Broken Frontier

The JSA and JLA continue their hunt for the mind and time lost Legion of Superheroes members on Earth. Neither team may like the results, though once they are gathered.

The wheel turns and Brad Meltzer adds the next chapter in the JLA/JSA crossover "Lightning Saga." Fans of the Silver and Bronze Age Legion of Superheroes may start to see not only some familiar faces but ties to a familiar plot as well. Still, Meltzer keeps the mystery going as revelations only lead to more questions.

The team of Wildcat III (Ted Grant’s were-cat son, Tom), Vixen, Jay Garrick (Flash), and Hal Jordan (Green Lantern) have tracked another Legion Flight Ring signal to the jungles of Africa and the hidden refuge of Gorilla City! And who else would you expect to find in Gorilla City except a lone Wolf? Meanwhile, Red Arrow, Power Girl, Hawkgirl, and Hawkman travel to Thanagar in search of a certain winged Legionnaire. Throughout all of this there are some new realizations about powers and relationships, a look at the villains who are plotting in the background, and more questions about why the Legionnaires have come to this time and place.

After three issues there is finally a sense of real forward moment with the story. Although certain aspects of the tale are also now coming into focus things are still a bit too murky for this reviewer’s taste. There have been a lot of complaints among comic book fans about unnecessary decompression in stories and the "Lightning Saga" is unfortunately guilty of this as the story feels like it should be farther along than it is.

The introduction of the villains is a nice reveal and one that mixes some of the worst adversaries of both the JLA and the JSA. Their insidious plot, however, continues to remain unknown and therefore it is hard to appreciate their menace. On the other hand Meltzer begins planting ideas that it is, perhaps, the Legionnaires themselves who pose the direst threat and that is a nice twist and perhaps one of the best plot points of this issue.

Artist Ed Benes is fast becoming a fan favorite and it is easy to see why. He not only works well with these heroic figures, he provides some awe inspiring work on the gorillas of Gorilla City. One need only look at his splash panel of the gorillas riding dinosaurs to see how amazing his work can be. That’s right I said gorillas riding dinosaurs. The only fault I can find is that in a few places his inking lines become a little thick – looking more like the outlines of figures in a coloring book.

While there are a lot of good things in this issue – some surprising emotional content, a throwback to some great, Silver Age style wackiness (gorillas! Riding dinosaurs!), art that keeps up with the story, and a complex plot – in the end, the "Lightning Saga" just reads a little too decompressed. The story lags instead of races and the plot is just a bit too murky for its own good. With another few issues of both Justice Society of America and Justice League of America to go in this crossover I, for one, still hope to see Meltzer put the pedal to the metal on this plot and blow readers away.