The synopsis for Justice League Red #1 sounded like your typical ’90s era superteam book: a covert group of superheroes pulling off Mission: Impossible-style capers to prevent a dismal future. But Saladin Ahmed and Clayton Henry beautifully flipped the script on readers with the reveal that Red Tornado was manipulating his team into destroying or stealing from benevolent forces. Simon Baz and Power Girl destroyed a robot that was meant to feed a nation, and Justice League Red #2 opens with Cyborg seemingly taking a microchip to stop World War III…only to learn he’s committed grand larceny.
It’s also Cyborg’s introduction that makes Justice League Red #2 an intriguing read, as Ahmed positions him as the ultimate foil to Red Tornado. Much like Tornado, Victor Stone lies at the crossroads between humanity and machine – but his humanity’s always won out, thanks to his bond with the Teen Titans and other heroes. It only makes sense that he’d be leading the charge to figure out what’s wrong with Red Tornado, and if he ends up becoming the leader of this Justice League offshoot, that’d be a nice bonus.
Yet the discovery that Tornado is playing the team also raises the question: “Why is Tornado seemingly causing harm and passing it off as good?” While he tries to pull a Minority Report and show the others, Cyborg cuts in with one of the wryest one-liners I’ve ever read in a comic: “The Butterfly Effect is a TV trope.” Whatever Tornado’s end goal is, he soon shifts to underhanded methods in order to get his newfound group to follow orders, and that’s a recipe for disaster…especially when you have someone with Power Girl’s abilities and temper.
DC
Henry’s artwork continues to be a major highlight of Justice League Red #2, from the opening – which features Cyborg using his impressive arsenal of technology to sneak into a heavily guarded building – to a two-page spread where Tornado lays out the seemingly bad future. Henry also dedicated close up panels to certain characters, showcasing them using their powers. When Cyborg taps into the internet, his cybernetic eye glows red. Whenever Power Girl grows angry, her eyes also glow red.
But Arif Printo doesn’t just focus on the eyes; he gives each character their own unique color to represent their powers. Simon obviously has green for his Green Lantern ring, while Cyborg’s energy weapons and jet thrusters are represented by an electric blue. Once again, red is the prominent color, especially in Tornado’s secret moon base. His holographic form flickers and hovers, serving as a blood red ghost in the machine…and an ominous presence looming over this Justice League’s head like the Sword of Damocles.
Justice League Red #2 deftly dives between menace and spectacle, deepening its central mystery while slowly starting to pull the team together. Hopefully by next issue, the team will be fully formed and we’ll finally get an answer or a hint to what’s up with Reddy.
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