We've seen the gathering and formation of the Justice League. Now it's time to see what has changed in the five years since their battle against Darkseid.
The Good
When the "New 52" began, there was a feeling of separation among the characters. We didn't see a lot of interaction between the characters and titles. There wasn't really a strong sense of continuity and each character felt as if they existed in their own separate universe. This made sense as we (and the creative teams) needed the chance to explore and establish who each character was now that certain things were different. Slowly and little by little, we have been seeing small doses of crossover. This makes sense if the members of the Justice League have been together for five years now.
There's a nice feeling in seeing the team work together. The bickering we saw before is still there to an extent but they are now accustomed to working together to get the job done. We also get to see the public's reaction as well as what, if any, role Steve Trevor has with the Justice League.
Gene Ha's art provides an interesting interpretation at times as the team faces off against a new threat.
The moment has finally arrived to see what the "New 52" version of Shazam will be like. It's always great to see Gary Frank's art and there are some interesting developments. The Shazam back-ups will definitely give another reason to pick up this series.
The Bad
Even though we have the time jump to the present day, something just feels off about the series. It's hard to believe that after five years, we'd still have the same roster for the Justice League. There is still the bickering between Hal and Batman. Hal might be doing it purposely but you would think something would've been settled between them by now or at least Batman would have put Hal in his place.
The villain we see here isn't too interesting. Perhaps there will be some new developments to enhance his character.
I'm usually a fan of Gene Ha's art but there were moments it felt a bit rough. A lot of the issue took place in dark places so the colors made the art feel a little muddier.
There's been a slight light-hearted feel to this series but a couple moments were just plain cheesy. "I can't believe they're here! Right here!" If the League has been active for five years, their appearance shouldn't be that big of a deal to the public. Unless they only gather in dire times.
Then there's the nit-picky part. It just feels like there's a complete lack of continuity with the rest of the DC Universe. Wonder Woman in her title doesn't seem like she'd be on this team. She almost feels like a different character. Hal's participation doesn't make sense. Is this story taking place at the same time as the events in his title? Is he using the ring Sinestro made? In books that feature characters that appear in multiple titles, you always have to have a sense of disbelief but it feels like this book doesn't exactly mesh with the titles of the individual characters.
The Verdict
JUSTICE LEAGUE has been a source of revelations in setting up traits in some of the characters and the DC Universe since it was set five years ago. This issue does have its share of developments as well that continues to move things forward. We get to see the team in the present day but it doesn't feel like five years has gone by. They have some of the same relationships/traits from the first arc and the public's awe of the team feels too fresh, despite their five year existence. Gene Ha fills in for Jim Lee in the art department. It's always fun to see another artist's interpretation but there were moments the art felt a little rough.
The addition of the Shazam back-up did offer a little redemption for this issue. It almost feels as if we're getting more bang for the buck now and the introduction of Shazam and Billy Batson will be interesting to see.
Despite being the seventh issue, we do have a feeling that things are a little new and exciting as we're now seeing the team in the present.