Justice League Odyssey #15 – Dan Abnett, Writer; Will Conrad, Artist; Pete Pantazis, Rain Beredo, Colorists
Ray – 8/10
Ray: With Justice League Odyssey #15, this title continues to take a major turn for the better, as it has ever since it shifted its focus to Jessica Cruz and her motley crew of anti-Darkseid resistance fighters. With Cyborg, Azrael, and Starfire corrupted by the evil New God, Jessica has been resurrected as a more powerful being with powers linked to Darkseid’s Omega Beams – and has picked up a new band of allies including Tamaranean villain Blackfire, a mysterious scientist, Dex-Starr, and a masked Orion who may be the last of the New Genesis Gods.
It’s the wackiest comedy of 2019! But somehow, it works, with the odd-couple chemistry of the survivors adding some much-needed levity to the high-stakes space drama. When we last left off, they had come under attack by an army of carnivorous space monsters known as the Eskaton, who waste no time tearing through the ship in search of Orion. Jessica taps into new levels of her power, but it’s barely enough to hold them off.
The fight scenes aren’t the highlight of Justice League Odyssey #15 – it’s the interplay between the team as they try to figure out how far to go to survive. Several members think they should turn Orion over as they don’t trust him, but it’s Dex-Starr who makes the offer to the Eskaton to help it get to Darkseid.
I could quibble with Dex-Starr’s characterization here – he seems to have picked up much better speech skills and has near-human intelligence, instead of being borderline feral – but do I care? Not at all. The character is hilariously cranky and is getting ever close to his destiny as the most memeable character in DC’s stable. There’s also a great segment with Cyborg, as he briefly fights through his programming to contact Jessica. Taking most of the heroes off the table has upped the stakes, and this title is continuing to evolve into one of the bigger comeback storiees of the year.
To find reviews of all the DC issues, visit DC This Week.
Disclaimer: GeekDad received this comic for review purposes.
