Deep into the Totality, the Justice League are attacked from all corners, but none of them know where the attacks occur.
The answer lies within as Lex Luthor launches his ambush on the league microscopic scale as The League gets closer to the truth of the Totality. What hidden truths will be discovered? What is Martian Manhunter hiding from the rest of the League? Now that Sinestro is in possession of the Ultraviolet Spectrum, what does he have in store for John Stewart (Green Lantern) and earth? And most of all, what lies beyond the Totality?!
It’s issue four and there is a lot of stuff going on since issue one which provides answers to some questions that sprung from the prior issues but springs more questions after this issue. First I’d like to say that it’s awesome that with each issue, it always has an intro to either the past memory or recent motivation of each member of the Legion of Doom, which helps to guide the narrative and story of the issue. It’s really an awesome narrative thread that helps give an idea of what each member of the Legion of Doom is trying to accomplish. Snyder sets up some interesting ideas, expanding on the Ultraviolet Spectrum in what it can and can not do (at least from what readers know so far), how the Still Force affects reality, and how each of these forces contribute to the looming danger that threatens the League and reality in its entirety. Admittedly, Snyder is the kind of writer that can tell a solid story in an arc or could tell a larger story through a series of arcs. There are references to other stories that Snyder has worked on that continue to push the kind of threats that the Justice League face while setting up situations that will eventually follow up in later arcs through the duration of Snyder’s run.
With that said, I really do enjoy the issue, but I couldn’t help but feel that there is a lot that needs to be unpacked in regards to the new concepts that have been introduced four issues in. Now, it doesn’t detract from the plot and action TOO much but it may cause readers to ponder about how each of these new concepts such as the Still Force works ( which has been mentioned in issue 49 and issue 50 of the current Flash title written by Joshua Williamson). There are other things that readers will still probably wonder about, such as Lex Luthor’s motivations for the Totality and his sudden shift in personality between the time of No Justice and this current book. In addition to what Manhunter discovered between the events of Dark Nights Metal and this book, leaves a lot to unpack and look back and forth between stories just to make sure they all sync up. But in regards to Lex Luthor, his character and his motivations between the events that lead up to Justice League makes me wonder if Snyder will explore and expand upon that character change. Maybe I missed that character arc in between books, I don’t know. But what is certain is that the pace of the title is enjoyable, a lot of things are happening all at once, and it moves fast given that The Justice League are attacked on each side by the Legion of Doom. There are some nice character moments between each of the Leaguers and how they are attacked by the Legion of Doom is pretty clever, and given how the issue ends, only entices readers on what Snyder plans to reveal in the next issue.
This time around, I think between Snyder and Jimenez (who both do a fantastic job as a writer/ artist duo), I think for this issue, Jimenez stole the show. Jorge Jimenez art is just Uh-MAZING!!!! Amazing work all the way through! Each page is as stylistically exciting as the panels and layout are in association to the story. There are some great pages throughout the book, with each character looking aesthetically powerful and bold. I really enjoy the way Jimenez renders each of the characters in regards to their facial expressions, body types, and movements.
Each character feels like they are drawn specifically to their design, always feeling unique and not rehashed. It’s fascinating to see Jimenez draw Martian Manhunter less humanoid looking, and more “martian-esque”, which is refreshing and helps distinguish the visual differences of all the heroes and villains in general. The action is choreographed beautifully on the page and coupled with the colors of Alejandro Sanchez, really makes the book stand out even more, just by the art and colors alone. Accompanied with Jimenez and Sanchez’s art and colors, really makes Snyder’s story very enjoyable, even when it can be a bit overstuffed.
Truthfully, there is a lot to unpack in Justice League issue four, but it doesn’t detract away from the overall story, awesome character interactions, action, and art that a book such as Justice League should always offer. It’s an enjoyable issue and leaves just as much mystery as it does answers. I definitely recommend picking up this issue for new comic book Wednesday’s pull list.
Newsdesk