Review: Justice League Odyssey #6

“Things Fall Apart”

Writer: Dan Abnett
Artist: Carmine Di Giandomenico
Color Artist: Ivan Plascencia
Letterer: Andworld Design

Review by Adam Ray

The revelation from the previous issue has forced the rag-tag Justice League team to up and move. They’re continuing to planet hop, searching for answers, the next set piece, and the next drip of tension. The new writing team, now that Joshua Williamson isn’t in the picture, really needs to stick the landing, and they very well might have – balancing two plot lines as well as the issue just gone.

It’s clear that the new direction being taken is one of building Darkseid into the malevolent threat he always is and should be. Adding layers to a previously monolithic villain makes him much more interesting compared to how he used to be. Darkseid as a schemer; as an individual that reaches out and brings his plans to fruition is more realistic. We can align ourselves with his methods, therefore empathizing with the world-ending titan.

The key moments in this issue silently showed the characters true selves. We saw the lengthy struggle Darkseid endured, fighting to get his pieces into play. The same sort of vulnerability can be seen in Jessica Cruz, as she explains how tough things might yet be. There’s a sadness in accepting how tough fighting for what you want is. Darkseid’s anger or Green Lantern’s anxiety read perfectly on their faces, and really drive the story, as things fall apart.

Conclusion

This issue’s ending delivered the plot twist this title and that particular character deserved. It’s very easy to become bored of characters becoming repetitive. A twist like this will set back the actions of this character a great deal, and we can only imagine what will become of the story as a result. I look forward to the title’s new direction.

Images Courtesy Of DC Entertainment

(This review was originally published on the Dark Knight News website on February 27th 2019)