Justice League, Vol. 7: Justice Lost

Justice League (2016)

by Christopher J. Priest, Pete Woods (Illustrator)

From Eisner Award nominee Christopher Priest, the next volume of DC's flagship series is here in JUSTICE LEAGUE VOL. 7!

Trapped aboard the crippled Watchtower, the combined Justice League and Justice League of America teams clash over leadership and the urgent question of who can be rescued...and who will be left behind. Meanwhile, the Green Lanterns face critical choices over how to deal with the League's two most powerful figures!

Legendary Eisner Award-nominated writer Christopher Priest (Deathstroke) is joined by artist Pete Woods for a brand-new, must-read Justice League story like you've never seen before! Collects issues #39-43.

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Dc Comics, Superheroes, Comic Book, Wonder Woman, Superman

128 pages, Paperback

First published September 18, 2018

About the author

Formerly (before 1993) known as James or Jim Owsley.

Christopher James Priest is a critically acclaimed novelist and comic book writer. Priest is the first African-American writer and editor for Marvel and DC Comics. His groundbreaking Black Panther series was lauded by Entertainment Weekly and The Village Voice and will serve as the basis for the 2018 Marvel Cinematic Universe adaption.

Besides Black Panther, Priest has written comics for Conan, Steel, Green Lantern, The Crew and edited The Amazing Spider-Man. He also co-created Quantum & Woody along with Mark Bright and co-founded Milestone Media.

After a decade long hiatus he is currently writing comic books again and recently concluded a stint writing the comic book Deathstroke (2016-2019).

In addition to being a writer, Christopher J. Priest is also a baptist minister.

Reviews

[Chad · Rating 3 out of 5]

Priest tries to juggle too many balls in his short JL run and all his plots fall flat. The book flits back and forth between a gazillion storylines none of which get brought to a satisfactory conclusion. I still don't understand how "The Fan" thought he was helping by impersonating JL members and murdering people or fucking with their shit. Mainly this run was about clearing away all the chaff for Snyder's run and Priest did accomplish that, even if it was in the most convoluted way possible.

[Subham · Rating 1 out of 5]

Umm yeah the last two volumes have been terrible and this too.

So JL watch tower is crashing again.. ugh get some idea and then they have to team up with JLA the other team Batman is leading to stop the falling and its weird the things they say and whatever happens with them landing in Africa, weird politics and dialogue, I guess I understand the things Priest was going for but the execution is so bad omg it will give you migraine reading it and then whatever is up with the league facing the Black Panther-ripoff in Red Lion and even that battle isn't completed or what and something with Deathstroke?

A book with some good ideas behind it but super bad execution, Priest is a terrible writer and he should never have written this but anyways don't read it. The focus on Cyborg was okay I guess but no salvation to it and "the fan" the villain they have been building for so many issues alrgely forgooten in the midst of the most terrible JL comic ever. Save yourself the trouble of reading it.

[James DeSantis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Justice League loses some of its steam as Priest finishes up his very very short run here.

Introducing, BLACK PA--I mean RED LION! With this new guy coming into play. This picks up where the last volume left off. Cyborg is now leader of the Justice League. batman is hunting down "The Fan" who is causing all these issues. This book becomes extremely political when Refuges begin to get hunted by the military of that country. Then it's up to our heroes to decide what to do, and in comes Deathstroke to fuck shit up!

Good: I liked the dialog and the banter and the back and forth between everyone. I enjoy the art, clean and nice. I feel this justice league feels more like a team too.

Bad: The story is jumbled, wordy, and red lion is kind of lame.

Overall fun but nothing amazing. Kind of goes out in a whimper compared to a really fresh start in volume 6. Owell, on to NO JUSTICE!

[Shannon Appelcline · Rating 2 out of 5]

It is really shocking how little control Priest has over his story in this second volume. First the JLA is there, then they're gone. Then there's suddenly a big problem with the Red Lion from Deathstroke and who know what's going on there. The story slightly touches upon the whole world-vs-the-JL plot from V6, but that's mostly forgotten. And the Fan is mostly forgotten too, until his plot anticlimaxes at the end. The most interesting bit is probably Priest writing Deathstroke, but even that's not good enough to include in your Deathstroke collection.

I really dunno what happened to this story.

