The Justice League Dark brings the battle against Hecate to a close!
The Witching Hour is coming to a close on the spookiest night of the year. The goddess of magic, Hecate, has declared war on the world’s magic. She hopes to clear the board and remake magic how she sees fit. She does this by taking control of magical heroines across the globe to take out locations tied to the arcane. One of these heroines is Wonder Woman, who despite her best efforts, failed to keep control of herself. The Justice League Dark stand against the goddess, doing their best to stop the attacks at every turn. With Diana being under Hecate’s control completely, does the League stand a chance?
**Some Spoilers Below**
Story:
Hecate, growing tired of the meddling League, sends dangerous obstacles to end their threat. While they work together with surviving magical heroes, Diana stays trapped within the subconscious of Hecate. As Wonder Woman tries to figure out how to get control of her body again, Madame Xanadu appears to offer advice. It turns out Hecate has a true enemy: The Upside Down Man. Realizing that he is the only way Hecate will stop, Diana looks to take back control. Unfortunately, she sees that her body is going to Mount Olympus to destroy it.
While I still enjoyed this issue, there were a few problems with it. The most glaring problem is, unfortunately, the pacing. It goes so slow that it’s hard to get into the story. We get plenty of info on how Hecate is tied to the Upside Down Man, but without action to break up that, it feels dull. When we do get into those sweet action sequences, however, they go by so quickly, we can’t truly enjoy them. Upside Down Man appears, attacks Hecate, League runs away, the end. It feels bizarre, jarring, and brings the story down. The lore they have for Hecate is great, especially with the connection to the first villain of the new League, but it isn’t enough to bring in the common reader.
Art:
Despite the dip in writing, the art continues to be top notch. The team does a phenomenal job in capturing the Dark side of the DCU as we close out this story. The highlight would be the Hecate origin story. It is a mystifying journey, and because of the team, feels otherworldly. While on the subject, the Upside Down Man continues to be one of the creepiest characters ever put in DC comics. The Justice League Dark crossover has some of the best art on the shelves, and this conclusion is no different.
Conclusion:
While it isn’t as fantastic as the rest of the story, this issue was still an okay finale. The flaws are apparent, but I still enjoyed the deep dive into the history of Hecate. If you have enjoyed the story up to this point, you’ll probably get a good read out of it. For any other reader, however, I can’t wholly recommend this unless you like lore over action.
