So close yet so far
This issue was part of the Millennium crossover event which swept through the DC universe in the 80s. The company was looking to replicate the success of Crisis on Infinite Earths and was coming out with a universe wide crossover every year or so at the time. Millenium was a decent enough concept. That a new race of Guardians is being created and the Manhunters want to stop them by any means necessary. Part of the counterattack by Earth’s heroes involves launching an attack on the Manhunter’s home world. The lineup is like pure old fashioned league supers – Superman, Martian Manhunter, Captain Atom, Firestorm, Hawkman, Hawkwoman, Doctor Fate and three different Green Lanterns. From the first page you are itching for battle royale, and you get … well you do get it eventually, but not before running across some of the trademarks of the Giffen Dematties era which so often made it hard to like the League. I believe this is one of the first appearances of Gnort, if not the first, and the character’s placement as comic relief falls well short. The dialogue which is halted every second panel by someone saying something which is supposed to be funny (and usually under their breath) is also pretty distracting. The big battle at the end is pretty neat, but it is spread out over only a few panels (loved the graphic of Fate taking out the robots)
The issue ends as with most crossovers, on somewhat of a cliffhanger tempting you to go buy a comic in another title which you might not usually. There is also a backup feature which is big on hamming it up and not so big on interest or plot, which reminds you yet again that you are not dealing with a very serious League. As a standalone issue though this one is overall not too bad. Issues like these give you an impression that the creative team knew how to write the League if only they could refrain from their attempts at humour.
