Young Justice #4: Bowels of the Dark Castle Opal

With most of the team locked in the prison pits of the Dark Castle Opal, any hope of reuniting Young Justice now lies with Superboy!

This issue has a lot of positive things going for it that help it to succeed superficially. However, the fundamental problem overall is the split narrative and how the story feels torn between the importance of each one. The conflict on Gemworld and the reunification of Young Justice are each crucial components of the story, but in attempting to accomplish so much, it feels like two separate comics.

The origin of the conflict on Gemworld truly is an interesting story, and it’s easy to see that Bendis has taken the time to plot everything out quite intricately. However, the constant jumping back to “earlier” (sometimes twice in only three pages) only sidetracks the pacing. As we shift into seeing Superboy rescue the rest of Young Justice from the prison pits, the pacing increases greatly and the story starts to make sense again. But the cliffhanger reveals that all is not well just yet.

In my opinion, the issue’s primary flaw is that it acts as a transitional story that both brings Young Justice together and sets up the next act. In doing so, we lose focus of the overarching narrative and the various plot lines start to become convoluted. This creates a situation where we should be overjoyed at the resurgence of Superboy and reunion of the team, but instead there are just too many other questions that have been raised.

The artwork remains some of the best available at DC Comics, despite the fluctuating story. Epic visuals and incredibly vivid colors help to make the issue an enjoyable reading experience. Even the lettering is superb, given Bendis’s sometimes lengthy explanations.

Overall, I really am happy to see the team actually starting to get back together. The hug towards the end was a truly heartfelt moment, but I want more of that and less intricate worldbuilding. This is a step in the right direction, hopefully the story starts to straighten itself out now.