Comics / Comic Reviews / DC Comics

Justice League #14


By Avi Weinryb
February 12, 2017 - 15:32

Justice-League-14.jpg
A bizarre industrial world appears over Earth, threatening to strip-mine the planet of all its resources. The Justice League seeks to stop it, only to find itself punched down into the ground somewhere beneath Canada. But that’s OK -- even with the utter destruction of a Canadian town, the team has a meaningful heart-to-heart discussion from within the hole in the ground, comprising the majority of the book, and then we skip ahead to right after the team saves the day, as they triumphantly fly over crowds at the White House, with the threatening tech world (and its millions of likely innocent citizens) destroyed. This is in addition to the loss of that Canadian town, owing to the Justice League’s initial unpreparedness. But that’s OK -- people make mistakes, right?

It’s a peculiarly dialogue-heavy issue, largely taking place within a Canadian crater, but it actually does much to explore the personalities of the post-Rebirth Justice League, which has grown and changed over the past few issues. With an alternate timeline Superman on their team, there are some intriguing revelations and parallels to previous time-lines. Jess, the extremely unconfident Green Lantern, is trying this reader’s patience with her inability to believe in herself even as she skillfully wields a ring that could split a frickin’ atom. It’s tiring, but thankfully Cyborg calls her out on it, to the relief of the rest of the team and readers everywhere.

The point where the action skips ahead is actually a bold, clever choice by writer Bryan Hitch. We don’t need to see a paint-by-numbers take down of a technological terror. It’s the conversations and interplay leading up to it that is the focus here and the issue owns this.

Artwork by Bryan Hitch and Daniel Henriques is perfectly capable if not a little flat. There is a dull bluish-greenish hue throughout the issue - a misstep by Alex Sinclair which carries over to the cover. For the life of me, I thought the heroes on the cover were struggling underwater, not buried amidst rubble. Really couldn’t tell.

The story is aptly titled “Regroup” and it does just that, pulling together the characters and their concerns, preparing for the story arc to come. This will eventually get awkwardly added to a trade paperback collection, likely as a prologue to a grander tale.


Last Updated: August 31, 2023 - 08:12

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