Comic Book Review: Justice League America #91 - DC Comics (1994)

"Heroes Passage"
Written by Dan Vado
Pencils by Marc Campos
Inks by Ken Branch
Colors by Gene D'Angelo

The Justice League America members mourn the loss of Ice(Tora) and prepare and attend her funeral.  The League's home base of operations was destroyed and now the UN does not want the heroes to assist with the cleanup or to be anywhere near the site.

I received this comic book in the Comic of the Month subscription box so that's why I have a bit of a random book to review here.   I did not read the books that lead up to this event, nor have I read the books that immediately follow.  This is one of the things I think a lot of folks miss out on in comic books.  The big companies constantly reboot or start over from #1(without actually starting over).  I really enjoyed reading the book and piecing the story together without any backstory.  It brought me back to when I first started reading comic books.

With regard to action, this book is lacking.  By no means is that a bad thing however as the dialogue between the Justice League America members was wonderful.  Everyone is grieving the loss of Tora and there is a lot of frustration and blame being passed around.  There is also the scene where the heroes bring Tora back to her homeland and bringing the body to her mother, Queen Olaf.  The Queen was not happy with the League but did allow the members to attend the funeral.

The art looks fine and it must have been a fun task for Marc Campos as he was tasked with drawing some truly great heroes like Wonder Woman, Martian Manhunter, Blue Beetle and Booster Gold(who was in a weird suit of armor that is keeping him alive - I may need to find the previous books to see what happened).  Everything was captured pretty well and it flowed with the story.

What are your thought on reading random comic books?  Do you have any comic book suggestions for Maskerpiece Theatre to review?  Please comment below or find us on social media and let us know.  

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Supergirl Review: Season 1 Episode 19 "Myriad"

Supergirl Season 1 Episode 19

“Myriad”

Synopsis:

Non and Indigo use mind control to make the citizens of National City their army, so kara must find a way to save her Friends.

Review:

Non has finally put in place Myriad, a Mind control plan which is suppose to save earth from distorting itself. With Non working with Indigo to take over National City, its up to Supergirl to try and save the city. Fortunately she will have help when Cat Grant and Maxwell Lord show up unaffected due to devices created by Lord.

When Non pushing things to the extreme by threatening the life of the friends of Kara. Lord comes up with the brilliant plan to set off a Kryptonite bomb over National City. But before Kara can go through with the plan, Cat is able to talk some sense into Supergirl.

Once Hank and Alex find out what is going on back in National City, they decide that they need to help. Once in the city, they are confronted by Indigo where she takes out Hank and then takes Alex hostage. The episode ends with Non controlling Alex and sending her to attach her sister.

Final Thoughts:

This ended up being a great episode, it felt like we finally are moving forward with the plan and with a good villain. Loved the idea of the city being mind controlled by Non. Glad they finally brought back the Martian Manhunter, these last few episode will be great if they continue to go in the same directions as this one as well.

I’ve said from the very beginning, the Cat Grant Supergirl relationship is one of the best concepts about this show. There is just something about their dynamic that is special and allows the audience see kara as someone that is still growing into the Superhero she is, while at the some time being the positive force on others.

I am not sure how I feel about the tease of Superman, It just feels like the show will have to go there or all these little moments will be a huge let down.

I give this episode a solid two thumbs up. Let us know your thoughts of the episode and leave your comments below.

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Supergirl Review: Season 1 Episode 17 "Manhunter"

Supergirl Season 1 Episode 17

“Manhunter”

Synopsis:

J’onn J’onzz reveals how he met Jeremiah Danvers and assumed the identity of Hank Henshaw

Review:

With the events from the Red Kryptonite, Supergirl knows that the trust of public is currently non existent. On top of that the military has Hank Henshaw locked up, and interrogating J’onn J’onzz to learn what happened to the real Hank Henshaw.

We are treated to some flash backs in this episode, the first being the moment that J’onn J’onzz meets Jeremiah Danvers. We saw how Danvers died while trying to save J’onzz. After the interrogation of The Martian Manhunter and Alex, both were taken to a secret compound were experiment of Aliens and testing to humans are done. Its up to Kara to save them both. 

In order to get help, Kara has to tell Lucy who she really is….Supergirl. They both head out to save the two captives. The episode ends with the revelation that Jeremiah is still alive and both Hank and Alex head out to find him.

Final Thoughts:

Finally the return of Dean Cain, I was wondering when this would happen and it turned out exactly how I thought is would with Jeremiah still alive. The flash backs were nice to give a little back story, but it would have been nice if we got these flash backs earlier, more in the way we get our flash backs in Arrow and The Flash.

Its also going to be interesting with how the story will play out now that Alex and Hank are on the run and no longer with the DEO. Speaking of which, Lucy being in charge of the DEO is going to bring a new twist and will cause tension down the road between James and Kara. 

This was a solid episode, but wasn’t as strong as last weeks. I give this one thumbs up. Let us know what your thoughts of the episode were and leave your comments below. 

