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Justice League #16 - Throne of Atlantis, Chapter Three: Friends and Enemies; Shazam! Chapter 9 Review

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The Justice League finds themselves battling the Atlanteans as well as Aquaman!

The Good

Aquaman battles the Justice League in hopes that the Atlanteans, and Orm, will retreat back into the ocean and end the war on the surface world. Cyborg decides to step up and help the Justice League. In the back-up, Shazam and Black Adam square off.

No battle is going to be easy for the Justice League, and in this issue, it seems like this may be their toughest challenge yet. Sure, they are just going up against people from under the sea, but the Atlanteans are so much tougher than even the deadliest of Disney songs. Orm's powers seem to exceed even Aquaman's here, and he's got quite a few tricks up his sleeve.

In this issue, Aquaman does something I've been telling my friends for years he could do: hold his own against the Justice League. The new Aquaman is a powerhouse and in order to prove a point to Orm, he fights the Trinity and seemingly does pretty well against them. His decision to take on the JL may seem a bit over-the-top, but writer Geoff Johns does a great job grounding these scenes and makes them believable. I especially love the dialogue between Wonder Woman and Aquaman where she claims if the Amazonians invaded the city, she'd stand by her friends and the city and not them. It's a pretty arrogant and quick answer to a problem that's so much more complicated, or maybe it's just a way to get Arthur back on their side?

I really want to like Cyborg, but up until this issue, I just couldn't do it. He's finally stepping up here to do what's right and the conversation he has with his father and Vulko have made me finally come around. Sure, he's younger and has less experience, but he's finally starting to come into his own and realize that sometimes you have to sacrifice some of yourself in order to help the world. This leads to a pretty darn exciting final page, which will only make the next parts of this story even more exciting.

Artist Ivan Reis, with Joe Prado on inks, and Rod Reis on colors, puts together a consistently fantastic issue, filled with numerous, highly detailed splash pages that truly bring a realistic scope to the reader of how large and impactful this war truly is. Now, while it's easy to over-do a book with splash pages, this art team does it right. It's only used for the most revealing and shocking scenes, and the two-page splash featuring Orm and his army is breathtaking.

I've mentioned a few times, most recently when I was on The Invincibly Super Massive Comic Book Podcast of Stuff, that I have not been a fan of the Shazam back-ups on this book. I really enjoyed the back up here though. As always, the art, by Gary Frank, is top notch, and I loved seeing Black Adam (who is one of my favorite villains) go at it with Shazam. I also enjoyed the last issue's back up as well, and I feel like I'm finally on board with these stories.

The Bad

Call me crazy, but I just didn't find myself loving this as much as I thought I would. The first two parts of this story, which took place in AQUAMAN 15 and JUSTICE LEAGUE 15, were both fantastic and on my list for Top of the Pile, but this issue just didn't grab a hold of me as much as part 1 and part 2. Everything about the issue was great, even the back-up, but overall, I just liked it. I didn't love it.

The Verdict

JUSTICE LEAGUE 16 is a dynamite cross-over and Throne of Atlantis is shaping up to be a lot more epic than anyone could have imagined. It's going to bring a lot of heroes in the DCU together, and it may break a lot of relationships as well.

While I truly enjoyed this book, and I didn't have any real problems with it, I didn't find myself loving it as much as I thought I would. I felt a tad bit let down, but oh well. It was still a dynamite issue regardless of that.

Overall, I highly recommend this issue.

51 Comments
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Posted by OutlawRenegade

5/5 for me. perfect issue. this is the real birth of the dcu. cyborg was awesome!

Posted by spinningbirdcake

Cyborg was awesome indeed. That last page before the backup story got me all giddy.

Posted by Mucklefluga

I agree with you, parts one and 2 blew me away, they were brilliant! But this one wasn't at that level which was a shame, it was still great tho. Also its so great to see Cyborg stepping up, love it!

Posted by Oscars94

How do DC's Atlanteans compare to Marvel's?

