Here it is– the arrival of a new super team for the DC Universe!  Steve Trevor and Amanda Waller note that the other Justice League has grown to hard to work with and have decided to put together a new group that they have a better handle on, Green Arrow, the new Green Lantern (Simon Baz), Hawkman, Katana, Martian Manhunter, Stargirl, Vibe and most surprisingly Catwoman.  They aren’t the only ones, though as another group also begins to form in the shadows.

Elsewhere a mysterious figure who is later revealed to be called the Dark Hunter appears to be fleeing from Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman, who seem to be out for blood.

Ultimately, though, the focus of this issue is Waller and Trevor hashing it out and weighing the pros and cons of the various members of their new team.  While some of these heroes have their own series, a few like Stargirl and Vibe are basically brand new.  We do get small vignettes of each hero in action, though to establish them and how they fit into this larger puzzle.  Many fans have expressed… hesitation, to put it a nice way, over the decision to add some of these characters to this illustrious team, but writer Geoff Johns makes a point to illustrate their merits here.  Stargirl is the most popular super hero around, apparently, kind of like a super Britney Spears circa “I’m A Slave 4 U,” before she got all bald and crazy.  Vibe may be one of the most powerful heroes in the world, with the power to tap into the multiverse.  Katana is described as almost as lethal as Deathstroke.  And Catwoman is selected as a secret member to be kept out of the spotlight, but used for covert missions.  It is also revealed that each member is selected as a parallel to one of the members of the regular Justice League.  Some of the pairings are obvious, Martian Manhunter/Superman or Catwoman/Batman, but others like Stargirl/Cyborg and Katana/Wonder Woman seems like more of a stretch.

David Finch is a great artist, with a slightly gritty style, which I think fits this book, which seems to have a grittier tone than the regular Justice League title.  He employs loads of detail and his storytelling is great.

Overall, it was a somewhat by-the-numbers “putting the gang together” story.  This format has been employed many times, but it was still entertaining.  The dialogue is nice and Johns actually takes on the haters head-on by addressing the criticism fans have already lobbied at some of these character choices.  This appears to be an eclectic mix and that could go either way, but I’m intrigued to see where this goes.

 

JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #1
Written by Geoff Johns
Art and Cover by David Finch