JLA/Avengers #3

November 30, 2003

Blake M. Petit & Mike D’Alfonso
Quick Rating: Very Good; Great
Title: Strange Adventures

The Justice League and the Avengers face a shared history that never happened, and must sacrifice it to save both worlds.

Writer: Kurt Busiek
Art: George Perez
Colors: Tom Smith
Letters: Comicraft
Editor: Tom Brevoort, Dan Raspler & Mike Carlin
Cover Art: George Perez
Publisher: DC Comics & Marvel Comics

The Avengers and the Justice League find themselves lost in a history they share, a trap laid by the mad Guardian Krona. The only way to save both universes may cost them the worlds they share. Reviewers Blake Petit and Mike D’Alfonso give you their impressions of the penultimate chapter of the crossover years in the making.

MIKE: Well the big theme of this issue is confusion. In the aftermath of last issues events, both the DC and Marvel Universe have merged into a singular entity, but this brings about a great catastrophe that stands to destroy this unified universe.

BLAKE I don’t think that’s quite what what happened, actually. The universes didn’t merge, the timelines did, making Marvel and the DCU take the place of Earth-1 and Earth-2 of the Pre-Crisis DC Universe.

MIKE: This is looked upon as a grand experiments of Krona, for this is the way he can study the effects of creating the “Big Bang” if he were to manufacture a universe in his own way by destroying both the Marvel and DC Universe.

BLAKE: I love how Busiek is playing up existing continuity to create this crossover. This is exactly the sort of scheme Krona has employed since his creation — the difference, of course, is that he now imperils two universes instead of just his own.

MIKE: I agree. I think that Busiek had set it up in such a way that even if the two Universes didn’t co-exist, there is some backstory that make it seem as though the two teams had a history together. With the inconsistencies felt between Captain America and Superman, things start to unravel that may endanger both Universes anyways.

BLAKE: Busiek, of course, also finally explains the somewhat erratic behavor Cap and Superman have displayed in the first three parts of this title.

I really liked this issue because it had the feel of the classic, Pre-Crisis Justice League/Justice Society team-ups. People who aren’t as familiar with those as I am may have trouble getting the homage, however.

MIKE: This issue also brings back two original JLA members Barry Allan and Hal Jordan (Flash II and Green Lantern II) back from the dead, which made for another interesting twist.

Yes, it makes you wonder exactly how the presence of the Avengers in this timeline kept them alive.

Most of the issue takes place over several bounces in time, showing the teams interacting at several points in their history, giving Perez a chance to draw lots of old costumes and several members who are long dead.

MIKE: Since we’re on the topic of Perez, I would have to say my favorite part of the book was when both the JLA and the Avengers had discovered that everything that they thought had transpired in their lives were all false. This revelation ironically was made possible by the Grandmaster.

BLAKE: Ah, you mean the sequence where the heroes are surrounded in, for lack of a better term, a “time storm?” This was a very good bit — although this was one of the few spots that wasn’t 100 percent Perez. There were lots of panels from classic Avengers and JLA comics (as well as some less-than-classic periods many readers would rather forget).

MIKE: Nonetheless, this moment really captured the horror most or all of them felt when they realized that some had either sacrificed themselves for the greater good or have lost loved ones to a terrible tragedy. It especially hit The Flash, Green Lantern, and Scarlet Witch the hardest.

BLAKE: These, of course, were the characters who have suffered the most turmoil with the least recovery, so it was a natural characterization for them.

The only downside to this issue is that it doesn’t advance the narrative much. It’s a lot of fun to play with the new shared timeline, but with the exception of a new resolve, the heroes don’t move forward much in this issue. That resolve, however, has pretty bad implications for the people on the receiving end of the thunder these two teams are about to call down.

MIKE: The aftermath of this event may bring dire implications to the situation rather than resolve it. Though on a predictable premise we know that everything will be resolved in the end, I’m anxious to see what will come next.

BLAKE: Absolutely. This issue was great to bring everything together, resolve all the overriding questions, and point the heroes towards a slam-bang finish.

MIKE: One great aspect of George Perez’s art is that he brings such a dedication to these characters in both the costume and visual traits that make them easily recognizable. The action sequences that he has choreographed in this series is the best work I’ve seen from him in both the Crisis maxi series and New Teen Titans.

BLAKE: And nobody draws a lot of characters like Perez. Just look at the cover (I urge all the readers to click on the cover to see a full version, no thumbnail will do it justice) — there are characters as obscure as Silverclaw, Whizzer, the Wonder Twins, Bloodwynd, and some so obscure even I don’t recognize them!

And that’s just the cover. The interior is even better.

MIKE: The one pardon my expression “chilling”, aspect of the tale was when the book focused on the dilapidated city of Metropolis when a rag-tag group of Avengers and JLA members are on the lookout for some DC villains. It really shows the magnitude of damage that these villains can inflict on a city street if they were to truly work as a cohesive coalition. I really think that this is also another objective brought together in this book.

BLAKE: It does go to show the implications of having characters this powerful exist in your world. Of course, Perez depicts this snow-covered scene perfectly, and the muted colors Tom Smith uses makes it even better.

MIKE: Which goes to show the readers why Perez held on to this particular colorist for a number of years. My favorite part of Tom Smith’s work would have to be the dimensional realm that the heroes journey through with the Phantom Stranger in search of the Grandmaster. Smith definitely shows in his work that when these heroes enter this realm, it defies the logic of the known universe.

BLAKE: It’s always interesting to see the “negative” versions of superhero costumes, and this book does it much better than the same trick in Earth X or any of its sequels. Plus, kudos to Busiek for fitting the Phantom Stranger in. He’s a great character who’s never gotten enough use.

Overall, this was a good issue, although I didn’t like it quite as much as the last two just because I thought it felt a bit padded. I’m looking forward to a great finish.

MIKE: Though I liked the concept of these two characters sharing a “cohesive” universe together as well a shared history, there were some aspects of the written aspect of the book that I felt was a bit rushed. This brought about a certain dissatisfaction to me as a reader where I expected just a little more from the story.

However, George Perez has really met my full expectations of this book on a visual basis. He has brought together a plethora of images together both with the action sequences and the characters that inhabit the book. Tom Smith has also made Perez’s work an even greater delight with the scenes depicted in the Metropolis segment as well as the Phantom Stranger segment. I really can’t wait for the final issue.

Blake’s Rating: 8/10

Mike’s Rating: 9/10