Spoiler Warning!
See all those guys on the cover? Don’t expect to see them in the book. Only 4 members of the Justice League make any sort of appearance. The story focuses on the first meeting of Batman and Green Lantern. Hal is surprised to discover that Batman is real.
But you probably know all of this already from the previews and interviews. What you probably want to know is, how is it? It’s pretty good.
The issue feels a little padded. For the most part, the issue is one long conversation between Hal and Bruce as they feel each other out. Hal is a young, blustery super hero who isn’t especially impressed by a guy dressed as a bat with no super heroes. And Bruce is Bruce. He’s not impressed with Hal’s powerful trinket because Hal doesn’t know how to use it.
But the banter between the characters was fun. And free of continuity constraints, the book feels fresh. You really get that sense of discovery that DC has been talking about these last few months. And of course, you get the familiarity of characters who really haven’t changed all that much.
Hal and Bruce are tracking an alien who has landed in Gotham. Bruce being Bruce, he wants Hal to stay in Coast City. But Hal explains that all of this sector is under his jurisdiction. This young, cocky Hal is so full of his own sense of power that he frequently refers to himself in the third person as “Green Lantern”. Naturally, Batman winds up taking him down a peg.
The alient utters a familiar name which will definitely set up future issues. There’s a brief look at Vic Stone having daddy issues (a Johns favorite) and playing football. And Superman makes an appearance just in time to knock Hal down another peg at the end of the issue. For the most part, it’s a fun read.
The issue also introduces the new DCU. The transition isn’t jarring. Very little has changed beyond the costumes. And it is fun to see these characters in a younger, more pure incarnation. Hal was more fun than he usually is in his own book, for example.
This feels less like the earth-shattering start of a brand new universe and more like Johns’ take on JLA: Year One. But I think that’s a good thing. DC hasn’t thrown the baby out with the bathwater. Long time readers and newbies alike will be able to pick up this book and enjoy it. The elements that worked are still there. There’s just an added sense of new discovery.
Check out Cal Cleary’s Weekly Round-Up of the DCnU
I am not a huge DC guy but I am really looking forward to this Reboot.
It’s going to be interesting times for the next few months. If nothing else, it won’t be boring!
I’m admittedly unaware of how the first JL started, but I thought Batman and Superman knew each other slightly before it got started. Granted, I could easily be wrong, but I was a bit sad to not see anything like how I’ve read Superman and Batman first met.
In other regards, I enjoyed this issue, besides slight annoyances at Hal using the 3rd person (did he use to do that pre-relaunch as well?). I’m also wondering if the extent of how much Hal was doing at one time in here is about what he use to be able to do. I’ve only read a few GL things in the past, and very little of it with Hal so I’m not sure on that.
But yes, outside of wondering on a couple differences I’m unsure of I really did enjoy this.
I really can’t wait though for next weeks Batgirl, Detective Comics, and Static Shock. Probably will grab Action Comics too and a couple others.
I actually loved that Hal was a complete ass. I’ve always though Hal was an unbearable, pompous windbag most of the time. But to see him be so upfront about it and get his ass handed to him as a result somehow made him more likable than the older version.
Out with the old and in with the new, I sez!
it’s funny tho, Hal jordan it’s a completely different character than we’ve been used to, he is cocky, rebellious and full of himself, I hope we get an explanation or at least closure into Green lantern war at some point because that was such an awesome event for it to be left like that
I’m kinda bothered by the extremely young looks each hero has, like they are trying to appease to a much younger (kiddie) generation by making the heroes look like teenagers, and to me it feels weird and freaky knowing bruce wayne or Hal in their mid 30′s (or 40′s who knows) and looking like little kids, not to mention Superman even tho he has the “bad-ass” looks he seems to be taken from a Manga story, lost is the look of the american mature hero….
Well, this is the relaunch and at least some characters (mainly their big names) had their age shoved back to I’d guess upper 20′s. Then again, seeing how young Superman looks there, it may even be mid 20s. Kind of hard to tell with comics though as they rarely – if ever – give ages for characters.
But yes, it is odd to see people who many are use to being in the mid to later 30s (I’d guess mid 30s at least for Batman/Bruce before this relaunch) being so young again.
You shouldn’t fret too much though. If you missed it the Justice League issue is taking place 5 years in the past. I’m assuming after the Justice League gets established fully that they will jump to the present. I think the same will be going for Action Comics as well. Just my thoughts though, and if anyone has an interview or something else to either prove me right or wrong on that, please let me know.
You’re dead-on. JL #1 and Action #1 are 5 years before everything else.
Well JL 1 that was pretty obvious even in just the preview XD
Will they stay continually 5 years in the past though or be jumped to meet “present” time after their intro stories are told and everything.
They will jump back to the present after the first story arc. I *think* it’s 6 issues, but I could be wrong on that.
I mean I have no problem with them being in their mid 20′s, but they have to write them accordingly instead of writing them according to the current (and excuse me for saying so) stupid stereotype of 20′s generation of Fratboys and retarded youth
it’s not like I’m one of those old geezers (25 and still counting), but I like my characters to have deep and at least some sort of maturity instead of them being portrayed for a younger generation that never cared about them, I’ve been reading comics for a big while now and I’ve been acustomed to hal jordan, superman and most of all bruce wayne to be deep matured characters instead of these brash youngsters, and it’s worse since I feel at least superman and green lantern feel the same “character wise” and thus, my comparison to some anime styled characters instead of something else
I thought it was kind of refreshing to see them at this younger age.
Since its a fresh start, I wouldn’t want them to be much older than they appear to be and still be so inexperienced. In the original (R.I.P.) universe, the team is a bunch of grizzled old veterans.
When my dad introduced me to comics 20 years ago, they were already well established characters with very deep ingrained history. With the reset, we get to see the characters ‘grow up’ and become heroes once again.
Yeah, I think this approach works. It reminds me of why I liked Kyle Rayner in the 90s. This new, younger Hal is more relatable. He screws up. The grizzled, vet Hal was still a jerk. But his shit didn’t stink. I like watching him learn the ropes. Definitely refreshing.
Part of why watching Dick as Batman and Damian as Robin was so much fun these past couple years as well. Not to mention Stephanie as Batgirl. I do still find it a bit sad though that they wouldn’t just continue to allow prodiges to step into that bigger role which would be close to the same effect.
Just briefly, I’ll say that I found the issue quite entertaining. However, there wasn’t much in it that I would consider overly clever or innovative. It felt very much like an action movie, which is one of Johns’ strengths as a writer.
Yeah, it was entertaining, but very safe. Chris Sims at Comics Alliance blasted it because it isn’t what he thought the first book of a line-wide relaunch should be. And I agree with him on that front. I’ve seen a lot of comments that this was more suitable to Brave and the Bold than Justice League. Agreed there too.
I have no idea how a casual reader is going to react to a Justice League book that introduces us to only 2 members of the League and a high school football player with daddy issue. The Vic Stone stuff has to have any casual readers scratching their heads. Why on earth dedicate 4 pages to some kid in high school when you haven’t even introduced the Justice League yet? Crazy.
Sims admits he’s probably not being fair to the book because he’s judging it for what it is not instead of what it is. And if you look at it that way, the book is a disappointment. But if you look at it for what it is, it’s a simple entertaining super hero story. I don’t know if that was the best way to go to launch this whole endeavor. But it is what it is. And I enjoyed it on that level.
I am looking forward to issue 2.