| Title | : | JLA: Tower of Babel |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | 156389727X |
| ISBN-10 | : | 9781563897276 |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 160 |
| Publication | : | First published August 1, 2001 |
The JLA is the single most powerful group of super-heroes ever to be assembled—AND THEY'RE DROPPING LIKE FLIES!
Batman's secret files on the Justice League have fallen into the hands of one of his oldest and deadliest foes—Ra's al Ghul! Now, Superman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Martian Manhunter, Green Lantern, Plastic Man and the Flash are being led into traps specifically engineered to counteract their remarkable abilities.
The JLA faces its greatest challenge—possible treason within their own ranks! Will the JLA survive? And if they do, can Batman's hand in their betrayal ever be forgiven?
The answers lie inside.
JLA: Tower of Babel Reviews
-
Batman is right. He almost always is. The Justice League is a dangerous crowd, and if they ever turned on mankind, for whatever reason, the world would have a serious problem. It would be a most bloody business; thus, safeguards need to be put into place. Batman must plan for the possibility; he must have a justice prepared as a last resort.
He has studied his colleagues; he has learnt their weakness: he knows how to eliminate each and every one of them. But his plans fall into the wrong hands. The Justice League is brought down, one by one, as Batman’s plans are executed by his enemies. Each and every superhero falls. Ra's al ghul has finally achieved a minor victory. But, for all his villainy, for all his terrorism and destruction, his philosophy is powerfully explained in cold logic. It is a most dangerous ideal; it is morally dangerous, but it is an ideal that is understandable. And for me, this makes him such a compelling villain. To his mind, he is not the villain; he is the hero: he is saving the world.
The real excitement of this came at the end. The JLA figured out whose plans brought them down; they realise it is one of their own, and they feel betrayed. They cannot look at the wider picture, and become detached like Batman. They don’t understand his wisdom. They cast a vote whether he should remain in the league he helped to create. It’s 50-50. Superman is left with the casting vote. The issue ends. This is solid storytelling. -
JLA's worst enemy...Batman!
I bought this in its single comic book issues, but I've chosen this TPB edition to be able of making a better overall review.
This TPB edition collects "JLA" #43-46.
Creative Team:
Writer: Mark Waid
Illustrator: Howard Porter
KEEP YOUR ENEMIES...
One of the most celebrated storylines about the Justice League, published on its now iconic run under the title of JLA, where the members of the JLA are attacked using carefully planned strategies designed to beat each of them, made by none other than...
...Batman.
Batman is the quintessential paranoic man, where losing his parent when he was just 8-years old didn't help to it, and while he is member of the JLA, he is aware of the tremendous power that each of his fellow mates in team possess, so, he does what any paranoid man would do...
...making contingency plans to beat each member of the JLA, in case, one of all of them would turn evil and/or controlled by a villain.
You can't blame him entirely if you think of cases like Green Lantern Hal Jordan.
However, his biggest mistake wasn't technically having those counter-strategies, BUT...
...not keeping them secured enough, since a third party, with deep knowledge about Batman, takes those plans against the JLA...
...and put them in practice!
Of course, Batman never revealed to his "allies" that he had such insidious designs planned to beat each of them, so when all this is put into light...
...the JLA won't be the same anymore! -
The angst of this story is really interesting but the art was really hard to get past. I mean really, really hard. It was really a bummer to be honest.
This gets at the heart of what most Bat/other JL combos reveals: the bats don't seem to trust anyone. The narrative constantly suggests that they're right not to: JL members turn on them, reveal themselves to be evil/weak/ill equipped to handle threats. Then here come the Bats to save the day with careful planning and strategy. In some ways, it's necessary because it explains why a Bat is almost always a part of the JL. It does a good job at reminding readers that you don't need superpowers to be useful in a crisis. But, this story is a case of when that compartmentalization and planning can backfire.
Batman's kind of a dick. -
Score: 3.95 out of 5
Grade: 79% (B+) | Good
The JLA are being picked off one-by-one as if someone on the inside kept a diary of all their weaknesses…Batman… Here is my review of JLA Vol. 7: Tower of Babel:
The Good:
THE ATOM AND THE JLA
This book starts off with an interesting and thought-provoking single-issue. We have the Atom teaming up with the JLA to fight off a cancerous bacteria in a young boy’s body. Such a unique concept, yet it totally works! And not to brag or anything, but there were neurological terms in here that I actually understood (looks like school was good for something)!!
