Review: Justice League Vol. 3- Throne of Atlantis
Quick Summary
Pros: The Wonder Woman spotlight is a nice change of pace. The Justice League is starting to feel like a group of friends rather than just work associates.
Cons: Superman and Wonder Woman’s relationship continues to feel forced. The Cheetah story feels unresolved at its conclusion.
Overall: This story presents a nice change of pace from the high stakes action found in the previous two volumes of Justice League. It is a short and personal story that explores Wonder Woman and how she relates to both villains and the rest of the team. Though it is hampered by an odd ending and a awkward relationship between Superman and Wonder Woman, it is still a fun read overall.
Collection Notes
The “Throne of Atlantis” storyline is an intense crossover between the Justice League and the Aquaman comic series. It starts with issue #14 of Aquaman and alternates between the Aquaman and Justice League series before finally concluding in issue #17 of Aquaman. However, it is far more related to the Aquaman storyline than the Justice League storyline, despite featuring characters from both.
See our Throne of Atlantis reading order here
Therefore, we will be reviewing the entirety of the “Throne of Atlantis” storyline in our review of Aquaman Vol. 3: Throne of Atlantis (which can be found here) instead of within this review. This review will cover the portions of Justice League Vol. 3: Throne of Atlantis which are not part of the “Throne of Atlantis” storyline. Therefore, this review will only cover issues #13-14 of Justice League.
Story
In these two issues of Justice League Vol. 3: Throne of Atlantis Geoff Johns tells the story of the Cheetah and her complex history with Wonder Woman. It is a fun ride filled with action, however it ends so suddenly that it leaves things feeling unresolved. Alongside this, readers also get to see the League start to bond more and become the “super friends” that they claim to be. Overall it is an enjoyable break in the typical Justice League adventure that manages to fit in a surprising amount of decompression into a very action packed tale.
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The main portion of these issues follows Wonder Woman fighting to take down the Cheetah. It shows how much trust Wonder Woman puts in individual people and how far she is willing to go to protect them, even if she has to make sacrifices in order to do so. However, the revelation that Barbara Minerva had been lying to Diana the whole time felt like it came out of nowhere. It was not built up to at all and then was never expanded upon either. This made it feel like a cheap gimmick in order to get Wonder Woman to experience betrayal, something which could have been done in a more tactful way.
The best part of the story though is how the Justice League is starting to grow together as a group. Flash and Cyborg are joking around with each other, they’re all working out plans together instead of rushing head first into the fight, and the majority of the team’s bickering seems to be gone. The “can we trust each other?” portion of the story seems like its finally over, which is definitely a good thing.
The only thing that hampers this is Superman and Wonder Woman’s awkward relationship. In one scene Superman asks Cyborg and Flash to leave the room so he can talk to Wonder Woman by himself. At this point in time, these two have only kissed once and barely have any sort of relationship built up. Yet Superman acts as if they have a bond that only the two of them share. It feels weird and alienates them against the rest of the League.
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Art
Tony S. Daniel is an artist who can always be counted on for good looking and consistent quality artwork, these issues are no different. Characters and locations are detailed and true to life. In these issues, his depiction of the Congo is probably the issues highlight. Everything is drawn so beautifully that you feel like you are actually there, thus adding to the overall immersion of the story.
There are a few minor flaws with the artwork, for instance Steve Trevor’s beard looks weird, however these are really only noticeable if you are nitpicking.
Continuity
Justice League Vol. 3: Throne of Atlantis continues the story from Justice League Vol. 2: The Villain’s Journey (Review).
The story here continues in Justice League Vol. 4: The Grid (Review).
Besides connections to the previous two volumes of Justice League, this story does not make connections to any other comic book. However, this continuity breakdown is only on issues #13-14 of this collection. The rest of the issues are broken down in our review of Aquaman Vol. 3: Throne of Atlantis (review found here).