Martian Manhunter and Stargirl are the only ones left. Getting out is a cakewalk compared to getting the others out.
We finally manage to catch up with the Justice Leaguers in the aftermath of Trinity War. As we see what has happened to the different heroes, J'onn tries to salvage anyone he can with the help of one of his fellow heroes.
And the different 'prisons' are specific to the psychology of the hero. Rendered well, we see how being a hero doesn't remove the weaknesses inherent in the person.
The art complements the story very well and there are enough seeds planted in this book that help make this story seem relevant in the bigger scheme of Forever Evil.
SPOILERS follow........................
Where to begin?
We were spoiled that it would be Martian Manhunter and Stargirl who would be escaping the 'prison', so that didn't feel like a big reveal.
But Jason's presence immediately piqued my interest. Who was he? Part of Earth 3's Firestorm, a fail-safe mechanism for the prison or is being part of a whole (the whole being him and Ronnie) affecting Jason in the prison. J'onn felt Ronnie's brain patterns fhad 'mixed with' or 'replaced' Jason's, so that may be expounded upon in latter issues.
Now we come to J'onn's journey into what I call 'Personal Hell".
Wonder Woman has been divided between a warrior duties and her fear of losing Superman and Trevor. While it still seems unnecessary to define her by her 'romances', the duality of being 'strong' as a warrior and 'weak' as a person was well done.
Then we come to Shazam. The boy's blind enthusiasm has triumphed over the temperance of the hero and he's running berserk in his personal heaven.But this brought up other questions. Who was at the Crime Syndicate meeting, all dressed in black? Has Shazam been divided into two - Black Adam and Billy, the champions of Shazam? More questions.
Flash follows. His mind has overpowered his body and now he's living in an imaginary world, saving people and doing things in the blink of an eye. Another eye catching speed force imagery that would have done Flash proud. And this felt equally relevant given how Flash has been musing about over-using the Speed Force in his book.
Superman is also left unable to overcome his guilt of killing Dr Light and is trying to go back in time to stop himself, always in vain. I'm thankful that the writers are giving more screen time to this act so as to make the impact more hard-hitting.
Finally, we see Simon has succumbed to his label as a terrorist and become what he tried to avoid. A little hard on the nose that one. But it is relevant given how this race bias is still strong.
Meanwhile, Jason has disappeared and someone is following J'onn. Stargirl has exited the prison and sees the after effects of the Crime Syndicate's arrival. Or does she?
The story was well written for a filler story. It gave a good glimpse of the psychology of the different heroes. I'm still waiting to see why Stargirl was able to escape (a sort-a clue is given). There are enough mysteries to be uncovered and that makes me eager to see where Stargirl and J'onn are taken next.
The problem with tie-in books is that they most often feel like they're going through the motions until the event ends. God knows that was a problem with both Batman and Green Lantern. But JL #8 brought up enough threads to keep the readers interested in how things would go from here.
So, I give this 8.0 out of 10
+A good psychological examination of the heroes +The art complemented the story very well +J'onn written well +Enough seeds planted to keep the reader interested
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