Cover Art for Justice League Intergalactic Special #1
Written by Jadzia Axelrod and Nicole Maines
Art by Travis Moore
Colors by Tamra Bonvillain
Letters by Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou
Cover Art by Travis Moore and Tamra Bonvillain
“When the fighting starts, know that I’ve got your back”
Justice League Intergalactic Special #1 was a really pleasant surprise for me. If you haven’t been keeping up with Justice League Unlimited, the team composition might seem strange but don’t let that stop you from picking this book up. With first glance at the featured iteration of the League for this one-shot, I was originally not intrigued as some others might be but I’m proud to say there is a lot in this book that just really works. Jadzia Axelrod and Nicole Maines deliver a really fun narrative and Travis Moore’s art and Tamra Bonvillain’s colors were a great compliment to the story. Justice League Intergalactic Special #1 might not feature the most famous lineup in league history but its fun lineup with an intense mission that requires all of their abilities to help overcome. Let’s get into it. Spoiler Warning Now in Effect for Justice League Intergalactic Special #1.
A Very Special Guest-Writer Joins the Creative Team
Photos Courtesy of the CW
Before we get into the narrative, the artwork and the overall issue itself I want to bring special attention to the guest writer that is featured on this issue. Writer Jadzia Axelrod is joined by none other than Nicole Maines. Maines, a transgender woman, grew up in Maine and has become a powerful voice for transgender and LGBTQIA+ rights in the United States. Famously, Maines was cast in the Supergirl TV series, which was part of the Arrowverse and starred Melissa Benoist, and played Nia Nal, Dreamer, in her first-ever appearance. That’s right, just like Livewire and Harley Quinn before her, Dreamer began as a television character before getting written into the DC comic book world.
Having Maines be able to help write an issue that features the character she originally brought to life is one of the best decisions DC could have made for this one-shot. She has been integral to the character’s history, and DC is honoring her legacy and the character’s legacy by allowing her to still be a part of it. This isn’t the first time Maines has put her comic book writing cap on. In addition to Justice League Intergalactic, Maines has also been a guest writer on issues of Superman: Son of Kal-El, Harley Quinn, Action Comics, Suicide Squad, and The Secret Six, among others. Now, let’s jump into the story.
Dreams and Nightmares
This story doesn’t open with a dream but a nightmarish premonition of the planet Naltor, deep in space. When five Green Lanterns approach the planet’s populace looking for their comrades, they are quickly dispatched and fall victim to a being only known as The Witch Queen. A figure with pink skin stands over the corpses of the Green Lanterns and members of the Justice League as a screaming Dreamer wakes up in the House of Secrets…
Dreamer wakes up to find her friend, Galaxy, tussling with some other House of Secrets residents, but ultimately the misunderstanding gets resolved, and Galaxy reveals the real reason why she came to the House of Secrets. She’s there to recruit Dreamers for… You guessed it, the very mission she just saw come to a completely disastrous ending in her premonition. Dreamer is initially very hesitant to join the League for this mission because she still feels on the outs with them after the events of Absolute Power. Dreamer begs Galaxy not to go, especially after seeing what she does in her premonition, but Galaxy leaves while Dreamer elects to stay within the confines of the House of Secrets.
I want to highlight Axelrod and Maines for their narrative over the course of this book. They make it extremely accessible, even if you don’t have an idea about who many of these characters are or what they can do. If you’re like me and didn’t read Absolute Power, or don’t have any inkling of who Galaxy or Dreamer are, it won’t hinder the story of this issue for you. The key ideas the reader needs to know including what Dreamer’s powers are, her current standing with the Justice League and Galaxy’s big relation to the current mission, are all explained in well thought out sequences of dialogue. Not only that but footnotes provide the exact comic you can read if you want to have additional content to the story. I appreciate when new #1 issues in comics or limited series don’t make you do homework in order to fully appreciate the story and this issue certainly follows suit.
Right after the title card, the scene shifts to the planet Naltor, where Star Sapphire, Galaxy, Green Arrow, and Adam Strange are already locked in combat with the Witch Queen’s forces. The league does its best to fight back against overwhelming odds, but it is nearly defeated as its ship is nearly blown up mid-flight. With Green Arrow knocked out from the battle and the League reeling, they need a big jolt from somewhere, and that jolt comes from Dreamer, who decides to make her way to Naltor to help Galaxy and the team.
