Review: Cyborg Vol. 2- Danger in Detroit

Quick Summary

Pros: The comic’s core narrative is still somewhat interesting.

Cons: Constant distractions from the core narrative take away from its appeal. Most of the book’s subplots are unappealing. The quality of the storytelling feels low.

Overall: The second volume in this Cyborg series fails to improve upon the problems found in the first one. While it still has a decent mystery at its center, the problems encircling this center seriously damage it. The smaller plot points feel pointless and end up being unappealing; the larger plotline is stretched out far too far; and there are places where the quality of the writing dips. Pieces of this volume may still appeal to diehard Cyborg fans, but it is generally not something most fans will want to read.

Story

Cyborg Vol. 2: Danger in Detroit, by John Semper Jr., falls into the same traps as its predecessor. At its core, this series contains an interesting narrative about an interesting character. However, this is constantly weighed down by intrusive subplots and lackluster storytelling. The subplots distract from the main story while also unpleasantly lengthening it, causing it to feel like it is dragging on and on. Meanwhile, storytelling problems crop up as characters make strange decisions and the plot seems to turn on the fly. This comic’s core narrative continues on in the next volume but, at this point, I am unsure if the series will be able to get its act together for a satisfying finale.

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The main narrative in Danger in Detroit mostly continues the story from The Imitation of Life (Review). This has a mysterious villain masquerade as Cyborg’s father, causing problems in his life and working toward something even more sinister. The mystery behind the villain and the fight against him is interesting, especially as more is revealed about the villain’s origins and connection to Cyborg’s father.

Unfortunately, intrusive subplots are constantly distracting from this larger narrative. The majority of this book’s chapters are spent introducing villains who have little to no impact on the story. None of them are bad on their own, but the ephemeral nature of their presence makes them feel pointless. By the end of the volume, as the umpteenth villain was introduced, I was actively dreading learning the backstory of another character who would quickly be discarded.

What’s more, is that these subplots actively weaken the main narrative. They drag out the mystery behind the comic’s main villain to the point where readers are still unclear as to his exact motivations. This means that two volumes have come and gone, and it feels like very little has actually happened. This takes away appeal from this narrative and significantly weakens the cliffhanger ending.

The other big problem with Danger in Detroit comes from the storytelling. There are places where characters’ actions don’t make sense; Cyborg and Variant’s romance does not suit either character well as neither appeared to actually care for the other. There are also places where it feels like this comic’s narrative is being made up on the spot, which is the case when it comes to the main villains’ constantly changing scheme and the sudden reveal of another villain even further up the ladder. In general, this volume lacks a level of polish I would hope for from a mainstream comic like this.

(spoilers end here)

Art

The artwork in Danger in Detroit is a slight improvement over its predecessor. Once again Paul Pelletier and Will Conrad provide dynamic and engaging work. Their contributions to this collection help make the action more enjoyable, even when the story suffers. In addition, this collection sees more consistent work from both artists, giving the collection as a whole a better sense of cohesion.

However, there are still places where the quality of the visuals drop. At some points, the pencils do not work well with the colors and create scenes where human skin contrasts poorly with the rest of the environment. There are also a few chapters where other artists take over and simply do not do as nice of a job.

Continuity

Cyborg Vol. 2: Danger in Detroit continues the story from Cyborg Vol. 1: The Imitation of Life (Review).

The story here continues in Cyborg Vol. 3: Singularity (Review).

This volume also references other comic books, detailed below:

• Cyborg’s origin story is mentioned a few times. This origin is seen across Justice League: Origin (Review).