Brightest Day #15
Summary
It is the future, and Martian Manhunter has become the leader of the resurrected populous of Mars (having read issue #12 we know that he isn’t). When the JLA start getting assassinated, Martian Manhunter must discover the significance of their deaths and find the perpetrator before it is too late.
What I liked
· Detective Element: It is cool to see the way Martian Manhunter thinks in this issue. That is essentially what this story is about and when we have the big reveal (that it’s all in his head... if you think that’s a spoiler you’re a bit slow) it is cool to notice that his detective’s brain has left him clues to find his way out of D’kay’s psychic grasp.
· Mars or Earth?: We get more of an insight into why J’onn cares for both Mars and Earth, with stories of how he buried every Martian on Mars himself, and with other’s telling him he needs to let Earth go. I know it’s a massive part of what makes him who he is, but we already know this, we didn’t need an issue dedicated to telling us again how divided he is.
What I didn’t like
· Character Interactions: The character interaction in this issue is painful. It is like when you overhear a bunch of pseudo-intellectuals having a really meaningless conversation; that is essentially what this is! There is a lot of really empty philosophising in this issue. Apparently over the years the JLA have become really pretentious. Most of it sounds out of character and at the end of the day doesn’t really do much for the story.
· Goofy looking JLA: I can understand the JLA looking old, this story is meant to be set in the future after all, but they just look really silly. The JSA are old and still look dignified, but these incarnations of the JLA look like doodles that took five minutes to draw.
· Batman is not God: There is a line in this issue which basically says “If they got to Batman, all the JLA are at risk”. How? Batman is the most vulnerable of the JLA. Moreover Batman has been shot to death, how does that mean that Superman is at risk, for example? Green Lantern has a force field! And The Flash can outrun bullets. What a stupid comment to make. (Note: I still frickin’ love Batman.)
· You can pretty much guess the endgame on the first page: It’s a little obvious what’s going on here and do you really think it’ll last for more than one issue? Of course it won’t.
· Superman loves Diana: Don’t even hint at this. Just don’t do it. Okay? Thank you.
· Martian Manhunter as a Green Lantern: This is a really silly idea, and is in much the same vein as White Lantern Batman. Does everything Geoff Johns touch need to revert back to the Green Lantern Mythology. Also, it makes no sense; surely Mars is in Sector 2814, so Hal Jordan would still be the Green Lantern for Mars.
Verdict
I like the idea of this issue more than the actual execution. If more attention had been focused on the murder/mystery element and less on all the rubbish dialogue, it would have been a more interesting read. Instead, any substance this issue has is quickly bypassed before getting back to more mindless chatter. I don’t want to believe it, but I don’t think this issue was actually very good.
4/10