Mild Mannered Reviews - Specials

JLA: 80-Page Giant #3

JLA: 80-Page Giant #3

Scheduled to arrive in stores: August 9, 2000

Cover date: October 2000

Writer: D. Curtis Johnson
Penciller: Dale Eaglesham
Inker: Andrew Hennessy

"The Century War"

Reviewed by: Michael Lum (machina_rex@yahoo.com)



Aquaman and Green Lantern are off the coast of Florida trying to assist in securing the east coast from strange ocean tidal problems. When the Green Lantern checks in with the Martian Manhunter, he is surprised to know that several hours have past when it has only seemed to be 20 minutes. The Martian Manhunter explains that he has experienced a spacetime disruption.

Gathering on the moon, the JLA try to figure out the cause of several strange occurrences around the world which mostly have to do with incorrect calculations. After explaining his theory, the Atom believes he is able to pinpoint the origin.

The JLA arrive at Barstow California and search the area for clues. After no luck, The Martian Manhunter experiences a vision and leads them to where they encounter a man by the name of Hugh Klein. Hugh greets everyone as if they had met before but they have no idea who he is and are a bit baffled by his appearance. As the Atom begins questioning Hugh's claims of his daughter the Moon Maiden and his Apollo mission, Hugh pulls out a comic book titled "Moon Maiden #1, secret origin issue."

The comic book starts off with Hugh on his Apollo moon mission. As he is about to leave, he stumbles upon a secret cave. Inside, he watches a recorded message of "The Hundred", a group of scholars and philosophers devoted to peace. In the middle of the room is an infant and Hugh is told to raise her. Hugh departs with the baby and returns to earth. After adopting the child, years pass, she (Laura) begins to demonstrate amazing Superhuman powers. Using her powers to revisit the moon with her father, they once again enter the chamber and view another recorded message from "The Hundred". Learning that in the near future Laura will encounter a dangerous villain that The Hundred had previously created, she dons a suit of armor and proclaims herself "Laurel, The Moon Maiden".

The JLA confer over what Hugh has shown them and they decide to believe his story. In a short while they're back on the moon, and arrive at the chamber Hugh told them about. Inside, Hugh leads them to a large machine called an Alchemical Engine created by The Hundred that Laurel drew her powers from. Then, Hugh tells everyone about The Centurion, the villain that Laurel was told she would encounter. About two thousand years ago in Rome, The Hundred were to give alchemical power to a man named Anteides. But, Anteides was killed by an evil rival named Valkus and he was accidentally given the power. Right after Hugh finishes telling his story, The Centurion and his ghost army appear in the chamber.

The JLA try to fight off the ghost army but they find it to be difficult since they only partially exist. After a short struggle they have no choice but to retreat.

Back at the Watchtower, the JLA are confronted by Pariah and the Harbringer. They present a small object called a retro-chronometer that contains an entire map of the universe. Using the specs they provide, Steel is able to create some tools to extract the information and display a holographic image broadcasted in their thoughts of the past events.

The superheroes of the earth fight against The Centurion and his allies as battles ensue across the globe. The Centurian uses an erasure gun to erase his enemies from existence, changing the course of history. As The Centurion prepares to erase more victims, the gun is pulled from his hand and he is confronted by the Moon Maiden. Hugh tries to shoot The Centurian with the gun but he is unable to target him. The Centurion then explains that it was him that killed the hundred. Angered by this, Laurel takes the erasure gun and cracks it open like a bomb, erasing both of them from history.

After the projection ends, The Atom explains how The Centurian was able to come back into existence. And, just then, Adam Strange stumbles into the Watchtower, telling everyone that The Centurian is in Nevada with reinforcements.

In Nevada, the JLA begin to setup an attack on The Centurian's army. They all charge from different sides, trying to get past the ghost army. The Harbringer, Hugh and Steel manage to crash through the front of the building and confront The Centurian. Unfortunately, Laurel is with him and uses her powers to hold them captive, acting of her own free will. Batman then jumps down from the ceiling and attacks The Centurion but is subdued by his ghosts. Hugh continues to try and convince Laurel to stop working on The Centurion's side. After the rest of the JLA manage to break inside, Laurel experiences a flashback of memories of all of them and decides to stop the Centurion and destroy him.

1Story - 1: I didn't really like the plot of this story or how it was told in the book. Alot of things didn't make much sense. It was never really told what The Moon Maiden's powers were exactly so it seemed like the Writer used that as an excuse to make things more convenient. For instance, near the end of the story she puts everyone in bubbles and gives them lunacy? And Laurel and The Centurion being able to return in existence was sort of loosely explained and it seemed strange that The Centurion was so easily able to convince Laurel to work on his side. I also really didn't like the idea of The Hundred, and Hugh finding a baby on the moon, it seemed a little hokey. The only thing that I really did find interesting was the erasure gun that changed history and The Centurion's ghost army.

2Art - 2: I didn't especially like this art because of its old-fashioned style and I especially didn't like the mono-tone flat coloring. The entire book just looked way too "'60s", and that's not something I expect to see. I do have to give credit that the art did convey the story well and there weren't many awkward scenes. (I especially liked the splash page on page 38-39).

3Cover Art - 3: This is the kind of art I wanted to see inside the book. But anyways, the cover did show all of the key characters but the layout is all to familiar and not really something we haven't seen before.


Mild Mannered Reviews

2000

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

January 2000

February 2000 March 2000 April 2000 May 2000 June 2000 July 2000 August 2000 September 2000 October 2000 November 2000 December 2000 Annuals

Back to the Mild Mannered Reviews contents page.

Check out the Comic Index Lists for the complete list of Superman-related comics published in 2000.