DEVIL’S REIGN #2 (REVIEW)
Devil’s Reign #2 continues the magnificent chaos of the previous issue with little punches pulled! From the start, villains are catching up to heroes left and right, and no hero is safe! If you’re tired of cosmic events and looking for more “on-the-ground” ones, this one is for you!
Marvel
Writer: Chip Zdarsky
Artist: Marco Checchetto
Colorist: Marcio Menyz
Letterer: Clayton Cowles
The Plot – is this event still worth reading?
Devil’s Reign #2 continues to prove why Devil’s Reign is not only anything but another Civil War, it’s BETTER than Civil War! If you don’t know, this is huge praise coming from me! Civil War was my first comic event I read and one of my favorites.
In Devil’s Reign #1, there were a few plot points I didn’t care for. I’m thrilled to say that Chip Zdarsky flips a few things on their head in Devil’s Reign #2 in the best way possible! For example: in Devil’s Reign #1, there are some heroes that get a major focus that I didn’t care for (such as Tony Stark, ugh), whereas in this issue, other heroes get the emphasis instead!
Additionally, this issue expands on Kingpin being the main villain of this event. This issue is NOT a filler issue — by the end, a new plot twist kicks in! While it’s not super surprising, it is still a welcome and wonderful addition that adds more layers to Devil’s Reign. It makes the stakes of this event feel more real.
Pacing and Characters
The pacing of this event continues to be fantastic! No page feels like “filler” or unnecessary. I’m still loving seeing all the street-fighting heroes get the most attention here, too, such as Spider-Man, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, and Iron Fist. It doesn’t hurt to see the Fantastic Four outside of a cosmic setting as well!
There is one thing about this series that is incredibly troublesome to me, and it only got worse this issue. Mr. Luke Cage gets more story and spotlight this issue, which is AMAZING! Yet, the color of Luke’s skin is… way too light. Almost like he’s a tan white man. I’m sorry, but Luke Cage is a BLACK MAN, a DARK SKINNED black man at that. Why is Luke’s skin tone different from that? How is this okay? This is unacceptable and almost undermines the significance of how important and essential Luke Cage’s character is to this event. Luke’s skin should not be colored any differently under any circumstances.
Final Thoughts
Beyond that, I love this event, and I believe issue 2 was the perfect progression for this event. Devil’s Reign continues to give me hope in comic events again, just as Zdarsky continues to prove why he’s one of the top writers in comics right now. I can’t wait to see the ramifications of this event!
If you missed my review on Devil’s Reign #1, you can check that out here!