What’s interesting is how the social commentary in this still remains relevant today. Also, to be completely honest, I got hit with the feels in the conclusion, mostly to do with Superman’s arc and helping the refugees. This was a grounded, self-contained story that didn’t need to rely on getting too cosmic, which ended as a pleasant surprise.
TOWER OF BABEL
Wowza! A JLA story ACTUALLY about the JLA! Not just another big, wacky cosmic adventure – *cough* Grant Morrison *cough*. It was nice to see some legitimate teamwork between the JLA, and we even see the heroes out of costume! Wait whhhhat? You mean that they have other clothes besides their super suit?? It threw me off for a second, but it was nice to see them just as normal people for once.
I need to praise this story for completely altering the dynamic of the JLA. There were many times where I felt like the JLA were screwed! Not being able to see, developing a fear of water, turning into the Human Torch – I kept asking myself, “How in the actual f*** are they getting out of this?” In the end, I loved the fact that they had to work as a team, instead of another Morrison-esque cosmic adventure.
It was nice to see some real tension between the team too. The fact that Batman would go behind everyone’s backs to setup these contingencies broke their trust. I LOVED it when the book focused on Superman’s perspective – super impactful and great character development. I could have honestly read the JLA talking amongst each other all day.
The Bad:
THE ATOM AND THE JLA
The art was bland as hell! The bacteria infesting the boy’s body was lame and never once felt like a real threat. Also, this story has nothing to do with any larger narratives, which some will like, and others will think it’s a waste of time. It was a detour of a story, which I didn’t mind.
TOWER OF BABEL
Although I really enjoyed this, there’s some plot holes that are just hard to ignore. For instance, considering this was a global event, I guess all the other heroes, which we’ve seen in previous JLA stories, decided to just sit this one out? Imagine going up against Thanos with only the original six Avengers from the first movie, and having all the other heroes sitting on the sidelines with a bag of popcorn. Even just an acknowledgment would have been nice.
Another plot hole that bothered me was when Martian Manhunter sets up a telepathic link so that all the JLA members could talk and understand each other. Let me put it this way, if the JLA members were unable to understand spoken language, then what makes you think they could understand spoken language originating from the mind. The thing is, our brain would process spoken language and telepathic language in the same way – there should be no difference.
Yes, I’m reading WAY too much into this, which reminds me, I should get outside more…
Probably the weakest part of this book is how f***ing annoying Talia is! “Batman is my beloved”…like just stop talking, please. I just wasn’t interested in her character and rolled my eyes every time she popped up. There’s also THREE damn times when someone is about to say something important, and then they get cut off by an explosion or something. This was okay the first time, but THREE f***ing times!! It felt lazy and cliché.
It’s also bullsh** that Ra’s just escapes and we don’t get any satisfying conclusion with his story. Instead, right at the end for our “big” finale, we’re dealt this extremely dull subplot of Rhapastan and some scary biochemical weapons. What’s sad is this boring subplot had more of a climax than Ra’s al Ghul’s did.
Conclusion:
This book was good, besides a few plot holes and an unsatisfying conclusion. It was refreshing to see the JLA getting the sh** beat out of them, but still managing to work together and save the world. The tension between the JLA was also fun to read and it was nice to actually see some teamwork.
Recommended for: Fans of superhero ensembles, or people who want to see their favourite JLA members drop like flies because…Batman…
Thanks for reading! :) -
MINI REVIEW: Ra's al Ghul has penetrated Batman's database on the weaknesses of the JLA members and chaos ensues as the JLA is impotent and one of Batman's smartest villains goes about triggering WWIII. But the bigger issue is whether the JLA (come on, you expect the JLA to lose and then they won't do anymore comic series?) can trust Batman again.
Interesting to see how each JLA member was defeated, most of it internal.
Tower of Babel is a Biblical reference to how languages were created in the ancient days.