[Will Robinson Jr. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not bad. My biggest gripe with this volume of the Justice League by Christopher Priest is that it more heavy on the dialogue than the action. Priest certainly had a plan in mind for the League as we move into Scott Snyder's run, which is sure to be more cosmic. In this volume we pick up the threads from volume 6 which has the league caught off guard by a crazy fan who in a odd way is trying to ground them to earth. LOL. In this volume the Watchtower is sabotaged and crashes to earth in Africa. It is know surprise that warring factions are now racing to claim and salvage all the advance tech the League had in the Watchtower. It was cool to see Cyborg take the lead in this story arc as Batman is always keen on training up future heroes. Of course this would not be a Priest DC Comics without the guess starring inclusion of Slade Wilson aka Deathstroke. I really enjoyed the story even though it had a lot going on at times. It was a nice to have a chance of pace from the epic events of Bryan Hitch's run which to me lost its steam. I am currently collecting the issues for the Scott Snyder run. This book was a great lead up to Justice League: No Justice which gives readers the idea and scope of where DC comics is going to take the Justice League. But in conclusion Priest's short run is worth a read.

[Alex E · Rating 3 out of 5]

The League have to deal with real world international policy/issues, when their home base comes crashing down in Africa.

I appreciated Priest's attempt to bring the Justice League into more grounded and real life scenario's to create some interesting and thought provoking storylines. He mingles not only the superhero activities with real world politics but also the character's personalities with the events that are occurring, and their responses to them. He let's the conflicts unfold in a way that seems to be more in tone with what might actually happen in real life.

However, the problem with this type of storytelling is that in order to really ground the story you have to have a lot of explanation as to the reaction to what the JL are doing and saying. So you get inundated with a lot of information at the same time. And with Priest's style being the way it is - introducing new characters suddenly, jumping back in forth between settings very quickly, quick scenes or vignettes - it begins to feel like an information overload. The story gets lost in the details in this volume, and that hurt the overall storytelling experience.

But I could clearly see where Priest was going with this and why, and I appreciated the new approach that he took on the way the Justice League is written. I think this is the last volume for Priest's run, which is a bit of a shame because I did want to see where else he would take the team. But overall, this was a good run by a solid writer, and if you're a fan of the Justice League, then I would say check it out.

[Dan · Rating 1 out of 5]

Black panther knock off red lion lol

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

*I have read WAY more books than I've actually reviewed, so this is a knee-jerk reaction. Too many books to read and review... so little time!*

Dealing with complex, "real world relevant" problems? Intense and thought-provoking.

Wonder Woman nearly dying? WHAT?!? Powerful after what happened in the last JL graphic.

Green Lantern Simon Baz freaking out over Supes wanting to have lunch with him. FUNNY!

Cyborg trying to figure out what it means to be a leader. Interesting and engaging.

A new direction for the Justice League. My curiosity is piqued.

[Robert · Rating 1 out of 5]

Stealing the style that worked in another, less rigid and crowded title, fails spectacularly. Leaving out half? the story with inexplicable transitions and polluting the escapism of popular comics with politics does nothing to improve the experience either.

[Kris Ritchie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Like a less fun, but still morally questionable version of the MMPR comic I just read.

[Keegan Schueler · Rating 3 out of 5]

A solid finale for the mid rebirth run that just had too much going on. The Fan is a good villain that shouldn’t be going up against the Justice League, the Africa plot is just too political for this kinda story, and Deathstroke overpowered in this one.

[Ivy · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 🌟

Some members of the Justice League quit after a series of events. They encounter the Fan again. Cyborg also talk to the government as the speaker of the Justice League. The Watchtower crashes.

[Jesse A · Rating 1 out of 5]

Oddly in and out of continuity with the characters main titles. Just poorly written and confusing. This is a bad book and its no wonder its been overhauled.

[Tyler Zamora · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’m just going to start this review by saying I love the volume’s cover because it gives silver age JLA comic vibes where they used to put the character’s heads alongside the cover, which is always a cool nod. It was also nice to get the current JL and JLA crossover. The artwork in this series also never disappoints. Pete Woods does a great job at spotlighting each character within the art, so they get their moments.

Where the series loses me is in story and character development. The team still doesn’t feel like a team and I think it’s because of Superman’s weird doppelgänger storyline as well as Cyborg assuming a leadership role (not that I’m saying he couldn’t be a leader, it just throws things off). We focus too much on these two things throughout the series, I feel like other characters didn’t get a chance to grow (like Aquaman, Wonder Woman, Batman, The Flash). It stifles growth within the stories and I don’t think the writers did a good job with the team element.

The story, while intriguing at times, also loses its power by the end because too many gimmicks are pulled. We have a character getting shot (who the writers act like oh my god they’re actually dead) and of course they’re not actually dead. And it’s very obvious. Deathstroke’s involvement was a cool part of the story, but he came in too late. I did like that the watchtower had an important role in this series, but I feel like the after effects of its demise wasn’t really dealt with. Overall, it’s a visually fun read, but not groundbreaking by any means.

