Thursday, March 21, 2013

Justice League of America (Vol.3) #2


*I’m going to try something different for this review in an effort to make my reviews a little shorter and flow more naturally. Felt like I was spending too much time just recapping the issues before instead of talking about them.*



World’s Most Dangerous: Chapter 2 by Geoff Johns and David Finch

This issue was a marked improvement over the previous one. The artwork is improved quite a bit and almost all of the things I nitpicked at before are gone. With all of the introductions and set up out of the way, Geoff Johns is able to finally focus on the characters and what makes them tick. We get to see how they interact with one another and how some of them feel about the team and their place on it. This leads to probably my favorite series of panels of this entire month’s worth of comics I read. As Vibe is sitting at the JLA Headquarters’ briefing room, he’s startled by a mace that slams into the table. Hawkman has arrived and Vibe gets to meet his new teammate for the first time.



Green Arrow also got a nice little moment to shine again in this issue (No he didn’t die. Shocking, I know). While Ollie is lying in a hospital bed recovering from his injuries, Martian Manhunter probes his mind and we get a little more information about how Ollie infiltrated the Secret Society’s world as the Dark Hunter before getting caught and then escaping. He then wakes up and we get a great scene where Ollie gets to call out Steve for basically using him and then tossing him aside. Steve essentially tells Ollie that, yes I recruited you to help find these guys, sure you almost died, yeah I started a new team that you can’t be on cause Waller said I can only have so many, but thanks for what you did (Way to be a jerk there Steve).

Speaking of the Secret Society. We finally get to put a face to the mysterious guy that was off panel last issue. I’m not sure if I’m supposed to recognize him or if its a new character completely. Looks a little like The Outsider to me, which would seem to make sense considering they kind of reintroduced him during Flashpoint.



Anyway, it’s nice to actually see the guy even if I’m not entirely sure who I’m looking at. The Secret Society clearly doesn’t mess around when it comes to their recruiting process and they obviously have some big plans revolving around bringing “something” frightening to Earth (Darkseid again? Trigon? Someone new?). It’s an interesting plot point so far, I just wish it moved forward more than it did in this issue.

That’s really my biggest complaint with this issue. We got a lot of good character moments but it seemed to come at the expense of moving the over-arching plot forward. It certainly didn’t take away from my enjoyment of the issue but I can see where it might for others. The issue did end on a note that makes me hopeful that we’ll see more story progression next time. Our team (minus Green Arrow of course *sigh*) is scouting the area that Green Arrow was found for any trace of the Secret Society. Almost immediately, they start to get picked off by the robot versions of Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman that Green Arrow was running from in the first issue. I’m hoping the ensuing battle will lead to some more insight on the Secret Society and their plans.

Overall, its a very good issue. So go out, buy it and support the Emerald Archer folks!

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