Justice League #6 – Scott Snyder, Writer; Jorge Jimenez, Artist; Alejandro Sanchez, Colorist
Ray – 9/10
Ray: Scott Snyder’s epic tour de force pitting the DCU’s greatest heroes against its deadliest villains continues to unfold with issues featuring moments big and small that impress. Even though I have ongoing doubts about the Joker as a member of any sort of supervillain team, Snyder’s take on the villain remains my favorite and the opening page – showing four possible origins for the Joker – nicely sets the stage as the maniac pilots Martian Manhunter like a drone at the same time Lex Luthor takes control of Superman. Cyborg and John Stewart, having taken back control of their powers, are the last line of defense against the massive Corps of Ultraviolet Lanterns that Sinestro has created, and the overarching threat of Umbrax continues to grow. Luthor seems to be on the verge of victory. There’s just one problem – he hasn’t managed to take out Batman yet. It doesn’t matter if he’s the size of a red blood cell, Batman isn’t stopping until he takes out his target. I did think some of Batman’s dialogue here was a tiny bit off – almost Miller-esque.
Snyder’s decision to split up the League for much of this first arc, sticking each of them in their own personal crisis, could have gone wrong. However, even though the team dynamic isn’t completely established yet, we’re getting to see exactly what each of these heroes is made of. Flash’s face-off with Gorilla Grodd, where he’s suspended in the Still Force and has to battle his way out a millimeter at a time, is as compelling as the Flash solo series. Black Manta and Cheetah don’t get to face off against their arch-enemies this issue, but they have their own mission that sets up some interesting stuff. A Jokerized Martian Manhunter is a genuinely terrifying concept, showing that Snyder is happiest when giving us nightmares. This is a very different title than Batman or Dark Nights: Metal, though, and it shows. The final act of this series, showing John Stewart hacking the system and inspiring a whole planet to take a stand with him, is blockbuster comics at its best. Scott Snyder has managed to take the epic vibe of an event comic and distill it to a bi-weekly ongoing. That’s exactly what a great team book should be.
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GeekDad received this comic for review purposes.
