[Editor’s note: This review may contain minor spoilers.]
Writer: Bryan Hitch
Artists: Tony S. Daniel, Sandu Florea & Tomeu Morey
Summary
Batman recruits Superman to help with the alien threat.
Positives
The cover by Tony S. Daniel and Tomeu Morey is great. I love the dynamic group shot and everyone is near equally sized. No one takes much more room than the other. I also love Superman’s cape becoming a laser beam.
The interior art is by Daniel, Sandu Florea and Morey. Daniel draws the pencils with inks by Florea and colors by Morey. It’s strong art. Every panel works and is fun to look at. Morey’s colors are the big standout to me. The issue is vibrant and kinetic thanks to the colors.
Superman is the best part of the issue for me. There is a wonderful scene between Clark and Lois where they have to say goodbye while both fearing he may not come back. It’s funny how the common theory in the industry is that superheroes are not “relatable” if they’re married and yet, this is a prime example of how wonderful it can be. Seeing Clark and Lois have to say goodbye in such a way raises the stakes tremendously. Clark’s family gives him a new motivation but drama. As an audience, we do not want to see Jon orphaned or Lois become a widow. The scene just has a lot of weight to it.
Negatives
While I generally like the cover, I do have one complaint about it. Wonder Woman and Simon are in the exact same pose and that bothers me. If everyone was in that pose, I would be fine with it but they’re not. It’s just Diana and Simon and they’re right next to each other. The cover would look even better if one of them was in a different position.
The issue feels quite short and uneventful. All I could think when I finished reading was “Is that it?” and it is. I feel like the story is just taking baby steps at this point. That is sometimes the problem when dealing with a large cast. Everyone needs a scene even if it doesn’t add anything. I guess it’s an easy read because it does go by really fast but that’s not always a compliment. I would have liked more Superman and less of some of the other members of the League that don’t add anything. Aquaman has barely interacted with the League in this story if he’s spoken to them at all and yet, he keeps getting obligatory scenes that don’t seem to add much.
Verdict
I’m generally disappointed with this issue. I think the premise is unique and I love the art but this issue still fell flat for me. Only one scene engaged me throughout the entire thing. I found everything else to be quite dull. It’s not terrible but I still don’t recommend it.
