At its roots there can be said to be no better team book in comics than the Justice League.  As the hero team which more or less spawned every other hero team, either as a reaction or counter-reaction, the League was the first to define the application of superpowered individuals together, and its approach to the medium is seminal.  Although it was later passed by other team books (X-Men and Avengers) there is something about the group that speaks to a greater story.  As has been said before, DC is the realm of the myths, whereas Marvel is the realm of the everyday.  This means that Marvel stories can be more approachable, but when DC throws everything it has at its heroes, the greater stories result.  Throw in the fact that series writer Geoff Johns often does best when he goes big, and this is the setup for what could be one of the more memorable stories in the team’s history, and definitely one that has been begging to be told since the New 52 relaunch.

Such is the setup for the upcoming Darkseid War, but this issue does not take the expected turn towards a super throwdown.  Instead it focuses on an unlikely conduit for the development of the story, the enigmatic Metron.  He is perhaps never shown to be more enticing than he is here, shown as a ttrue observer, acting only in the case of events which could cause him to lose the ability to observe.  Such has been the case before when he brokered the infamous peace between the Highfather and Darkseid, resulting in the exchange of Orion and Mister Miracle, and such would seem to be the case here as he intervenes on behalf of Earth and the oncoming battle with an unexpected foe.  In the process he revisits some of the notable events of DC Comics history, the best of the best of the crossovers, referencing Crisis on Infinite Earths, Infinite Crisis, and Flashpoint (and the not so great Convergence.)  In so doing he sets the stage and makes some interesting revelations about the fate of Earth and those that threaten it.

Simply put, those is Johns doing what he does best.  While he might occasionally stumble with presenting approachable characters, there is no one better at putting together a big story like this among comics big two.  He pulled it off numerous times on his run on Green Lantern, and Flashpoint was a decent enough entry in the sequence of the universe changing crossovers.  It is a shame that Covergence is getting all of the focus at the moment and that something like this was not approached instead (as it would have been easy to change to the plot of Convergence to fit this plot.)  As it stands this is a near perfect lead in to the Darkseid War, and one that should get the fans excited for what is to come.

Story: Geoff Johns Art: Kevin Maguire, Phil Jimenez, Dan Jurgens, Jerry Ordway, Scott Kolins, Jason Fabok, Jim Lee
Story: 9.6 Art: 9.6 Overall: 9.6 Recommendation: Buy