Posted by SmashBrawler

Art aside (because it was fantastic, as always), this was OK-ish. But what's the point of having Batman in the team if he's not going to do anything useful? It's a sad day when I have to say Batman, of all people, is the victim here.

Posted by UltimateSMfan

Loving this crossover!!! cyborg got more awesome every page...

but srsly

SPOILER WARNING: Click here to reveal hidden content.
the way ppl were smackin supes around thats WIS,don think geoff did that well,plus how orm took out the trinity after Aquaman stating ''Superman's pissed''.....that outcome was rubbish,ill concede if the lightning was magical which i keep telling myself....

anyway cant wait fr next months issue plus how awesome is Shazam damn!!! he really needs his own book.

Online
Posted by Trevel8182

@Oscars94: I love that Namor is the Marvel equivalent to Aquaman and in DC Aquaman is the butt of everyones jokes but in Marvel you don't mess with Aquaman he will sink your city and sleep with your wife and even when he's being a good guy or bad guy he is still dick and we love him for it.

Posted by Stormbox

@Trevel8182 said:

@Oscars94: I love that Namor is the Marvel equivalent to Aquaman and in DC Aquaman is the butt of everyones jokes but in Marvel you don't mess with Aquaman he will sink your city and sleep with your wife and even when he's being a good guy or bad guy he is still dick and we love him for it.

Whats the point of bringing up namor in the comments of a review of a justice league comic?

Edited by Squalleon
Posted by CBninja

Ya not a very good showing for a "pissed" superman. Hopefully he redeems himself in this arc.

Posted by Oscars94

@Stormbox: I haven't read this comic and I just wanted to know how strong DC's Atlanteans were because Marvel's ones are quite durable.

Posted by MadeinBangladesh

I can't wait for JLA

Posted by bob808

Why can't Shazam have his own book?

Posted by SUNMAN

@Oscars94 said:

How do DC's Atlanteans compare to Marvel's?

the DCnU Atlanteans are way more bad@$$ and are pretty useful as opposed to Marvels Atlantians

Posted by Superdork

@OutlawRenegade said:

5/5 for me. perfect issue. this is the real birth of the dcu. cyborg was awesome!

Agreed. Especially with the part about this being the birth of the DCU. The DC Universe feels a lot more cohesive now due to Johns' use of Cyborg and the Grid. We're finally building that DC tapestry that I've missed.

We have Tula. We have Red Tornado. We have the Metal Men (Goldrush?).

And we have 9 other fan favorites who show up in this issue who haven't been in the book since before Flashpoint.

Let's get Trinity War rolling, and let's give Cyborg a Geoff Johns-written solo series of some sort.

said:

I really want to like Cyborg, but up until this issue, I just couldn't do it. He's finally stepping up here to do what's right and the conversation he has with his father and Vulko have made me finally come around. Sure, he's younger and has less experience, but he's finally starting to come into his own and realize that sometimes you have to sacrifice some of yourself in order to help the world.

I'm glad you're liking Cyborg now. But I have to point out that he got his powers 5 years ago and has been doing Justice League work for 5 years. Superman debuted 5 years ago. Flash did too. Aquaman was made public six years ago. So I don't think Cyborg has ever been less experienced than the other members of the team.

And Cyborg and Wonder Woman are both 23.

Just my small nitpicks with your otherwise great review.

@spinningbirdcake said:

Cyborg was awesome indeed. That last page before the backup story got me all giddy.

I literally jumped for joy during all of Cyborg's scenes

Edited by Squalleon

@bob808 said:

Why can't Shazam have his own book?

Shazam had many ongoings before and they were all canceled, i think.

Plus Shazam looks good because it is a back up,it may not be the same in a ongoing.Think about, that the back up we got would probably be the first 3-4 issues!The drop in quality would be huge for writers to sustain the ongoing!

Posted by Superdork

@Squalleon said:

@bob808 said:

Why can't Shazam have his own book?

Shazam had many ongoings before and they were all canceled, i think.

