Justice League of America - Issue 36
Featuring the twin menaces of Brain Storm and monstrous transformations
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
Let’s tread warily, shall we? This issue is all about how temporary setbacks to assorted members of the Justice League of America allow them to inspire a group of hospital-bound disabled boys that, despite the struggles they face, if they just persevere, they, too, will one day be able to defeat the villainous Brain Storm, who makes his triumphant return from issue 32. And by ‘triumphant’, I mean, of course, ‘doomed to inevitable failure’. Because Brain Storm (plus his idiot brother Fred Storm) is, once again, using his giant stupid helmet to workshop some truly nitwitted concepts. First, he comes up with the fraught notion of interrupting a perfectly ordinary staged monster fight with some politically incorrect transformations. Then, later, he decides to convert the five defeated JLA members into duplicates of himself, so that the rest of the team won’t know who to punch. Does that stop Batman? It does not. He shows up and socks Brain Storm in the jaw, ending the issue. “How did you know it was me?” mutters the dazed villain, and Bats does not have the heart to tell him he thought he was sucker-punching Green Arrow.
Fun With Comics!
MVP
It’s Batman. And not just for being willing to punch GA in the mouth. The JLA’s original plan was for Green Lantern to turn him into a giant monster, conjure a television out of green light so the boys could watch, while the other five commenced beating up their colleague for charity. Look how chilled out Bruce is by that frankly insane prospect.
Top Panel
Check out poor old Fred Storm, moping in the background between his brother and Green Lantern. This is the face of a man who has just realised he is the Snapper Carr of this sibling relationship.
Villain Cryptic Crossword Clue
See issue 32
Next Issue: THE JSA IS BACK!