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Saturday, October 23, 2010

Justice League Europe #39 - June 1992

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Comics Weekend "Returning" by Gerard Jones, Ron Randall, and Randy Elliott.

When last we left the newly-minted JLE, the mad villain known as Destructo animated a statue of Napoleon, which he used to lop off the head of Power Girl (oh, not that old plot again):
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The Flash, enraged, makes a dash at Destructo, who easily deals with the Scarlet Speedster by altering his reality, leaving Wally in a confused heap. He then disappears, leaving the rest of the JLE to get Power Girl--now in two parts--back to their HQ.

As Destructo wreaks havoc on major works of art--changing them to reflect his growing megalomania--Aquaman, Dr. Light, and the rest try and figure out if they can help their teammate. Dr. Light concludes that Kara might not be dead, that her "beheading" might be another illusion courtesy of Destructo.

At that moment, the Flash returns from the altered reality "trap" Destructo left him in:
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The JLE goes to find Destructo, which isn't hard--he has altered almost everything in town: the sky, the buildings, the newspapers, the statues: all of them are tributes to himself.

Crimson Fox and Elongated Man encounter Destructo directly, while Dr. Light uses a contraption she's jerry-rigged that alters the "reality" Destructo sees. While he is confused, Aquaman and Flash attack him, causing him to drop his wand, which is the source of his abilities. With Batman there to scoop it up, Destructo is now helpless.

Back at JLE HQ, Power Girl wakes up from her bifurcated nap, now that all the effects of Destructo have worn off. The team takes a moment to reflect over some tea:
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...to be continued!


I liked this issue more than the previous one, since its plot and eventual resolution reminded me a bit of the classic JLA stories. Destructo is taken out a little too easily (and confusingly), but to stretch this out to another issue would have been too much.
And, once again, Batman's "I'm a grim avenger of the night" shtick is a bit tiresome.

From an Aquaman-centric perspective (which is my life, pretty much), Arthur doesn't get much to do here, and so far his role in the JLE could have been filled by any costumed hero: there's nothing particularly specific to Aquaman in this first three issues. We'll see what happens now that his old pal Green Lantern is aboard...

2 comments:

Bribaby said...

Look at Ralph's exaggerated reaction in that first panel. I'd like to see a DC stretchy guy who isn't a zany sir-yucks-a-lot. I wanna see one who's quiet and introverted, and stands around with his hands in his pockets mumbling to everybody.

David J. Cutler said...

Hahaha that was Elongated Man in 52, wasn't it?