Justice League: No Justice #3 – Scott Snyder, James Tynion IV, Joshua Williamson, Writers; Riley Rossmo, Marcus To, Artists; Hi-Fi, Colorist
Ratings:
Ray – 8.5/10
Corrina: Best of the Series So Far
WARNING: SPOILERS BELOW
Ray: Three-fourths of the way through this epic bridge event that sets the stage for the Justice League relaunch, the story flags a little bit in Justice League: No Justice #3 from the first two chapters but remains one of the most consistently entertaining takes on the Justice League in years. It’s less substantial than Priest’s dense, politically-influenced run, but has a better take on characters and team dynamic than most action-focused runs.The lastt issue saw the return of Vril Dox, Brainiac’s manipulative son. He’s been imprisoned on Colu due to the people hating his father, and now he’s stepping into the spotlight to take over after Brainiac’s seeming death. Or, at least, that’s what he’s supposed to do. Instead, he mainly tells the heroes that they’re screwed and going to die. The least likely characters in this series are the ones that really excel here, especially Starro and Martian Manhunter in the opening segment. The art style shifts dramatically a bit as Riley Rossmo’s grittier art is a big change from Francis Manapul, but it remains strong.
The story is split five ways, with Batman’s team dealing with Vril Dox, Amanda Waller and Green Arrow on Earth trying to keep the Omega Titans from getting ahold of Earth’s Omega seed as well. While Ollie still believes that the Justice League has a chance to save the day, Waller wants to nuke the seed no matter how many lives it takes – including her own. Each one of the core teams has one member that takes the helm, including Wonder Woman taking on the spirits of the tree of Wonder and Cyborg hacking the history of countless planets at the tree of Wisdom. Team Mystery has a massive ethical conflict on their hands, one that’s resolved when an unexpected team member makes the ultimate sacrifice – one that is handled well, but unfortunately removes a very fun character from the story and future plots. The issue ends on a downer note, as the Omega Titans head for Earth – and one hell of a final showdown next issue.
Corrina: The Omega Titans and their seeds threaten world destruction. I kinda paid little attention to that because they’re basically MacGuffins with zero personality. However, while Ray said this issue slowed down for him, I found it much more emotionally involving and well-paced than the first two issues.
My enjoyment came from delving into the characters. The moments between Starro and Martian Manhunter are great but so is Wonder Woman’s insistence that they can do this, Harley Quinn’s comments on just accepting the crazy out-of-the-box stuff, and all the teams communicating about how to get around Brainiac’s suit controls. (Also cool little L.E.G.I.O.N. reunion there with Vril and Lobo.)
The Oliver/Waller confrontation is riveting and it’s the best Green Arrow that I’ve read in years. (Maybe Tynion or Snyder should write GA?) In any case, those moments are what invested me in the story, not the threat to Earth. Because it’s a given that Earth will survive.
To find reviews of all the DC issues, visit DC This Week.
Disclaimer: GeekDad received this comic for review purposes.
