriving at Central City. The Flash is beating up some bad guys. Booster talks like an absolute airhead devoid of what has happened in the prior issue. (This is just the best.) Booster asks if Barry is done with the autopsies. Barry says that he does not know what Booster is talking about. (Why in the world would Booster: A) Think Barry knows about what just happened at Sanctuary. B) Would have performed autopsies on all fo the corpses. This makes no sense.)

Booster says that he was truing to figure out where to start and thought that the victim’s corpses might be the best place to start to find any clues. Booster then says, “But Flash, that dude knows all about bodies and science!” (Rock on, Ted! Barry is most excellent! Lord. This is just painful to read.)

Barry asks what bodies is Booster talking about. Booster then replies all the people who got killed. Skeets interrupts Booster that Barry does not know about the murders at Sanctuary. Booster ignores Skeet because WACKY COMEDY! (Cue seltzer water bottle and the clown car!)

Booster ignores Skeets and says that they found the bodies of Arsenal. Skeets tells Booster to shut up. Booster says they found the body of Blue Jay. Skeets tells Booster to shut up. Booster says they found the body of Poison Ivy. Skeets tells Booster to shut up. Booster then says they found the body of the real Wally West. (This is so awful. Booster comes across unbelievable stupid and the ill-timed humor goes over like a fart in an elevator.)

Barry then races off. Booster asks where Barry is going. (Jesus. Just make it stop.) Skeets replies that Barry has raced off to confirm if the real Wally West is dead or not. Booster asks how long will that take. Skeets replies that Barry is the fastest man alive so it will not be long.

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We see Flash racing back onto the scene and punching Booster in the face. Flash yells, “WHAT DID YOU DO?”

We shift to Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman in the safe-house. Superman says that Harley is as good as Bruce. Batman retorts that she is not. (Truth.) Superman suddenly sees something. Superman says that it is Barry and he has Booster. Superman then flies off at super speed.

We cut to Harley on the top of a bridge. She drops a rose into the water. She says that she shouldn’t have followed Ivy to Sanctuary. She shouldn’t have told Ivy to go to Sanctuary. That she shouldn’t have loved Ivy. (Well, it does certainly seem that Poison Ivy got killed in Heroes in Crisis #1.)

Harley says that she shouldn’t have run from Joker. That she shouldn’t have loved Joker. That she shouldn’t have helped Joker. That she shouldn’t have let anyone change her. That she shouldn’t have let anyone hurt her. (I understand your regret, Harley. I shouldn’t have bought this issue.)

We shift to the Daily Planet. Lois Lane asks another reporter how to spell the word “Traitor.” (Nope. Nope. Nope. I call total bullshit on this. Lois is not that dumb.) Lois then asks the reporter if she can use the word ubiquitous. (According to Merriam-Webster’s dictionary you can. And Lois would already know that. Am I really getting a debate in spelling and grammar in a mainstream super hero big event?!)

Another reporter tells Lois that they just received an attachment of a video of Arsenal talking to a camera about his drug use. The message with the attachment is says, “Our heroes hide themselves from us. From Sanctuary. Here is the truth. More truths will be coming.” The message is signed “The Puddlers.” (Holy shit!! Did we actually just get some plot progression?!?!)

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We flashback to Superman talking to the Sanctuary camera. Superman says that he does not know if he is Clark Kent pretending to be Superman or if he is Superman pretending to be Clark Kent. Or is he neither. Superman says that it is embarrassing even talking about this stuff. Superman says that he never talks about stuff like this. That he cannot. To be a hero he has to be perfect. This is not perfect. Superman says that he does not say these things. That “we” can’t say these things. Superman asks, “What if it got out?” End of issue.

The Good: Heroes in Crisis #2 was an objectively poor read. However, I must follow the Revolution’s Rule of Positivity. So, let’s see, what was enjoyable about this issue other than the artwork. Well, that card playing penguin was damn cute looking. Wait, that is about the art. Damn.

