Last month (mid June) I was heading out of work and decided to go to one of my favorite book spots. I tend to go to Forbidden Planet mainly to buy an issue or two of current ongoing series, but The Strand is my go to spot to buy hidden gems at a very good price, be it back issue volumes of a series, Manga, or long forgotten elseworld tales, I always go to the top floor to collect good reads. Upon my visit, I was surprised to find an Omnibus of Gantz given that it is one of my favorite Manga’s of all time, and given that I wanted to re-read and collect the series, I decided to purchase the Gantz Omnibus 3 which was totally worth getting at a solid price of $4 bucks! I then proceeded a volume of The Authority (which was written under Mark Millar’s time on title after Ellis’s run) for $3.00 which was a good deal. And then, as I scrambled through The Strand’s bargain bin I came across three slim volumes of an Elseworlds story that I never heard of called JLA: Act of God.
As I pulled all three of the books from the bargain box, I was interested in the story due to the title and what was implied on the cover as it portrays many of the DC characters post Morrison/Waid, pre Infinite Crisis, Pre New 52, all scattered across the cover in horror and defeat. Each book was literally $2.50 each so I figured, for a 3 book mini series, this was worth buying for a decent price, so why not! Curiosity took hold given the premise that an unforeseen black light temporarily covered the skies, causing many of the super beings of the various superhero and villain communities to lose their powers, which leaves the heroes and villains that use technology to duel for the future of the world.
The premise immediately caught my interest, given that its an elseworlds story, which isn’t hampered by messing with continuity of its time, which provides for twists and turns that would make for an enjoyable read. And while Black Label just started as a branding, It doesn’t hold a candle to what Elseworld’s has accomplished decades before, but if DC and Warner brothers is smart, they could learn a lot from their prior efforts and success that made Elseworlds what it once was. But it remains to be seen how Black Label will last since it’s only had Batman: Damned and Superman: Year One thus far, and maybe Tom Taylor’s DCEASED will hopefully be made into a Black label book since it has all the checkmarks to be one. Either way, The Idea of reading an Elseworlds tale that takes a peak at what the DC universe would be if everyone of the heroes became powerless held promise for it to be a worthwhile story to read.
Now the story is written by Doug Moench, who is well known as the co-creator of Marvel Comics Moon Knight, in addition to his 90’s Batman run with Kelley Jones, especially with Elseworlds tales such as the Red Rain Trilogy. Knowing that he was writing this book was another plus, so I was eager to see what he would do given the interesting premise. Moench explores some interesting ideas allowing the readers to witness how members of the Justice League, The Titans, Young Justice, and The Justice Society handle the fallout of their loss of abilities. This gives an opportunity for the non powered heroes such as Batman, Nightwing, The Birds of Prey, Red Tornado, Mr Terrific, Steel, Hawkman, Blue Beetle (Kord), Booster Gold, Green Arrow amongst others to step up and take center stage as the other heroes work through their trauma, questioning whether anyone is deserving of great power, accepting and rejecting their circumstances.
What I find interesting is how most of the stories that come out in 2019 tends to consist of abilities that stem from technology. Even horror and fantasy stories that are published tend to focus more on technology than magic these days, so to see that Moench was already exploring that in this series was fun to read and reflect on.
In the midst of all the chaos, the biggest mystery that the worlds greatest heroes investigate is what or who cause the black light event that took away the powers of every super powered being on the planet? How did it happen? And is there a way to recover what was lost? Or is it permanently lost forever? Now what I enjoy about this series is witnessing how the heroes that lost their powers try to cope with the loss of their abilities and failures.
One thing that I wasn’t really fond of is in the first book where all of the heroes gather around to try and understand what has happened, leaving Oracle to speculate what may have caused their dilemma, may not possibly be caused by anyone, but caused by an “act of god” (yup, inserted the name of the series into the story), leaving everyone to speculate whether or not it was a predetermined event by some form of intelligence? or was a random occurrence that was nobody's fault? I’ve read some stuff about critics disliking this story, but I wanted to see for myself on whether or not I would like this story. Given that its an elseworlds story, I don’t ever expect for it to portray anyone in the same way as the main continuity versions are written, and that should always be expected when reading an Elseworlds story, so I made sure to reserve my judgement of this story until after reading it.
Book One’s antagonist is Toyman, who after realizing that Superman is no longer present in Metropolis, decides to exact revenge on Lex Luthor now that no one can stand in his way. Two weeks after the mysterious black light incident, other villains who rely on technology such as the Rogues, Prometheus, Amazo, Metallo, Cyborg Superman, and Dr Polaris decide to team up to eliminate the remaining non powered crime fighters that stand in their way of conquest. And boy does it get ugly! During Toyman’s attack on Metropolis, Steel enters the fray, unprepared, and still recovering from the incident. Failing to defeat Toyman, Steel bites the bullet, becoming the first of the hero community to fall.
