4 (well, actually 2) issue Test #26 - Starbrand and Nightmask

Ok, we have a little dilemma here. Starbrand and Nightmask was intended to be an ongoing series but the solicitations are in for June now and Starbrand and Nightmask are nowhere to be seen. It’s written by Greg Weisman, of course my conclusion is to recommend it, so I really don’t want to spoil 2/3 of the series.

So what I’m going to do is the first 2 issues only, 1/3 of the story, let’s take a look.

It's a nice cover, showcasing the kind of book we're in for, student equipment and the ESU in the background, and the dreamflow

We open at the Great Wall of China where the Iron Man villain Blizzard, who is now an inhuman with ice powers. Starbrand and Nightmask use a sort portal thing known as the Dreamflow to confront him. He’s insulted, he wanted Iron Man or some recognisable hero. TMZ said Tony Stark was in China at the time. They prepare to fight but Blizzard is incapacitated by Sunspot, who had transmuted his ice into rock.

He extends to both of them an opportunity to be a part of the New Avengers, which currently has such well known heroes as Hulkling, Squirrel Girl, Wiccan and Hawkeye but Nightmask refuses for both of them, much to Kevin aka Starbrand’s annoyance. Adam aka Nightmask says they’ve decided to sign up to a university.

Kevin isn’t comfortable, it’s not his first time at college and it didn’t end well last time. We cut to them entering the Osborn Hall (you know, I think the Osborn family are known felons in this universe) they head in as a man in a brown trench coat is spouting nonsense, one of the security guards turns him away.

Kevin asks Adam why they’re doing this. Adam explains that as the world’s planetary defence mechanism they need motivation and need to connect with and appreciate humanity and form relationships. Besides, he’s apparently only 3 years old (his first appearance was in the Marvel Now! Relaunch, despite having a kinda adult body) so it was either this or pre-school.

They head to collect their room assignments where they meet Imani Greene, a woman wearing an eyepatch and carrying a walking stick, she greets the two with Adam feeling some affection for her (thankfully he keeps it introverted) and we’re next introduced to Doreen Green (seems to be a common surname round here) aka squirrel girl who I mentioned earlier. You can tell by the fact she’s got a squirrel on her shoulder. Anyway, she got a load of Imani’s letters, she gets a lot of those apparently.

Imani shows them their room and she asks if they need any help moving in. Kevin admits they have no stuff and she goes to get them some. And they don’t offer to help, pr*cks. I kid…

Meanwhile, the guy in the trench coat from earlier, he’s joined by another one and they’re being watched by a guy in blue. Adam and Kevin walk out of the building (they’re not even waiting for her, d*cks) to go shopping for some new stuff. Kevin spots them and realises who they are, Graviton and Nitro, supervillains who’ve fought the Avengers before.

Graviton weighs them down. Nightmask notes that there’s something not right, there are force lines connecting them to something else, they’re being controlled. As Nitro begins to blow them up. Starbrand remembers his last time at college, when he first got his powers and the school set on fire, everyone except him died.

One of the students is popping out with rubbish and sees the two transform, they free themselves from Graviton but Nitro unleashes his flames. Nightmask puts a shield around them, with Starbrand lamenting that this was not a good idea.

Another good cover showing exactly what happens for the first few pages of the issue - Starbrand and Nightmask vs Blizzard, Pyro and Graviton

Issue 2 opens with the big guy I mentioned earlier being blown back into the building as the man in blue watches from overhead. Nightmask’s shield is holding, slowing time down inside of it so Starbrand can stop the explosion before it does any real damage.

Nitro reforms, and Starbrand advises they surrender but they’re joined by a third, Blizzard, who freezes them in place. Starbrand breaks them out but Nitro’s about to blow again, Nightmask takes them through the dreamflow to the Arctic, where the damage that they can do is minimal. Nightmask sees the same lines he saw on Nitro and Graviton on Blizzard now too, confirming that they’re being controlled by someone.

