Review: The Kids Are All Fight Special #1

I haven't been collecting all the DC KO crossovers out there, sticking mostly to the main mini-series and the titles I ordinarily collect. But when I saw The Kids Are All Fight Special #1  I knew I would be getting it. I had several reasons. 

You might think that this being a Jon Kent centric special would be the top reason. I feel the last several years have been bad for the character and he has basically disappeared from being a headliner to getting a small subplot in the Superman books. Somewhere along the way, from de-aging to over-preaching, Jon has become an unfortunate afterthought. I like the character and want to see him treated well again so I was interested in seeing how he would be treated.

You might think that Jeremy Adams writing it was the top reason. Jeremy Adams is one of those creators I implicitly trust and will follow from project to project. So for sure he was a big draw. This looked like a fun book, the perfect book for his style. But that wasn't the main reason.

Maybe the Dad joke pun title, riffing on an old Who song? Great but not the reason.

The main reason was the presence of Judy 'The Boom' Garrick. Ever get asked to name a recently created comic book character that you think will stick and struggle to come up with an answer? I no longer struggle. The Boom is awesome and when I saw she was going to be in this book, I knew I'd be buying.

The plot is simple. Jon has to babysit some young heroes during the disaster of KO. The kids have other ideas, heading out on a mission requiring a rescue. Adams does a great little plot maneuver that leads to a wonderful character moment that makes the book. 

Travis Mercer is on art and I really love his art. I keep hoping DC will give him a standing title. He keeps the energy buzzing and seems to have a great handle on the DC Universe given the number of characters that waltz in and out of the book.

On to some details. 

Donna Troy and Roy Harper are heading to Earth to try and stop Darkseid's forced from making things even worse than they are. 

Despite his array of powers, Jon Kent is tasked to stay on the moon base to keep an eye on Quiz Kid, Cheshire Cat, Fair Play, and The Boom. Donna says they don't need Superman on Earth; they need him there to defend 'Earth's last line of defense'. 

If Earth's last line includes 2 smart kids, a teen assassin in training, and a speedster, we are in trouble. I don't know if these 4 have already formed some super-club or not. 

Love how Mercer draws the page, immediately giving us a peek into the characters' personalities and quirks. 

Jon still doesn't get it, griping.

But I love the sass that Boom gives him, arms crossed and drawing out a 'surrrreee' when he says he is called Superman. 

She's probably 15. He's probably 18 or 19. He is disparaging of the kids a little. And he hasn't really done too much. Perhaps he warrants some sass.

Fair Play picks up on a signal that has Granny Goodness signature on it and given his history with her, he demands action.

Rather than alert the heroes on Earth, the group takes matters into their own hand using Arsenal's key card (nicked by the ever bored Cheshire) to take off. Nepo-Superman! They all aren't giving Jon respect. 

I love Boom echoing her father's ethos. She really is wonderful.

Jon searches the moonbase to no avail. 

I assume these three in the Janitor Closet are part of some other book's plot. But no editor's box here to help me out. Can you?

Turns out that signal Fair Play was picking up was some sort of mind control device Granny Goodness was employing to enslave the nearby people. Granny keeps saying she needs some other super  being to fully power the device and take over the world. She sics her new Female Furies onto the kids, defeating them all except Fair Play who escapes.

Mercer also shines here. But what I like is that there are so many characters that I feel are so underutilized right now that Adams just sticks in, even if mind-controlled. Remember when Yara Flor looked like the breakout star of Future State? What happened. 

And after the solid recent Stargirl:The Lost Children mini-series, I thought we'd see more of her too.

I'm a sucker for the Female Furies.

Jon realizes he isn't the best detective and needs help to find the missing young heroes. So he tags in Cass Cain Batgirl, but only after he promises that he owes her four IOUs. 

Now at first I said to myself 'why Cass'? Why not Damian, his old friend? But maybe KO has Damian busy elsewhere.

But more importantly, it leads to this moment of character serendipity.

Fair Play had escaped but feels helpless. He talks about how he was kidnapped and tortured by Granny forever and isn't sure if he can ever overcome.

Cass and Jon have both been through similar ordeals. Jon with Ultra-Man. Cass with her family and upbringing. They can empathize! And they know the real lesson is 'fight back'!

So yes, a little plot manipulation to bring these three together. But I can forgive it to get this moment of inspiration.

In the end, the super-being needed to power the device arrives. It's Static! Another woefully underutilized character!

The device is destroyed. The mind-controlled heroes come to their senses. The Furies are routed and disappear in a boom tube. 

Looks like we might have a new team forming here! Another great team splash by Mercer.

If this was a new team book, would I buy this? Absolutely. Jon, Yara, Boom, Stargirl, Static ... all characters I like and want to read more of! The others are interesting as well.

So this is a beautiful looking book with a tremendous character moment in the midst of a sort of standard super-hero story. I liked this.

Overall grade: B