Justice League #54
Scheduled to arrive in stores: October 5, 2020
Cover date: December 2020
“Doom Metal” – Part Two
Writer: Joshua Williamson
Penciller: Xermanico
Inker: Xermanico
Cover: Liam Sharpe
Variant Cover: Howard Porter
Reviewed by: James Lantz
As Martian Manhunter battles the Mindhunter physically and mentally, Nightwing’s old Teen Titans comrades Cyborg and Starfire have returned from the Ghost Sector. They reunion leads them to join in the search for Perpetua’s throne. Yet, there may be no to catch up for the trio of Titans. They are about to enter the Valley of Starro, the starfish-like alien who can control minds and dreams of anyone near it.
Lex Luthor has freed Nightwing from Starro’s influence. Yet, this liberation may not be enough to stop Starro, for the creature is controlling the rest of the Justice League. Their objective is to kill Nightwing.
Story – 5: Starfire’s appearance in this issue has some good timing as Back Issue #122’s New Teen Titans 40th anniversary celebration featuring my character study on her will be out Wednesday October 7, 2020 as of this writing. Pick it up, and, by all means, let me know what you think. Now that the shameless plug is out of the way, let’s see what I thought of this issue.
While this chapter does move at at the pace of the previous issue, I don’t think it’s supposed to. The voyage to Starro Valley is meant to add more tension to the Justice League’s quest for Perpetua’s throne. It does so in a way that makes the reader impatient for the next issue. This is especially true of that last page cliffhanger with the league attacking Nightwing and Lex Luthor. This was another exciting issue, and I can’t wait to see what happens in issue #55.
Art – 5: Xermanico let his art really shine in this issue, showing how well he can rebuild the worlds of DC’s greatest heroes in this Death Metal tie-in. His Starro could even rival Howard Porter’s from Grant Morrison’s JLA.
Cover Art – 5: Liam Sharpe went wild with this cover, but that’s a good thing. His larger than life style is worthy of the best Kirby images from Marvel and DC. It’s a pity Sharpe’s art doesn’t grace more comics and covers from the big two.
Variant Cover Art – 5: This variant is just as beautifully drawn as the main cover. The artists for this issue really put their best feet forward.
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I really liked this issue.
Lex coming through to save the team during their trances showed that he’s serious about being an asset to them and does want to help in stopping Perpetua.