What ensues in book 2 is a flurry of clever surprises, mainly in the villains part. The idea that Toyman’s giant robot as a trojan horse housing all of the technological villains to bombard Booster Gold is simply brilliant! Even though it was actually Lex Luthor’s secret plan to use those villains against Toyman to set him up, it still was an awesome scene! I’m surprised that throughout the new 52, and DC Rebirth that no one has done anything interesting with Toyman on this level! Mind you, this is an elseworlds story from the 2000’s! The fact that Moench did something really cool with Toyman in this book and has never been done since then makes me want to see more Toyman stories. Unfortunately, that won’t happen anytime soon, and even though Bendis used him a little in his Superman and Action titles, it remains to be seen whether or not he’ll do anything interesting with Toyman at all.
Now I will admit, the writing on Superman and Lois Lane I think would have worked better if this series wasn’t written asa 3 book title. Maybe if it was like a 4 book title, where readers see the passage of months and strain between their relationship due to Superman moping around then I think it would have been more acceptable in execution. But given that it's only shown within 2 pages that Lois and Clark decide to separate due to the unwillingness to accept powerlessness was admittedly weak, even though it is understandable given the circumstances of this series. I feel that if there was more pages, there would have been more room to explore how being inactive as a hero would have affected Clark’s relationship with Lois.
I wished that Moench explored what their work relationship was like with the folks at the Daily Planet, or even have scenes where Clark calls Bruce to get advice on how to see the potential of what he could be as a human being rather than doing the opposite. I could understand the criticism of the handling of Superman here since he is usual known and is written to be a beacon of hope with or without powers. But I like the idea of seeing a Superman that feels incapable of doing anything because all he had ever known was power, and now without it, he's a shell of a man. In a way this reminds me of The Avengers (2012) scene where Iron Man and Captain America argue about who they are without their abilities, and both would then showcase that with or without their abilities, they are still capable of making a difference.
With this series I actually enjoyed the idea that this take on Superman is not confident in his current state of being. Everything he has ever known, his entire existence, purpose and being relied heavily on his abilities. Take that away, and Superman is nothing but a man struggling to come to terms that all that he ever wanted to be is not as good as what he once was when he was not human. I feel like this is an interesting case study because this is not a power hungry Superman, this is not the main continuity Superman, this is an iteration that is frustrated by the idea that even as a human being, he can’t make as much impact without his powers.
Because he had the ability to help, and even if he was to help by doing the best he can, it would pale in comparison to what he was once able to do. That's somewhat relatable to I think most who are accustomed to one way of living and having to adjust to a new way of thinking and living. This creates an interesting conversation about the character of Superman, because he isn’t like other counterparts. Clark wants to help much like his man universe counterpart, but he knows the reality of the situation, and can’t help but feel helpless because of it. Sinking into a depression that ends up costing him his marriage. I feel Moench stated that the Toyman battle occured months later instead of “2 weeks”, I think the scene would have been justified, and people would have been more receptive at the time. Especially with Clark going with Diana, had there been more time established, I think it would have been fine due to their predicaments and the passage of time that occured. But again, I understand why that was an issue even for an Elseworlds story such as this. It is interesting to see how much of the New 52 always played off from these Elseworlds ideas be it from Frank Miller's The Dark Knight Returns and this series among other tales in regards to the Superman & Wonder Woman relationship that occurred during the New 52.
Now the plot thickens as even the tech heroes get ransacked from their technology, and are left defenseless, leaving some of the earth bound heroes to cope by living out their lives, publishing books about their former lives, or drinking their sorrows away. Those heroes are the ones that are financially capable of doing that, where as other characters like Martian Manhunter had me wondering about how he is able to pay for the rent? Is he covered by Bruce Wayne? How is he able to move around without being noticed by the public eye? Its details such as that that I feel, had they been explored, it would have made this book more of a fulfilling read. I do enjoy the segments featuring Supergirl who is now a beat cop trying to cope with her circumstances. Even seeing other characters such as Wally West suffering from PTSD due to failing to save a cop after the Black Light Event was interesting to explore, even with some of the in fighting from the remaining formerly powerful heroes trying to figure out how to reinvent themselves without relying on the ease of superpowers.
