Justice League #7

This will be a two part review, where I talk about the Justice League first and then the side story featuring Shazam. We are now seeing a completely different side of the Justice League now than what years of storyline has dictated them to be. Granted since the reboot that is what DC wanted to achieve. The story is still set in the Justice League’s early days. They are all rookies in what they do as superheroes and still do not know how to work as a team. The worst part is the self-entitlement of many of the members. Right now the Justice League is more like a team of bratty teenagers rather than the role-models they once were. At this point in time Wonder Woman seems to be the most mature of the bunch and seems to be the only one that has her mind on the people rather than herself. We see Batman try to take charge, but no one listens to him, and he’s too busy barking out orders to really make a difference. At this point in time the glue that is holding them together rides on the back of the unlikely Steve Trevor, who appears to be the target of the next villain to cross paths with the Justice League. Though I’m not particular fond of how the Justice League is being depicted, I found this issue extremely interesting because the Justice League took a backseat to Steve Trevor who is the protagonist of this issue. We see the real pressure that is being put on him not just by the Justice League, but by the citizens of the U.S., the government, and himself from himself dealing with feelings for Diana. Seeing Steve deal with this is truly admirable which is something Steve Trevor has not been in a long time. I’m looking forward to seeing more of him, and to seeing the Justice League grow into what I remember them being.

Now I want to talk about Shazam. This was something that I honestly was not pleased with. Gone is the Billy Baston we remember. No longer is he the standup honorable kid we remember, but now we have a troubled teen orphan. I really hate to see Billy fall prey to this cliché because it’s getting old. People do want to read about people who have flaws overcoming obstacles, but for some reason that has translated into let’s take a complete angsty brat and give him superpowers. The original Billy Baston had his flaws, but was nothing like this new Billy. The original Shazam would have kicked this Billy to the curb. Though I am upset about it, it is still only the first appearance, and perhaps there remains something that is yet to be told. We will just have to see, but at this point the future does not look promising.

Overall: For this whole entire book I have to say that it is a decent read despite the parts where it once again shakes up everything we are familiar with. Perhaps soon things will get better and we one be dealing with the Twilight generation of Justice Leaguers for much longer.