Comics / Comic Reviews / DC Comics

Justice League: Cry for Justice #3 (of 7)

By Andy Frisk
September 4, 2009 - 23:29

Hal Jordan, the hero who helped lead The Green Lantern Corps to victory over Sinestro and his Corps, a Corps comprised of beings who PRIDE themselves on torturing, demeaning, and inspiring fear in their fellow beings under the misguided guise of restoring order to the universe, tortures Prometheus, demeans Supergirl, and, while not exactly frightening his “knee-jerk liberal” best friend Green Arrow, causes him to be worried enough to ask “…but, aren’t we supposed to be the good guys?” What. The. Hell.
 
Forgive my language, but Hal Jordan might as well hook up with Sinestro, take his rightful place at his side, and bring order to the universe. Is it safe to say that Hal Jordan knows Superman? Is it safe to say that Hal Jordan trusts Superman? Is it safe to say that Hal Jordan is smart enough to NOT fall for the anti-Kryptonian hysteria, fueled by General Lane, that is blanketing Earth? Is it safe to say Hal Jordan should be aware that Supergirl, even though she makes the mistakes that any super powered teen would (just go read any X-Men, or for that matter, Titans or Teen Titans book), she has nothing but the best intentions and desire to be a hero, NOT a villain, at heart? Superman supports her, but wait, Hal Jordan thinks Superman is just too much of a socialist, soft on crime intellectual now. So, his cousin must be too. This isn’t the Hal Jordan that I know. Again, forgive my language: What. The. Hell.

Ok, so the harsh interrogation techniques yielded no info. It really wasn’t Prometheus they were torturing anyway, and they all got a bomb blast in their faces in the middle of an urban center. So, maybe it wasn’t such a great idea, but can we say irresponsible?! Torture the bad guy in a building in the middle of Gotham. That’s just brilliant. I really, really love what Robinson is doing over in Superman. He and Johns are telling a great story with a subtle, yet poignant social and political subtext. They are telling a story that has a message at its heart that is an important one. They aren’t beating the reader over the head with blatantly obvious references to real world social and political problems, but addressing the issues of xenophobia, fascist-like fear mongering, racism, etc. subtly and intelligently. Ray Palmer tap dancing on the sinuses of a bad guy while Hal Jordan sanctions and oversees the event, and Hal’s best friend Ollie/Green Arrow questioning if they’re still the good guys, after which they all get a bomb in their faces, isn’t subtle and intelligent commentary through storytelling. It’s blatant sensationalism that exploits real world issues to sell comic books. Robinson is better than this.

Maybe, all will be revealed to be a bad dream. Maybe, it’s not really Hal Jordan, but a super villain impersonating him. I don’t know. It just seems wildly out of character for Jordan to act this way. This whole series tries to be important and serious, but it comes off as satire. A satire of what Robinson is helping to do over in the Superman books, namely, tell a good tale. The heroes definitely look their parts though, even if they don’t act like it. Cascioli’s art is as good as the script is bad, and the script is pretty bad. Cascioli makes every page, scene, panel, and background look like one of the most realistic and detailed paintings of a real human being (or animal/man in Congorilla’s case) ever seen in a comic book. Every inch of his work is a delicious and worthy meal devoured by the eye. I’m really glad that he is getting to recreate these heroes in a book, but really wish it was a book more worth reading.

Maybe the plot and direction of this series will turn around, but I’m pretty much gone at this point. I’ll still read, and rave about what Robinson doing in Superman, but Cry for Justice is just plain, very oddly, and surprisingly bad.

Rating: 2 /10

Last Updated: August 31, 2023 - 08:12