The third volume of Justice League opens with a short two part story about Cheetah. As the Wonder Woman title was pretty much doing its own thing at this point Geoff Johns was free to do what he wanted with the character. The results are, well, interesting. In this continuity it was not the Cheetah that corrupted Barbara Anne Minerva, quite the opposite in fact. It is revealed that Minerva, under various aliases, has committed all kinds of terrible crimes unbeknownst to Wonder Woman, who considers her a friend. Before Minerva stole its powers for herself the Cheetah was a benevolent god which protected the San Tribe. In stealing its powers, Minerva corrupted the Cheetah and the tribe now wants to kill her. This is easily the worst aspect of this story as it basically just turns Minerva into a crazy psychopath with little real depth.
This story continues to build on Wonder Woman's self doubt and her shouldering of other people's burdens. She blames herself for what happened to Barbara Anne and to Steve during the last arc. When she finds out that Minerva was tricking her from the beginning she questions her faith in humanity. Superman, being Superman, tries to help lift her spirits. He and Wonder Woman really start to bond in this volume and to make more sense as a couple.
In general there's a lot more character exploration and interaction in this arc then there was in the first two. Green Lantern, of course, has left the League and Flash is dealing with unexplained problems of his own, so the main cast is a little smaller and more manageable this time around. Batman gets to know Aquaman better and both men grow to respect each other more. Cyborg has to confront his fear that he may have lost his humanity and become nothing more than a machine with the illusion of self-awareness. This was hinted at in the previous volume but it's explored much more satisfactorily here. At one point he is forced to sacrifice his only surviving lung in order to undergo a procedure that will allow him to operate underwater so he can save the rest of the League. This is a pretty compelling arc compared to what has come before. Of course the focus of this book is Arthur Curry and his acceptance of his birthright as the king of Atlantis.
The main story, collecting Justice League #15-17 and Aquaman #15-16 is the first big crossover of the run. In it a missile launch gone wrong ends up harming Atlantis, leading Aquaman's brother King Orm to mount an attack on the surface world. Aquaman reveals to Batman that Orm is using his (Arthur's) plan to attack the surface and that he left the throne because of internal pressure from Atlanteans who didn't trust him because of his time on the surface. He never really wanted the throne in the first place but was just looking for acceptance, something the League has since given him.
He convinces The League to let him try to talk Orm down but, of course, his brother doesn't listen, ultimately leading to a contrived fight between between Aquaman and the rest of the League. It is eventually revealed that Vulko, Arthur's former advisor who has since been exiled, has engineered the conflict, presumably to get revenge for his exile. He has also stolen the king's scepter, which he uses to summon an evil underwater race called the Trench to attack the Atlanteans. Arthur's wife Mera, who was also exiled, expresses her sympathy with Vulko's motives. In the end Aquaman accepts responsibility for leaving Atlantis to his hot-headed brother and confronts him face to face. He defeats Orm in personal combat and Orm surrenders the throne to him and pledges his loyalty. It is then revealed that Vulko's true motive was pushing Arthur to accept his birthright.
Upon learning this Aquaman is disgusted with his old friend's fanaticism and orders him to be thrown in prison. He ends the attack on the surface and uses the scepter to send the Trench home. He then turns Orm over to the League in a rather heartbreaking scene. Arthur decides to return to Atlantis, leaving Mera and his new friends behind. This emotional pay off works really well and it makes me want to check out John's Aquaman run. My one big gripe with the story is that everyone seems so wrapped up in Orm's attack that the ignore the legitimate grievance he has with the surface. After all Atlantis was seemingly attacked without any provocation whatsoever.
As with the first few volumes, this story does not escape that sense of "dark realism" that defined the New 52. As I mentioned, Wonder Woman is losing her trust in people and it's also revealed that Batman is spying on Superman, indicating a lack of trust there as well. Steve Trevor continues his run of bad luck as he loses his job as the League's liaison to A.R.G.U.S. during the epilogue. Aquaman becomes a pretty brooding figure by the end of the story declaring "But I
am alone". But these moments feel more earned here (for the most part) and certain characters (particularly Superman) seem determined to be a source of light and inspiration.
Once again the art is something of a mixed bag. The Cheetah story is pencilled by Tony S. Daniel with inks by Richard Friend, Sandu Florea and Matt Banning. Daniels provides some really striking imagery, especially during the action scenes, but his facial work is a little off. The main story is pencilled by Ivan Reis (who did the Justice League issues) and Paul Pelletier (who did the Aquaman issues). Reis' art is really awesome. His character work is unmatched and he fills the panels with so many amazing details, which is always welcome in a story of this scale. There are some breathtaking two page spreads and both the action scenes and the smaller, more intimate ones are done superbly. Pelletier's art is generally a little rougher and more angular but it's still excellent overall. Pelletier really captures the epic emotions of this story. Once again the fact that there are different artists makes for a clash between different styles but at least in this case there's more of an excuse as this story was a crossover between two different titles. The epilogue was written by Jeff Lemire and pencilled by Brad Walker. I assume Lemire was brought on because of Green Arrow's involvement (Lemire was set to take over that title the following month) but having a different writer on the last few pages of the book is a little weird.
Justice League Volume 3: Throne of Atlantis is a big improvement over the first two story arcs. It takes more time to establish characters and give them meaningful arcs. It's not without it's flaws, the Cheetah story is a bit of a downer and the art is a little inconsistent, but it's a step in the right direction. The book finally feels like it's starting to find its identity. I should also mention that this same story was collected as
Aquaman Volume 3: Throne of Atlantis but without the Cheetah storyline and with the addition of Aquaman #0 and #14 (material that helps flesh out the relationship between Arthur and Orm). Why DC published it this way is anyone's guess.
Score: 7/10
Join me two weeks from now for
Trinity War, the first giant crossover event of the New 52...
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