The Good

On the heels of Issue #4's revelations (that powerful enemy Riot is Commodore's father) comes the beginning of a new arc -- this time, set in space. A new behind-the-scenes villain is running a dangerous and greed-fueled operation, and the team rockets out to stop him. Naturally, there's a surprise waiting for them.

At first glance, some elements look like excess for the sake of excess -- on-board swimming pool in the team's shuttle, anyone? But it's anything but wasteful; these samples of the team's extreme wealth aren't just there to add color, they fuel action later in the issue (conveniently, that pool provides extra ammo for Icicle!). It's this consistency that makes the book feel tightly planned, and the story feels more polished.

I'm enjoying Art' and Franco's sense of humor, as it's infused into Green Team characters. Sure, they're in a serious situation, but it's tension-breaking and fun to make jokes about green flames on the rocket or have Icicle wisecrack about his power set.

Ig Guara gets an opportunity to flex some range on this issue, drawing a variety of expressive faces and dynamic poses, and concepting out the stasis pool and other futuristic accoutrements of the Green Team lifestyle. The scenes involving Icicle have especially impressive panel composition -- layering sequences over giant splashes makes the splash action seem cinematic and big and the panel action feel dynamic and punchy.

The Bad

The creative team is doing a great job of handling the parameters they've been given, but the high concept of "ultra-rich kids who decide to be superheroes" runs out of steam after a little bit if there's nothing else that's particularly engaging about their story. Bruce Wayne is ultra-rich and can afford his dual identity because of it, but the Green Team members lack the compelling history and core motivations that Batman has. For all of their gadgets and teen angst, the Green Team doesn't pack the same kind of "interesting" factor as other heroes who fall into the vocation via wealth. (GREEN TEAM is wrapping in Issue #8, so this will likely be the final arc.)

The Verdict

While it's hard to keep a somewhat superficial concept moving forward, Art and Franco have been doing their best to drive the story into bigger, more exciting territory, and using the book as a vehicle to tell action-packed stories infused with light humor. As the series winds down, we get to enjoy a walloping arc with a space setting, a greedy villain, and powerful henchmen (and we can look forward to future Art & Franco fare when GREEN TEAM wraps in early 2014).

This book would have lasted longer if it was digital first like Adventures of Superman. I think it would have been better suited there.

I think this book was doomed from the start--the premise was just too weak to last any real amount of time, especially when there are already several heroes who's power is basically unlimited wealth.

I only read the first issue but did this book ever cross over with The Movement? Would guess that would help both series.

I really enjoy the premise, reminds me of the Jr Hellfire club. This book would have done better if they had atleast shown them interacting with other billionaires in other books first or even in the book. They only showed Deathstroke which isnt really that attracting. This needed one of the big two, I would Say Batman more (even Green Arrow would have worked), not cus I like Batman but because he's the more popular rich character so it be fun to see the teens interact with Bruce and then get lectured by Batman. If it was SUperman it would have been fun to see the teens get into trouble by playing with high tech and Superman having to save them.

Nope, but it was defiantly marketed that way,