ARTWORK PRESENTATION: B to B plus; STORY/PLOTTING/PANELS: B plus to A minus; CHARACTERS/DIALOGUE: B plus to A minus; JLA MYTHOLOGY: A minus; ACTION SCENES: B to B plus; WHEN READ: early October 2013; OVERALL GRADE: B plus. -
La idea es lo único que salvo de este cómic. De hecho, encuentro la sinopsis más atractiva que la posterior realización. El problema viene dado por la simplota conspiración del villano y, en segunda instancia, por la falta de tensión del drama interno, pero especialmente, más allá del feble guión, por el dibujo, cuya falta de nivel supone para mí un escollo insalvable. Solo me parece destacable la raíz del conflicto entre los personajes, único punto de interés. Lo único bueno que puedo decir es que casa completamente con el carácter de Batman, un personaje del que puede esperarse el tipo de paranoia que lo origina todo. Un tebeíllo olvidable.
-
Book Info: This collection contains
JLA issues #42-46 and material from
JLA 80-Page Giant issue #1.
ABSOLUTE RATING: {2/5 stars}
STANDARDIZED RATING: <2/5 stars>
Before the main arc begins, there are some short stories that precede it, but I’ll just leave that discussion for the postscript. But as for the main story:
As the power hungry and immortal ruler of the infamous League of Assassin's, Ra's al Ghul is one of Batman's most dangerous foes. For his latest plot against humanity, Ra's devises an ingenious plan to negate the human perception of written language, thereby plunging civilization into turmoil. His hope is that the resulting chaos and warfare will reduce the human population to a more manageable level that can be ruled over, putting him in a position to conserve the planet's natural resources, eliminate pollution, and protect the planet's wildlife. By targeting the JLA and exploiting their weaknesses, Ra's is able to incapacitate Earth's heroes, rendering Earth powerless to resist him.
I think that, at the very core of it, the plot for this story is nothing most comic readers haven't seen many times before. The specific method the villain uses here may be unique, but the intended results, and his motives, are pretty typical. In essence, this book fits into the class of superhero comic where the villain concocts a near-perfect plan for world domination, and neutralizes the hero(es) so that nothing can get in their way. For the most part, this is now a largely outdated approach (I think?), and I can recall extremely few examples of that kind of story that I actually enjoyed. The reason I've noticed for that is, in these cases, if the conflict isn't resolved through
deus ex machina, then more likely than not the villain's complacency led to extremely stupid mistakes which allow the heroes to gain the upper hand in the end.
For Tower of Babel – and similar to
Waid's Superman: Birthright – the second scenario applies; Ra's plan seemed virtually perfect, and total victory was in arm's reach, but because of his arrogance, Ra's failed to seize the opportunity to kill (or more thoroughly incapacitate) the JLA once and for all when they were at their weakest. He had no conceivable reason to keep them alive, and enough of his previous plans must have been thwarted for him to know better than to settle for a half-assed job, so why he didn't just go the extra mile is beyond me. So rather than the heroes outsmarting the villain and saving the day, they just got tossed a freebie. If you ask me, this shortcoming alone is enough to take some serious points off the book.
Even the more intriguing JLA character moments showing conflict and mistrust between members are diminished by the awkwardly chummy atmosphere surrounding the group dynamic. It's like on one hand, the team is too playful and protective of one another to be cool, but on the other it's easy to see evidence of deep-seated resentments that pop their heads up at times. I didn't take issue with the conflict aspect, but I did find the the mushy stuff unpleasant, and in the end Waid's mix of the two makes for an awkward duality.
And beyond the unremarkable trials endured by the heroes (i.e. Aquaman vs. aquaphobia, Kyle Rayner vs. blindness, and the Martian Manhunter vs. fire), the story leaves little time for characterization outside of Batman. However, even *that* focuses on the same tired dead parents sob story. As the supposed master tactician of the comic book world, one would think Bruce would have been ready for something like this already – it's pretty damn obvious – and even if he weren't, don't you think he should have been able to show the discipline necessary to reign in his anger and come to his senses once Superman told him the JLA was being systematically hunted by an unknown enemy?
[Come on Bats... I know you're smarter than this!]
The pacing for this book is very fast, and it almost seemed like Waid thought that since it was a Justice League comic – and therefore somehow intrinsically interesting – it was okay to just jump into things head-first and skip the build-up. Needless to say, he was wrong; there is little *intrinsically* interesting about the JLA (as is true for most other comic book teams and characters), but I do believe they could work under the direction of a decent writer and a strong lead-up for the conflict. But unless you're a die-hard JLA fan and the investment is already there, there really isn't very much here to anchor interest. Other than learning that Ra's was an avid environmentalist and animal lover – which was fascinating – I was never for a moment thrilled or more than marginally interested by anything I read. And the conclusion skips over what should have been a deeper and more compelling discourse on trust and responsibility.
