REVIEW: ‘Justice League Unlimited’ Issue 5

Justice League Unlimited Issue 5 is published by DC Comics. Written by Mark Waid, art by Dan Mora, colors by Tamra Bonvillain and letters by Dave Sharpe.

Inferno makes another bold move by sending world leaders and members of the Justice League to a different dimension. Each issue of this new series has been brazen with quick starts, and Justice League Unlimited Issue 5 is no different. It explains the roster of the field team and the people they are there to protect, and then throws them into action.

The rest of Justice League Unlimited Issue 5 is all about the reaction and trying to find them. The story is split into two groups. A selection of heroes are in the field, desperately trying to protect their charges and find their way home. The other side is Mr Terrific, Batman, and others on the Justice League Watchtower, trying to find them. Many different threads have been important to the storyline.

But all those threads, tinkering away in the background, suddenly start to weave together and hurtle toward the same point. The pace is exhilarating, always returning to the action to re-energize the story while constantly asking questions. The stakes are high and get more drastic with each patch, especially when people start getting hurt, not just hostages but heroes.

The book feels like a long read filled with content, even at super-speed. The big reveal comes at the end of the issue, with one teased earlier. It’s an unnerving moment that raises suspicion. Still, the reveal is made a few pages later, so the mystery is fleeting and somewhat unneeded, considering the point in the story where it happens. Justice League Unlimited Issue 5 is a mixture of classic and younger characters, combining them into the same book. The field team is filled with experience, including the Flash, Green Lantern, and Wonder Woman.

But it is Impulse that is a primary feature of Justice League Unlimited Issue 5. He’s lively, energetic, and rude, often looking out of place within the group. He gets underfoot and is possibly even unnecessary, considering Supergirl and The Flash are serving as speedsters. But the seemingly irrelevant Impulse becomes key to the latter stages of the comic. However, as Inferno makes a more significant presence known, Waid utilizes much more recognizable and terrifying characters to deliver the reveal.

The art is sensational yet again by Mora. When Mora illustrates characters, they represent a modern take and their classic personas, making them instantly recognizable. Some of the key figures of the Justice League, especially the Flash, have a new costume, but he is unmistakably the Flash. The battle against formless, freakish creatures gives the heroes something to whale on without restraint. There’s blood, goo, and body parts splattered everywhere.

The team finds itself at a small and crumbling location. Mora excellently creates a sense of space rapidly being reduced and claustrophobia, increasing the issue’s intensity. The power used at the end of Justice League Unlimited Issue 5 introduces a new style to the series, warping and manipulating the world around the characters. It’s trippy and intriguing, brilliantly illustrating what is supposed to be happening.

The colors are phenomenal. There is a terrific vibrancy to the characters and their powers. Some of the patterns on display are a mixture of bright tones that make the room spin. However, the shades can also get darker when needed to control the mood of the issue. Thick red or heavy shadows can be seen on the watchtower and elsewhere. It highlights that not everything is rosy within the super team, with evil machinations and struggling relationships threatening the unity of the mega squad. The lettering is always easy to read from start to finish.

Justice League Unlimited Issue 5 rips away the mystery. The previous chapter was big and expansive, but this issue relies on claustrophobic, small spaces. But the stakes are higher, with world leaders demanding protection. The most fascinating part of this issue is that whilst it is obsessed with trying to keep a secret, most have been revealed by the end. The cloak and shadows are no longer needed by the end because the shock of the truth is even more powerful. The Justice League has not yet found a villain to fight within this series, but that is about to change.

Justice League Unlimited Issue 5 is available where comics are sold.