DC Comics 9/28/21 – Justice League #68, Robin #6

Justice League #68

Brian Michael Bendis’ Justice League isn’t getting any better. It’s reaching the point where DC needs to get him off the book ASAP before Justice League needs another fresh reboot coat of paint to act like this Bendis era never occurred.

This issue’s ridiculously out of character piece of dialogue winner goes to Hippolyta with “Ohhh yes. I am Queen Hippolyta of the Amazon’s and I would love to know if there’s an ‘or what?’ with that.”

As usual, Bendis is absolutely tickled to further kill the running joke that only seems to amuse him by having Naomi let someone else know she’s new…repeatedly. At this point it’s a lazy gag and as a writer who’s worked on Naomi since her debut, Bendis could actually develop her more than rookie Justice Leaguer.

Despite a roster of Justice League members he’s underutilizing, Bendis spends most of the issue on his latest forced twist to the Superman mythos with Lois’ brother Leo. That’s bad, but Bendis also wants to use Justice League for a “backdoor pilot” to make his horribly ill-conceived Checkmate relevant. If only there was a Checkmate title where Bendis could focus on that silly plot…

Scott Godlewski’s art and Gabe Eltaeb’s vibrant colors are the redeeming aspects of any otherwise joyless issue.

If Justice League weren’t a flagship DC title, I would have stopped reading it months ago. It’s clear at this stage it’s never going to improve under Bendis’ watch so readers holding out for a miracle would be better served waiting until Bendis leaves.

Rating: 3 out of 10