"Star-Lord and Kitty Pryde" #2 pits the titular co-stars against the New Mutdroids in a fight to the finish that just so happens to take place in a pizza shop. Written by Sam Humphries, drawn by Alti Firmansyah, colored by Jessica Kholinne and lettered by Joe Sabino, this adventure occurs under a romance comic send-up cover (complete with BenDay dots) from Yasmine Putri.

The pair coupled together in the adventure aren't the Star-Lord and Kitty Pryde that came together in adventures like "The Black Vortex," where the duo crossed over from "Guardians of the Galaxy" and "All-New X-Men." Well, not entirely. Kitty Pryde works for the Doom Foundation, overseen by Valeria Von Doom (nee Richards, pre-Doom). Humphries dives deep into the history of this version of Pryde but, for sake of keeping it light here, she's from another time and place. Her role in the Foundation is to find anomalies. Star-Lord just so happens to be one of those anomalies, and he's trying to avoid Doom's rule as he remembers life before Doom.

This is definitely a Sam Humphries comic. Normally, that kind of wackiness would only spring from Humphries' mind. In this case, as a "Secret Wars" crossover, Humphries has co-signed the concept and expands the breadth, bringing in the Mutdroids and tying them to the scoundrel of this adventure, Gambit.

Alti Firmansyah's art is clean and sharp. In some cases, less is more and it works magnificently, like when Kitty explains her personal history serving Doom. The emotions are baked into the drawings and amplified by Jessica Kholinne's colors, including a brilliant collection of blues that seem to pour out of Kitty's mind and soul as she casts her gaze downward, reflecting on the events that led to this point. When Kholinne and Firmansyah are on the same note, the panels are nearly perfect. Occasionally, Firmansyah appears to leave an open spot or Kholinne that goes unfinished and the artwork hits the paper a bit flat, like the face-off splash page that opens the issue. With bit more shading or dynamic linework, that single image would be impactful; as is, it's decent, even fun, but it doesn't have any resonance. Deeper into the issue, when Kholinne brings more of a range of hues and shades, the imagery comes together much nicer.

"Star-Lord and Kitty Pryde" #2 is a fun book with an interesting pairing of characters from across Battleworld. It isn't branded in any manner that distinguishes it as a core title or must-read for the grander "Secret Wars" saga, but it does offer clues to where the saga is going and what threads might be pulled to unravel the tapestry of the reality Victor Von Doom has created. If nothing else, it is apparent that readers should be keeping an eye on this series as "Secret Wars" continues, especially those interested in the future of Peter Quill and Kitty Pryde.