Justice League #33: Unlimited Justice

Just as things are beginning to look too bleak to overcome, Snyder and Tynion dig deep to draw inspiration in their epic clash between Doom and Justice. We see, as Green Lantern, Flash, and Aquaman lead the Justice Society to Atlantis, John Stewart’s faith begins to waiver. In a move that illustrates why these two writers were the right ones to return the JSA to fans, in steps Alan Scott with his classic sage-like words of encouragement.

In doing so, the framing narrative of the necessity of the perpetual struggle between Doom and Justice leaps off the page, reminding the reader that even though things in the world may look dire at our current moment in time, it truly is all about perspective. The eternal struggles are just that. Eternal. One side may gain the upper hand for a time but the cyclical nature of the struggle prevents either side from eliminating the other.

And that, in a nutshell, is the beauty of the comics medium. The ability to reflect back at us a mirror of contemporary society without being bound by the rules of our world. The discourse remains the same although the conditions have changed, sometimes for better, others for worse. What we see in these pages is ourselves. Where we stand, what we believe in, and sometimes a path forward as we live our own eternal struggles.

The shift in art team for this issue is jarring but not in a necessarily bad way. Redondo and Sampere lend a more hyper-realistic style to the story as opposed to the more cartooning style of Jiminez but in both cases, the story seems to accept the style changes as they impact the overall mood of the narrative. Here, the realistic style helps to drive home the notion of hope from despair. There is a realness to these spectacular events pushing the characters into becoming avatars for real life emotions and attitudes.