Aside from the writing, I also had a problem with the comic's illustrations. Porter's artwork was bland, and many of his faces were downright ugly and/or showed expressions that were overly melodramatic. In my opinion, the art was a big part of what hijacked the excitement of the main arc of this book, and even the extra stories featured art of a comparable quality (or worse).
With this and
Superman: Birthright, I've now read through two of his top five most popular and highly-rated books. If
Irredeemable is any better than those other two, I'd be absolutely shocked if it's any better than 3 stars. I would not have seen this coming, but I think that, as a writer, Waid seems inferior even to
Geoff Johns.
Postscript:
Now that I’ve already discussed the primary arc in my main review, there are about two issues worth of supplementary material I'll briefly cover here. The first one (from the JLA 80-Page Giant #1) includes two 10-page JLA team-up stories – one with Batman and Superman, and one with Wonder Woman and Aquaman. Both of them are about 1.5 stars in quality, and too unremarkable even to discuss here. The second part (i.e. issue #42) is a lot more interesting, and involves the JLA embarking on a mission to save a dying man's life by shrinking down and negotiating with a cancerous species of bacteria who have colonized his brain. Writer Dan Curtis Johnson throws in some suitable science fiction, while also touching on the philosophical, and making commentary on relevant issues such as global warming. Johnson gets through quite a bit plotwise, and there were some cute parallels between the bacteria's civilization and that of Krypton. I expect some readers who have more compassion for non-human organisms would feel more compelled than I did by this story, but I've just always had this human-centric bias that's prevented me from enjoying these kinds of stories. Although I wasn't by any means crazy about this issue, at a measly 2-2.5 stars, it was probably still the single best one in this collection.
------------------------------------------------
Here's some of the specific stuff I found corny in this book:
[While I do think it's nice that the members of the Justice League are loyal and stand up for one another, this felt a bit too old-fashioned and hokey.]
[Oh, come on! So Plastic Man got his ass handed to him... So what? We all know getting hurt is just part of the job description when it comes to being a superhero. Kyle's acting like the guy was permanently crippled by the attack or something. Any self-respecting hero would take offense to such unbelievably patronizing bullshit.]
[Okay. The racing is mostly fine. But to then include that extra two panels with the two glancing so lovingly to one another is just pushing it. They're not even flirting, so I don't see the point of doing all that.]
Lastly, why is Superman such a pathetic fuck boy? That man cried not once, but *twice* in the same book! Does this bother no one but me?
-
Am I the only one who thinks that if you're hanging out with Batman at least a couple of times a month, you should expect that he's keeping "secret" files on you? This is a guy who's the greatest detective on Earth AND who manages to be a celebrity billionaire while maintaining a highly fantastical secret identity; the dude clearly knows how to gather information and keep a lid on it.
Anyway the Justice League gets all surprised and offended when they learn that the one member in their group who is universally regarded as quasi-nutjob A**hole has been studying and recording their individual weaknesses in case they one day go rogue and he has to take them out. How do they find out about this? Ra's al Ghul steals those files and uses them (quite effectively)himself.
Batman=Busted.
That's the setup, the book (a collection of issues from a 2000 JLA story arc) looks at the execution of al Ghul's plan, Batman's efforts to stop it, and the the Justice League coming to terms with what many of them consider a profound betrayal. (There's also an unrelated story in the beginning of the collection about Atom shrinking a few members of the team down so they can fight off a microscopic civilization wreaking havoc in a kid's brain tumor…yeah). It's a very solid story and it picks apart one of the most interesting aspects of the Justice League: how Batman fits into the group. Not only is he the only guy hanging out on the Justice League Watchtower base who doesn't have powers, he's also disliked/resented/barely-tolerated by almost every other member of the group for being a stern, overbearing, humorless bastard (I love Batman…but yeah…he kind of is). This book addresses that head-on and for that, and the way it skillfully picks apart the heroes' weaknesses, I have to give it the praise it deserves.
But the art.