Plus Shazam looks good because it is a back up,it may not be the same in a ongoing.Think about, that the back up we got would probably be the first 2 issues!The drop in quality would be huge for writers to sustain the ongoing!

This. Shazam could hold his own title now--with a Geoff Johns-calibur writer. But Johns, Snyder, and Lemire all already have a lot on their plates project-wise. DC would have to find another big name talent to pull off a Shazam book, and that's no easy task. Maybe Straczynski could do it? His Superman and Wonder Woman sucked, but his Thor and Spider-man were amazing, so who knows?

I am hoping that Cyborg gets some back up pages after Johns is done using them for Shazam.

Posted by Superdork

Oh, and I didn't think that this month's Shazam was anything special compared to what we've gotten so far. I think that there have been better chapters. The Shazam back-up will be amazing in a trade collection though!

Posted by Oscars94

@SUNMAN: Thanks for the info :)

Posted by inferiorego

@Superdork said:

said:

I really want to like Cyborg, but up until this issue, I just couldn't do it. He's finally stepping up here to do what's right and the conversation he has with his father and Vulko have made me finally come around. Sure, he's younger and has less experience, but he's finally starting to come into his own and realize that sometimes you have to sacrifice some of yourself in order to help the world.

I'm glad you're liking Cyborg now. But I have to point out that he got his powers 5 years ago and has been doing Justice League work for 5 years. Superman debuted 5 years ago. Flash did too. Aquaman was made public six years ago. So I don't think Cyborg has ever been less experienced than the other members of the team.

And Cyborg and Wonder Woman are both 23.

Just my small nitpicks with your otherwise great review.

Yeah, I understood that but Supes has had his powers prior to 5 years ago, and the same goes for WW. It feels like these other characters have had adventures as super-heroes outside of the JL, but Cyborg really hasn't. Maybe I'm just playing ignorant because I haven't been the biggest fan of him up until now, but he always seems to just be hanging out in the WatchTower.

Staff
Posted by Superdork

@inferiorego: Understandable! I just want want him to come off as a noob since he and Flash got their powers the same year. But yeah, you're right! He does need adventures outside of the League, and he is great in this issue.

Great review.

Posted by SUNMAN

@inferiorego said:

@Superdork said:

said:

I really want to like Cyborg, but up until this issue, I just couldn't do it. He's finally stepping up here to do what's right and the conversation he has with his father and Vulko have made me finally come around. Sure, he's younger and has less experience, but he's finally starting to come into his own and realize that sometimes you have to sacrifice some of yourself in order to help the world.

I'm glad you're liking Cyborg now. But I have to point out that he got his powers 5 years ago and has been doing Justice League work for 5 years. Superman debuted 5 years ago. Flash did too. Aquaman was made public six years ago. So I don't think Cyborg has ever been less experienced than the other members of the team.

And Cyborg and Wonder Woman are both 23.

Just my small nitpicks with your otherwise great review.

Yeah, I understood that but Supes has had his powers prior to 5 years ago, and the same goes for WW. It feels like these other characters have had adventures as super-heroes outside of the JL, but Cyborg really hasn't. Maybe I'm just playing ignorant because I haven't been the biggest fan of him up until now, but he always seems to just be hanging out in the WatchTower.

outside of Justice League adventures we haven't seen him doing anything else "on panel" aside form going to Star Labs and helping with things now and than. But I'd say it was safe to surmise he was out fighting crime and helping others out on occasion since he joined the Justice League. He's said he monitors crime along with everything thanks to his cyberpathy (I think thats the right term).

.

.

.

On another note anyone else sad Cyborg is going to lose a lung? I liked pretending that he wasn't 75% robot. That he had a respiratory system and digestive track along with his brain and heart and maybe one or two other organs. Silas should of just whipped up some suit for him so he wouldn't need to lose the lung

Posted by Captain13

I loved this issue. I loved all of the cameos. I loved Cyborg's character growth. And I loved Orm.

