Justice League: Generation Lost #13
Written by Judd Winick
Art by Joe Bennett
Man, nothing beats a fight scene with two characters that you are totally fine with watching bite the bullet. Especially when the writers and publishers agree that these characters are expendable, because then you wind up with issue like this one with a completely over the top fight and death scene.
Magog, you finally did something right.
Max Lord’s intentions are known to a degree, I mean, we know why he wanted Magog dead (the White Lantern), we understand why he made the world forget him (to get off the radar as the most wanted man in the world), and even why he’d want to diminish the credibility of the JLI (to make it harder for them to stop him). But why does he want Captain Atom dead so badly? I mean, he doesn’t want Booster dead, or Beetle, Fire, Ice, even Rocket Red. So why Captain Atom?
Is it because in the vision he had of Kingdom Come and Magog’s reason for needing to be put down, he saw Captain Atom’s death being a catalyst? Maybe he understands that Captain Atom has something about his powers that will let him stop Max? Or maybe Max just really hates silver boy. It’s not clear as of yet, and with each issue you can’t help but wonder a little bit more, because for as bad as anyone else has it, Atom’s life is getting dragged through the mud.
I initially was going to complain about how horribly out of character Magog was, because despite that I find him to be an insufferable jackass of a character, there are definite moments in this issue that felt wrong. Thankfully Winick made it a point to explain the out of characterness before it was too late, instead of leaving us with Magog acting like an almost generic villain. It doesn’t go as far as redeeming the character, but at least it makes him look like less of a psycho killer.
The good atomic Captain has not had an easy time in this title thus far, though if he had I’d be blown away. As I said before, everyone else is just being slandered, but he is being destroyed. Poised as some sort of super villain despite all actions to the contrary, and while I’m hardly the worlds biggest Captain Atom fan, I find myself sympathizing with him as he tries to do the right thing as the world crumbles around him.
Even in this issue as he takes the blame for something…..monstrous, I feel for him, and I want to see him clear his name and bring Max Lord to justice. Unlike Magog, I don’t want to see Captain Atom die or return to character limbo, I want to see him succeed and save the day. I want to see him come out of Generation Lost as the hero he’s been acting as the entire time.
Joe Bennett did a great job with this issue, and he excels with action scenes which only helps since….this book is almost entirely action. It’s the little details though, like the scratches on Atom’s silver skin throughout the issue, the built up battle damage of Magog, or hell, Blue Beetle’s suit. Though the real shining moment on the art front was the devastation at the end of the issue where he managed to capture the magnitude of what just occurred, as well as the horror settling in on Captain Atom as….well, that would be telling.
It’s not perfect, at all. I mean, this book as a whole isn’t perfect, and if you haven’t liked it so far….you probably aren’t going to start. But if you’ve been following along and enjoying what you’ve been reading, or if you just really really hate Magog, then this book will probably sit well with you. I know I liked it.
Overall?
7/10
