Written by Gerry Conway
Art by Rich Buckler; Paris Cullins; Romeo Tanghal; Adam Kubert; & Carl Gafford
Cover Art by George Pérez
SUMMARY:
Published by DC Comics for March 1983, this issue’s packed League line-up consists of: Superman; Wonder Woman; Flash; Green Lantern; Elongated Man; Black Canary; Phantom Stranger; Green Arrow; Aquaman; Red Tornado; Batman; the Atom; and, in a cameo, Hawkman.
Repelling an alien invasion by the lizard-like War-Kohns, the team divides its forces. As the War-Kohns mutate innocent humans into soldiers and slaves, Batman & Flash barely hold their own at a secret Air Force bunker in Nebraska. In the South Pacific Ocean, Aquaman witnesses the War-Kohns’ attack on a nuclear submarine. Wonder Woman & Phantom Stranger are in similar dire straits in Siberia.
Superman, Green Lantern, Atom, Green Arrow, & Black Canary strike back against the War-Kohns’ allies, the Treasurers. Releasing the Treasurers’ alien captives, the Atom gives the League much-needed back-up. Aboard the JLA satellite, Elongated Man & Red Tornado devise a new strategy. The League discovers the stunning genetic reason why one particular human was targeted for captivity by the invaders.
REVIEW:
Despite its relatively solid artwork, this untitled one-shot story is strictly run-of-the-mill. Artist George Pérez’s nice cover has some intriguing possibilities, had ‘the most important guy in the universe’ been revealed as, say, an unsatisfied DC Comics editor.
Were this issue really a Silver Age homage, one can imagine the potential in-jokes, with the ‘editor’ amusingly breaking the ‘fourth wall,’ by chaotically re-arranging plot elements to pit the League against increasingly ridiculous odds. Unfortunately, this comic doesn’t possess that sort of outside-the-box creativity. Instead, Justice League of America # 212 is slightly more than an adequate read. Writer Gerry Conway copies several pages from this series’ clichéd playbook, so there aren’t really any surprises.
ADDITIONAL CONTENT:
There is Dick Giordano’s single-page “Meanwhile …” column, as well as a two-page “JLA Mail Room” letters-and-answers column.
BRIAN’S ODD MOON RATING: 6½ Stars
