Questions about Alex Ross' JUSTICE

[toddly6666]

I just finished reading Alex Ross' JUSTICE and I have a couple questions, that Wikipedia doesn't answer (Wikipedia doesn't even list Sivana in the Legion of Doom). Please note im just a casual comic book reader. I don't know D.C. that well:

1. In Volume 3, doesn't Aquaman spear Black Manta in his head early on? I though he kills him there, but then they have another showdown at the end of the book in Manta's city?

2. Who are all those side Justice characters? Such as those gold and silver alien-type characters, and that giant girl that fights Giganta? There is some dialogue with the gold/silver characters when they are fighting Parasite, where something happens when someone says "Gold." And then Parasite stabs one of the characters. I don't get it. What happened there?

3. Capt. Marvel gets Black Adam to say Shazaam and turn back to regular dude (in which he says "I haven't been in that form for such a long time". In the history of Capt. Marvel comics, did Black Adam ever change back to regular dude? Or he is always Black Adam?

4. The Legion of Superheroes pop up at the end. Anyone think that this is a marketing ploy to get them more popular?

5. Anyone else disappointed that Darkseid didn't pop up? The only reference to him was that they got some technology from his city.

6. Is Clayface gay? I thought there was some hint that he wanted to have sex with Green Arrow. Later in the story, it was mentioned to Clayface by another villain that it's easier to capture them (green arrow and black canary) in a simpler way then his "sexual deceiving" way.

7. Although his outfit looks cool and ninja-like, Elongated Man's armor didn't protect his eyes. Anyone else notice that?

8. When all the Green Lantern corp. shows up to catch all the nukes, where's Kilowog?

9. Why did Joker kill Scarecrow? Was that just supposed to be a random act of craziness? Or was he jealous of Scarecrow being involved in the whole Legion of Doom scheme and not him?

10. At the end of Volume 3, there are some superheroes in space rebuilding something that looks like the Death Star. Is that the Justice League Watchtower?

11. When the Legion are all sitting in that dining room with Lex toasting everyone in the middle (Giganta and Sinestro are standing, not sitting), who is the character sitting all the way on the left side? He looks like Bruce Wayne. Is he one of the brainwashed superheroes?

12. Did anyone get killed? It's left open whether Cheetah and Metallo are dead. Anyone else?

 

[phoenixflight]

Interesting, many of your questions are my questions. I just picked it up last issue yesterday (I have no idea how I missed it when it came out).

ALex Ross' art is truly spectacular...that man can give incredible depth to his visions.

Here are two other questions...

With the image of the Legion of Super-Heroes watching these events, does that mean that their story is next??

With the rebirth of Wonder Woman, does she retain her former memories or does she start from scratch, being taught everything again?

 

[CaptainCanada]

2. Who are all those side Justice characters? Such as those gold and silver alien-type characters, and that giant girl that fights Giganta? There is some dialogue with the gold/silver characters when they are fighting Parasite, where something happens when someone says "Gold."

The robots are the Metal Men, the giant girl and her associates are the Doom Patrol.

3. Capt. Marvel gets Black Adam to say Shazaam and turn back to regular dude (in which he says "I haven't been in that form for such a long time". In the history of Capt. Marvel comics, did Black Adam ever change back to regular dude? Or he is always Black Adam?

Teth-Adam was empowered by the wizard Shazam, and by saying Shazam he became "Mighty Adam", then Black Adam once he went evil. He almost never reverts to his old form in the comics (although he was depowered post-"World War III" recently).

4. The Legion of Superheroes pop up at the end. Anyone think that this is a marketing ploy to get them more popular?

Unlikely; Ross just wanted to stick them in somewhere.

6. Is Clayface gay? I thought there was some hint that he wanted to have sex with Green Arrow.

Er, I don't know about that; he snuck up on Green Arrow and then transformed into his clay form to attack him.

8. When all the Green Lantern corp. shows up to catch all the nukes, where's Kilowog?

Kilowog was created post-Crisis, so, in all probability, Ross has no love for him (especially since this is 70s retro series).

10. At the end of Volume 3, there are some superheroes in space rebuilding something that looks like the Death Star. Is that the Justice League Watchtower?

That's the Watchtower.

11. When the Legion are all sitting in that dining room with Lex toasting everyone in the middle (Giganta and Sinestro are standing, not sitting), who is the character sitting all the way on the left side? He looks like Bruce Wayne. Is he one of the brainwashed superheroes?

