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Mild Mannered Reviews - Justice League Adventures

Justice League Adventures #17

Justice League Adventures #17

Scheduled to arrive in stores: March 5, 2003

Cover date: May 2003

Writer: Kevin Hopps
Penciller: Min S. Ku
Inker: Christian Alamy

"The Weapons of Man"

Reviewed by: George O'Connor (mo442@nyu.edu)



Superman, Batman, Martian Manhunter, Green Lantern, and the Flash descend on the Speedway Bandits, a group of female hijackers led by the former Amazonian, Aresia. As the male members of the League corner their foes, however, they realize too late that the hijacking has been a ruse to draw their attention and, more importantly, their presence. Some type of sonic emitter hypnotizes Batman, Green Lantern, Superman, and the Martian Manhunter, drawing the powerful heroes under the command of Aresia's henchwomen. Meanwhile, the Flash fails to capture the Amazonian femme fatale when she catches the Scarlet Speedster off guard and handcuffs him to the steering wheel of her hijacked racecar.

Later, in the Watchtower, the Flash returns to watch the monitors with Hawkgirl and Wonder Woman. The three heroes gape in horror at what they see: the male heroes of the League stealing a fighter jet, submarine, and a missile launcher for Aresia.

Tracing the Manhunter's League communicator, Hawkgirl, Wonder Woman, and the Flash arrive at an abandoned air force hangar, where they believe the gang of female felons are hiding out. Flash's 'brilliant' idea is to dress up as a woman and sneak into the base, but his disguise isn't good enough and Aresia activates her sonic emitter as soon as she sees him.

Meanwhile, Wonder Woman and Hawkgirl go after the male members of the League, hoping to convince them to stop following Aresia's orders.

In the Pacific Ocean, Wonder Woman confronts Superman and Green Lantern, who are attacking an American aircraft carrier and its fighter jets. Wonder Woman tries to reason with them, but ends up just getting knocked around by Supes and Lantern for a while.

In the jungles of China, Hawkgirl fares only slightly better as she attempts to prevent Batman and Martian Manhunter from stealing a tank. She knocks J'onn J'onnz off his feet with her mace but is easily tied up by a batarang and line courtesy of the Dark Knight.

Returning to Aresia's headquarters, the abandoned air force base, Hawkgirl and Wonder Woman decide on a new plan. As the Flash, who prevented possible hypnosis by wearing cotton in his ears, breaks out of his disguise as a woman, Wonder Woman and Hawkgirl burst into the room. They manage to fend off their fellow League members for a moment, but are eventually overwhelmed. A quick move on the part of Wonder Woman, however, as she sweeps Hawkgirl's fallen mace back to the Thanagarian, allows Hawkgirl the opportunity she needs to hurl her weapon at Aresia and knock the sonic emitter out of her grasp and into Wonder Woman's hands.

3Story - 3: Well, it was a fun enough read, but it had some problems. First of all, what really was the point of the Flash dressing like a woman? This plot point did nothing at all to advance the story except to suggest that the Scarlet Speedster likes to cross dress when he isn't saving the world. It was slightly amusing, but it seemed too stupid, even for someone that thinks with their feet. Second, why did Wonder Woman and Hawkgirl engage their male counterparts? If they had followed Flash's example of rushing the base, they could have taken out Aresia and her gang and then have had the sonic emitter handy when their spellbound friends returned from stealing weapons. And finally, why didn't Aresia hypnotize Flash at the beginning of the story when she had the chance? Plot points like this made the story seem a little tedious at points, just because it strained common sense. The dialogue was pretty atrocious at times too, especially on the last page. Superman and Batman sounded so stilted that I thought for a moment that they were still under mind control!

4Art - 4: Fortunately, where the story suffered, the art triumphed. Ku is fast becoming a favorite of mine on this title as he constantly displays solid work and amusing additions (take Martian Manhunter in an apron for instance!). He varies perspectives, does an incredible job with battle scenes, and makes Batman look super cool. It doesn't hurt that he has the steady hand of Alamy as inker in this issue, who adds all the right details and keeps the quality of the work consistent throughout the entire book. My favorite page is 16, where Hawkgirl gets the drop on Martian Manhunter only to be tied up by Batman. It's a dynamic series of panels that shows Ku and Alamy at their best.

4Cover Art - 4: Very cool cover. I especially like the line of serious looks on the League's faces, only to be countered by the Flash's goofy grin, looking as lecherous as ever as Aresia stands before them.



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Mild Mannered Reviews

2003

Note: Month dates are from the issue covers, not the actual date when the comic went on sale.

January 2003

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