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Justice League vs. Godzilla vs. Kong #1

Justice League vs. Godzilla vs. Kong #1 [of 7]

Scheduled to arrive in stores: October 3, 2023

"Justice League vs. Godzilla vs. Kong"

Writer: Brian Buccellato
Artist: Christian Duce
Cover: Drew Johnson
Variant Cover: Jim Lee and Scott Williams
Variant Cover: Fancesco Mattina
1:25 Variant Cover: Dan Mora
1:50 Variant Cover: Alan Quah
1:100 Variant Cover: Jim Lee and Scott Williams

Reviewed by: JP Rocha
Click to enlarge

The issue opens with Godzilla interrupting Clark Kent's proposal to Lois Lane on the helicopter pad of the Daily Planet. Then picking back up twelve hours before, with Green Lantern and Flash discuss Superman taking a well deserved vacation. Meanwhile Supergirl, who will be filling in for Superman, tells them that Clark is going to propose to Lois.

Before Superman leaves to propose, he is trying to help as many people as possible. The Man of Steel even stops a kryptonite powered Titano before Flash, Green Lantern can help. After dropping off Titano at Stryker's Island, Diana and Clark have a heart to heart about the engagement. The capture of Titano seems to be a distraction created by the Legion of Doom who have been watching.

In a base in the Arctic of the Legion of Doom; Grodd, Toyman, Black Manta, Captain Cold, Cheetah, and Giganta are searching for a plan. The sinister alliance is interrupted by Lex Luthor who confirms that Titano was only a distraction and just part of the master plan. He reveals that they are not in the Arctic by chance; they are there to break into the Fortress of Solitude.

The sinister squad makes quick work of Kelex and with the aid of Luthor's robots, pull open the doors to the fortress. The legion are immediately distracted by Superman's collection and are reigned in quickly by Luthor who tells them they are there for only two things.

Luthor goes on to say they need the Mother Box and Orion's Sled to trap the Justice League in the Phantom Zone. Unfortunately, Toyman is distracted by an item and takes it from its case, setting off an alarm. The Justice League are quick to respond and in the resulting battle, Toyman throws a toy which explodes, activating the Mother Box.

The Justice League are saved by a Green Lantern forcefield construct and the Legion of Doom are transported to a different earth. They are greeted by a Skullcrawler and King Kong. They escape to a nearby research facility and we are given clues that the Legion has been transported to the universe of Godzilla and the Legendary MonsterVerse.

The story ends with a scapegoated Toyman, wishing that he could show up the rest of Legion and take his new found toys "The Monsters" back home to play with the Justice League. Unknown to Toyman, the item that he took from the Fortress of Solitude is the Dreamstone, making his wish come true. The story goes full circle as it cuts back to Clark's proposal ending with Superman forced into action when he sees Godzilla.

4Story - 4: For good or bad, you do not know what you are going to get when you pick up a modern DC book. Especially with a crossover, you just never know what version of characters they are going to surprise you with. As a reader, you just have to roll with it and allow the story to feed your anticipation.

In "Justice League vs Godzilla vs Kong" Buccellato seems to be giving us a New 52 era story. This would make sense based on Buccellato's time on the New 52's "The Flash". The clues we get that the story is set in the New 52 universe is that the Justice League seem much younger. The story starts out with Clark Kent proposing to Lois Lane, Barry and Hal seem very immature, and Clark and Diana are interacting as if they have had a romantic past.

All that being said, this is a great crossover and great Justice League story. Where many modern stories seem to have apocalyptic stakes, this first installment is well balanced and fun.

4Art - 4: For me, Christian Duce is a new artist and his fresh take on the DC house style hits well. His characters are well drawn and stay consistent from panel to panel. The Legendary monsters look great as well. The Godzilla on page two is amazing.

The colors are bright and bold and you do not have to look further than that first Godzilla page to see the work that Luis Guerrero is doing.

3Cover Art - 3: The Drew Johnson main cover art looks good, however, story-wise it does not fit. It does not even have the right Green Lantern as it portrays Jessica Cruz and Simon Baz. Idea-wise, the layout design does not transfer well. The Justice League is drawn to scale, but because of the size of the monsters, the heroes are lost in the image. As a viewer you have to really look to find them. I much prefer the Dan Mora variant or the variant from the interior artist.

Mild Mannered Reviews

2023

Note: Except for digital first releases, the month dates are from the issue covers, not the actual date when the comic went on sale.

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