NO JUSTICE, PART 3: The Justice League has found Brainiac’s heir, Vril Dox, but they still need to reactivate three of the trees on Colu to prevent the Omega Titan of Wisdom from destroying the planet. But without Brainiac’s plan, it may be a lost cause. And if Colu falls, so will Earth.
JUSTICE LEAGUE: NO JUSTICE #3
Authors: Scott Snyder, James Tynion IV, Joshua Williamson
Artists: Riley Rossmo and Marcus To
Colors: Hi-Fi
Letters: Andworld Design
Publisher: DC Comics
What You Need to Know:
Brainiac kidnapped the Justice League to help fight the four Omega Titans. To ensure their compliance, he activated seeds on Earth that would attract the titans if Colu were to be destroyed.
Brainiac divided the heroes and villains into four teams, each one to tackle a particular tree on Colu: Mystery, Wisdom, Wonder, and Entropy. However, before he can fully explain his plan, his head exploded.
The Entropy team, fighting their way through the prison on Colu, find the gem held within Brainiac’s “son, Brainiac 2.0.
What You’ll Find Out:
Brainiac 2.0 proceeds to explain to the Entropy team that they are doomed. The four trees contain an immense amount of energy and Brainiac’s original plan was to use the suits the League now wears to transfer the energy to himself to save and conquer Colu. But with Brainiac dead, the plan is useless. Colu will be destroyed and the Earth will be next.
On Earth, Waller and Green Arrow look at the seed in the Arctic. They have different ideas of how to deal with it, though. Waller intends to call in a nuclear strike to destroy the seed which will not only kill her and Arrow, but also the rest of Earth’s heroes who are all trapped in the seed by Brainiac.
Wonder Woman’s team is having no luck jumpstarting the Tree of Wonder. Raven’s magics are not at full power and Zatanna is struggling as well. There’s something about the suits that are preventing them from succeeding. But Wonder Woman refuses to give up. With amazing faith, she wraps her lasso around the Tree of Wonder and in a bright flash of light, the tree is powered, restoring the Tree of Wonder.
Unfortunately, the battle at the Tree of Wisdom isn’t going as well. Cyborg is having trouble communicating with it and the Omega Titan is looming overhead. Cyborg plugs into the tree and begins experiencing the entire history of Colu and connecting with every single one of its citizens. But it’s too much for Cyborg and begins to overwhelm him.
Inside the Tree of Mystery, the League works frantically to figure out how to free the hundreds of planets trapped inside. The concern is that the shock of re-entering the universe will kill them and so J’onn pleads with Starro to use his telepathy to calm the people. But Starro is no hero. He would prefer to flee. He doesn’t believe he can. But Starfire finds that her own planet is one of those trapped. The Coluans stole it. Her pleas convince Starro to try. Superman’s last effort then is to stall the titan to allow them to get the planets off-world.
The Titan of Wisdom stands poised to eat the planet. The League has failed. As the Wonder and Mystery teams attempt to distract the titan, the Wisdom team disconnects Cyborg and heads for the shuttle. The Entropy team boards a shuttle with Brainiac 2.0. But they’re out of time. Sinestro has not yet secured all of the planets.
And so Starro makes a fateful decision. He has the Atom invert the frequency of the dwarf star in Atom’s belt and fires it at Starro. Starro grows to monstrous proportions and he latches onto the titan’s face. Starro laughs as he matches his incredible telepathy and strength with the Omega Titan. This allows the remainder of the League to escape with the last of Colu’s citizens and the hundreds of planets. But then….
Starro tears apart.
The titan is victorious. Colu is destroyed.
On Earth, Arrow continues his face off with Waller. He fires a single arrow into the barrel of her gun, preventing her from firing. He takes her radio and calls out to the Green Lantern Corps, hoping for any kind of help he can get. But then the seeds on Earth awaken, trees sprouting in the Fortress of Solitude, STAR Labs, Belle Reve, and the Tower of Fate.
The other three titans have arrived at Earth.
And they’re hungry.
What Just Happened?
The last issue felt fairly hollow. Nothing new, nothing exciting, nothing different. Nothing shocking (even the appearance of Brainiac 2.0).
Going into this book, I was worried by more of the same. Had Snyder run out of steam? This guy had been surprising readers for years, but was the Justice League too much for him to handle?
As I opened it, I was apprehensive. But as it turns out, not because of Snyder (and company). Instead, we got a new artist. And while I realize that art is highly subjective, his art really did not impress me. It was too….childish. Too cartoony. Would have worked better in a book geared towards an adaptation of a children’s show…like Teen Titans Go. I’m not trying to be insulting. It wasn’t horrible. I was just put off by the kid-like animation.
But once you get past the art (if, indeed, you even need to “get past” it)…
The story was extremely fun and had some great moments. It was definitely a step above the last issue. It wasn’t perfect, but overall it was a fun read. And before I get into any other specifics, Harley’s referring to the omega titan as a “stay puft marshmallow titan” was hilarious. Proving that even in a team book, these writers can nail the characters with small lines like that.
The battle at the Tree of Wonder was great, really shining on Wonder Woman’s own magic on a team whose magic is generally more evident. Considering it had the likes of Zatanna, Raven, and Dr. Fate, to have Wonder Woman be the one who speaks of faith in magic and trusting in her own innate magic was a masterful stroke.
But ultimately, what really stuck with me in this issue was Starro. Yes, Starro. A giant starfish. A character who seems more like a joke than anything. A…creature…who is known for being arrogant (with good reason) and almost relishes being evil. To have him suddenly thrust into the spotlight was more enjoyable than I would have thought. We get to see his hesitancy at being asked to do something he’d never done before, to be responsible in a way he’d never been. To save lives, rather than take them. To free, rather than enslave.
And at first, he’s very reluctant. But something about Starfire’s pleas galvanizes him. But it’s not just his change of heart that makes his part so incredible. He doesn’t just help to free the enslaved people, but he makes the ultimate sacrifice at the end. He had to know that he would die, but he dove right in, no hesitation, giving the last of the planet the much needed time to evacuate.
Who would have thought a giant starfish would be the hero of the story?
Rating: 8/10
Final Thoughts: I have mixed feelings because the art is hard to swallow, but ultimately, this book really shines, especially for Starro fans. Snyder, Williamson, and Tynion are really giving me a fantastic Justice League story and I can’t wait for next week’s finale!
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