By Ashley Gibbs
Finding happiness in a time of war isn’t easy but it can lift spirits and keep people sane. Injustice 2 #7 focuses on the wedding of Black Canary and the dimension-hopping Oliver Queen she’s with now. As much as enjoy classic superhero action I also like the simpler moments like this that help round out their personalities and lives. This issue promises to deliver action, romance and plenty of drama for not only the lovebirds but everyone around them. If you think a superhero can ever have a peaceful wedding then you’re sorely mistaken.
The story starts off at the funeral of Ted Kord who was killed in a previous issue, we encounter Jaime Reyes again, the new Blue Beetle and he asserts himself in the story which is important since he’s a character in the game itself. Dinah visits the grave of the Oliver Queen of this dimension and the current Oliver, from another dimension, asks her to marry him. It’s all rather touching, though I personally haven’t wrapped my head on how you can just import a new Oliver and love him the same way, but that’s me. The wedding is set up to be beautiful, Wildcat even comes to walk her down the aisle but as you would expect trouble strikes. Damien lures Batman away by stealing Alfred’s corpse and the Suicide Squad crash the wedding. The writing balances emotional moments with high octane action very well.
I really enjoyed the art in this issue as I have in previous issues but I wanted to talk about a specific point: Black Canary. I really like her as a character, her personality and powers and of course how she looks. In this issue she’s out of her, admittedly not practical, superhero outfit and in a beautiful wedding dress but artist depicts her as refined and not hyper sexualized. She clearly a tall woman and you can see it when she stands next to Batgirl, Wildcat and even her groom. She has a muscular frame and her dress highlights her broad shoulders, and yet, she’s beautiful in every panel she’s in. Just because they threw a wedding dress on her, she’s still distinctly Black Canary, as are all the characters in civilian attire. They say the bride is the star of the wedding and despite all the chaos and fighting, this still held true. Lovely artwork and colors, great background shots and intense action, just perfect.
I feel that we latch onto superheroes, no matter how alien they might be, because we can relate to them in some way, shape or form. We’ve all had rough patches in our lives and seeking out a quiet moment of happiness is all we really went, that’s what is happening here. While this isn’t the only theme present in this issue as we also have the pain from Jaime over death of his mentor and the angst from Bruce’s children as they attack him, everything is skillfully woven together making reading Injustice 2 #7 a satisfying and complete experience. The intense issue ends on an interesting cliffhanger, drawing readers back for more.
Score: 5/5
Injustice 2 #7
Writer: Tom Taylor
Penciller: Bruno Redondo
Inker: Juan Albarran
Colors: Rex Lokus
Letters: Wes Abbott
Publisher: DC Comics