Batman! Wonder Woman! Superman! Boredom! Waste of money! Wonder Woman and Batman take a trip to the Kent farm to have dinner with Superman, Lois and their son Jon in Trinity #1. Wonder Woman brings a dead wild boar. Batman brings a bad attitude. They all chat a little. To be continued… Seriously?!
[dropcap]N[/dropcap]ever before has so little been packed into an issue in such a completely boring way, yet been so heavily hyped. It’s one of the biggest let-downs in recent memory, and not only is this not worth spending money on, it isn’t worth your time and attention either.
To be fair, the idea of Wonder Woman and Batman going for dinner with the Kent family is a good one. It’s one of those ideas which is so simple and obvious that fans would all agree it makes perfect sense. Of course, it isn’t going to be an action-packed issue, but that’s fine because readers like personal moments between their favourite characters too. Likewise, the art isn’t exactly bad. In fact, it looks pretty good at times. So, you may ask, what’s the problem?
In terms of writing, Trinity #1 is so slow and so intent on setting up an unfocused plot that no real story of any consequence happens at all. Maybe this was supposed to show the characters bonding, but instead it only shows the characters engaging in small talk. There are pointless leaps in logic, such as Wonder Woman and Batman arriving at the farm in costume before getting changed off-panel into their civilian clothes. Why wouldn’t they just arrive in their regular clothes then? And what’s the deal with Wonder Woman bringing a dead wild boar with her? She may not be too familiar with normal guest etiquette, but surely she would know that’s not exactly normal?
Likewise, the art fills a lot of space. Yet with either so few panels or so little happening in them, it’s more of a distraction. The three main characters all have to have big, bold entrances – because that’s what the story demands to get attention – but those shots all amount to nothing.
I understand that we live in an age where storylines move more slowly in comic books. Partly it’s to take more time setting up plot, but it’s also about forcing readers to buy more issues if they want to read a full story arc. For those same reasons there’s an emphasis on bigger panels and more splash pages. It fills space and (at times) makes for more impressive visuals. But when an issue doesn’t deliver anything important at all, it’s a rip-off.
And that’s what this is. The plot is bland and boring, and because of that the artwork feels like it’s wasting space. The characters may be the three big guns of DC, but Trinity #1 is firing blanks.
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