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Supergirl Review: Season 1 Episode 11 "Strange Visitor From Another Planet"

Supergirl Season 1 Episode 11

“Strange Visitor  From Another Planet”

Synopsis:

Kara must help Hank face his painful past when a White Martian, a member of the alien race that wiped out his people, kidnaps Senator Miranda Crane, an anti-alien politician. Also, Cat’s estranged son, Adam arrives in National City.

Review:

Hank is dealing with an alien from his past, a White Martian who is in National City with the goal of killing the last of the Green Martians. After Kidnapping Senator Miranda Crane, the white martian takes the form of Crane in order to draw out Martian Manhunter. When she wasn’t able to draw out Hank, the White Martian decides to kidnap Alex and trade her for the life of Hank. 

Also during this episode Cat Grant is dealing with her own past when Kara intervenes in Cats life and send a letter to her estrange son. 

Final Thoughts:

So we are introduced to the White Martian, however never referred to as Ms Martian. This was a fun episode, and we are starting to get more from Hank in the form of Martian Manhunter with each passing episode. I was somewhat surprised with the what CBS has been able to do with the CGI and even more surprised with what they did with the White Martian. This episode definitely caused some worry about for the upcoming Batman V Superman movie, mostly due to how close the White Martian resembles Doomsday. 

This episode also introduced us to another possible love interest for Kara in the form of Cat Grants son Adam. Now, I am not sure how I feel about this already crowed story to introduce another guy. But if it means less screen time with Jimmy Olsen I am all for it. Once again this episode benefited due to the lack of Jimmy Screen time.

The final scene of episode 11 introduces us to a second Supergirl…is this a Bizarro Supergirl? from the preview of the next episode we know this is the creation of Lord. How will this play out?

I give this episode Two Thumbs Up. Everything we get to learn more about Martian Manhunter is a plus for this show. Let us know your thoughts and leave a comment below.

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Supergirl Review: Season 1 Epsiode 10 "Childish Things"

Supergirl Season 1 Episode 10

“Childish Things”

Synopsis:

Kara does her best to support Winn when he hears that his father Winslow Schott Sr. breaks out of prison. His father looks for Winn for a reason to become like him. Cat offers Lucy a job working at CatCo and Alex asks Hank to use his powers to find out and uncover Maxwell Lord’s plans.

Review:

We begin the episode in the prison which is holding the “Toyman” who has conceived a plan to escape. Once out his goal is to get in contact with his son Winn. As the episode progressed we learn that his ultimate plan was to make Winn more like himself, ensuring that they spend the rest of their live together whether that is on the run or in prison. 

Also this episode saw Alex and Hank begin to investigate Maxwell Lord, this investigation led to Hank finding the same girl being medically treated we saw in the first episode. 

Final Thoughts:

Ok lets get this over with first. Why do we have to sit through more of the Jimmy Olsen story, granted we all like having Jenna Dewan Tatum on the screen, however I am unsure on how much more we will take if we also have to deal with Jimmy. When Season 2 rolls around lets hope its with Jimmy back at the Daily Planet. Ok rant over, thank you for sticking with me through that. As for the episode, this might have been one of the weaker episodes in awhile. It’s not for lack of potential, Toyman should have been a bigger, better story. It just never got there. In many ways this episode just had to much going on.

Did anyone else think it was strange that Alex was trying to force Hank to become the Martian Manhunter? Her reasoning was due to Kara needing his help. So it was ok for Hank to help but there is no reason to bring Superman in? Just seems strange especially if Kara really needs help.

So now Maxwell Lord knows Kara is Supergirl. Not sure how I feel about this. At first I was ok it seemed to make sense, however taking a little bit an really thinking about it I am not sure how this progresses the story at all.

All in all this was an ok Episode of Supergirl, it definitely isn’t any where near some of the best. If anything this episode will drive all those Winn Kara relationship fans crazy. I give this episode 1 thumbs up.

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Supergirl Review: Season 1 Episode 9 "Blood Bonds"

Supergirl Season 1 Episode 9

“Blood Bonds”

Synopsis:

When Director Henshaw is taken prisoner by Non, Kara searches for a way to rescue him, all while refuting Cat Grant’s claims that she is Supergirl.

Review:

While it was a shorter than usual mid-season hiatus, Suprgirl is back. We pick up were we left off, Henshaw has been taken and Kara now needs to find a way to rescue him. This takes an emotion toll on Kara as she learns more about her mother from the point of view of her Aunt Astra. We see this struggle within trying to determine to side with her blood or with the humans. The battle becomes worse when General Lane comes to over see the DEO and decides to take matters into his own hands by torturing Astra with Kryptonite for information on Hanks location. By the end of the episode Kara determines the only way to recover Hank is to agree the the swap of prisoners which Non demanded.

Also through out this episode Cat Grant keeps pushing Kara on her being Supergirl. Obviously Kara keeps denying these claims. Once Hank is rescued Kara finds out that he is J’onn J’onzz and uses his powers to convince Cat that she isn’t Supergirl. At the end we see Lord enter a secured room where he is holding a very injured woman, when her eyes opened they are completely blacked out, is this a Bizarro Supergirl?

