Victor Creed, aka Sabretooth, has had a lot of time to mull over his eternal punishment, and what does he choose to do? Become the ruler of the Pit and bend the proverbial hell to his will. But when five mutants are condemned to the Pit, Sabretooth is no longer the only prisoner on Krakoa. But what put these newcomers in the Pit, and will they work together to escape this punishment or be forever tormented by Sabretooth? Sabretooth #2 is published by Marvel Comics and written by Victor LaValle with art by Leonard Kirk, colors by Rain Beredo, and letters by VC’s Cory Petit.
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After the fun, interesting, witty, chaotic introduction to the series, this issue feels a tad lackluster in comparison. Probably the biggest reason for this is the sudden shift in tone from the end of the first issue. While going too far into this would venture into spoiler territory, I’ll say that because Sabretooth’s predisposition towards these interlopers changes drastically and very quickly, it feels rushed. Additionally, since Victor was the sole focus of the first issue, it’s jolting to shift that focus to the five other mutants condemned to the Pit and another mutant whose inclusion in this issue is an enigma but seems like it’ll bring drama further down the road.
Nevertheless, it is nice to begin to see what these other mutants did to get condemned to the Pit, and it’s a shock when you hear how little some of them did. What does a crime look like in paradise? It puts a bit of a twist on the paradise that is Krakoa and reminds everyone that we don’t know who this new Professor X is because of the reboot. Would the old Xavier condemn mutants to an eternal prison? Well, this one would.
The unique storyline and the fact that Xavier seems to have no control or knowledge of this place Sabretooth has created keep the story captivating and mysterious. But this issue nevertheless pales in comparison, especially with the lack of witty dialogue. Instead, we get a couple of one-liners that, honestly, everyone has heard before. Despite this, the dialogue still shines in places, especially with the inclusion of so many characters; LaValle gets their personalities down to a tee. And I can’t get across how much I appreciate how LaValle is handling Victor, keeping him the brains of the series.
On the art side, Kirk brings another good issue filled with expressiveness and variety. Although we don’t see as many marvelous places or situations that made the last issue shine, when paired with Beredo’s colors, the art captures LaVelle’s tale wonderfully, especially as it hops from past to present, aboveground and belowground in the Pit. And Petit’s letters make these transitions effortless to follow along with, shifting from boxy speech bubbles to rounded and back again.
While Sabretooth #2 is a very different issue from the first, shifting tone and accelerating the plot perhaps a tad too quick, this series is still setting up an interesting storyline and delving into characters we haven’t seen much.
Sabretooth #2 is available now wherever comics are sold.
Sabretooth #2
TL;DR
While Sabretooth #2 is a very different issue from the first, shifting tone and accelerating the plot perhaps a tad too quick, this series is still setting up an interesting storyline and delving into characters we haven’t seen much.
