Gods, Justice, Secrets, and Spectacles: Justice League #50

The following is my review of Justice League #50, which was posted on PopMatters.com.

Every major comic book event likes to claim it'll shake the foundations of this entire fanciful world to its core. Very few can claim they deliver on a consistent basis. Geoff Johns is one of the few who can make this claim, at least in the context of DC Comics. For the past decade, he has been the architect for many of the important upheavals in the DC Universe. He seems to bring a new upheaval every other year and Darkseid Wars is no exception.

This event is already shaking and shattering the foundations of the post-Flashpoint era of DC Comics. Darkseid is dead. Batman now sits on the Mobius chair. Lex Luthor now wields power, courtesy of the pits of Apokalipse and his unparalleled capacity for deceit. Wonder Woman now knows that Steve Trevor wasn't the first man to visit Themyscira. Johns is putting every character in a position to reassess the fundamental nature of who they are. Some handle it better than others and for once, it's not just Lex Luthor who lets his ego get in the way.

Justice League #50 is the culmination of all these factors on top of being the capstone to the New 52 era. It's a lot to assess, reassess, and reconfigure. Events that started back in the Forever Evil event come into play. On paper, it seems impossible, juggling so many plots and making every outcome feel meaningful. In addition, this all has to be done in conjunction with the world from an inter-dimensional entity that already has one dead universe to its credit and a dead Darkseid as a bonus.

It's the kind of massive threat that brings out the best and worst of the Justice League. In this case, Johns manages to highlight the best, minimize the worst, and complete the Darkseid Wars saga in a meaningful way. He once again proves himself a skilled juggler of all things DC Comics, but with Darkseid Wars, he sets himself apart from any street performer or circus act.

Darkseid Wars is an omega-level DC Comics spectacle and Justice League #50 acts as the finale when all the fireworks goes off, all the dazzling lights shine, and everybody's ears are left ringing in the best possible way. The Justice League doesn't just come together like the scrappy underdog in every sports movie ever made. They navigate a vast, intricate conflict that begins with Forever Evil and ends here.

Like the finale of any great spectacle, it gets pretty chaotic at times. Between Grail using Superwoman's baby to channel the power of the New Gods and the Anti-Life Equation taking a new form, it's like keeping up with the Flash after a dozen cups of coffee at times. However, Johns keeps things concise, using Wonder Woman as a narrator and an anchor for the plot. She provides the context for the emotional and dramatic breadth of the story and its a role she's uniquely adept at.

This context is built around Grail and her connection to Wonder Woman's homeland of Themyscira. The entire catalyst for Darkseid Wars begins and ends with the secrets and lies surrounding Themyscira, which have nothing to do with an illegitimate offspring of Zeus for once. Grail acts as the ultimate disruption to the order these secrets and lies protect, not at all caring that parts of this order kept forces like Darkseid in check.

This helps make Grail the biggest star of this story. For most Darkseid Wars, she carries herself like the antithesis of Wonder Woman. In Justice League #50, she finally demonstrates a level of depth that makes her worthy of being the star rookie of DC Comics' team of premier villains. What she does, how she does it, and how the Justice League opposes her bring out the potential that is undeniably present, but takes longer than expected to realize.

Grail and Wonder Woman help guide the narrative of Darkseid Wars to its conclusion. However, as strong as these characters and the surrounding spectacle are, there are times when it feels rushed. Johns avoids stumbling as he juggles so many plots and themes, but the story still gets ahead of itself, especially at the very climax of the battle. Jason Fabok's art skills seem wasted with how quickly the dust settles. There's a distinct lack of grit that keeps it from having the kind of visceral impact that separates great stories from iconic stories.

This rushed pacing extends to the aftermath and epilogues as well. There are significant implications from the events of Darkseid Wars, but these implications are mostly reduced to teasers. These teasers are tempting and appealing in their own right, but they raise far more questions than they answer and these questions are of the frustrating kind.

This is especially true with the teasers surrounding Batman and Wonder Woman. The revelations they uncover raise more than a few eyebrows, but the impact is muted. This impact can certainly be explored in other comics, but it does little to improve the impact of Justice League #50. There are other developments, like those surrounding Jessica Cruz, that offer a more meaningful and immediate impact. Like most teasers though, it's over too quickly.

The pace and polish in Justice League #50 keep Darkseid Wars from broaching that iconic status. It's still a story that hits all the right notes, evokes the right drama, and balances the right themes. It just doesn't fit together in a cohesive, comprehensive manner in the end. It's a flavorful desert of sorts, being the Justice League story that caps off the New 52 era. It's not completely filling, but it's still very satisfying and previews the menu for DC Comics' next big feast with Rebirth.

Final Score: 7 out of 10

Justice League #41 Chronicles a Catalyst of War

The following is my review of Justice League #41, which was posted on PopMatters.com.

