I am wary of the "Black Reign" story, which kicks off in this issue of JSA, for many reasons. One is that it's an inter-title crossover, something that I generally find annoying. Another is that it explores the morality of Authority-style vigilante heroes versus the traditional hero, and is a fairly dark story, both things that Johns has done as well and generally when he veers into this kind of thing, I find that his work isn't as much to my taste. However, the first issue of "Black Reign" is actually a pretty well-written introduction to Black Adam's vigilante version of the JSA, with some spectacular Authority-esque action by Johns, Kramer and Champagne.
Johns has tackled the notion of when or if heroes should kill before in these pages, and I usually find his answers a little too pat and easy, very much in the black and white unrealistic morality of the super-heroic tradition. This time out, the black and white morality is skewed a little bit, as the villainous dictator that Adam's team is fairly one-dimensional and knowingly villainous, but the notion of these heroes killing isn't presented as a bad thing. We get the story from Adam's point-of-view, and Johns makes some interesting arguments using this narration about how heroes' public image shouldn't be a concern, and that their powers grant them not just a right but a responsibility to be above the law. It's a fascinating interpretation of the super-hero code as seen through the eyes of a hero of old who has been a villain as well.
One of the things that has to be done to a pastiche of The Authority is to make the violence real and entertaining on a visceral level, and Kramer definitely accomplishes that here. The bloody, brutal actions of Adam and his team are displayed in all their gory detail, from Northwind's animalistic actions to the deadly use of superhuman strength by Adam and Atom Smasher to the insidious, casual cruelty of Brainwave's mental abilities. Kramer gives these characters a great sense of power without limits, and it's easy to imagine being terrified as a giant just tosses your tanks a mile away or you see your friend swept into the air by a beast with claws.
This is all just introductory stuff, though, so it's hard to get a sense of where "Black Reign" is going. This is the argument for deadly force and illegal actions, and though there are hints of remorse or "this is wrong," especially from the turning point that Atom Smasher faces in this issue, the general thrust is that this had to be done. Johns is doing a much darker style than he usually uses, and while I'm pretty sure it's going to be used as a contrast for the heroic mentality later on in the story, it's entertaining on its own as a sort of cathartic, violent final justice that is rarely seen in the real world.
My concerns about "Black Reign" come largely from past stories of this nature. While the actions of Adam's team are clearly over-the-top, I hope that we get something a little more complex in terms of philosophical arguments than the ones in previous issues of this title, which often boil down to "we don't kill our enemies because it would be wrong." This first issue, stating the pro-violence approach in fairly intelligent terms, is a good indicator that "Black Reign" might be able to explore this interesting quandary in more detail. As well as providing some spectacular super-hero action.
