Mr. Terrific Goes To Hell: ‘Justice League Unlimited’ #12 Reviewed

It’s a mark of a skilled comic writer who can return to characters and concepts they’re written before and write them well again. It’s a mark of a great writer who can do it in a completely new, fresh and exciting way, and Justice League Unlimited #12 is proof of that.

Mark Waid, Dan Mora, Tamra Bonvillain, and Ariana Maher spin a tale of the League that was left behind.

The Justice League’s heavy hitters are preparing for the tournament for the Heart of Apokolips. The rest of the League is doing their best to protect the evacuation of Earth. However, someone or something has supercharged the supervillains that the League didn’t imprison in the Phantom Zone, and Mr. Terrific needs to find who. But thankfully the smartest man on Earth has already figured it out, and all roads lead to none other than Neron!

I talked yesterday about how the Superman DC KO tie-in is a good tie-in because it enhances and deepens the story while advancing its own. This is a good tie-in because it takes the setting and backdrop and uses it to tell an interesting story all its own. It’s a story that wouldn’t entirely be possible without DC KO, but doesn’t need it to proceed.

I also really love how Waid takes toys he’s played with before and does something fresh and new with it. Yes, he’s written a long run on JLA before, and many of these individual characters as well- including Neron. But none of it feels like a redux or retread. He’s even able to capture some unique character beats, like the time-tossed Guy Gardner showing unexpected emotional depth while still being the jackass Guy we know and love.

There’s not tons I can really say about the art here. Mora is rightfully one of the most highly sought-after and well-regarded artists in the industry for a reason. His pages are dynamic no matter what’s happening, his character moments are perfectly paced, he’s a master of the splash. His last page reveal this issue is such a good page-turn that I can’t wait to see what happens next issue.

Bonvillain continues to show off her chops on the color art. There’s so much going on in this issue, and with that the story jumps from setting to setting. Her colors do so much for creating depth and atmosphere between those settings, making it much more effective than the line art could be.

Maher has to juggle wordy exposition, with at least twenty different main characters. She gives them each a great chance to shine while juggling the dialogue of so many. It always feels clean, it’s easy to follow, and overall looks great.

Justice League Unlimited #12 is available now from DC Comics