I have no idea who that is, but it's not Bruce Wayne (and there are no other superheroes present, so it's some villain).

12. Did anyone get killed? It's left open whether Cheetah and Metallo are dead. Anyone else?

I have no idea what happened with Cheetah (Diana certainly seemed ready to kill her until the end, but I can't imagine Ross writing that in one of his comics and letting it pass without comment), but Captain Marvel said they'd find something else to power Metallo, so he presumably survived.

 

[toddly6666]

PHOENIXFLIGHT, I agree with you about Ross. I don't know why fans complain about him taking too long when he's involved in a series. I thought it's pretty obvious why because each panel he draws is a work of art and I would think that it takes much longer than usual comic book panel art. I really don't buy many comic books. The only ones I really like and buy are the Alex Ross ones. It's just amazing what a good artist he is.
Here are my favorites starting with his best:
1. Kingdom Come
2. Worlds Greatest Heroes Oversized book
3. Justice
4. Marvels

I haven't read Uncle Sam yet and I don't own Mythology, but I would like to buy Mythology next - I flipped through it, and it looks like a nice coffee table book.

What I liked most about Justice was the little side story with Plastic Man and Elongated Man, and the little side story of Green Lantern sort of going crazy trapped inside his ring. I'm hoping Ross does a Plastic Man book, cuz he's my favorite DC superhero from the original comic and from the cartoon. I also liked that they gave a decent amount of "screen time" to Atom, Red Tornado, Zantanna, and Captain Marvel. And what I really loved was that Ross didn't use Joker and Kryptonite that much, cuz I'm literally sick of that clown and that green rock.

What I didn't like about Justice is that, although I'm not that crazy about Grodd, he just seemed sort of like a biotch left in the background in Volume 3 - it just felt like he disappeared after seeming so powerful in Volume 1. And of course there was too much Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman.

 

[GNR]

The guy in the Legion spread on the far left is Clayface in human form.

The LOS were shown at the end to give some minor oomph to Batman's narrative.The LOS were inspired by Superman so it was just a shot of them admiring their hero.

 

[mathhater]

What do you all think the odds are of getting this compiled into a single edition someday? I loved the series, and would love to have a compilation of it, but not spread out amongst 3 volumes. I want to have it all together...preferably in an Absolute edition. You think it'll happen, or should I just pick up the 3 volumes for my library?

 

[Doc Destruction]

I'm sure it will, but WHEN is going to be the question. Could be years from now.

 

[mathhater]

 

[toddly6666]

MATHHATER,

or just do what I did:
1. Buy a 3-ring binder
2. Carefully cut out all the pages of Volumes 1-3 of Justice
3. Punch holes in the pages and put them in a binder
4. And voila! A single edition all together!


just kidding. There's no way in hell I would do that, especially to an Alex Ross book. Just buy the three separate volumes. It's no big deal, and it's still better than owning each individual issues. I sometimes think like you though. But don't wait till things get too condensed. I've bought books combining as much as possible and they are a pain in the ass to read - such as a Marvel Omnibus - not easy reading if you want to read something on the toilet, or read while eating, or just putting the damn huge heavy thing on the lap.

 

[Andy C.]

I'm sure at some point they'll do an 'Absolute' edition of Justice, which'll cost way too damn much money.

 

[Anubis]

For which you could get a massive discount for at Amazon.com for the first week it's being sold. (I know i'm getting a copy to go along with my Kingdom Come and DC New Frontier.)

 

[mathhater]

MATHHATER,

or just do what I did:
1. Buy a 3-ring binder
2. Carefully cut out all the pages of Volumes 1-3 of Justice
3. Punch holes in the pages and put them in a binder
4. And voila! A single edition all together!


just kidding. There's no way in hell I would do that, especially to an Alex Ross book. Just buy the three separate volumes. It's no big deal, and it's still better than owning each individual issues. I sometimes think like you though. But don't wait till things get too condensed. I've bought books combining as much as possible and they are a pain in the ass to read - such as a Marvel Omnibus - not easy reading if you want to read something on the toilet, or read while eating, or just putting the damn huge heavy thing on the lap.

Okay...I guess I'll go ahead and pick up the separate volumes. And I would have much less of an issue if they did this in only two volumes...it just seems like 3 books for 12 issues is spread out a little too much. But I guess it's better to have them now instead of waiting indefinitely for a definitive edition.

 

[Cobblepot]

Don't nobody forget that Doug Braithwaite and Alex Ross drew this book together! It's much more dynamic than Kingdom Come. (Which by the way is still great).