Originally published on Patreon
The latest issue of Monkey Prince is labelled as tying in with Lazarus Planet, but if you removed a panel or two you'd be hard pressed to tell it's even happening at the same time. The previous issue had Marcus teaming up with Supergirl, and brought him to the Hall of Justice ready to take part in the events of Lazarus Planet. This issue refocuses the action on the Ultra-Humanite, and sidelines the event to delve into the past of our titular hero.
The Ultra-Humanite infiltrates the damaged Hall of Justice in order to retrieve parts of a Phantom Zone generator in order for him to use it to get access to distant prison so that he can release the Monkey God. When Marcus tries to stop him he finds himself in the Phantom Zone, getting to talk to his biological father for the first time. The only issue is, the Monkey King has no idea who Marcus is.
This issue finally gives us some insight into the origin of Marcus, with flashbacks to where he really comes from. And it might be one of the better issues because of this. I'm not against mystery, some of my favourite stories are mysteries, but the lack of any real information about Marcus had become to feel a bit stale. He had questions, we had questions, and his mentor wasn't giving any answers. Now we have some, and it just makes things all the more interesting. Is Marcus actually the Monkey King's son? Who sent him to Earth? Why is Shifu Pigsy lying to Marcus?
It feels like we're getting an insight into where the story might actually be going, hints at things to come. And it seems like perhaps it's going to be something a bit more suspicious than we've first thought. It feels like Marcus has been manipulated this entire time, and it makes me want to go back and reread what's come before to look for hints that may have been hidden this entire time.
It's a shame that this issue doesn't really add anything to Lazarus Planet, nor does it effect anything that happens in the event, but thanks to how much we find out, how much it changes what we've already seen, and what could come, makes this a standout issue of the series.
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