THE FUTURE IS NOW! I’m pretty sure that’s the title of a DC story line from years past, but that doesn’t have anything to do with this issue of Justice League. Scott Synder continues to push the upper echelon for the Justice League, and the insanity only goes higher with this issue. Warning the following review will contain spoilers. So remember to read your comic before reading this review. You have been warned.
You can take the man out of the horror, but you can’t the horror out of the man. When you look this comic, one might expect a big bombastic fight between the Justice League and their future selves. Yes the JL does indeed meet yet another future version of themselves, but the structure to this issue was more in line with a horror comic than your standard superhero comic. It’s very subtle, because Snyder does a magnificent job of making the future versions feel genuine. It’s a very slow buildup to the reveal near the end of the issue. The most terrifying point in any given story is when your sense of security is lowered, THEN BAM that remaining security is ripped in half leaving you vulnerable to the machinations around you. Of course Snyder has done more unsettling horror in other comics, but to put this in a Justice League comic, then consider me impressed.
In a weird way I can’t help but draw comparison to “To The Man Who Has Everything” story, as each members of the JL are presented with an ideal future, a sense of hope despite the fact that the Multiverse is falling apart around them. It’s not the same story by any means but I can’t help but see this issue as his homage to that particular story. What’s amazing is that Snyder managed to give extensive details on Perpetua and what her ultimate role is and it didn’t make the issue come to a grinding halt.
I really hope that this arc makes people appreciate Jorge Jimenez’s pencils, each page oozes personality. Synder pens a brilliant script but Jimenez pencils bring this comic to life. The character’s themselves come to life, and it’s mainly through their faces. Jimenez captures the personality of these iconic characters to perfection. Me personally I adored Jimenez’s pages with Superman at the end of the comic. It’s not often you see Superman struggle but Jimenez makes it feel believable.
Justice League #20 earns a 4/5