Review: Trinity of Sin: Pandora Vol. 2- Choices
Quick Summary
Pros: The story at least tries to answer a few mysteries.
Cons: The initial crossover is bloated and intrusive. The stories told after the crossover are boring and end whenever things become interesting. Major questions about the series are only barely answered. The romance in this book is incredibly creepy.
Overall: This volume fails to improve upon the failings of its predecessor and ends up being just as messy and unremarkable as ever before. It is initially hampered by a bulky crossover but then falls victim to its own vices and simply becomes a boring story that feels as if it is going nowhere. It squanders any potential it manages to muster up and is not something most fans will look forward to reading. Unless you somehow really loved the first volume, do not pick this one up.
Story
Right off the bat, it is important to note that the first half of Trinity of Sin: Pandora Vol. 2: Choices, by Ray Fawkes, does not read well on its own. It is part of the Forever Evil: Blight (Review) crossover event, so large portions of the action are missed by not including the crossover issues. The Forever Evil: Blight (Review) storyline is still somewhat legible here though and thus I will still be reviewing it, though I do not recommend reading it like this.
Trinity of Sin: Pandora Vol. 2: Choices does little to improve Pandora’s story as a whole and ends the series with more missed opportunity and disappointment than I would have ever expected. Nothing about this story drew in my interest, the crossover felt forced and intrusive, and the later stories felt tacked on. The only overarching plotline was Pandora’s quest against the sins, which was pretty much dropped in this volume anyway. There is very little reason to read this book, and I would simply not suggest doing so.
(spoilers start here)
In general, the Forever Evil: Blight crossover was not good (see what I mean in our more thorough review here), and Pandora’s story is no exception. Throughout the crossover she bounces from being overpowered to underpowered in a way that makes it seem as if the writers are not sure what to do with her character. She also gains more powers by becoming the manifestation of humanity’s good thoughts and intentions, a concept that feels like it comes out of nowhere and is only used for a brief moment. Pandora keeps getting slammed with these crossovers and her series suffers greatly because of it.
Once the crossover is finished, Pandora returns to fighting sin throughout the world. This leads to a host of small and random adventures; she fights Vandal Savage, goes head to head with an agent of S.H.A.D.E., and even takes on a horde of vampires. None of these draws in any real interest and all of them feel tacked on to a series that is on its way to cancellation.
Part of the problem here is that every time something starts to become interesting, it either ends too early or is barely used at all. Pandora took on humanity’s good will and transformed into a manifestation of hope, and this power is only used to show compassion to Giganta before being basically forgotten. She gears up and is ready to fight another immortal, then Giganta throws him into the ocean. She even manages to discover that the “sins” she has been fighting were actually alien creatures, yet does absolutely nothing about it until the Future’s End tie-in. This problem could be the defining problem of this series and is a major reason why it is hard to truly become invested in anything going on in Pandora’s life.
On a final note, I’ll say that Pandora’s loving relationship with Marcus is incredibly creepy. In the previous volume, Marcus talks about how glad he is that Pandora was there to raise him and that she is like the mother he never had. Now, in this volume, they kiss and declare their romantic love for one another in what is meant to be a tender moment. It was a shockingly bizarre twist that honestly made me uncomfortable to read.
(spoilers end here)
Art
Francis Portela and Tom Derenick come together to provide the majority of the pencils in this book. Though not necessarily bad, the artwork here is not necessarily good either. The majority of the visuals are bland and generic; nothing really feels as special or unique as it did in the previous volume. Plus, the issues where Andrew Dalhouse does colors feel far too bright for the dark subject matter being discussed and shown here. Overall though, this is a pretty forgettable collection when it comes to art; nothing stands out too much in terms of positives or negatives.
Continuity
Trinity of Sin: Pandora Vol. 2: Choices continues the story from Trinity of Sin: Pandora Vol. 1: The Curse (Review).
Pandora Vol. 2: Choices also crosses over with three other comic collections. These include Justice League Dark Vol. 4: Rebirth of Evil (Review), Trinity of Sin- The Phantom Stranger Vol. 3: The Crack in Creation (Review), and Constantine Vol. 2: Blight. For more information see our “Forever Evil: Blight Reading Order“.
The series ends with this volume. However, the Pandora’s story continues in the Trinity of Sin series, which is collected in Trinity of Sin: The Wages of Sin.
This volume also makes references to other comic books, detailed below:
- A number of references are made to the very end of Trinity War (Review).
- Though this is a Forever Evil (Review) tie-in, it does not reference much about the event besides its beginning.
- Both Felix Faust and Nick Necro were last seen at the very end of Justice League Vol. 2: The Books of Magic (Review).
- Pandora references a few aspects of her life’s story, which are originally chronicled in Trinity of Sin: Pandora Vol. 1: The Curse (Review).
- A number of the Phantom Stranger’s recent adventures become important in this volume, especially those in Trinity of Sin- The Phantom Stranger Vol. 2: Breach of Faith (Review).
- Recent adventures in Constantine’s life, chronicled at the start of Constantine Vol. 2: Blight are mentioned here.