Review: Justice League Odyssey Vol. 3- The Final Frontier

Quick Summary

Pros: The main storyline is packed with creative concepts. The main storyline is fun and exciting the whole way through. The characters are well-written, their interactions are entertaining, and their growth and development is great to see. The artwork looks great and suits this series well.

Cons: Fans of Cyborg, Starfire, and Azrael may be disappointed in their reduced importance in this volume.

Overall: This is a highly entertaining continuation of an already appealing series. The book centers around some creative, otherworldly encounters starring a great cast of characters. Their adventures provide a nice mix of action and comedy while successfully continuing the overarching narrative of the series. Anyone who enjoyed previous volumes should absolutely continue reading here.

Story

Justice League Odyssey Vol. 3: The Final Frontier is the type of crazy space fun in which writer Dan Abnett excels. This volume details a highly compelling storyline packed to the brim with creative concepts. This gives the impression of a wild space odyssey that continues the narrative from the last book. It also contains a great cast of characters who manage to be both interesting and humorous. In many ways, this volume feels like a DC Comics version of Abnett’s work on Guardians of the Galaxy which helps make this a huge success.

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The Final Frontier picks up right where the previous volume closed, with Jessica Cruz dead and Darkseid in control of the rest of the heroes. However, Jessica is revived through a combination of her Ring’s power and Darkseid’s energy. From here, she teams up with an eclectic group of space-faring beings in a renewed attempt to take down Darkseid. Initially, this just involves dodging his attacks but, by the end of the book, it sees them begin an attempt to rewrite time itself. This is a crazy but incredibly addictive narrative that remains fun, fresh, and exciting from start to finish.

Part of the appeal here comes from the great cast of characters featured in this book. Here, Jessica Cruz steps up to an important leadership role, exhibiting character and personal development beyond what we’ve ever seen from her. At the same time, Orion initially adds a bit of mystery before providing a unique connection to Darkseid. Meanwhile, Blackfire and Dex-Starr provide some menacing power. Even the new characters, Gamma Knife and the technician, are already proving to be enjoyable. It also helps that the interactions between all of these characters feel organic and have a great mix of humor and meaning.

The only downside of The Final Frontier is the general absence of Cyborg, Starfire, and Azrael. This series started with all of them on a personal quest yet this volume nearly drops them from the storyline. Jessica Cruz and the other characters absolutely shine throughout this narrative, which helps make up for this, but I was slightly disappointed in the absence of these heroes.

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Art

Like its predecessors, the artwork in The Final Frontier is mostly positive. Both Will Conrad and Cliff Richards put forward some great work. The visuals here are realistic in a way that makes the action scenes feel more intense and creative in a way that emphasizes the otherworldly nature of this book. The characters are also consistently depicted well, bringing out their emotions and power in a way that works. Together, these factors make these artists a great match for this particular series. The only problem is that the book’s second chapter sees a noticeable drop in the quality of the art, as another artist takes over, but this drop in quality is confined within this one chapter. Overall, the visuals look great throughout this book and lead to a solid reading experience.

Continuity

Justice League Odyssey Vol. 3: The Final Frontier continues the story from Justice League Odyssey Vol. 2: Death of the Dark (Review).

The story here continues in Justice League Odyssey Vol. 4: Last Stand (Review).

This volume also references other comic books, detailed below:

• The entire volume makes several references to a break in the Source Wall and to the release of planets from Colu. The Source Wall was broken in Dark Nights: Metal (Review) (Reading Order) and the planets were released in Justice League: No Justice (Review) (Reading Order).
• Several references are also made to Darkseid being reduced to the age of an infant. This happened in Justice League: Darkseid War (Review) (Reading Order).
• The Source Wall fully shattered in Justice League Annual #1, collected in Justice League Vol. 3: Hawkworld (Review).
• The symbol seen in the sky at various points in this book is a reference to what is taking place within Justice League Vol. 5- The Doom War (Review).
• The threat to the Multiverse from Perpetua is mentioned at a few points. Her rise is detailed across the Justice League series, beginning with Justice League Vol. 1: The Totality (Review) and climaxing in Dark Nights: Death Metal. See our “Perpetua Reading Order” for more information.