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Sometimes, you need to reread a comic.
I’m man enough to admit when I’m wrong, and while I do feel this version of the League sacrifices a bit of individual identity by having an “unlimited” roster, it has managed to balance its cast extremely well so far. Issue 2 only dedicates a single page to the ongoing plot and instead gives us a standalone story about mysterious disappearances happening in a small town. Batman and Blue Beetle (Jaime Reyes) went to investigate and bit off more than they could chew, leading to Bats calling for a dispatch of heavy hitters.
Superman should not be screaming attack IMHO
We get an interesting lineup, with writer Mark Waid once again cleverly utilizing the various heroes he decided to use this time. We get “core members” Superman, Wonder Woman, Star Sapphire, and Black Lightning again, who handle the monsters attacking the town along with Mary Marvel, while Martian Manhunter and Dr. Occult go looking for the missing kids… which now includes Blue Beetle as well.
The bulk of the issue focuses on Dr. Occult and Martian Manhunter as we learn a bit of history about the former and a bit of power incontinence about the latter. Turns out J’onn was affected by the events of Absolute Power and now has weakened telepathy and no eye blasts. Now, J’onn has kept this secret from the League and says that he only told Occult this because he needed to let him know so that they weren’t caught off guard. But, I like to think he told Occult and not anyone he was closer with because he was more of a stranger to him and was thus easier to open up to. Plus, Occult had proven himself trustworthy when he revealed that he knew J’onn’s dual identity for years and kept it secret since he knew they were on the same side. I don’t know if this was intentional, but this could be a commentary on how it’s sometimes easier to open up to people you don’t know rather than those you do, as they don’t have preconceived notions about who you are.
Anyway, back to punching monsters. It turns out a sentient Parademon was tending a nest on Earth on Darkseid’s behalf and kidnapping kids for him to train. A fight breaks out between him and J’onn after the former is informed about Darkseid’s death, and once the Parademon says something to J’onn about knowing nothing about being alone on a different planet, well, he goes berserk on the monster. He then slinks away in shame as a result of his actions, setting this up as a future subplot.
And yet, once I was done reading the issue for the first time, a number of thoughts started to pop up in my head. Yes, Dan Mora’s art is wonderful as always, but the writing didn’t seem to always be at the same level (just a reminder All Star Batman and Robin regularly topped the sales chart when it was coming out and wasn’t because of the writing). Did the core four have to be sent on this mission immediately after the previous one, as surely there were others with the same powersets? Could J’onn really not have communicated his power loss to his teammates, as it comes off as a bit uncharacteristic for someone who is usually so responsible? How did Batman survive the Parademon assault when Blue Beetle (who is far more powerful) got captured? Was Mary only really here to be an attempted kidnapping as she’s a teenager? Do we need to be reminded that Black Lightning is a teacher or a dad every issue? Did we need to dedicate three pages to setting up The Atom Project, which I swear must only exist because someone at DC made a joke about the number of characters they have that have Atom in their names? Why would Superman, of all people, yell “Justice League…Attack!” when Wonder Woman was right there?
And then, I reread the issue.
Recommended If
You love Justice League.
Overall
This may not have been the Justice League book I wanted after so long. The characterization has occasional dips, and dedicating three pages to promoting an upcoming spinoff is questionable. And yet, I only think of those things after I have turned the final page, and when I pick it up again, these issues do not come to my mind. That is the mark of a good comic.
Score: 9/10
Disclaimer: DC Comics provided Batman News with a copy of this comic for the purpose of review.
“}]] Sometimes, you need to reread a comic. I’m man enough to admit when I’m wrong, and while I do feel this version of the… Read More