Justice League #24 Review

Water Sports

Written by: Dan Abnett
Art by: Ian Churchill, Adriano Lucas and Richard Starkings
Cover Price: $2.99
Release Date: July 5, 2017

Another issue of Justice League without Bryan Hitch?  Well, color me tickled pink and even more so that we get Dan Abnett on this issue.  It's a Mera issue so that makes a whole lot of sense and I don't want to sound like a jerk, but that hasn't been DC's strong suit in the past. So, does Mera show up and tell the League what has happened to Arthur and then kick their asses or vice versa?  Let's find out...


The issue opens with the Justice League seeing something is going very wrong on Earth.  Of course, Cyborg is the one who alerts them all (always on monitor duty!) and when they head to the surface, they see it with their own eyes...Atlantis is covered by a dome and the whole East Coast of the United States is about to be wiped out by a tidal wave.

While Superman seems a bit ready to tag Atlantis as terrorists again, the League decides to ask questions later and save some people first.  We get a nice coordination of our heroes...until they are attacked by Mera.

Mera is a bit out of it, but explains that all the trouble is because she is trying to break open the barrier around Atlantis to get to Arthur.  Now, since she doesn't mention he is dead, I'm guessing this takes place after Aquaman #25 when she found out that he is indeed alive.  What really matters, though, is she is mad and ready to kick anyone's ass who gets in her way...including the Justice League's.

We then get an extended fight which shows that Mera is awesome...which most of us already know.  She takes down the Justice League with ease and the fact that she is tired and worn out makes it even more impressive.  However, it still feels a bit too much like filler especially when Batman knocks some sense into her with a Hypersonic Screamer.

She doesn't even remember almost destroying the East Coast, which would go against everything that Aquaman has been trying to accomplish.  They decide to take her back to the Watchtower and ask her to be their friend.  Seriously, that's what happens.

Mera then pulls on the heart strings by telling the League that she really doesn't have a home anymore (poor Salty waiting back in Amnesty Bay may beg to differ), but when Simon alerts them to a treat in Pakistan, she joins the team, front and center.  I am figuring this is just a one-and-done thing, but seeing Mera with the Justice League at the end of this book makes me want her to become a permanent member!

This issue felt like an inventory issue that luckily is relevant to the current state of affairs of the Aquaman book.  It makes sense for Mera to try to fight her way back into Atlantis, but at the end of the day, the Justice League didn't need to be involved.  Sure they stopped a disaster, but that was only set up for them to stop it and all in all, this was a nice little issue that may have served better as an Annual story than an actual Justice League issue.

I did like Ian Churchill's art a whole lot.  His character work on the Justice League was really good, but his Mera was outstanding.  She looked awesome.  

Bits and Pieces:

Dan Abnett jumps onto Justice League to show that Mera is a badass.  I'm guessing this issue was a leftover when the Aquaman book went monthly and was used to mask a delay in this book, but I've been wrong before.  Whatever the case may be, it didn't quite feel necessary, but the art and the Mera-centric story will please enough people out there, but if you are on the fence, i would suggest you skip it.  

6.8/10