The best aspect of Heroes in Crisis #2 is how King is able to get the reader to question the truthfulness of Booster Gold, Harley Quinn, and Batman. King performed most of this in the scene in Penguin’s safe-house. First, King keeps the reader guessing as to whether Harley was holding the lasso of truth or not when she said that Booster was the murderer. I thought that was a neat little touch to keep the reader guessing as which character is telling the truth about the murderer’s identity.

Second, I liked the fact that Batman did, in fact, have some kryptonite on him despite him being adamant earlier in the issue that he did not have any kryptonite on him. This helps to keep the reader guessing as to whether Batman is telling the truth or not about having Sanctuary’s data copied somewhere.

Then King continues this by having Harley on the bridge and regretting all of her life’s decisions. King has Harley come across as an unreliable witness who lacks enough mental stability and is wracked with guilt. This makes the reader doubtful about Harley telling the truth about Booster being the murderer.

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I am ambivalent concerning Poison Ivy’s possible death. A character like Poison Ivy deserves a better death scene if she is actually dead. And if she is not dead then this is just false drama. I will say that if Poison Ivy is actually dead then at least that discovery would constitute a bit of plot progression. So, in a story as meandering and decompressed as Heroes in Crisis all of the plot progression that we can get is a good thing.

The only other two pieces bit of real plot progression that we received in Heroes in Crisis #2 were the two panels in the Lois Lane scene that dealt with the message from the Puddlers and the attachment of Arsenal’s video at Sanctuary and the toy wind-up teeth.

First, let’s deal with the Puddler’s letter and attachment of Arsenal’s video. This is an important because Batman went to great lengths to assure Superman and Wonder Woman that absolutely none of Sanctuary’s data was being copied or tracked. That all of Sanctuary’s data was deleted without a backup or back door. Clearly this is not true.

Now, King positions this new information right after the scene with Batman being exposed as a liar concerning him having kryptonite in his bat-belt. This makes the reader wonder if Batman can be trusted. The reader is left wondering if Batman indeed had a back door into Sanctuary and downloaded the data and that a third-party has stolen that data from Batman is now going to use it against our heroes.

Again, the strength of Heroes in Crisis #2 is King’s handling of who the reader can consider to be trustworthy. King is sowing so much doubt in the reader’s mind and it keeps the reader guessing about this mystery surrounding the Sanctuary murders. This is some nice technical writing. No doubt about it.

The second bit of plot progression that we got in Heroes in Crisis #2 was the discover of the toy wind-up teeth that was shoved down Commander Steel’s throat. This clue would lead the reader to thinking that the killer is a character like Joker or Toyman. I hope the killer is anyone but the Joker. Seriously. Toyman would be a pretty wild swerve. Plus, this direction would take a joke character like Toyman and evolve him into an entirely different level of character.

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I did enjoy both Wonder Woman and Superman’s Sanctuary videos. Both one page scenes did a nice job highlighting what makes those two characters so special. The reader got a good sense for Wonder Woman’s stoic resolve befitting of a goddess. The reader also gets an excellent sense of Superman’s belief that he must be more than just a man. That he must be the embodiment of the ideal of a super hero. That Superman is more than an individual. He is hope and justice taken physical form.

Mann and Moore combined to deliver plenty of solid artwork. Heroes in Crisis #2 is a quality looking issue. King did not give Mann or Moore much to work with this story. But, the artists did the best with the material that they were given. I particularly enjoyed the creativity in terms of the panel layout.

The Bad: Heroes in Crisis #2 was a dreadfully slow and boring read. The biggest weakness of Heroes in Crisis #2 is the complete lack of anything that would be confused with plot progression and a terribly slow pace. Heroes in Crisis #2 is completely skippable. This is unforgivable on a big event that is only nine issues long. A properly plotted and paced big event should deliver plenty of plot progression with each issue over a nine issue span.