So, how exactly does Dreamer get all the way across space to help the League? She uses Green Arrow’s unconscious mind and dream walks through it, basically like a portal, to reach the league and then helps them find a safe landing spot away from the Witch Queen's influence. This was a solid introduction to Dreamer’s power for those who might be up to date on exactly what she does. With the initial battle over, the League begins to regroup and figure out its next steps.
Dream On
With their ship grounded, the League is looking for any sort of answer as to how they can solve the crisis on Planet Naltor, and they debate Dreamer’s appearance on the mission. Dreamer is clearly still not trusted after the events of Absolute Power, same as Green Arrow, but he's clearly further along in his image rehabilitation than she is. While the League debates the ethics of Dreamer’s inclusion in the mission, Dreamer tells Galaxy about her terrifying premonition of standing over everyone's bodies. Star Sapphire, while attempting to repair the ship, has her mind pierced and is taken over by the Witch Queen. The League scrambles as Star Sapphire uses her powers on them but Galaxy, using her powers of energy manipulation, removes this imp-looking energy creature from Star Sapphire’s head, thus freeing her from the Witch Queen’s control.
The League puts two and two together and realizes that they cannot get overly emotional or let their feelings get the best of them, or that gives the Witch Queen an opening to use her powers to control their minds. As they plan their next steps in their battle against the Witch Queen, Dreamer tells Galaxy again that she needs to continue to be careful because of her vision, but Galaxy refuses to believe that she is capable of that much destruction. After everything she’s been through in her life, she can’t imagine causing that much pain to these people who have begun to accept her. The plan is simple: fight simple, fight hard, and fight fast so the future seeing abilities of the Naltor population can’t be as effective, thus limiting the Witch Queen’s power.
The League and Star Sapphire welcome Dreamer to the team on a “trial basis.” That’s a big step forward for someone looking to regain the trust of some of the world’s greatest heroes, but the good vibes are short-lasting when the missing Green Lanterns show up and attack the League! Galaxy tells the rest of the League to get going while she fends off the mind-controlled Lanterns on her own.
Now, I’ve seen battles that feature the Green Lantern Corps before, but this one had to be one of the coolest just because of how Galaxy is able to use her powers to combat the Lanterns. The Green Lanterns’ power is energy-based, so it only makes sense that Galaxy would be able to exploit that as a weakness using her abilities. In her battle against the mind-controlled Lanterns, Galaxy is able to grab hold of their weapons and manipulate their energy blasts over the course of the battle. Her power over energy manipulation is so strong that she can not only stop their weapons but also rip them completely away and use them as her own.
The battle rages on as Galaxy’s emotions start to rile up, and she gets dangerously close to falling under the Witch Queen’s command. If not for a timely save by Adam Strange, Galaxy would be a puppet of the Witch Queen. Strange calms Galaxy down just enough to control herself, and Galaxy is able to take the Green Lantern rings off their fingers and keep them restrained on the ground. This battle alone made me more interested in Galaxy’s character and what further adventures she has in the DC Universe
The Final Battle and thoughts on the Art
With the Green Lanterns now taken care of, the final battle begins as Star Sapphire, Green Arrow, and Dreamer begin their assault on the Witch Queen. The Witch Queen uses every trick at her disposal to try to take down the trio, and she is very nearly successful when she takes down one of their heaviest hitters in Star Sapphire. Green Arrow and Dreamer are forced to fight the powerful foe on their own and need to learn to trust each other fast. Dreamer gets the Witch Queen into a vulnerable position as Green Arrow takes a well-placed shot to give Dreamer a shot at the knock-out blow. Green Arrow’s shots pin the Witch Queen to her throne, and Dreamer uses Ollie’s electric arrow and cracks the Witch Queen’s staff, defeating her and rescuing all the folks on planet Naltor. Galaxy and Adam Strange arrive just in time to see the battle already over, and the League heads back to the Justice League Watchtower.
