Tony Black reviews Justice League #2…
“The Extinction Machine” part two! Massive earthquakes shake cities to the ground as the ancient intelligence known as the Awakened takes control of the people of Earth, forcing them to turn against anyone with superpowers—including the Justice League! Unable to fight a war on two fronts, Batman asks for help from the one man he trusts less than anyone.
SEE ALSO: Check out a preview of Justice League #2
Bryan Hitch continues a promising opening run on Justice League with part two of ‘The Extinction Machines’, as the strange, Gothic alien threat of the Kindred intensifies for the JLA and they all find themselves beginning to connect a few dots. It serves to be a rather exposition laden issue, where Hitch necessarily lays out some key information about quite what’s happening, but it’s very welcome after the action packed first issue, out of which he swiftly resolves several cliffhangers and pushes the narrative toward the next stages – retaining a key element of mystery along the way as to who or what the Kindred are, and why they’re raining down on the globe, while managing to squeeze a few ongoing character beats for the principles along the way.
If you’re reading Green Lanterns, you may be struck by how similar the red-eyed possession of people by the Kindred power is to the Rage virus Simon Baz & Jessica Cruz are facing in their own comic, but that’s coincidental I’m sure – one presumes this is set after the Rage incident as Simon & Jessica seem more comfortable working together as a team, if both continue to be unsure about the strength of their abilities as they save Central City. One the most enjoyable, if brief, character beats here is between Batman and Superman, as Hitch touches upon the undercurrent of mistrust between them, especially on Batman’s side; he doesn’t know this alt-Superman who has slid into the role like we do, only knows his Superman died.
It’s a great narrative beat for the JLA to have to rely on Superman by the end after his necessary absence from most of the previous two issues, and frames his ultimate inclusion in the Justice League going forward nicely. Aquaman gets an intriguing Atlantis based mystery to chew on under water, teeing up presumably the next stage of the arc, and Cyborg mainly acts as the vehicle to deliver exposition, but it’s The Flash and Wonder Woman who are slightly short changed by necessity here – though Wonder Woman is complicit in the undercurrent of Batman & Superman tension as a breakwater, with some good beats there along the way.
So not as action packed an issue from Hitch, but no less beautifully drawn by Tony S. Daniel with that dark and creepy edge to whatever the Kindred are, and enough colourful panels to hold the attention even when there’s a fair bit of superheroes here standing in a room and talking. For this issue of Justice League, that’s no bad thing – Hitch provides a necessary issue in story escalation while not leaving behind too many character beats for our heroes along the way. This huge scale and rather creepy story is building nicely, and the next challenge for Superman especially is going to turn up the heat for sure.
Rating: 7/10
Tony Black
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Originally published August 11, 2016. Updated November 14, 2019.
