Review: Justice League Vol. 5- Forever Heroes

Quick Summary

Pros: All the characters in this book are on point, the Crime Syndicate is creepy and evil while Cyborg and the Metal Men are lovable. This is a great addition to the Forever Evil storyline. The entire book looks great.

Cons: Motivations behind some actions are never adequately explained.

Overall: This is one of the best Justice League stories that ends up featuring very little of the actual Justice League. Instead, the dark origins of the Crime Syndicate are told alongside their equally villains deeds in this dimension. This darkness is wonderfully balanced though, as stories about Cyborg and the Metal Men are so packed with humor that they put the whole book back into perspective. If you read Forever Evil, this is not a story to miss.

Story

Though mostly serving as supplementary material to the main Forever Evil (Review) storyline, Justice League Vol. 5: Forever Heroes is a fantastic story that ends up rivaling the main event. It shows the origin of nearly every member of the Crime Syndicate, in brutal detail. While, on the other side of the spectrum, it introduces the goofy and lovable Metal Men and tells a heartwarming Cyborg story. Though the Justice League members themselves aren’t really in this book, it ends up being one of the best installments in the series.

Fair warning though, this is not a standalone book. It quite nearly requires Forever Evil (Review) as a prerequisite or else very little of this storyline makes much sense.

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There are basically two parts to this book, a villain highlight and a hero highlight. The first few issues form the villain highlight and tell the brutal origin stories of the Crime Syndicate members. The next few issues shift gears and spend time introducing the jovial Metal Men and a touching story about Cyborg’s lot in life. Placing these two stories next to one another is a perfect contrast, as the first half is horribly dark and depressing while the second half is even more lighthearted and fun than usual. Together they form a loose narrative that stands alright on its own but really shines when placed alongside Forever Evil (Review).

As discussed, the first half of the book details the origins of each Crime Syndicate member. These origin stories are brutal, twisted versions of their heroic counterparts that paint a horrible, yet fascinating and imaginative, picture. I never imagined seeing the Kents as violent drug addicts or Alfred as a sociopathic killer, yet this book tells both of those stories. This is the stuff of nightmares and is something that horror and elseworld fans will end up finding oddly enjoyable to read.

Origin stories are not all that readers get to see, as behind the scenes action from Forever Evil (Review) is also present here. All of these moments give some additional insight as to character’s actions in the main series. Plot points like Superwoman’s baby and Owlman’s obsession with Nightwing are even explained in far more satisfactory detail. The structure here works because it allows for the decompressed and character focused moments to happen directly outside the main storyline, leaving Forever Evil (Review) as the nonstop thrill ride that it is.

Once the villain origins are complete, the book drags itself out of depression and introduces the Metal Men. This cast of quirky robots each have distinct and fun personalities designed to match the element from which they are made. Johns also manages to write them all together in a way that brings the best aspects of their personalities to light, creating humor and a near instant sense of family. Despite only appearing in a few pages, the Metal Men are characters I would love to see a lot more of in the future.

The final story of this book is the rebirth of Cyborg. After being nearly killed at the end of Trinity War (Review), Cyborg convinces his father to put him back together again. This is a big moment as Cyborg actually chooses to undergo the procedure, finally accepting his role as a hero. He then goes on to fight and defeat Grid, who can be viewed as a physical manifestation of Cyborg’s doubts and fears. Cyborg didn’t really get a fair portion of the spotlight in the past few volumes of Justice League so it is nice to see him get his due here.

The only complaint I would bring up with this book is how the motivation behind some events is seemingly glossed over. Things like the reason Chemo was created or how the Metal Men received personalities are never explained. This is probably done so that the story does not become too bogged down with details, however it is still worth pointing out.

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Art

The majority of this book is drawn by Ivan Reis, who has done some fantastic work for this series in the past. This does not change in this volume as he continues to put out some of the best looking pages out there. His depictions of the Earth 3 villains are terrifying and his depictions of the Metal Men are fun, which is exactly what the story needs them to be. Once again, Ivan Reis manages to step up to the plate and knock another one out of the park.

The only two issues not done by Ivan Reis are done by Doug Mahnke. The first details the origin of Owlman and his subsequent raid on the crime families of Gotham. Having Mahnke on this issue was a great move, as his artistic style is more suited to the dark and gritty streets of Gotham. His work overall is also great and continues the tradition of good looking art in the Justice League series.

Continuity

Justice League Vol. 5: Forever Heroes flows directly out of the beginning of Forever Evil (Review), which continues directly after Trinity War (Review). The story here is also supplementary to the rest of Forever Evil (Review), which goes on at the exact same time.

The story here continues in Justice League Vol. 6: Injustice League (Review).

This volume also references stories from other comic books, all of which are detailed below.

• At one point the Teen Titans’ trip through time is mentioned. This happened in Forever Evil (Review) but is continued in Teen Titans Vol. 5: The Trial of Kid Flash.
• The end of the collection has Steve Trevor make an appearance. He is coming back from the events of Forever Evil: A.R.G.U.S. (Review).