“Justice League vs. Godzilla vs. Kong” – Book Five
Artists: Christian Duce and Tom Derenick
Color Artist: Luis Guerrero
Letterers: Comicraft’s Richard Starkings and Jimmy Betancourt
Review by Lauren Fiske
Justice League vs. Godzilla vs. Kong #5 brings in previously unseen characters and shifts from the various scenes previously established in previous issues. New developments also unfold, as familiar faces arrive on the scene and more heroes, villains, and monsters fall.
Things are seemingly starting to settle as the Justice League continues to take down more monsters, and the pieces of the puzzle are finally starting to come together… at least a little.
Check out previous reviews of this series if you want to avoid spoilers!
Connecting the Dots
While more questions continued to be raised, there were also a lot more answers to the developing story. One of the biggest questions that has stood out to me from previous issues is “What is Lex Luthor planning?” There have been hints and little snippets that peel back some of the layers, but it’s been hard to truly decipher. Luckily, this issue opens with a secret conversation between Lois Lane and Mercy Graves.
We know I’m not a comics expert, so I hadn’t heard of Mercy Graves before reading this issue. As one of Lex Luthor’s more trusted, upper-level minions, it’s kind of surprising she would be in communication with Lois Lane, the girlfriend of her boss’ greatest enemy. However, Mercy and Lois have collaborated before when Lex has gone too far, and this is one of those times.
Mercy doesn’t reveal much to Lois, as both of them are keeping their cards close to their chests. However, their conversation does reveal that the occurrences of the past few issues didn’t happen by chance. Lex is up to something and things seem to be going in his favor, with a few bumps along the way.
Place to Place
Luthor’s seemingly the main villain of this series, which makes sense since so much of the story is focused on Superman. Trying to keep track of what the villain might be planning is difficult, but important to understand the throughline from issue to issue. The other happenings around the world are still interesting, however.
The scenery changes in this issue on almost every other page with only the longer scenes having cuts between being those set underwater, outside Atlantis. The other glimpses of heroes, villains, and Kaijus are quick snapshots.
I can appreciate that the creative team has many stories they’re trying to address in this issue, which mostly goes well, especially since the fight outside of Atlantis gets wrapped up neatly. The one issue I had with all the back and forth was Supergirl’s presence in multiple scenes. This shouldn’t be a big deal and we know that Kara is unthinkably fast, but the flow of the comic does feel slightly off, as we watch Kara practically teleport from Superman’s bedside back to Skull Island. That’s just my two cents though!
Conclusion
I’m enjoying learning more about this story and how the crossing of worlds would affect super-powered beings and gargantuan monsters alike. Justice League vs. Godzilla vs. Kong #5 adds more to this story and definitely helps readers start putting pieces together about what the villains are really up to (like that last page! What?).
Refreshingly, the art style and overall design of the series have remained consistent from issue to issue, making it easier to keep up with the over 50 named characters we’ve seen on the pages. I also just generally find those consistencies in a series to be comforting, so take that as you will.
As the issues keep releasing, hopefully, more and more storylines will wrap up, leading to a satisfying overall ending in the future. For now, though, I’m going to continue making predictions about what’s motivating everybody in this series, and hoping that Superman and Lois get to confirm their engagement.
Images Courtesy of DC Entertainment