Justice League #38 – Scott Snyder, Writer; Jorge Jimenez, Artist; Daniel Sampere, Penciller; Juan Albarran, Inker; Alejandro Sanchez, Colorist
Ratings:
Ray – 9/10
Ray: Justice League #38 is the penultimate issue of Scott Snyder and James Tynion’s epic Justice League run, which has essentially been one long-form story pitting the League against the Legion of Doom and an ancient dark Goddess from an earlier world. Justice League #38 finally has the League facing off against Luthor himself, in full command of his martian powers and enhanced by the imprisoned villains Perpetua has taken control of.
When John Stewart hits Lex with a construct, Luthor responds with Ultraviolet constructs taken from Sinestro’s ring. When Barry hits him a mile a minute, Luthor manages to age him to near-death through his control of the Still Force. Jarro, one of the biggest scene-stealers of the series, manages to briefly get the edge over Luthor before the villain pulls out a surprising move that puts the series fan favorite in serious danger. But naturally, it comes down to Superman vs. Luthor, as it always should.
While this has been an all-star run full of a-listers, the biggest fan favorites have been original characters. Jarro is one, but don’t forget Shayne, the alternate universe son of Hawkgirl and Martian Manhunter. Even though he left the series a while back, J’onn (who is also currently starring in one of DC’s best series) has been the only one who came close to getting through to Luthor.
Justice League #38 calls back to that brilliant one-shot dealing with Luthor’s childhood and the role of Lionel Luthor in J’onn’s first brutal visit to Earth. Despite how far he’s gone, Snyder and Tynion seem convinced there is still some humanity in Luthor, and this issue features a powerful sacrifice that brings back one hero and may make a step towards saving Luthor’s soul. But Perpetua is looming, and the final issue should be an epic one come January. To think that this is just the prologue to whatever wild story Snyder and Capullo have for us next. All prequels should be this good.
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Disclaimer: GeekDad received this comic for review purposes.
