Justice League Vol. 1: Origin (The New 52)

Justice League Vol. 1: Origin (The New 52)

My Rating: 5 of 5 stars

OK, so first the obvious. Justice League Vol. 1: Origin (The New 52) has beautiful, iconic cover art. It's a beautiful image of all the Justice League members starting out the new 52's lineup. It's simple, sexy and does the trick, showing off the Justice League's new design. The focus is on the characters themselves, where it should be for this kind of origin story.

The interior art is equally good. It's sleek and sexy as Batman and Green Lantern battle a mysterious extraterrestrial enemy. Jim Lee has done an excellent job.

Since this is a Justice League origin story, it's all about the superheroes meeting for the first time.  There isn't enough time for a lot of character development, but immediately there is a difference between Batman's seriousness and Hal Jordan's joking and over confident personality. 

The dialogue here is what shines the most. The confrontation between Batman and Green Lantern is full of fun, snarky dialogue that doesn't take itself too seriously. The bottom line is that is it enjoyable. The best is this gem!:

 - Green Lantern: "What are your powers anyway? You can't fly."

- Batman: "No."
- Green Lantern: "Super-strength?"
- Batman: "No."
- Green Lantern: "Hold on a second... You're not just some guy in a bat costume, are you? Are you freaking kidding me?!"

Another gem is when Wonder Woman tries ice cream for the first time. Each of the characters get small moments like these and it's a lot of fun. Even Aquaman comes off as a bad ass. The league has a confrontation with a promising big bad that ends in a stalemate and opens up a mystery as to why the big bad wants Superman. Perhaps the confrontation is anticlimactic, but it's a good narrative hook from which to move forward.

From other reviews I've read online, it seems that a lot of people are upset by the Justice League reboot. It takes place 5 years in the past, and so compresses the entire history of the Justice League into a five year period. Some people are particularly annoyed that now Batman seems to have gone through 5 Robins in 5 years. Or at least that's how I understand it. None of this really bothers me. I don't think people should take it that seriously. 

Justice League Vol. 1: Origin (The New 52) is a promising start to the flagship DC title. It's super accessible for newbies like me. I don't have to know anything about the DC Universe to get into it, and for me, that's important.