DCU Comic Book Reviews

JUSTICE SOCIETY OF AMERICA #4

The New Age, Chapter 4

May 2007

Written by Geoff Johns

Pencils by Dale Eaglesham

Inks by Ruy José

Covers by Alex Ross & Dale Eaglesham

Synopsis

In Brooklyn, Vandal Savage attempts to kill Wildcat, who is saved by his son, who has literally turned into a Wildcat.  In Blue Valley and Philadelphia, Savage has sent a team of Nazis to kill Pat Dugan (aka S.T.R.I.P.E) and Libby Lawrence (aka the original Liberty Belle).  The JSA comes to the rescue and saves them and brings down the Fourth Reich.  Meanwhile, the two Wildcats work together to defeat Vandal Savage.  Later, at the headquarters of the JSA, Power Girl becomes the new Chairwoman of the JSA and Wildcat introduces his son to the team.  Elsewhere, Agent Jeff Graves decides to become the new Mr. America to honor is former partner.  In Gotham City, Dr. Destiny gleefully enjoys the nightmares of a woman as she pleads for Starboy. 

Review by Binkley (e-mail)

A terrific ending to a great opening storyline.  This was, essentially, a large chaotic fight scene, but Johns and Eaglesham handle all of it extremely well.  In the midst of all of the action, Johns is able to characterize the newbies to the team, Cyclone and Damage.  Both get ample time to shine while the action goes on in the background.  More importantly, Johns has given himself and these characters plenty of story potential based not only on who they are but also who they have bonded with.  These relationships will be interesting to watch in the coming months.  My only complaint is that the two Wildcats not only share the same color but also very dark so it was a little difficult to see what was going on at times, but the detail is there and the action is well drawn. 

In terms of the story structure and Johns was trying to accomplish, the finale with Agent Graves taking on the mantle of Mr. America made perfect sense.  This is especially true given Wildcat’s words at the end.  I can’t argue with Johns’ storytelling.  However, I did not like the sequence and I think all it does is add another character to the list of heroes that exist in the DCU but don’t have much impact to any story.  It is the cynical nature within me that states the new Mr. America exists only to be killed in the next big Crisis, whenever that may happen.  Personally, I think it would have been better to let Mr. America go rather than continue, but (as I said) I can’t argue with Johns’ decision to go that route. 

I honestly expected more concerning Heywood or the new Commander Steel.  He has been seen in a lot of the promotional materials, so I expected he would emerge more so than he did at the end of this issue.  I suspect Johns has more stories to tell with this character. 

It will be interesting to see what reaction the fanboys will have to Power Girl’s promotion.  I like the idea and I think it is great that she has been given the position.  She has been a long time member of the JSA, both in terms of the DC Universe as well as in terms of her character at DC Comics (if that makes any sense), so this is a good move to highlight her.  She has not moved solidly from the character with the convoluted history to a solid A-list player.  However, I think many will wonder why Alan Scott or Jay Garrick (or former chairmen Hawkman or Sand) didn’t take the leadership role.  And I think it is safe to wonder if Power Girl, a character that has not been a leader before, could handle the full responsibility of the team.

I must add that I love the character of Starman.  From his relief when he realized that everyone else could see the dragon to his raised hand in greeting when Ted introduced his son, he is an enjoyable, loony, goofy character.