Written by: Nicole Maines
Art by: Stephen Segovia
Colors by: Rain Beredo
Letters by: Steve Wands
Cover art by: Stephen Segovia, Rain Beredo (cover A)
Cover price: $3.99
Release date: April 2, 2025
Secret Six #2, by DC Comics on 4/2/25, gathers the team (sort of) to explain who did what and settle on the path ahead to stop or kill Amanda Waller.
Is Secret Six #2 Good?
Recap
When we last left the not-yet-formed team in Secret Six #1, Dreamer led Jon Kent and Jay Nakamura to Belle Reve prison, where Amanda Waller, believing the villain had escaped. Their interpersonal conflicts, lingering from the Absolute Power event, put the allies at odds. When they entered the prison, Dreamer and her allies were confronted by armed guards. Black Alice, held in a nearby cell, helped the trio escape capture by teleporting everyone to a safehouse miles away - right in the middle of a fight between Deadshot and Catman...maybe.
Plot Synopsis
In Secret Six #2, the bickering continues. We begin with a brief prologue that shows a team of scientists working on Amanda Waller's body. After a brief flash, Waller wakes up, declaring her memory has been restored.
In the House of Secrets, the assembled (sort of) team of heroes and villains comes to blows over the sudden forcing together. It turns out Deadshot was disguised as one of the Belle Reve prison guards and was pulled into the teleportation spell, but nobody knows why Catman is bloody and unconscious on the floor.
Jon Kent is enraged when he believes Deadshot injected Dreamer with something to knock her out. Jay Nakamura, aka Gossamer, is enraged when Black Alice makes a tasteless "your mom" joke (because Jay's mother is dead. Rage quickly turns into fights.
Jon knocks Deadshot through a wall, and the assassin counters by breaking open a gas pellet with artificial Kryptonite dust. Jay uses his phasing abilities to backhand Black Alice. Black Alice counters by using magic to throw several appliances at Jay from multiple directions to distract his focus. Suddenly, Catman wakes up and joins the fight to settle an old grudge against Deadshot.
Eventually, everyone calms down enough to talk. Deadshot explains Waller was freed by the reconstituted Checkmate, and he needs to get to Waller for intel before Checkmate gets it. Meanwhile, Dreamer privately tells Jay she wants to kill Waller before her memories are restored.
First Impressions
If you pick up this issue cold, your natural reaction will be, "Huh? When did that happen? Wait, what? How did that happen? Uhh...I don't get it. How do those two (or three) know each other, and what does that mean?" Stopping Amanda Waller is a big deal idea, but Nicole Maines's clunky, disjointed script is making a mess of it.
How’s the Art?
Stephen Segovia's art ranges from good to great, especially during Catman's dramatic entrance, for an issue with visual quality well exceeds the writing. The fights are gritty, the costumes look great (again, Catman is the standout), and the dramatic panel compositions are on point.
What’s great about Secret Six #2?
We often point out that it's never a good idea to form a team where everyone gets along. Interpersonal conflict keeps the teamwork interesting, so hats off to Nicole Maines for "forming" a team that not only doesn't get along but would rather kill each other if given the chance. Plus, as noted, Stephen Segovia's art is great.
What’s not great about Secret Six #2?
Interpersonal conflicts keep the teamwork interesting, but the constant bickering between D-List and lower characters quickly turns the drama into a chore. Very few people care about Dreamer as a character. Even fewer people care about Jay Nakamura. And absolutely nobody cares about Jay's deceased mother. Maines made a creative and strategic blunder to make the central conflict between three D-List to Z-list characters nobody cares about, especially one who worked for Waller, one who is a semi-retired terrorist, and a deceased mother who led her country to ruin.
Further, the flaw that created the first impression above comes from so many plot developments and elements that happened off-panel or happened in the past during storylines nobody remembers and aren't given a proper editor's note. This issue feels more cobbled together than written, and it's very far from entertaining.
About The Reviewer: Gabriel Hernandez is the Publisher & EIC of ComicalOpinions.com, a comics review site dedicated to indie, small, and mid-sized publishers.
Follow @ComicalOpinions on YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter
Final Thoughts
Secret Six #2 clears up some of the confusion from the first issue and establishes the stakes for what's to come, sort of. Nicole Maines's clunky, cobbled-together script is more irritating than entertaining, but Stephen Segovia's art surprisingly makes even Catman look good.
5/10
We hope you found this article interesting. Come back for more reviews, previews, and opinions on comics, and don’t forget to follow us on social media:
Connect With Us Here: Weird Science DC Comics / Weird Science Marvel Comics
If you're interested in this creator’s works, remember to let your Local Comic Shop know to find more of their work for you. They would appreciate the call, and so would we.
Click here to find your Local Comic Shop: www.ComicShopLocator.com
As an Amazon Associate, we earn revenue from qualifying purchases to help fund this site. Links to Blu-Rays, DVDs, Books, Movies, and more contained in this article are affiliate links. Please consider purchasing if you find something interesting, and thank you for your support.
No comments:
Post a Comment