@SmashBrawler said:

Art aside (because it was fantastic, as always), this was OK-ish. But what's the point of having Batman in the team if he's not going to do anything useful? It's a sad day when I have to say Batman, of all people, is the victim here.

Yeah, Johns is not writing Batman well because he doesn't seem to get that Batman is not realistic. He's not the Nolan Batman.

It's easy for Batman to seem like a nobody when he's standing next to Superman and Wonder Woman, but it's not hard to make him awesome. Just follow these five guidelines.

1)Batman is always prepared and his training gives him super senses. Orm should not have been able to sneak up on him. No one should.

2)Batman's super power--the thing that makes him stand out next to the other members--is his superhuman level of misdirection. He's the ninja god. He knows that he can't beat the other Justice Leaguers physically so he has a very unique bag of tricks. If you catch his batarang, it's because he wanted you too. That batarang will explode or will cover you with some kind of super-adhesive (You can see what I'm talking about with Arsenal/Red Arrow in Young Justice or Hawkeye in the Avengers). This was touched upon when he used his potassium trick, but it should be expanded upon and made more epic. He can sneak up on anyone. He can intimidate almost anyone. He can disappear on anyone in the blink of an eye. He can read body language and predict his opponents' attacks in hand-to-hand combat.

3)Batman is agile. He should be able to do what Tula did to Cyborg this issue on his enemies.

4)Batman's gadgets shouldn't be underplayed just because Cyborg is the tech guy. Batman can do some things Cyborg can't. He can summon Bats. He has all kinds of vehicles. He has tricky batarangs. He has nets, lines, and bolas. He has a glider-cape. He has contact lenses that can help read people and that can let him see in 360 degrees.. His gloves can analyze chemical substances. He has escape artist equipment. Heck, he even has glow sticks and explosive mines. I could go on and on.

5)Batman is the brains of the team. He should know how to take down big organizations and how to find weaknesses in anything. He's the strategist and detective after all.

Posted by Captain13

@SUNMAN said:

On another note anyone else sad Cyborg is going to lose a lung? I liked pretending that he wasn't 75% robot. That he had a respiratory system and digestive track along with his brain and heart and maybe one or two other organs. Silas should of just whipped up some suit for him so he wouldn't need to lose the lung

No, and it's for two reasons.

1) The less human he becomes and the more that he sacrifices, the more human he shows that he is.

2)In issue four, he gets the A-Maze and B-Maze OS, which allow inorganic matter to mimic organic matter down to the cellular level. He could use this to eventually help rebuild himself in like 5 years after more interactions with Amazo, who is at STAR Labs. Or he may go full robot and have to be cloned again. Either way, I know Geoff has respect for the Man vs Machine trope in Cyborg.

I like the drama losing the lung provided. It was a hero moment, you know? Especially since the Atlanteans (and surely some others) just think of him as a machine.

Posted by JamDamage

another flat issue from Johns on the JL. I'm starting to think he shouldn't be doing a team book and should just stick to individuals and thier titles. I'm let down again. Shazam was good tho.

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Posted by MaxSchreck

@Stormbox said:

@Trevel8182 said:

@Oscars94: I love that Namor is the Marvel equivalent to Aquaman and in DC Aquaman is the butt of everyones jokes but in Marvel you don't mess with Aquaman he will sink your city and sleep with your wife and even when he's being a good guy or bad guy he is still dick and we love him for it.

So Namor is a badass and Aquaman is lame , really ?

Look at their stats .

Aquaman can reach a speed of 10000 feet per second in water , Namor about 300 knots.

1 feet is 0,3048 metres - 1 knot is 0,514444 m/s

So Aquaman can swim 3048 metres in one second when he reaches full speed, Namor merely 154,3332.

Also , Arthur is not a jerk and an adulterer . I like how many of Dcs heroes are idealistic and larger than life and still badass ,

Posted by SUNMAN

@Captain13 said:

@SUNMAN said:

On another note anyone else sad Cyborg is going to lose a lung? I liked pretending that he wasn't 75% robot. That he had a respiratory system and digestive track along with his brain and heart and maybe one or two other organs. Silas should of just whipped up some suit for him so he wouldn't need to lose the lung

No, and it's for two reasons.

