This issue is pretty clearly a filler issue, given that it involves a lot of characters just sort of standing in place and talking. The main events occurs when Batman and Catwoman unexpectedly run into Lex Luthor and his team at Wayne Enterprises, though I'm not really sure why they're all there. Batman is there because he believes that it has a device that can help him charge a Mother Box, which will allow him and Catwoman to move freely, something that they can't currently do with Grid controlling all technology. But, it seems far-fetched, particularly since you'd assume Batman would've made sure that he had the device with him in the Batcave, given that the Mother Box is useless without it. I also don't quite remember why Lex Luthor is there.
But, we don't really get to explore either team's motivations since they are thrown into conflict with Power Ring and a group of villains that Grid sent with him (as likely described in a tie-in issue that I didn't read). This sequence leads to the issue's best moment, when Batman dons Sinestro's ring against Power Ring. However, it's the best moment merely for the bizarre (and unnecessary) combination of Batman's costume with Sinestro's. Moreover, Sinestro's actual appearance at the end of this issue makes you wonder why we had to go through Bat-Sinestro in the first place. Couldn't we have just had Sinestro confront Power Ring?
The only other events, such as they are, are Superwoman telling Ultraman of Owlman's plans and Johns awkwardly trying to humanize Luthor by having him share his previous fear of failure with Bizarro to inspire him, since he's apparently afraid of the dark. (Like I said, it was awkward.)
On a side note, this issue reminded me of one of my main problems with the DCnU, namely that it's hard to remember where certain characters are in their previous timeline. For example, Batman emerged more or less unscathed from the reboot (despite the fact that we seem to be walking back some stuff lately), but Superboy was returned all the way to his origin. Here, I was previously confused when Selina didn't know Bruce was Batman, something we get confirmed here. Similarly, it's weird in this issue to see Bizarro, a character that's existed for 50+ years, treated as an unknown quantity.
At any rate, it's not a terrible issue, but it's sort of hard to tell where we're going from here. We continue to get hints about this mysterious entity that destroyed most of Earth-3, but it's unclear if it's going to make an appearance in this series or if it's going to be addressed somewhere else. You also have to wonder if the Justice League is going to defeat the Crime Syndicate or if the Crime Syndicate is going to defeat itself.
*** (three of five stars)
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