Personally I like that Supergirl does the ideal thing that Superman is unable to do which is to move on and reinvent herself, learning from the approach of Batman and Green Arrow. But I also enjoy that Wally responds to that idea as a dumb one for him given that his feelings towards those ideas reflect his insecurities, that he isn’t capable as he once was. This reminds me of what Joshua Williamson has explored in the current Flash title with Barry Allen, where even in the current run, he has had moments where he feels his powers defined him more than the other way around. Even with this approach even the power neutered heroes understand that Batman has had a lifetime to hone the skills that he has today, to even keep up would prove to be a challenge that would hold risks. I was happy that there was at least a 6 month jump to see how characters get to where they are, because with a story like this, there is so much that could be explored. Unfortunately, we mostly see what's happened with the Justice League, but we don’t get to see how members of Young Justice, Titans and the JSA handle their dilemmas.
As the series goes into book 3, and things don’t look pretty for characters such as Kyle Rayner who can’t get over the loss of power and a Superman who is now an alcoholic, having a crisis of faith in his ability to make a difference as a normal human being. Now, I think what I enjoy most about this book is how Batman is written throughout this series. He doesn’t come off as a condescending individual, he is actually written like the Batman that most remember before the stuff that Tom King had written, where he is cool, calm, collective and reasonable. Even as the former superpowered heroes make a new team The Phoenix Group under Batman’s watch, he still treats them as human beings, and not as canon fodder.
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| Left to Right: Martian Manhunter, Wally West, Aquaman and Supergirl |
There are some pretty corny lines that are delivered as The Phoenix Group make their way to face off against Lex Luthor’s team of villains, but I can’t help but let it slide given that I live for such terrible puns haha. Especially when there is a panel where the heroes have to get through a gate, and Aquaman tells his friends while using his cybernetic hand stating, “No problem, not when The Hand lends a Hand”. Its so ridiculous that I enjoy it despite its fun ridiculousness. Yet despite the minor dialogue, Moench does an entertaining job with The Phoenix Group, and showcasing how formidable they are as a team, and even give Kyle Rayner a chance at redemption. The series ends on a bit of a cliffhanger that presents the idea that some things can never be buried, and even without the power, people can still be heroes.
So, do I like this story? Yes. Why do I like this story? I think its an enjoyable glimpse that I could reread anytime due to the focus of the non powered characters and how they handle situations that show them what makes them who they are. The idea that when you take waya what was once normal about these individuals, and introduce them to a new normal that challenges their entire being is a concept that isn’t often explored to this extent within the DC Universe. I like the idea that even the most valiant of heroes that championed with super powers can feel intimidated, and defeated by the idea of who they once were because that happens to people in real life, and even though this is a fictional story, and alternate universe, I feel that they handle these ideas better than most other stories. I think the strongest parts of the story are with Batman, and The Phoenix Group given that they show a good display of what it means to be heroes even without their former abilities.
I could see what Moench was trying to do with Superman and Wonder Woman segments but I felt that it was more weaker since there wasn’t much exploration to how things affected them and how they come to a point of acceptance. I feel that if Moench expanded on the effects of Clark’s life, be it arriving to work late, being unable to keep up with news stories, unable to keep up with the rent etc, I feel it would have made for a much compelling take on the cost of Superman’s dilemma and why ultimately, things become sour for him during the middle part of the series. I enjoy the resolve, but it just didn’t feel like it was that important to the story, and by the end of the series, I was a little confused at seeing Superman and Wonder Woman wearing their costumes again which begged the question, are they fighting crime utilizing Batman’s methods without powers? Or did they get their powers back? If so, how and when did that take place? Its stuff like that that felt like the weak points of the story.
Even though readers get to see Nightwing and Wally West (in his new guise as the Red Devil), I couldn’t help but wonder about what happened to the Teen Titans and the Titans. How did Beast Boy, Starfire, Wonder Girl, Impulse, Superboy deal with the loss of their abilities? I feel that it would have been a more compelling story to explore just how big the ramifications were beyond the JLA and is a missed opportunity. Now admittedly, it would have been cool to find that the Black Lightning storm that caused the heroes to lose their powers was caused by some supervillain, but unfortunately we don’t get that. What we get as the answer is that it was a random accident that happened with no explanation and sometimes, life is like that. I’m curious as to whether Moench had any other plans, if there was a different ending, or a different climax. Could there have been an actual villain behind it if it wasn’t by accident? Or did Moench intend for this story to be written as it was meant to be written?
In regards to Dave Ross’s art, during my reading I almost thought that Rags Morales illustrated this series, because man, does it feel like its of Identity Crisis quality in regards to strong pencil work. The lines are crisp and the effort is seen throughout every panel and page. I thought his art was fantastic throughout the entirety of this series, and coupled with Freeman’s Inks and DiMagwali’s colors made this book look good throughout the entirety of the story. I feel that this was a fun series, and I can’t help but think that this could have been a Batman story since it had some Young Justice: Outsiders vibes going on throughout the 2nd and 3rd book. I think this was an entertaining Elseworld’s story that is worth checking out.
