DC Comics Rebirth Spoilers & Review Two-Fer: Maxwell Lord Rebirth In Justice League #12 Plus Aquaman #14 Debuts The Aquamarines!

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DC Comics Rebirth Spoilers and Review follow for Justice League #12.

Justice League #12 serves as Maxwell Lord: Rebirth #1 as well.

We get a look at the character prior to Justice League vs. Suicide Squad #1.

We learn that the formation of the Justice League led the creation of Argus which displaced and replaced…

…Checkmate which had been led by Maxwell Lord.

Amanda Waller also learns the hard way that Maxwell Lord has mental powers as…

…she reveals where the villains, the first Suicide Squad in fact, are housed so he then can break them out!

Amanda Waller actually breaks Maxwell Lord’s mental control, but he still uses the soldiers in the room to keep Amanda Waller and to effect his escape.

Maxwell Lord notes Amanda Waller is on the only ever who has broken out of his mental powers.

Justice League #12 ends with Maxwell Lord at the grave of his parents. “This” is all for his mom.

“This” being what Maxwell Lord will be / is doing in the pages of Justice League vs. Suicide Squad.

So…

A nice bearther issue for the Justice League and within the broader Justice League vs. Suicide Squad mini-series. Passable art and solid characterization with snippets of action. Good to see Max Lord get Rebirthed. Not as action-packed as I would have liked. 6.5 out of 10.

DC Comics Rebirth Spoilers and Review follow for Aquaman #14.

Aquamarines? Well, they’re not Valiant’s Armorines, but they’re cool nonetheless!

I haven’t been reading this series. I did pick up the first two issues so know that Black Manta broke out and has aligned with a new super-team sorta.

Anyhow, this issue appears to feature the debut of the Aquamarines. They attack Aquaman…

…Atlanteans and…

…Aquaman leading to…

…a big rescue by Mera.

The Aquamarines are beaten, but they’re use of the mystical Cracken to take on Aquaman and Atlantis is considered…

…a war crime.

We pivot back to Black Manta and his new friends as…

…Aquaman has had enough of their direct and indirect attacks.

It’s on!

So…

While I haven’t read much of the new Aquaman Rebirth series, I did and do find the art very strong and the written storytelling trying to take the Aquaman mythos in new directions. You might think the Aquamarines are silly, but I don’t. It shows this book’s creative embracing the sci-fi fantasy elements of what should be in a book set underwater. Overall, an entertaining read despite some inaccessible panels in the issue for this lapsed reader. Nonetheless, I give this book 8 out of 10.

John is a long-time pop culture fan, comics historian, and blogger. He is currently the Editor-in-Chief at Comics Nexus. Prior to being EIC he has produced several column series including DEMYTHIFY, NEAR MINT MEMORIES and the ONE FAN'S TRIALS at the Nexus plus a stint at Bleeding Cool producing the COMICS REALISM column. As BabosScribe, John is active on his twitter account, his facebook page, his instagram feed and welcomes any and all feedback. Bring it on!