JL:GL #4 - The Team is Assembled

I hope you are enjoying your week - a new Booster Gold related release makes it easy for me to enjoy mine, in addition to a little vacation to sunny Florida. The weather here has been great, as has the beach. I am on the Atlantic coast rather than the Gulf coast, so my stay has not been oily in the least bit.

But you aren't here to read about me.

This issue was a huge step in the right direction. We get a few answers, but we have even more questions. This review may be a little more stream-of-consciousness than prior ones. I'm going to try to dig in to a lot of the subtext here (though I'm no literature teacher), so some of the sections that I had will be gone and integrated into other sections. This may end up being the method for JL:GL, with my "traditional" format for the Booster Gold main title.

In any case, enjoy!

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The Cover:

I like it; makes me think of a poster that you'd see in a dystopian sort of atmosphere. Now, the figures don't look anything like the Rocket Reds do in the book, but it doesn't necessarily HAVE to be them on the cover. No complaints here. Moving on.

What is going ON anyway?!

The first two pages are quite interesting. It gives a glimpse of Max that, based upon other reviews of the book, many fans felt was sorely needed. It seems that Max's mind control powers are on the fritz, turning his targets into deceased Black Lanterns. My thoughts echo those of dear Maxwell - "Why the hell is this happening?" Could it be a side effect of his resurrection? A leftover from his becoming a Black Lantern? Whatever the case, this is truly something to ponder. I haven't been reading other Brightest Day titles, so I can't speak to the experiences of other resurrected characters in comparison with Maxwell.

This seems to manifest itself when he is attempting full-scale control over another individual. His powers of persuasion and manipulation are obviously well in hand - see his deceit of Captain Atom and Fire for that, as well as the cops at the beginning of this series, and of course that minor matter where he made everyone forget that he ever existed.

Moving forward, we discover that the Rocket Reds were not targeting the de facto JLI, but were actually going after a rogue Rocket Red named Gavril Ivanovich, who desires the return of communism to Russia. While he is clear as day about his anti-capitalist feelings, he is nonetheless pleased to see the members of the JLI, who got involved once they realized the damage done to civilians.

In the midst of all this, we have a splash page where this renegade Rocket Red declares the arrival of the Justice League International, and we again clearly see Ice's nipples beneath her halter top. Let me again say that as much as I like boobs, I find this unnecessary and while I understand the element of fan service, I think it is wasted here. But, I digress.

After moving the battle to more isolated ground, the group deals with the Rocket Reds (in a battle not shown) and moves on to more pressing matters.

Rocket Red is convinced that the JLI is here, reassembled short of having a Green Lantern present. Booster quickly realizes that he is right. The team takes his turn as a fate/meant-to-be sort of thing. The OLD Booster may indeed have done that, and would have tried to assert himself as a leader or something. This is exactly what the current group expects. Booster, however, has become a little more of a grizzled veteran than that. He turns and calls them all morons, himself included. The confused facial expressions are priceless at this point, and I must say that, aside from Blue Beetle looking worried about 90% of the time, the faces have been spot on throughout these four issues so far. Kudos to the artistic crew.

I'm going to pause here and mention that Booster is clearly the go-to guy in this grouping of heroes. While the bonds that hold these six together is still tentative at best, he is the one who is making many of the decisions. He has convinced Ice of her duty each time she expressed a desire to quit (however reluctantly she responded). He deduced Max's plan and found him in the embassy in the first issue. He is the first voice in the decision to avoid involvement in the altercation in the first place (and the one to offer the explanation). While he defers to Captain Atom on the decision to get involved, he is clearly checking for agreement with his own train of thought. Finally, he is the one to put the pieces together that Max has pulled the strings once more and reassembled the core of the JLI - minus, as Rocket Red astutely observed, a Green Lantern.

I assert again that if a Green Lantern does not get involved here, it will be a massive oversight on part of the writings team. We know that artificial intelligences remember Maxwell Lord, we know that GL Rings are artificial intelligences, and that the Green Lantern's trust their rings for accurate information. It must come to pass.