With the Witch Queen on her way to Oa with the now freed Green Lanterns, all should be well with the League, but Dreamer and Galaxy have it out in front of everyone. Both of their emotions bubble to the surface, and after an intense fight, both fall unconscious to the surprise of the League. What happened to them? Why did this happen to them? We will get those answers soon enough in a new series entitled Justice League: Dream Girls, and I’m excited to see where Dreamer and Galaxy’s new adventures take them.
Final Battle and Art Thoughts
With the Green Lanterns now taken care of, the final battle begins as Star Sapphire, Green Arrow, and Dreamer begin their assault on the Witch Queen. The Witch Queen uses every trick at her disposal to try to take down the trio, and she is very nearly successful when she takes down one of their heaviest hitters in Star Sapphire. Green Arrow and Dreamer are forced to fight the powerful foe on their own and need to learn to trust each other fast. Dreamer gets the Witch Queen into a vulnerable position as Green Arrow takes a well-placed shot to give Dreamer a shot at the knock-out blow. Green Arrow’s shots pin the Witch Queen to her throne, and Dreamer uses Ollie’s electric arrow and cracks the Witch Queen’s staff, defeating her and rescuing all the folks on planet Naltor. Galaxy and Adam Strange arrive just in time to see the battle already over, and the League heads back to the Justice League Watchtower.
With the Witch Queen on her way to Oa with the now freed Green Lanterns, all should be well with the League, but Dreamer and Galaxy have it out in front of everyone. Both of their emotions bubble to the surface, and after an intense fight, both fall unconscious to the surprise of the League. What happened to them? Why did this happen to them? We will get those answers soon enough in a new series entitled Justice League: Dream Girls, and I’m excited to see where Dreamer and Galaxy’s new adventures take them.
The art team of Travis Moore and Tamra Bonvillain justifiably deserve their flowers for this issue, and I want to highlight some parts of the issue where their talent really shone through. I’ve been a huge fan of Bonvillain’s colors since I saw her work on Batman/Superman: World’s Finest, so whenever I see her featured in a book, it's a real treat. The first of our five highlights for this issue is the initial splash page we see of Dreamer’s premonition with the Witch Queen fully in control of Galaxy’s body as she stands over the corpses of all the missing Green Lanterns and the featured Justice League team from this book. Moore’s art looks great, and Bonvillain’s colors are a real highlight with her use of deep reds and blacks and the muted tones she uses on the rest of the heroes in the dark scene. I loved the addition of the red lightning streaming out of her eyes.
The second sequence I want to bring special attention to is the Justice League's initial battle with the Witch Queen’s forces over one of Naltor’s cities. Moore’s art during this section is extremely kinetic, with the action scenes filled with movement. I love how Moore draws the powers of the heroes as well, with every energy blast, punch thrown, or lightning effect looking really great. Bonvillain’s colors take on a brighter tone for this section, which fits the more exciting battle over the darker palette used for the dark premonition earlier in the issue.
The third sequence I want to highlight is Galaxy’s battle with the mind-controlled Green Lanterns. I spoke about this section earlier in the review, and it might just be my favorite section of art in the entire issue. Bonvillain’s colors pop the entire battle, and Moore’s art, which features some badass combat moments from Galaxy as she fights off the seven Green Lanterns essentially on her own, was really cool to see. I especially loved his art of her grabbing their energy weapons and using them as her own. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a character do that to a Green Lantern before. The fourth sequence I wanted to highlight is the moment Adam Strange and Galaxy end up inside the time grenade because it looks different than almost any other section of the issue.
Last but certainly not least is the final battle between the Witch Queen and the League. Dreamer, Star Sapphire, and Green Arrow look great, and it contains one of my favorite panels in the entire issue with a constellation of arrows surrounding Dreamer as she goes in for the final hit on the Witch Queen. The art in this book was top-notch.
Final Thoughts and Rating
Justice League Intergalactic Special #1 is a fun one-shot with a unique team composition. This iteration of the Justice League isn’t the most well-known, but I loved reading through their adventure all the same. Jadzia Axelrod and Nicole Maines told a great story with nice themes of redemption. Travis Moore and Tamra Bonvillain provided some dynamic art. Even if you aren’t familiar with these heroes, this issue is worth your time.
RATING: 8.5/10