King begins Heroes in Crisis #2 with a completely pointless and boring talking head scene with Poison Ivy that tells us nothing other than the fact that Harley likes to “boop” Ivy on the cheek. I could forgive wasting an entire page on pointless fluff if the rest of the issue was tightly plotted and paced. That was not the case.

King then gives us a two page splash shot of Harley walking and being surrounded by Penguins. There is no dialogue. No narration. Nothing. This is two pages of pure fluff that does nothing to progress the story. Even worse, it is a dull and unexciting waste of a double page splash shot. This is worth nothing more than to be a single panel on a page of several panels.

We then get a one page scene of Harley asking Penguin for a safe-house. We are not four pages into the story and have gotten nothing in terms of real plot progression.

We then get the two page autopsy scene with Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman. We get mainly a re-hashing of Batman’s history of being an untrusting and paranoid bastard. The only new information we get is that a set of wind-up toy teeth were shoved down Commander Steel’s throat. This is the type of clue that would lead the reader to think about the Joker as the murderer. This would also play into Harley’s odd and unexpected central role in this big event given her past with the Joker. King even has Harley mention her mistakes in being with the Joker. This single panel is about all the plot progression that we got in this issue.

We then get the one page scene with Batman showing weakness which is nothing that anyone really wants to see at all. This scene was pointless and did nothing for Batman’s character or for the general story of Heroes in Crisis itself. This was another skippable moment.

We then get the one page scene of Skeets waking up Booster. This was another page full of fluff that barely pushes the story forward.

We then get a full one page shot of Harley playing cards with a penguin. Once again, if this was the only page of fluff in the issue then it would be forgivable. But, since we are now nine pages into the issue and have gotten nearly no plot progression getting an entire page dedicated to a dumb gag is inexcusable.

We then get the one page scene of Batman, Wonder Woman, and Superman arriving on the scene. Again, another page and nothing happens.

We then get a one page scene of Booster and Skeets flying around and Booster deciding to solve the mystery of the Sanctuary killer. Yet another page where nothing happens.

King then gives us a three page scene at the Penguin’s safe-house where Harley tells our heroes that Booster is the killer and then flees the scene. This entire scene consists of two pages earlier and these three pages. That is five pages dedicated to barely any plot progression and that could have done in a much more enjoyable and concise manner in two to three pages max.

King then gives us a one page scene with Wonder Woman talking to the Sanctuary camera that is nothing more than a time waster.

We then get a three page scene with Booster and Flash. This might possibly be the dumbest scene that I have read in a while. Booster comes across completely moronic and detached from all of reality and the story itself. It just felt so wildly out of character for Booster. It pulls the reader out of the story.

Next is a one page scene with Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman who stand around doing nothing and then Superman races off to Barry. King just continues to inch the story along as slow as possible.

King then gives us a one page scene with Harley recounting all of her bad decisions in her life. There is absolutely nothing new at all in this page. This feels like time King simply stalling for time and wasting panel space.

We then get a once page scene with Lois Lane that centers on grammar and spelling. This scene does offer us a rare moment of plot progression with the note from the Puddlers along with the attachment of the Arsenal Sanctuary video.

King then ends Heroes in Crisis #1 with a one page scene of Superman talking to the Sanctuary camera. A nice character moment, but it further continues the lack of plot progression in this issue.

So, as the reader arrives at the end of Heroes in Crisis #2 they realize that very little plot progression actually took place in this rather subdued issue. Heroes in Crisis #2 feels as if it barely has a pulse. There is little intensity or excitement in this issue. The story meanders about in a lackadaisical fashion with no sense of purpose or urgency at all.

The only bits of plot progression that is delivered in Heroes in Crisis #2 is the possible death of Poison Ivy, the set of wind-up toy teeth and the note from the Puddlers with the Arsenal video attachment. That is it. That is pathetic.

It is becoming evident that King had a four or six issue mini-series in mind for his Heroes in Crisis story. However, either King or DC’s editorial decided to stretch it out over the course of seven issues. Then, at a later date, either DC editorial or King decided that this big event needed to be stretched out even further to nine issues. The result is that King is now spreading out a story designed for four or six issues across a nine issue format.

