While Justice League (vol 2) 1-6 – know better known as Justice League: Origin – proved to be a great financial success for DC that launched The New 52 with its best foot forward, it’s quickly revealed that the first six-parter is in fact a prequel to the rest of the run. There is a five-year gap between Justice League (vol 2) 6 and 7, and the repercussions of Darkseid’s attempted invasion and the formation of the Justice League are proven to be massive. Until much later in the run, writer Geoff Johns focuses on the latter. While Justice League: Origin presented the team in action fighting in the toughest of climates possible, Justice League: The Villain’s Journey conveys not only the drawbacks of the superhero world, but the dangers and disasters that it unleashes too on those closest to the heroes…
Justice League (vol 2) 7-12 was published from May to October 2012. All stories are written by Geoff Johns, with most of the art provided by Jim Lee and Scott Williams, but many other artists are present, such as Ivan Reis, who goes on to succeed Lee as the chief penciller on the title. Like all other New 52 stories, these issues can be read in an easy-to-find collected edition.
The Villain’s Journey – printed in Justice League (vol 2) 9-12 – is the main story associated from this period, but the first two issues are one-off stories to break up the action. The thread which links the six issues is one character, specifically Colonel Steve Trevor. A lover of Wonder Woman, Trevor acts as a liaison between the US Government and the team themselves. In this period of the run, Geoff Johns recreates a similar (but grimmer) approach that Keith Giffen and J.M. DeMatteis took with Justice League International. Think of Steve Trevor a bit like Maxwell Lord, except less evil and somehow more useless. This lack of purpose is essentially what creates all the problems for the Justice League, starting with issue 7.
The Villain’s Journey: Prologue --- Written by Geoff Johns with art by Gene Ha
So, five years after the last story, the people of Baltimore are attacked by creatures, armed with large teeth, which look like something from a Vertigo comic. Although Steve Trevor and his troops take on the monsters, it’s the Justice League who come along and take the credit. The heroes are on the hunt for Doctor Samuel Street, a biological warfare scientist who was delivering the very-same spore virus that transformed innocent civilians into these creatures. The outbreak was caused by a mysterious foe who stole a mysterious object known as the Orb of Ra. It’s their job then to locate Street and to defeat him before he kills his ex-wife. Despite this overly complex backstory, Justice League (vol 2) 7 doesn’t focus on the outbreak plot for very long as Street is quickly defeated and never-to-be-seen again. The rest of the story focuses on Steve Trevor and how both the Government and the Justice League see little point in his role as an emissary. While there is little else to say about this prologue issue, it does set up a plot thread for Justice League (vol 2) 9-12, that being how Steve Trevor is being set up as the Justice League’s weak point. With his close relationship with Wonder Woman and the secrets he knows, Johns sets up an emotional charged – if somewhat predictable story – in an issue which takes minutes to read.
Gene Ha supplies the visuals for this one-off. He certainly succeeds in making the infected villains look frightening, but I’m not sure his scratchy and dark style meshes with a team book like this. It’s never terrible or too messy, but perhaps the style is off when it comes to scenes featuring more dialogue moments.
Team Up: Green Arrow --- Written by Geoff Johns with art by Carlos D’Anda, Ivan Reis, and Joe Prado
While the original Justice League launched successfully with that famous group of seven heroes, it didn’t take long for another to be added to the roster. Justice League of America (vol 1) 4 introduced Green Arrow to the team after he saved the heroes from suffocating inside a giant diamond. With Justice League (vol 2) 8, Geoff Johns attempts to recreate that classic feel as Green Arrow tries to join this new team. Fortunately, Johns delivers something different from Fox. The US Government put pressure on Trevor to invite a new hero to join the league. The reasons are somewhat cloudy, but they are clearly suspicious. Either way, they want a hero who is professional and respected. Who better to choose than Oliver Queen, a brash and arrogant millionaire who cheats on girlfriends and enjoys numerous affairs. He helps out the Justice League as they take on Amazo one day, but opinions are split on whether to let him in. Throughout the story, he tags along with the team again on other occasions, but by the end it’s clear that Green Arrow will not be joining the team. With the New 52, the Justice League’s godly reputation returns and it’s clear that neither the creative team nor Steve Trevor want it tarnished (don’t tell them about Batman!) Still, Trevor does see hope for Green Arrow – he would later join the New 52’s Justice League of America, one of many JL spin-off titles, others including Justice League Elite, Justice League International, and (to a lesser extent) Justice League Dark. While I agree that Johns was right not to go down the same route taken by Gardner Fox to expand the league so quickly, Green Arrow would certainly have spiced the league up. His presence here is refreshing. However, there is one moment of confusion. When the team decide that Green Arrow shouldn’t become a member of the team, the heroes think back to when Martian Manhunter could have joined, but instead a fight broke out between the alien and the heroes. As far as I know, this moment is not shown in any other comic book in the New 52, nor mentioned at all before this. It feels like a slice of continuity that’s been thrusted upon us quickly and without much thought – it’s certainly an interesting idea that requires development, but it’s inclusion for such a brief time is puzzling. Either way, Justice League (vol 2) 8 provides an enjoyable break from the main storyline.
