Mr. Justice has made waves in Riverdale, and now it looks like he may have company in the superhuman game! Who is The Visionary? Your Major Spoilers review of Archie Is Mr. Justice #2 from Archie Comics awaits!

ARCHIE IS MR. JUSTICE #2

Writer: Amanda Deibert
Artist: Brent Schoonover
Colorist: Glenn Whitmore
Letterer: Jack Morelli
Editor: Jamie Lee Rotante
Publisher: Archie Comics
Cover Price: $4.99
Release Date: January 22, 2025

Previously in Archie Is Mr. Justice: Mr. Justice’s heroic deeds have started to catch attention for better or for worse! But when he gets entangled with Veronica Lodge, the daughter of the man who’s turning their hometown upside-down, he’ll have to choose between his head and his heart. Meanwhile, Veronica’s got a few tricks up her own sleeve.

It looks like Mr. Justice might not be the only superhero in Riverdale…

IN THE PAST TENSE

Like issue one, this story is told in the past tense, but instead of Forsythe Jones, this one is narrated by Veronica Lodge at an uncertain time in the future. She is being profiled by a magazine writer who wants the inside story on her association with Mr. Justice, but Veronica has a different idea, insisting that the focus is on The Visionary. When the writer wonders why she wants to talk about a supervillain, Ms. Lodge questions whether Visionary is a villain at all. (This is because, as we, the readers, are clearly shown, Veronica is herself The Visionary, something that no one else seems to realize.) Back in the era of Mr. Justice, we find that Hiram Lodge’s attempts to gentrify Riverdale are met with resistance, mostly from the people whose homes were being bulldozed for his new construction. When Mr. Justice gets involved, rather than defend Lodge Industries, he sides with the protestors, going so far as to disable Lodge’s machinery to keep them from building another soulless corporate building. Veronica explains how The Visionary somehow had advanced technology (paid for by dear ol’ Daddy) and used her own notoriety to try and oppose Mr. Justice and protect her hometown against what she saw as his destructive powers.

Of course, neither of them counted on Betty Cooper getting caught in the crossfire.

IS VISIONARY REALLY A VILLAIN?

It might be easy to focus on the question of why no one recognized ‘Ronnie as The Visionary, but that’s just how things go in a superhero story, especially given that Archie doesn’t even wear a mask while in costume. It’s part of the superhero tropes, as are the little moments that reference superhero stories past. Veronica’s panicked “You’ve got me? Who’s got YOU!?” referencing the first Christopher Reeve Superman film is a little too much for my tastes, but mileage may vary. Schoonover’s art is likewise very traditional stuff, with Mr. Justice channeling Superman, Visionary channeling Batman by standing on a shadowy rooftop and vowing to protect her city and Reggie… Reggie just being the worst. A moment near the end of the issue, which presages a tragedy to come involving Archie/Mr. Justice and Reggie/Kid Wicked is very well-handled, which I appreciate, but even that feels like we’re just reading a solid superhero book.

BOTTOM LINE: KIND OF JUST A SUPERHERO STORY

It’s weird for me, as an avowed fan of the costumes and capes genre, to say it, but that very traditionalism is probably the weakest part of the story so far. Maybe it’s just that they’re playing with the most familiar comic book genre. Still, Archie Is Mr. Justice #2 seems to lack the transformative spark of Afterlife With Archie, Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, and other modern Archie Comics experiments. However, it’s still a perfectly enjoyable comic story, earning 3 out of 5 stars overall. Given that this is a four-issue limited series, there may be a long game that the creative team is playing, so I’m still all in.

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