Justice League #38 Review and *SPOILERS*

Written By: Geoff Johns
Art By: Jason Fabok, Brad Anderson
Cover Price: $3.99
Release Date: January 21, 2015

So That's Who Damian Gets It From

Last time we looked at the Justice League, the Amazo Virus had been unleashed and Metropolis had become a quarantine zone.  All of the Justice League had been infected and put in a induced coma except the trinity themselves, Superman, Wonder Woman and Batman, as they searched the city for Luthor's patient zero; who's blood would hopefully contain the cure they need.  Only problem there was patient zero turned out to be a giant fucking monster who could duplicate any power he saw and Luthor apparently still has a bounty on his head because the assassin Bullet showed up and it looked like he shot Lex in the head.  If that wasn't bad enough, we also saw that Batman's containment mask broke open, so maybe now's a good time to write on your picket signs "The End Is Nigh" because shit is getting serious for our heroes.  Let's see what goes down with Batman because if you remember stage one of the virus is getting infected, stage two is superpowers and stage three is death.......... Hopefully this isn't a three act story.  Let's check it out.

Explain It!:

Our issue begins with Batman becoming infected with the Amazo virus and even though the cover looks like Batman has been imbued with electrical powers, as he explains it, it's more like he controls sound waves and has been stricken blind by the power but now sees..............get this, like a bat.  He believes the virus acts psychologically or subconsciously in what powers it gives you.  As disappointed as I am about Batman not having electrical powers (I don't know why I like the idea I just do) this power is pretty bad ass.  As Superman and Wonder Woman struggle to take Patient Zero down, he simply gives him a Black Canary scream and the monster is out for the count.  So that part is over, but what will become of Batman now that he only has one more stage of the virus left?  

Back at Lex's medical camp we come back to where we left off with Bullet looking like he just straight up shot Luthor in the face.  As it turns out, Captain Cold shot an ice beam blocking Luthor before the bullet hit and Captain Cold shows bullet that he isn't shit when compared with someone who fights the Flash.  It almost feels unfair, especially since when confronted with a trained assassin, Cold came off as cool as a cucumber.............Where the hell did that expression come from?  

Now that we know Luthor is safe, he wakes up Neutron to try and find out who put the hit out on him, but before he can dangle Neutron's life in front of him as a ample reason to give up the information, Superman and Wonder Woman return with Patient Zero and the infected Batman.  Luthor collects the blood, but as it turns out Patient Zero is just as sick as everyone else and the only reason he can duplicate any power he sees is because that's the way the virus worked on him.  Now Luthor's only idea on how to save the world is to get a sample of Superman's blood.  Wondering why?  Well apparently Luthor exposed Superman to the virus four years earlier but his antibodies fought the infection, so now it's the world's only option.  As you'd imagine, Superman isn't too pleased with Luthor and after a dick measuring contest, Luthor is about to drop a knowledge bomb on us about the virus but before he can Batman attacks them with his sonic powers.

In the end, we see that everyone who's been infected with the virus is now under the control of some sentience that boasts sarcastically about our heroes thinking they are the dominant species of the planet.  So yeah, looks like we have some "We are Legion" shit going down and I'm left wondering....... Does this virus affect Shazam's magic?  Because even though he's possessed by some intelligent virus, his electricity still seems to be flowing off of him.  I would think that magic wouldn't count as a power, so his lightning still working kind of makes sense, but then I start thinking about where his powers come from and I think that he should be a lot like Wonder Woman, who's immune to the virus.  I'm sure there is some nerd explanation out there.

That's it for this issue of Justice League and while I can't say that I'm the biggest fan of this Amazo Virus story line, this is a decent issue.  I was going to say competent issue but that came off kind of dickly and maybe me mentioning it here is as well.... I don't know.  All I mean is, we have fate of the world type stuff going on and I don't know if it's due to the lack of the Justice League characters doing things, but I find myself being bored while reading about it.  It's got that dark desolate feel a zombie/outbreak comic would and should have, I just don't think it works with superheroes.  I am interested in what will come from the cliffhanger though, because just from that ending it feels like we're about to jump into a completely different style of story.  Also, I just want to point out how funny it is that this week we have a book with Damian Wayne having superpowers and now Batman sporting them....... The Batman Family is getting weird.  As for the art, Jason Fabok is just terrific.  I don't think I have or ever will be able to say anything negative about his artwork.  He draws everyone and everything beautifully and I hope he continues on this title for a long time.  See you next month as we continue the Amazo Virus and see what the hell is inside of our heroes.

Bits and Pieces:

If you've been a fan of the Amazo Virus story so far, then this won't do anything to change your mind.  It continues the story and even ends on a game changing cliffhanger, which I'm personally more interested in than the rest of the comic.  I just haven't been a fan of this slow paced outbreak story but if you like that kind of thing then you'll continue to.  The art was the big drawl for me here because I just love Fabok's work.  

7/10