Justice League #5: Johns continues to deliver more in the lines of the stories I expected to see in "Justice League," with the gang trying to recover from last issue's surprise attack and stop Darkseid. Johns does a great job showing us how the team still isn't a team yet, though we see flashes (heh) of teamwork here and there. Flash and Superman don't exactly work together as they try to escape Darkseid's Omega Beams, but they do at least find themselves in a similar situation. However, Johns' attempt at the teamwork moment of the issue is Batman's conversation with Green Lantern, whose stubborn determination to take on Darkseid isn't doing anyone (most obviously, himself) any good. I liked this moment initially, but Johns makes it last too long. It made me realize that, with the new edgier iterations of Superman and Wonder Woman, Bruce is the one left to be the emotional center of the team. I mean, how scary is that? It's really scary, because it doesn't work. Bruce Wayne does not hurl off his cowl, tell the biggest jackass in comics his identity and origin, and then go run through the city without his cowl! I mean, even if I concede the revelation of his identity, why wouldn't he put back on his cowl before running to find Superman? Plus, for all that, Hal doesn't even know how Bruce Wayne is. Really? I mean, it's like not knowing who Bill Gates is. But, Johns recovers somewhat, with a fairly comical sequence of Hal actually listening to Bruce and going to rally the troops, leading the remaining Leaguers (Aquaman, Cyborg, Flash, and Wonder Woman) against Darkseid. I still feel like Johns is going too far in finding obvious ways of emphasizing how we're in early days; Superman and Wonder Woman, in particular, are so wooden that it's hard to recognize them. But, I know it's a temporary problem related to this arc and, happily, he's distracting me from the questionable characterizations with more (and better) action sequences. All in all, despite the characterization wobbles, I still enjoyed this issue and feel like Johns is eventually going to start really delivering us some stellar stories. We're just not quite there yet.
Superboy #5: Ooo, I liked this issue a lot. First, I didn't read "Gen-13," so I'm totally ignorant of its history. But, given that I feel like the Superboy storyline is repeating storylines we've already seen, I think it's probably a good thing I don't know anything about "Gen-13," since it interjects some mystery into the series. (Though, I'm not really sure what a "bio-terrorist" is. They keep calling Fairchild that, but, what does it mean, exactly? Moreover, why would it inspire her to take down N.O.W.H.E.R.E. from the inside?) Second, I was confused last issue with the whole Centerhall/Templar "good cop/bad cop" routine, mainly because I didn't remember who Templar was. Now, I remember. He's a pretty serious badass and I'm excited about the day when Superboy decides to spread his wings and smack him around a bit, a day that seems to be getting closer to happening. Third, I'm intrigued by "Culling Day," particularly given the epilogue at the end of the book where we learn that the couple from last issue represent a much larger threat than we thought. (Are they all metahumans and they plan on culling humans?) Finally, Superboy became almost a little bit more likeable. Well, actually, he really didn't, but we saw the possibility that he may at some point, and I have to take my encouragement where I can get it. The issue wasn't perfect, though. Beyond my above question about why Fairchild is a bio-terrorist, I'm also confused how Superboy was able to identify and make contact with Fairchild's associate. Lobdell never explains that and it seems like it would require a lot more access to information than Superboy has appeared to have. Second, pet peeve #1 was in full effect here, with the cover depicting a shocked-looking Fairchild in Superboy's arms and the text reading, "Superboy just saved Fairchild...who will save Fairchild from Superboy?" Um, Fairchild is pretty much unconscious the entire issue, and Superboy in no way even remotely threatens her. So, yeah, WTF? But, in conclusion, this issue continued the steps in the right direction it began last issue, and I'm excited for it.
Teen Titans #5: OK, this issue isn't the best issue in the world, but it's OK. Similar to what Johns is doing in "Justice League," Lobdell shows the Titans' growing pains as they try to learn to act like a team. I'm a little confused by Lobdell's characterization of Tim, though. First, in the DCU, Tim was lot more timid than he is here. He took over leadership of the Titans in the DCU not because he demanded it, but because he earned it. (Bart rightfully asks, "Ego much?" when Tim announces that following him is the Titans' only chance for success.) Second, if Tim is smart enough to know that the only way to defeat Superboy is by distracting him so that he can't use his tactile telekinesis, then why would he launch into a dissertation about N.O.W.H.E.R.E.'s evils and, consequently, give Superboy the chance to defeat him? It seems uncharacteristically un-Tim. In fact, the more I read this series, the more I realize that, just like Superboy isn't our Superboy, Tim is not our Tim. Our Tim wasn't an egomaniacal, spoiled brat whose need to prove himself right trumped his ability to read a situation, which is more or less what we get here. But, as I've said before in this post, at the end of the day, I'm just glad we're moving down the road of getting Superboy joining the Titans, so I consider this issue a win.
Completely agree with Teen Titans #5. For me this series is yo-yoing worse than a super model, one moment its really good, next very, very awkward. Lobdell was obviously trying to provide information he thought was necessary when Tim had his little rant but it could have been done much more subtly, the rest of the comic was action-packed and had a good pace but this was just out of place.
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