DCU Comic Book Reviews

JUSTICE LEAGUE: CRY FOR JUSTICE #3

The Villain

November 2009

Written by James Robinson

Pencils by Mauro Cascioli

Inks by Mauro Cascioli

Cover by Mauro Cascioli

Synopsis

In Gotham City, Green Lantern and Green Arrow, along with the help from the Atom, Captain Marvel, and Supergirl have defeated Prometheus and his gang.  They interrogate Prometheus to learn what his plans were in his recent attempts to steal various time-related technology.  Elsewhere, Congorilla and Mikaal Thomas continue the search for the murderer of their friends. They encounter a group of armored men.  Congorilla and Mikaal take the fight to the men, but in the process lose their plane.  Meanwhile, Jordan’s torture reveals Prometheus is actually Clayface, with a bomb planted inside its body.  Before, Prometheus explains his actions to Ira Quimby.  Rather than just kill the heroes, Prometheus plans to make it personal and hit them where it hurts the most.  Afterwards, he poisons Quimby so he can’t tell anyone of his plans.  In Opal City, Bobo Bennetti and The Shade visit the clairvoyant Charity, who asks Shade to pass along a warning of death and danger to the Justice League.    

Review by Binkley (e-mail)

Supergirl crying?  Are you kidding me?  For me, that may have been the moment when the series jumped the shark.  Or maybe it was the obvious way in which I knew it wasn’t Prometheus, yet the characters somehow couldn’t figure it out.  Or the talking killer syndrome that Robinson employs in order to let the reader know what is supposedly happening.  Or all of the ex-Starman characters appearing at the end.  I know writers like to return to characters they have created and/or written before (see:  Rucka, Greg), but all at once like that was just too much.  All of this adds to a writer that seems to know what he is trying to do with the story, but not executing it very well.  It reads very clumsy, like a first draft that an editor needed to, well, edit before it finally reached print.  The dialogue is awkward (just re-read Hal’s opening words) and the pacing lacks momentum.  It is a big mess, with scenes that are stretched for far too long in the name of characterization.  But these scenes fail because the characterization is off or doesn’t add any value to the story.  Overall, the entire story is meandering, which is odd because I get the feeling Robinson knows exactly what he wants.  He is just not getting there in the way he needs to. 

Someone really should’ve realized that Kara would not cry at being accused of possibly being a villain.  While I thought the dialogue was stilted and seemed to be written for drama’s sake, I can understand Hal’s concern given the recent events in the various Superman books.  She would get angry and gnash her teeth and lash out, but not cry.  That is not what I would have expected. 

Take a look at the first page, with four grown men staring at a teenage girl’s chest (and note how Kara’s hair is blowing in a different direction than Freddy’s hair).  Is this kind of thing needed in super hero comics?  And the whole thing about Freddy’s hormones (and why would Ray, who is focused on his wife’s death and justice even say something like that)?  Add that line to the “threesome” comment in the previous angle and I’ve got to wonder:  what the hell is Robinson going for?  Why are we getting so many sexual references in the pages?  If Robinson were going for some type of satire or commentary about sex and violence (say like The Boys) I could understand it, but this is a strict heroes-battle-villains book, so it feels out of place.  And not needed. 

Comic Connection

Ira Quimby (aka I.Q.) first appeared in Mystery in Space #87 (November 1963).  I.Q. has most often appeared an enemy of Hawkman, and was most recently seen in 52.

The Shade first appeared in Flash Comics #33 (September 1942).   The Shade battled against the both Jay Garrick and Barry Allen.  Later, the Shade not only fought against but also became a mentor for Jack Knight (aka Starman). 

Jake "Bobo" Bennetti first appeared in Starman (Volume 2) #29 in April 1997 (and created by James Robinson).  Bennetti was a former bank robber who eventually helped Starman after his release from prison.

Charity O’Dare is married to Mason O’Dare, part of the O’Dare family who played a big role in the Starman book written by James Robinson.  Charity last appeared in Trinity.

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