Dark Crisis: Young Justice #5 Review

 

Writer: Meghan Fitzmartin

Art team: Laura Braga, Luis Guerrero, and Pat Brosseau

Release Date: October 18, 2022

Cover Price: $3.99

Reviewed by: Jon Wayne

This book has been consistently disappointing, but I read the newest issue every month, hoping I feel differently. Is that how it played out this time?

No. Because apart from the fact Meghan Fitzmartin can't pace an issue to save her life, she lets loose her antipathy for Young Justice fans with Mickey Mxyzptlk (McMxy?) as her bully pulpit. Using him as a megaphone to tell the entire world that she continues to miss what fans of this generation of characters have wanted: for DC to let them grow up.

Throughout the earlier issues of the run, she continuously implied that YJ fans were toxic, but here in issue #5 she gives Mickey a multipage monologue detailing this. Fitzmartin seems to think YJ fans want to go back to the 90s and hate all of the new minority legacy characters DC has introduced over the years, which is both hilarious and insulting. But again, this is just further proof she is tone-deaf to the audience - fans of Young Justice - DC theoretically wants to buy this book! I cannot imagine a better way to ensure a book does not sell than for a writer to antagonize the fanbase so openly.

Once we move past Fitzmartin's lame excuse for a troll, we get the original team uniting as the real Cassie, Cissie, and Red Tornado somehow enter the 5th dimension because Bart left a hint in an earlier issue through a frequency. I'm unsure if that's correct because it was so unclear. Bing bang bong, we meet some glow blobs, and then Bart uses the speed force to magically bring everyone back to Earth-Prime - including Mickey (but not the glow blobs, thankfully).

The Art is good in this issue and has carried this series from day one. Still not enough to overcome the Fitz-nonsense we're getting. I hope if WBD/DC's new execs are making sales more of a concern, they don't make the mistake of believing this team can't sell. Whether as YJ or a more grown-up version of the team - as we all want! - this is a popular group of characters that could sell with a better creative team.

Bits and Pieces: 

If there is one thing Fitzmartin and Mickey got right, DC has done this team dirty. First, by putting them in the hands of Bendis, who ruined everything he touched at DC, and then by giving them to Fitzmartin herself. I'm going up in score this week because I thought the art was noticeably better in this issue, but that's what the score is: the art gets a 4 out of 5. Fitzmartin's story gets a 0 out of 5.

4/10