Review by West: Justice League 3000 #3
~~~Spoilers Ahead~~~
"Because I'm Superman!"
-Superman
"You keep announcing that like I'm supposed to be impressed."
-Aadams
"Well...aren't you?"
-Superman
"Not particularly."
- Aadams
Intro
The comic that gives you the year 3000, Justice League clones, and some Wonder Twins? What could go wrong? The series takes place in a future were multiple galaxies have come under the command of a conglomerate of evil intergalactic beings. In the face of tyranny a group, Cadmus, fights back with clones of Earth's greatest heroes of all time, the Justice League. Manufactured by the top scientists of Cadmus, twins Teri and Terry, the clones of the 21st century Justice League are put into immediate battle for the hope of the future. Yet these clones are now where near ready, and seem to contain a potpourri of character personality and traits from their originals.
Background
Much of the series is still clouded in the unknown, it mostly allows readers to piece together the overall direction with tidbits here and there. It is the future, the 31st century, and much of the universe is under the command of an evil grouping called The Five. A group composed of ruthless and powerful beings. Very powerful. The organization Cadmus has implemented a strategy to combat The Five. Spearheaded by prodigal twin scientists, they develop a program to clone the greatest heroes from their history, the Justice League. The team is rushed into battle however, and lack the complete knowledge and understanding of their powers. However they do seem to have "memories" of what their possible of doing. The team is first dispatched to takedown a smaller outpost controlled by The Five, but because of an unknown insider at Cadmus their plans are alerted to the hierarchy of The Five. The Five send the extremely powerful Locus to intercept the Justice League. Locus can alter reality at her will, her only hindrance, she's extremely immature prone to the problems of a teenager girl; boyfriends, crushes, and overly dramatic. The confrontation between Locus and the Justice League leads to Flash's death, Green Lantern's capture, and the remaining team members are sent to a prison planet.
The Issue - Justice League 3000 #3
The issue begins with the trio of Wonder Woman, Batman, and Superman exploring the hellish planet they've just been teleported to. It's called Takron-Galtos and the entire planet is a prison. They are captured by a roving squad of people who identify themselves as "sheriffs." Lead by Aadam, this group shows the trio that the prison planet was formerly Earth. While that happens Green Lantern is trapped in a cage and being submitted to the terror of Locus' school girl-like crush on him. Locus contends that Green Lantern must admit his endless love for her or he'll receive the same treatment she gave Flash. As well, the "Wonder Twins" Terry and Teri, argue with each other over how to handle the Justice League program that they started. They fear the Five may have access to their cloning capabilities due to Flash's death. They're reluctant to possibly having to work with Cadmus peer Ariel Masters, who was the one to generate the gene bank that was used to create the cloned Justice League. The issue ends with Ariel being contacted by Aadam, who informs her of the clones, and her teleporting to Takron-Galtos.
Critique and Rating
I was reluctant to pick up this series; I don't usually enjoy these future tales or those with cloned heroes. Yet I'm actually enjoying it more than I would've ever guessed. I like the writing team of Keith Giffen and J.M. DeMatteis, they've written some of my most favorite Justice League stories. In this series, there is a compelling and mysterious narrative with excellent characterization. The dialogue is sharp and smooth. Despite being clones, these characters are vastly unique. Their interactions are fun and sardonic, I particularly enjoy the banter between Batman and Superman. The twins are intriguing characters and the only villain encountered so far is unique and very powerful. You wonder how the team will be able to triumph, if possible. The stakes are high as Flash has already been killed, in a pretty gruesome manner to boot. The art is great. The pencils are by Howard Porter, who I fondly remember for his previous run on JLA with Grant Morrison in the late 90s. Overall a fun and interesting read that leaves you very curious as to what direction the narrative may be heading.
***
(out of four stars)
Thanks for reading and take care.