‘Young Justice #9’ (review)

Written by Brian Michael Bendis
Art by Andre Lima 
Published by DC Comics

“Actually, I’m kinda honored that there is an evil version of me – I don’t think I earned it!”

“Maybe I did!”

“Solid point!”

Of course, we know this isn’t fair. Earth 3 is supposed to be the weird one. The abnormal one. That’s the way it works.

But Keli Quintela doesn’t know that. Not yet. This whole Multiverse thing is brand new to her. Come to that, so is wielding the power of a Green Lantern and running with the most popular crew of young adventurers this side of the 1990’s.

Or, for that matter, interstellar alien contact.

Which sounds like the beginnings of a familiar story, except that it’s not quite. For one thing Keli encounters the dying alien with the emerald green energy tech in a dump in La Paz, Bolivia. For another, said alien seems to have other sorts of motives than a true Green Lantern would. And he has enemies.

We know all this because Brian Bendis and crew have switched into backstory mode again, this time with a much-needed look at our new young emerald crusader, Teen Lantern. Just as she’s throwing down with a pretty seriously vicious version of her own young self.

The vignette of Keli’s uncertain brush with fate starts off our newest issue of Young Justice, and I can think of no-one better to assist Mr. Bendis with the visual storytelling that artist Andre Lima Aravjo. The scenes in La Paz are spot-on, and it’s a welcome new take on the young woman behind that snappy face mask, and the people in her life.

But don’t worry, series artist John Timms remains on deck for everything else happening in present time on Earth 3, whether that’s in Stephanie Mill’s Batcave, on the wrong side of bad-Jinny Hex’s gun… or the showdown between the two Green Lantern kids.

Thankfully good-Keli shows some real spunk, and a pretty slick imaginative style, so it doesn’t take too long to pull herself clear. But that’s all right – the only thing we really need to know about bad-Keli is that her own moniker is Hack… and that there’s something like desperation behind her determination to get the other alien tech off of Teen Lantern. Makes you wonder.

But hey, not much time for that. The kids all have to get the heck out of this dimension and pronto.

Or do they? Tim maybe has other plans.

And Jinny maybe has to finally get up to speed with her own actual situation. Real quick-like.

Next Issue: What’s inside Box Number 1?