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.