Justice League #10 Review

Shall We Play a Game?

Written by: Bryan Hitch
Art by: Neil Edwards, Daniel Henriques, Adriano Lucas and Richard Starkings
Cover Price: $2.99
Release Date: December 7, 2016

I am not going to use this introduction to tell you how much I am not enjoying the Justice League since Rebirth started.  If you've been reading my reviews, you already know how I feel about one of DC's flagship titles seemingly being left out to dry or worse. No, I'm going to try to stay positive here and tell you what I've enjoyed from Bryan Hitch's run so far.  Hmmm...Okay, let's just get on with the review.


If you don't remember, the last issue of Justice League left us with the Justice League showing up at James Palmer's house, ready to raise some Cain over the fact that he seemingly had been the source of the mysterious hacking of both Cyborg and the Batcave.  Well, as they say...looks can be deceiving.

While everyone (including his daughter and nosey neighbors) thinks James is guilty, he assures them they have the wrong guy.  He actually comes off as a nice guy and tells the League that he doesn't blame them for anything.  But what about all that time in the garage?  Well, he was just getting ready to stick it to the man and steal money from Lexcorps and Wayne Industries.  The best parts of this whole scene are the fact that Batman totally takes Bruce Wayne out of the conversation and the Justice League really doesn't seem concerned about any of this.  I get that there are pressing matters, but Cyborg just ignores all of this and gets back to the hacking bit.

After James is surprised that Batman knows he was a famous hacker (really?), we get down to brass tacks and play "who's the hacker".  After James and his daughter, Lily, take time out to discuss a dating app, we find out that both she and her younger brother, Bobby, are kind of responsible.  I say "kind of" because they didn't mean it and it's so damn confusing trying to figure out what "it" really is.

It's code that acts like a friend, can get you concert tickets and search the Internet better than Google. It also likes to play games (how about a nice game of chess?) and turned one of them into a real life attack on the Justice League.  WTF?!?  Unfortunately, Joshua Genie is still playing the game!  This time, it's called "villains".  I wonder what that means...  It means that the virus has offered a bounty on the Justice League and some pretty cool and colorful villains are all in.  It ends with an all out battle royal and I have to admit, I liked the cliffhanger.

I really want to like this issue, but the guessing game about who was responsible was annoying and while I'm sure Hitch thought his surprise reveal was going to blow people's minds, the setup was so poor that I just rolled my eyes.  Also, why don't they ask James how to stop it and what is the program's motivation.  If it "grants wishes", why doesn't Bobby "wish" it to stop. I know I wish it would stop!!!

The art was okay, but it actually seemed like a step down from last issue. The first half of the issue just had people standing around so I am really just going by the ending battle which looked pretty good.

Bits and Pieces:

Another issue of Justice League, another poor setup and eye rolling nonsense.  We do get to see who attacked the Justice League, but it really just comes down to what and Hitch doesn't explain it enough for me to care.  Hey, if he doesn't care, why should I?  The art is good, but not good enough to make this issue make any sense or be any good.  On a positive note, there are some cool villains on display and a cool cliffhanger.  Oh well, it's all par for the course and that is not a good thing.

5.0/10