Justice League Unlimited #9
Scheduled to arrive in stores: June 25, 2025
Cover date: August 2025
“We Are Yesterday” – Epilogue
Writer: Mark Waid
Artist: Dan Mora
Cover: Dan Mora
Variant Cover: Felipe Massafera, Tiago Da Silva, and Travis Moore
1:25 Variant Cover: Nimit Malavia
Gotham City Sirens Variant: Derrick Chew
Reviewed by: JP Rocha
After the events of “We Are Yesterday”, time is volatile. Heroes are popping in and out of time, plucked from the past and then randomly disappearing. The Justice League initially tries to get answers from the captured Gorilla Grodd, but Grodd is uncooperative.
Meanwhile, Mr. Terrific and his time-displaced double, along with Blue Beetle, are investigating the disappearance of Air Wave. Unfortunately, before they can hear the younger Terrific’s theory, he disappears back into the timestream.
With time continuing to flux, the situation becomes more desperate, the fear is that time will collapse altogether. That fear is confirmed with the appearance of the Time Trapper (Doomsday) and the World Forger (Alpheus). Their initial solution to the time problem is to vivisect Grodd. Grood and the League try to first reason and then physically defend Grodd against the temporal duo.
Grodd, of course, changes his tune, making the argument that he is worth more alive than dead. For now, this is good enough for the duo, and they take their leave with Grodd in tow. With the volatility of time at least momentarily subsiding, many of the time-lost heroes are still stuck.
Back to Mr. Terrific and Blue Beetle after initially beating himself up for not drawing the same conclusion as his younger self, Terrific is brought to reason by Blue Beetle. Beetle opines that the younger Terrific was not emotionally invested in Air Wave. Air Wave’s energy has been scattered, but it still surrounds them. To help Air Wave focus, they give him something to latch on to using an Acoustic Resonator (A Tuning Fork). After an initial lack of response, Mr. Terrific adjusts the signal just right and is able to connect with and pull Air Wave back together again.
Story – 4: Since its start, “Batman/Superman World’s Finest” has been the best book at DC. For months, “Justice League Unlimited” has been outperforming World’s Finest. With that said, I think it is officially time to call it. “Justice League Unlimited” is the best ongoing book at DC.
Air Wave has been Mark Waid’s main character from the start of his “Justice League Unlimited” run. He makes an emotional return in this issue after risking his life to stop Grodd in the last installment. This “We Are Yesterday” epilogue is even better than the crossover itself. It answers more questions and does more to bring forward the initiatives of “All In”. Waid is advancing his time-displacement story, while at the same time bringing together connective story threads from across the DC Universe, including reintroducing the World Forger originally from “Dark Knights: Metal”.
Art – 5: Dan Mora is back on the book and looking better than ever. The highlight of the issue is the last page, which features a perfect Wonder Woman and Batman. If it is possible, Mora tops himself one panel later with a realistic-looking bust shot of Batman to end the story.Cover Art – 4: Dan Mora has a literal spotlight cover featuring three big bads and the Trinity. To our right, we see Superman, Wonder Woman, and Batman; to our left, the Time Trapper, Gorilla Grodd, and the World Forger. As this is a cover, Mora expertly uses the three-quarters rule. Ultimately, the cover spotlights no one as no character is truly focused on.
There are variant covers by Felipe Massafera, Tiago Da Silva, and Travis Moore.
The Felipe Massafera variant is a great realistic style cover featuring the Justice League and the Satellite in space. Featured are Superman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, Batman, Superwoman, and the Flashes, both Barry Allen and Wally West.
The Tiago Da Silva cover is a realistic but sketchy style with a mad Martian Manhunter in the process of a partial transformation into Joker or vice versa.
Although not on interiors with this issue, we are still treated with a Travis Moore variant. An interesting choice of background with the Hall of Justice featuring a large representation of the Justice League Unlimited.
The Gotham City Sirens variant by Derrick Chew features Harley Quinn, Catwoman, and Poison Ivy being chased by Superman, Batman, and The Flash. The cover is a realistic style with bright but not bold colors.
There is also a Superman Movie Variant by Frank Quitely that features a movie-inspired Quitely Superman.
There is one Incentive Cover: Nimit Malavia (1:25)
The Nimit Malavia cover features the Trinity with the Atom. The perspective is an upshot in an Atom-friendly camera angle from the table looking up. We can tell the scene takes place on the Justice League Satellite. Also in the shot are a Silver Age Justice League coffee mug and a Bronze Age Wonder Woman coffee mug.
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