Heroes in Crisis #1 and #2 have read like a single issue that was broken in half and then filled full of fluff in order to stretch the story out over two issues. The pacing is slow and meandering. There is a lack of urgency or intensity to the story. The plotting is so decompressed that the story barely inches forward.

Heroes in Crisis #2 is another shallow read. This story continues to be rather thin. King definitely presents a nice mystery but there is not much meat on the bones to this story. All of the themes are dealt with in a cursory fashion that merely touches on the surfaces of the various issues.

The scope of this big event still feels small. King does nothing in Heroes in Crisis #2 to make this story feel large and epic. Instead, this story continues to feel like a regular episode of Law & Order but with capes. Everything feel so uninspired at this point.

That leads me to another defect with Heroes in Crisis #2. This story continues to feel like a basic police procedural TV show with super hero trappings. The biggest flaw with how King structured Heroes in Crisis continues to haunt this story. Having the destruction of Sanctuary and all of the deaths occur off panel and prior to the beginning of Heroes in Crisis has hamstrung this story. The result is that the reader never gets a good feel for Sanctuary. Sanctuary never gets to become a fully formed character in this story. Nor does Sanctuary become an immersive setting for the reader. The reader never gets emotionally invested in Sanctuary, its its mission or its patients.

Having all of the deaths occur off panel and before this story started also robs these deaths of any impact on the reader at all. The reader does not feel connected to any of the characters who get killed. The reader does not feel emotionally attached to the characters and their deaths. Instead, the reader feels completely disconnected from the deaths. The deaths feel generic and nothing more than a simple literary tool in order to drive the beginning of this story and set our heroes in motion on their question for revenge.

All of this combines to weaken the story’s intensity and emotional impact on the reader. This approach is also the reason why Poison Ivy’s apparent death has zero impact on the reader. The reader simply shrugs their shoulders and moves on.

The character work in Heroes in Crisis #2 was bland at best. The only two moments where King delivers quality character work is the scene with Wonder Woman talking to the Sanctuary camera and the scene with Superman talking to the Sanctuary camera. Outside of those two pages, the character work is generic at best.

Outside of the two Sanctuary pages, Superman and Wonder Woman are delivered in a pedestrian manner. The character work on Batman is okay in a bland and inoffensive manner for most of the issue. The Batman scene where he is talking to the Sanctuary camera was a total swing and a miss for me. While, King perfectly captured Superman and Wonder Woman in their Sanctuary scenes he pulls a total whiff with Batman.

Batman is a character who has always been one to strip mine his empties. Batman has cauterised his emotional wounds to the point where his nerves are dead. Batman feels nothing. That is the reason why he has such a problem connecting with anyone on any type of personal level. This is the reason why Batman is such an anti-social dick.

The Sanctuary scene with Batman being so weak simply ran counter to how I have always seen Batman. Might a scene like this actually happen? Possibly. But, it would take place in the Bat-cave with no person and no computer watching him or recording him. It would be a completely solitary and secret moment of pain. That is more consistent with Batman’s character.

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King’s Harley Quinn is average. It is not bad, but it definitely is not the best Harley Quinn that you are going to read. One of King’s problems with Harley Quinn is that he is trying way too hard with this character. King awkwardly shoves the concept that Harley Quinn is an elite fighter on the same level as Batman. Harley Quinn is a fantastic character. But, being one of the most elite fighters in the DCU has never been her gimmick.

King pushing Harley so hard in this direction out of nowhere is like Vince McMahon when he pushed Jinder Mahal as the top WWE champ. Jinder went from total jobber to the WWE champ overnight. It was abrupt and forced and none of the viewers went along with this new direction.

The same happens here with Harley Quinn. Vince McMahon failed by not taking the viewers on a journey over a six month period as Jinder slowly got better and better through either more cunning fighting or quality training. Making Harley a top elite fighter in the DCU is a journey that readers must be taken on for a long period of time if it is to feel natural and believable. Instead, what King does with Harley seems forced, awkward and simply not believable.

