Retcon This! Justice League: Cry for Justice
In the ever-evolving landscape of fandom, there are simply some things that should not have happened. In Retcon This!, we examine some of the more questionable aspects of our beloved geek properties.
Once again, Congorilla's explosive flatulence propels the team forward.
I should start off by saying that I haven’t actually read Justice League: Cry for Justice. I was interested when it was announced, but with money tight I choose to wait for the trade. Then the book started coming out, I flipped through it, read some reviews and reader thoughts, and decided to not get it at all. I’m not going to explicitly say it’s bad, but it just doesn’t look like my cup of tea. Basically, if the library gets the trade, I’ll check it out. (Har!)
That said, there are two happenings in it that I strongly disagree with. Both were talked about on numerous sites, so even though I haven’t read the mini I feel like I know enough about them to know what I’m talking about. Or at least enough to blather on for a few paragraphs.
So be warned, the rest of this article contains spoilers for the mini.
The first thing is a relatively minor one, but immediately struck me as wrong. Through a conversation between Green Lantern and Green Arrow, Ollie implies that Hal had a three-way with Huntress & Lady Blackhawk, which Hal doesn’t deny. As a huge fan of Gail Simone’s run on Birds of Prey, in my opinion this would never happen. Gail went a long way in changing the perception of Helena as the DCU’s resident slutty cape. And to suggest it involved her and Zinda is just as bad, since they’ve become as close as sisters. The two of them tag-teaming Hal is just squicky. This is an easy fix, though. Both heroines will be in Gail’s BoP relaunch, and it would be simple for them to refute it and chalk it up as “locker-room talk” between the guys.
Then there’s the big one. Not Green Arrow killing Prometheus. Not Roy “Speedy/Arsenal/Red Arrow/Arsenal (again)” Harper losing an arm. Not the destruction of Star City. No, I’m talking about the death of Lian Harper, Roy’s young daughter. Was it really necessary to kill her in order to push Ollie far enough to kill? Wasn’t the death and destruction in Star City enough? It throws away a unique and mostly unexplored relationship in comics for what seems like just shock value. Roy is one of the few single father heroes in comics. There’s great mileage in that, lots of now lost storytelling potential.
But it doesn’t have to be lost. What if Lian really didn’t die? Let’s not forget her mother is the deviously brilliant assassin Cheshire. And even though she’s said her daughter is lost to her parental dedication runs deep. Here’s a scenario. What if, through various channels, Cheshire got wind of Prometheus’s plan, and knew Lian would be endangered, possibly killed? Might she take steps to prevent her daughter from coming to harm? And hey, she’s got ties to the super-villain Society, and through it the immortal baddie Vandal Savage. Savage has used cloning in the past. And wait, who’s one of his descendants, whose DNA he needs to occasionally reinforce his longevity? That’s right, it’s Roy, and by extension, Lian. So is it too much to believe that Cheshire could have abducted her daughter, leaving a clone to die in her place? Sounds to me like a perfect rescue mission for Roy to embark on. Maybe he could ally with the Secret Six, who have beefs with both Cheshire & Savage. Don’t forget, Six member Deadshot also has a young daughter, so their interactions could be interesting. Basically, I’m once again pleading to Gail Simone to fix something. Let’s just hope she’s up for it.
Filed Under: Columns • Retcon This!
I hope DC just makes Robinson’s entire JLA run a dream once it’s over.
They killed Roy’s daughter!? DC doesn’t seem to be lifting the “women in refridgerators syndrome” much now. Also does anyone know why Roy’s being called “Arsenal” instead of “Red Arrow”?
little girls in mini bars….
yeah not a fan of this mini…not a fan at all
Rob, I LOVE your solution to this dilemma. It’s logical, it’s interesting, and most of all, it solves a particularly disappointing plot problem for DC. I’m not an avid reader of these characters, but Roy’s relationship with his daughter HAS been a fantastically engaging one, and to lose it is really a crime against good comics.
two things, on the three-way: i haven’t read the book, but i’ve seen the panel on another blog. they never explicitly partial it was a three way, and some are reading that ollie’s comment refers to a date snafu. something along the lines of accidentally booking a date on the same day with them. what lends this credence (clearwater revival) is that dinah is the one who told him. as i understand it, dinah went a long way to de-slutify huntress. seems odd that she would spread word around like that.
on roy’s daughter’s death: i kind of hope that she was kidnapped and replaced with a body double. either way, there’s little doubt she’ll be back at some point. no one stays dead forever.
damn t9 auto predictive…
What if.. this is all part of Prometheus’ plan? What if he staged Lian’s death knowing it would most likely drive Ollie and Roy over the edge, thus ruining their reputation with the League? I’m pretty sure Prometheus had some beef with the archers, which is probably why he started with Star City.
But then again, he could just kill Lian and get the same result..