A review by the_rox13
Justice League, Volume 2: The Villain's Journey by Geoff Johns

4.0

Synopsis: Wonder Woman has broken up with Steve Trevor, but Trevor is still the liaison between the Justice League and the American government. As a result, Trevor is revealed to soon be the target of author David Graves, who wrote a book on the Justice League, skyrocketing him to fame. Green Arrow attempts to join the Justice League by showing up at various locations that the Justice League are working at. They reject him, but Trevor gives him a choice to join another team.

David Graves collects information on how to hurt each member of the Justice League through two villains - Weapons Master and the Key. While the League investigate Arkham and Iron Heights respectively, Graves kidnaps Trevor and tortures him for the access code to the Watchtower. David Graves is terminal with an unknown illness that his entire family - wife and children - have both died of in a few short years after their first hand encounter with the League's battle with Darkseid. Graves is shown to have gone to Mount Sumeru in Central Asia to find the Asuras - angry gods that were cast out by the other gods to live at "the bottom of the heavens." Parasitic spirits that feed off the living give Graves the power to get revenge on the League, who he blames for the death of his family.

Graves uses the access code to the Watchtower to attack the Justice League. He incapacitates the League using the parasitic spirits, which cause the League to see their dead loved ones. Graves visits Trevor's sister to taunt (?) her. The League shows up but he's gone and Trevor's sister scolds Wonder Woman for all she's put Trevor through. Diana attempts to deal with Graves on her own but it ultimately leads to an altercation between her, Green Lantern and Superman, which is then broadcast around the world.

The League eventually gets their shit together and goes to Mount Sumeru together. They are again faced with the spirits there - Wonder Woman is shown the spirit of Trevor. Trevor is alive, however, and reveals himself, giving the Justice League the push they need to break free of the spirits' hold. The League defeats Graves and he is placed in Belle Reve prison under the oversight of Amanda Waller.

Diana visits Steve in the hospital and tells him that the Justice League is requesting a new liaison because he is too close. He doesn't take it well and tells Diana to leave him alone. Green Lantern tells the League that he will take the fall for the fight between him and Wonder Woman and thus, hurting the League's reputation, and he leaves. Superman and Wonder Woman talk alone later and kiss. In the epilogue, Pandora speaks with the Wizard, who reveals that the only the strongest of heart or darkest of heart can open Pandora's Box.

Review: I thought this was a pretty strong follow up to volume one. Johns is addressing issues that come with any superhero story - the inevitable deification of superheroes and then the doubt that comes when those heroes fail. Johns doesn't really dive into the latter here, but the core focus in on my first point. The Justice League is seen as being able to do no wrong. There's a good display of the stress that that puts on the League, Batman especially. Batman seems to be totally focused on keeping up the reputation of the League, which mirrors real world problems of governments and politicians valuing saving face rather than actual people.

Thankfully, the League does care about people. I read it more as the League needs to keep looks up to keep people believing in them, which sounds sinister, but I don't think it's coming from a place of malice. That being said, I think it's awesome that Johns shows that the Justice League is not perfect and that even with superhuman abilities, they're still people. I liked that Batman acknowledges that they made a mistake by not checking to see if their battle with Darkseid could have had unforeseen consequences. At the same time, how could they have known?

I didn't like that Hal was the one that took the fall for the damage to the Justice League's image. I understand why he did it, and I respect him for being the scapegoat, but I also kind of felt like the League should have just come clean. Instead, it read very much like a cover-up.

The relationship between Diana and Steve has not been something I have traditionally been invested in, but since becoming more exposed to Wonder Woman, I do enjoy reading about them. The angst (for lack of a better word) is high quality. I understand both sides, but I couldn't help feeling bad for Steve. I get that Wonder Woman is trying to protect him, but damn, dude dedicated the last couple years to his life trying to help the League. Obviously, he still has jobs he can do, but shit, I feel like it would suck to get pushed out of the League.

Lastly, while I like the relationship with Steve and Diana, I can't say the same for Diana and Clark. The Superman/Wonder Woman romance was very divisive among fans. I definitely fall on the side of not liking it. It's not that I don't think it couldn't work, I'm just not that into it. It's hot, sure, but there just isn't a lot of substance in the relationship. I find it way less compelling when the two people in the relationship are both the most powerful beings on the planet. I dunno, kind of takes the fun out of it for me. They don't need to save each other, but I suppose that's the point.