Saturday, August 17, 2013

Justice League #21 (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

The resolution of the Shazam! saga that's been running through "Justice League" is exactly what I hoped that it would be.  It's both emotionally satisfying and narratively clever, giving us perhaps the best reboot of an established character in the DCnU to date.

Johns made it pretty clear that Billy was going to wind up sharing his powers with his foster siblings and, when the moment comes, it's pretty great.  First, Johns ensures that it makes sense to the story, giving Billy the ability to evade Black Adam's attempts to take his powers.  But, it's also an important moment for Billy, showing him trusting people in a way that he hasn't previously been able to bring himself to do.  (Similarly, I have to admit that I teared up a bit when Billy "activated" Tawny.)  In fact, given how emotionally driven this story was, I was reminded how disappointed I've been in the main story in "Justice League," since it's lacked anything near the level of emotion that this one had.

In terms of the story itself, the resolution shows Billy's cleverness and, in so doing, his promise as a hero.  Most of this arc has been dedicated to Billy having fun with his powers, raising the question of whether he had what it takes to be a hero.  The conclusion here shows clearly that he does, particularly as he sends his foster siblings to save innocents while he confronts Black Adam.

In other words, I'm not only reminded by how much I've disliked the main story in this series, but how I would quickly drop it for a "Captain Marvel" series, which is hopefully coming.

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