Hey
Kids! JLA # 69!
I swear
I'm not going to do this again, and then one day later a huge
review spills out of me.
JLA
#69
New Blood
writer: Joe Kelly
artists: Yvel Guichet and Mark Propst
During
the JLA/JSA panel at Comic-Con, Joe Kelly admitted
that at the end of this whole Obsidian Age event, only
3.5 members out of the current roster would be remaining on
active duty. Near as the Fanboy Planet staff could figure,
that must mean that Batman was leaving his utility belt as
half a member.
You've
got to figure The Dark Knight would have that sort of plan
in the back of his head, because at the last second before
being pulled 3,000 years into the past in the previous issue,
he triggered a mysterious code in the JLA Watchtower. This
issue we see the results, as a whole new team gets recruited.
Out of those, we must assume, we'll have the remaining 3.5
to 4 heroes that make up the next JLA line-up.
But before
they get recruited, Kelly reminds us that a month has passed
since the big guns' disappearance. New supervillains rear
their heads and supernatural disasters loom. Even notorious
anti-meta President Luthor demands to know where the JLA have
gone, an interesting throwaway bit that somebody should pick
up for the Super-books.
Luckily,
Batman had a plan in the event of the JLA's destruction. He
always has a plan - at least in the pages of this
title.
Sending
out imitation T-Spheres (designs stolen from an almost giddy
Mr. Terrific), the "deceased" (or would that be preceased?)
Batman assembles his team. Some of them make perfect sense,
and others…well, he has his reasons.
The
Atom - An obvious choice, as already the size-changing
Professor Palmer had been ensconced as the team's scientific
consultant. Frank Miller proved that the character could be
cool again; time will tell if Kelly can carry that weight.
Green
Arrow - Insisting to the T-Sphere that he will only join
on his own terms, which include no interrupting his wicked,
wicked ways. Kelly uses Ollie to give a quick nod to the varied
incarnations and occasional mis-steps in the League's history.
It's a clever bit that won't leave newer fans out in the cold,
as the most important thing is still "…the broads." Black
Canary is nowhere to be seen.
Captain
Marvel - Actually, thanks to the fabled Wisdom of Solomon,
he rejects membership. It's a shame, because Guichet unexpectedly
draws a cool Captain Marvel.
Hawkgirl
- Okay, other than demographics, it doesn't make sense that
Batman would offer membership to Kendra over Carter, who at
least remembers having a place in the League. Or does he?
Hypertime has lent this some confusion. Anyway, we must always
remember that (say it with me) Batman has a plan. Batman always
has a plan.
Faith
- Brand-new characters introduced in this sort of context
scare the heck out of me. Based on Kelly's track record, though,
we should give him the benefit of the doubt. All we really
know about her is that she leaves some sort of sparkly vapor
trail, and she's a flyer with super-strength (already I'm
envisioning her potential in a HeroClix game). But she is
clearly meant to have been around for a while, as she understands
the impact of being recruited for the League.
Jason
Blood - Perhaps the most unexpected choice of all, moving
Blood to the forefront of the superhero ranks has a very cool
edge to it. For too long he's been treated as a brooding,
almost self-pitying misanthrope. Clearly, Kelly has other
plans for him. And should Etrigan try to get out? Batman has
a plan. Batman always has a plan.
Firestorm
- At last Mark Waid can rest easy. Firestorm returns to the
Justice League. Apparently Kelly has chosen to ignore the
character's ridiculous incarnation as alcoholic male supermodel
Ronray, to which all I can say is: God Bless Hypertime! Except
that now we do first see Ronnie doing some college binge drinking.
Kids, don't try that at home. Leave it to the professional
comics writers, preferably those who hail from the United
Kingdom.
Major
Disaster - What? You mean that we were supposed to remember
that Our Worlds At War had some impact on minor characters?
It was moving last fall when Superman offered Major Disaster
a shot at redemption, and brilliant of Kelly to pick up on
it. Of course, it remains to be seen just how good a team
player the guy can be with a power that matches his name.
Nightwing
- Of them all, this is the absolute no-brainer. And it reminds
me, is there still a Titans book?
What
had the potential to just be a big empty "event" has suddenly
turned interesting. Even more impressively, I've lost my
resentment to having to buy the book twice a month.
Rating:
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