I have to stop making the statement that I don’t like alternate universe story arcs. I’m a big fan of “Young Justice” and loved the “Huntress” comic I read for starters. Now there’s another one to add to my hypocritical list of alternate DC Universe books I enjoyed. It’s the second volume of “DC Universe Online: Legends” and had me hooked from the first page. This trade paperback collects issues 8 through 15 of the series that concluded in March. It expands upon the story of the video game of the same name.
Volume Two has the Justice League reluctantly joining forces with Lex Luthor and his meta-human Legion of Luthor against Braniac. Luthor mysteriously returns to Earth and brings with him the shrunken Daily Planet building that Braniac had added to his collection of miniaturized cities and civilizations. He returns the Planet to its original size, but the people in the building have developed superpowers. At the very same time, the powers of some of the members of the Justice League seem to be fading or becoming unpredictable and dangerous. Now the superhero team, the Legion of Luthor, and the criminal mastermind himself must find a way to defend the world from the destructive schemes of Braniac and his army of robots.
Writers Marv Wolfman and Tony Bedard penned “DC Universe Online: Legends Volume Two.” Wolfman wrote the storyline for the video game, so this is just an extension of that for him. He’s also well-known as the creator of the New Teen Titans, Marvel’s Blade, and the third Robin, Tim Drake. Bedard worked with several different characters including Batman, Supergirl, Green Lantern, Justice Society of America (JSA), and many more. He also participated in the “Flashpoint” event that launched the New 52 initiative. It’s interesting to see what the two of these guys do within the world of “DC Universe Online.” The story is complex and keeps the reader flipping pages because what you get in this world is unpredictable. Things that wouldn’t happen in the regular DC Universe could very well happen here.
Several artists contribute to the illustrations in “DC Universe Online: Legends.” They include Mike S. Miller (“Adventures of Superman”), Howard Porter (“Countdown to Final Crisis”), John Livesay (“Superman Beyond”), and Sergio Sandoval (“Flashpoint”). There are a few noticeable differences in their work, but for the most part everything looks close to the same. It’s a successfully cohesive combination of different artists. The colors make the illustrations jump off the page as they should. All the illustrators and colorists for this book should be commended.
“DC Universe Online: Legends Volume Two” is an entertaining graphic novel that fans of these legendary characters will want to pick up immediately. It does a good job at giving each of the big guns their time to shine in the spotlight. The ending leaves you hanging and wanting more just like any good comic book does. This collection also includes eight pages of cover sketches by Ivan Reis (“Green Lantern”), Ed Benes (“Justice League of America”), Mike S. Miller, and Howard Porter.
For more articles by Eric Shirey, check out:
‘Batman: Death by Design’ Graphic Novel Review
‘The World of Flashpoint Featuring Wonder Woman’ Graphic Novel Review
‘The World of Flashpoint Featuring Superman’ Graphic Novel Review
Eric Shirey is the founder and editor of Rondo Award nominated movie and comic book news websites MovieGeekFeed.com and TheSpectralRealm.com. His work has been featured on Yahoo!, DC Comics, StarWars.com, and other national entertainment websites. Besides his three decades long obsession with everything sci-fi, horror, and fantasy related in TV and movies, Eric has what some would call an unhealthy love for comic books. This has led him to interviewing and covering legendary writers and artists in the medium like Geoff Johns, Scott Snyder, Steve Niles, Bernie Wrightson, and Howard Chaykin.
