Last month finished bringing team RWBY and the Trinity together. Now that they’ve met, and have a shared goal, they’re splitting up again to begin investigating the strange disappearances and goings on plaguing Beacon and the other hunters. Let’s see where that investigation takes them, shall we?
This issue dives right into a couple of the team’s journeys as they try to prevent kidnappings and search for those who’ve gone missing. It follows two pairs: Ruby and Bruce, and Weiss and Diana. Both groups have a healthy blend of detective work, some action, and the characters themselves getting to know each other, but in general this issue really doesn’t excite me. Even with fights, chases, and some reveals about the overall plot there’s not a whole lot here that has me excited to keep picking up this series. The story tells me there’s stakes, but I don’t feel them yet, and with the title almost at it’s halfway point I want some stakes to be felt. I should since we’re in the middle of a tale about missing persons, mind control, and monsters being controlled by something bigger. That’s quite the recipe for an exciting stakes filled story! Especially when some of Ruby’s close friends are wrapped up in it all. Unfortunately, the story really doesn’t commit to that. It’s pulled in lots of directions, between the mystery and various plot threads involving the various Justice League members we’re continuing to meet. I hope they all come together, but right now things feel a little disparate. Until that happens, I’m not sure the story will really find its stride. It’s just fine when I feel like it could be really good.
That said, I do like a lot of what Bennett is building here, as we get hints of backstory between characters like Clark and Weiss, and with Barry’s declaration about Bruce’s history. It makes the story feel a little fuller and helps me to at least see some of the Justice League characters as better developed than they’ve been so far. It also helps build out the rest of the plot, especially when elements blend like what happened to Cyborg pair with Schnee dust company problems. It helps shift my perspective from where I felt like the JL members were just included as call backs to the characters, to me seeing them have a real purpose and place.
It’s this, these moments where the story pauses to develop the world, that I really enjoy and I’d like to see a little more of. Again, this is a shorter series, but the life and depth these specific moments give the story make me want to read more. I want to know this changed Remnant better, how do these new characters change the way the story works and develops? How do they impact the RWBY characters we know and vice versa? That’s the joy of a crossover, and hopefully it continues to develop over the next few issues.
The plot in general also starts to move forward. We learn about the missing astronaut, as well as start to find out just what this mysterious entity is using some of its kidnapped hunters and huntresses for. We also meet some new characters, and familiar faces of the JL like Flash and Cyborg. I like getting more of the cast, but if this series isn’t careful it’ll start to feel repetitive by sandwiching plot with a new token JL member every issue. It hasn’t made it there yet, but we’ll see.
The art, like the rest of the story, also just feels okay, it’s not bad but it’s not doing what I want it to do in either a RWBY or Justice League story. The characters still aren’t quite clicking with me. I mentioned last month that characters often look older than they are, and it’s continued here. Ruby herself looks less like a teen and more like an adult, she should be about 15 here and just doesn’t have the same youthful energy she should.
The newly introduced JL members, Flash and Cyborg do feel more like themselves though. While Cyborg’s design is pretty classic, Flash is a tortoise fanus which I find delightful. The fastest character is also an animal well known for being slow? That’s the kind of fun I want to see out of this series, and hope to see more of.
I also really enjoy the chase scene between Ruby and Jesse. Lupacchino does a good job featuring both as they run, jump, and dart around the Faunus Quarter. You get some real feeling of movement here I was missing the last time we saw Ruby using her semblance, and I really liked it. Additionally, Hi-Fi’s colors highlight Ruby and Flash’s semblances and just make the panels she and the other characters are in really bright.
The story ends with a promise for a little more excitement next issue, and what I hope will be a chance to really raise the stakes for the characters. It’s a good cliffhanger, that ups the energy a little more. Hopefully it’ll make good on its promise next month.
Recommended If
- You like learning how each JL member might be represented in Remnant
- Slower, more detective based issues can be okay
- You’re not looking for a ton of stakes and just want to enjoy the ride
Overall
So far, I’m still not totally won over by this series. I think it had a fun start, but the interest that gave me is starting to wane. It’s not a bad series, and I do enjoy picking it up monthly but I think it could be doing a lot more to really engage readers and play in the unique space it has. Hopefully as we move into issue four and hit the halfway point things start to pick up again and the story finds its stride.
Score: 5/10
DISCLAIMER: DC Comics provided Batman News with a copy of this comic for the purpose of this review.
