Review: Event Leviathan #2

Event Leviathan #2 came out this week and was another interesting chapter in this ongoing, all-reaching mystery. I feel like this series is going to have a pace like a snowball rolling down a mountain. We are still just building momentum. But as this moves on, my guess is things will go faster and crazier.

The first issue ended with Damien Wayne wondering if the Red Hood was Leviathan. After all, some of the aspects of these attacks sound like something that Jason Todd would do. This issue is Batman questioning Red Hood, trying to see if this allegation by Damien holds any weight.

Now admittedly, I am not a Jason Todd fan. I don't read the Red Hood. But my interactions with him in passing make me think that he isn't a team player. He isn't a leader. And he doesn't seem like one to be as organized as the Leviathan attacks have been. Please correct me if I'm wrong.

But the bulk of this issue is this quasi-interrogation. But there are clues sprinkled throughout, most of them in a scene between Plastic Man and Leviathan himself. Some of these definitely add to my theory, all of which will be laid out in a separate post.

Alex Maleev continues to stun me with his art and colors here. From the varied dappled nighttime scenes to the cool, in control 'green' of the Question, to the bright reds when action unfolds, this whole thing works.

I am totally on board here.

On to the story.

The Red Hood is outside the devastated ARGUS headquarters, investigating the scene from afar, when his old mentor Batman shows up.

They compare notes quickly. Leviathan has done the unthinkable, removing ARGUS, Spyral, the DEO, Kobra, and the original Leviathan group from the espionage world.

Moverover, Batgirl was on hand during one of the attacks and is missing. And Green Arrow was with her during the attack and was found in his home.  Whoever Leviathan is, he is coordinated. And he knows things ... like Ollie's home address.

Now that is an interesting thing to unpack. If Batman thinks Todd is Leviathan, then he must be telling the Red Hood all these things to gauge his response. After all, Todd would know all the things he has done.

 As in Action Comics where we get a view of people's desks as a peek behind the curtain, in Event Leviathan we get a corkboard of clues. This is as much a recap page as some text piece but so much more interesting.

Once more we hear that there are no bodies in the rubble of these attacks. The blue energy of these attacks suggests instant disintegration. Maybe no bodies are found because there aren't any bodies.

Still, that Green Arrow information is stuck in Jason's mind.

Finally, he asks Batman what he wants.

 Batman knows that there is a small window in time for the good guys to act. Leviathan acted swiftly. That means the next day, there will be a new reality. A new regime. Jason calls it a revolution.

With only hours to go, Batman is putting together a team of detectives to figure it all out. One of those detectives is Lois Lane, a member of the press. That shocks Jason ... it should. After all, they are all about stealth, not headlines.

Jason even wonders if Lois could be Leviathan.

But then Batman drops more information. Lois' father was attacked, suffered a heart attack but survived. It is doubtful that Lois would try to kill her own father. Especially since there was another attack on the General.

 Luckily, the Question was there to defend.

A Leviathan agent, dressed up in black leather and a finned helmet which reminds me of The Ray, came in finish the General off. With the guards outside the room incapacitated (offscreen sounding as if they were drugged or gassed), the assassin came in only to be confronted by the Question.

Before much can happen, the General pulls out a concealed sidearm and kills the Leviathan thug.

Now I can't imagine the hospital staff knew he had that gun. But the most unbelievable thing about this is that Lane is still in the ER! Get that man to an inpatient bed! Probably in a Cardiac Unit. Okay, I digress.

The uniform of the agent is certainly interesting.

I love the colors here. The Question is all Zen so the cool greens make sense. And that is shattered by the red of the gun shot.

 Moreover, it turns out that the killer as named Casey Klebba. He as an ARGUS agent.

As I thought all along, there aren't bodies at these attacks because the people in these organizations are being taken away and recruited. And it seems it is a pretty quick conversion. This is an ARGUS agent just hours after the attack.

 And then we get another scene.

The body of the Leviathan agent was scooped up by The Question so it could be examined for clues. Now it seems odd that Plastic Man gets that job, but he does.

And who should show up to claim the body but the man himself, Leviathan. It is a great scene with Leviathan stating his party line that people will willingly join his group when they see the goals, Plastic Man included.

But there are clues here. Plastic Man knows who Leviathan is.

It seems like Leviathan is implying that they know each other from the Justice League. Hmmm...

But then that Justice League could simply be the beginning of a list as Leviathan rattles off all the other groups Plas has been a part of including the All Star Squadron and the Freedom Fighters all the way up to The Terrifics. These are all places Plas has tried to find a home in.

Are all those groups in continuity any more?? Hmmm ...

 And then a little peek behind to curtain of Leviathan.

Both Plas and Leviathan came from broken worlds and both had to take a step back and reassess their goals. And this world has to be changed. And Plas will ultimately decide the best way to change it is by joining Leviathan.

With that, Leviathan and the dead agent both disappear, teleported away in blue energy. (Maybe Leviathan and 'The Enforcer' are the same person?)

Finally, Batman reveals his hand. The entire group of detectives, even Manhunter, are all on the roof. They decide to actually accuse Jason of being Leviathan.

They pepper him with Questions. We learn the tech on the Leviathan goon was similar to WayneTech. It all seems to add up.

In perhaps the worst response, Jason runs. The chase is on.

Oooohhh ... how I love a mystery!

This was another dialogue heavy issue, interrupted only by the brief hospital scuffle and the chase on the last page. But who cares. The game is afoot! We have to see the clues laid out before we can put together a theory. And that means legwork first. Fisticuffs later.

I am loving this.

Now I promise I'll review the clues as they pertain to my theory soon. But this issue also made me ponder Martian Manhunter again as a suspect. And now, between the Freedom Fighter reference and the Ray armor, an Earth X theory could be percolating.

Great story. Inspired art.

Overall grade: A

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