Justice League #19 – Scott Snyder, Writer; Jorge Jimenez, Artist/Plot, Alejandro Sanchez, Colorist
Ratings:
Ray – 9/10
Corrina: Alternate Superman?
Ray: Scott Snyder’s cosmic Justice League run has gotten bigger and bigger with every arc, and now that the Source Wall is shattered and Perpetua is on the verge of being unleashed, it’s time to head out of this dimension. Superman takes the lead in Justice League #19, as the story picks up with a clever display of how he gets his Daily Planet work done at super-speed under Perry White’s nose. That allows him to head out early and meet the Justice League for their next big mission – and it involves one of his most underrated villains, Mr. Mxyzptlk. They need to summon the imp, so they create a simulation to make him believe it’s the day he’s scheduled to return – and then trap him in a cage. That leads to an elaborate battle where Mxyzptlk turns the buildings of Metropolis to life and sets off a massive Kaiju fight – or so everyone, including Mxyzptlk himself, believes. It’s actually a psychic feint designed to trap him and lure him into a false sense of security. This whole segment is superhero comics at its chaotic best.
With Mxyzptlk trapped, the League is finally able to explain to him why they need him – Kendra’s wings have a map to the Fifth Dimension, and he knows what it means. The problem is, the Fifth Dimension is dying, and the root cause is the mysterious Sixth Dimension – a realm supposedly populated by the highest of beings including once Perpetua herself. Mxyzptlk has never been there, but the League wants answers. So the plan is to send Superman – whose encounters with Mxyzptlk have given him cosmic immunity – through to explore. He steps through – and seemingly returns an old man who has built a utopia in another world, complete with an alternate version of the JLA. But the truth is actually far darker than that, revealing a twisted trap set by something far older and more powerful than the Justice League expected. Scott Snyder continues to impress as he expands the world of the DCU and maps out the post-Metal landscape.
Corrina: Interdimensional travel is always a fun idea for the Justice League, taking them to strange new places that test their powers. That seems to be the case with the story arc set up in this issue, with Superman’s travel to the Sixth Dimension and potential return, as is the League’s decision to jump in with both feet, despite the risks.
But the joy of Snyder’s work on Justice League remains the character moments. Clark at work, finishing his reporting. (He must think fast. I mean, it’s one thing to type a story fast. It’s another thing to compose a story that quickly.) Everything with Mxyzptlk is great. One never knows to believe the imp or not and I’m still not sure I believe him or not after this issue. In any case, he still seems like he was toying with the League.
And the League, desperate to stop Perpetua, went along with it. Oops.
To find reviews of all the DC issues, visit DC This Week.
Disclaimer: GeekDad received this comic for review purposes.
