For good old fashioned super-hero team action with a modern feel, it's hard to beat JSA these days. This issue is another in what seems like a three-issue-long fight scene between Ultra-Humanite's forces and the JSA, but it hasn't felt like it's running long. Instead the battle feels epic and fun, a demonstration of what you can do with super-heroes without the need for radical reinventions or ignoring past continuity. Kirk and Champagne provide artwork that conveys the power and speed of these battles, as well as handling an impressive number of characters to provide some flashy and very readable artwork as well.
Along with the battles that have defined much of the arc, Goyer and Johns do include a few character tidbits. Hourman's narration in this issue gives us a lot of insight into this returned character, and I find myself very glad that he has replaced the Morrison version of the character. There's also a sort of Starman-esque twist to Hourman's background in the relationship with his father, and I must confess that "Plan B" was not at all what I expected it to be, not some kind of supreme power but instead a clever character development tool.
However, while the characters certainly get their due in this issue, the focus is on the big explosive battles. The fight between the JSA and the Ultra-Humanite is terrific, the sort of massive super-battle usually reserved for Kingdom Come or Secret Wars or other event type stories. Instead of simply a couple of heroes pounding on one another, Kirk and Champagne give the reader a feel for the chaos that ensues in these large-scale battles. And the fight between bruisers Wildcat and Hawkman was brutal and tough, a nice contrast to the usually clean super-hero fighting styles.
I must admit, I found the threat of the Ultra-Humanite to be a little inflated, as he was built up as some sort of unbeatable foe but he never really came across as all that powerful. Indeed, the heroes seem to fare pretty well against him, and by the time Sentinel has been freed, the battle appeared all but won. Captain Marvel's unwilling attack on the Humanite is some powerful work on the character, and a fine cliffhanger, but I never really got the sense that Ultra-Humanite was the deadly foe he was built up as, even with the control of the Thunderbolt.
With that caveat in mind, however, I have to say that JSA remains one of the best places to go for old-school super-heroics. It would have been easy to create a continuity nightmare in this book, given the vast history each character has, but Johns and Goyer have crafted instead a book that is strengthened by the familiar names and powers of the characters, rather than shackled by them.
