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Mild Mannered Reviews - Justice League Adventures

Justice League Adventures #25

Scheduled to arrive in stores: November 5, 2003

Cover date: January 2004

Writer: Ken Rothstein
Penciller: Chris Jones
Inker: Dan Davis

"Strange Days"

Michael (George) O'Connor Reviewed by: Michael O'Connor

Superman and Martian Manhunter are repairing a satellite while Batman and Wonder Woman monitor their progress in the Javelin 7... that is, until the four of them are teleported away to a strange planet.

Immediately, the foursome find themselves pitted against a giant dinosaur with heat vision. The four are swept aside by the beast until a stranger by the name of Adam Strange comes to the rescue, hitting the beast with a blast from his ray gun that topples it to the ground.

Adam reveals that he was once an archeologist from Earth until a beam from the sky teleported him to this planet, Raan. Adam reveals that the Justice League has been brought here to help Raan against a threat that threatens to destroy the entire planet.

Escorting them to a scientist by the name of Sardath, Adam reunites with his love, Alanna, while the League hears the bad news from the good scientist.

Sardath reveals that he has created a powerful solar battery that a military general by the name of Sturm wanted to use in conjunction with a weapon, a solar powered cannon. When Sardath refused in front of the Council, Sturm threatened to leave his post, and did when the Council would not force Sardath to relinquish the battery for military use and build a cannon for the general. Sardath explains that if a solar cannon were built for the general, the power required to use it would drain energy away from their sun and cause substantial and dangerous instability.

Recently, Sardath has discovered that the general has stolen his battery and is using it to siphon off massive amounts of energy from the sun. The effects have become potentially cataclysmic... if the sun loses enough energy, it will be unable to sustain orbit and will crash into the planet!

The Justice League agrees to help, knowing that if General Sturm were ever to obtain the solar cannon he desires, it could be a weapon powerful enough to threaten Earth.

Meanwhile, Adam Strange and his love, Alanna, are interrupted by the vile general, who uses a paralyzing ray on Adam before kidnapping his girlfriend. By the time the League arrives, the general has teleported away with Alanna and left Strange staring emptily into the horizon.

Batman decides the team should split up. Superman and Martian Manhunter will head in different directions in an attempt to find the general. Wonder Woman will stay with Adam and protect him until he comes out of his comatose state. And the Dark Knight and Sardath will visit the Council to seek out more information on the general and how he has managed to maintain his hold on military weapons now that he has resigned from his former post.

Martian Manhunter and Superman fly off, but they soon run into trouble. For Manhunter, his powers begin to ebb, and he feels dizzy. Retreating into a cave, he finds it filled with the same species of dinosaur-like monsters that the League encountered earlier.

Superman, meanwhile, attempts to break up a riot until his own powers ebb, and he is overpowered by the mob.

Batman and Sardath are similarly overpowered, but by words rather than punches and at the Council rather than in the streets. When Batman becomes suspicious, he sneaks into Sardath's office and finds the scientist's assistant murdered.

Back at Sardath's lab, General Sturm suddenly appears and uses his paralyzing ray on Wonder Woman before the Amazonian can act. Kidnapping her and Adam, Sturm ties the two of them to a giant rocket set to launch into space and hit the sun.

To Be Continued...

Story - 2: Well, I like that this issue has Adam Strange, but that's really the only thing positive I can say. For the most part, this was a really weak effort. First, the dialogue is atrocious. It's terrible. Read some of these lines out loud, and you'll see what I mean. Second, the premise is absurd. A battery that could drain off enough power of the sun to cause it to spin out of orbit and crash into the planet? Are you kidding me? Granted, this is science fiction, but this premise is just stupid. Third, Adam Strange is just about the biggest loser in the galaxy in this issue. He does NOTHING. Why's he even here? He gets sucker punched by the General's ray gun and the rest of the time he's acting like a country hick or a moony-eyed lover. Fourth, the General. Why doesn't he kidnap Adam the first time he shows up instead of coming back? Fifth, tying Adam and Wonder Woman to a rocket to send into the sun? Why not just shoot them? Let's face it. This is a BAD issue. And what makes it worse is the fact that we have another part to go before it's over.

Art - 3: A mixed lot. The opening pages are nice, and Chris Jones' fluidity is a welcome change from much blockier styles that have passed through previous issues, but as the issue progresses, things look worse and worse. Davis does a decent job, but doesn't add detail where it might help, instead keeping a very loose, very basic inking job that doesn't do much to impress.

Cover Art - 5: Wow! I love this cover! If only the issue looked this good and had as much energy and excitement as this cover suggests it should have.