[Scott Lee · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think this book deserves a bit more love than most of the detailed reviews have given it, but not much. Priest is given very little time to try to tell this super ambitious story, which means he has to tell it at a pace that makes it inherently confusing and jumpy. But he brings it off fairly effectively, all things considered. I don't think it's a failure, but it is a great writer performing in a fashion that's only adequate.

What the story demonstrates powerfully is that the Justice League's greatest weakness isn't any of their enemies its us. Our refusal, collectively to live up to the ideals our heroes do, to instead embody as much of the flaws as the strengths of humanity, means that if the collective "we" steps up to challenge the Justice League, they lose. Our loss of faith can bring down the Justice League, with the possible exception of Batman who's always operated just outside the law as a vigilante as much as a superhero. All the others, operating openly, have essentially become adjuncts to society's forces for control, order and good, which means without that public support they can't function. None of them work as "underground heroes". Not without some vast transformation. This is a far more believable take down of the Justice League than I've seen anyone else ever put together. It's just crammed in such a small space it can't do itself justice.

[Adam Fisher · Rating 2 out of 5]

What happened with this title? We've got:
- Justice League and JLA arguing over who is important on their teams
- Batman putting Cyborg in charge (not saying that he can't do it, but just feels odd and rushed)
- Red Lion, a super-powered African leader of a country (Really DC? Why didn't you call him Yellow Bobcat?) has an issue with the heroes butting in on his territory
- We see the Justice League dealing with racially-charged 'who to save first' issues
- Wonder Woman got shot one time and it put her down?
- The destruction of the Watchtower.... by "The Fan"? Really? More of this Fan stuff?
and.....
- Really? The whole Justice League gets whooped by Deathstroke as a stunt to scare people away?

Does this author know anything about the motivations of any of the characters on either of these teams? Ugh..... the only thing that makes this a 2 instead of a 1 is the very good plan to help the Watchtower cause the least amount of damage. Go Frost!

Skip this one. The Justice League line starts over with a new Volume 1 next, and it's supposed to be really good.

[B · Rating 3 out of 5]

Same as before. I get that Priest wants to complain about fans, but he doesn't really drive a point home.

And the DC Black Panther is kind of fun. But it's not fully clear what Priest wants to say about it? That DC's version of Africa is not idyllic like Wakanda? That power politics is vicious?

[John Yelverton · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's quite obvious that the author was simply trying to wrap up the story, and he had fewer issues to do it in than he had intended. That being said, even this chopped and abbreviated story is not true to the characters and handles world issues (albeit with fictional countries) with as much entertainment value as C-SPAN.

[Iris Nevers · Rating 3 out of 5]

[Read in single issues]
Again, the characters feel really off. Superman wasn't being Superman (example: Something bad is happening here but I'm just going to leave because it's not REALLY my problem).
I don't know, it all feels a little quirky to me.

[Krzysztof Grabowski · Rating 1 out of 5]

Ja myślałem, że po makabrze, jaką skroił serii JL niejaki Hitch - zwyczajnie nie da się gorzej. Jakiż byłem naiwny. I cieszę się, że to ostatni tom tej serii, bo po co posypywać solą otwarte rany ofiary wypadku. Pracę nad restartem zacznie Snyder, choć to też jest nazwisko budzące pewne wątpliwości.

"Fani" oryginalnej Ligi wprowadzają misterny plan w życie. Sprowadzają rożnych bohaterów do kosmicznej wieży obserwacyjnej ekipy i powodują awarię, na skutek której każdy pośredni "naśladowca prawdziwych herosów" spotka się ze stwórcą. Tak zaczyna się szereg niefortunnych zdarzeń, który doprowadzi grupę do... Afryki.

Na tym kontynencie Liga wwikła się w spory "lokalny" konflikt, za którym stoi niejaki Red Lion. W sprawę macza też palce Deathstroke, bo przecież Priest prowadzi też tę serią. Liga będzie musiała spiąć pośladki i razem pokonać zagrożenie. Szkoda tylko, że sposób prowadzenia narracji, jaki sprawdza się w serii Deathstroke - tutaj jest odczuwalnie rwany, a i miałem wrażenie, że pewne wątki są prowadzone na zasadzie skrótu myślowego!

Serio. Nagle się coś zadziało, a ja rozdziawiałem usta, cofając się stronę wcześniej, bo coś mi się nie pokrywało. I tak w rzeczywistości było. Na dodatek autor celowo "zdegradował" niektóre postaci względem ich prawdziwego poziomu mocy, jak chociażby Wonder Woman. Dlaczego? Ta grupa stawa naprzeciwko Anty-Monitora czy Darkseida, a nie radzi sobie z takim problemem?

