Azrael is possessed by Darkseid. Cancel Christmas. Your Major Spoilers review of Justice League Odyssey #20 from DC Comics awaits!

JUSTICE LEAGUE ODYSSEY #20

Writer: Dan Abnett
Artist Cliff Richards
Colorist: Rain Beredo
Letterer: Andworld Designs
Editor: Michael Cotton
Publisher: DC Comics
Cover Price: $3.99
Release Date: May 12, 2020

Previously in Justice League Odyssey: As Darkseid threatens reality as we know it, Epoch, the Lord of Time, has a plan to stop him… but will that plan end in even greater disaster for the Multiverse? Green Lantern Jessica Cruz and her Justice League Odyssey misfits have one chance to avert catastrophe, but they’ll have to steal Epoch’s time technology to do it… and risk unraveling the entire history of the DC Universe!

DARKSEID IS… A JERK

Green Lantern Jessica Cruz is having a bad day. Cyborg has been turned into a Mother Box by Darkseid, Starfire is dead at the hands of her sister, Blackfire, and a possessed Azrael is about to murder Epoch, the Lord of Time and the only hope the have of turning the tide. Jesssica’s ring has absorbed a little bit of Omega Beam energy, allowing her to hold her own against the power of Apokalips, but when Azrael gains the upper hand, Blackfire disintegrates him as well. Surrounded by creatures with no compunction against killing (Red Lantern Dex-Starr, Orion of New Genesis and Blackfire herself), Jessica is overcome with emotions at the loss of her team, but with a little help from Epoch, she crafts a plan: Send a message back in time to warn her teammates and stop this horrible reality from ever happening! She is successful in getting a message back to Cyborg, but before anything can quite come of it, Darkseid himself arrives on their remote satellite, with murderous intent.

Though, for him, it’s just Tuesday…

IT’S ALWAYS DARKEST

This is a seriously dark issue, with most of the noteworthy cast dead, enslaved or killed in these pages, and the arrival of Darkseid means things aren’t really looking all that bright for Green Lantern, either. I really enjoy the art in this book, though, especially the touches like Jessica’s unique Lantern symbol and Cyborg’s metal image of himself remaining unchanged even in his horrifying new state. Even the gruesome sight of Jean-Paul Valley being blown to cinders looks really good. That’s important in a book this soul-crushingly dark, and doubly so in a comic where several characters are never actually named. They may actually be members of the JLO, but I have NO idea who they are or what their deal is, which is a bit of a bummer. I get that we’re in the middle of a huge arc, but I maintain that any individual issue should be readable AS an individual issue, and this one isn’t quite there yet.

BOTTOM LINE: RIGHT DOWN THE MIDDLE

In short, Justice League Odyssey #20 gets a lot of things right, especially when it comes to the art, and I can appreciate the darkness that they’re going for (it’s not called the Ghost Sector because of the white sand beaches), but this is oppressively dark and has a few narrative problems that make it hard to understand as well, earning a middle-of-the-road 3 out of 5 stars. There’s a strong premise and a lot of potential here, but this issue doesn’t quite have all the elements necessary for an unqualified success. I do want to see where they’re going, though.

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