Justice League of America #20 – Steve Orlando, Writer; Hugo Petrus, Artist; Hi-Fi, Colorist
Ratings:
Ray – 8/10
Corrina: Prometheus Talks Too Much
WARNING: MAJOR SPOILERS BELOW
Ray: The battle with Prometheus reaches its climax in this issue, as the Justice League of America unites to defeat him – but not without some major fractures forming in the team in the process. The battle only takes place over the first half of the issue, as the issue opens with a hilarious segment involving Atom saving the rest of the team by shrinking the team – inside Lobo’s mouth. He can take the bomb, after all. Meanwhile, Vixen faces off against Prometheus, defending the Tantu Totem and holding him off until the rest of the team is able to get there and defeat him. He’s almost able to get away, but Lobo stops him by crushing his hand before he can use his key, and it seems like all’s well that ends well – until Prometheus starts talking. As always, his impact is as much psychological as it is physical.
This leads to the far superior second half of the issue, as the team decompresses from the invasion in their hideout and start to sort out their dirty laundry. Lobo, the team’s wild-card to begin with, drops some significant reveals that calls into question Killer Frost’s role on the team. Killer Frost’s story has always essentially been one of addiction and recovery, and in every recovery story, there’s going to be a relapse. It’s just that this relapse tends to be a lot more deadly than others. She seems to have lost faith in herself and makes the decision to turn herself back over to Waller to be under the more supervised quarters of Task Force X. It doesn’t seem like she’ll get that chance, though, as new threats from Aztek to the Might Behind the Mirror are looming. This team’s character-driven focus has given it the distinct edge over the main JL book (although Priest’s new run may just change that).
Corrina: I like all the character dynamics, as usual, and especially Canary’s surprisingly amusing tactic on how to save the team from the bomb.
It’s the situation Prometheus created that I have problems with still. One, why would anyone believe a guy who has trapped them inside a building with a bomb? The good news is that many of the citizens don’t believe them and start acting on their own behalf. This is my favorite section of the action sequences.
But, the other point is, why would Mari give any credit to what Prometheus said anyway? This is a guy who planted a bomb in your headquarters and tried to kill your teammates. Insightful as he may be, I’m not sure why Mari or the other team members are so torn about what he said.
Except for Killer Frost’s reaction to the revelation that she’d killed in the Microverse. Her taking responsibility is heart-breaking, especially since they were in the middle of a war that already had casualties. I get why she’s so hard on herself because, whatever the situation, she has lost control, but Waller shouldn’t be an option because Waller often puts her teams into a position where they have to kill. This is not a good solution to Frost being worried about controlling her powers. I hope that someone brings that up and soon. Meanwhile, Ray is certainly the king of overreactions though given he was raised alone without knowing group dynamics, it’s understandable
I do love how this team interacts, despite my complaints about the external plot. I don’t know how long this book will last but I’m not ready to say goodbye to it anytime soon.
Disclaimer: GeekDad received this comic for review purposes.
