It's time for another 2-in-1 showcase spectacular as we wrap up "The Dark Things" crossover that ties in with Brightest Day.
We begin with JSA #42, with Kyle Rayner joining the fun on the dark side of the moon. After Kyle explains his mission, Obsidian convinces Jade to join with him, and they are merged into a being controlled by the Starheart, and yet both have their own voices speaking through it. So Kyle and Jadesidian (the combo is not named in the story) fight, with the Jade part angered at Kyle for “dumping” her for Wonder Girl, Donna Troy, after her death. During the fight as well Kyle’s ring also gets depleted of its power quite rapidly, and surprisingly in fact.
Meanwhile, Doctor Mid-Nite has found Starman near death, and tells him not to worry and that he will save him, as he hurries to find where Alan Scott has Dr. Fate, Faust, Jay Garrick and Wildcat. Mid-Nite then sneaks behind Dr. Fate and removes the helmet and releasing Faust, Garrick and Wildcat. Garrick gets Starman’s gem, and Wildcat goes after Scott, and realizes that “Scott” is nothing more than a construct created by Starheart.
The real Alan Scott, as we find out, is on Earth and making quick work out of Power Girl and Supergirl. Just as Scott retakes control of Power Girl, he is suddenly called away and poofs out of Dodge, and releases Power Girl. They are then called to head over to Mr. Terrific who needs them for a theory. And we end the issue with more of the Jadesidian fight with everyone, with Alan Scott appearing at the end.
And that is where we kick things off in JLA #48. After a brief expository scene at the moon, we shift back to Earth where Terrific, Power Girl and Supergirl discuss some technobabble way of stopping the magic based chaos on Earth.
We cut to Doctor Mid-Nite who brings the gem to Starman, who is able to re-energize and join the fight. Dr. Fate then, with the help of Jade’s resistance, is able to separate Jade and Obsidian, and Jade gets called into the White Lantern Corps (see the Brightest Day mini-series). The Starheart has been released from Obsidian, and Jade is restored to life, but Obsidian still wants to merge with Jade, but Jade gives Kyle enough of a boost to get Obsidian out of there.
Batman then realizes that Jade is crucial to defeating the Starheart, and has her go up against him. And it is at this point that we see things have calmed down on Earth because the calvary of Mr. Terrific, Congo Bill, Power Girl and Supergirl have arrived to help even out the odds against Starheart’s constructs. Jade provides a distraction of sorts as Starman swoops in to blast Scott and Jade takes down the Starheart crystal at the heart of the giant structure. It works as Alan Scott is able to break free of the Starheart’s hold.
We end with the usual parting of ways, Mr. Terrific hands Dick Grayson a vote of confidence, and Jesse Quick is given an invitation to join the League and she accepts. We see Jade and Obsidian being tested and told they need to never go near each other because of what happened. And we end on Supergirl wondering why she, a Kryptonian who should be susceptible to magic, wasn’t affected by the Starheart the way Power Girl was. And we end on a reflection of Supergirl wearing a dark version of her costume.
Alright, very good end to the story, Dick Grayson’s first as fully fledged leader of the Justice League of America and while the focus wasn’t completely centered around him, it did have some good Batman moments.
The art was still a bit off, and I found it kind of jarring that in the JSA issue Dick was wearing a blue cowl and cape, but in the JLA issue it was a black/brownish cowl and cape. Editing folks, editing!
Overall the story turned out to be good, slow start and pacing issues aside; it really did come together nicely and was a nice showcase for what the Robinson penned JLA might be heading towards. Of course Jade, Obsidian and the Lanterns were a focal point of the story, but in the end it really felt like a JLA proper story as opposed to a JSA, featuring the JLA story.
Justice Society of America #42:
Justice League of America #48:
Reviewed by SteveJRogers
