The Good

Say what you will about crossovers and events, you can't help but get a smile on your face with all these characters involved. For an "event," this does have the elements we'd want. There's all the big guns in the DCU along with plenty of fighting, misunderstandings, action, suspense and intrigue. We may have an idea what's coming up as Villains Month is just around the corner but the opening panels with Madame Xanadu glimpsing into the future definitely is intriguing.

The idea of Pandora's Box affecting others is fascinating as we still don't know everything about the characters in the New 52. It lets us see them a little differently and you can't help but wonder what this might mean for future developments. And of course when a certain magical character grabs it, we see a very very interesting look at some characters we didn't think would be seen in this title (they're in the upper left-hand corner on the two-page spread).

It's still surprising to see all these characters interacting. The New 52 has been going for two years now but just there's been limited interaction between some characters with the Justice League keeping pretty much to themselves. This mixture has widely opened the door and it almost feels like we're in the fourth quarter of the game where anything goes. Jeff Lemire is like the ultimate coach when it comes to guiding all these different characters.

Mikel Janin has the task in this chapter to draw...just about everyone. I always dig seeing artists' take on characters. There's a lot going on here, a lot of action, and Janin carries it all with ease.

The Bad

The action and interactions are fun but there's almost too much focus on the various fights and not a whole lot of development in the overall story. There are some really cool moments but it almost feels like this issue is just to showcase the fighting amongst Justice League members. It's not necessarily a bad thing but we could have had a little more progression.

The Verdict

Pull up a chair and grab some popcorn, it's time to watch the Justice League fight the Justice League while fighting the Justice League. Throughout Trinity War, we've seen some new pairings and interactions as the three different Leagues have combined in different ways as they take on the attacks of the Secret Society as well as the mystery of Pandora's Box. Jeff Lemire coordinates fight after fight while bringing us to the precipice of this big event. We all know it's leading into Villains Month and FOREVER EVIL but you'll want to see the fighting. It's a blast to see.

nice to see Zatanna get the spotlight in this issue! Trinity War has been great so far but as the review said, this issue doesn't really progress the story

The last issue felt like filler, and this was just action..they have a lot of ground to cover in the finale.

I know they want to keep a sense of mystery but keeping all the info makes these issues look like filler and the last issue will probably be crowded on information.

@squalleon: I agree

Why were Hawkgirl and Jay Garrick there ??

@wtk1013: as far as i see Shazam-Spectre-Cosplayer bombed magick across multiverse.

This comic in general is under appreciated...

I'm really digging this story so far. It's a lot of fun. Even if we already knew the outcome, seeing how we get there has been a good time of a read. We got to see all the covers for Villains Forever too, and seeing how some of these characters look after the New 52 revamp, I'm a little let down. Poison Ivy looks stupid. Not here usual sexy self. Some of the others are lame as well.

So Pandora's box is like a boom tube, and the crime syndicate travel from a different Earth to get to our normal one using the box?

Another incredible issue from Mikel Janin!

@the_stegman: It was kinda like filler but it was some pretty flashy filler. And who doesn't like seeing the heroes fight each other?

@mucklefluga: it would seem that way

This issue was nice to look at but that's about it. I loved Janin's two page spread with all the magical characters in the DCU having mystical headaches. Like Tony said this was really just a showcase for some superhero fights. Pretty dull, I was hoping Lemire would leave this title on a high note.

Still enjoying this even though DC already let out the ending -_-

Did anyone else notice Dr. Fate in the book!!! So this is now affecting Earth 2 as well??? Geoff Johns gave me the warning on Twitter about it and I saw it!!!! Secret meanings???

I love Mikel Janin's art. The character that stands out the most for me is Wonder Woman. She just looks great under Janin's style, outside of Azzarello and Chiang.

Story-wise, this whole event is more of a mystery/set-up than a war. Still trying to understand "trinity" for the whole event. Is it just because the leagues are fighting?

The problem with the progression, Tony, isn't just with this issue though, its with JLA #7 as well. Four entire issues into this event and five issues of JLA, and we still don't know anything about the Secret Society of Supervillains/Crime Syndicate. Nothing, zip. That's been the only downside to everything. Otherwise, I'm enjoying the hell out of this event.

this issue was basically a very extended fight of heroes punching each other for practically no reason, or because they are possessed or something

as bad as it was, even Avengers Vs X-men had a very good reason to fight each other.

I wonder where this puts SHAZAM in terms of power level in the in the new dcu. he was able to daze wonder woman pretty easily with one punch, and his magic appears to be strong enough to have at least some effect on the multiverse

Great artwork in this issue. You almost feel like throwing up when you see how sick Superman looks.

Wonder Woman also looks great in this issue, and I was impressed by the number of double-page-spreads, especially the one where Captain Marvel takes hold of the box, and we see Dr Fate, Jay Garrick, Buddy Baker and Alec Holland are amongst those featured - not really a spoiler, but just in case.

was i the only one that felt they over advertised Villains month/Forever Evil in this book, its like Ok Ok i get it, you want us to buy it!

Am I the only one that thought someone was about to say "my precioussss" in this book

Haven't read this yet.

Hmmm, I really really enjoyed the first three issues of this series, but the last two have been a real disappointment. They keep waiting time referencing what happened in the tie-ins without actually explaining any of it, and everything has started to go into way too many directions. And once we finally realize what Pandora's box is, it doesn't even make any sense. I'll give Johns the chance to see how he wraps things up with Justice League 23, but I don't see myself bothering with Forever Evil, and I think I might just wash my hands of the Justice League line of books altogether.

Not the best issue in this event but still pretty awesome. Curious to see if they end up using Andrew Bennett or if that's just an empty tease.

The art has always been pretty to look at and I love how Janin draws other characters like Superman and Green Arrow and everybody else. This issue was a great read!!

This entire event has turned into nothing but setup for Forever Evil.