Final Thoughts:

So I am not sure how I feel about this episode, the show is definitely improving but out of all the reveals of her true identity I was most excited and approved of Cat Grant learning Kara was Supergirl. Now the show has officially back tracked on this reveal and resets what had been a great growing relationship between the two. The other aspect which disappointed me is how many Kryptonians there seems to be, I don’t like the idea that there is more than 20 and it seems a little unbelievable that Supergirl will be able to battle all of them and win. She will need to have some help…Maybe from a certain cousin? 

On a positive note I am glad the writers decided to move forward with Kara learning of Hank Henshaw’s real identity so fast, this is a positive for the show and will hopefully allow us more opportunities to see Martian Manhunter. I also still enjoy the idea of Clark messaging Kara and having that little interaction (why is it ever time I see that interaction I keep Picturing Dean Cain as Clark Kent?) I still feel that Superman will have to show up at some point. This show doesn’t seem to be convincing me otherwise. 

In all this was a good episode however I feel it took a few steps back for that I give this episode One Thumbs Up. Let us know what your thoughts of the show were and leave your comments below.  

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Supergirl Review: Season 1 Episode 8 "Hostile Takeover"

Supergirl Season 1 Episode 8

“Hostile Takeover”

Synopsis:

Kara goes toe-to-toe with Astra when her aunt challenges Kara’s beliefs about her mother. Also, Cat is threatened with being removed as the CEO of CatCo after a hacker exposes her private and damaging emails

Review:

First and foremost we have been Berlantied…..but more on that in the Final Thoughts section. Episode 8 starts exactly where we saw Episode 7 leave off, Astra and her army confront Supergirl. It looks like Astra has developed a suit which will fight the affects of Kryptonite. Her entire goal is to convince Kara to join her, as she said to help save another world. Astra challenges Kara’s memory and her belief in her mother, by telling her that she had a way to save Krypton but Kara’s mother stopped her and allowed the planet to be destroyed. Astra allows herself to be caught and locked up as a distraction for the real plan, which was to allow her army to break into Lord Industries. 

Also during this episode we see that Cat Grant had her email hacked letting out damaging information. This was all being done by the chairman of the board of Catco. Jimmy, Wynn and kara work to expose the truth and save Cat from resigning from her spot in the company.

Final Thoughts:

So it only took a few weeks but we had another Berlanti Moment. Cat figures out that Kara is Supergirl. I guess this makes Cat the smartest person in National City. Surprisingly I feel ok with this reveal, this might open up what has become one of the best parts of this show to more opportunities.

As for Astra, is she really trying to save earth or is this a trick in which she wants to take over the planet? I know I am not sure, this is an interesting twist which seems could go either way. I know that this will cause Kara to question everything she knows to be true.

Finally I love the fact that Hank Henshaw is the Martian Manhunter, this really does help with the show, I am now excited for this character and how it will help. For now he is still a secret except to Alex, I loved the fight scene at the end with him.

I give this episode Two Thumbs Up. Another solid episode and great way to build going forward. Let us know what your thoughts on the episode are, leave your comments below.

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Supergirl Review: Season 1 Episode 7 "Human For A Day"

Supergirl Season 1 Episode 7
“Human For A Day”

Synopsis:
Kara and her friends must rely on their inner strength and courage when an earthquake strikes National City. Also, Alex’s mistrust of Hank reaches a breaking point when the earthquake traps them in the DEO with Jemm (Charles Halford), a powerful alien escapee.

Review:
Episode 7 picks up with Kara still without her powers as she spent them performing a Solar Flair as Jimmy States. The city experience a disaster and must get by without Supergirl. Kara must live through the day seeing many people being affected and dying without any powers to help. In many ways this episode is about Kara learning the true meaning of being a hero.

Meanwhile Alex is trapped in the DEO facility with Hank Henshaw while Jemm the powerful escapee with mind control powers is free and trying to escape the facility which is in lockdown. Alex doesn’t trust Hank at all and while he is trying to keep her safe she believes he is not to be trusted. The issue hits the boiling point when Alex finds Henshaw while he trying to find the Jemm. She cuffs him and leaves him behind to go after the escapee, we see Henshaw breakouts of the cuffs to save Alex. Henshaw finally reveals who he really is, after being pushed to explain about her father and how he was the only survivor. Hank tells Alex he truly is an Alien who her father saved from the real Henshaw and his Name is J’Onn J’Onzz.

Final Thoughts:
What a reveal, this might be the best surprise of any Comicbook show on television. Nice twist and I am not even mad that they took away Cyborg Superman, we finally get a live action Martian Manhunter how great is that! This truly opens the show up for so much more. Supergirl may have started slow but they have really ramped up and are putting out so much more. For any of the haters that might be disappointed in how they introduced J’onn J’onzz just remember we have do multi-verse thanks to The Flash. 

Outside the big reveal, the best part of the show still involves Cat Grant, I am surprise each week how much i like the interaction between her and Supergirl/Kara Danvers. She is slowly becoming the scene stealer of the show. 

I give this episode Two Thumbs Up, I must say the show is now officially far greater than it started out as. It doesn’t hurt that they have limited the annoyance of James Olsen in the last few episode.

Let us know what your thoughts of Martian Manhunter are, Leave your comments below.