Justice League Volume 5: Forever Heroes (The New 52!) by Geoff Johns, Ivan Reis, Doug Mahnke and Rod Reis (graphic novel review).
In this book series, you might expect DC Comics to have replaced ‘Justice League’ with ‘The Crime Syndicate’ in the title, given the switch to Earth 3 and the exploration of how these evil counterparts originated. Surprisingly, the book doesn’t clarify why these psychopathic characters formed a team or how they arrived on Earth-1.
The contrasts are striking, with Superwoman being the only character not given an origin story. The absence of an evil version of Hawkman is notable, but the introduction of Deathstorm as their Firestorm counterpart compensates for this. Power Ring’s portrayal as anything but fearless until acquiring the power ring is an interesting choice.
This volume contains significant spoilers, featuring what appears to be the second generation of the Doom Patrol. A highlight is the resurrection of Cyborg, now equipped with more refined metallic parts, and the return of the Metal Men.
In contrast to the now-bickering Justice League, the Crime Syndicate seems to get along well, suggesting that even power-hungry individuals appreciate some form of companionship. This book, reprinting Justice League issues #24-29, is markedly violent and serves as an antithesis to the real team. A notable issue is the use of black text on a dark green background, which is just about readable, but could pose a challenge for anyone with red/green color blindness.
GF Willmetts
December 2023
(pub: DC Comics, 2014. page graphic novel softcover. Price: varies. ISBN: 978-1-40125-419-3).
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