DCNation #0: No Justice Bullet Review

DC Nation #0 came out last week, a bargain at a quarter because it sets up three major new storylines in three of DC biggest properties. I knew I was going to review part of it at the very least. My thoughts on the Brian Michael Bendis/Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez story were posted a couple of days ago here.

I wasn't planning on covering any of the other stories because I don't always read Batman and I hadn't read Justice League Metal so I didn't think I had the background to cover the No Justice story by the deep team of talent comprised of writers Scott Snyder, James Tynion IV, and Joshua Williamson with art by Jorge Jimenez. But the appearance of Supergirl made a couple of people reach out to me for coverage. And so here we are.

This will be a bit of a bullet review so don't expect too too much. My plan here is to look at each team and then cover the Kara spot. Onto the story.

One thing I truly liked about this tale was that it simultaneously gave me the backstory I would need to understand what has happened while also dropping me into the middle of craziness.

The end result of Justice League Metal was the Source Wall being broken allowing the Omega Titans loose onto our universe. These Titans represent the four cosmic energies of Entropy, Mystery, Wonder, and Wisdom. As a result, the Justice League has broken up and reformed into four squads, each dedicated to one of these energies. Perhaps the plan is to have each squad fight their specific Titan? Maybe they are best equipped to fight that energy?

Whatever the reason, there is a classic feeling of Silver Age JLA when the team split up to fight a particular threat. There also was, for me, a pang of early Crisis on Infinite Earths where the Monitor picked teams of characters with little prior interaction to defend his universe saving tuning forks from a threat. Because the make-up of these teams is interesting.

Justice League Entropy consists of Batman, Lex Luthor, Deathstroke, Lobo, and Beast Boy. Currently they are under arrest by Coluan military. Entropy means both the slow decay of energy but also a spiral into disorder. All of these characters seem to walk a fine line between sanity and insanity. Beast Boy walks a line between humanity and animal. So maybe they represent a natural tendency for mortals to break down in some way?

Justice League Mystery is made up of Superman, The Martian Manhunter, Starfire, Starro, and Sinestro. They are currently in battle with some sort of Coluan giant brain weapon. Obviously, they are all aliens. The Mystery is probably a riff off of classic DC title 'Mystery in Space'.

Justice League Wonder is led by Wonder Woman (appropriately) with members Raven, Zatanna, Dr. Fate, and Etrigan. Clearly magic is the common thread here. But it is a good mix of both order and chaos, of mostly good with some evil tendencies.

And the final team is Justice League Wisdom with members Cyborg, Atom, Robin, Flash, and Harley Quinn. These are all human. None of them have intrinsic powers. Each gained them through technology or accident. Perhaps the wisdom here of mortality? They all have some tragedy they have needed to overcome as well. Perhaps it is their resilience that shows off their wisdom?

The last two teams are fighting the people Colu because this planet is the Titans first stop. The Leagues hope to end things before they start.

Back on Earth, Green Arrow and Supergirl spar a bit as they banter about the Leagues' mission. Ollie thinks Supergirl needs to stop being optimistic and get down to Earth. I guess he means it bost physically and mentally. She has to be a realist.

She, of course, thinks the teams will win and she has to have her eyes on the sky.

He is the grizzled veteran who has seen his share of things. She is the bright newcomer, still looking at the positive. I always like their interactions, perhaps best in Justice League Unlimited.

Unfortunately, it looks like the Titans have side-stepped Colu and gone straight to Earth. Boy, these things scream Kirby Celestial!

Something to keep in mind. With Superman, J'onn, and Wonder Woman all off-world. Supergirl is probably the strongest hero left. (You could say Green Lantern.) She better be ready to grow up and throw down.

So nice primer for the prior story, the upcoming teams, and the threat. The writers do a good job of showing us each team's leader and then the other team's read on that leader. So some nice character beats were seen.

And Jimenez, as usual, shines. I first saw his work on the Diana arc in Smallville. I have always loved his Wonder Woman.

So count me in for the No Justice mini-series as well as at least two Justice League books coming out of it.

Overall grade: A