1) The less human he becomes and the more that he sacrifices, the more human he shows that he is.

2)In issue four, he gets the A-Maze and B-Maze OS, which allow inorganic matter to mimic organic matter down to the cellular level. He could use this to eventually help rebuild himself in like 5 years after more interactions with Amazo, who is at STAR Labs. Or he may go full robot and have to be cloned again. Either way, I know Geoff has respect for the Man vs Machine trope in Cyborg.

I like the drama losing the lung provided. It was a hero moment, you know? Especially since the Atlanteans (and surely some others) just think of him as a machine.

yeah I understand what Johns was doing the whole self sacrifice bit was pretty obvious. Still mad me sad. He's already lost a lot s it is.

I don't want him to go full robot, we've been down that road before. And cloning him a new body or something is almost as bad a bringing characters back from the dead in my opinion. So I wouldn't be in favor of that.

I understand what Johns is doing and where he is taking the character. But my sentiment remains the same.

As for the operating systems I'm not exactly sure but those may have been software based. If you remember the download was initiated when Victor came in contact with the star lab computer and he interfaced with it, assimilating the data. I originally thought the: William Magnus' responsometer, Anthony Ivo A-maze OS, the classified and B-maze operating system and Ryan Choi's White Dwarf Stabilizer were hardware installed in Cyborg by Victors dad, but as I've reread the issues a couple times they could have simply been data files Cyborg, that absorbed early on. However, the same thing happened when he interfaced with the parademons and got the boom tube tech, so he may just be able to replicate certain tech.

Posted by toptom

@UltimateSMfan said:

Loving this crossover!!! cyborg got more awesome every page...

but srsly

SPOILER WARNING: Click here to reveal hidden content.
the way ppl were smackin supes around thats WIS,don think geoff did that well,plus how orm took out the trinity after Aquaman stating ''Superman's pissed''.....that outcome was rubbish,ill concede if the lightning was magical which i keep telling myself....

anyway cant wait fr next months issue plus how awesome is Shazam damn!!! he really needs his own book.

it is higly probable that it was magical. however....the plot demanded that the jla was defeated.this (sadly) the best reason.

Posted by JLDoom

Yeah, this issue wasnt as good as the previous one but it got really awesome at the end. Plus the art was just great!

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Posted by SwampPing

So more geoff johns making fun of batman to make aquaman look cool, yeah I think I'll pass. He wrote batman so well in earth one, I just don't understand how he can't seem to grasp the character anywhere else.

Edited by Squalleon

@SwampPing said:

So more geoff johns making fun of batman to make aquaman look cool, yeah I think I'll pass. He wrote batman so well in earth one, I just don't understand how he can't seem to grasp the character anywhere else.

Actually the whole League went down very easy.

Superman was "pissed" but he was beaten by a lightning same with WW and Aquaman

Posted by longbowhunter

That Ivan Reis splash page showing the Atlantean Army was AMAZING!!! Really drove home how dire things are for the League.

Posted by CircularLogic

This is what I wanted JL to be from the beginning. John's finally found his footing with this book. And it was brilliant to throw that big reveal in with this cross-over. It really came out of nowhere.

I'm only following this book for the Aquaman crossover, but now I feel I should start picking it up month to month.

Posted by Stormbox

@Oscars94: Oh ok

The dc atlanteans havent done anything yet, so i cant really say if theyre durable or not

Posted by Reignmaker

Love the art. Johns' writing is a mixed bag.

Posted by frandj

loved the issue.

Posted by KnightofSteel

Wow, I mean wow, another awesome issue with breathtaking art by Reis/Prado/Reis. Two issues in of this and this is easily my favorite DC title right now. The Shazam back-up is enjoyable however its short page count seems like things end before they've started -- too bad he doesn't have his own book, but it seems they have plans for him in the League sooner rather than later..

