Forever Evil: A. R. G. U. S. 2
Sterling Gates, Neil Edwards
Forever Evil Crossover
Spoiler alert! You have been warned!
Don’t let the cover fool you: The battle we’ve all been waiting for is actually (big shock) very brief. In fact, the Steve Trevor VS Deathstroke fight is actually only one page in length. But don’t worry. Writer Sterling Gates has crafted an epic tale within the DC Universe during the events of Forever Evil. And he’s drawing from various Villains Month issues from last September to help him craft said story. And, just in case that wasn’t enough to get you interested, he’s got excellent artwork from Neil Edwards to help him out. But I’m not going to lie. I really would have liked to have had at least three or four more pages of the fight illustrated on the cover. I mean, it was pretty cool as it was, but come on. Only onee page? That’s just mean!
I completely understand why it was limited, though. First and foremost, if it had not been broken up, they probably would have actually killed each other. And secondly, there was just way too much plot to get through and only a limited amount of pages to accomplish said plot. Dr. Light’s freaking out and causing all sorts of panic. Colonel Trevor and Etta Candy are acting as the new Secret Service while they attempt to save the life of the President. And Slade and the Secret Society are trying their best to kill, well, everyone. There was a powerful scene with Killer Frost (last seen in her Justice League of America one-shot issue) saving a little boy’s life and killing a fire-based villain. The way the President is written seems not only appropriate for the story, but also true to his character. And the little twists and turns and mysteries that keep on building as the story unfolds are more than enough to keep most readers coming back for more.
And even though I’m not entirely sure where this is going, I know that Gates is a good enough writer to make it all worth my while when we finally arrive at the end. Anyone who can make me care about a character like Steve Trevor (or Killer Frost, for that matter), has certainly earned the benefit of the doubt. Though this is not the obvious choice, this miniseries might be the one to watch out of the three Forever Evil spin-offs. Rogues Rebellion has all of the Flashy goodness and Arkham War is all about the characterization of the Batman supporting characters and villains, but Gates is doing something sneaky with this one. Out of the three, this is going to be the one that has some actual ramifications. I just hope they involve more Team 7 stuff. And maybe a rematch between Slade and Trevor… that lasts more than one page.
My Rating: 4/5
