REVIEW: Justice League Unlimited #16

Justice League Unlimited #16 marks the end of Mr Terrific’s side mission alongside DC K.O., the stakes are extremely high, as is the death toll, but I have to say this is one of the most exciting and intricately drawn story arcs I’ve seen in a while.

But before we get into the issue itself, let’s take a look at the covers. The main cover is by Dan Mora and whilst it’s a great and striking piece, it doesn’t really have anything to do with the contents of the issue and for me this take on Neron looks more like the Joker. With that said the detail is there as always with Mora and it is still a great and captivating cover.

The variant by Cathy Kwan is my absolute favourite of the collection here, it feels so classic but also so whimsical as we see Star Sapphire shine. What I do love about the variants, is that we aren’t just getting a focus on the characters that are in the particular issue or story, but a spotlight for them all.

John Giang’s variant cover is great too as it features all of the characters included the fallen, that went on this mission. Giang has an instantly recognisable art style, which has such a fantastic effect to it. No detail is spared, but the use of the light to showcase the powers of these individuals is pure genius.

There are also covers available from Chrissie Zullo-Uminga, Bruno Redondo, Dan Hipp and Taurin Clarke.

Justice League Unlimited #16 is the climax and finale of Mr Terrific’s side mission. People are trying to reach him to check in, but as they say in the issue… there is no signal in Hell. They of course are optimistic about his success and of course return, but it seems that may have all been too soon as we see him and the rest of the team betrayed by a fellow team member. Here, Neron is able to access Mr Terrific’s mind to reveal more of his plan, and it’s safe to say he came equipped!

As Owl-Woman realises what it is that she has done, we see her try to rationalise herself, she isn’t a bad person, but with that said, she has made some very questionable choices here. With Mr Terrific’s response, I think she has come to understand that now. But Neron doesn’t give her much time to dwell on her thoughts and sends her to defend him, now that the heroes draw closer and they are more unpredictable and he wants to level the playing field. Her return to said field though is unexpected for the team, it was hard for them and also the reader to understand whether Mr Terrific’s words got through to her or not. Was her actions to help Neron, or were they to help Mr Terrific? The lines were definitely blurred there, but as a reader that was so, so intriguing.

The artwork by Dan Mora and Tamra Bonvillain is nothing short of fantastic! With so much going on, in so many different atmospheres that feature so many different characters, as usual, no detail is spared. The designs of said characters are great too, and whilst there is a lot going on, the artwork and the way it is executed really allows the reader to follow what’s going on, that is of course also down to the narration and dialogue by Mark Waid.

(8/10) Justice League Unlimited #16 concludes Mr Terrific’s side mission and I have to say I really loved this. Getting to see these different versions of the characters I know and love come together to help save the world was just so much fun! Whilst we knew that we would lose them along the way, it was still a pretty tough read and still a devastating blow.