Writer: Joshua Williamson / Artist: Carmine Di Giandomenico / DC Comics
Issue #5 of Justice League Odyssey gives us a hell of a lot of action, and some much-needed answers as our heroes grapple with the morality of leading their worshippers on while trying to find out what Darkseid has up his sleeve.
This was an Azrael centric issue. We really get a look into his internal struggles, and learned why he can kind of be a dick. At his core, he’s a dude that just doesn’t know his place. He thought it was with the Batfam in Gotham, but that proved to be a lost cause, so he placed all his faith in this wild goose chase with Cyborg and company into the unknown corners of the universe. And so far, this ain’t been it either, chief. Conflict and confusion got in the way, and now everybody’s fighting a bunch of wannabe Cyborgs while Vic is nowhere to be found.
But Cyborg’s location winds up having huge ramifications for the series. He just found out what Darkseid’s plans are, and it ain’t nice. He’s essentially building a bigger and badder Apokolips. But what makes it super spooky is that he’ll be able to steer it across the multiverse, conquering countless lives along the way.
Something I enjoyed about this was how it really shows just how much all of these Justice League titles are connected, and how they all are serving each other and the grander story trying to be told. This revelation that Cyborg has goes all the way back to No Justice, the event that kicked off Snyder’s helm of the Justice League. The aftermath of which resulted in a bunch of bottled up planets being released into the universe. Well, those planets are now just what Darkseid needs to build his new Apokolips. And if you’ve been reading the main Justice League title, you know that the Source Wall has been obliterated, seemingly making it possible for anyone to venture into the multiverse with no consequences.
Another cherry on the interconnectivity milkshake is that the events of this series were briefly acknowledged in the Justice League Annual. Seeing that acknowledgment from both books not only validates why these heroes weren’t at the big battle at the Source Wall, but it reminds you that what they’re doing will have some ramifications that spread through the other books as well, albeit not as big. It’s just really cool to see the interconnectedness of all of these stories stay consistent issue after issue.
I’m excited to see where our heroes go from here now that they know what Darkseid is planning. Are they gonna go and try to catch hands? Are they gonna try and rush home to help out their friends? Suddenly, the B-Team feel that surrounds this group just got even more intriguing, as now that the stakes are fully revealed, it’s really gonna feel like David vs. Goliath once things start to ramp up. And who doesn’t love an underdog?
Justice League Odyssey #5 reminds us that this book is a puzzle piece in the enormous Justice League story being told across three books right now. If you’re a completionist like myself, this is one of the things you live for. All these books are droppin’ mad breadcrumbs, and I’m getting fat off all the clues and threads.
7.6 Darkseids Without Their Hood On Out of 10
Reading Justice League Odyssey? Find BNP’s other reviews here.
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