TITLE: Justice League.
Volume: 5.
Story-Arc: Justice/Doom War.
WRITER(S): Scott Snyder & James Tynion IV.
Artist(S): BRUNO REDONDO, Jorge Jimenez, FRANCIS MANAPUL, Howard Porter, Daniel Sampere & Juan Albarran.
Colourist(s): Hi-Fi & Francis Manapul & ALEJANDRO SANCHEZ.
Letterer: Tom Napolitano.
PUBLISHER: DC COMICS.
FORMAT: Paperback.
RELEASE DATE: June 23rd, 2020.
PAGES: 272.
GENRE(S): COMICS, SCIENCE-FICTION.
ISBN13: 9781401299361.
MY OVERALL RATING: ★★★★☆.
Previously on the Justice League (2018) comic book series:
Justice League: No Justice by Scott Snyder.
Justice League (Vol. 1): The Totality by Scott Snyder.
Justice League/Aquaman: Drowned Earth by Scott Snyder.
Justice League (Vol. 2): Graveyard of Gods by Scott Snyder.
Justice League (Vol. 3): Hawkworld by Scott Snyder.
Justice League (Vol. 4): The Sixth Dimension by Scott Snyder.
What do you do when hope is stripped away from humanity? When evil rises from the ashes and dominates the hearts of the mass? The answer lies in our faith, faith in the good within us. After all, belief is a powerful thing. It surpasses the body, it overcomes emotions, it destroys doubt. Even when plunged in the darkest abyss, the greatest heroes of the earth must channel their last resources within and beyond their reach to fight off the terror that Lex Luthor and his comrades have in store for the world. With the final war at their doorsteps, sacrifices will be made but victory will not be guaranteed unless they work together one last time. Collecting issues #29-39, writer Scott Snyder and James Tynion IV write the grand finale to this epic cosmic adventure that will lead up to the upcoming Dark Nights: Death Metal crossover event.
What is Justice League: Justice/Doom War about? The Legion of Doom’s master plan to unleash Perpetua, the celestial goddess behind the creation of the universe, is within arm’s reach with six of the seven energy sources in their possession. Eons ago, the Monitor, the Anti-Monitor, and the World Forger sealed away Perpetua before she spiraled down an evil path consumed by destruction. It is now up to the Justice League to reunite these brothers together while searching the past, the present, and the future for the final piece of the Totality that could allow them to stop Lex Luthor from succeeding in his deluded mission for universe domination. But the Legion of Doom will do everything in their power to anticipate the actions of these heroes and achieve their goals.
“Together, we are more.
Together, we are heroes.
Together, we are a league.”– Scott Snyder
With the previous story-arc, The Sixth Dimension, writer Scott Snyder was able to establish the tone and the direction that this series was heading towards. Building up the mythology and lore for the DC Universe while also challenging these heroes to take extraordinary risks to find a little ray of hope within all the gloom and doom that Lex Luthor plans on unleashing with Perpetua, this volume continues down a similar path as each page is a world-building extravaganza through heavy exposition and focus on character dynamics. With this particularly-less-psychedelic story-arc being the final chapter in this not-so-mini cosmic event, these heroes continue to explore uncharted territory and learn more about the world around them, discover their unmatched perseverance in a time of crisis, and revel in their determination to remain true to who they are despite the vision of despair that is brought upon them.
There’s no lying that writer Scott Snyder envisions the DC Universe in a very innovative and never-before-seen way but the scope of his ideas remain plausible in the grand scheme of things, allowing the very universe in which we bathe in to be set on an otherworldly foundation on which everything else revolves around. For him to bring in godly entities into the war between good and evil—Justice and Doom—allows to elevate these heroes to a whole other platform of heroism and tell a tale where they are not just saviours of the present but beings who represent all the greatness of the world in all spheres of time and space. His ability to write this to life is simply awe-inspiring if not bordering the ludicrously mad.
Similar to the previous volume, multiple artists worked on this story-arc and helped enormously in keeping the overall atmosphere quite consistent from one issue to another. The most crucial issues were, however, drawn by artist Jorge Jimenez and he continues to mesmerize readers with his stunning character designs and unconventional panel structuring throughout each page. Considering that the story is mostly on a cosmic scale and that the mortal level of humanity is kept in the shadow (assuming, however, that in the midst of all this, many will have likely perished), the colouring is also flawless as it captures the galactic colours of the universe and adds a certain ethereal tone to the overall tale. It would simply be an understatement to not give this story-arc a seal of approval in creating its own epic event within a Justice League series—rightfully too since we are talking about the greatest superhero team-up of all time; they just need to face the worse of the worse—without necessitating other comic book series to be put on pause.
Justice League: Justice/Doom War is an absolutely epic finale sending these heroes through time and space to try and crawl out victorious of the upcoming final war.
THANK YOU TO PENGUIN RANDOM HOUSE CANADA FOR SENDING ME A COPY FOR REVIEW!
