Justice League International #7
"Justice League...INTERNATIONAL!"
plot and breakdowns: Keith Giffen
script: J.M. DeMatteis
pencils: Kevin Maguire
inks: Al Gordon
letters: Bob Lappan
colors: Gene D'Angelo
editor: Andy Helfer
grade: B
How interesting that, on the cusp of finally taking the series where Helfer and Giffen had been planning along, we see the first sure signs that the series has begun to lose focus. I still maintain that issues #2, 3, 5, and 6 all send a clear message that this series was never intended to be all tongue in cheek humor; there was supposed to be a serious side to things and, perhaps, in contrasting that against the bumbling antics of this super team, a larger message could be expressed.
And yet, while this issue oddly devotes the first seven of its 38 pages to cleaning up the very serious storyline from issues #5 and 6,
it does so beautifully and deeply, but also presents the whole thing as being completely unrelated to the Justice League. In fact, in the aftermath, we get this little exchange between Blue Beetle and Dr. Fate:
Okay, so it's none of the League's concern, even though Fate drew them into this conflict for no apparent reason and tied up 2.25 of their issues with it as well. But no, it just drops out that abruptly, Fate delivering a message third hand by the close of the issue that he's leaving the League. Giffen doesn't even put him in a panel to deliver the news directly.
(and, by the way, who are the two guys making a cameo on the right-hand side? I checked the few images I can find online, and neither Giffen, DeMatteis, MaGuire, nor Helfer seem to strongly resemble either of them).
So, while we're left scratching our heads over what the heck the Gray Man fiasco was about, as well as what The Creeper was doing hanging around in this title,
we jump into a new story for The League -- their biggest one yet, and it doesn't match the tone of anything that came before. There's no irony at play as we watch the team this time. They're not thoroughly pathetic nor uninformed as to what's going on. They arrive to complete a mission, pull off the closest thing to a victory yet (yes, it was a setup to help them improve their reputation, but Mister Miracle really did have to use his brain and his courage to save the day), and there's just nothing deeper going on. All the laughter comes by using Guy excessively for comic relief, while the rest of the team is presented as semi-close to capable for the first time.
The Guy Moments:
I really did chuckle at this one, in which Guy spends the first half of the issue concussed under a table while the team goes about their business around him, unaware.
And this running joke is always solid gold, as well:
But, by the time Guy wakes up with an inverted personality, it just feels far too forced and milked.
Previously, we were laughing at the team while Giffen worked hard to show us there was some truly serious stuff at play in the world of which they had no understanding, but now they come off as more conventional good guys, even if the banter is still amusing and sometimes self-effacing, and Guy becomes their instant laugh button. It's borderline obnoxious.
Don't get me wrong. There's a lot I liked about this issue, from the intense climactic scene with the destructive orbital satellite, to the few really good one-liners, to continuing to give more attention to the idea that these heroes have lives outside of The League:
Of course, as funny as that moment is, it becomes a lot darker when you consider that this is likely
why Mister Miracle wasn't home during the events of
Action Comics #592. If you've never read that Barda/Superman/Sleeze storyline, you're better off that way. I won't corrupt you with a synopsis.
I also really liked the completion of Batman's character arc with his last outing as team leader. Over the last few issues, we saw him begin to mellow out a bit with the new team, even cracking a joke. Now, he cracks a joke AND tells the team he has faith in them:
But that Bat-seal of approval also helps to dismiss so much of the delightful irony of the first six issues, as we watched a team that was hopelessly unaware of how ineffective and clueless it was. Batman's feel good moment here sends the opposite message that this team is starting to come along, and that ruins so much of what Giffen was doing right in the beginning.
So, back to the question of what this new Justice League is about -- some serious critiques of our society delivered tongue in cheek through pathetically clueless heroes, or a silly gag comic with a few feel good moments and no intention of delivering anything more -- the one moment in this story that leaves me wondering whether there's still hope for this title is when Superman meets with President Reagan:
The greatest hero in the world subservient to an ailing Alzheimer's victim commanding the most powerful nation in the world; there's a definite calculated jab here, but it's not clear what point Giffen is trying to convey through it. Should we be laughing, or should we be afraid? Maybe there's no real point at all.
Roster Changes:- Captain Atom added (though not appearing until the final panel)
- Rocket Red added (though not appearing until the final panel)
- Captain Marvel quits
- Dr. Fate quits
- Batman self-demotes to part-time member
- Martian Manhunter appointed new leader
- Maxwell Lord's affiliation with the team becomes sanctioned.
A lot of membership change-ups in less than a year.
After all, we had the original line-up seen in Legends:
(Red X = not a current member, yellow circle = partial current member, green circle = current member. To be fair, Flash and Superman were never going to join the team, but I still hold to my theory about Gar Logan)
...and the team-up in the premiere Justice League issue:
Both are drastically different from the team taking shape here, with only three of the eight full time members still going strong from the team's formation back in Legends #6.
So I guess I'm curious to see where Giffen is going with this -- will a superhero team officially sanctioned by, and answerable to, the United Nations operate more as an opportunity for political satire or for simple cheap laughs?
Only time will tell.
Or you guys.
Yeah, you guys can tell me.
Minor Details:- Colonel Harjavti, from issues #2-3, makes a cameo appearance on the Jack Ryder show.
Plot synopsis:
The Gray Man story arc concludes with no real relation to the Justice League nor the rest of the issue, and Maxwell Lord meets with Martian Manhunter about making The League internationally sanctioned while someone or something watches without Lord's knowledge and decides to activate a devastating laser satellite in order to give The League a chance to win over the international community and increase its chances of getting that sanction. Hal Jordan meets with the team to discuss their new status and talk some sense into Guy (who is concussed and acting pleasant as punch), Maxwell Lord is surprised by the satellite attack but seems to have a guess who or what did it, the team goes into space with the help of STAR Labs where Mister Miracle saves the day by gambling that the satellite is a repurposed training device from New Genesis, and the international community, witnessing this from cameras suspiciously positioned to capture all of this, unanimously agrees to give The League an international sanction, though the USA insists on the addition of Captain Atom, and the Soviet Union insists on the addition of Rocket Red. Dr. Fate and Captain Marvel quit, Batman goes part-time, and Martian Manhunter becomes the new leader. 
