Justice #5 Review

Justice has absolutely rocked my world. I hope this title gets all the praise and recognition that were heaped upon Kingdom Come, Marvels and Earth X. Justice is definitely a title that I eagerly await every month. To be assured, Justice #5 continues to deliver the goods.

Creative Team
Writers: Jim Krueger & Alex Ross
Art: Doug Braithwaite & Alex Ross

Art Rating: 10 Night Girls out of 10.
Story Rating: 9 Night Girls out of 10
Total Rating: 10 Night Girls out of 10

Synopsis: The issue starts with Elongated Man on the phone with Iris Allen trying to find the Flash. Ralph has put a call out to all of the second-stringer JLA members.

We then shift to the Martian Manhunter realizing that he is not burning, but is in fact still safe and sound in the ocean. As Martian Manhunter flies out of the water, we see Barry Allen trying to get himself together running across the water.

We then cut to Brainiac’s lab where he has finished his “exploratory surgery” on Aquaman. (Man, first Busiek carves up our favorite fish guy and now Brainiac does the same!) Lex Luthor appears and he and Brainiac trade barbs about how Lex is plotting against Brainiac. Brainiac gives Lex the cities that the villains are going to establish. They are in six small black marbles.

We then cut to Metallo, Bizarro Superman, Solomon Grundy, and Parasite whipping up on Superman. Suddenly, a blur appears and removes Metallo’s Kryptonite heart, then takes out Parasite, then smashing Solomon Grundy into the ground and then punching Bizarro Superman into space. The blur stops and it is Captain Marvel! (Cool intro!) Captain Marvel takes off to get Superman some help. Lex teleports in right after they leave. Lex berates his underlings failing to kill Superman.

We then shift to a hospital room where Ray Palmer is in a coma from a gunshot wound.

We then cut over to Wonder Woman in a nasty fight with Cheetah. Cheetah ends up escaping from Wonder Woman.

We then go to Black Canary seeing Green Arrow dead in their bed. She lets out a sonic scream and the dead Oliver Queen is actually Clayface waiting to ambush Black Canary. The real Green Arrow sneaks up behind Clayface and stabs him. Clayface and Scarecrow flee the scene.

We then shift to Hawkman and Hawkgirl digging out from under the rubble that was the museum. Martian Manhunter arrives on the scene to fill them in on what is going on.

We then cut over to Green Lantern (Hal Jordan style) who is trapped in the middle of nowhere. Sinestro used the boom tube to transport him across the universe to where there are no stars. Absolute nothing.

We then shift back to Captain Marvel and Superman. Superman tells Captain Marvel to take him to Batman. Superman gives Marvel directions to the Batcave. They arrive in the Batcave and Batman is less than pleased that Superman told Captain Marvel where the Batcave was located. Captain Marvel changes into Billy Batson.

Superman then punches out Batman. Batman had a green Kryptonite shard hidden in his hand Superman said that there are microscopic mechanical worms inside Batman controlling him. Superman then uses his e-ray vision on his hand and exclaims that they are inside him, too! Superman says that the worms must be burned out of him before they take control of his mind. Superman then tells Captain Marvel that he will have to throw Superman into the sun. End of issue.

Comments

The Good: What a great issue! First the writing. Krueger and Ross craft yet another exciting issue in this great mini-series. Ross and Krueger wrote the story and Krueger wrote the script. They both have done an excellent job. I am a huge fan of Krueger. His work on Earth X trilogy was awesome. I think Krueger is very underrated. He is definitely one of the more talented comic writers in the industry.

This issue had plenty of action and storyline twists and turns. This mini-series just doesn’t let up. Each issue continues to ratchet up the suspense and drama. I am enjoying the pace of this story. It is just right.

Another area that Krueger and Ross have done an excellent job is giving each one of these iconic characters a unique and fleshed out personality and voice. These characters are so iconic and so classic that many times they tend to be written very generically. Not in this mini-series. This might be the best depiction of the classic JLA characters that I have ever read.

Justice #5 left me wanting more! I can’t wait to see how the villains’ plan to create these perfect cities turns out. How long before Lex and Brainiac turn on each other. Is Aquaman dead? Will Superman survive being thrown into the sun? How will Batman be saved from his mind control? Will Green Lantern die out in uncharted space? So many great questions. We are in for a fun ride with this mini-series.

Of course, the art is just flat out incredible. I mean Ross and Braithwaite deliver some phenomenal art. I could stare at these pages for hours. First, I read the story, and then I go back and spend another 15 minutes just staring at the artwork. The appearance of Captain Marvel was so cool. All you could see was a blur and a fist. Then once he stopped you could finally see him. It was a splash page shot of him standing over Superman with his hand out and lightening coming off his chest. Wicked.

Another splash shot that was fantastic was the 2-page splash of Batman’s Batcave. That was just awesome! My jaw dropped when I turned the page and saw it.

The Bad: C’mon, this is Krueger and Ross! What the hell is there to complain about?! I have no complaints at all. Justice #5 is a great issue. I definitely recommend the Justice mini-series. It is well worth your hard-earned money.