Justice League United: Future's End #1

Justice League United: Future's End #1 opens strongly enough. We're treated to a delightful scene of Equinox - still largely undefined by this series - getting to show off her powers and competence. She's set up against a rather interesting enemy who is as defined by technology as she is defined by a bond to nature.  This is a bit cliche thematically, but the sequence still works well.


Sadly, everything starts to go downhill once the plot starts and the actual tie-in to Future's End begins.  We're quickly informed that the team has broken up five years in the future and find that most of the characters we know and love from this series are not in attendance.  No Green Arrow.  No Stargirl.  No Supergirl.  No Animal Man.

So what do we have?  A random assortment of characters who aren't given the same attention Equinox is by the opening. This is problematic given that the future Justice League includes some relatively obscure heroes from Geoff Johns' Aquaman and Legion Lost.  One senses that Jeff Lemire's heart isn't in this story, as everything feels strictly standard once we're beyond introducing our central heroine and establishing the plot hook - J'onn J'onzz is running a prison on Mars and neess help stopping a break-out.


The artwork by Jed Dougherty is similarly by-the-book.  Dougherty's penciling style isn't bad but his inks are oddly heavy and his linework thick.  The final effect leaves everything looking somewhat like pages from a coloring book inspired by 1990s Image Comics.

All in all, the only reason to pick this book up is if you're collecting all of the Future's End tie-ins or you're a Justice League fan who needs this to understand the upcoming Justice League: Future's End #1 tie-in.  Regular readers of Justice League United can easily skip this one without missing a thing.