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Dark Crisis: Young Justice #2
- Writer:
- Meghan Fitzmartin
- Artist:
- Laura Braga
- Letterer:
- Pat Brosseau
- Cover Artist:
- Max Dunbar, Luis Guerrero
- Publisher:
- DC
- Price:
- $3.99
- Release Date:
- 2022-07-19
- Colorist:
- Luis Guerrero
The members of Young Justice have been dealt a rough hand. Following the events of the Dark Crisis and the apparent deaths of their mentors in the Justice League, it's no wonder Tim, Connor, and Bart feel the urge to escape to a "better" time. And after attending a funeral, Robin, Impulse, and Superboy end up back in that seemingly better time, leaving Cassie Sandsmark, aka Wonder Girl, to find them.
Written by Meghan Fitzmartin, drawn by Laura Braga, colored by Luis Guerrero, and lettered by Pat Brosseau, Dark Crisis: Young Justice #2 continues one of the most emotionally fraught and treacherous sagas in the history of Young Justice. Entitled "A Tale of Two Cassies," past and present clash as the boy heroes Robin, Superboy, and Impulse find themselves in another happy world, and they are not sure if they want to go back. Meanwhile, Cassie is determined to bring the team together to face reality.
Nostalgia has had an iron grip on comics and pop culture at large for a while now, especially as DC storylines have gotten darker and more convoluted. Dark Crisis: Young Justice #2 deconstructs the lure of nostalgia and even Young Justice as a franchise through the characters' feelings of loss and grief. The alternate reality in this issue resembles the time period in which Young Justice started its run, in the late '90s and early '00s, the tail end of the Dark Age of Comics. It's bright, fun, and campy. But a sense of unease grows as the boys face up to the less than cool aspects of this simpler time. Dark Crisis: Young Justice #2 transforms from a parody of the good old days to an indictment of them. The boys describe this world as homophobic, racist, and immature in a heavy-handed manner, having a self-aware cynicism that has become a cliché in modern comics.
On that note, this issue has just as harsh a critique of present-day culture, depicted via Cassie and Cissie's argument. Dark Crisis: Young Justice #2 goes above and beyond depicting the worst traits of the original run of the series, when characters were flat, stereotypical, and in the case of the females and villains, mere afterthoughts. However, this issue subtly levels criticisms to contemporary comics, specifically through Cissie, who, like the boys, is in deep denial of her grief, though instead of idealizing the past, she scorns the past heroism as problematic -- another tired and cynical trope.
Cissie's moral posturing and scornful accusations of Cassie's apparent dependency on her male teammates come across not as insightful, but as arrogant and hypocritical, considering her privileged position as a prep student. In contrast, Cassie is openly aware of her team's checkered past, self-aware of her grief, and loyal to her friends and duties as a hero. She critiques the past and present without letting either define her. This is an excellent development for her character. While Cissie comes around, she's fittingly outshined by Wonder Girl.
Artist Laura Braga emulates the art style of Young Justice's first 90s run, making Dark Crisis: Young Just #2 look quite authentic. There is an obvious digital quality to the line art, with subtle blurring at the edges and a computer-generated slickness. Colorist Guerrero uses bright hues, gradient soft lights, and shadow blending to complete this artificial yet charmingly retro aesthetic.
A clever, if maddening and heavy-handed, twist on the lure of nostalgia and the legacy hero trope, Dark Crisis: Young Justice #2 sets up a strong series of developmental arcs for characters who have been missing from the spotlight for far too long. Longtime fans and new readers alike will be entertained by this thoughtful addition to the Dark Crisis saga.