Justice League Odyssey #11 Review: The Truth of Cyborg

The Justice League Odyssey and Darkseid have rendezvoused, but will the Justice League allow Darkseid to activate Sepulkore? Spoilers for Justice League Odyssey #11 follow. 

After trying to find its footing for the past several issues, Justice League Odyssey is starting to feel consistent. There’s been a big issue with the story being told and the execution behind it since issue 6, but here, it finally feels to be heading somewhere. No longer does it feel like a procedural of just finding artifacts, it feels like there’s a purpose. A cosmic purpose at that. Plus, there are some character-changing revelations to a character in this issue that feels right a series like this. 

Starting off with those revelations, it’s really hard not to talk about this issue without mentioning them. Nearly the entire back half of the issue is about these new revelations regarding Cyborg and who he actually is. The real question though is if Darkseid is telling the truth that he’s actually a machine thinking that he’s a man. It’s an interesting twist to throw in just right when the team finally seems to be on the same page, but it really adds a new wrinkle into the mix. It also does so effectively because you don’t really know if it’s true or not given who the source is which creates a nice little dilemma as a reader. 

The only problem that there really is with this revelation is that it is all too similar to Alan Moore’s drastic change to the Swamp Thing mythos. For those who don’t know this change was that Swamp Thing was never actually Alec Holland, but rather plants that absorbed Holland’s dying mind in combination with a bio-restorative formula. It’s a bit complicated, but here’s a good explanation. Anyway, this new information about Cyborg feels all too derivative of that. It’s interesting and done in a different way, but it’s not new. 

As for the rest of the team, they’re beginning to be handled more evenly as well. Jessica Cruz has always been the highlight of the team and is so again in this issue. Azrael has an aura of mystery around him which possibly can lead to another threat. Starfire though does take a backseat in this issue and is really only used as firepower, which makes sense. Because this issue is Cyborg-heavy, the rest of the team don’t have as many chances to shine, but when they do, they’re utilized well, even though this issue is dialogue heavy. 

As for the art, Will Conrad doesn’t really do anything exceptional, but it’s still a good issue to look at. As just mentioned, the script is very dialogue heavy and there’s not much an artist can with characters just standing around talking. Nothing really pops off the page until the last couple of pages, which is disappointing because there are moments earlier on that could’ve as well. 

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