Without Brainiac to guide them, the new configurations of the Justice League struggle to find their own way to protect the planet Colu from destruction.
Justice League: No Justice 2
Written by Scott Snyder, James Tynion IV and Joshua Williamson
Pencils and Inks by Francis Manapul and Marcus To
Colors by Francis Manapul
After the untimely demise of my favorite Superman villain – Brainiac – in the PREVIOUS ISSUE, the assorted teams of heroes and villains are left a little confused as to what they should be doing to prevent the Omega Titans from destroying Colu. The second issue of the weekly event forces the oddball pairings to work together to even out the planet’s four essences to keep the threat at bay. While Team Wisdom – made up of Cyborg, The Atom, Robin Damian Wayne, The Flash and Harley Quinn – are tasked with bringing down the wisdom essence of the planet, the other three teams try and boost the forces of entropy, wonder and mystery.
It’s not an easy process.
The best parts of the second issue, again, come from the interactions between the various teams. I especially enjoyed the characterization of Starro the Conqueror – the giant telepathic starfish who was the villain in the Justice League’s first official adventure together back in 1960. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen Starro given much of any personality before, usually just serving as a generic baddie who happens to be an giant intergalactic starfish. Here, though, he’s a pretty funny giant intergalactic starfish, quipping regularly throughout the book. When Starro was announced as a member of Team Mystery (with Superman, Starfire, Sinestro and Martian Manhunter), I wondered what he could possibly bring to the table as a character. Now, I’m really glad he’s been included.
Even though Brainiac is out of commission, the teams follow the tech on their costumes to begin to reach their goal and putting a dent in the dead Coluan’s plans. It’s Team Entropy (Batman, Lex Luthor, Lobo, Beast Boy and Deathstroke) that’s involved in the big reveal at the end of the issue.
As the Teen Titan Beast Boy spends the issue wondering why he was put on the team – before finally getting a boost of confidence from Lobo of all people – he helps the team battle through a prison complex on Colu. Their goal was to release a person from the most heavily guarded part of the prison, someone who could be of some assistance now that Brainiac is gone – Vril Dox.
It’s always good to have a cocky jerk around to tell the teams of heroes and villains what to do.
The second issue of NO JUSTICE isn’t completely confined to the planet Colu, though. On Earth, Amanda Waller continues her quest to find out what’s going on by traveling up to the Arctic Circle to try and penetrate Superman’s Fortress of Solitude to dig up Earth’s Cosmic Seed. She runs into Green Arrow, who agrees to work with Waller after Waller captures him, only to find out the Cosmic Seed is activated.
Waller seriously always screws everything up.
The second issue of NO JUSTICE definitely doesn’t let up on the insanity that kicked off in the first issue, and I’m really looking forward to seeing what Snyder, Tynion and Williamson have up their sleeves for the third issue, out on Wednesday.