Oh God Damn! The art is atrocious. Like, laughably bad on more than one occasion. I'm not at the level of comic book fan where I can sling artists' names and work around with any kind of sophistication, but I know what resembles a 1990s Burger King Kids ad and what doesn't and this stuff could easily have been used to sling JR. Whoppers during BUSH I's administration. This is most obvious whenever a character has to register shock/surprise on their face in a closeup; it invariably looks like someone with a JLA fetish had a blowup doll custom designed…with glass eyes. Thank god the story is solid enough to make this bearable.
Anyway, a solid read. Definitely a JLA ensemble piece, but more Batman than anything else. If you can get past the art it's well worth your time. -
"The Justice League are among the most powerful beings on the planet, if you people can't see the danger in a out of control Justice League, I don't need a vote!". Batman, Justice League: Doom
A very meh story; however, that is one of the coolest comic covers ever! This story kind of just further proves to me that Mark Waid is very overrated; he did an amazing job with 'Kingdom Come', but everything else of his that I have read is very meh, and this no exception. So I am familiar with this books concept, their was an animated film called 'Justice League: Doom', which was loosely based off this story. Basically the story is that Batman has secret files on all JL members, and in these files he has created detailed plans to beat them all, if they were to ever be mind controlled or go rogue. Ra's Al Ghul, gets his hands on he plans and goes after all the members using the plans! The Concept is very good, and I will give Waid points for creativity; however the finer details and dialogue is just meh, The Book also gets straight into the action which was a bit jarring, however there is an issue which kind gives background and shows Batman forming relationships with all the members , while secretly studying them, that was quite good, but other then that it was very like I keep saying meh. The artwork was all over the place too as it kept switching from artist to artist which added to the jarryness(That's totally a word). In the end its not terrible, but like I said, meh. -
This story is now classified as DC classics but it is not because of flawless art of mind-blowing story. It is because of one fact : Batman is paranoid nut-job who has been studying his colleagues from JLA to find their weaknesses and take advantage of them. This is the main reason why I dislike Batman so much but it makes a very good setup for a story. There are panels where you can see what appears to be a pleasant friendly conversation but in fact Batman is gathering vital information. The most astonishing thing about this fact is that it fits extremely nicely to Batman character.
-
Esperaba más de este cómic. El estilo de dibujo no me ha entusiasmado demasiado, y la historia en sí creo que no estaba correctamente desarrollada.
La premisa es de lo más prometedora: hay una amenaza global y los miembros de la Liga de la Justicia no pueden ayudar porque alguien ha averiguado el punto débil de cada uno y los está derrotando fácilmente. Y, por si esto fuera poco, descubrirán que Batman tiene cierta culpa porque él fue quien los analizó…
Ver a Aquaman, Batman, Flash, Green Lantern, Detective Marciano, Plastic Man, Superman y Wonder Woman haciendo frente a sus peores temores podría dar mucho juego, pero no nos adentramos en exceso en lo que les hace más vulnerables. Se les ataca y prácticamente caen a la primera. Me hubiera gustado jugar más con la forma de derrotarlos y que ellos mismos hubieran mostrado más resistencia.
Hay un ligero caos en la sucesión de acontecimientos, se mezclan escenas y se pasa rápido de una cosa a otra. Además, a pesar de que supuestamente ya hay un vínculo fuerte entre los componentes de la Liga de la Justicia, apenas se nota verdaderamente la confianza entre ellos. Personalmente, vi que algunos simpatizaban bien con otros, pero no veía una unión fuerte.
El que ejerce como gran enemigo tampoco brilla. Ra`s al Ghul y su hija Talia son como veletas que improvisan… no sé ni cómo consiguen triunfar ocasionalmente. Realmente no me parecían unos villanos muy imponentes.
Lo más interesante es el conflicto que se genera entre Batman y el resto de justicieros. Las últimas páginas intentan explotar ese aspectos y fueron las mejores, aunque también ahí creo que las decisiones fueron apresuradas y se debería haber debatido más lo ocurrido.
A nivel artístico, no me gustó nada el modo de mostrar algunas expresiones, especialmente las de Batman. Su cara de horror parecía una caricatura con tintes cómicos, algo que no encajaba con la trama. Los otros personajes no estaban mucho mejor representados. A veces no estaban mal, pero había viñetas concretas en las que el estilo de dibujo era infantil y le faltaba más seriedad.
