Writer: Scott Snyder / Artist: Jorge Jimenez / DC Comics
Time is running out as the alternate future Legion of Doom tries to get the Justice League back home before Batman makes a decision that will change the course of the collective multiverse. A decision that means sacrificing the needs of the few for the greater good of the many. Sounds like Batman has been watching too much Star Trek in his free time. What little of it he has.
If you ain’t remember, last issue, the World Forger revealed to Bruce that he’s the key to this bright and hopeful future. The only problem is that to get there he has to sacrifice his friends. Seems like a no brainer. Batman would never sacrifice the homies. There’s gotta be another way to stop the World Forger and make this future come true. I mean he’s Batman. He’ll will it all into existence somehow. Like MJ in a game 6. But that doesn’t seem to be the case. Bruce seems to really be thinking about this. And if he makes the decision to follow through, the Justice League are about to be the Utah Jazz from 1998. You won’t be able to stop him.
It’s interesting. There’s so much of an abundance of Batman in our world that he can seem almost invincible even though he’s physically as normal as you or me. He is darkness come to life. He is a man so haunted by his past that his present is fueled by one moment from his childhood. That darkness drives him, keeps him focused on his goal. But an overlooked weakness of Batman’s is his ability to hope. You don’t see it rise to the top of his priorities, because it’s not essential for his crusade. But what makes what’s going on in this alternate future so profound for Batman is that he doesn’t have to hope. He sees the future right in front of him. And it’s literally in his grasp. I don’t know if we’ve seen Bruce in a situation like this before. And I can honestly say I’m not sure what he’s gonna do.
Besides the burdensome decision on Bruce’s shoulders, there was a lot I enjoyed about this issue. A lot of the fun came from the Justice League’s interactions with the future Legion of Doom. In this alternate future, the League have become the bad guys and the LOD are like a band of rebels. They know that our Justice League is the key to erasing the bleak future they live in. There’s an acknowledgment of mutual respect from both sides, and we get to see a glimpse of how powerfully positive all these characters could be if they were all on the same page. It’s definitely a sight to see. And it’s something I can imagine having ramifications on the emotional thread of the story in a way where their interactions with this version of the LOD might help them beat their respective version later in the series. You’d think it would be impossible for these storied rivals to work together for the greater good, to get on the same page, but here it is on the page as clear as day. This was an important moment for this book.
Justice League #24 gives us an interesting dynamic between the Justice League and the alternate future version of the Legion of Doom while Batman contemplates a decision that might change what you think about him.
9.5 Lobotomized Grodds out of 10
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