Comics / Comic Reviews / DC Comics

52 Week Thirteen

By Hervé St-Louis
August 20, 2006 - 21:44

Former Justice League hero, the Elongated Man, invites his JLA buddies to witness the resurrection of his deceased wife, Sue Dibny. A cult obsessed with the former Superboy thinks it can bring him back to life through some ancient Kryptonite religion. They want to test it out on Sue Dibny first. The Justice League stands ready to intervene anytime to stop the plot from happening. All they need is to get the go a head from Ralf Dibny the Elongated Man. But will he favour resuscitating his wife instead?

The entire subplot of the Superboy revival cult is weak and filled with plot holes. First, where did the cult get so much knowledge of Superman’s dead planet’s religion? Unless Superman told them or the cult had access to the Fortress of Solitude, such information should not be public knowledge. I mean, getting information from a neighbouring country is hard enough, imagine getting it fro dead world light years away. I guess they learned the same way all those Star Trek fans learned to speak Klingon.

Second, what has the cult done wrong to warrant a full investigation by the Justice League. Moonies and Scientologists should steer clear of trouble, or the Justice League will interfere. The ceremony the cult is participating in is a private religious matter. Freedom to worship is a right in America. One would think that arch liberal Green Arrow would know about that.

Now, the coup de grace. If everything else in the ceremony was fake, how can Ralph Dibny be sure that what he heard was really what he heard? Just like Sue Dibny’s body, this story is a strawman. I wonder who will assume the cost of repairing and taking responsibility for destroying a public building. Who cares, in this world, the Justice League is not responsible for its wrong doings.

I didn’t like the artwork neither. It reminded me of Michael Turner’s but with skinnier males. The origin of the Elongated Man, drawn by Nowlan looked like something out of the 1960s, which made me enjoy it very much, although Nowlan has problems with drawing the body shapes of heroic characters like the Green Lantern and Batman.

6/10

Past Review:

52 Week Twelve

Last Updated: November 29, 2025 - 16:51