JUSTICE LEAGUE ODYSSEY #20, on sale Tuesday, May 12th, is the long-waited follow-up to issues #19’s surprising death. After learning Darkseid seized complete control over Starfire’s mind, Blackfire, her own sister, destroyed her in the blink of an eye. When confronted by Jessica Cruz, the Tamaranean Queen claimed there was no hope for her sister once under the overlord’s control. But is this true? Is there any hope of saving both friend and foe?
Story
The chamber of the time-lord Epoch rumbles with action as a new battle erupts? The combatants? Cruz and the anti-hero Azrael. Under normal circumstances, this wouldn’t be much of a challenge for the Green Lantern. But due to the influence of Darkseid, this rogue employs Omega powers that rival any superhuman’s might.
Cruz, employing an unearthly level of resilience, pleads with Azrael to abandon Darkseid while simultaneously fending off his Omega fueled sword strikes. The warrior responds with a message similar to that of Blackfire, claiming the tyrant’s power is insurmountable. Nevertheless, Cruz continues to reason with the man. And then, in an all too familiar display of power, Blackfire rushes in and vaporizes Azrael in the blink of an eye.
Writer Dan Abnett’s Cruz casts the perfect image of a caring and powerful hero. Despite her great strength, she’s unable to stop the destruction of those she cares about. We experience her feelings of utter helpless in the wake of such events. However, readers find a glimmer of hope when the hero decides to use Epoch’s time traveling technology against the forces of Darkseid.
Artwork
Cliff Richards’s penciling and ink work, working in tandem with Rain Beredo’s coloring, helped make this issue shine. Their artwork captures the cosmic level fights with bright colors and character illustrations that are full of movement. At the same time, readers will find each character express a wide-range of emotion that helps draw them into the story. Andworld Design’s lettering compliments these factors very well through its variation in font size based on dialogue inflections.
Conclusion
JUSTICE LEAGUE ODYSSEY #20 tore at the heartstrings, showing the true costs of Cruz in this war against Darkseid. We desperately want this powerful hero to find a way to right these wrongs in the coming issues.
Do you think Cruz’s hope of breaking through to those under Darkseid’s control is realistic? Let us know in the comments below!
