It's that time again! It's time for our monthly jaunt into the DC Universe, where we join the Justice League in their biggest battle ever against the Legion of Doom! Last time, we saw members of the Justice League ended up ambushed. One particular Justice Leaguer end up in some real dire straits: Superman. Out-powered and poisoned within an inch of his life, the Man of Steel ended the last issue crying for help. How will the League recover from this? Let's find out in Justice #5!
The cover is an Alex Ross piece. It's pretty cool. At first glance, it would be just a plain pin-up of Wonder Woman. The twist is showing the Cheetah ripping it up with her claws. It reflects something that does happen in the comic, and it helps make the cover more eye-catching. What I also like about this cover is that it reflects Cheetah's character a bit. Her hatred of Diana is so great, even seeing images of Diana makes her fly into a murderous rage.
"Chapter Five"
Writers: Jim Krueger, Alex Ross
Pencilers: Alex Ross, Doug Braithwaite
Inker: Alex Ross
Colorist: Alex Ross
Letterer: Todd Klein
Editor: Joey Cavalieri
Executive Editor: Dan DiDio
The story begins with Ralph Dibny, the Elongated Man and JLA member himself getting a phone call.
It's from Iris. Barry Allen has seemingly vanished again. Those who saw my review of the last issue may know why. Under the ocean, the Martian Manhunter realizes that his burning is not real. As he rises out of the ocean, the Flash zips by, still trapped in super-speed. Luthor teleports into Brainiac's lab, noting that the Coluan computerized supervillain still has Aquaman on his slab. He asks if the King of the Seven Seas is dead, only to get asked by Brainiac in response if that matters at all.
Brainiiac knows Luthor is plotting against him. After all, Luthor may be a brilliant man, but he does have limitations. That still wouldn't stop a man with an ego like Lex's. Luthor is awaiting confirmation that the League are all dead or incapacitated. And he's here to collect something from Brainiac: The cities. Brainiac confirms he has them, holding out six black orbs.
In Metropolis, Parasite, Grundy, Bizarro, and Metallo continue their torture of Superman. A group of bystanders spots them but get a taste of Bizarro's Freeze Vision for their troubles. The four villains then hear a crack of thunder, and lightning crackles in the sky.
A blur of red-and-gold rips the Kryptonite out of Metallo's chest, and then takes down Bizarro, Parasite and Grundy.
Billy Batson, the original Captain Marvel, got Superman's signal. Marvel takes Superman away. Shortly afterwards, Lex Luthor teleports in and mocks the four villains, especially Parasite. We briefly cut to a hospital, where Ray Palmer is recovering after being shot. Jean Loring wants him to be okay, even if that means he continues fighting crime as the Atom.
Meanwhile, Wonder Woman is fighting the Cheetah, and the feline femme fatale has a secret weapon. She slashes into the Amazon Princess's body, her claws being tipped with a poison called "Hercules' Lament". Diana tries to reach Priscilla Rich, but to no avail.
The Black Canary sees Clayface towering over Green Arrow, and she uses her sonic scream to distract him, while Arrow uses a broken lamp to shock him. The shapeshifter is driven off. As for why he wasn't affected by her screams...
Man had earplugs. Carter and Shayera Hall open up a sarcophagus they had hid in during Toyman's attack. Hal Jordan is trapped in an unknown area of space. The ring can't duplicate the Boom Tube that Sinestro used to trap him there. It only leaves one question left: ...how long does Hal have left? One the ring's charge runs out, he's exposed to space. And without the protection of his ring...yeah.
Captain Marvel takes Superman to the Batcave...much to the Dark Knight's chagrin. Yeah, this is very much modern Batman in mentality. Captain Marvel places Superman on a special bed with energy lamps to give Superman some extra yellow sunlight to help Superman heal and recover.
As they rest, Marvel reveals his human form of Billy Batson to help make Batman more comfortable. After all, Bruce likes kids. Superman asks if everyone is okay...and then nails Batman with a Mighty Punch. Even wakened and wounded, the Metropolis Marvel still packs one heck of a right cross. But why would Superman punch Batman? Well, he did it because he saw the Kryptonite hidden in Batman's glove. When Superman's vision returned, he was able to see tiny little robots inside of the Dark Knight's body. Those little robots fused themselves to Batman's nerves, and have taken control of him. And Superman discovers they're inside him, too. They're also inside another man, one of the few that the Caped Crusader truly trusted.
Elsewhere, Lex Luthor releases the black orbs that Brainiac gave to him earlier into the ocean. They grow to massive size and emerge from the water, the mad genius remarking that he knows Brainiac will try and betray him. After all, he'd do the same thing. This world isn't big enough for both of them.
Back at the Batcave, Billy Batson is able to free himself from Alfred's grip, allowing Superman to knock him out with the help of a coffee cup. Billy then transforms back into Captain Marvel. Superman tells him to bind up Alfred and Batman. And keep the Dark Knight away from his utility belt! Superman knows that the little worms will control him, too. So, they have to be removed. How? Well, Captain Marvel needs to throw Superman into the sun. Burn the little mothers out! ...what?
I liked this issue. It's the little character stuff that I like best. Luthor and Brainiac being aware that they will try to betray each other. It's a nice contrast to the Justice League's traditional camaraderie. What I'm wondering is how Batman got infected with the worms? I mean, it can be presumed Alfred got infected from Batman, but how did Batman get infected? Was it during his battle with the Riddler? I also did like the moment of accidental cleverness that Green Arrow showed with the earplugs. It was pretty funny. The art is spectacular as always. But then again, it's Braithwaite and Ross, they can't do a bad job even if they wanted to.
If you want to read this for yourself, I recommend tracking down the 2011 trade paperback Justice. 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, wear a mask, and get vaccinated/boosted! See you next time!
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