DCU Comic Book Reviews

SALVATION RUN #2

Take This World and Shove It

February 2008

Written by Bill Willingham

Pencils by Sean Chen

Inks by Walden Wong

Cover by Sean Chen

Synopsis

On the new world in a different dimension, super villains from Earth are having a tough time simply existing.  Several villains head out to scrounge for food, but they are every so often attacked by powerful alien monstrosities.  Elsewhere, the Psimon tries to declare himself leader of the transported villains. He outlines a plan of action.  The Joker, disagrees, and kills Psimon, telling everyone that survival is the most important.  On Earth, the Suicide Squad sends over the last of the villains, including Lex Luthor.  Part of the last group of transporters includes Suicide Squad members Deadshot and Bane.  When Luthor arrives on the new planet, he immediately takes control and asserts they will find a way off the planet, providing they follow his lead. 

Review by Binkley (e-mail)

This issue can be divided into two distinct parts.  The first half was weak and failed to make me interested in this series while, in contrast, the second half was strong and suggests this mini-series might actually turn into something more intriguing.  After two issues of set-up, Willingham has finally gotten to the meat of the story, Luthor vs. the Joker. 

The first half of the issue with Metallo and the other group of D-list villains had me scratching my head.  After setting the first issue with the Flash rogues, they are removed completely (even though they are on the cover) from the story and replaced with a new set of virtually unknown villains.  It is difficult to get invested in the story when we are both given unknown characters and the ones from the first issue are no longer around for the second issue.  Moreover, the new villains these characters are not really fleshed out characters. They come across as a plot device; a way to show us how bad the planet is and killing off a character (it was not really surprising to see one of the characters thrown to the wolves, so to speak) without mucking around with a marketable DC product. 

The second half of the issue is the strongest, from Psimon’s attempt to assert control (which actually makes sense when you think about his point of view) to the Joker’s display of craziness to Luthor’s display of manipulative genius.  These are strong character moments from characters we recognize and it is more exciting than following the D-list characters at the beginning.  And, it sets the stage for the rest of the mini-series.  If the next issues follow the strength of the second half of this issue, it shall be an interesting ride. 

 

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