This third issue of Justice League 3000 is a little bit of a mixed bag.

One of the things I was excited to see in this issue was Tarkon Glatos. I mentioned that I was a fan of the Legion of Super Heroes when I started reviewing this book and was pleased to see the prison planet pop up here. It does share some similarities with the planet of the same name from the time line prior to the New 52 but that is all. The twist in this title is that the prison planet is Earth. The five have turned it into a repository for the threats to their rule over the galaxy. I like this idea and and find that Porter’s art does an excellent job of conveying the state of decay that the earth has endured.

The cover of this issue is misleading which I find to be the case with a large number of the comics I read currently. It shows the trinity being escorted in chains to some dire end. It wasn’t really a cover that drew me in but it did a good job of setting up an interesting character moment. The remaining members of the team are surrounded by Sheriff Aaban Tariq. He is completely aware of whom these three individuals are and makes no compunctions about threatening the crowd to gain their compliance. It is one of the few moments in this series where we get to see an inkling of the heroes these people are supposed to be. The scene of the three in handcuffs is a ruse as the sheriff understands these three are easily capable of leveling any resistance on the planet.

The problem is that the Batman, Wonder Woman, and Superman all come across as one note wonders. They started out this title as being annoying assholes and that hasn’t changed at all. We keep getting beat over the head that these are just pale replicas of the originals without ever making the these three approachable. There are plenty of mysteries that surround the groups origins. The problem is that these mysteries lose their interest if I keep wanting Locus to come back and kill the rest of the group.

I’m not writing this book off yet. I am still willing to give it a few more issues to see if there is some movement with the the three major members of the team. Barring that, I am hoping that the interesting parts involving the wonder twins and Ariel Masters will come to take center stage. The art is solid and goes a long ways to making the annoying characters more palatable. In addition, I like the idea that despite all their power, the five aren’t as smart as they have seem to be. It came across in the interactions between Locus and Green Lantern and I would like to see if this plays out well.

So, I’m going to keep my hopes up for the fourth issue in this series. Hopefully the title characters will start becoming heroes and less annoying assholes.