Review: Justice League of America: The Nail
Justice League of America: The Nail by Alan DavisMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
Review
Rating 4 out of 5 |Grade: A. It's a Bird! It's a Plane! It's......[error: character not found]
Premise/ Synopsis
For want of a nail.... the battle was lost. This seems to be the theme which inspired and guides the JLA story 'The Nail', by Alan Davis. Which is not so subtly highlighted by the writer in the very first page of the story.
The nail in question here, is an actual rusty nail, one which found itself lodged in the tire of Pa Kent, while he and Ma Kent were out about going round in their humble pick-up truck. This seemingly insignificant event made it so that the couple were not where fate decreed, they should've been, to find a baby Kal El in a crashed kryptonian ship.
Which of course, led to a butterfly effect of causations leading to Kal El never growing up as Clark Kent, and inheriting his mantle as Earth's strongest guardian. Nor the Symbol of Truth, Justice and hope.
That last part, Hope, that's the fly in the ointment. There are a lot of people, in canon & in the fandom who get high on making fun of Superman's safe for work, Bly boy scout behavior. Where he, despite having enough power to single handedly crack the planet open like a freaking egg, instead chooses to restrain and reign in a lion's share of his power, to come across as the likable, loveable Kansas farm boy.
Most people would prefer the dark, brooding and badass Batman, the shadowy crusader of the night. I have no shame in admitting that I'm such a biased Bat-fanboy. But even someone like me has to admit that Superman has a great role to fulfill in the Justice League and the world in general, by virtue of merely existing.
It's a value that people most often are blind too, because people don't appreciate the things right in front of their eyes. Only when it's taken away do they start to despair upon its loss. Which is a sentiment that 1992's The Death of Superman was able to harness it in creating a comic book phenomenon.
Back to the point, despite his restrained nature, almost pathological naivety and belief in the good in people, and coming across as a gentle giant, Superman, merely by existing, is able to raise the standards of everyone around him.
Much like the life-giving sun which fuels him, Clark Kent as Superman is a never-ending source of hope and inspiration for much of humanity. One who, despite being an alien, embodies the best in humanity, and gives us something better to aspire to. The moral guidepost by which all other heroes are measured to. The natural leader to which the League and people of Earth look up to.
Even his begrudging BFF Batman, as well as his lifelong rival Luthor, would under duress admit to the strong moral character of Superman, one which makes him someone worth emulating. In many ways, these are the same sentiments emulated by All Might, in the brilliant and explosive runaway hit manga series My Hero Academia. That series is an important case study as to why in stories such as these, Inspirational symbols such as All Might & Superman are necessary. And how their absence can throw the society in chaos.
Much as one would expect a world devoid of Superman, is a much bleaker place to be. Without the big Red & Blue symbol of hope to rally behind, the world views its iteration of the Justice league with paranoia and suspicion. Why won't they? After all, the League is largely made up of individuals of alien origin, who either have shown no particular allegiance to humanity, or seemingly have their own agenda in helping us. For all the people know, they're just a vanguard of a systematic alien invasion to take over the planet. Now, if only there was some guy, who flew around with his face uncovered, with a million-dollar smile and treated everyone with love and compassion.
But there isn't, and the League in its current form is not united under an optimistic idealistic leader who would've taken steps to make the various teams of superpowered beings to be more approachable to the general public.
Instead, the perception of metahumans in general is being pushed towards the negative, thanks to general paranoia, as well as targeted media campaigns orchestrated by some shadowy figures. The members of the league, instead of facing this threat united, go off on their own, trying to deal with the issue in their own ways. Which doesn't end with the best of results.
What would become of the League and the heroes, who're fast losing the trust of the people?
Who is the shadowy hand that is guiding global events making them worse?
To what end are these forces committed to eradicating the league and changing the world?
Will our heroes overcome this challenge? Or falter and shatter under its weight?
Find out that and more in....
Thoughts
JLA the Nail, embodies the best of the edgy absurdity of the 90s era DC titles. Now, I may be a bit biased towards works which came out during that era, being a 90s kid, but I always felt there was a heightened sense of emotions and action put forth in them.
This story, which by design, takes place in a tonally darker timeline, bereft of Superman benefits from that treatment. The characters and the storyline is just the right shade of brooding, as more and more depressing events escalate in the background.
