As the Brainiac Queen runs rampant across the globe in the world’s largest reenactment of P.D. Eastman’s most famous book, the League scrambles to find the recently extricated Amanda Waller before this malicious mother-daughter duo can rain hell on Earth. Elsewhere, Mr. Terrific’s off-world team of superheroes must contend with a planet of super-powered dinosaurs following a mishap with the League’s recently constructed power bank. Will both teams be able to put their respective genies back in their bottles? Or will the arrival of an unexpected starship threaten at least one team’s mission? Things can’t possibly get worse, right?
SPOILERS AHEAD for Justice League Unlimited #21!
Visually gripping and wholly entertaining, Justice League Unlimited #21 is at its best when exploring the mounting tension amongst its members. Mark Waid’s understanding of each character remains a highlight of this series as each pitch-perfect voice continues to sell the drama. Waid absolutely nails the hostile dynamic between Batman and Lex Luthor. Their verbal sparring matches are entertaining from cover-to-cover. However, none of this would be as captivating without Mora and Ossio’s artwork. Their kinetic visual storytelling does an excellent job capturing the team’s desperation as the Brainiac Queen scours the globe. Unfortunately, despite the creators’ expert execution, it’s hard not to feel like this issue is one big advertisement for Justice League: Knight Vision Special #1.
Picking up immediately after the events of the previous issue, Justice League Unlimited #21 finds our earthbound heroes desperately searching for the location of the Brainiac Queen. With half a dozen speedsters circling the globe by longitude and every available Green Lantern searching by latitude, it should not be long before Brainiac Queen pops up onto someone’s radar. However, when Lex suggests that they should get eyes on Amanda Waller, Batman’s fangs come out.
One of the elements that I’ve been raving about during my past few reviews of Batman/Superman: World’s Finest and Justice League Unlimited has been Waid’s grasp of each character. The same is also true for this issue as Luthor’s smarter-than-thou attitude absolutely gets under Batman’s skin. Waid nails each character’s voice in a way that sells the hostile dynamic between this would-be duo.
Few characters could get under the Dark Knight’s skin the way that Luthor does. In Batman/Superman: World’s Finest, Waid conveys the disagreement between Travis Morgan and Batman as less hostile and more that Batman is going to do what he knows is right while the Warlord employs his own strategy. Here, Lex Luthor’s confident, smooth-talking intelligence is met with verbal sparring that suggests Luthor isn’t as smart as he thinks. I love the writer’s attention to detail in these interactions and how Batman’s response is different depending on who he is butting heads with.
“And you didn’t think to warn us in advance?”
During earlier conversations, Waid sets the stage for Justice League: Knight Vision Special #1. In a cleverly disguised question, Luthor asks, “No one’s Omega Prophecy warned of something this dangerous? Not yours!?” It’s a moment that plays into the two geniuses’ banter throughout the issue. However, Waid ends up paying off this statement with a head-scratching moment during this sequence’s conclusion that begs you to follow Batman and Luthor’s exploits into the upcoming special. As a result, this issue begins to feel less like a fully formed narrative and more of a commercial for the next installment.
Despite the league’s best efforts, they are struggling to keep up with the Brainiac Queen as she bounces from one data center to the next. In a spotlight-stealing moment, the Atom and Red Tornado manage to trick everyone and capture the Brainiac Queen in a faraday cage. I absolutely love how these two characters use the chaos to their advantage to save the day. Although I can’t help but smile at the characters’ ingenuity in this sequence, the speed at which they take down this world-ending threat lends itself to my feeling that this is a big advertisement for Justice League: Knight Vision Special #1.
This feeling is exacerbated by the fact that the entire conflict with Brainiac Queen is punctuated by a moment revealing that neither Batman nor Luthor received an Omega Prophecy. However, once the not-so-dynamic duo comes in contact with each other, their cryptic vision is finally revealed. As a result, it feels like much of this storyline is used to put these two characters together in a manner that says, “Hey if you liked reading these two characters here, check out the next book!” I would be lying if I didn’t say it wasn’t really effective. Waid’s handling of these characters is incredibly entertaining and I find myself clamoring more.
I would be remiss if I did not mention that Justice League Unlimited #21 relegates “Powers Planet” and the appearance of Despero to the B-plot of this issue doesn’t do much to soothe these feelings. I have been excited to see where this portion of the narrative is heading. Waid has done an excellent job tying inner team turmoil into both narratives. However, beyond the bickering, this sequence has not progressed. Thankfully, Despero’s near-board-wipe of the opposition promises to shake things up in the next issue.
“…what was that…?”
Dan Mora and Fico Ossio’s artwork is a huge selling point for this Justice League Unlimited #21. Their artwork is both kinetic and cinematic, capturing the team’s desperation as they attempt to stop the Brainiac Queen. One of my favorite sequences throughout this issue is the Atom and Red Tornado’s plot to trap her in the faraday cage. Mora and Ossio do an excellent job capturing the action as Tornado battles the Queen. Bonvillain’s colors do an excellent job conveying that this battle is happening digitally. However, I love the horror aspect of this sequence the most as Brainiac Queen slowly tears Red Tornado into pieces before Atom can spring the trap.
Visually gripping and incredibly entertaining, Justice League Unlimited #21 is at its best when exploring the tension between Batman and Luthor. Mark Waid’s understanding of each character is still a highlight of this series as each pitch-perfect voice makes every verbal sparring match popcorn-worthy. However, Mora and Ossio’s artwork is a huge selling point for this issue. Their kinetic and cinematic visual storytelling does an excellent job capturing the team’s desperation as the Brainiac Queen runs rampant. Unfortunately, despite the creators’ expert execution, this issue feels like an extended advertisement for Justice League: Knight Vision Special #1. Thankfully, the campaign is really effective as I find myself clamoring for more Batman and Luthor: The Discordant Duo.
