Review: Forever Evil- A.R.G.U.S.
Quick Summary
Pros: There are some great moments here featuring Wonder Woman and Steve Trevor’s relationship.
Cons: The story is all around average at best. The conclusion leaves tons of unanswered questions for a future story that was never made.
Overall: This is book where one big problem drops the quality of the work from average to far below. The problem is that this is mostly an introductory piece that teases a bigger storyline, which never ended up being made. For this reason, the story ends on a disappointing cliffhanger that no one will be able to appreciate. Readers who need to see every part of Forever Evil or who like Steve Trevor and Wonder Woman’s relationship will find some positives here but should not expect anything more.
Story
Forever Evil: A.R.G.U.S. is a unique beast in terms of quality and overall place in the DC Comics landscape. The book itself is mostly average but is this way partially because of how it makes sacrifices to the story in order to start building up an even greater second act. The problem is that this second act never happens. After the conclusion of this volume, nearly all of the plot points teased here are dropped with no plan to continue. This severely sours the otherwise average comic and leaves this would-be-introduction on a disappointing never-ending cliffhanger.
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The main plotline throughout this book is a companion piece to Forever Evil (Review) that explains exactly what happened to Steve Trevor while the rest of the world is thrown into chaos. Still reeling from the ending of Trinity War (Review), Steve is forced to find some way to rescue the Justice League so that they can save the world. Along the way he makes an uneasy alliance with Killer Frost and confronts a host of his own personal demons.
This is the portion of the book that is decidedly average, there are some highs and lows but nothing large enough to push the quality too far in either direction. The best part of this is the analysis into Steve’s relationship with Wonder Woman and how it effects his life. Their relationship has been hinted at since as far back as Justice League Vol. 2: The Villain’s Journey (Review), so it is nice to see it gain more substance here.
Alongside this main storyline is a background story delving into the secret history of A.R.G.U.S. and explaining how shadow wars fought in the organization’s past are effecting it today. This retroactive addition to A.R.G.U.S.’s legacy feels similar to Johnathan Hickman’s work on S.H.I.E.L.D., yet is not nearly as detailed or well fleshed out. Also teased here are Etta Candy’s role in the future of A.R.G.U.S., the fallout from Steve’s bargain with the weird sisters, and the future of Caitlin Snow’s sickness. The book even ends on a cliffhanger that wraps up the majority of the side storylines and also teases a future story.
As mentioned earlier, this is where things get problematic, since this future story never comes. By not continuing these threads anywhere in the comic landscape, it causes about half of this story to be for not. All the setup and excitement built up here means nothing when it doesn’t lead to anything. This book had the chance to be a mediocre setup for a better story somewhere down the line, but instead becomes a mediocre story with flaws that drag it down even further.
(spoilers end here)
Art
Similar to the story, the art throughout this volume is average overall with a few small flaws making it feel strange at points. Neil Edwards draws characters and environments that look detailed for the majority of the time. In these moments, the book looks fine and feels pretty standard. However, in moments where this detail is more lax it is noticeable and draws a portion of your attention away from the story. Overall though, this is an alright looking book that isn’t too memorable for being particularly good or particularly bad.
Continuity
Forever Evil A.R.G.U.S. continues directly from the ending of Trinity War (Review) and explains what happens to Steve Trevor during the events of Forever Evil (Review).
The individual stories in this book do not directly continue anywhere. However, the tie-in portions to Forever Evil (Review) directly continues at the very end of Justice League Vol. 5: Forever Heroes (Review).
- The beginning of this book references the explosion at A.R.G.U.S. that happened in Trinity War (Review).
- Steve mentions the Darkseid invasion from Justice League Vol. 1: Origin (Review).
- Steve’s involvement in the “Graves case” is detailed in Justice League Vol. 2: The Villain’s Journey (Review).
- Catlin’s past with Firestorm comes from their time together in The Fury of Firestorm: The Nuclear Man Vol. 3: Takeover.
- Multiplex mentions his group’s loss at the hands of the Rogues. This happened in Forever Evil: Rogues Rebellion.
- Steve recognizes the Crime Syndicate’s coin. This is due to the events of Justice League of America Vol. 1: World’s Most Dangerous (Review).
- The end of this collection features an appearance from Martian Manhunter. This appearance is explained by the events of Justice League of America Vol. 2: Survivors of Evil (Review)