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Review: Bombshells United #17

By Philip Schweier
May 2, 2018 - 04:55

This issue starts off with the invasion of Earth by Apokalyps. Like a Thanos-level world event, this brings all of our groups of Bombshells on stage, leading to a bit of confusion on my part. Not only are there 1940-era versions of the female super-heroes, but also females version of the male heroes, such as a female Flash who appears for all of three panels and is gone. I have no idea what purpose that served.

It’s just one of the many interludes throughout the story – moments that are supposed to be significant in some way, but for me do very little to advance the plot. A boy in Gotham listening to the radio; a gaseous Joker sweeping through Berlin; an expository sequence at the Kremlin involving the Russian Superman and Supergirl. And so many people wear baseball caps with bats on them for some reason.

This series is as aimless as ever, with a frustrating ability to confuse me. It contains scenarios that I simply struggle to reconcile with the narrative, many of them with home-erotic overtones. I have no objection to diversity, but one might think the entire female population of the Bomshells’ world is homosexual. Which may be why I don’t appreciate the series – I’m not a teenage lesbian.

I had such hopes when I first picked up this series. I liked the idea, but DC has allowed Marguerite Bennett to hit single notes only. For a book with United in the title, it doesn’t seem to be very cohesive, other than the common thread of “1940s versions of female super-heroes.” And that’s not enough to sustain the series, in my opinion.

Rating: 2/10

Last Updated: August 31, 2023 - 08:12