It's good to see that Justice league of America's Vibe isn't content to merely exist between the beats of Geoff Johns' JLA, but is telling a significant story about Vibe's growth as a hero and his friction with Amanda Waller and A.R.G.U.S. Issue #5 suffers from an unnecessary guest appearance by the Suicide Squad, but it still manages to push Vibe into interesting and unfortunate new scenarios.
The Squad are easily the weak point of the issue. Much of their dialogue involves bland exposition, either explaining how their respective powers work or what the purpose of the Suicide Squad is in the first place. Sterling Gates throws in a new recruit whose presence screams “Red shirt.” If the intent was to provide Vibe with an overwhelming foe who could bring him back into custody, there were surely simpler ways to go about it that didn't involve more pointless character cameos.
Luckily, Vibe's characterization fares much better. Gates is successfully remolding the character into an identifiable everyman hero. The growing bond between Vibe and Gypsy is also entertaining. I'm not completely sold on Gypsy's revamped origin, but there's ample evidence that she might not be telling the full truth about her past. Gates also plays the relationship between Cisco and his brother to great effect as the latter is forced to sit back back helplessly while Cisco flings himself headlong into trouble.
I'm really pleased with the work Pete Woods is turning in on this series. Each month, Woods seems to be focusing a bit less on realism and more on stylized, energetic depictions of DC's heroes and villains. It's a welcome shift, and one that helps the series stand out that much more. My only complaint is that Amanda Waller is rendered in an oddly sexual way in this issue. It's bad enough that the New 52 resulted in her transforming from "The Wall" to generic pretty comic book lady. This issue takes the transformation even further, and it doesn't suit her character at all. But if that and pointless guest stars are the worst that can be said about Vibe's new series, he's doing pretty well for himself.
Jesse is a writer for various IGN channels. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following @jschedeen on Twitter, or Kicksplode on MyIGN.
Source : ign[dot]com
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