The Justice League is like one big family, but maybe not for long.
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The latest Justice League storyline continues the epic action and drama that’s become trademark of a Bryan Hitch comic book, though he’s passed artistic duties to Fernando Pasarin, Batt, and Brad Anderson for the issue with Comicraft handling the letters.
The arc continues the story of the League’s time-traveling children meeting with their parents and searching for the key to stopping an unstoppable threat in the future.
The issue is filled with quieter moments, which is atypical for Hitch’s work. Justice League has managed to pair his writing with artists of similar aesthetics, and the combo of Pasarin and Batt is in the same vein.
Pasarin’s lines are clean and meticulous, with layouts in the same style of Hitch’s widescreen, cinematic sensibilities. Batt’s finishing touches are perfect for Pasarin’s focus on details in the scene, adding a depth and sense of realism you’d see in comics like the Ultimates.
While those styles work well for bombastic action, they’re surprisingly welcome in an issue about parents connecting with their children and the awful secrets the kids are hiding.
Family Time
The issue begins with Wonder Woman‘s son Hunter Prince meeting with his adopted parents.
At some point in their timeline before the Kindred ruined everything, Wonder Woman abandoned Hunter and he was taken in by the Kents. This leads to a later revelation that forces the kids to make a drastic decision, but some bonding takes place before they get to that point.
Cyborg relishes the chance to connect with his son Cube in a way he hasn’t with his own father. Mera assuages her future daughter Eldora’s existential crisis with some motherly care. And Jessica Cruz and Barry Allen seem to take to the fact that they might end up together with three wonderful children.
Meanwhile, Simon Baz and Steve Trevor attempt to deal with the aftermath of what happened in Midway City, still contained by the Green Lantern’s ring. After a search for a pathogen comes up empty, Simon scans for frequencies and visualizes thousands of black tendrils stretching across the city. He and Trevor don’t seem to be infected, but a voice begins to creep up in the background.
The present threat of the Kindred is far from over.
Clark and Hunter have a revealing conversation where Hunter tells him that Superman, Superboy, and Lois all fall to the Kindred. Though Clark vows to find a way to defeat their enemy, Hunter has already lived through his failure and the subsequent tragedy.
For The Future To Live, [SPOILER] Must Die
Hunter is distraught, claiming their time together is just an echo of the past. He expresses anger at his adoptive father for not destroying the Kindred, claiming that the future is doomed because of the League’s actions, but Clark promises they will change the future.
Though the issue does not reveal what happened to Batman and the time-traveling Cyborg-Aquaman, despite what the cover promises, it does tease a major development.
While Wonder Woman is looking over the footage of their fight with the Kindred, she comes to the conclusion that she might be responsible for the coming war that was foretold. Referencing previous developments in the Wonder Woman comics, she notes the power she feels as the God of War and suggests that she might be responsible for the coming darkness, and that she might cause the war that ravages the future.
Cube, being connected to the Watchtower, spies on Wonder Woman as she makes the revelation. He immediately tells Hunter, who comes to a simple conclusion:
He needs to kill his mother. They need to kill Wonder Woman.
Justice League #28 is in stores now.
