REVIEW: Future State: Justice League #2

Future State: Justice League #2 is here and since seeing the new Justice League in #1, I have been looking forward to seeing more of them.

This issue features a stunning main cover by Dan Mora, showing the illusions surrounding the new trinity breaking apart! What illusions you ask? Well, didn’t you read issue #1? This is a really powerful piece and features some great use of light and storytelling on this cover.

The variant cover for Future State: Justice League #2 is by Kael Ngu (whose first name is suspiciously close to “Kal-El”) is equally impressive, giving us a classic “mountain of people”, which shows off the new JL roster in gorgeous color and detail. Each and every member looks powerful and confident, this is a league that is not to be reckoned with.

If you read last issue, the you know that the Justice League has been replaced by imposters! A group of White Martians known as the Hyperclan, famous for being the very first villains in Grant Morrison’s acclaimed run on Justice League back in the 90’s.

While the Hyperclan takes the human race for fools, setting them up for a fall to the Hyperclan’s vengeance, the Justice League is trapped in a pocket dimension where the old Justice League had the clan imprisoned all these years. 

It’s here where the team must finally learn to work together, not just as co-workers, but as friends, if they hope to overcome the White Martian’s deceptions and defeat them. This is pretty much the main theme of this entire story, that openness, honesty, and transparency between friends breeds greater accountability, connection and strength, which is in my opinion an amazing message.

I’ve found that with dealing with vices in my own life, “the power of sin is in its secrecy,” and that a transparent life and a clear conscience are powerful tools. This is something that this new league is beginning to understand, and it’s nice to share a common take on life with such iconic characters. Huge kudos to writer Joshua Williamson for that.

Using the dimension hopping powers of The Flash, the team return to Earth to expose and do battle with the Hyperclan before they can enslave the human race. Using their personal knowledge of each other, the Justice League discerns the imposters from their true team mates in order to win the day. They then decide to spend some quality time together as friends, rather than just team-mates, which was lovely to see.

The over-all excellence of the theme aside, the issue is a fast paced, action packed, battle-sode. Every character gets their moment to shine, a line to say, and a punch to throw. We get some hints at what happened to the original Superman in some of the dialogue, and some more insight into Jon Kent’s love for times gone by. It was really great to explore this a little more, as it’s a side we haven’t yet seen to Jonathan Kent.

The interior art by Robson Rocha, Daniel Henriques, and Romulo Fajardo, Jr. is wonderful and beautifully detailed. It’s just what you want in conveying a story about the World’s Greatest Superheroes, it marries up perfectly.

The second story, wrapping up the Justice League Dark narrative from last time has a surprising ending which plays with a concept from Avengers: Infinity War and Endgame and turns it on it’s head in an interesting way. I won’t spoil it, but it’s a neat concept and I really liked it. And the art for that story by Marcio Takara, and Marcelo Maiolo continues to match the theme and mood perfectly.

Future State: Justice League #2 is a fun and action-packed exploration of a possible next generation of heroes, which has some great call-backs to classic Justice League moments, and a wonderful message which applies to all of us.

Haven’t picked up Future State: Justice League #2 yet? You can get the standard cover by Dan Mora here (UK), or here (US). Or if you prefer the variant cover by Kael Ngu here.

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