Justice In Spaaaaaaaaaace (Justice League Odyssey #12 Review)
JUSTICE LEAGUE ODYSSEY #12
Writer: Dan Abnett
Artist: Will Conrad
Colors: Rain Beredo
Letterer: Andworld Design
Cover: Will Conrad & Ivan Nunes
Publisher: DC
Rating: 9/10 Other Boxes
Oh man, the League is going where no League has gone before in this issue. JUSTICE LEAGUE ODYSSEY has been an interesting exploration so far since it’s release. Four heroes traveling to the Lost Sector, a group of planets that for the longest time have been bottled up and stored away in Brainiac’s collection. With the events of NO JUSTICE releasing them back into the world we had some of our heroes feel the call to this place, and with the carefully placed guidance of one Darkseid, we have our series. After a long voyage we have now made it to issue twelve and this one proves to be the biggest moment yet within the whole series so far. I’m gonna do my best not to spoil this.
Aligning The Stars Just Right
If this is a series you haven’t heard much of, then you are missing out. Cool premise aside, the creative team on this book have really outdone themselves with building up a story that creates so much weight behind it. No deep space telescope is required to see the detail in Will Conrad’s art. Every character here is detailed so well you can really see the muscles and features to each character. Along with Rain Beredo’s colors, who already puts shine on some of these characters (talking about that polish on Cyborg’s chrome and Darkseid big evil head), they really bring out a cool 4th world look in these panels which is perfect when working with Darkseid.
While the artists create the appealing view, only one person has the gravity to pull me into a book like this with their out of this world story telling. It’s no moon. It’s Dan Abnett. This guy has brought me down to the bottom of the ocean with AQUAMAN and now I’ve followed him into the stars with Odyssey. I mean, there was some pretty strong pull knowing that Jessica Cruz was going to featured in this story (she’s my favorite Green Lantern). Despite J-Bird being the main reason Abnett’s writing and plot had me pretty excited about the unlikely roster that was part of this team. Cyborg, Starfire and Azreal all feel a call to the Lost Sector and find out they are Old Gods? Super enticing right then and there. We got a good solid story building up on heroism, discovery and twists for all these characters and I definitely feel like they all had some great stuff going on.
PING
Starfire! Loving and pretty nonviolent. She came to find her home planet Tamaran that Brainiac had stolen away so long ago. When unlocking new and more destructive powers that she could barely control (along with a bit of extra anger), she continued to fight hard to reign them in. Her goodness continued to shine through as bright as her star bolts and when put in confrontation with her sister, she tried for peace and only resorted to violence when necessary. Her strength and love for her friends would be there for her to overcome Darkseid when needed.
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You know, I didn’t know much about ol’ Jean-Paul Valley outside of being a religious fanatic inside the Batman side of the DC universe. Dan Abnett did an awesome job getting me to like this guy. Suited up with some new high tech armor, Azrael ventures among the stars to find purpose for himself. He finds it among his worshippers and his newfound super power that gives him the voice to command others (kinda Preacher-esque). His faith that all things will work out and his kindness has me glad to have him close by with his good words.
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Booyah! I can’t write a review with Cyborg in it and not say the catch phrase from the show that introduced me to him. Cyborg was an amazing pick for this team, especially when it comes to Darkseid and his relationship to him. With his tech originating from a Mother Box which came from Apocalypse, he has shown times to be scared of letting the machine take over. There have been times throughout his history where it has but lately Victor Stone has been in complete control of his humanity. He proves this quite often in this series when unlocking new upgrades while in the Ghost Sector that, under his control, will come in handy if Darkseid tries to pull a fast one on the team.
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As I said before, Jessica Cruz was one of the biggest pulls to this comic originally, before I saw Abnett writing it. Abnett does a great job picking up where her character growth was left off at. She has become more confident and less scared now in her role as Green Lantern. While she wasn’t thrilled at the idea of sticking around to “help” Darkseid with the others, she has been extremely perceptive and resourceful. She’s been rocking low battery this whole run so far without any way to recharge and she holds her own like a total fearless badass. I love how much she has grown and the sheer limitless courage she has begun to have. She’s definitely a character that has a lot of long term potential!
PING
Darkseid is. As the Odyssey was advertised, his role came across as a Hannibal Lector of sorts. He was helping along the Justice League but there was more to it than that. Even faced with the truth given to the heroes by Darkseid about his intentions, did it ever really matter? Death has not stopped him. The end of everything couldn’t stop him. These things can not stop him for he is death. He is the end of everything. Darkseid is.
Re-entry To Conclusion
This issue! What an emotional rollercoaster. Nothing could have prepared me for the inevitable tears I would be withholding from the pages, only to splash amongst the keys as I am typing this. When I first began reading this series I was curious of how much impact this story would have amongst the larger DC universe. As sure as the Earth revolves around the sun, I’m sure it’s safe to say that what comes next is going to be something the League was hoping to never face again. This books rocks it for those of you who are a fan of any of these characters or those who may have just wanted to see the Justice League in space. If that sounds right, then pick this one up at your local shop or online.