Review: Justice League Of America #185

 With the Absolute Universe built on Darkseid energy and the Ram V New Gods book being so good, I have dipped into the back issue box to review Justice League of America #183-185, the 'Crisis on Apokolips' storyline, another annual JLA/JSA crossover with the New Gods in tow. Today I'll review JLA #185, the finale. (Here are links to my part 1 and part 2 reviews.)

To be an honest reviewer, I have some mixed feelings about this issue and the conclusion to the storyline. I'll start with the good. 

Writer Gerry Conway throughout this story has done a great job of showcasing the personalities of all the characters as they have broken up into side missions. We have really great moments from all of them, worthy of a spotlight in this review. This is a great read if you love seeing inspiration from Superman and Wonder Woman, skills and intelligence from Batman and Mister Miracle, and action and philosophy from Dr. Fate and Green Lantern. Add to that the brilliant art by JLA-newcomer George Perez. I know that praising George Perez seems unnecessary but his work here is great, in both big moments and small. You can see this almost like the petri dish of Crisis on Infinite Earths as he handles a big cast, big action, weird landscapes, while making sure smaller scenes get their due. The work is incredible. We also get this pretty slick Jim Starlin cover.

I'll also say this is 1980. Darkseid and the New Gods were still .. well .. new. I learned of Darkseid from this story. 

So what's the downside?

Well, the solution to the problem, the ending of the threat, comes out of nowhere and on the last page. There is no build-up, no suspense, no 'crisis' of winning. It just sort of happens. I am not one for overly decompressed stories but this one would have completely benefited from a fourth issue. Part of it is pacing. We get three pages recapping the prior two issues. They are stunning pages for sure. But perhaps that space could have been better served?

On to the issue! Buckle up!

We start out with 3 pages of Metron flying through space, bringing us up to date on the plot of the story. We see the four smaller teams of JLA/JSA/New Gods and their activities on Apokolips. 

It is a spectacular Perez two-pager with Metron as the focal point but with inset panels showing us what each team has been up to. 

As I have said before, the New Gods were still pretty fresh and maybe not as well known back in 1980 so we also need to learn that Metron is an observer more than a participant. 

Last issue, the Injustice Society used the 'recreation cannon' to bring back Darkseid. Last issue he looked more gargantuan in stature, like a kaiju. Here, the resurrected Darkseid is more his typical stature.

Batman, Huntress, and Mister Miracle see him back in the palace. That Recreation Machine has been built by the enslaved citizens of New Genesis and now it will be used to teleport Apokolips to the Earth 2 universe, destroying Earth 2 in the process.

Again, Darkseid wasn't the ever-present DCU threat he is now back then. So I love this splash page, filled with grandeur and power. He fills the page and he should.

Conway needs to give us some villainous pomp as well. If you don't know who Darkseid is, we need to get a sense of who he is. I barely knew who he was back when I bought this off the rack. I mean he was mentioned in the Englehart/Rogers Mister Miracle book I bought back then ... but I didn't know him.

So small moments like this, crushing a flower and bemoaning his own weakness for remembering the smaller moments of life as he was stuck in between dimensions gave the young Anj a sense of him. Yes, crushing a flower is a small, almost over-used, trope but it showed me how evil he is.

I had to include it here.

 

I also needed to learn how temperamental he is. When the Society wheels in Power Girl, Firestorm, and Orion sealed in a block of ice, Darkseid gets upset at the indignity they did to his son. Using 'the omega force' (hand beams! not eye beams!) he blasts them, sending them to a prison cell.

 But then he says to send the heroes to the same prison. He regards Orion as a traitor and is dismayed his scion lost in battle. 

Never change Darkseid!

Still, when did the 'Omega Force' become the geometric, angled  'Omega beams' from his eyes?

Meanwhile Green Lantern, Dr. Fate, and Izaya are trying to ward off a never-ending swarm of para-demons as they try to make it to the Recreation Machine. 

Hal is all bluster and action, making giant lawnmowers to plow over the troops. Fate is more poetic, using fancier language.

I did like this turn where Fate sort of paraphrases Alan Scott's oath to recharge his ring. Of course Hal knows it. But shouldn't Fate as well?

I think this is where I first learned (a little) about the E2 GL oath.

Even Izaya gets into the action. Love how Perez channels Kirby's energy here.

But this seems to be an unwinnable fight as wave after wave of demons keeps appearing.

Superman, the E2 Wonder Woman, and Barda have befriended young rebels and are on their way to free the children in Granny Goodness's orphanage.

The young leader, Crimson, almost guts one of the guards but is stopped by Superman. This whole side plot has been one of the heroes teaching these young rebels about love, hope, and goodness. Superman has been more of an inspirational leader than a punching hero. 

This side plot also has my favorite moment of the book. 

The heroes free the chained 'orphans' and Wonder Woman even skirmishes with Granny. But Goodness slips out the back door.

Only to be confronted by Barda in the secret passage. That second panel is pure gold. The look of anger and disgust, the perfect sneer. The point of view from below with eyes in shadows, showing this is a good guy with an edge. Brilliant.

Conway doesn't show us the beatdown. We don't need it as a reader. That last panel says it all.

Our other team of Batman, Huntress, and Mister Miracle has been stalking the prison guards in the palace and free the iced heroes.

The detectives realize they need to free the Injustice Society. They need the Fiddler to break his spell over the New Genesis citizens so they can join the fight. 

Orion knows he is more needed as an opponent for Darkseid. So he leaves with Firestorm and Power Girl to rejoin the fight. 

I do love the flirtiness between Firestorm and Power Girl in this arc, well worth sharing. I especially love how Perez makes her hair look wet since she was just in an ice block. Nice continuity odd and the sort of detail I'm used to with Perez.

As I said in the intro, Conway really does a fine job showcasing the heroes and their individual skills.

This is the bottom half of a two page scene where Batman and Mister Miracle look at the cell the Injustice Society is in and use their skills to break into it without unleashing booby traps.

Did we need these pages? Not for the story. But definitely to show us how Batman and Mister Miracle are escape artists and of equal prowess.

The Fiddler is freed. The New Genesis citizens regain their free will and join the fight. The multiple hero teams converge on the palace and the Recreation Machine. 

Orion, Firestorm, and Power Girl all converge on Darkseid himself. 

As a kid, I loved this move where Firestorm somehow manipulates the matter of the air to send Darkseid's Omega Force back at him. What is that funnel made of? Why wasn't it destroyed by the Force? How quick is Firestorm's thinking? It doesn't matter. This was a pretty cool move. Love it. 

But it is all for naught as Darkseid hits the button the activate the machine to teleport Apokolips and destroy Earth 2.

With one page left, Conway solves the problem. 

Metron, the observer, decides to take action and points the Recreation Machine not at  Apokolips but at Darkseid himself, killing the dark lord a second time.

It is way too fast. The machine must have a very narrow beam to only hit Darkseid in a crowded room. Why doesn't it just teleport him to Earth 2? 

If this was even hinted at somewhere, I might take it better. But this is the top of the last page and this solution seems plucked from thin air.

Does the sudden ending ruin the story? No. It diminishes it. But the rest of this story, the teamwork and camaraderie, the inspiration, the spotlight on newer characters, the Perez art .. it all works. 

This is definitely a lot fun and found by me in more than one bargain box. It is also on the DC app right now.  Glad I reread and reviewed.

Overall grade: B+