Or – “Okay, So Where’s My Prez?”
Joe Simon may not be known for the kind of wacky and boundless creativity that his longtime artistic partner Jack Kirby was, but he was a man clearly ahead of his time. Though the original Green Team comic was short-lived, the concept was strong enough to rise again in the new 52. Will the Teen Trillionaires hit the jackpot, or is their market about to crash? Either way, I’ve got tons of Richie Rich jokes cued up and ready to roll, and your Major Spoilers review awaits!
SUMMARY
Pros
Interesting premise in play.
Art is pretty good…
Cons
Characters still a little bit stiff & cliche.
I’d rather have Amanda Conner interiors.
READER RATING!
[ratings] 
THE GREEN TEAM: TEEN TRILLIONAIRES #2
Writer(s): Art Baltazar and Franco
Penciler: Ig Guara
Inker: J.P. Mayer
Colorist: Wil Quintana
Letterer: Carlos M. Mangual
Editor: Chris Conroy
Publisher: DC Comics
Cover Price: $2.99
Previously in The Green Team: Commodore Murphy, J.P. Houston and Cecilia Sunbeam are each super-rich, with all the perks that come with that status. Mohammad Qahtanii is a prince who has been approached by the Commodore as a backer for his newest project, but before the details could be revealed, their party was crashed by a group of terrorists who clearly have in interest in making sure that his plan does NOT come to fruition…
I CAN’T BELIEVE THEY REVIVED RIOT!
The issue opens with an all-out free-for-all, as the multiple-bodied lunatic known as Riot busts in and tries to take the Commodore into custody. Thanks to his bottomless checkbook, Commodore has two super-suits of armor in his possession, and quickly he and Cecilia Sunbeam are suited up fighting against bad guys. That part is a little bit disappointing to me, but soon enough things get interesting, with a few in-jokes (notably the Batman On*Star commercials from a few years ago) and a little foreshadowing as Cecilia gets cut during the battle. Mohammad and The Commodore go to ground in one of Commodore’s many apartments, while Cecilia and J.P. end up hiding out in a hotel, where they order 15 cases of sparkling water (so they can bathe) and reveal that, even though she’s publicly dating the Commodore, Cecilia and J.P. are having an affair. On the one hand, I like the breakdown of our core trio here, but I’m bothered by the addition of the shopworn love triangle plotline…
YES, THAT WAS BROTHER POWER, THE GEEK.
Mohammad and The Commodore end up having a long discussion, during which each discovers that they’ve been buying up heroic artifacts (including a familiar-looking dummy in hippie clothes), and Murphy warns his princely pal that things may not always be what they seem with their respective paters familias. “Money has secrets,” warns Commodore, before Mohammad’s bodyguard pipes up with a suggestion of what to do next. Of course, we don’t hear his suggestion, as it’s a cliffhanger, but it’s overshadowed by the next morning’s reveal of what has happened to Cecilia. Sadly, her big shocking moment is telegraphed by the (admittedly lovely) Amanda Conner cover art, something that even the parallels to real-life celebrities (*coughlindsaylohancough*) aren’t enough to quite get the ending pages to really work as a stinger…
THE BOTTOM LINE: INTERESTING LINES OF THOUGHT, HERE…
This book is an odd one, both stylistically and in terms of the story being told, and to be honest, I don’t expect it to be a permanent addition to the New Fifty-However-Many-It-Is-Now. That said, I like that it’s not just another superhero title or Wildstorm revival, and kind of want it to succeed just because it’s such an odd book, reviving an even odder one from a time when superheroes weren’t the only thing in comics. Though flawed in places, The Green Team – Teen Trillionaires #2 makes for a decent read, and gets enough right to end up being an above-average comic, earning 3 out of 5 stars overall. Though I’d like to see a little less talky-talky and a little more showiness, I’m still interested in seeing where this goes (and for how long…)