King’s character work descends from average to awful when we look at how King writes Lois Lane, Booster Gold, and Barry Allen. In fact, the character work on these three characters is so bad that it serves to rip the reader out of the story.

King writes Lois as if she is a complete idiot. Lois Lane is a highly intelligent and award-winning reporter. Yet, King would have the reader believe that Lois Lane does not know how to spell the word “traitor” nor know the proper grammatical use of the word “ubiquitous.” Lois’ dialogue is worse that simply being inane filler. It also serves to make her look like a moron. This is inconsistent with Lois being an intelligent and award-winning reported. Lois is an idiot.

It was such an unbelievable moment that lacked any logic that it only served to rip the reader right out of the story. This moment was not funny nor did it add anything to Lois’ character. King falls for a trap that Bendis often succumbs to where the writer falls in love with their own “genius” and “witty” dialogue that they shove it into the story no matter if it is consistent with the character’s personality or not.

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King also does a terrible job with Booster Gold’s character. It is clear that King has not read any Booster Gold stories outside of his first appearance in 1986. Booster has grown so much over the years and matured into a true hero who has a textured and deep personality. Unfortunately, all King gives us is a one-dimensional joke machine who is an idiot and completely unaware of reality around him.

Booster’s “witty” dialogue and “humor” is completely discordant with the reader of the story. This inappropriate use of humor lacks any internal logic given Booster’s established character and the story itself. I get the concept of comedic relief, but Booster’s humor is so ill-times and out of sync with what Booster has experienced and the storyline in general. The humor in Heroes in Crisis #2 is jarring and comes across as tone-deaf. The result is that this ill-timed and awkwardly delivered humor only serves to pull the reader out of the story.

It lacks any internal logic why Booster would be so brain-dead and jokey in Heroes in Crisis #2. Booster has grown into a mature and deep character. Then Booster witnesses the brutal murders of various heroes and then engages in a deadly fight with Harley Quinn. It makes zero sense at all why Booster would experience all of those things and suddenly be all carefree and air-headed and making wacky jokes constantly. It lacks any and all internal logic and completely distracts the reader.

It gets even worse with the scene between Booster Gold and Barry Allen. King has Booster come across as a brain-dead idiot. It makes zero sense why Booster would automatically assume that Barry knows anything about the murders. It makes zero sense that Booster would be a total bimbo and deliver the news of Wally West’s death is such a blasé and idiotic manner. This entire scene was truly awful writing.

King doubles down on the stupid by having Booster ask Skeets where Barry has raced off to after he told Barry about Wally’s death. And then King has Booster ask Skeets if he things Barry will be gone long. King’s Booster Gold is so dumb that the reader wonders if Booster has suffered a traumatic brain injury and now no longer has brain cells left in his head.

Then we have King’s handling of Barry Allen after learning about Wally West’s death. Why would a character as level-headed as Barry Allen punch Booster Gold in the face at super speed? This makes no sense. Barry has no clue about who the identity of the murderer. Barry has not talked to Harley Quinn, Batman, Superman, or Wonder Woman. Barry would have zero knowledge of Harley claiming that Booster Gold was the killer.

Overall: Heroes in Crisis #2 reads like the second half of a #1 issue for a big event story. The poor pacing and plotting threatens to ruin this story. Yes, this story is flawed from the start given the basic structure of the story. But, King has created a fun little mystery where the reader is kept guessing as to who to trust and who to believe. Heroes in Crisis may not have the substance to properly carry the heavy mantle of a Crisis big event. But, Heroes in Crisis does have a kernel of a fun little mystery that could be an enjoyable read if the plotting and pacing issues are remedied going forward.

At this point, I would not recommend spending your hard-earned money for Heroes in Crisis. This story is probably going to be a more enjoyable read in trade paperback format.