Lethal Legion #2 Reivew

Dark Reign: Lethal Legion #2

Written by: Frank Tieri
Artist: Mateus Santolouco
Color art: Chris Sotomayor
Letterer: VC’s Joe Sabino
Cover: Tommy Lee Edwards

At SDCC I asked Frank Tieri if this would be an ongoing and sadly the answer was no. It certainly doesn’t need to be I admit, but I always enjoy books that feature B or C-list characters. Too often we’re saddled with A-list players who have to fit into status quo molds and can’t be changed or killed. Lower tier characters like these give writers more opportunity to play and maybe even kill one them off, once in a while.

This issue features Livingston, a high-priced lawyer, interviewing Wonder Man and Absorbing Man in prison and they both give their accounts of what happened to the Legion, from its formation to their final encounter with Osborne’s Dark Avengers.

None of these characters are at all likable and oddly that’s one of the reasons I enjoy the book. These aren’t your typical heroes and they make a real point to prove that. They’re bad guys and just because they’re going after Osborne doesn’t mean they’re ready to turn over a new leaf. Tieri is at his best here working with characters long ignored and playing them up with larger than life characterizations that make it easy to figure out where they’re coming from.

The art is dark and gritty, just as it should be. Wonder Man looks badass and the fight with the Dark Avengers feels as big as it should. For a three issue book they put a lot of love into it.

The book ends on a strange note and how this series will end is anyone’s guess. I’m not sure how they’ll wrap it up with only one book left, I just hope they don’t continue it in an ongoing instead. It also relies on you knowing more than you should about the characters and their past relationships, which makes it difficult to keep up at times. Also, since it is only three issues there’s not much incentive to buy the floppies rather than wait for the trade, especially as it doesn’t feel like it will have much impact on current continuity. In fact I don’t expect it to have any impact on anyone not featured in this book. So if you aren’t a huge Wonder Man or Grim Reaper fan, you can skip this without missing much.

With a healthy dose of action, fun anti-heroes and an unpredictable storyline Lethal Legion remains a good book for those looking to collect everything Dark Reign, but it’s not a requirement for anyone following current Marvel events.

B