Justice League of America - Issue 31
Featuring the twin menaces of time-bending bank robbers and Hawkgirl's glass ceiling
The Justice League (aka the Justice League of America, aka the JLA, aka Justice League International, aka Zack Snyder’s Justice League (2021)) is a collection of the DC Universe’s greatest heroes (and also Green Arrow).
I talked about why I love the JLA in this piece here. Now I’m breaking down each and every issue of the comic book, from their very first appearance, with Atom-sized summaries. Enjoy!
PREVIOUSLY
The central tension of issue 31 is a simple one: how long can a comic book spend welcoming Hawkman to the team (and pointedly not welcoming his wife who possesses the exact same powers) before a small-time crook with borrowed alien technology shoots the JLA’s meeting room into space? The answer is about a third of the issue, but it’s a third well spent, because rookie member Hawkman is immediately up in the various villains’ faces. He starts by using fourth-dimensional crimefighting techniques to deal with your normal everyday time-distorting hula-hoop bank robbers, then outwits their leader (a Mr Joe Parry from Stumbled Into Alien Wishing Technology St, USA). Parry, who found one of the most powerful objects in the universe and used it to rob banks and briefly shoot a room into space, then summons a ghastly JLA Frankenstein into existence. But even that’s not enough to defeat Hawkman, who drops a solid ‘actually, Frankenstein’s the scientist’ onto Parry, emphatically defeating him on every level. In the process, he accomplishes more in his first issue than Snapper Carr has achieved in the previous 33 combined.
Fun With Comics!
MVP
It’s Hawkman. First day on the job. Meeting room launched into space, composite monster, alien technology, zero onboarding. Solves a temporal crime paradox, fakes being knocked out, correctly identifies a structural loophole in a conjured creature’s power ring, saves the team. And serves as a valuable role model for those of us in the greater contact lens wearing community. Proper hero.
Top Panel
The response from the police when they see these bank robbers with time-distorting hula hoops? To immediately open fire, of course. Still, can you blame them? Look at that smug prick on the left.
Villain Cryptic Crossword Clue
A cup of coffee would stop this crook (3, 5)
Next Issue: BRAIN STORMING SESSIONS!