Review: Justice League Vs Legion Of Super-Heroes #3

At long last, Justice League Vs The Legion of Super-Heroes #3 came out. It has been 2 solid months since the second issue. Nothing, and I mean nothing, will kill momentum like delays. And for someone starving for Legion material, 2 months felt like 6.

What makes matters even wonkier is that DC continuity right now is pretty soft. Remember when I thought having Doomsday Clock, Snyder's Metal, and Event Leviathan all overlapping was weird? That was a walk in the park. Right now Superman is dead, on Warworld, and in the 31st century ... all at once. It is this sort of overlapping event phenomenon that kind of cheapens or lessens each of them. We have this Great Darkness and THE GREAT DARKNESS in Dark Crisis. Confusing.

All right, enough griping. What about this issue.

Well we are halfway through this mini-series and I don't know what's going on. The 'Vs' confuses me in the title although in the end I think the Gold Lantern is going to be a dupe for whoever the bad guys are. That will probably lead to some conflict.

Writer Brian Michael Bendis brings his usual snappy patter to the book. It reads very well with some humor and some solid character moments. In a riff on classic JLA team-ups he has split the teams into small groups. But I just don't know if the plot has advanced enough here for the halfway point. Will this come to a solid conclusion or just sort of peter out?

Scotty Godlewski really is singing here. I love his take on these Legionnaires. And his expressive work and body language is nuanced. You can read the feelings here without them being exaggerated. 

On to the book.

I will say that I have liked these recap pages in the Legion books, introducing us to the new incarnations of the Legionnaires.

Computo sure looks like Danielle Foucault. Except she looks like a living electronic consciousness. 

Not much news here. I wouldn't have minded a little origin paragraph about her like we have seen in the past. 

Last issue, the Great Darkness manifested in multiple times at once. In the future, Black Adam fired lightning into it, perhaps opening a portal through to the present, enough for Gold Lantern to see.

But Brainiac 5 has had enough. Something in all times could erode everything. So maybe you shouldn't shoot energy into it.

I love this little exchange between Adam and Timber Wolf. I talked about the artwork by Godlewski. You can see the irritation on Adam's face as well as Brin's sheepish face when challenged.

Even that top panel of Brainy is great work. You sense his speed and concern. 

Meanwhile, in the Legion HQ, Batman wonders how many time-based criminals have been active in both time periods that the Darkness has manifested.

Interesting to see the  monitor. Time Commander. Per Degaton. Chronos. Reverse Flash. 

Booster Gold?? Interesting to see him pop up on the criminal list.

But the team is reminded about their recent battle with Epoch, a villain who warned the League about a Gold Lantern. 

Of course, if Batman is thinking that someone who had been in both time periods could be manifesting the Darkness, that fits Gold Lantern. 

In the present, Gold Lantern thinks he can close the rift.

But his ring sort of explodes with energy.

The next thing you know, the two teams are basically time tossed, a couple here, a couple there.

I don't think the Lantern himself is bad. But I think he is being used.

Batman and Chameleon Boy stay in the 31st century.

I like the look of the Science Police. Squint and they look like A.I.M.

They investigate crimes against science. That's sort of silly.

The rest of the issue is sort of catching up on where everybody went.

Mon-El, Brainiac 5, and Naomi get sent to Kamandi's time. 

There the Last Boy takes them to where the 'science' is, the Leviathan headquarters we saw waaaaayyyy back in the Legion Millenium #1 book. 

Any mention of Leviathan will make me smile. If they need time travel tech, it'll be there.

The original three Legionnaires end up in the Batman Beyond time.

Aquaman and Ultra Boy end up in some prehistoric time. I love Aquaman saying he needs body of water.

For sure we are going to run into Anthro or some prehistoric hero.

It is all well and good to take this tour of DC history. But unless it also matters to this plot, this is just fun and fluff. 

Meanwhile, something bad is happening in the present. You know, where the Gold Lantern is.

This was a breezy, entertaining read. I like the interaction between the teams. I like the dialogue. I really like the art. 

But did we get anywhere other than moving the teams to the different times? I mean, I still don't know what this Darkness is.

I'll keep my fingers crossed this is brought to a great ending. I'll hope we get more Legion after this. We shall see.

Overall grade: B