Some of the greatest heroes and most terrible villains of Earth have been assembled to fight off the cosmic threat of The Omega Titans. Your Major Spoilers review of Justice League: No Justice #2 awaits!
JUSTICE LEAGUE: NO JUSTICE #2
Writer: Scott Snyder, James Tynion IV and Joshua Williamson
Artist: Francis Manapul and Marcus To
Colorist: Hi-Fi
Letterer: Andworld Design
Editor: Rebecca Taylor
Publisher: DC Comics
Cover Price: $3.99
Release Date: May 16, 2018
Previously in Justice League: No Justice: In order to fight off the Omega Titans, four space giants of incredible power, Brainiac has assembled heroes and villains alike, and grouped them into four teams: Entropy, Wisdom, Wonder, and Mystery. Each superhuman has a special uniform that bonds them to their team, and each is specifically chosen to target one of the Omega Titans. Sadly, Amanda Waller has kind of hosed the heroes, since the combined attack of her psychics last issue (an attempt to ascertain Brainiac’s motives and secrets) kind of… um… blew off his head. Without the master tactician who assembled them, these new Leagues have to figure out the plan for themselves…
“IF COLU DIES, EARTH IS NEXT.”
We open our festivities on Earth, in the Arctic Circle, where Amanda Waller has come after “accidentally” murdering Brainiac, searching for the one thing that she believes can put a dent in the Omega Titans’ threat. She ends up coming face to face with Green Arrow, who informs her that most of the rest of the world’s superhumans have been placed in some sort of stasis field and demands to know what has happened to the Justice League. They’re busy on Brainiac’s homeworld of Colu, dealing with internal conflict, confusion, a lack of a plan and also the strange trees that have grown across the world. This issue focuses mostly on the Mystery League (Superman, Sinestro, Martian Manhunter, Starfire, and Starro The Conquerer) and the Entropy League (Lobo, Beast Boy, Luthor, Batman and Deathstroke), with serious conflict arising between Sinestro and… everybody. Meanwhile, Beast Boy tries to figure out why in the world he’s on the team he’s on, only finding his confidence thanks to a quick pep talk from Lobo, of all people, after which they discover another player who claims to be Brainiac’s secret weapon…
THE REST OF THE TITANS GOT PROMOTED, TOO!
I’m really quite sad that these teams are only temporary, since Raven, Starfire, Beast Boy, and Robin are part of this crossover, making it to the big leagues with their cartoon pal, Cyborg. Justice League: No Justice #2 suffers a little bit due to the remoteness of the alien threat and an uncertain explanation of what the Earth Seed that Green Arrow and Amanda are messing with is, but there are lovely character bits that make this one an entertaining read. Starro being a sarcastic jerk is a ton of fun, and the Lobo/Beast Boy interaction makes the book for me. Luthor and Batman’s tense back and forth and the addition of the secret weapon character (*coughVrilDoxIIcough*) makes the Entropy side of things extra arrogant. Manapul and To provide a really cool art job in this issue, though I’m a little bit annoyed at how little we get to see of the new Braniacified costumes. The visuals of the “trees” are pretty excellent, though, and there’s a clear sense in every panel that we are truly on an alien world…
BOTTOM LINE: A PRETTY GOOD MIDDLE CHAPTER
I suspect that some of my questions about whats and wherefores come from this story spinning out of the Metal crossover (which I think ended with the defeat of the Dark Multiverse at the cost of the Source Wall that used to protect the DCU, blah blah blah crossovercakes), but I also suspect that my enjoyment of the bizarre teamings here is the main thrust of the issue. Seeing Martian Manhunter and Starro combining forces, seeing Starfire and Sinestro at one another’s throats and seeing The Main Man as Gar Logan’s life coach make Justice League: No Justice #2 an entertaining read, with well-handled art that helps to get past the fact that I really don’t understand the threat, earning 3 out of 5 stars overall. Here’s hoping next issue gives us some more time with Cyborg and Wonder Woman’s teams, especially given the news of what’s coming afterwards in Justice League Dark and Justice League Odyssey in coming months…
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