Stargirl: Summer School, Chapter Eight
Last season, Stargirl and her new JSA fought the Injustice Society, a collection of skilled, experienced supervillains. That, as it turns out, was the easy part.
Last season, Stargirl and her new JSA fought the Injustice Society, a collection of skilled, experienced supervillains. That, as it turns out, was the easy part.
Finally, there’s a break in the darkness… mostly. Things take a turn for the comedic, and we sort of get an MCU/80’s Spring Break movie mash up as the Watcher looks into “What If… Thor Were An Only Child?”
You’d have thought that returning from the Phantom Zone would have been a high point for Supergirl and her team. Even though her PTSD was remarkably short-lived (just an episode, conveniently), there have been other problems, many of them from Dreamer’s horrendously selfish decision to help the 5th Dimensional Imp Nxylgsptinz get to Earth.
Stargirl and her new JSA are having a rough summer. Not only do two of them have to go to summer school, which no teen wants, but they’ve dealt with malicious teachers, a powerful demon on the loose, a rival team being put together, and an enigmatic 19th century visitor. In addition to this they have mysteries involving their predecessors, complicated love lives, crushing guilt, and a lot of pressure as the stakes are constantly being raised.
Venom: Let There Be Carnage was an uneven ride that I needed a bit to figure out a way to sum up. I finally settled on calling it a hyperviolent version of the Odd Couple meets superhuman Bonnie and Clyde.
By this point, the Titans might well be wishing they’d stayed in San Francisco. Jason died and came back as the villainous Red Hood, Hawk died, Dove left, and Rachel and Donna still haven’t shown up this season. Gotham is not a good place for anyone, really.
I’ve commented a few times that the Marvel What If…? series seems to be competing with itself to see how dark it can get. While the world without an Iron Man wasn’t as “good” as the main MCU, it wasn’t as tragic as some of the other episodes have been. Things change drastically for a good many characters in “What if Kilmonger Rescued Tony Stark?” This review is shorter than many, because there are so many twists and turns in this story and I don’t want to spoil them.
Last episode ended with a trapped and desperate Supergirl calling for help in a most unexpected direction.
They’ve been doing a good job showing Cindy Burman, AKA Shiv, putting together a team to challenge Stargirl’s fledgling Justice Society of America. Now, at least most of the pieces are in place and Cindy is making her move.
After one bright initial episode, and a second one that was a lot of fun, Marvel’s What If…? has gotten steadily darker. I’ve commented before that I wonder if the writers are in a contest to see who can come up with the most depressing storyline.