Scarlet #3 Review

Are You the Hero?

Writer: Brian Michael Bendis Artist: Alex Maleev Publisher: DC Comics Release Date: October 24, 2018 Cover Price: $3.99

Review by: Ray Price

We are back into the thick of the revolution. Scarlet and her revolutionaries versus the United States military. In the last issue, we see a possible confrontation on the horizon with Kit disobeying orders because she’s a badass or just a rebel. The last couple issues haven’t grabbed me yet. Will this issue finally get me invested in the characters and story?

This issue opens up with a flashback of Kit. We find out that before the Revolution, she was the owner of a barbershop. She seems very different before the revolution. Different as she seems stable, family oriented, and not as edgy. All seems fine until her sister’s ex-fiancé arrives looking for the engagement ring. This abusive jerk wrecks the shop and beats Kit. She calls the police but it seems like they refuse to help her because she knows this moron.

As we transition back to the present day, we see Kit looking through the scope of a rifle and it appears as she lets her emotions cloud her judgment. She believes the face of a solider to look like her sister’s ex-fiancé and shoots the guy in the head. This was foreshadowed at the end of the last issue but now we see the results with some context. Fighting ignites as the soldiers fire back at the revolutionists and bomb the building Kit was perched at.

Before long we get Scarlet’s monologue that just seems off for some reason. I think it’s off because we get the backstory of Kit and as new readers, we still haven’t seen a flashback of Scarlet. She comes to the rescue of Kit kinda. She doesn’t do anything but bring reinforcements to where Kit is and gets Kit out of harm's way. The issue ends with Scarlet appearing to wave the white flag to surrender but this seems like a scheme of that will get unraveled in the coming issues.

The dialogue indicates that the revolution hasn’t been going on too long. The story seems like it is revealing the mental issues that come with war but it takes major leaps at getting there. Things just happen with no explanation. Explosions and gunfire happen with cute dialogue that does nothing for the story. For one, when did these civilians learn how to fire various types of weapons accurately? Where did they get grenade launchers? It’s a minor nitpick but it’s bothersome but if you have been reading many of my reviews, these nitpicks add up and just burden this story.

Bits and Pieces:

This book still proves to not be friendly to new readers. We get a flashback of Kit which was enjoyable but why explain to new readers who Kit is before telling them who the main character is. It is a quick read with more shooting, more explosions, and more monologues. Scarlet still hasn’t demonstrated why she is the leader. She still has done nothing heroic, hasn’t fired a gun, hell I would be happy at this point if she saved a cat from a tree. She isn’t likeable. I know more about Kit than Scarlet and that is a problem when the main character of the title is still an unknown. Lastly, with little character development it’s hard to get invested in any character. At least the art is still very enjoyable throughout the issue.

3.5/10