JSA #21 – Jeff Lemire, Writer; Diego Olortegui, Artist; Luis Guerrero, Colorist
Ray – 9/10
Ray: It’s just been revealed that this series, or at least Lemire’s run on it, will be wrapping up with #24, so this arc is the grand finale. And they’ve certainly picked a big-scale story for that, as the legacy of the Spectre will be determined. The last time there was a story like this, it resulted in the return of Hal Jordan from oblivion. But this time, things are playing out differently. We’ve seen different people take on the role before, but we’ve never seen what came before. As Dr. Fate, Jakeem Thunder, Stargirl, and the new Kid Eternity pursue Jim Corrigan, they get a vision of who the Spectre was originally – one of the first fallen angels, who sided with Lucifer. He was banished to Hell, became a demon lord – but eventually repented and made his way back to the gates of heaven, pleading for God’s forgiveness. Rather than banishing him again, God made the fallen angel his instrument, allowing him to atone over eons as God’s wrath on Earth.
But as we know, that power is wild and violent on its own. That’s why it always needs a human avatar – and right now, that avatar is Obsidian. Todd Rice’s power plus his deep-rooted anger over being abandoned by his father have turned his rage dangerous, and Jade does her best to calm him – only to offer herself up in his place, an offer the Spectre takes. There are several swaps this issue, but the last one has the potential to be a disaster, knowing what we know about the character. And the search for Corrigan gets a new complication when Metron shows the heroes the true danger – Darkseid plans to hijack the Spectre for himself, corrupting his rage and gaining infinte power. It’s a story that tries to pack in maybe a little too much, but it also has some amazing lore expansions for a character who was a core part of the JSA at the beginning but has grown so far beyond it now.
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