The Justice League Odyssey has been transformed, but a new League rises in its place. Chasing after Sepulkore, they are the only ones able to stop Darkseid from concocting his plan to build a new universe. Spoilers for Justice League Odyssey #14 follow.
Last issue of Justice League Odyssey, the series really felt like it was finally out from underneath the weight of behind the scenes upheaval. Dan Abnett finally felt like he was being given the chance to his own thing and it shows. The status quo of the series was completely upheaved, and a new Justice League was introduced. Well, as close to a Justice League as the team could get, with the only returning member being Jessica Cruz. It was great and this issue continues to be great. This is a Jessica Cruz spotlight and it’s awesome.
Because this is a Jessica Cruz spotlight, we really get to see Jessica at her best. Like, this is seriously the most awesome she’s ever been. She’s been amazing before, but this is some next-level stuff. To see the character grow to where she is this issue where she began several years ago, it’s a great journey. To see her become an assertive leader in this issue may seem out of character to some, but she has literally just come back from the dead, of course, she’s no longer going to take any guff from anyone. However, just because she’s this way, doesn’t mean that her former problems are completely solved. We get a little glimpse of it in this issue, so we know it’s there, but it’s not the focus as much, which is a good thing.
As for the rest of the team, it’s fun to see the rest of them reacting to this new Jessica. Whether it’s Blackfire’s growing respect or Dex-Starr’s growing fear, it’s entertaining to see all of their reactions to Jessica’s newfound leadership. Then there’s the mysterious masked character, Okkult. It really should come as no surprise that it’s Orion under the mask, but it still is. The reveal that he’s still alive though shows that New Gods other than Darkseid could’ve survived the destruction of New Genesis and Apokolips, so it’s possible that more could show up down the line. As for now though, the team simply needs to survive.
The art in this episode is where it’s a bit lacking though. It’s fine, it’s just nothing special. Will Conrad was beginning to find his voice on the series, so hopefully he’ll return either next issue or the issue after. This issue though, there are several pencilers and inkers that work on the issue, so it’s passable, but that effective. There doesn’t seem to be passion put into many of the pages. The pages that are great obviously standout, like the first page, but there’s often a lack of compelling momentum throughout the issue.
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