Super-Teens learn the truth of the world in Heroes Reborn: Young Squadron #1. Written by Jim Zub, drawn by Steven Cummings, colored by Erick Arciniega, lettered by Clayton Cowles.
Keen teens team to face down the American Dream in the debut of The Young Squadron; Heroes Reborn’s remixed take on the Champions. Led by Kid Spectrum (Sam Alexander), this pint-sized trio live in the shadow of this world’s “Mightiest Heroes”, attempting to throw their own branded hats into the superhero game and secure their world with semi-borrowed powers.
Conceptually, writer Jim Zub isn’t exactly playing with new toys here. We have seen this set up before, and even under the pen of Zub himself during his Champions days (which even receives a cheeky shout out here in the issue’s dialogue). But, like the main Heroes Reborn title, Young Squadron #1 revels in the weird, off-center details of this new(ish) AU. Each of our cast members are all inexorably tied to the main “Big Three” of the Squadron, each of them branching out slightly from their inspirations.
Their eventual disillusionments hit nicely, lampshaded entertainingly thanks to the fourth-wall-breaking, but neatly expository, use of Deadpool. The time it takes to actually get to that turn is the weakest portion of the issue. The opening sequences are very top-heavy with origins, frontloading 2-3 pages for each of the Young Squadron and how they came to be. Though these “new” origins do spark a bit of life with the Heroes Reborn details, we, as a society, have evolved beyond this sort of nakedly narration-heavy origin-story nonsense.
But once all that is out of the way, Young Squadron #1 really upshifts. Dropping us smack in the middle of the Young Squadron facing down a largely unchanged Wrecking Crew, Jim Zub and the art team finally get to the showing and dispense with the telling. For the most part, anyway.
Calling to mind the fairly sincere and slightly fussy concept of Hyperion & The Royal Guard, Zub and company then give us a full issue of the Young Squadron rollicking through a fairly rote YA-super-adventure until Deadpool makes the scene. From there Zub starts to futz a bit with the formula, driving a bit of stakes into the issue as Deadpool teaches the young heroes (and Narrator) about the state of this world. Though Zub doesn’t go nearly far enough with this, it has been nice to see these tie-ins start to follow the weirdness established by the main title.
This latter half of the issue also provides artist Steven Cummings and colorist Erick Arciniega (of Excalibur fame) a nicely kinetic showcase the opening sequence didn’t allow. Opening with a sketchy, but genuinely cool-looking, splash page of the Skwad and the Wrecking Crew, Cummings then delivers a few striking, yet characteristically fun visuals from there. Each panel always keeps the kids centered and their powers and blocking secondary, which allows a clear focus for the reader on the characters so they don’t get lost in the action. It’s all covered in an unusually darker than normal palette from Arciniega, but one that suits the tone of Zub’s script well.
Teen teams are a dime a dozen nowadays and with Young Squadron #1, we see that idea extends to the Heroes Reborn universe as well. I just wish this one had a little more going for it, or even the feeling of a continued exploration of this idea. Instead, it ends right before it gets interesting. But isn’t that always the way with teen superheroes? All pluck and promise, but no real follow-through. That may be where we have to ultimately land with Heroes Reborn: Young Squadron #1
Zachary Jenkins runs ComicsXF and is a co-host on the podcast “Battle of the Atom.” Shocking everyone, he has a full and vibrant life outside of all this.
