Spoiler warning on!

Wow…it is only issue two and shit just got real.

This issue the Wonder Twins (I’ll never get tired of writing that) send this dysfunctional Justice League on what is supposed to be a simple backwater planet. They are to slip in undetected, trash the place and get out. It is not until the group is on planet that they are made aware that one of the Five, Locus, is there as well.

It does not end well.

The first issue was filled with questions for me and this issue answered several of them. Violently. Here we get to Locus and Coeval, two members of the five. Locus is a psionic with the capability of bending reality and Coeval is some form of demigod-level AI. These two alone are enough explanation of how the great disaster occurred that meeting the remaining three may be anticlimactic.

Despite the how the fight ends, I was still impressed with how it played out upon the page. Fights against reality benders are normally not visually appealing but that is not the case here. Locus is shown to be physically on par with the entire team. Superman and Wonder Woman get to show off their posturing bravado but have very little affect on Locus. It isn’t until she gets annoyed that she just freezes everything in place. She then eviscerates the Flash and lets the messy remains just drop to the ground.

I was shocked! Here we are in issue two and one of the two team members with whom I can relate is dead.

What the fuck!

Locus then kidnaps Green Lantern and sends the remaining members of the team off to Tarkon Glatos. The story was both awful and awesome at the same time. We have our heroes get their assess kicked but we get all new questions that I want to see answered. I remember Tarkon Glatos from the Legion of Super Heroes. It makes me think that with the earlier cancellation of that title that this may be an attempt at re-imagining the future of the New 52.

My one quibble with the book is the self-same reality manipulating enemy. Howard Porter has done an excellent job with the character design. he has also handled the fight well. These types of villains always feel like they require a Deus Ex Machina to overcome and this just annoys the fuck out of me. I am keeping my fingers crossed that this will not be the case here.

The story continues to be strong and the artwork is solid. I am looking forward to seeing what new answers and questions that issue three has for me.