The team of DC’s biggest and best superheroes must find Steve Trevor and stop the evil Deimos! But will they find him in time, Or will they be stopped by Deimos’ evil sorcery?
Trinity #20
Author: James Robinson
Artists: Jack Herbert & Tyler Kirkham
Colors: Gabe Eltaeb
Letters: Josh Reed
Publisher: DC Comics
!!!Spoiler Warning!!!
What You Need to Know:
Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman have been teammates and friends for some time, and when they come together for an adventure it always takes the reader on a magical and powerful journey through the best of the DC mythos. In the latest run of “Trinity”, our heroes were traveling to Themyscira since the first time Diana found out the truth about her first home. Before the group found the secret island, a portal sucked them into a magical Middle-Earth land named Skartaris. Here the trio found themselves aging in all kinds of impossible ways until the Warlords daughter helped them see that it was only a trick. They discovered some hidden technology there that the evil Deimos seems fairly interested in. Warlord and his daughter with the help of the Trinity defeated an army of Deimos’ and helped free the land and city of Shamballah of Deimos’ evil magic.
Once they got back, a supposed Steve Trevor started debriefing the entire team about every detail of the events that occurred on Skartaris. After a questionable remark or two, the team realizes that this Steve is an imposter and actually Deimos in disguise getting information out of the team. After the team realizes that Steve is the source of finding Deimos they head on another journey to find Diana’s lover and friend.
What You’ll Find Out:
Opening this issue we get a quick flashback at how and why Steve and Deimos ever came into contact. Deimos had tricked Steve into investigating him so he would be able to ambush Steve and use him as bait to eventually trap the trinity. Afterward, we see the team searching far and wide on every corner of the earth for Steve, but not just randomly. Batman has a hunch that the security team they found dead in Skartaris are connected to Deimos. He has sent the team to every location he was able to find that had traces of this hidden group.
The team gets attacked by different monsters all resembling their weaknesses in some form. Superman fights kryptonite bugs, Batman fights Solomon Grundy/Grodd knockoffs, and Diana goes up against a giant Egyptian god robot. The team quickly figures out that these are easy challenges that take no time, although, this is executed in a fashion that doesn’t really fit the narrative. Each character says something that seems off and not like anything these characters would say, but more like what a kid playing with them as action figures would make them say.
After an explosive couple of pages, we finally find the team with codes that have been separated to each location. The codes come together to give the location of a building located in New Guinea, but the team must hurry because the building moves every few hours.When the team finally find the building they scope it out just to find Orc type minions defending the entrance. Finally, the book ends with an Orc-like Steve Trevor running after the Trinity leaving them in shock.
What Just Happened?
As excited as I was for this next arc it seems James has already begun to let me down. As the writer also on Wonder Woman I understand wanting to write a story with the team that she goes best with. But the best thing James Robinson could do is let someone come in that actually knows how to write dialogue for Batman and Superman. As easy and fun as this story should be, its a pain to read DC’s best characters get absolutely butchered as if Joss Whedon started writing for DC Comics. The men come off as childish and a little dumb’ for example Superman mentions a conversation the team had only a couple days ago when trapped on Skartaris, and Batman seems to have no memory of it. This is one of many examples where the writer’s focus seems strictly on Wonder Woman and the other characters feel like an afterthought.
The art has its off moments but for the most part, Herbert and Kirkham did a spectacular job. The action sequences are always the highlights of these issues and it’s always fun to watch the team fight against the odds and come out on top.
Even Josh Reed’s letters don’t get in the way of the beautiful landscapes and surrounding areas, or any of the heroes themselves when they are supposed to be in the spotlight. Overall the art is what makes this series worth the read over and over again as it just can’t seem to catch back up with the quality that was seen when Manpul was writing and drawing.
Rating: 6.5/10
Final Thoughts: In retrospect, this issue could have been a fun story and adventure for the team. However, it falls short due to underutilized characters and just cringe-worthy dialogue from the core team. The art saves the Trinity once again with amazing work by Jack Herbert & Tyler Kirkham. I can’t really say I recommend this issue unless you want to finish out the rest of Trinity, or really like the art style. But in my honest opinion, this issue just doesn’t do the team the justice it deserves.
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