Roars and Echoes 
Great stuff Lashaan (first comment!!!) – it’s fun for me to read these reviews as it serves as a recap having read the individual issues as they came out. Whilst Geoff Johns’s run remains the gold standard JL for me, the Snyder/Tynion series was generally very good – especially this final arc.
It’s going to be interesting to see what you think of Robert Venditti’s run, I’m a fan of his writing mainly from the (now defunct) Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern Corps series and Hawkman. His JL run has been enjoyable so far but feels like it has more potential…and consistency, there seems to be a different artist every issue of late!
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Thanks, man! I think the whole Aquaman stunt really killed its momentum for me. It was so diluted and overstretched. But overall it was pretty decent indeed. Tough to be beat what Geoff Johns accomplished.
I’m very hesitant about Venditti’s run. It sounds generic and underwhelming. The constant change of artist almost sounds like a creative team that has no plans. Like they’re stalling till the next big writer takes on JL post-Snyder’s Death Metal event… 😮
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Glad to hear the series continues to impress. It’s always nice when a finale matches, or exceeds, the quality of what came before. 🙂
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Yep. Quite a fun series for fans of Scott Snyder and the Justice League. They make for a hectic yet exciting combo for these JL adventures! 😀
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This sounds fascinating. Great review!
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I need to get myself some Justice League. Always been a bit hesitant. Don’t know why but I’ve always just preferred heroes acting alone
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Totally understandable. I too usually prefer single-hero series. They make for usually better and much more intimate stories hahah
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And now I am wondering what would it have taken for you to give it 5 stars because, damn!
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Hahaahha some ideas are quite crazy and if it had been a bit more concise on that level, it would have gotten all the stars! And if they really stuck with ONE good artist! That would’ve been nice. 🙂 Thanks for reading, Sophie!
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Ok, sounds more promising than before… Though that Perpetua/Justice/Doom thing is just not my thing at all 😛
Great review, Lashaan – but before I commit myself to this, I want to see your review of the crossover which would probably be the real conclusion to this story arc! 😀
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Hahahah it’s a bit less psychedelic but still quite insane at times. 😛 If you ever give it a try, I’d love to laugh at how you’d react to Luthor’s transformation. 😉
I’m very, very skeptical about Death Metal. I wish the whole Metal thing would’ve stayed a one-time event but hey… we’re here… and they’re going there… Might as well see what they plan on doing now. 😛
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You capture the mind of the reader with the very first paragraph – SO BEAUTIFULLY WRITTEN! YOU NEED TO TEACH ME THIS, Lashaan! I am going to bug you about it until you don’t, I am telling you! 🤪
O_O Perpetua, the evil Goddesss – sealed away — WHOA! This sounds soo awesome. Kinda like in Supernatural, Amara (God’s sister) was sealed away by him because she hated the world he had created (or so he told everyone! HUH!) 😱
Whenever I read the word – Psychedelic – I can’t help but think of Depp’s movie “Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas” 🤣 Have you watched it? ITS AWESOME!
I am glad that Scott Snyder’s addition of Gods into the world of Superheroes delighted you! It does sound awesome, really + the fact that the art was mesmerising as well must have made it into a fulfilling reading experience, yeah?
Well, I am so very glad that you enjoyed this one, Lashaan! And as usual – YOUR REVIEW WAS BRILLIANT!😇🦋🌻
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Are you kidding me? You do introductions even better yooo! And your enthusiasm (like here) just makes things even better too! 😛
Hahahah Perpetua is indeed quite the being! 😛 You just don’t want to be in her way when he has all her powers at the tip of her fingers. 😀
I actually haven’t seen that Depp movie but I’ve seen bits of it throughout my life hahahah The word sure does fit it though. 😛
Yep. Snyder’s ideas + the artwork just makes everything perfect together! 😀
Thank you so much for dropping by, Rain! It was a delight to see your comment on my review! Your enthusiasm was missed. 😀 😀
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You flatter me! 🤣🤣🤣🤣 No, mine are a result of a flood of emotions, but yours? *Well crafter, carefully worded, beautifully executed!!* 😇🦋
You are most welcome, Lashaan! I missed your posts as well. So great to be back! 😇🦋
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It sounds good! 😄 I don’t know if the whole book is like that but the pages are really colourful! Great review 😊
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Oh yes, Justice League has always been a very colourful series hahaha Thanks for reading, Caroline! ❤
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Although I have not read any of the Justice League series, I like the good vs evil, the idea that self-belief and faith in self play a role as well. Wonderful, detailed and complete review Lashaan. I wonder if the library would have these?
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Thank you so much for checking out this review, Carla! I’m definitely a fan of the whole world-building and thematic exploration in this series. Despite some niggles, it’s still explosive fun. I think a lot of bigger libraries do have their own extensive comic book corner nowadays but if there’s a Justice League series that’s accessible to all readers, it’s probably Geoff Johns’ run! 😀
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Well, I shall find out then.
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