The New 52 sure has done a number on the Golden Age superheroes. I have enjoyed bits of Earth 2 since its launch, but it has done little to truly reinvigorate these characters. And no, messing around with their costumes, origins, and sexuality does not count. Being the first generation of heroes who ushered in the heroes of today made characters like Alan Scott and Jay Garrick a special, integral part of the old DCU. In the New 52, they have zero bearing on the other 51 titles, leaving the success of their book to the quality of its storytelling, which has been okay at best.

Artist Nicola Scott does a fair job on this issue, but the constant use of exposition by writer James Robinson hurts her efforts. Robinson has nearly every character spelling out exactly what they are thinking and doing, leaving the reader with nothing to infer about a character’s dialogue or be surprised by with a character’s actions. It’s pure blunt force information. Scott displays the action as the script calls for, yet I can’t help but wish she had more wiggle room to play to her strengths.

Robinson concludes the first story arc of the battle against Grundy with a solution to the problem that feels rehashed from a dozen other superhero comics and movies. Tidbits intended to imply a more complicated connection between Hawkgirl and the Atom’s superiors do little to infuse this title with depth it so desperately needs. Despite this book’s obvious flaws, I was glad to see the gay Green Lantern kicking ass and learning about his powers, so know that this book does manage to satisfy the most basic of superhero comic cravings.

Joshua writes for IGN. Follow him on Twitter @JoshuaYehl or on IGN, where he will air-bend, Force-push, and optically blast his opinion into your brain.

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Marvel has launched a number of new solo series in the last year that have succeeded in offering clean, engaging, accessible takes on old characters. It's disappointing that Gambit hasn't been able to find the same creative success as books like Hawkeye and Captain Marvel. The fun factor is there, but beneath that veneer the series still seems strangely hollow after four issues.

James Asmus focuses more on action this month, as Gambit dives head first into a battle with dragon demons with little but the clothes on his back to serve as weapons. The scale is certainly bigger than I would have expected from the series. It's cool to see Gambit successfully battling monsters of the sort one would normally expect Thor to contend with. And our hero gets a few nice lines of narration in, including "I might as well die as I lived -- tryin' to impress a pretty girl that doesn't care." That's Gambit to a tee.

Clay Mann can certainly render a mean dragon or three. Some of the many battle scenes in this issue look spectacular, showing off Mann's talent for kinetic motion and power. But many panels are rough and haphazard as Leonard Kirk is called upon to fill in the gaps in Mann's work. Hopefully Mann will be allowed a bit of a breather and can return in top form again on a future arc.

Ultimately, what is the point of all of this tomfoolery? Asmus never reveals much about Remy's new partner, Joelle, or why she went through all this trouble on what was apparently a simple death wish. At the end of the conflict, Gambit is still in the exact same wayward emotional state he began the series. There's just too little sense of purpose, impetus, or clear direction to the book. Without those qualities, I can't picture myself following Gambit's solo adventures much longer.

Jesse is a writer for various IGN channels. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following @jschedeen on Twitter, or Kicksplode on MyIGN.

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