I’m sorry to say, the character who suffers the most in such a Grimdark style of storytelling is the Dark knight himself. Over the course of the story, he is subjected to the (view spoiler)
Starting off the story on that ‘light’ note, things are not well for either of the other members of the League. As they are systematically taken down and neutralized by a highly efficient and well-planned assault, one which is reminiscent of Batman’s failsafe from ‘The Tower of Babel’ storyline.
Only these attacks against the heroes, are not only meant to defeat them, but also disparage their reputation, as gruesome events such as (view spoiler)
The most likely suspect of the attacks is believed to be Lex Luthor who, in absence of the Man of Steel, had become Vice President and turned Metropolis into a highly regulated police state.
Meanwhile, criminal organizations around the world, like the Legion of Doom & the League of shadows were taken out in covert assassination missions, while Earth itself is sequestered from the galactic eye, by means of a large force field enveloping the planet.
For a short 3 chapter run, the story of the Nail is well paced to be a mystery thriller with several dire rising events. Akin to a detective novel, we’re given clues here and there, pertaining to the canon of the world, which lead us to speculate as to who is the mastermind behind this global conspiracy.
Not going to lie, up until the climax, I was banking on a Utilitarian, slightly fascist big brother version of Superman, who was brainwashed either by the CIA or Luthor to do questionable acts, for ‘the greater good’. A version with a more cold, indifferent form of the messiah complex, who deigned that for the betterment of the world, people and the metahumans among them must be brought under his control.
I mean, it was not an unreasonable hypothesis. There were clues put out saying how, there was some phenomenon causing decrease in solar radiation, as well as affecting the earth’s magnetic field. And at one point, the team of ‘Outsiders’ lead by Black canary, came upon a sinister fortress like a lair in the middle of the arctic, which was not even superpowered being able to enter without effort. This, plus the army of masked superpowered government agents lead me to believe this was all the fascist version of Superman, one who had subjugated Luthor and the government, and was running things from the shadows.
The actual reveal was somewhat different. It turned out the villain was a (view spoiler). Then there was the other, other reveal that (view spoiler)
But I’m not too miffed. After all, twists which are earned, and which make the story enjoyable are always a welcome addition to storytelling.
The story ends with Superman accepting his mantle, joining the Justice League and this elseworld somewhat being corrected to its original course.
But Batman still was traumatized with the death of his sidekicks, and the killing of the Joker. Poor man spent much of the story broken and trying to overcome the PTSD of that ordeal. It seems to me that lately more and more stories which I read, just outright kill Bats, or remove him in the picture. That’s OK, this is just DC’s version of Killing their darlings to give the story more stakes.
The story is largely focused on the void left by Superman, and the traumatic shit that happens to the leaguers, mostly Batman. Which doesn’t mean the others don’t get any screen time. Wonder woman, Green lantern, Aquaman, Flash, The Atom, Martian Manhunter are all either dealing with their own demons, or trying to uncover the overarching mystery in their own ways.
Their individual investigations shed light bit by bit to the larger conspiracy, and as to why other factions or players, such as New Genesis, Apokalips or the Green Lantern Corps don’t intervene in Earth’s time of need. But for the most part the action is focused on the leaguers and other groups of heroes.
The Art
One thing I really appreciated in this series, other than the thrilling story, is the 90s era blend of gritty, just the right amount of dark, dynamic action panels, many of which cover the whole page. There is this recurring theme where, each member of the league as they go about their respective story threads, are given a full spread action page, revealing their skill in full glory. Peppered throughout the story, these pages are a real treat to view, and are like the pages of some theme calendars with all of your favorite characters.
A key detail which I loved is how many of the panels feature some form of explosion, and how the coloring and shading of the characters bathed in the light and flame add another layer of realistic sheen to their appearance. Batman and Shayera are the two characters that benefit the most from this treatment.
Other than that, most of the panels are bathed in darkness and shadows as befitting the bleak tone of the narrative. While it’s not excessive, the art does its work in giving us a sense of urgency, exhilaration and despair wherever the plot demands.
In Conclusion, JLA the Nail, by Alan Davis is a great addition to the Justice League storyline as an elsewhere title. Do make sure to read it for some good dose of nostalgia and entertainment.
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