Compared to Gene Ha, the artists here don’t possess a radically different style of art. Ivan Reis’s art does stick out since he later becomes the main artist on the title, but frankly it looks no different to the work of Jim Lee. The thunderous effect of Lee’s storytelling when it comes to action and drama isn’t as present, but the appearance of a modern comics is still very visible. Overall, it’s a regular but enjoyable style.
The Villain’s Journey --- Written by Geoff Johns with art by Jim Lee, Scott Williams, Mark Irwin, Jonathan Glapion, Joe Prado, David Finch, Matt Banning, Rob Hunter, Joe Weems, Alex Garner, and Trevor Scott
The Villain’s Journey focuses on something which most – if not nearly all – comic book writers ignore. That is the real world, specifically real people. Throughout all stories and runs, there are civilians running for safety to escape intergalactic and super-powered threats. Geoff Johns showed that effectively in Justice League: Origin, with a couple and their children escaping from Darkseid’s Omega Rays. This story brings back that group of survivors who once enjoyed their freedom so thoroughly, but now their world has shattered. David Graves is the only survivor from the family – he wrote a very successful book about the Justice League and how their reputation has gone from strength-to-strength, but over the last five years, his health deteriorated, and his family all began to die. It turns out that the radiation from Darkseid’s rays have killed his loved ones, and now he is next. He blames the Justice League for not being able to save either him or his family. While his view of the Justice League and their responsibility is debatable, I love this plot because it’s unique. There isn’t just an emotional story with both sadness and vengeance, but a complex villain and four issues of suspense, surprise, and shock.
It begins as if it’s a normal day for the Justice League. While Batman, Superman, and Cyborg fight the Key, Green Lantern, the Flash, and Wonder Woman defeat and interrogate Weapons Master. As for Aquaman, he’s somewhere. While Johns pleases us with the inclusion of some of these forgotten Justice League foes, Steve Trevor’s reputation continues to fall as his position comes under question. But then, in order to get to the Justice League, David Graves converts to evil as he kidnaps, tortures, and blackmails Trevor in order to learn how to enter the JLA Satellite. In order to protect his family, Trevor has no choice but to give Graves what he wants. The transformation of Grave’s personality is very sudden, and he possesses new powers unseen before. Johns builds him up as a villain masterfully as he’s both threatening and mysterious.
