Justice League #17 Review

Writer: Scott Snyder and James Tynion IV / Artists: Jim Cheung, Mark Morales, and Tomeu Morey / DC Comics Justice League #17 is a buddy cop issue on Mars with Lex Luthor and Martian Manhunter! And just like every buddy cop story, the two protagonists have to put their differences aside and team up to take down the big bad. In this case, it’s Martian dragons called Quonars that feed off of regretful psychic energy. Basically, they sip on your tears like it’s tea. Don’t forget to leave that pinky out! In all seriousness, the annual and this issue combined feel like a break into the second act of this gigantic story being told. This issue specifically was a really nice breather in the conflict before things ramp up again. J’onn is sifting through all that knowledge that the Martian Keep bestowed upon him before her death back in issue #16, and Luthor is at the center of it in a surprising way.  In my opinion, the strongest aspect of this issue was rooted in the deep Martian lore, and how J’onn relates it to his current predicament. He and Luthor meet at a sacred site on Mars where Martians used to congregate and psychically pour out all of their bad emotions into the ground while chanting the word “Sh’anne”. It was a way to purge negative emotions while bonding with one another. And remember those dragons I was talking about? It’s the Sh’anne that those dragons feast on.

So, with that as the frame of the issue, J’onn essentially invited Luthor to this ancient spiritual location…