Writer: Dan Abnett / Artist: Daniel Sampere / DC Comics
First off… look at that cover. I love it when the scene in the cover interacts with the title card or logo. In this case, Starfire’s beam shooting across the DC logo gives it a more three-dimensional feel. I’m all about it.
But let’s get into what’s going on inside the book ‘cause some drama is brewin’.
We pick up right where we left off as Azrael starts spitting bars to his followers who had initially come to catch a fade with Blackfire and the Tamaranians. But all of a sudden, dude has mad influence. He’s looked within himself and found his confidence. Now his word is almost divine. Whatever he says isn’t a suggestion, it’s a command. And when he tells his people to kneel, them knees hit the ground. Azrael has been struggling with his purpose on this team and in the Ghost Sector from the beginning of the series, so it was good to see him grow into some usefulness, if only for his own sake. But this power is definitely something I can see being exploited in the future if he’s not kept in check.
We also get some alone time with Cyborg, whose fighting his way out of a situation where some bug-like aliens are trying to prevent him from enacting Darkseid’s plan. He narrowly escaped, but not before he gets a few beautifully illustrated murks in.
Afterward, he returns to the group where they start to try to figure out a plan that puts Darkseid’s framework into motion. You know, the one that uses the Ghost Sector, and the life that inhabits it, to piece the multiverse back together. There’s only one problem, Jessica Cruz.
She’s not feeling Azrael’s new power, and Starfire and Cyborg’s sudden nonchalance. But when she confronts them about it, they blow her off. If we go back and look at the story from the beginning, it might begin to make sense why she feels like the odd one out. And it’s as simple as she’s not supposed to be there. Cyborg, Azrael, and Starfire were called to the Ghost Sector. They were lured by Darkseid. Jessica Cruz was just out doing her job when she ran into them. They may have been headstrong and determined to figure things out when they first arrived, but they all accepted Darkseid’s puppeteering a little too easily. Except for Jessica. So, it looks like it might wind up being a battle of fisticuffs between some brainwashed heroes and a lone ring-slinger.
Something I really enjoyed craft wise from this issue was how we were really put into Jessica Cruz’s perspective. Everyone seems to be going through the motions but she’s questioning everything at every turn. After a while, we start to do the same. It made for an eerie read where you start to lose trust in all the main characters not named Jessica. Everyone’s just a little off. But not enough to put your finger on it. It’s like Invasion of the Body Snatchers featuring your resident metahumans.
Justice League Odyssey #9 aligned us with Jessica Cruz’s perspective as the rest of the team is coming off like they’ve been drinking too much of Darkseid’s Kool-Aid. Jessica might have to throw some Lantern hands with her buddies in the coming issues. And if it’s anyone, I’m glad it’s her. She’s the most level headed out of all of them.
8.0 Exploitative Superpowers out of 10
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