Welcome to my next review- JUSTICE LEAGUE #2!
My wife, Ashley, as my unwilling model for Justice League #2
First of all, just a small criticism: At the end of issue number one, the comic hyped the upcoming "Superman VS Batman" fight. They really shouldn't have, as the fight was already over as the story picked up. And, Batman was... Losing! Honestly, the Dark Knight's ability to defeat the Man of Steel has been overhyped over the years. Superman moves faster than thought, and Batman is a human.
Now, to be fair, Batman had no prep time for this fight. Superman kind of "Bum-rushed" both him and GL. Add this to the fact that its early in both characters' careers, it makes perfect sense that Bats would not be victorious.
Anywho...
A side story is introduced right off the bat. Police scientist Barry Allen is being pulled off of his usual homicide cases to be put on a task force. The purpose of this task force is to find out who... The.... Flash... IS! (Get the joke, America? Barry is the Flash!)
We cut back to the aforementioned "fight" between Supes and Bats. It culminates with Batman being pinned against a wall, being questioned by the Metropolis Marvel about the alien box, with Superman saying that he had just been attacked by a creature wielding a similar box. He assumes Batman is behind it.
Just as Batman is beginning to realize that they were wrong (He and Hal had assumed that Superman was part of whatever is going on with the boxes), GL rescues him, hitting Superman with weighted ring constructs and wrapping him in chains. Of course, it doesn't work and Supes just flexes and shatters all the constructs, much to GL's dismay.
Now that Superman is enraged, Bats and GL have little choice but to create a protective bubble around the two of them and try to hold out. Batman tries to explain to Lantern that he can't fight Superman. He's both too strong AND too fast. And then, Hal gets an idea.
This is probably my favorite part of this issue- The reveal that Green Lantern and The Flash have already interacted in this universe. And that they are pretty good friends. In a brief conversation, Barry and Hal reveal that they have stopped a "talking gorilla" together in Central City. Flash is shown to be somewhat reluctant to be in the spotlight, and he tries to keep a low profile. Quite the opposite to the Flash we have come to know. But, again, this is early on. All characters need to develop still.
After Superman manages to break GL's bubble construct, Flash arrives right on time.
Remember how I said that the Batman Superman fight should not have been hyped? They should have hyped the Flash Superman fight. Extremely well done. Demonstrates what the Flash is truly capable of. A lot of people just think he runs fast, but the truth is, he's a guy who sees the world in slow motion.
He grabs Superman's arm, spins him around and then palm thrusts (I'm guessing that's what it was) him into a wall. Next, he then evades Superman's grasp, moving around him faster than the Man of Steel himself. At one point, he even throws his cape over his head. That's like slapping him in the face. Granted, Superman finished the fight by flicking Flash like a paper football.
Before Superman can continue fighting GL, Batman intervenes, realizing that everything is a misunderstanding. Immediately, he takes a charge, implying that they need to work together. As the military arrives, the foursome takes off into the sewer.
Next, we return to the story of Vic Stone, the high school football player from issue number one. We meet his father, Silas, who is researching the same box that Superman mentioned earlier. His team is beginning to realize that all the boxes are landing in areas that are known for super-human activity (Specifically New England, Washington DC, Central City and Coast City).
Victor then confronts his father, who admits that he will never go to one of his son's games. His reasoning is that whatever his son is capable of on the field, it pales in comparison to what people are now able to do ("...Fly, tear through buildings, and outrun race cars.")
Meanwhile, in an abandoned printing press, the foursome are now trying to figure out what the box does. Hal recommends to Barry that, since Superman and Batman are useless, they should deal with this on their own. As they all start to describe ways they could learn what the box is (Superman's X-Ray vision is worthless against it, GL's ring can't identify it, Flash isn't willing to take it apart at super-speed since he doesn't know if the inside is safe), it starts flashing and "pinging". Simultaneously, the one at STAR labs, with Silas and Victor, does the same.
Eventually, we discover what the box was. It opens a boomtube at both (and, I have to assume, at many other) locations. Unleashing soldiers of Apokolips on Earth. The device was an Apokoliptic Mother Box.
The Super-heroes brace for impact. And, tragically, Victor stone is severely burned by the energy of the Boomtube. And, as we see poor victor engulfed in flame, we are told that in issue number three we will meet Wonder Woman.
knwon to be the head of Meta-Human Affairs for the government) and Air Force Captain Steve Trevor (Most well-known as the love interest of Wonder Woman). The document discusses that Capt. Trevor failed a rescue attempt, his first failure. His reason is that he was teleported to Paradise Island, home of the Amazon race.
It also reveals that Wonder Woman is incapable of returning home, probably because she can't find it. Also, it reveals Wonder Woman's warrior nature, as she killed a kidnapper. Not a fan of heroes killing, but Wonder Woman is early in her career. So she still needs to understand the concept of "right and wrong" in "Man's World". Also mentioned in the document are Aquaman and Atlantis, though they are merely mentioned, not elaborated on.
Interestingly, Shazam is mentioned as well. As far as I can tell, this is the first mention of him in DC's New Universe. Hmm.
Closing thoughts: Still gripping me. I love the interaction between Flash and GL. Perfect. Though I'm hoping they can do some role reversal in the future, as Lantern seems to joke around a bit too much and Flash seems a tad uptight. Batman and Superman seem to be hitting it off well. ALMOST a little too well, since the two share different ideals (Batman is fear based and Superman tries to work in the public). But, we'll see if they develop it well. Looking forward to number three!