Resumiendo: un cómic olvidable que solo sirve para distraerse un rato. -
Puntaje: 5 Estrellas:
Ya había escuchado sobre esta historia e incluso había visto la adaptación animada (Doom) pero leer el cómics es todo un viaje!
En La Torre de Babel, Mark Waid logra capturar la esencia de la Liga de la Justicia, su relación como equipo y el sentimiendo de traición que los ataca al saber que todo es culpa de Batman.
El único punto negativo, que despues de todo me parece más gracioso que negativo, es que en algunas escenas el dibujante se enloquecía y hacía unos dibujos MUY raros de los personajes. Con una historia tan fascinante no pude evitar reir de lo graciosas que eran las caras de los héroes en algunas escenas. Y es que es muy curioso porque no sucede todo el tiempo, solo un par de veces.
Me encantó todo, uno de los mejores comics del año! -
La premisa de la que parte, con Batman como protagonista, me pareció magistral, original y atrevida, luego su desarrollo y consecuencias resultan como suele suceder tarde o temprano, intrascendentes.
Los tres dibujantes que participan me son bastante desconocidos, pero en general son parejos, de mitad de tabla hacia abajo, diría. -
El mayor peligro de todos es Batman 😏😏.. Que buena, pero buena historia. Caen como moscas los miembros de la liga de la justicia y hasta el enemigo con su principio de caos calza a la perfección
-
I am extremely disappointed in this book. This is one of those very rare occasions when a movie vastly outperforms a book. It's unfortunate that I saw Justice League: Doom before I read this because it took the same incredible premise as the book and hit it out of the park. In contrast, the book is silly and heavy-handed. The main idea of both is that Batman has created plans for each member of the Justice League in case they ever go bad and these plans are stolen by a villian who uses them to incapacitate the JLA and prevent them from interfering with said villain's plans for world domination. In the book, the villain is R'as al Ghul who intends to create his own Tower of Babel and plunge the world into chaos. This premise is absolutely outstanding because it fits Batman so perfectly and puts him in direct contrast to the rest of the JLA. It's really pretty amazing how little they apparently understand Batman. At his heart, Batman will always be secretive, paranoid, distrustful of metahumans and a bit of a jerk. It's just who is. It makes perfect sense that Batman would consider all possiblities and make a contingency plan for anyone with enough power to be a problem. Before I get into why the main storyline disapointed me, can I just say this about the "Half a Mind to Save the World" issue that comes before the main storyline:
I don't often cuss in my reviews, but seriously, what the fuck was that? It has to be a) one of the most ridiculous storylines I've ever seen in a comic book and b) has absolutely zero relation to the main storyline of Tower of Babel. What the hell was the point of it? Basically, the Atom miniaturizes Superman, Wonderwoman, Flash, Green Lantern (Kyle Rayner) and Martian Manhunter in order to go speak with a civilization of bacteria that are causing a tumor in a young boy's brain. Seriously. That's not a joke, that's literally what the story is about. The bacteria, through their destructive way of living and desire to "strip mine" the resources from the boy's brain are creating a tumor and killing him. These members of the JLA have been given some time to play diplomats with a civilization of fucking bacteria before the doctors remove it with a laser. And then it immediately changes to R'as al Ghul plotting the Justice League's downfall. No chapter break, just an instant transition after Superman explains the story to the boy who had the tumor. Just insanely stupid.
Alright, on to the main storyline. My problem here with it is how little the reader is left to make their own decisions. In the animated movie, it's made clear that Batman is a different sort of hero than the others and their inability to forgive his actions causes the conflict. In the book, instead of leaving readers to question it, all possible questions are considered by Talia as she details how she stole the plans. Literally every question you could have. Is Batman responsible? Is the JLA too trusting? Is it the fault of the humans for some reason? Did I burn my toast this morning? I hate books that don't credit me with at least SOME intelligence. You don't need to spell everything out for me, thanks. And I don't blame the JLA for being upset with Batman but the ending was so poor in comparison to the movie that it frustrated the hell out of me. For those who have seen the movie: To sum up an extremely long review, I am hugely disappointed in how this was handled (especially in comparison to an extremely well done movie) but the premise is very, very good so it's worth a read just for that. -
Batman is the greatest superhero on DC's roster. The Aristotelian embodiment of perfection, he is the golden mean. Where mind and body meet, he is a perfect example of what made me fall in love with comic books. I may have wanted to find out I was a mutant when I hit puberty- silly, I know- but barring that, I wanted to be Batman. I thought I could be Batman. Because he wasn't bitten by a radioactive spider. He didn't come from Atlantis or Krypton. He isn't a telepath or an amazon. He made himself. And I thought I could make myself in the same way.
