Super Saturday Mornings
This was an homage to Super Friends? Really? Seriously? Okay.
Honestly, it never read or felt like a slavish, blatant tribute to Saturday mornings. Maybe it was because it featured the full Justice League line-up and dispensed with Black Vulcan, Apache Chief, Samurai; Wendy, Marvin and Wonder Dog; and Zan, Jayna and Gleek. This reads more like a definitive Bronze Age Justice League story. What Super Friends could have and should have been. The story is a little heavy and melodramatic for Saturday morning, but perfect for re-reading.
Opening with a dark, doomsday scenario; missiles target cities around the planet. Superman tries and fails to save Lois and Metropilis; Wonder Woman struggles to save Rome; The Flash races to save Central City. In Denver, J'onn has died, failing to save his city. Hal tries to save Coast City. One by one they all fall, valiantly trying to make some difference. Aquaman turns back those seeking refuge in the ocean; Batman leads a group to refuge in the Batcave. Ultimately, Superman is alone. He abandons the Earth, like Krypton before it as it crumbles into fiery ashes.
It's all a dream. A terrible nightmare that Black Manta, Cheetah, The Riddler and The Toyman as well as the other members of the Legion of Doom share. Except they're not calling themselves the Legion of Doom.
Sharks summon Aquaman to investigate a strange undersea occurrence. He fights a losing battle with Black Manta. Manta brings Aquaman inside the underwater Hall of Doom, where he meets Luthor. In the desert, Leonard Snart builds a cold mountain.
I've re-read this a number of times. It was my "comfort read", when my wife, Cathy, and I went to Kiev, Ukraine to bring our second son, Ethan home. I spent six weeks enjoying the story by Jim Krueger, Doug Braithwaite and Alex Ross. This is a sprawling epic. There's no Ted Knight to narrate. Luthor provides the voice-over for this part of the story. It really wouldn't matter if you had never seen an episode of Super Friends. This is a Justice League story. A really good, enjoyable one. There is a lot of great attention to detail. This is a very thoughtful story. Alex Ross has brilliantly collaborated with talented, creative writers to enhance his art. Busiek on Marvels; Waid on Kingdom Come; Dini on four over-sized graphic novels. Justice is an extension of what Ross has been doing with Paul Dini up to this point. This is a brighter, more optimistic story than Kingdom Come. It's a bit heavy, but still s good, solid story. This is the DC we all enjoy. Saturday mornings in jammies with a huge bowl of cereal.
When I need to feel inspired and encouraged, I keep coming back to Justice. For that, I give this issue five out of five stars.