The backstory behind Graves’s origin is probably my least favourite part of The Villain’s Journey. Years before this story but after his diagnosis, Graves travelled to Mount Sumeru to find the Asuras, outcast gods who are linked to the afterlife. Graves, wanting his family to return to life, accepted and drowned in the powers of the Asuras, providing him with their spirits and many powers to use for evil. To some extent, Graves is similar to Jonathan Crane, otherwise known as the Scarecrow. By using spirits, he can haunt the heroes with dark memories from their past. He also has other powers, but when it comes down to it, his powers aren’t what make him unique – it’s the story behind his motives. I’m just not sure whether involving gods and their bizarre story adds anything of value to Graves. Regardless, the Asuras are still present as they feed off the memories of Trevor. Meanwhile, Graves breaks into the Satellite just as the heroes learn of his plans. Taunting them with Trevor’s kidnapping and torture, the Justice League fight back but are easily triumphed over by Graves…
With Steve Trevor gone, the Justice League have an obligation to retrieve him for the sake of his family, but with the stakes high, the team end up having a massive argument with one another and it results in a fight. Once again, it’s a chance for Jim Lee to sell some art pages, but it does add to Johns’s continuing narrative about the relationship between the heroes and the public. Cyborg manages to boom-tube the heroes away from the public eye just before any blood can be spilt. Dividing the heroes makes more sense in the circumstances of this story, but it feels like it exists simply to fill out some pages. Regardless, the heroes break into Graves’s home to learn more of his past and the transition of his personality. They take their journey to Mount Sumeru, where the memories and spirits of the heroes’s past are unleashed. In a genuinely shocking cliff-hanger ending to the penultimate part, Wonder Woman is met by the spirit of Trevor. With that, Johns seemingly places the team in a situation from which there is no going back…
Justice League (vol 2) 12 wheels out some of the usual traumatising moments for our heroes which we are perhaps all-too familiar with. Graves’s spirits show us the sadness of Superman as he remembers Ma and Pa Kent, while need I mention Batman and his parents? It’s a way of emotionally scarring the heroes once again, and it certainly works. With his powers, Graves has kidded himself into believing that he can reunite the living with the dead. While it’s mainly for his own sake, since the death of his family was such a traumatising event for him, it places him as an interesting foe with many dimensions. However, his dreams are crushed when Steve Trevor returns. No longer imprisoned by the gods, Trevor finally has a purpose as he frees the Justice League from their past and defeat Graves. With that, the Asuras leave Graves body for good, and it’s only a matter of time before death surely follows – although the attitude towards the villain is far kinder than to previous foes because of the motive of his crimes. As I’ve said repeatedly, he’s a villain who stands out in the crowd. His personal journey does in the end fail, but Johns writes it with such drama and power, and you manage to feel both contempt and sympathy for him at the same time, even after all the nightmares he reawakens from within the heroes.
As for Steve Trevor, his relationship with Wonder Woman – which isn’t either new or touched upon much in the run – is over, as is his link to the Justice League. Although Trevor does survive, there is a genuinely strong feeling that things will not be the same for the league after this. With a very public fight between the heroes, a villain who blames them for the death of his family, and the loss of Steve Trevor, things look bleak for the Justice League. It’s just a shame that Geoff Johns has to end his first year of the run with a tiresome and pointless romance between Wonder Woman and Superman. I suppose Superman makes for sense for her than Steve Trevor, but the inclusion of a passionate kiss at the end is frankly boring. It’s been done. Despite the damp squib of a conclusion, overall, The Villain’s Journey is very good and has more substance to it than Origin. The more you think about it, the more you realise how pointless the Prologue issue actually is. You really don’t need to read it to understand Justice League (vol 2) 9-12 – all you need to know is the story of David Graves and you discover how brilliant Geoff Johns deals with his complex character. With its twists and turns, The Villain’s Journey is a powerfully written four-parter with only a few flaws.
As the main artist, Jim Lee shines here more in terms of storytelling than he does in Origin. There, with all of the fights and moments of action, Lee’s talents are present dramatically, but less so when it comes to detailed storytelling. Lee proves here he can tell a story with suspense and interest. As ever, Scott Williams’s inks suit the pencils well, despite the over-abundance of flicky lines everywhere. Other artists and inkers help out in this four-parter, and overall, the art compliments the writing very well.
As with Justice League: Origin, these six issues are joined with an epilogue which teases a future story, specifically Trinity War. Questions is only four pages, written by Johns with art by Ethan Van Sciver. It first focuses on Pandora, the young girl who previously met The Phantom Stranger. Here she attempts to open a skull containing something before a wizard materialises into existence warning of future danger. Meanwhile, in Hub City, a mysterious new vigilante emerges to take on crime. It is, of course, the Question. How are both of these stories linked, and for what purpose? Who knows, but with Johns’s suspense and mysterious storytelling and Van Sciver’s detailed art, we’re certainly interested in some answers.
VERDICT
Overall, Justice League: The Villain’s Journey features more substance and plot than the first six issues of the run. While the Prologue and the Green Arrow stories are good one-offs (especially the latter) that change little in the run, the main four-parter features a strong story and a great villain. Johns focuses on the Justice League in a variety of ways here and explores their personalities through Steve Trevor’s weaknesses. While there are certainly less fights here and more talking, Geoff Johns writes a sadly forgotten modern classic with The Villain’s Journey…
Next Week: Nightwing: Old Friends, New Enemies (Action Comics Weekly 613-18, 627-34). Written by Marv Wolfman and Cherie Wilkerson, with art by Chuck Patton, Tom Poston, Tom Mandrake, and Vince Giarrano.
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