Justice #7 (October 2006)

It's that time again! It's time to rejoin the Justice League in their biggest battle ever. Last time, members of the League found themselves in some dire straits. Superman got tossed into the Sun in an attempt to burn mind control worms out of him, Hal Jordan is trapped in his ring, Ray Palmer nearly suffers death by Giganta, the Flash is trapped in superspeed, etc. How will things continue on for the League. Can they survive? Let's find out in Justice #7!

The cover is an Alex Ross piece, and it is pretty awesome...if it is a bit basic. It's basically Hawkman wrecking shop. Still, Ross's easily recognizable style would make it stand out on a comic shop shelf, and I admit, Hawkman wrecking stuff is awesome.

"Chapter Seven"
Writers: Alex Ross, Jim Krueger
Pencilers: Doug Braithwaite, Alex Ross
Inker: Alex Ross
Colorist: Alex Ross
Letterer: Todd Klein
Editors: Joey Cavalieri, Michael Wright
Executive Editor: Dan DiDio

The story begins with the Martian Manhunter and Zatanna in Argentina looking for the Martian Manhunter. The two fear that the worst may have happened to the King of the Seven Seas. They find Brainiac's lab. Thankfully, there's no Brainiac inside.

They do find Aquaman on the slab...and he's...not in the best of shape.

"...five more minutes, Mera..."

As people are being taken into the artificial cities, Luthor, Brainiac, and Grodd discuss the matters bothering them. Luthor notes that Brainiac is not there in person, just as a hologram. He believes that this is because his poking around in Aquaman's brain led to a dead end. Luthor failed to kill the Justice League, but Grodd has some agents to take care of that.

Wonder Woman and Batman arrive at the Fortress of Solitude. Hawkman and Hawkgirl fight off Brainiac's backup robot bodies. They're able to escape from the Toyman's factory with the help of a plasma globe-like bomb. Hawkman finds some little objects raining down from the ruins.

"These better not be worm turds..."

In space, Superman and Captain Marvel spot Barry Allen, trapped in hyperspeed. The good captain has a plan to rescue Barry, but it could end up killing him. Hopefully, Superman can match Flash in speed. Marvel pours on the speed of Mercury, catching up to Flash. The Flash is vibrating real fast, too fast to be grabbed. So, Marvel places himself right up to the Scarlet Speedster, and says the magic word.

"This is gonna hurt!"

Superman catches Billy Batson and a freed Barry Allen. Barry needs to eat, and there's a buffet restaurant about 50 miles away. Superman asks if Captain Marvel has any money to pay for it, as his wallet got burned up. Billy has around ten bucks on him. Good thing the buffet's about six.

The Daily Planet is attacked. Black Manta takes on Aqualad. Solomon Grundy ambushed Dick Grayson and Wally West. 

Inside his power ring, Hal Jordan talks about his relationship with Carol Ferris. It's a nice little character moment as we see that Hal comes to a bit of a realization about himself. He's self-centered, putting his duties as a Green Lantern ahead of his personal life. Hal thinks he's going to die alone. But the ring reminds him of something: he's now an energy impulse. Hal demands to be changed back, but the ring refuses. After all, doing so would violate its programming: to protect its bearer. In essence, he'll live forever and be alone. 

Mary Bromfeld and Freddy Freeman make their way to the cave containing the Seven Deadly Sins. The two briefly discuss magic words when Mary is caught by Black Adam. 

In the Arctic, the heroes gather. Batman apologizes to Red Tornado. He understands, remarking that we are all slaves to programming. This gets the Dark Knight thinking...

With the arrival of Flash, Captain Marvel, and Superman, the heroes enter the Fortress of Solitude. They also recruited Niles Caulder to help Arthur. Caulder announces there was nothing he could do...well, nothing he needed to do.

Well, it's simple. Caulder believes that Brainiac's little bit of brain surgery on Aquaman was an attempt to figure out how he's able to telepathically communicate with sea life. Also, Arthur's physiology grants him a special boon: A regenerative healing factor. The Doom Patrol put him in a special tank to help him recover.

"...five more minutes, Mera..."

When his eyes open, the Sea King has one thing on his mind: Mera. Speaking of Mera, Aqualad swims like a...well, like a shark out of Hell towards Atlantis. He reports to Mera that Black Manta was the one who kidnapped Aquaman. She asks how they're going to help, and Garth's like, "We're not". He gives Mera a Mighty Punch, then makes off with little Arthur Jr. The story ends with Black Manta taking the baby, remarking that Brainiac is going to be a very happy alien.

I enjoyed this little comic. The big highlight is the fun little character interactions. Superman asking Captain Marvel for some money, the interplay between the married Hawkman and Hawkgirl, etc. I also liked seeing Luthor plot against the other villains. It fits his ego and his nature. I can understand why some would view Aquaman suddenly being able to heal from Brainiac's little bit of brain surgery like Wolverine is a bit of a copout. It's something I don't think we've seen Aquaman be able to do before. The story at the very least does try to justify it as being part of his amphibious nature, so kudos for that at the very least. 

As for Ross and Braithwaite's art, I can't think of another way to compliment it. It's fantastic, and so wonderful to look at. Thair art really manages to capture the majesty and menace of the heroes and villains of the DCU, yet at the same time, make them look plausible and realistic. It's amazing. I can't wait to go through the next issue.

Thanks for reading this blog entry! If you liked it, show it off! Take care of yourselves and each other! Stay safe, stay healthy, stay home, wash your hands often, and wear a mask! See you next time!