Justice League vs. Godzilla vs. Kong #1 // Review
Clark is getting ready to propose to Lois. She thinks they're going on a vacation together. They ARE. Before they do so, though, they're off to the top of the Daily Planet building for a romantic dinner. As he's about to do so, however, a 393-foot, 164,000-ton lizard appears in Metropolis Harbor. He's got his hands full, and it's only the beginning in Justice League vs. Godzilla vs. Kong #1. Writer Brian Buccellato has the honor of committing the monster mash-up to the page with the aid of artist Christian Duce. The opening chapter of the series seems fun.
Godzilla is, of course, arriving from out of town. The itinerant lizard is far from Monster Island. That doesn't mean that he isn't going to try to treat Metropolis like he treated Tokyo back in 1954. He's going to try. Before he can do so, however, there's going to need to be some form of explanation. That explanation takes up much of the first issue. Lex Luthor and his allies look to defeat the Justice League. There's a plan involving a Mother Box that they need to steal from the Fortress of Solitude. When that plan predictably backfires, they end-up on Skull Island in the presence of a particular 104-foot-tall, 158-ton silverback gorilla.
Buccellato doesn't exactly have a whole lot more room to move around. There may be a fall, limited series involved, but introducing the two monsters to the group of heroes requires a bit of set-up. That set-up could take a whole year to develop and not even be remotely satisfying, given how complex the backstories of both monsters are. Buccellato isn't doing himself any favors by throwing in a whole team of classic supervillains. The first issue feels like a bit of a cramped mess, but Buccellato's wit and dialogue keep it from feeling like a total disaster.
Duce has a couple of beautiful moments in the first issue. The final splash page looks gorgeous as Superman flies off to engage Godzilla. The traditional superhero and supervillain action covering much of the first issue feels respectable enough. There's also some emotional warmth coming from the interaction between the members of the Justice League. Duce does an excellent job of making interactions between a remarkably young-looking group of classic heroes resonate with familiarity while still feeling fresh and new.
There's no way series like this could live up to its potential or what anyone could expect from it. But it's nice to see them trying, even if it's just an opportunity for DC and company to make some money. There's a great respect for every significant property that is being displayed in the series. But they remain properties for the most part. Not actual characters that feel terribly fleshed-out at the end of the first issue. How much is doubtlessly going to come in time as the series progresses?