Pod względem kreski nie jest tragicznie, ale to też nic, co zostanie z wami na dłużej. Jedna z najsłabszych odsłon Ligi Sprawiedliwości w ogóle. I jeden z największych porażek DC Rebirth. Jakby się dało, to bym to zakopał...

[Cale · Rating 2 out of 5]

More like Justice Lost the Plot....

This volume just digs the holes of the previous volume deeper, with all of the Justice League being outwitted by a contractor, the Satellite falling to Earth (where the Africa problem - why doesn't the Justice League try to do anything in Africa - is given an answer, but not necessarily a GOOD one), Wonder Woman almost dying from a random gunshot, Cyborg being a horrible leader (set up by Batman to do so, just to make a point), Deadshot coming to our heroes' rescue (by being the bad guy), and then the two Justice Leagues of the Rebirth era... merging? I don't know, it just sort of ends, and the series ends with it. It's a whimper of an ending to what should be the centerpiece series for DC, and nothing that's happened in this iteration of it has been particularly impressive. Or enjoyable.

[Andrew · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was hoping for more out of this, but maybe my expectations were too high. Priest manages to tie things up, kinda, and sets the stage for the JL relaunch. There are some really good moments in here, but it's all pretty chaotic and feels rushed. One thing I can say is that Priest's run on JL is definitely not padded; he could probably have filled another six issues, if they'd let him.

He's got a few good points to make here about the complexity of the real world and the limitations of superheroes, and it's well-done, but probably not what most people want out of a Justice League book. Still, I'd love to see him get the chance to work on more mainstream DC superhero books.

[Ian Miller · Rating 3 out of 5]

The conclusion (sadly too soon) to Priest's "superheros at work" drama. While there are some things that frustrate me (Wonder Woman's current "Bastard of Zeus" status quo being the biggest one), the way Priest wraps things up is really solid. With a really amazing character moment for Diana at the end (feels very Rucka), great art by Pete Woods to conclude the arc, and fun nods to Priest's much better Deathstroke series, this is definitely my favorite Justice League run of the last many years. But that doesn't say much, because I just don't like Justice League stories that much.

[Jaime Guzman · Rating 1 out of 5]

Ugh! What happened to the Justice League? The dialogue just doesn't seem to fit the characters. Can we bring Geof Johns back?!
Red Lion? Okay we get it. Christopher Priest had an awesome run on Marvel's Black Panther and this is DC version of the character but once this character was introduced I just couldn't read anymore. The art by Pete Woods was pretty good though. At least that's something. It looks like that after seven volumes I'll be passing this series up. I tried. I really did.

[Dennis · Rating 4 out of 5]

A continuation of the excellent Priest run. Read my review of vol. 6 for a more in-depth view of my feelings on the series, but the quick and easy version is: it's great. A grounded story that places the JL in real, human situations rather than nonsensical end-of-the-multiverse gobbledygook.

My only complaint is that the series isn't longer. I believe this volume marks the end of Priest's run, which is a damn shame.

Pete Woods continues to rock it as artist.

[Kat · Rating 4 out of 5]

Basic Plot: Fallout (literally) from the Fan's plotting leaves the League in Africa dealing with hard questions and local politics.

I have no idea why, but this volume was disjointed and hard to follow. The art was good if inconsistent. Normally all of this would rate it no more than 3 stars, but it was tackling some big picture themes that had an emotional impact, so it got an upgrade for that. This is the end of a run, leading to a whole new JL series to come.

[Dave Lester · Rating 4 out of 5]

The compelling thing about Christopher J. Priest's writing is he does not focus on endless superhero battles with incredibly powerful foes. I mean, there is some of that but he digs into the characters of the Justice League and their relationships with one another. This makes the read more interesting than other superhero graphic novel volumes. This is also the one where the Watchtower (their base of operations) is destroyed.

[monte taft · Rating 4 out of 5]

Justice League vs the World

I read this out of order, the first time, but now that I reread it puts in mind of the current Superman movie. I'd recommend this to someone who wants to get into comics. What is the role of superheros in a practical situation.
And what's wrong with Batman given up the leadership to Cyborg when he wasn't ready

I understand his reasoning, but why now. I really enjoyed this story

[Sarospice · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good read that asks why we even consider the league gods and why they get to decide who's right in the events they influence. Not to mention Priest brings in Deathstroke and Red Lion, two characters he loves. It all changes after this but fun to see theae questions asked.

[Daniel Butcher · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lots of loose ends being tied up as Priest brings his run to the end. Honestly there are times where this feels too much like Priest's Black Panther runs into a Justice League story (with an evil Panther).