In this volume, Mark Waid makes use of the Batman as no other JL writer has. Instead if a clearcut hero, he helps to blur the line and make the Batman into the vigilante detective that just doesn't fit in with the powers set. It's not for me to spoil this for you. Just read it. It's phenomenal. It's a detective story that is humanizing and brings every JL member low.
As for the artwork, Howard Porter gets better and better. Gone are the days of jam-packed and confusing pages with too many broken, slanted and goofy panels. In their place is a real sense of composition. Porter's style is perfect for this book, big thick lines and a seriously fun style that makes all of the action perfectly clear.
Writing: A
Art: A -
I remember reading this trade back when it was first published, and enjoying it. Years later, I've become a slightly more critical reader and I've been reading some much better stuff. The end result is that I didn't like it quite as much as I had back then.
The plot is not the problem here. The basic idea (Batman keeps secret files about each member of the JLA, including his strategies for defeating them) is fantastic, totally in character, and probably lead, in small part, to the events of the stellar OMAC Project mini. The problem is more in the execution, and mostly in the dialog. It's nothing I can put my finger on, it's just not entirely satisfying, and sometimes not entirely convincing.
Incidentally, the trade also includes an unrelated story. It was a standalone issue, about the tumor that has become a civilization. The first few pages weren't promising, and it veered close to just becoming preachy, but it actually rose to the occassion with a truly unexpected ending and some good character work.
The end result? Good idea, bad execution. And yet, still worth reading, especially if you're about to tackle Project OMAC. -
Starting with a story that smacks of environmental allegory (but takes a surprising turn), then gets into the League-changing campaign of Ghul.
I read this once before, and thought it was really crazy to see what happens when Batman's worst attacks were used in this way. And the impact is still the same - but the pedestrian exposition that follows - the equivalent of the supervillain explaining to the hero how he defeated the smartest enemies - is more than just superfluous. It's outright painful and insulting to me, the reader.
Waid seems to have a talent here for over-explaining the joke, and it exhausts any joy we could get from discovering the punchline on our own.
The tag-along stories at the end are fluff - fun, but seemingly filler. Looks like the JLA run was stalling out after Morrison left. -
Seeing Batman's methods of taking down his JLA teammates is always fun, but also involves some weak plot points.
Talia and Ra's al Ghul's ability to fool the automated defences in both the JLA Watchtower and the Batcave were entirely too easy and not believable. Same goes for the take-downs of Green Lantern and Wonder Woman. The mechanics of Ra's al Ghul's titular tactic of messing with the language centers of everyone's brains on earth was a bit sloppy and counter-intuitive.
Basically, this book is a clear example of a writer coming up with a premise and a beautiful disaster, but struggling to fill in the steps of how we get there.
I may have enjoyed the feature animated film Justice League: Doom, which was loosely based on this comic arc, more than the book plotted by Mark Waid. -
I really liked the writing in this book (at least, the main story - the back-up tales, as usual, are forgettable). I wasn't too keen on the art, though, and that is what really held this book back, IMO. With a better artistic team, this book could've easily gotten 5 stars.
I also think this storyline could've benefitted from 1 or 2 extra issues (and a better artist, but we've been over this already). As it is, some parts in this book are too brief.
This was years ahead of Brother Eye and Infinite Crisis. -
This just further proves that Batman is the strongest member of the JLA, hands down. If you think otherwise, you're crazy. He's the only human, yet he's the most prepared for any conflict. And even in the midst of a gigantic mistake made in this one, he still manages to fight to save the day and bring everyone together (with little to no JLA assistance). I LOVE IT.
This was also my first JLA read, would like to check out some more.. -
Somehow, I prefer the movie adaptation JL Doom to the comic.
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The most early 2000s Justice League comic to have ever early 2000s Justice League comic-ed.
