This week saw the celebration of a new year. A time like this is seen as a time of rebirth and fresh starts. A time for starting anew. A time to start fresh. It's not just regular folks that feel this way. Superheroes can feel this way about a new year, too. During its decades of its publication history, the Justice League has undergone its fair share of rebirths. So, for the first review of 2023, I thought that it would be appropriate to take a look at a comic that celebrated the rebirth of the Justice League.
After the events of the "Breakdowns" crossover, the Justice League International (as it was known at the time) ended up disbanding. However, you can't keep an iconic team like that down for long. With various members of the League working together again in Justice League Spectacular #1 (April 1992), it was time to see the League reform properly.
The cover is a Dan Jurgens and Murphy Anderson piece, which homages the cover to the very first issue of the Justice League's comic: Justice League of America #1 (November 1960), which was drawn by Anderson and Ira Schnapp. That cover has become an iconic cover in itself, and it's appropriate that it be homaged in a comic that celebrates the rebirth of the Justice League. It's amusing seeing Guy Gardner in the spot Hal Jordan was in the original cover. Appropriate as they're both Green Lanterns.
"Born Once Again"
Writer: Dan Jurgens
Penciler: Dan Jurgens
Inker: Rick Burchett
Colorist: Gene D'Angelo
Letterer: Willie Schubert
Editor: Brian Augustyn
Executive Editor: Dick Giordano
The story begins with Guy Gardner sitting in the ruins of the Justice League's old Happy Harbor headquarters as a deliberate nod to Justice League #1 (May 1987).
The Ted Kord Blue Beetle and Booster Gold arrive, and Gardner tries to pull his typical "I'm the leader" shtick. Beetle scoffs at it and Gardner offers to fight the inventor to the death for it. The Almeracian queen known as Maxima arrives, offering to take on, and defeat the victor.
Thanks to Brainiac, Maxima's homeworld's been blown to pieces, and she has nowhere else to go for now. Hopefully, once she takes a mate, she can return and help her people rebuild. And happily for her, the being she wants resides here on Earth as well. And it's not Guy Gardner, as much as he hopes it is. Her intended betrothed is actually on his way to Maxwell Lord's offices, where the man himself is making a sales pitch to former JLI members Beatriz "Fire" da Costa and Tora "Ice" Olafsdottir.
Superman points out the League exists because of a need for it, and the League is not meant to be an extension of Maxwell Lord's ego. Ice agrees with Superman on this, and makes it perfectly clear to the mind-controlling businessman.
Superman heads out to meet the other Leaguers, Ice happily following. Max wonders what got Tora so fiery, as she is normally rather meek. Fire realizes she's crushing a bit on Superman. Oberon points out that Max is losing the League. Max plans to do something big. So big, even Superman will beg to have Max help. Yeah, that's totally not ominous...
We next look in on a nice private boat.
The boat is owned by a mysterious man, who has a rather...unusual client.
The Dominator is pleased the man will take the job. He thinks the reformed Justice League will be child's play. After all, he's beaten the best in the universe. He had the Royal Flush Gang fight the League recently, and he found them...unimpressive. It left him...quite disappointed.
This man is the Weapons Master, and they have nothing he cannot counter. The self-proclaimed Weapons Master teleports into the Happy Harbor headquarters. He easily takes down Guy, Beetle, and Booster, but Maxima is able to hit him with a psionic blast. The Weapons Master teleports away. He didn't expect Maxima there, so he has to reassess the situation. The four heroes have a brief reprieve, before he returns.
This time, he's packing a helmet that protects him from Maxima's mental powers.
He's easily able to take down the four heroes. He then gets a Kryptonian knuckle sandwich from Superman. The Man of Steel gets the advantage for a while, even managing to damage the Weapons Master's armor. However, the man teleports Superman away, and then metaphorically curbstomps Fire and Ice. He then makes his way to Guy Gardner's ring. You see, the Dominators hired him to get Gardner's Green Lantern ring. They want to be able to duplicate the ring's tech for their own use. But another obstacle makes themselves known.
This mysterious figure is called Bloodwynd. He's a sorcerer who draws his power from the spirits of the dead. The Weapons Master takes his leave. After all, he knows nothing of this new superhero, and he doesn't like operating without knowing beforehand what is going on. He took the defeated League with him. Bloodwynd is left on his own...until he finds a weapon the Master left behind.
So, where did the Weapons Master go? Well, he's got a little pocket dimension in his bag of tricks, and he's transported the League here.
Why did he transport them there? Well, he wants to play a game.
He's willing to play a game with Ted Kord for Guy Gardner's ring, the prize he's been seeking. Beetle is actually all too happy to let the Weapons Master have the ring, as he thinks it may humble Guy a bit. The Weapons Master points out that this game is for something he thinks Ted would really value: The lives of his teammates. Ted thinks this whole thing is nonsense. After all, he knows the game is likely rigged in the Weapons Master's favor. After all, the man's after the ring. It makes sense he would rig the game to make it easier for him to win, and this, get the ring.
The Master puts the chess piece of Ice on a black square on the board. It transports Ice to a world of fire and magma, assuring she is good as dead. "Play the game, Blue Beetle", he says. Or the other Leaguers' lives will be forfeit.
I personally enjoyed this comic a lot. It does feel like a nice little sequel and continuation of the Justice League International that preceded it, even though it doesn't quite have the humor of the Giffen-DeMatteis-Maguire era. There are still amusing moments, though. Mostly from the character interaction. I never realized this when I first read this comic, but it's basically a modernized version of/sequel to a Silver Age JLA story. That's pretty cool. The Weapons Master to me is an interesting villain, and I would hope that we see more of him.
Jurgens is normally a very good artist, so it was surprising to me to see that his art looks a little rough in places here. It was nothing that ruined the comic for me.
If you want to read this for yourself, I recommend tracking down the 2016 trade paperback Superman and Justice League America Vol. 1. 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 your vaccine/booster! See you next time!
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