Review: Heroes In Crisis #4

HEROES IN CRISIS #4
Written by Tom King
Art by Clay Mann, Tomeu Morey, and Clayton Cowles
Edited by Jamie S. Rich and Brittany Zolherr
Published by DC Comics
Release Date: January 2, 2018

(SPOILER FREE REVIEW)

Heroes In Crisis continues the investigation of the year with some interesting developments for everyone near this investigation. In an issue surprisingly focused on the women of the DC Universe and their own connections with one another and their own power. King keeps the story going by focusing on multiple parties that shows what the Sanctuary incident is doing to the Hero Community. An opening with Tempest, shows the ramifications of what losing his fellow Titan teammates has done to him as he drinks heavily at a bar. The scene is filled with the lone Titan alone with only his drinks to embrace him. Morey’s colors lighting Tempest as we see him with his last remaining drink in hand adding to Mann’s pencils that remain close to his face and hand. A splash page with Donna Troy carrying Tempest out brings together what this issue in particular is about: companionship, connecting, and seeking help…sometimes in the most unlikely of places.
“$%@# This” as a chapter rotates every few pages on another aspect of the investigation. A page with The Flash and Batman shows the two Detective’s at odds with who they think is the murderer, Mann gives a funny three panel sequence of the two that goes with the gag of multiple characters cursing, given the direction of events of the investigation. Morey’s colors show the distinct style and locations off with the characters along the way. Booster Gold is undergoing trials of his own and his telling of events are drenched and red and gold with his recounting of what happened at Sanctuary soaked in red as he believes Harley is the one at fault. The contrast between the bloody flashback and Booster’s present is highlighted with what Mann draws following Booster’s time in the wake of the Sanctuary massacre and the interrogation with Wonder Woman. King’s writing of characters plays with the mystery of the series with Booster Gold having a solid story to stick to and even passes being under the compelling Lasso of Truth but the unknowns in his story make him unreliable to say the least.
As the investigation opens up to the larger DC Universe, it allows for King to write more characters that have everything to do with different parts of the fallout of Sanctuary and it puts one of the most important women in DC in the driver seat of a leaking secret. Mann and Morey create a very beautiful universe utilizing its cast of characters with different instances that move the plot forward and might be a topic of conversation when it comes to female anatomy. A specific Sanctuary interview revealing a truly powerful moment that deals with one heroine’s history with a story that changed her life forever. In the nine by nine panel page, Mann peels back the layers subtlety as the character in only three words says all that needs to be said. In an earlier interview, another heroine discusses the truth about storytelling and fantasy. Mann’s expressions have been key for these instances and it doesn’t falter here as Donna Troy remarks about how we can take historical events that have been deemed real and not really know for sure and it speaks to the current situation of Sanctuary. Nobody except a few people seemingly know the truth about who killed the people at the center and with Booster and Harley both teaming up with people that have their back, it’s anyone’s guess how the story of Heroes In Crisis is going to go.
There’s a rhythmic sense of duality and simplicity that King weaves into the writing. Everyone has a dynamic duo so to speak in this issue and they each come to their own conclusions about what must be done, for the world and for each other. Mann and Morey do some of their best work in a mirroring battle between Batgirl and Harley that depends on Morey’s colors to differentiate the real bodies of the women from the reflecting images surrounding them. Everything from the writing between the two and the display of their hands tells a sequence that goes from confrontation to embrace. Heroes In Crisis captures a cinematic feel to the DC Universe and the characters it includes but the writing of said characters leaves more to be desired with the scope of the investigation growing and the mystery of who truly killed at Sanctuary no closer to being solved, this issue peaks around the corners to see who how our multiple parties are faring in the face of danger as the lines are beginning to be drawn.

The Verdict: 7.5/10