Starbrand freezes them in amber. Nightmask asks if they’ll survive but Starbrand doesn’t really care. Back at the ESU, Adam worries that their victory was too easy, they might escape and they still don’t know who controls them. Kevin replies that that’s S.H.I.E.L.D.’s job now.

Nightmask narrates that his lack of concern isn’t surprising. He goes into their origin stories. He was created on Mars by his father to be the ‘ideal human specimen’ but the Multiverse was breaking down and it caused a white light event, too soon and on Mars rather than Earth, which transformed him into Nightmask. His arrival caused a second white light event which forced power capable of destroying a world not on an established hero but on Kevin, an average college student. Since Kevin couldn’t yet control the power, he unleashed it and in the process 3203 people died. He shoulders the blame for that.

The big guy from earlier introduces himself as Kenny Kong, if I’m not mistaken, it’s a reference to a character from The Spectacular Spider-man (edit: OK, my research was a bust on that one, Kenny is in fact a major Spider-man comic character - don't know how I missed that). Cute. He’s about to confront them over what he’s seen but he’s interrupted by Imani, who invites them to Lunch at the Stacy Memorial Dining Hall (this universe’s Stacy family is dead but they have Spider-Gwen now) Kevin jumps at the chance and reminds Adam that he has a ‘cosmic metabolism’ and this is totally reconnecting with humanity.

Kevin laments that their new mission statement needs work. Meanwhile, we see ‘first white light event’ which on Mars (although it was supposed to be Earth) created Nightmask happening on the planet of Kree-Pama transforming someone called Mar-Sohn into their version of Nightmask. He summons the Heralds to prepare for the ‘last white light event’ which would create their version of Starbrand.

At the Dining Hall, Kevin wonders how they’ll pay for the food. Adam says he’ll just transmute some refuse into gold and acquire the funds accordingly (which won’t be in the least bit suspicious) with that thought, Starbrand easts plenty. His sight becomes blurry, which Adam perceives as him using his cosmic senses to focus too closely, although in reality he’s concerned about this. He believes they’ll have to address them soon

Maria Hill and a SHIELD team are at the Arctic, with the 3 amber-frozen crooks. One of the scintists reports that they’re dead but lights in the sky destroy their floating ship and free the 3 of them, who are very much alive. The Man in the Blue Suit is seen walking away.

So that’s issues 1-2 of Starbrand and Nightmask, I said already that I recommended this, but let’s take a closer look.

Greg Weisman has great talent when it comes to making the most out of an issue, it’s a Talent he uses in his Television work too. Spectacular Spider-man balanced multiple subplots throughout the 2 seasons, balancing good storytelling and character arcs. The Young Justice Comics, particularly the Invasion arc also demonstrated this talent as he balanced 4 different plotlines all happening at once and giving us enough of each of them for it to be satisfying.

He employs this tactic again here, we see as much Kevin and Adam as we do Starbrand and Nightmask, it’s nice to see a little of their supporting cast, although we don’t see them all that much outside of being with Kevin and Adam so there aren’t major arcs revolving around them. It’s nice to see someone with clearly multiple disabilities who’s so optimistic within herself, it was a refreshing character after all the depressing stories I’ve been subjected to lately (I’m talking to You, Batman vs Superman)

I admit I was worried that Starbrand and Nightmask going up against such heavy hitters as Graviton and Nitro so early down the line might not have benefited them in the long run but the story has shown there are in fact even bigger villains to face out there, even teasing a possibility from something from the Kree Empire, friend or foe, yet to know.

I admit it was curious when I heard they were going back to school, and there are many reasons why it shouldn’t work, even some stated within the book itself. But Greg handles it carefully, giving them valid reasons for Nightmask to want to do it, and for Starbrand to be careful about it. It also provides us with an explanation for Starbrand not really caring too much if the villains are dead

The artwork is mostly decent but it’s worth noting that our heroes look a lot younger than they have in previous appearances

Ratings

#1 8/10

#2 8.5/10

Overall 8.25/10

Conclusion

This is a great series and I recommend you reading it for the time it has left.

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Images used in this review are from Stabrand and Nightmask and belong to their respective owners. All images in this review are subject to fair use.