It’s all about family…, wait, are we sure Vin Diesel didn’t write the comic? With Oliver Queen missing, Roy Harper, Connor Hawke, and Black Canary go looking for another member of their family which leads to reuniting Roy with his no longer dead daughter Lian now doing her own vigilante thing in Alleytown under the name Cheshire Cat.
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Leading into the next Crisis event, this volume of Justice League comes to a close with the core members of the Justice League all killed by Pariah (remember him?) who is under the control of the Great Darkness which wants to destroy everything and give birth to a new Multiverse.
The issue offers exactly what the cover promises in the death of major DC heroes (although I’m not sure how this will impact those with their own monthly titles). We also get cameos from heroes from other worlds, including Captain Carrot, as well an army of villains under the control of the Great Darkness.
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Betrayal is the main theme of the final issue of the Checkmate mini-series. Talia al Ghul has been revealed, but Checkmate steps up to successfully prevent her from stealing the Heroes Network (although she’s learned enough to keep Leviathan off their radar going forward). The Snowman’s Ticket has also managed to turn back Mark Shaw who faces betrayal from within Leviathan as it’s old queen returns to sit on its throne.
Mark Shaw has been defeated but Leviathan remains, and, as the Checkmate members discuss, it might be a far more dangerous organization than it ever was with a former hero running it. With Leviathan still very much a threat, it appears our heroes will be sticking around, which also apparently includes King whose true identity is finally revealed.
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Picking up exactly where Checkmate #4 ended, Leviathan has invaded Checkmate‘s headquarters, which they then teleport into the middle of Thailand. Although their building is rubble, the heroes aren’t quite out of the game as Mark Shaw had planned, thanks to King‘s use of the extra-dimensional doors which deliver them into the basement of the Hall of Justice with hopefully enough time to prevent Leviathan from getting their hands on the Heroes Network.
And, of course, this turns out to be the perfect opportunity for Talia to double-cross the heroes. It’s still not clear what exactly she’s getting out of helping Shaw, but incapacitating the heroes at the point they might stop him from realizing his goal certainly works in Leviathan’s favor.
Lois Lane is fairing a bit better with the sudden appearance of a brother she never knew about, but the “Snowman’s Ticket” is still a git of a mystery, except, perhaps to Mark Shaw.
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The next chapter of writer Brian Michael Bendis and artist Alex Maleev’s Leviathan tale begins here. The are two stories taking place in Leviathan Dawn #1. The first involves new character Kingley Jacobs taking a look at the destruction which Leviathan has wrought and putting together a team from the ashes of the various spy agencies Mark Shaw left in his wake.
Jacobs’ recruiting pitch begins with Steve Trevor who was meant to be Leviathan’s fall guy until Shaw’s identity was exposed. To that group, Kingley adds Lois Lane, Green Arrow, the Question (who is already investigating in Beijing), Mr. Bones, Kate Spencer, and one of the recruit who nearly kills Trevor before he can make his sales pitch and who the others are less than thrilled about. An unorthodox team to be sure (featuring some fun dynamics), but does this new version of Checkmate stand a chance versus Leviathan?
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