Review: Justice League of America #1

Quick Summary

Pros: This issue proves that this new Justice League is the “grounded” League that fans were hoping for. Characters, their interactions with each other, and the plot are all interesting.

Cons: The ending indicates that the book may not stay “grounded” for long.

Overall: After tons of setup, the first issue of this brand new series is finally here and it ends up being a great start. The characters and concept are great and are exactly what most fans were hoping for from this series. On top of that, the main and auxiliary stories are all very interesting, giving readers plenty of reasons to return to this series. This first issue indicates a lot of potential for the future, hopefully it will pay off.

Story

The Rebirth issue of this series gave a great introduction to the cast but refused to explain what exactly this new league was going to be doing. This issue explains exactly that; the new League is more of a ground team taking on domestic threats and helping everyday people. This goal is exactly what this team needs to make this book successful. On top of this, character dynamics and a good starting storyline give this series a lot of promise. Overall it looks like this may finally be the “ground level” Justice League fans have been asking for.

(spoilers start here)

DC tried to do a “grounded” Justice League near the start of the New 52, also called the Justice League of America. However this team was more of a pseudo-Suicide Squad than a real Justice League and did not end up lasting too long. This new team feels much more like a “real” Justice League. Some heroes here were on the League before the New 52 and others are given substantial reason for being there. This is not just a bunch of people thrown together; it is the human Justice League that fans have been wanting.

This human element is the most interesting and satisfying aspect of the new team. They put out fires, rescue people, and even save the dolphins. Things get more grandiose and cosmic near the book’s conclusion, but from the start there is a clear effort made to show how this team will be different from the Justice League. The Justice League will focus on planetary threats, invasions, and doomsday scenarios while this one will focus on saving everyday people from more localized threats. Hopefully Lord Havok’s shenanigans say localized like this or else this “grounded” element may become more muddled.

While on the topic of this team saving local life, I will point out that Lobo saying he “can’t stand ta see a dolphin cry” was both hilarious and awesome.

In addition to being a good League and having some great characters, there are a number of compelling elements and plotlines to keep readers interested. Killer Frost’s attempt to be a hero, Ryan Choi’s search for Ray Palmer, and Batman’s desire to keep this team together were all compelling stories going into this issue. Now, this series stacks on the creation of the Happy Harbor base and Lord Havok on top. When put together, all of this makes for an intriguing plot with plenty of potential going forward. All in all, it will be interesting to watch this team and this series develop.

(spoilers end here)

Art

Ivan Reis never disappoints when it comes to artwork. His work has a classic look to it that simply screams “superhero”. It makes all of the characters pop and give a wonderful level of detail to the scenery. Overall, the art is really good and is something almost everyone is sure to enjoy.

In addition, the colors in this are also very well done. Realistic and earthy tones fill many of the background images and scenery in order to make them look more true to life. However, all of the characters are done with bright colors that cause them to stand out on every page. This draws the reader’s eye to the heroes and makes them realize how important they are in this world. These colors are a subtle but very appreciated aspect of this artwork.

Continuity

Despite being the number one issue of this new Justice League of America series, it is not the first issue. This issue flows directly out of Justice League of America Rebirth #1 and will continue in Justice League of America #2.

• The seeds for this entire series were sown in the six issue event “Justice League vs. Suicide Squad”. These issues are collected in Justice League vs. Suicide Squad.
• Individual characters’ stories leading into this series were done in a series of one-shot issues. These issues included The Ray Rebirth #1, Vixen Rebirth #1, The Atom Rebirth #1, and Killer Frost Rebirth #1.  All of these are collected in Justice League of America: The Road to Rebirth.