‘Justice League #9’ (review)

Written by Scott Snyder 
Illustrated by Jorge Jimenez
Published by DC Comics

“Clark’s whole life has always been about finding the best in all the different aspects of his experience…”

In this month’s issue, the League takes a much-needed breather from the frenzy of recent events.

Which is nice, because it gives them a chance to fix the moon.

Good to see. And ok I’ll admit it, as metaphors go, it’s a pretty good one. I mean, there are maybe a few holes in it. And it runs the risk of going over some peoples’ heads.

So to speak.

Good thing Superman’s around to handle all that.

You know, with a little help from Batman.

Considering his body is as broken as the moon has been, Bruce is… managing. Nice to have the money, friends, and tech, to make everything that was broken even greater than it was. Nice also, to have friends who know what your greatness truly is.

Let’s see, what else do we learn this issue?

Well first of all we learn that Jorge Jiminez’s art just seems to get better and better. Can’t fault Alejandro Sanchez for colors either. This book looks great.

But beyond that? For one thing, we learn that the Hall of Justice is really pretty damn big when you start poking around. And we learn that food really does bring everyone together…

No sign of Cyborg though. Maybe that’s because he’s off hobnobbing with the new Old Gods in Justice League Odyssey? Never mind, I’m sure we’ll see him back here again soon enough. (But, oh hey look, it’s our first Blue Beetle sighting this month!)

We learn that John Stewart can be surprisingly unimaginative. (I mean, really. C’mon now.)

We learn that the Flash is himself surprisingly slow at adapting to the evolving nature of… super-science of all things. (But still fast enough to steal your lunch.)

We learn that Hawkgirl maybe has some… anger issues. Guess being an immortal reincarnated warrior woman comes with baggage. But hey Kendra, come to think of it, given that the Totality seems to have shredded itself through space and time to reach you, maybe now you could find some clues to what’s going on in all those artifacts you’ve been collecting since the dawn of mankind.

Come to mention that, maybe it’s time we started calling you Hawkwoman. Hm?

On that note, we learn that Wonder Woman, who is about to undergo a dramatic magical transformation over in her own book and in Justice League Dark, might just be following an unconscious impulse or two. Which is about to go sideways for her and her team, unfortunately…

We also learn that Aquaman is maybe feeling a little humbler these days without the title of king to hang his trident on. And maybe a little lonely too.

But also, oddly, while he appears to be sufficiently in tune with the oceans to know that Poseidon has gone missing, he’s not quite in tune with his own intuition to link that to the knowledge that Black Manta and Cheetah are plotting something big. Maybe time to up some of those abilities Arthur…

So let’s see: magic, space gods, earth gods, super-science, and super advanced wonder tech. All kinds of upgrades going on in these pages. And I approve. I really do. It’s fun. And it’s super.

Why not be better? If we can be?

But glad to see that, end of the day, the most super of them all still operates at a level that keeps us all focused in the right direction. Reminds me of the depiction of Superman in Grant Morrison’s All-Star Superman. Where he makes the point that Clark, always charged to the nines with all that glorious solar mana power, is always just on, you know? Not just powerful, but clear, even-handed, good, noble, wise. Just – the best.

I mean, it can be hard for the rest of us. Us mere mortals. Always trying to make everything better, always changing things, always breaking things down just to build them back up. Not always the best thing, if you end up losing the thread of the story along the way. If you, for example, lose track of all the core elements of what makes a team like the Justice League so damn good in the first place. That stuff never needed an upgrade.

Sure, maybe a nudge or two, to help us remember. Maybe a little polish. But mostly, just back to fine.

After all, why mess with perfection?

Next Issue: Depth charges.