Can our band of misanthropic heroes in the pages of Justice League 3000 save the Commonwealth from the looming threat of the Five? Or will their self-interest outweigh our own interest in the series?
Positives
Howard Porter’s fascinating, detailed artwork steals the show in the book, giving us tightly-wound action scenes and stimulating two-page spreads with perfect beats in between. The snappy dialogue provided by J.M DeMatteis is…well, snappy, and readers should chuckle at Superman’s egocentricity contrasting sharply with Batman’s uncharacteristic team-mentality. And Wonder Woman cold-cocking Superman was pretty funny, too!
Negatives
The mystery behind the origin of the thirtieth century’s Justice League is lagging a bit by this third issue: we don’t know that these heroes are indeed clones of the originals from the twentieth century, and I’m not sure we care anymore. This book is perhaps a bit too jam-packed with plot developments, and the asides with the Wonder Twins and Locus with a miniaturized Green Lantern leave something to be desired. Though Porter’s art is stunning at its heights, it is somewhat uneven throughout the issue. Finally, the slanted panel layout made me a bit nauseous after a while.
Verdict
2/5
Justice League 3000 is something of a Rorschach blot in the DC Universe, upon which people have projected their desires to resurrect various DC properties or provide wry commentary on the New 52. Taken at face value, it’s a fairly funny cyberpunk romp that pulls no punches and offers no apologies in its depiction of the Justice League as jerks. This is the same sort of comedy magic we used to see on Justice League International in the 80s, with perhaps a bit of modern-day Always Sunny in Philadelphia meanness thrown in.
