Last time on Justice League Unlimited, the organization known as Inferno kept true to its name and set another fire for the League to put out. Can our expanded roster put an end to their dastardly schemes? Find out in this week’s review of Justice League Unlimited #4!!!
I consider myself a bit of a Justice League expert. A connoisseur, if you will. At the start of this series, I predicted one of the big issues this comic was going to face was utilizing all the heroes in a meaningful manner that didn’t just turn them into wallpaper. While the symptoms were showing in the last issue, I believe the patient has finally succumbed to the disease in this one.
#4 of this series focuses mainly on Tefé Holland as she attempts to combat the damage Inferno is doing to the Green, especially after the current Swamp Thing Levi Kamei seemingly burned to death in the last issue. For those not aware of who Tefé is, she’s the daughter of Abigail Arcane and John Constantine possessed by Swamp Thing, i.e., a character that has spent most of her life in the pages of Vertigo comics. So, it causes a certain level of dissonance to see her in a Justice League book that is desperately trying to emulate an animated show meant for kids.
But is this comic actually doing even that successfully? I’d argue no, as Tefé is not a member of the League, nor has she been recruited by the end of this issue. So basically, we get an issue focused on a non-Justice League affiliated character saving the day while the heroes we are supposed to be following do very little to solve the problem. At best, the only Leaguers who do anything of note are Mr. Terrific, who has become a nervous wreck who yells at people, and Aquaman, who is given the ability to talk to plants by Tefé so that he can be useful. While a “different hero stepping in to save the day in a comic where they aren’t a main character” is something that happens a lot and has been done well in the past, the fact that Tefé had to be brought in to help a League with almost every superhero on the planet as part of its membership speaks volume about its effectiveness.
Besides my rant about Tefé, the rest of the plots are handled in a generic, almost cookie-cutter fashion. The interesting part is that this comic seems intent on resolving any subplot that has cropped up in this series so far, and I’m not sure why. Doctor Occult jumps into a portal after Inferno in the last issue? He’s sent back immediately in a “blink-and-you’ll-miss-it” panel without us learning anything. Martian Manhunter leaves the League in perceived shame? Batman seemingly talks him into re-joining (or not, we don’t actually see him come back). The issue here is that every potential idea that could be turned into something amazing is either left on the shelf (the Doctor Occult stuff) or presented in an undercooked manner (the J’onn stuff).
Ok, so here’s the part where I praise Dan Mora’s art and look at a particular panel that spoke to me personally. And considering everything I talked about, how could it be anything other than…
Recommended If
- You wanted to see Tefé Holland
- You love Dan Mora’s art
- You like seeing your favorite heroes standing around helplessly, unable to solve the problem
Overall
Dan Mora’s art is amazing, and works really hard to sell this series. However, the plot is weak, the premise seemingly isn’t working, the conflict feels very forced just so that Tefé Holland can be brought in, and Inferno continues to be mysterious for no good reason. If this comic doesn’t find a gimmick other than inflammable backgrounds, I struggle to see readers continuing to flock to this series.
Also, the cover is a lie. Like an extremely blatant lie.
Score: 6/10
