Justice League of America - Issue 32
Featuring the twin menaces of omnipotent headwear and floral arrangements
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
This issue introduces Brain Storm, a man whose superpower is a very large hat - specifically a helmet that absorbs ‘stellar energy’ and lets him turn the wildest ideas that pop into his head into reality (kind of like a corporate lateral thinking workshop facilitator, except not as irredeemably villainous). What kind of wild ideas? Well, for example, a scheme in which he disrupts the powers of Superman, Hawkman, The Atom, Flash and Batman by somehow psychically linking them to a baseball player, a dieting actress, a tardy husband, a butcher’s delivery boy, and a needlessly French juggler, none of whom had any say in the matter, a status that’s also true of the utterly confused reader. Nevertheless, hilarity ensues! But when the heroes realise that little of this makes an iota of sense, they come up with their own wild, nonsensical escape plan and track Brain Storm to a farmhouse where they battle against giants made of grass, scarecrows brought to horrific life, telekinetically hurled tractors and, uh, a bed of flowers. Finally, though, Brain Storm reveals his motivations - namely, that his brother Fred was killed by Green Lantern, who he therefore sentences to death. ‘Nuh-uh,’ says Hal, and reveals that, in fact, Fred is alive but in France. Even more distraught by this revelation, Brain Storm has one last wild idea, and successfully implements it, teleporting away from this entire comic book. Good for him.
Fun With Comics!
MVP
I’ll tell you who it’s not. And that’s The Atom. Look at this pitiful clown, about to be defeated by a bunch of flowers. Embarrassing stuff. If your schtick is being smaller than everybody else, then you need to have contingency plans for stumbling into a floral arrangement.
Top Panel
Look at this magnificent diva! Yes, Brain Storm! Work that uniform. A villain with his priorities straight. The helmet stays, obviously.
Bonus Top Panel
But Brain Storm isn’t just a fashion icon for the ages. He’s also a problem solver, who solves the problem of ‘being captured by the Justice League’ with a solution that’s utterly elegant in its simplicity. Why more villains don’t just disappear in the penultimate panel of the comic is beyond me.
Villain Cryptic Crossword Clue
This villain’s smart? Robin could mess him up. (5, 5)
Next Issue: TIMELESS WORLDS!