Justice League #21 Review

Man of Steel in the Hour of Chaos

Writer: Scott Snyder
Artist: Jorge Jimenez
Publisher: DC Comics
Release Date: April 3, 2019
Cover Price: $3.99

I have really been liking what we have been getting from the Justice League book lately.  It may not satisfy everyone's inner detective and while I still feel a bit left out in the cold when it comes to the 7 forces, this 6th Dimension detour has been fun and that's really what this book has been missing for quite some time.  So, do we get some answers while the fun continues?  Let's find out...


The issue opens with an extended scene with our Superman and the older version that we all knew was up to no good!  Whether or not the older Superman is "bad" will have to wait (and he seems to be counting on it being a perspective thing anyway), but watching him take down Supes when and how he wanted to here was a little disconcerting even if we know he is a bit depowered at this point.  I don't quite get the plethora of dead Supermen we saw around him and Older Superman does reference them but doesn't really clear it up fully, but the scene sure was exciting and set the tone for the entire issue.

Back in the 6th Dimension, we head to sunny, old Gotham to hang a bit with Batman and Dick Grayson and it's a little catch up going and I'll admit it, I had a smile on my face seeing Batman happy. 

Well, if one big failed wedding and everything since has taught me, Batman can never be happy too long and of course, that happens here in the Justice League book just like it does in his solo title!  Martian Manhunter calls a meeting "of the mind" and it's off to the Psychic Boardroom.

It's there that we get back to the cliffhanger from the last issue.  Martian Manhunter begins to tell them everything here is wrong, but when he asks Shayne to show them what's behind door number three, Old Superman shows up to make his own kind of deal.  This is where Scott Snyder lifts the veil on what this story is all about and I thought it was pretty damn cool.  Maybe not for the Justice League, but for the reader and as a selfish guy on this side of the comic page, that's fine with me.

After Old Superman reveals his true identity, we go back to Earth and see that what is happening with Mxy fits right in with the plan.  Once again, Jarro steals the show in one page before going back to the 6th Dimension for a twist.

Again, I don't want to spoil anything, but if I'm going to have a problem with anything in this issue it is how Batman acts in this part of the story...kind of.  He does get back in line with the League quickly, but some may say he doesn't take the hero's choice, but I say that after all that he's been through lately, I think he may have wanted to take the only choice.

Of course, there is only one way the League will go when faced with any sort of odds and that is to fight on the side of Hope and Justice...and that just continues the trend of our heroes ending up on the wrong side of a butt kicking.  Actually, here it lands them in Hell in a Cell without any visible way to tag out.

After all of this, Snyder ends with a cliffhanger that is pretty damn awesome and may give us a sliver of hope our heroes will get out of their current jam...or make it worse when they fall even further.

I'm sorry I had to be so cryptic with my rundown of the issue here, but there are a lot of spoilers and every one of them would spoil the fun if you knew them going in.  I won't beat around the bush on one thing...this issue is a really good read with great art and it does continue the fun I've been enjoying even while it gets darker and darker.  Scott Snyder has created himself a little Elseworlds-like playground to have fun it, but I think I am starting to sense something a little deeper here around the edges, something that may be the foreshadowing of a much bigger story down the line...one that may just get us to the place that the Doomsday Clock was supposed to before getting mired in delay after delay.

Bits and Pieces:

Scott Snyder is making the Justice League book fun again...as he sends our heroes to hell and back again.  Actually, we'll have to wait for them to get back, but no matter where they go, Jorge Jimenez's art makes it all look fantastic.  The Justice League should always be one of the biggest books out there and Snyder and Jimenez are making it just that!

9.0/10