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52 Week Twenty One

By Hervé St.Louis
October 2, 2006 - 00:06

Lex Luthor shows why he is such an evil character, while the Teen Titans return. Luthor’s new super hero team faces off against the legacy of another villain. It’s like watching American Idol but for super heroes. As the Teen Titans and the new team using the familiar moniker of an old DC Comics’ team face off, some members of the neophyte teams may not survive the encounter.

Legacy is the theme of this issue. Issues of 52 with strong themes are rare.  This story pitted the concept of the legacy super hero, inheriting his powers or status from another one against the concept of the new super hero. Yet no matter how much the nouveau riche team Luthor created, wants to carve a name for itself, it still has to find legitimacy in the name of an old DC Comics.

It’s really ironic that the writers of 52 display in broad daylight the trick that allows DC Comics to continue publishing comic books about so many moribund characters. Legacy’s the name, and it works. Even ludicrous legacies as those from the Teen Titans or the name Luthor gave to his cronies are telling. A super hero at DC Comics is worthy only of consideration by DC Comics and its supporters if it comes from a legacy.

I know the purpose of this issue was not to be an internal critic by DC Comics’ writer on the system they contribute everyday, but at least, their honesty is charming.

Bennett is a solid illustrator whose work is not sexy but solid. It’s a sad thing that consistent artists like Bennett are not assigned to series like series like Justice League of America while inferior work is solicited from artists that are not ready to work on such assignments, like Ed Benes. But this is part of the cast system of an artist at DC Comics and Marvel. Benes is a legacy of Jim Lee, proven to sell books. Benes has a conventional style and is not part of the star system. No matter how superior his work is to Benes, he will never be given high profile work.
 
9/10

52 Week Twenty Review

Last Updated: August 31, 2023 - 08:12