Justice League #1 a Return to Grand Morrisonian Opera

If you haven't been paying attention to what Scott Snyder has been doing, you've been missing out. There's a reason why Snyder snagged our Best Comics Writer of 2015, and helmed what our readers selected as the Best Comics Storyline of 2017.

Now Snyder is focusing all that talent on what should rightfully be the flagship title of DC Comics: JUSTICE LEAGUE. With "The Totality," Snyder instantly sets into motion a story of such cosmic depth, of such absurd grandeur, that one is immediately put in mind of the Grant Morrison run (albeit with more connective tissue so the reader isn't forced to fill in the gaps). He's joined by penciler Jim Cheung and inker Mark Morales, as the Justice League members are splintered into teams to battle Vandal Savage's neoanderthals in a fight that threatens to obliterate the Earth (and has a pretty hefty cosmological amount of collateral damage, nonetheless)! And they do it all while delivering lines in their best Batman voices, much to Bruce's chagrin. It's a charming dichotomy that in the face of death and destruction, they manage to be able to poke fun at the least humorous of their members. In fact, the best line in the entire book comes when J'onn needs Batman to exercise one of his many contingency plans:

J'onn: Can you activate the bombs you long ago planted inside as I make impact?
Batman: Bombs? In the moon? Why would I--
J'onn: Bruce.
Batman: ...Fine.
J'onn: Thank you.

But just as the crisis is cleared, the latest multiversal threat appears -- a flare from the damaged Source Wall that could destroy the Earth or evolve it. And while the Justice League quickly confers on a course of action, Vandal Savage finds that his greatest challenge isn't the Justice League, but Lex Luthor and his Legion of Doom. Lex is just as much of a secret planner as Batman is, and the things he hints at regarding the items he has stored in the LoD headquarters could prove to be great comics fun. But the real question that remains at the end of it all is: Whose side is Lex Luthor on?

Snyder also provides glimpses into the past, present and future -- not just on the opening page, but deeper in as well, leaving fans to wonder about the fate of Adam Strange (who, with KRYPTON being the Syfy hit that it is, makes him a prime candidate to bring back into regular rotation), the power of the Joker, and the cosmic entities bearing down on the Multiverse. It's great action -- but it's greater inter-action that makes JUSTICE LEAGUE #1 a true gem!