Writers: Scott Snyder and James Tynion IV / Artists: Jorge Jimenez / DC Comics
Everything has been building toward this. That’s what Scott Snyder has continually said on Twitter and Instagram about this run. And it couldn’t be more true about this issue.
Justice League #30 is the beginning of the Justice/Doom War, the outcome of which will decide the fate of the DC Multiverse. It’s justice vs. doom, two opposite ideologies vying for dominance. Our heroes are against the ropes as the villains, led by a Martian/Human hybrid “Apex” version of himself, hold Doom in the palm of their hands as they plan to reshape everything in Perpetua’s image.
It’s looking bleak, fam.
As they’ve managed to do so many times over this run, Snyder & Co. have placed these heroes in an impossible situation. And I can’t figure out what they’d need to do to get out of it. That’s how they keep things exciting.
This issue opens up on a vision of the future that Starman shows the team where the Legion of Doom murks the hell out of the Justice League. Like, it’s not even funny how much they mop the floor with them. Superman gets stabbed through the heart, Green Lantern pukes up his organs, and Flash gets turned into a baby. Yep, this is the darkest timeline. It’s the worst possible scenario, a scene that reaffirms the stakes for the audience and really conveys the powerhouse that the League is facing. And above all, Starman reassures that it’s not a possible future– it is the future.
But the League will carry on. It’s what they always do. It’s what they have to do.
Along with this nightmare from just a few days into the future, Starman details the one plan that if completed successfully, will hand the Justice League a victory: They’ve gotta send a team into the past and a team into the future, to collect shards of the Totality that broke off across the time stream when it crashed onto Earth. The only problem? It doesn’t go off successfully, and the team is left to scramble and improvise. How fun!
A dope treat that we’re gifted due to the time travel is that we’re introduced to the Justice Society in the past, and Kamandi, the last boy on Earth, in the future. I believe it’s the first time we’ve seen all of these characters since Rebirth launched. It reminded me a lot of that classic Justice League Unlimited 2-part episode “The Once and Future Thing,” where the League fights with Jonah Hex in the wild west, and the future Justice League. It’s not exactly that, but it’s cut from the same cloth.
If you haven’t been reading this series so far, this is a pretty good point to jump in. As I stated, it does a good job of streamlining the conflict of the past 29 issues and clearly stating what the good guys and the bad guys want. So, if you’re not a completionist like me, jump right in blind! You won’t be confused.
Justice League #30 propels us into the Justice/Doom War, the battle that every little thing has been leading to since Dark Nights: Metal and No Justice. But don’t worry, if you haven’t read any of that, and haven’t read an issue of Justice League, you can still hop on here and enjoy the ride without being scratching your head. I’ll judge you, though.
10 Baby Barry’s out of 10
Reading Justice League? Find BNP’s other reviews here.
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