Tremble in Fear -- For the Beast Hunts You!
Credits: Dan Raspler (writer), Christopher Jones (penciler), Keith Champagne (inker), Bill Oakley (letterer), Noelle Giddens (colorist)
So, the logical follow-up to a slow, character-driven issue is to do an action-packed hero vs. monster story. I’ve never heard of Grundómu before, but apparently he lives for “the hunt” and speaks in non-sequiturs like “Belching! Bellicose! I Besiege!” The Young Heroes travel to Brazil to stop the monster, encounter a bratty twelve-year-old scientific genius, and talk about the DC Universe’s abundance of super-powered primates. Finally, they encounter Grundómu. Junior notices that Grundómu actually has a nice smell, which is surprising given his size and sheer monsterness. Why exactly this is brought up is left unclear, but presumably the smell mystery will tie into next issue’s conclusion.
In non-monster news…
Bonfire and Frostbite have returned from their naughty vacation. They want to test their mysterious psychic bond, but are interrupted when Off-Ramp abruptly abducts Bonfire away to participate in the mission.
Thunderhead misses Bonfire. Due to his giant size, he can no longer play guitar and take his mind off his problems.
Zip-Kid considers hanging out with Thunderhead, but when she realizes that going to a bar would require her to take off her mask, she decides to keep her secret identity.
There’s a lot of action here for a book that isn’t supposed to be about the action. Raspler is still incorporating a respectable amount of character work, so this doesn’t feel like a total switch, but I wonder what exactly prompted the change. The Grundómu fight is fun, even if it feels like an unnecessary diversion at this point. The most interesting team interaction this issue comes from Thunderhead and Zip-Kid. Thunderhead’s depression is heightened by his inability to play the guitar (Grant Morrison does the same bit with Beast in New X-Men years later), and Zip-Kid is only now realizing that fraternizing with the team in public will require her to give up her secret identity. At least, she seems to think so. Who’s to say any of her teammates would recognize her face?
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