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El concepto y la realización de la historia es muy interesante, lamentablemente no soy fan del estilo de dibujo.
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This is often held aloft as one of the Greatest Batman Stories Ever, and I can honestly see why it's gotten so much hype. By and large, this is really a Batman story more than it is a JLA story. Yes, the JLA are all involved, but the crux of the story centers around the fact that Batman, in all of his solitary, secret, contingency-plan-loving hubris, has concocted plans to incapacitate all of the JLA in the event they turn evil. It's an extremely Batman-y thing to do, and Waid really leans into this as what the story is really about, even though there is a massive world-ending plot by Ra's Al Ghul tearing the planet to bits at the same time.
Having just read a bunch of Grant Morrison's run on JLA, I was pretty pleasantly surprised by how character-centric Waid was here. Morrison is barely about character, more using the archetypes of the various Leaguers to tell his typically insane stories without having to worry too much about the team's relationships. I gotta say, though, I prefer this approach. I can watch the JLA defuse universe-destroying bombs over and over again and it'll be fun, but I'll care about the consequences more if I actually feel for the people doing the defusing. And Waid really writes the hell out of the team's disappointment towards Batman as they realize what he's (accidentally) done to them.
Beyond this, there are some wider-reaching story problems. For instance, it's not really explained how Ra's got Batman's secret JLA-killing plans. He just kind of... does. He also has this language-killing virus or whatever just ready to go, again without any explanation or build up. It feels very "OK, the villain has to have a crazy plan, so let's not think about it too hard and just go nuts." Not to mention the fact that the JLA start to get over Batman's incapacitations simply because they, um, want to? A lot of the plot just feels pretty empty and unsatisfying as superhero team stories go.
But, that's not the thrust here. The thrust is the team dynamic created by Batman's treachery, and that in and of itself is enough to save this. I'm a big Waid fan, and this just shows why he's one of the best. -
Often cited on lists of "Best Batman Stories," Tower of Babel has gained a reputation as a must-read Batman story.
It's not. I think much of the praise heaped upon the story comes from the premise. It's a damn good one. Batman has created secret files on how to defeat the members of the Justice League. Ra's Al Ghul has somehow stolen the info and takes out the Justice League one-by-one. With them out of the way, he enacts a scheme to reduce the Earth's population.
What should have been an epic story of betrayal, insecurities, fears, and loyalty, turns into a surface-level story that resolves itself far too easily. Everything is way too rushed, and ironically, the stakes are never feel all that high, despite the amazing premise. Somehow, Batman doesn't even come off as a main character here despite being the thrust of the story.
Should have been an epic instead of a forgettable waste of a great idea. -
Following after Grant Morrison on JLA Mark Waid started his run with this great story. It's similar to the first part of Morrisons run since it starts by reminding you that Batman is the most dangerous member of the League. It also reminds you of just how paranoid he really is. Taking the concept of language as a pillar of humanities ability to communicate ideas as a uniting force that is taken away is how it starts. The meat of the story comes when the JLA are defeated, by one of their own members, indirectly. That is why Batman stands over the fallen bodies of his fellow League members. It also proves why the Justice League are as great as they are.
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Mark Waid si installa al timone della serie, cala il numero dei protagonisti, rendendo più facile una buona gestione della testata. L'idea di fondo di questo volume è ottima: già sapevamo che Batman era pronto a tutte le evenienze, ma grazie a Ras Al Ghul adesso scopriamo che cosa aveva in serbo per i suoi colleghi in caso di "perdita di controllo".
Il piano architettato da Ras è magistrale e manca poco che funzioni, e alla fine Batman è estromesso dalla JLA non tanto per le sue azioni, o per le sue intenzioni, quanto per una questione di fiducia. -
I found the first story very intriguing (with the world/civilization in a brain tumor and the parallels it had with Superman's origin story). The Tower of Babel section was excellent - and I really enjoyed Batman's files being used against the JLA. But the best part of this collection was a story featuring Aquaman and Wonder Woman. Hilarious!
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This was OK. I've already forgotten what happened in it. It's pretty insubstantial but then so are an awful lot of graphic novels. I guess the main thing you want from a graphic novel is to have one or two bits that make you go "ah, yeah that's cool" and this had that so I wasn't disappointed.
I'd recommend this to any fan of Supherhero graphic novels who has already read the big ones.
