“Legacy,” Part Five
Writer: Bryan Hitch
Artist: Fernando Pasarin
(Minor spoilers ahead)
As Wonder Woman tries to fight off The Darkness, the identity of The Sovereign is finally revealed. With the Justice League missing and their children facing the consequences of their actions an unlikely ally could tip the scales back towards the light.
There are certainly a few problems with this issue and it isn’t just the story or the artwork.
Let’s start with the cover, at no stage is there a Batman vs Green Lantern fight in this issue. In fact they never even appear together in this issue. For those hoping to see something along those line hit up Justice League #5 from back in the 80s. It doesn’t happen here!
In this issue, Batman’s time is entirely spent in the Batwing, with the Batwing providing some mild comic relief.
For those who may be confused, and I had to go back myself while doing this review, this is part FIVE. This is not part four, that was last month. No doubt this will be corrected in the next printing so be prepared to pay top $$$ for this ‘error edition’ on eBay.
Honestly, you had one job….
Credit card for Justice League #29
Credit card for Justice League #30
Will the real part four please stand up?
Let’s get right into it, this issue is very talky talky when I am at the stage where I was hoping for more punchy punchy. Bryan Hitch is an amazing writer and the concept of ‘Legacy’ is an interesting one. However, we have already fallen into so many time travelling tropes with this arc and this issue doesn’t help it much.
I’m starting to wonder what is going on with Bryan Hitch? Has been asked to stretch this story out? This pacing is not what we are used to seeing from him at all.
We have the well worn concept that coming back from the future to alter the past can do more harm than good. So not only does it appear that the future children have failed to stop The Darkness, but their actions have made it happen sooner than it should. Then, we see the future team member who is now evil swayed by the words of his much younger but obviously wiser child and he remembers who he used to be.
The only real surprise in this issue is the identity of The Sovereign. With a few red herrings pointing toward Mera, we learn that it is in fact Queen Hippolyta, Wonder Woman’s mother and she is now apparently Aquaman’s queen.
This arc is still suffering from the same problem that it has over the last two issues. The characters are being written with total expertise, each voice is unique but the overall story is just plodding along. We are also starting to get more questions raised than answers given. It’s time to start wrapping this up Bryan.
This is not an issue in a story that has great pacing, but most of the issue is spent with Wonder Woman fighting a psychological issue, Steve Trevor saying “It’s OK,” and us getting an obvious statement that at some stage, Aquaman absconded Cyborg’s armor.
Unless Cable had shown up in this issue with a bevy of lawyers, we already knew this was a thing!
Oh, and in case you forgot he was here, Simon Baz gets a scene where he breaks free of The Darkness.
The first few pages of the art honestly seem somewhat rushed. It’s not what we have come to expect from Fernando Pasarin. It settles as the issue moves forward, but the first part may come from an artist who may be as bored as I am. The parts where the story picks up, so does the art but overall this issue is a bit all over the place as far as quality is concerned.
There is a lot of standing around in this issue. We have just hit part four, sorry five, and I can’t see this story not needing to rush to the end.
There are still so many questions that are hanging.
Why Hippolyta?
Why is she Aquaman’s ‘Queen’?
How will future Aquaman sacrfice himself? (If he doesn’t, THAT will be the surprise!)
What will happen to the children?
How did the Justice League get their costumes back while exiting the void?
Do Cable’s lawyers really believe this is Victor’s armor?
Conclusion
I’m bored. With this issue, “Legacy” has lost its way.
I could not care that The Sovereign is Wonder Woman’s mother, that Aquaman has switched sides back to the JL or that Steve Trevor appears to be Diana’s Life Coach in this issue.
Time travel stories have been done better in the hands of lesser writers. Hitch is better than this.
This issue is a low point for the overall arc. It is not something the next issue can’t fix but right now, it is a worry.
Images courtesy of DC Entertainment