The more things change……….
Geoff Johns is at his best here – highlighting the
complexities of the multiple DC villains now entrenched in the Justice League.
Both Lex Luthor and Leonard Snart aka Captain Cold here have
agendas and angles they’re playing things – thinking they’re the ones in
control, and most often in Lex’s case, they are.
There is some nice interplay here between interesting
combinations, and Johns is able to bring in some interesting nods to the
pre-New 52 stories.
Johns is one of the best at playing the waiting game, and
this is a joy to watch when he gets things just right.
The cover is brilliantly done by Fabok, but a little
underwhelming that an inferior quality resides within the pages – now I’m not
beating up on Scott Kolins here, but when you put Fabok and him side by side,
Kolins doesn’t just suffer but is beaten away.
SPOILERS FOLLOW……….
Snart is a haunted man – as he dreams of going back to his
old ways and getting beaten up by the Flash and others, before waking up to
Mercy’s calls for tests and ‘doing his job’.
As we see from his conversation with former Rogues member
Sam Scudder aka the Mirror Master, Snart is planning a long con through his job
as head security at Lexcorp – through given Lex’s paranoia and high maintenance,
I’m guessing Lex already is a few steps ahead.
Speaking of Lex, we see his undergo his own tests under the
vigilance of different League members. First he and Superman face off against
Gorilla Grodd, and then he and Wonder Woman distribute food and resources to a
remote location probably in Africa.
Through their interactions, we glean a lot about Lex’s
outlook. He questions how he and Batman serve different purposes despite their
similarities, which Superman counters by saying that the similarities are
superficial and Batman is more selfless than Luthor will ever be – and that is
an essential trait of a Leaguer.
Wonder Woman questions Lex about why he does things like
distributing among poor and such. Lex says it helps with taxes and makes him
feel powerful, but Diana says that the people themselves care for neither and
only judge people by their actions – as seen when a young girl gives Lex a
homegrown flower (very similar to the scene with Bizarro in Forever Evil).
Meanwhile in the watchtower, Jessica again falls prey to the
ring but with a little help from the Flash, it able to calm it down – finally
deciding that she needs to master the ring if she is ever to escape from her
past.
There is an interesting quote here from the Flash, which
references his time as a Blue Lantern during the Blackest Night event (all will
be well).
In Detroit,
Shazam’s exuberance gets the better of him as he leaves a recovering Victor to
fight Grodd alongside Superman. I like how despite both being the youngest
members of the League, Shazam and Cyborg have very different maturity levels.
While Shazam lives in the right here and now and sees his powers as a gift,
Cyborg is broody and morose thinking about the threats to come.
The Lexcorp – WayneTech merger is in full effect as after
another round of powerplay, Bruce finally reveals his goal – to get enough dirt
on Lex to put him behind bars.
But Lex himself is keeping his cards close to his chest – as
we see him talking to Owlman, proposing an agreement for goods rendered (even
as he tears the petals of the flower mentioned previously).
SPOILERS END…………..
Johns delves deep in the psychos of Lex and the others, and
comes up with golden nuggets.
The artwork is nothing to get excited about, and the sooner
Fabok arrives, the better.
So, I give it 8.0 out of 10
+Some great character moments
+New and old character interactions continue to entertain
+Johns get the voices right throughout
+Overall storyline moves along well
-The pacing is a little slow
-The artwork is disappointing
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