Writer: Simon Spurrier / Artist: Aaron Lopresti / DC Comics
New writer, same Justice League.
Simon Spurrier is taking over scripting duties for the next three issues dubbed “The Rule of War.”
In the set-up of the first issue of the arc, the Justice League answers a distress signal from out in the middle of space. They fight a giant alien beast and then free a bunch of small, yellow, alien children. You know, a day in the life of a Leaguer.
But once they return the children to their planet, things start to get complicated, and morality is blurred.
Spurrier is setting up a cautionary tale that puts our heroes at odds with each other when it comes down to doing the right thing. Sometimes right and wrong is as simple as black and white. But most of the time, there’s a lot more gray involved.
In this arc, Wonder Woman seems to be the most logical. She’s got Star Trek’s Prime Directive in mind. She thinks that when discovering a new species, you should do very little to influence them, so you can avoid setting them down a destructive path because of your actions. Farmboy Superman on the other hand, wants to hold these new aliens’ hands and teach them the ways of Earth.
Diana and Clark represent opposite extremes, but when these new aliens start to treat the Justice League like Gods, they’re both going to have to compromise their beliefs to fix the moral enigma that they find themselves in.
Aaron Lopresti is on art duties for this issue and I think he really tackles the challenge of drawing some never before seen aliens. They’re as cute as they are crude. And his interpretations make me want to know more about them.
This three-issue arc is the last one before Joshua Williamson takes over the book in September to usher the title into a major crossover event with Scott Snyder’s Dark Knights: Death Metal story.
It exists on its own merit, and the stakes of the story have little to no impact on the universe as a whole. I like arcs like this because they tend to be more character-driven. And as much as I like the big event stuff, sometimes engaging with them can be a daunting task.
Justice League #48 makes our heroes face a moral choice when a new species of aliens wants them to become their Gods.
9.5 Faith Seeking Aliens out of 10
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