Posted by frankcmu

The last page (of the main story) did it for me... very excited for whats to come with this book... 5/5 for me easy... I also have not enjoyed the back ups, but I found myself enjoying this weeks.

Posted by dondave

Awesome issue

Posted by UltimateSMfan

@CBninja said:

Ya not a very good showing for a "pissed" superman. Hopefully he redeems himself in this arc.

i kno rite!! thoroughly disliked that scene,Supes (and Bats) arnt being treated well, unless it was magic lightning....

Online
Edited by argusx

If Superman can be taken down by magic lightning like that so easily than he is probalby back to the pre-crisis version of being crippling weak to magic instead of just being vulnerable to it meaning Captain Marvel could just one shot him with a simple tap

Posted by UltimateSMfan

@argusx: true,Or its just WIS, im just pissed the way the trinity including aquaman were taken down...especially superman,wats with all the atlanteans just punching him around last time vulko now aquaman,it seems the only way to depict that atlanteans are a threat is to have a few of them punch superman,GJ can definitely do better that.

Online
Posted by Raw_Material

Really enjoyed this issue. And finally, the war HAS BEGUN!!! Who do you think will come up on top? The Justice League or Atlanteans of the ocean? Will Cyborg be able to save Wonder Woman, Superman, and Aquaman from exile? Can't wait for Aquaman #16 to be released next week. Nice review !!! Keep up the great work. Really love Aquaman's potential in this issue and his capabilities to withstand the force of the Justice League, specifically the 'Trinity'. More so, the power Ocean Master possesses which makes you wonder how powerful of a force the Atlantean Army is. Not saying I liked Aquaman on the 'bad' side of our perspectives, but I enjoy his uprising in the New 52 and Johns definitely elaborates on how badass he really is after taking up the titles of Aquaman and Justice League.

Posted by ivolution2k1

the "tula" that was fighting cyborg was that aquagirl?

Posted by KnightRise

Anyone else catch Tula's cameo?

Posted by SUNMAN

@ivolution2k1 said:

the "tula" that was fighting cyborg was that aquagirl?

It's a reboot so who knows for sure

Posted by KnightRise

@SUNMAN said:

@ivolution2k1 said:

the "tula" that was fighting cyborg was that aquagirl?

It's a reboot so who knows for sure

Garth might be a child, so double who knows

Posted by KASPERCOLE

Why can't the other dc events be like this one. Keep the story within two or three titles. I guess it helps that Geoff Johns is writing both Justice League and Aquaman. But come on writers (Scott Lobdell, Kyle Higgins, Ann Nocenti for Batman Death of the Family), try to coordinate tie-ins enough so it feels like the stories are flowing from week to week. By the way, I really liked this issue of Justice League.

Posted by Zoch81

I thought this was a good issue so far I been enjoying throne of atlantis and the atlanteans seem really strong now Aquaman able send Superman flying and Orm laid out both Wonder Woman and Superman with whole magic lightning overall thought was a good issue.

Edited by DustinStauffer

@ivolution2k1:

the "tula" that was fighting cyborg was that aquagirl?

It probably is the same Tula, just a newer version. Johns has thrown in the seeds for a few characters lately. We saw Garth in the prologue. In the recent issue you saw a Red Tornado reference (might have more abilities based on the weather element of it).Of course there was the first mention of the metal men. I almost wonder if GoldRush has some ties to the Metal Men. They haven't had much of a big tie to the DCU in some time other than 52, and a mini I believe. Aside from that I enjoyed the issue, and I have enjoyed the crossover as a whole. The stuff after the "villains journey" arc has been the stuff I expect of Johns in terms of a JL book. I remember him saying that this was the story he wanted to tell when he was chosen to take on the JL book. Was also great to finally see the league expand, even though some obviously will be splintering into JLA, and wherever else. I'm just waiting on Johns to bring the Atom into the fold in one of the league books, since he was part of the teaser Justice League image before the new re-launch.

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