In any case, no sooner does Booster shout a challenge to Max than we hear his voice come from a Rocket Red's uniform. It sounds as if we are about to get some answers from him. By the way, I found it hysterical when he said "I'm having kind of a bad day too" and we saw him surrounded by dead Black Lanterns. His powers are DEFINITELY on the fritz.

Now we know many things - Maxwell Lord was directly involved in getting this team together. He, then, was responsible for the JLI signal that read as Ted Kord, which also likely meant he was the hacker of Jamie's armor. The OMACs were to drive the original four and Jamie together. The random transportation to Russia was to put the Rocket Red traitor (and one who held Vladimir Pushkin in some esteem) in league with the team. Now the bigger question is: Why? What will Maxwell Lord gain from this?

As I said in an earlier post, I know that Keith Giffen would like to reclaim some of the past Max Lord persona rather than the man who killed the Blue Beetle. I can't see that coming to fruition. There is no way that Booster Gold will accept Max, not after the murder of his best friend Ted Kord. It would take some serious amounts of retcon to make that work. Now, with Max Lord, that isn't anything new, but I'd hate to see it spill over onto these characters - especially Booster, who has grown much in the wake of Ted's death.

A few thoughts about what is to come:

- Fire will discuess her encounter and the team will look into Checkmate for answers...

I'd put that at about a 75% chance. It's the best lead they have so far, though it could have been a mental trick of Max's. One thing is for sure, if this glitch in his powers continues unabated, it is going to be harder and harder for Max to hide.

- Batman COULD get involved, at least in a minimal capacity.

His exchange with The Black King was quite telling. He seems to lend some degree of credence toward what this group is doing. Grayson is one of the few who has knowledge of, and therefore respect for, what Booster has been doing. Perhaps he feels a little more inclined to trust what is going on, especially given the involvement of Captain Atom, who is pretty level-headed, Fire, who lives up to her name, and Ice, who has been rather reluctant throughout all of this. There is diversity in this group, and it isn't something that would just happen without a reason. Batman is intelligent and must know this - while he can't see it specifically, there is SOMEthing going on here.

- I'm not getting my hopes up that Max gives any major answers.

Let's face it, we know that Max is a manipulator and has been from day one - apart from any leanings that he has had, this has been his role. He got the Justice League together in the first place back in the late 80s and has made it happen again. It is possible that something extra will slip out that he didn't want to - his problems with his powers will likely have him off-kilter - but he's a pretty disciplined guy.

Max will tell the team what he wants to tell them to try to get them to jump the way he wants them to jump. His answers will not be trustworthy at most and will be variations on the truth at the very least.

- Something is going to happen to give this group a little more of a bond.

The story won't survive for 24 issues if it doesn't. It doesn't need to happen soon, but it needs to happen by about half to 2/3s of the way through the story arc.

- Issue 5 will come out in less than two weeks, as will the next issue of Booster Gold.

Duh!

The new Justice League has me seeing red!!! A first look.

Just finished with the issue and while I am currently on vacation, I nonetheless plan to have the full review posted within the next couple of days.

I think that #4 was exactly what it needed to be. We're seeing more of Max and we're getting closer to his plan - whatever it may be. The whole group is in one place, so no diversions next issue. We will be getting some answers - true or otherwise - from Maxwell Lord.

Once again, we find some answers in this book, but many more questions.

We now know how the team was brought together - it was Max's direct interference. But why? For what purpose? If we are to believe Maxwell's diatribe to Booster when he was discovered in the former JLI embassy in New York, he looks fondly on those days and claims to regret shooting Ted Kord... what could the reason possibly be? These people have no reason to trust him.

I know that Keith Giffen would like to right the ship as far as Max Lord goes; I'm not certain how much that can happen. Can anyone imagine, barring a severe retcon (and for Mr. Lord, that would not be the first), how Booster could ever get past the murder of his best friend? I can't see it. The reason for Booster's developing maturity has been his dedication to the memory of Ted Kord.

Anyway, I'm going to have to force myself to stop here, because I don't want to make my formal review too redundant! My format may change a bit this week, as now there is much more to discuss four issues into the strip. I'm also going back and reading the trade paperbacks of the old Justice League run from the late '80s just for fun as I do this.

Until my next post, have a Boosterrific day!