Another month, another “Forever Evil” tie-in, as Cyborg meets the Metal Man and hears their really really long origin story, in “Justice League” #28.
Written by Geoff Johns
Illustrated by Ivan Reis, Joe Prado, and Scott Hanna“FOREVER EVIL” continues! With the Justice League gone, new heroes continue to rise up throughout the DC Universe! The Crime Syndicate tried to kill him, but now Cyborg is back to settle the score — and with him are The Metal Men!
Although seasons have passed since “Forever Evil” first hit the stands, the event trudges on, and the DCU keeps expanding in the wake of the Crime Syndicates invasion. Like last months “Justice League” tie-in, Cyborg takes the center stage. After the evil Grid took control and separated the organic and technological parts of his body, Cyborg was on the verge of death. Now with a spiffy new upgrade, he sets out to form a new team and take on the Crime Syndicate. And like a blast from the silver age, the Metal Men appear right on cue.
Geoff Johns is a master of spinning many plates at the same time, and he has used “Justice League” to seed the DCU with new characters and groups during the ‘Evil’ event. While Kord Industries and the Doom Patrol got brief mentions, the Metal Men have an entire issue devoted to their origin. Cyborg’s scenes really act as bookends, with Dr Magnus and his brightly colored creations doing the narrative heavy lifting. There is a ton of story crammed into this issue, with six characters being introduced in less than thirty pages. Johns, thankfully, knows how to do a lot with a little, and it only takes a panel or two for the Metal Men to display the general outlines of their personalities. Gold is arrogant, Lead is slow, Mercury is malleable, etc. It all makes sense.
Perhaps the main problem that arises is that the story is told from the perspective of Dr. Magnus, who seems to be the biggest emotional flip-flopper in the DCU. He hates people, not without reason, and this is why he devotes his life to machines. He wants things that can be controlled, that have order, so he creates the Metal Men. When they immediately display their sentience and distinct personalities, Magnus becomes overwhelmed by their selflessness and use of free will. Even though Magnus could reform their bodies, he is moved to tears by their desire to be more like humans, despite the fact that everything about the character suggests that Magnus would be repulsed by this notion. The fact that this issue doesn’t completely derail the book is a testament to Johns’ skill at moving a story along at a quick pace.
The art credits are a bit peculiar for issue, as Ivan Reis supplied the layouts, with Joe Prado and Scott Hanna providing the finishes. While this seems ripe for a too many cooks in the kitchen type of disaster, thankfully the art is fairly constant throughout the issue. Reis and Prado are the regular artist/colorist on “Justice League”, and Scott Hanna just finished up an arc over on “Iron Man”, so he knows how to pencil humanoid robots. The issue definitely fits in the style of the rest of the series, even if it barely features any actual Justice League members.
What does set this issue apart is the sheer amount of color featured throughout the story. The New 52 has received it’s share of criticism for it’s drab and gritty house style, and the ensuing greyscale color palate. The Metal Men are from another era in comic book history, where somewhat goofy ideas were the norm. There is a bit of silliness inherent in their character designs, from Gold’s perfect hair part, Lead’s blockiness, and Tin’s trash can morphing abilities, and it’s down right refreshing. The Metal Men get their chance to show off their fighting abilities in a very well done acton scene. They all demonstrate their unique capabilities, while setting up their weakness as well. The scene is energetic, and the Metal Men retain their unique characteristics as they shape shift and dart around the room.
Justice League” #28 is dense. A little too dense. There is so much ground to cover that the result is almost overwhelming. It set’s up the Metal Men, their origins, abilities, and weakness, as well as attempting to include an emotional arc for their creator. The fact that the whole thing doesn’t completely come off the rails is a testament to Geoff Johns talents as master story juggler. There are three artists who worked on the issue, and the results are surprisingly uniform. There is no big sudden shifts in style or tone, and no one has a completely different face from panel to panel. The Metal Men themselves are fun and interesting, both visually and story wise. If this is a build up to a “Cyborg and the Metal Man” series, it could very well be a nice change of pace in the New 52.
Final Verdict: 6.5 – Browse. There’s a lot going on, and the issue would have benefited from a more limited focus. And it has very little to do with anything going on in “Forever Evil”, so it’s status as tie in is a bit misleading.
