Justice League Odyssey #8 Review

Writer: Dan Abnett
Artists: Daniel Sampere, Juan Albarran, Ivan Plascencia, Andworld Design
Cover Price: $3.99
Release Date: April 10, 2019

Review by Joey Casco of TheWineStalker.net

Blackfire has joined forces with Rapture, and now her Tamaran army and his warriors of Azrael are about to spring a surprise attack on the Odyssey team while they deal with Darkseid on the planet Aeolon. But before the battle, we finally get answers for the questions we've been waiting for.

Cyborg has built this massive constraint thing to hold Darkseid while they interrogate him. They can't trust him because, not only is he Darkseid, but he's lied to them every step of the way on their odyssey. But he admits that he lied because he wouldn't be able to lure them to the Ghost Sector so they could save life itself. But there's no use in lying now.

He tells them that the breaking of the Source Wall has been a prophecy on Apokolips since forever, and he's been planning for it since forever. But the timing really sucks. The Justice League defeated him, he became an infant again, then the Justice League broke the Source Wall, and now he's not at full power to stop something he's always been preparing for.

Without his full power, now he needs help. So when he grabbed that Other Box a few issues ago he used it to change time and plant three of our four Odyssey team members as gods on planets that would one day be in the Ghost Sector. But Jessica is not one of the gods because she's an unexpected guest. It's some real weird time travel stuff there.

Cyborg is the technological transmuter. Starfire is the fire of creation. Azrael is the voice that binds. And Jessica is an interloper. 

Now here's the really big thing: The reason why he brought them to the Ghost Sector is that it's the only sector that has the ability to survive the breaking of the Source Wall. I'm guessing that's because of the Green Lantern shields that contain the Maelstrom or the Maelstrom itself. Everything else is gone. Apokolips and New Genesis are already destroyed and every other planet, including Earth, will follow.

Life's last stand is in the Ghost Sector, and Darkseid needs these three individuals to help him get back to full power so life is preserved. The only one who is willing to work with him is Starfire, and everybody else is skeptical because he's friggin' Darkseid and he's not to be trusted.

But then Blackfire and Rapture attack, and it's way too much for them. Darkseid gets out of his confines and tries to get to his Other Box but Cyborg gives him a hockey check and they're taken away in a Boom Tube. So that leaves Jessica, Starfire, and Azrael fighting thousands of enemies on the battlefield. They're done for. They're going to die.

Until Azrael, the voice that binds... speaks. And I'm stopping there to avoid spoiling the ending.

We finally find out why Cyborg, Starfire, and Azrael are being worshipped as gods. But again, like it has been throughout this title, it's a cool concept that's not presented very well. And even though I do think Abnett is better suited for this book than Williamson, Abnett doesn't seem to have a grasp on Jessica while Williamson had her down pretty damn good. The best part of this issue is when it's clear that they're all going to die. That's pretty intense.

Bits and Pieces:

While we get some answers to questions that have been hanging around since issue #1, not much is done with them.  Overall, this book seems like a better fit for Abnett, but at the expense of some character work.  The art is good but Sampere needs to draw Darkseid more often because he's great at drawing that character specifically.

6.5/10