It would probably be more appropriate to review the first six issues, as they’re the ones that have the unifying storyline, but since I decided to write all these while the first seven issues were out, I’m sticking to my guns. Basically Justice League is the story of how seven heroes fought against Darkseid’s invasion, and despite conflicting personalities they were able to work together and save the world. Issue seven starts off a new storyline, but it continues the idea that there is friction between the group, which I like since it shows that it will take a lot for these strong personalities to gel together into a team.
The story starts with Batman and Green Lanter discovering evidence of alien activity in Gotham, and they go to find out if Superman, himself an alien, knows anything about the alien technology they found. But they arrive just as Superman is being attacked by the same aliens that attacked Batman and Green Lantern, and he assumes they are his enemies as well.
During the fight Green Lantern has to call the Flash in for help, and they are able to get everything sorted out without Superman demolishing them. I liked this fight because it shows not only how powerful Superman is, but also gives the Flash a chance to show off. He is able to give Superman a run for his money, with his superior speed, but even that isn’t enough against someone who has speed and strength.
As Darkseid’s attack goes into full progress, they are all forced to work together to repel the invaders. With Cyborg, Wonder Woman, and Aquaman meeting up with the other four the final assault begins. I’m impressed with how well the characters are portrayed. They have very distinctive personalities, and every one gets their moment in the sun. Green Lantern taking charge, and ignoring his broken arm, works well with how much of a cocky jerk he was acting like before. Batman single handedly making his way into Apocalypse is great, but the single most impressive moment comes from the DC darkhorse, Aquaman. The New 52‘s overarching goal seems to be redeeming Aquaman as a valid super hero, because he has been getting nothing but epic moments. The scene where he sets half a dozen great white sharks on Darkseid’s minions was both amazing, and reminded me that maybe people shouldn’t be making fun of the guy who can sick nature’s most terrifying predator on them.
I have to admit that I was never really interested in Justice League because my main motivation in reading DC comics is Batman, and always Batman. Hence why all my current reading is focused entirely on the Bat-Family. Justice League fell under required reading because it has Batman in it, and as such it works perfectly as a tool to get readers interested in other series. I’m loving the other characters, the non-Batman ones, and am definitely interested in reading more about them.
Issue seven starts a brand new storyline, and introduces Captain Trevor as a more major player to the story. It’s an interesting move to have a major character from just one of the heroes’ books, and his addition to the cast makes sense. He’s basically the one keeping everything together, trying to keep the government off the Justice League’s back, and play as much of a peace keeper between the individual members as possible.
So far I have to say that most of the books I’ve read from The New 52 have all been top quality. I don’t know if I’ll read everything being published, chances are I’ll just stick to what I’m reading right now, and expand from there, but so far I am well satisfied with The New 52 and think that overall it was a smart move on DC’s part. While the Batman chronology has been completely confused for me, I can definitely attest that The New 52‘s basic goal has been met. They’ve got at least one new reader, of several different books. I can’t really talk about what this means as a long time fan of the different series, but from the point of view of DC’s target audience in this initiative I can definitely say that it’s at least been a moderate success.