War tends to bring out the bad in good people and the worst in bad people. Circumstances and situations tend to get simplified in a very callous sort of way. If Randolph Bourne is right and war truly is the health of the state, then it’s the kind of health that can only be maintained by powerful medications. And as with many medications, the side-effects are sometimes worse than the disease. Darkseid is by far one of the DCU’s worst cancers. However, it’s often the side-effects he incurs that do the most damage.

Darkseid isn’t just bad in terms of the Justice League’s many enemies. He’s a force of nature. He sees himself as the embodiment of entropy. He doesn’t trigger war. War itself follows him. He’s like the Joker, but without a sense of humor. There’s nothing funny about what he does and nobody’s laughing when he does it. That’s what makes him such a daunting foe. He’s the kind of force that few are equipped to fight. In the same way one person can’t fix a broken dam with a shovel, no one person can fight him. That makes him an ideal adversary for the Justice League, as shown in the very first arc with the New 52. Now that Convergence has passed, there’s a new brand to refine. And just like before, Darkseid is the catalyst for it.

This is what unfolds Justice League #41, laying the foundation for the Darkseid War and building an impressive structure on that foundation. The prologue established Darkseid’s new target in the Anti-Monitor. Between these two characters, it’s like throwing a universe-sized cherry bomb into the DCU. But unlike Darkseid’s first battle with the Justice League, this battle has more layers of complexity.

Like any good sequel that’s not directed by Joel Shumacher, there are new paths to explore. The Justice League has undergone numerous developments and changes. Two of its members have hooked up. One of their greatest enemies has joined the team. They even found time to clash with the Justice League of America the way. They’re not overly vulnerable, but they have more to exploit this time around. And it isn’t just Darkseid who exploits them.

Like the inaugural arc of Justice League, the conflict in the Darkseid War starts with a mystery. Someone has decided to blatantly rip off the first Terminator movie and kill every woman named Myrina Black. It’s not exactly the same as John Smith, but it does ensure plenty of innocent women whose parents thought the name was completely innocuous face an untimely end. There isn’t an obvious link to Darkseid at first, but there are plenty of connections forming behind the scenes.

In addition to this mystery, there are several other sub-plots that effectively tie into this mystery, giving that added complexity that no parademons invasion can match. These ties include a nasty confrontation between Darkseid and Mr. Miracle, as well as few terse exchanges between Superman and Lex Luthor. They all have their unique appeal. There will always be an appeal to seeing Superman goad Lex Luthor into doing something crazy like curing cancer on a dare. But what makes the appeal more relevant is how each sub-plot converges on the main conflict.

These plots don’t converge completely like the final season of the Wire, but they come very close. The spark that turns the catalyst for the Darkseid War into a full-blown firestorm is the arrival of Grail, the daughter of Darkseid. She’s a new character with next to no history, but she’s akin to a top five pick in the NBA draft. And when she enters the conflict, she carries herself like Michael Jordan in his prime.

Grail does the kind of damage to the Justice League that might actually make Darkseid crack a smile. She takes down their heaviest hitters and does it with a creepy smile every step of the way. And unlike Darkseid, she does it with a lot more personality. Whereas Darkseid voice comes off as a less polite version of Robocop, Grail has some genuine charisma. She even finds a way to reveal her connection to the Amazons, which makes her defeat of Wonder Woman even more satisfying. And the artwork of Jason Fabrok helps makes it appropriately visceral.

In some respects, Grail is more imposing than Darkseid and not just because she’s more emotive than a tortoise shell. She has Amazon-type skill to go along with Apokolips-level brutality. That’s like putting Peyton Manning’s skill inside Cam Newton’s body with Michael Vick’s legs. It’s entirely believable that she could take down the Justice League single-handedly, something her father failed at the first time around. He’s either very proud or incredibly bemused.

Grail steals the show, but she doesn’t derail the plot. The complexity formed by the various sub-plots don’t get incoherent either, a testament to Geoff Johns’ attention to detail. It offers additional twists along the way. They don’t feel too forced, but some components feel like a last minute reshoot. It still doesn’t mitigate the impact. Each conflict and twist help ignite the spark that kicks off the Darkseid War. Like kickoff at the Super Bowl, it begins the spectacle in all the right ways.

The plot surrounding the first shots of Darkseid War is pretty dense, full of meaningful character interactions and heart-stopping action. The sheer density and complexity can be overwhelming at times, but it never gets convoluted. There’s never a point where the reader has to scratch their head and take notes to make sense of what’s going on. Everything is neatly organized and perfectly laid out for those willing to appreciate the detail and don’t just want to see a beautiful woman beat up the Justice League.

Few spectacles outside Breaking Bad can say they accomplished what Justice League #41 accomplished. It succeeded in kick-starting the Darkseid War. Anyone who is a fan of big summer blockbusters or volatile stories with the flare of illegal fireworks is going to want to get some popcorn.

Final Score: 9 out of 10