Justice League #22 Review

Writer: James Tynion IV / Artist: Francis Manapul / DC Comics Damn. We were right in the middle of the most compelling arc of the series them bam! We’re hit with a Legion of Doom issue. But don’t fret. We may be taking a break from the 6-dimensional mayhem with the Justice League, but this LOD issue gives us a lot of backstory for some heavy hitters that really put the present scope of the series on display. With bimonthly issues and a roster of characters well into the double digits, it can be hard to pin down who and what the conflict actually is. We know it’s Lex Luthor and the Legion of Doom but that’s only to an extent. The real big bad is the force that they unleashed, the mother of the universe named Perpetua. Even though this was a Legion of Doom issue, it was really only similar in themes and perspective instead of the characters that inhabit the story. It’s a flashback issue explaining Perpetua’s past and her role in the creation of everything. So being that she’s our main villain, the LOD issue was the perfect place to explore all of that.

She birthed three sons, Forger, Moniter, and Anti-Moniter. If you know DC comics lore, those names sound familiar to you. She gave them their sole purpose to govern the multiverse. Keep it in check. But that should have been it. That was her purpose. Yet she continued to live, to reap her benefits. She should have dipped after she had her sons. But dipping in this situation would have meant death. So, her sons trapped her for …