Mild Mannered Reviews - "Justice League" Comics

Justice League: A Midsummer's Nightmare #3

Justice League: A Midsummer's Nightmare #3

Cover date: November 1996

"Daze and Knights"

Writer: Fabian Nicieza and Mark Waid
Penciller: Jeff Johnson and Darick Robertson
Inker: Jon Holdredge and Hannibal Rodriguez

Cover: Jeff Johnson, Darick Robertson, Jon Holdredge and Hannibal Rodriguez

Reviewed by: James Lantz

Click to enlarge



Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, The Flash, Green Lantern, Martian Manhunter and Aquaman are battling Know Man's Sparkers. However, time is precious. Doctor Destiny must be found before it's too late. J'onn J'onzz ends the conflict quickly by knocking the Sparkers out with a telepathic assault. J'onzz has been changed drastically since he learned of Doctor Destiny's deception as he normally would not do this. The mental attack on Know Man's group took a lot out of him. He rests a few minutes before revealing his theories. Apparently, Doctor Destiny had been calling for help by placing seeds of truth into the minds of the seven heroes. Kyle Rayner, the Green Lantern, knows where the dream manipulator is because he had been drawing Destiny in his comics. He had intended to place the machines to which the villain was attached in a military research complex outside of Butte, Montana. All that remains is for the team to get inside before Know Man's plans succeed.

Thanks to Batman's stealth prowess, Superman and the others are able to enter the government complex without any problems. The seven superpowered beings are subject to a series of illusions before the Flash finds the door that leads to Doctor Destiny. The dream master is attached to Know Man's devices while pleading for help. Know Man had promised Destiny a world of his own making if he used his powers to assist him in his plan. Destiny had wanted to make the Justice League feel as helpless as its members had made him feel in the past. What Destiny didn't realize was that everything that he believed was his, actually had belonged to Know Man. Doctor Destiny had given what was left of his soul to Know Man in order to get revenge on his foes.

Know Man has made himself known to the Justice League. The omnipotent being knocks Superman into space and tells the rest of the heroes that he intends to save the world rather than conquer it. He was granted his abilities when an alien ship landed on his world. The Controller, as Know Man called the craft's pilot, had given a being that seemed a prehistoric human male his power, and thus, Know Man was born. Seeing the vast information in the Controllers' vessel had made him curious. It was here that he saw humanity's fate. Know Man planned to save Earth from a threat of incredible power. Using Doctor Destiny, Know Man had given the JLA the normal life they had always wanted, while, at the same time, making ordinary humans superpowered beings. Know Man needs these new Metahumans to defeat the coming menace. However, what started out as a plan to aid Earth has turned to utter chaos. Even the Justice League might not be able to clean up Know Man's mess.

Batman has a plan that requires the distraught Martian Manhunter to telepathically awaken the entire world from Know Man and Doctor Destiny's dream. Aquaman will use his latent empathic power to keep J'onn from going too deeply into humanity's collective consciousness. Everything seems to go well until the strain is too much for Arthur. As the rest of the JLA, including Superman, battles Know Man, a weakened Doctor Destiny assists the Martian Manhunter in doing what Aquaman could not. In doing so, Doctor Destiny sacrifices himself to help mankind revive from the nightmare that he had caused. Know Man's scheme has failed.

Seeing that his plot was not a success, Know Man leaves the job of protecting the human race from the foreseen menace to the Justice League. He only hopes that they are up to such a great task. With Know Man now gone, Superman says that the powerful extraterrestrial has taught the team a lesson. Some threats are just too big for only one hero, and the Justice League must reform in order to take on such things.

4Story - 4: The entire mini-series is a pretty solid story that leads into Grant Morrison's re-launch of JLA. I'm not all that certain I like the character of Know Man now that he and his intentions are out in the open. This is my reason for giving it a four out of five. It might have been better if Know Man had stayed in the shadows manipulating everything until probably a few issues into Morrison's first or second arc. Otherwise, this is nearly perfect chapter. Plus, it was great to see Superman in the Justice League. I don't know about you folks, but I normally only bought the JL titles when he, Wonder Woman and Batman were in the books. The team doesn't feel right without the DC Trinity in my opinion.

3Art - 3: Jeff Johnson's art seems rushed and not up to par with the previous issues in this mini-series, which is why I knocked off two points. It would have been better if only Darick Robertson had provided the visuals this time around, but, then again, I've been a fan of his work since I saw it in Wolverine.

5Cover Art - 5: The third and final piece of the puzzle is well done and works to make the buyer curious about the comic book's contents. When put together with the previous issues, it helps to create a beautiful, iconic image of the Justice League.


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