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raspberryicedtea's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
INCLUDES SPOILERS. PROCEED WITH CAUTION.
oh boy, was this a wild ride.
Honestly, going in I had already known public opinions on it and assumed it wouldn´t be great but still thought it would be at least kind of interesting in terms of themes and mystery.
I´m still fairly new to DC Comics so I´m not sure how the story ties in with the rest of the universe, all I got was that it´s related to Flashpoint, I think? This stuff really confuses me tbh.
Starting with what I liked tho, the artwork really was gorgeous, Harley Quinn had some pretty funny moments and I liked her relationship with Ivy and Barbara. I´ve seen some people say that the female characters were extremely sexualized and while I do see it as well, I don´t think they did much better with the male heroes physique so I at least wasn´t too bothered by it.
Everything else was mostly just dumb.
The concept of a rehab for heroes is interesting, since I´m guessing they would need special treatment but they don´t even get that in the Sanctuary! There´s not a single therapist or psychiatrist in there, just an AI that´s built from kryptonian tech and the character traits of the big three, but yk the compassion of Wonder Woman or the will of Batman isn´t gonna get you far if they have no clue wtf they´re talking about. You can´t compassion someone out of ptsd, you know?
So instead of actual treatment by trained professionals all the heroes (and reformed villains) get is a fucking holodeck simulator thingy where they can do whatever they want while the AI provides commentary, I guess. Seriously, there´s a whole segment where we see lagoon boy literally self-harming over and over again and it´s like. He´s allowed to just do that?? Right in front of his “therapist”??!?!? jfc it´s no wonder someone went nuts and killed everyone, I´m honestly surprised it hasn´t happened sooner.
There was then this whole thing about how the Sanctuary had to be a secret so people wouldn´t lose their trust in heroes but then they ended up not doing anything with that, so it felt kinda redundant. Like, it could have opened up at least some conversations about the stigmatization of mental health issues or even vigilantism as a means of seeking justice, whether or not there should be these all-powerful individuals when their mistakes could impact so many people who would have no means to stop them when necessary.
Billed as a murder mystery, Heroes in Crisis fails delivering in every way imaginable. The Big Three show up a little bit at the beginning to give exposition but the “investigation” is literally non-existent. They don´t find any significant clues that could help them solve the case and are generally either not present or not helpful. The conflict between Harley and Booster Gold was resolved in the most underwhelming way and while I liked their banter after that, the characters really didn´t have much depth or skills that could have helped them solve the case either.
And while the dynamics between many characters (Harley & Barbara, Harley & Booster, I didn´t really care for Booster and Blue Beetle but they had some good moments) was fun to read about and the snippets of heroes/reformed villains talking were interesting for giving context, all of it was kind of removed from context didn´t move the plot forward at all, which is why especially the latter started getting on my nerves after a while.
When it´s finally revealed what actually happened it´s not because of any investigation it´s because Wally himself just explains it in a confession video.
The moral of the story is a bunch of worn out phrases and empty platitudes and the way they treated Wally actually makes me so so angry.
Honestly, the only thing they did right was Harley and Ivy´s sapphic love saving Ivy´s life #unburyyourgays
Content Warnings
Graphic: Self harm, Violence, Blood, and Grief
Moderate: Murder
Minor: Drug abuse
laurenedeaton's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness and Violence
Minor: Addiction, Child death, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Murder