DCU Comic Book Reviews

JSA VS. KOBRA #2

Engines Of Faith, Part Two: Strange Days

September 2009

Written by Eric S. Trautmann

Pencils by Don Kramer

Inks by Michael Babinski

Cover by Gene Ha

Synopsis

After KOBRA suicide bombers attempted to blow up the church frequented by Michael Holt (aka Mr. Terrific), Checkmate has stepped in to handle the case.  Power Girl does not like it.  Elsewhere, the leader of the KOBRA bombers, Ariadne Persakis, manages to escape custody.  The evidence points to help from a Checkmate agent.  The JSA think KOBRA is about to attack again.  They locate the likely target, STAR Labs in Metropolis because they working on the concept of “strange matter” which could be used as a very dangerous bomb.  Mr. Teriffic, Power Girl, and Alan Scott tour the facility.  Doing a check on employees they find one with a previous KOBRA connection.  When they talk to him, he admits he was pressured into helping KOBRA.  Suddenly, the man goes into convulsions and snakes fly out of his stomach before he dies.  Throughout the facility, workers have become KOBRA drones.  The JSA jumps into fight and stop it.  Elsewhere, police, FBI, and hospitals explode in fiery bombs.  At LexCorp, Persakis and her crew have gotten passed security and are able to download date on the “Everyman Project.”

Review by Binkley (e-mail)

My only quibble is that this book feels more like a Checkmate book than it does the Justice Society, although that is going to change next issue, I think, based on what happened at the end.  Other than that, this is turning out to be a pretty good story.  It is a cat and mouse game with the JSA chasing KOBRA, who are making plans that are still a mystery to us (but becoming clearer with the download of the Everyman Project data).  I like the way Burr is changing the game, hiding his true intent behind a fake attack that Terrific anticipates and other fake attacks that they hadn’t anticipated.  Trautmann is providing JSA, and Mr. Terrific in particular, a worthy opponent.  I hope that at the end the series, Terrific outmaneuvers Burr to defeat him rather than simply physically overpower him.  This is setting up to be a good conflict between the two and the first tow issues have no disappointed.  This is good stuff. 

I still like the dueling narration boxes. The point and counterpoint really works well, bringing inside the minds of Mr. Terrific and Jason Burr, showing us how much Burr is changing how KOBRA acts and how much Terrific is behind the game (although one has to wonder why Mr. Terrific, who is supposed to be very smart can’t figure out what is going on). 

White King Mr. Terrific represents Checkmate and the covert manner in which the agents handle the threats while Chairwoman Power Girl represents the JSA and the overt manner in which heroes deal with threats.  Stuck in the middle is Alan Scott, a charter member of both, but the leader of neither.  I like the set-up (much like the Star Trek trio representing emotion and logic) and so far Trautmann is playing it well, with Alan Scott maintaining a passive role and letting the other two duke it out while he is only interested in getting the job done. 

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