New Weapons

First Look for January 7, 2018

I suppose the common concept I can find going on between the two issues I looked at today would be New Weapons. In Letter 44 #8, President Blades lets the army in on his secret program and starts handing out equipment from Project Monolith. In Justice League #52, we see Luthor back in Metropolis and he’s got a Mother Box that helps him enhance his armor and start imitating Superman by fighting crime. But I suppose the most interesting new weapon might be the Chandelier which comes online in Letter 44. No one knows what the aliens are gonna do with that gun.

Letter 44 #8

Redshift: Chapter 1 by Charles Soule and Alberto Jimenez Alburquerque. Published by Oni Press, 2014.

After last issue’s backstory interlude where we learned how Charlotte and Dr. Rowan became crewmembers on the Clarke, we head back to the normal chaos of this story.

But things are not the same. President Blades has decided to start using the weapons that were developed under Project Monolith and now he is decisively winning the wars in Afghanistan and the Middle East. Unfortunately after he let ex-president Carroll leave the White House he again has lost track of him. They’ve got a put a bell on that guy.

Out at the Clarke, it looks like the Chandelier is nearing operational status. That can’t be good since everyone seems to think it’s some kind of a gun. With that in mind, the crew takes a vote to decide if they’re going to engage the aliens at the Chandelier or sit back and wait to see what happens.

Meanwhile back on Earth the President has a meeting with Congressman Higgins. As a member of the House Armed Services Committee he expect to know what’s going on with all these new weapons but the President won’t give him any information. While we learn that the Congressman and the President’s wife had something going on in the past and this seems to be a bone of contention, Higgins insists on getting details and threatens impeachment. Sounds like things are heating up with the current government as well as the previous administration.

Back at the Clarke, Kyoko does a medical examination of baby Astra and finds there are a variety of developmental abnormalities. She’s not sure what all this means but since there’s nothing they can do about it out in space, she hasn’t told anyone.

Like most issues in this title, we and with many things up in the air and many questions to be answered. One thing we know for sure though is that the aliens have turned on the Chandelier.

You can find first looks at other issues in this title linked in my January reading list.

I rate this issue a B-.

Justice League (New 52) #52

That Which You Manifest Is Before You by Dan Jurgens and Tom Grummett. Published by DC Comics, 2016.

This issue, as opposed to issue 51, clearly follows the Darkseid War. For whatever reason, issue 51 was basically an interlude and served as a prelude to Titans Rebirth. This issue on the other hand as the cover clearly shows, has Lex Luther wearing Superman’s symbol and declaring himself the new man of steel. Lex has returned from Apokalips and you can bet he’s going to cause some trouble.

Actually though, we do see him stop some crime but in a manner that nearly gets innocent people killed. It seems like he wants to be a good guy but can’t seem to do the things a superhero would do to bring justice. Instead, he’s more of a Punisher style vigilante for whom anything goes because he’s right. If people die, so be it.

He’s also determined to associate himself closely with the real Superman. When he finds out that the Daily Planet claimed ownership of Superman’s cape, Lex quickly devises a plan to purchase the newspaper and then takes the cape for himself.

We also see some tense interactions with the Justice League. It seems Batman wants to keep the knowledge of the Superman from a different Earth secret from Lex. This other Superman is the one I read about in Superman: Lois and Clark, and we’ve seen that he doesn’t trust Luther.

The crux of the issue and of Luthor’s desire to emulate Superman is his sister Lena. She’s currently in a coma as a result of using a Mother Box and Lex wants to become a better man so when she wakes up, she’ll be proud of him.

On the whole, this was a decent issue that seems to set thing up for another series as I’m pretty sure this is the last issue of this Justice League iteration before Rebirth fully takes hold. The last page also indicates things will continue in Action Comics.

You can find first looks at other issues in this title linked in my January reading list.

I rate this issue a C+.