Lazarus Planet: Revenge of the Gods #2 focuses on Billy Batson and his struggle against the minions of the Gods that are wreaking havoc on Earth. The opening narration talks about how our gifts allow us to fight, but sometimes we can take those gifts for granted and overestimate our strength…perhaps foreshadowing for what’s coming later in the story? Read on to find out!
SPOILERS AHEAD for Lazarus Planet: Revenge of the Gods #2!
We find Billy Batson in Philadelphia, where large portions of the population are still under the influence of Apollo and his prophecy arrows. When Billy sees some giants destroying a school, he says the magic word and bolts into action. Mary soon joins him and takes over the fight as Billy wants to get to the bottom of these monsters. It’s nice to see Billy and Mary together again, even though the reunion is short-lived. A figure of pure, golden light appears in front of Billy and tells him the answers he seeks are on Mount Olympus, and his guide is in Washington DC.
Credit: DC Comics
Cut to Washington DC, and Yara Flor makes swift work of a Hydra in the Reflecting Pool. A quick conversation with Cheetah reveals that she has lost hope Diana was successful with her mission to Mt. Olympus. (Check out Wonder Woman #797 to find out what happened to Diana.) Elsewhere in DC, Billy is catching a ride on the bus, hoping to cover more ground and find his mystery guide. He meets The Stranger on the bus, who we’ve seen in previous issues of Lazarus Planet as well as Wonder Woman. We get a few more hints about his background, including that he is immortal. When the two-headed dog Orthros attacks the bus, he is quickly dispatched by The Stranger and Shazam with the help of Yara.
When the threat is over, Billy recognizes Yara as the one who is supposed to guide him to Mt. Olympus. It takes some convincing, but Yara eventually agrees to take Billy in order to find out what happened to Wonder Woman. Billy is prepared to fight the Gods to end this senseless war. On Olympus Billy and Yara confront Hera, but things quickly take a turn for the worse when the Wizard takes Billy’s power away and transforms into a hulking version of himself.
Credit: DC Comics
Lazarus Planet: Revenge of the Gods #2 is an action-packed installment with three battles against three mythological beasts. It was nice seeing more of the effects of the war in this issue and how relentless the attacks by the Gods are. The artwork is excellent and the character design of the beasts was superb. They are vicious and threatening even though our heroes are able to dispatch them easily enough. The dialog between Billy and Yara is well written and believable. It’s only natural Yara would be skeptical of Billy at first, but she comes around to his conviction and desire to fight for what’s right. Wilson is fantastic at writing Billy as what he really is: a child. He makes simple arguments, from the heart, that allow him to gain the trust of his allies. Perhaps the most interesting part of the issue is Billy potentially losing the powers of Shazam. Will he be able to go on fighting with only his natural abilities? Will it be enough?
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