Justice League #4 marks the first time that this series starts to gel together into a true Justice League series. Geoff Johns has had a thankless job in reinventing the Justice League for the New DCU. It’s been an overall well paced story considering what Johns has been aiming for, yet for some the pace is slow. Some calling it Justice League via Ultimate Spider-Man‘s early issues. I say though the pacing has been a nice balance, making sure each character got a chance in the spotlight building up to this point. Jim Lee’s art has been stronger issue to issue, with this just being as good if not better than the last one. Except for some quibbles with some designs, which I’ll explain later in the review.
Spoiler warnings: In talking about this issue there will be a few spoilers here and there, some parts are just hard to get into without spoiling some small aspects of the issue. It won’t ruin your enjoyment but just warning you in advance.
Vic Stone is now Cyborg, and the transformation is handled powerfully. The organic and the metal merging together in a fashion that shows you how painful this transformation must be. As Cyborg is adapting to his new abilities you get some fun Easter eggs with familiar names listed. Geoff shows you the development of Vic being suitably freaked out over what his Dad has done to him. I liked how this was handled, from the characterization to the design. Better than I could have expected and also the most genuine empathy we get for his Dad since he was first introduced.
As we focus back on the Justice League, Aquaman is now officially with the team. By the way, if you’re not happy with some of the jokes in the Aquaman comic at times, you might not be pleased with parts of his introduction. Green Lantern initially doesn’t think much until Aquaman shows his power to him. He summons giant Sharks out of the water to deal with the Parademons. Pardon me this one moment but that’s just cool to me. Panel after panel of Jim Lee showing Aquaman cutting loose. Which does make up for the jokes in his intro. These scenes serve to make Green
Lantern shut his mouth quickly. Further showing Geoff building that team dynamic slowly but surely. Each member gets a major chances to shine.
This is where the spoilers come in, Darkseid makes his appearance in this issue. The reason why I don’t consider it too horrible a spoiler because you knew he was coming eventually. In seeing more of the new design, I feel less Darkseid and more Anti-Monitor which makes a strange combination. Jim Lee’s design for Darkseid could grow on me though, I do like the double page spread near the end showing Darkseid’s devastating power. Then the last page, that could be the part that makes up for the pacing of the past few issues for a lot of readers. The next two issues are going to be a barn buster that’s for sure.
Darkseid is now revealed and the Justice League is together at last. I expect though we have more surprises to come in the next two issues. It’s nice to see the team together, learning more about how they work together in the coming issues is going to be interesting to watch. I can’t help but be excited. Next issue is where the battle begins, and I can hardly wait to see what Geoff Johns and Jim Lee throw at us in Justice League.
