Danger Street #2: This is All Leading to Something… I Swear

This issue picks up with the aftermath of Good Looks death. The rest of the Dingbats are dealing with their grief while Lady Cop is on the case to locate the killer. Good Looks’ killers, Starman and Warlord, are attempting to deal with their grief while also escaping from any persecution. Jack Ryder has taken the position as the GTN news anchor and has begun the smear campaign of the yet to be seen group, The Outsiders, for his villainous teenage benefactors, The Green Team. Meanwhile, Manhunter has begun his mission which seems to be taking out member’s of The Green Team; however, he has little success. To round out the various storylines, Highfather tells Darkseid about the death of Atlas which causes Darkside to become frightened, as he knows that this spells doom for the universe.

Fans of Tom King will know that most of his twelve-issue maxi series include a lot of world building at the beginning, this issue is no different. Without knowing what’s going to happen next, Danger Street #2 is a lot to take in. It’s safe to assume that many of these storylines are going to intersect; however, at this time, it’s a little hard to keep track of what’s going on. There were multiple instances in which I had to flip back through the first issue to remember what was going on. This series is definitely feeling like something that will read better once it’s collected. That being said, all of the storylines in here are very intriguing and at no point was this book dull. King is still able to make all of these Z-list characters compelling in their own ways. 

Jorge Fornes’ art here continues to be great. Fornes draws with a very simplistic style that harkens back to 50’s comic books. The part of the issue where High Father and Darkseid discuss the impending doom, as a result of Atlas’s death, is a great example of why King wanted Fornes to draw this book. King had previously used the character Darkseid with Mitch Gerads on their critically acclaimed book Mister Miracle. In that title, Darkseid was meant to be this menacing presence, and Gerads draws him to be just that. Here, Darkseid is depicted in a very different manner. King and Fornes portray him as large and looming, yet also cordial and dignified. He addresses High Father with respect and is genuinely scared when he learns of Atlas’s death. King clearly wants readers to know that this isn’t exactly the same Darkseid that we have seen before. Fornes’ interpretation of the character feels more relatable and  understanding than we are used to. 

One large aspect of the previous issue was the discussion of media corruption. This comes up again when we jump over to the plot line with Jack Ryder and The Green Team. Ryder is clearly not content with the lack of information he has on The Outsiders. The Green Team has some strange vendetta against The Outsiders and it’s not yet clear if they are using these “terrorists” as scapegoats for their own nefarious deeds, or if The Outsiders are actually dangerous. Either way, The Green Team really doesn’t want Ryder finding out anything about The Outsiders, other than what they have told him. This plot line seems very relevant to the media landscape today where outlets like Fox News paint groups like Black Lives Matter and Atifa in a negative light in order to further their own causes. This may not be the most action packed storyline, but it definitely is the most interesting. 

The highlight of this issue were the brief pages where Warlord tries to console Starman. First of all, King makes an excellent reference to Warlord’s creator when Warlord uses the alias Mike Grell to check into a hotel. After this, we get into the meat of the content, which explores Starman’s grief and the mindset of someone in his position. Starman is still in shock and grief stricken when he comes up with the idea to attempt to bring Good Looks back to life with Doctor Fate’s helmet. Warlord know this is a bad idea, the reader knows this is a bad idea, everyone knows this is a bad idea, but this is King exploring the concept he understands best, trauma. People in trauma don’t always think rationally, and even though he has talked about this subject to death in previous stories, King expertly brings it back in this issue. 

For only being the second issue in a twelve part series, a lot has happened so far. A lot of readers may not enjoy the bouncing around of seemingly disconnected storylines, but die hard Tom King fans know that all of this is leading to something fantastic. I can understand readers turning away after an issue like this, but I urge people to stay along for the ride, since the world building has been fantastic so far. King’s track record should speak for itself.