"The End" week: JLA #125!

While most bloggers are working on their year-end "Best of" whatever list, or sharpening their knives for their "Worst of," I continue to plow through the pile of last issues I have. That seems fair, and I wouldn't have it any other way. This time: JLA #125, "Mind Field" Written by Bob Harras, pencils by Tom Derenick, inks by Dan Green.

The JLA had been spiralling for the last ten issues (possibly longer, depending on who you ask or what sales numbers you look at) since the fallout from Identity Crisis. Batman had realized that Zatanna had mindwiped him, with several of the other Leaguers being complicit in the act.

By this issue, this isn't the JLA; it's just Batman, Green Arrow, Black Canary, and Manitou Dawn. (Wife of deceased Leaguer Manitou Raven. Don't remember him, either? Sigh...he was Joe Kelly's callback to Apache Chief...and we're getting off topic, even for here.) Fighting old-school Justice League villain the Key, and pushed by the manifestation of the Seven Deadly Sins' Envy, the heroes spend most of the issue hitting each other instead.

Batman is pissed about the mindwiping, and will not just let it go; while Ollie is mad at Batman for being mad, and wrecking the JLA. And the girls are fighting over Ollie...yeah, that seems fair. To give him a little benefit of the doubt, I'm not positive Ollie was seeing Canary at the time, Dawn was definitely still married when they got together. Ollie, Ollie, Ollie...

After the Key is defeated, Dawn explains his telepathy is wide open, with no shields or blockers to protect his mind from the thoughts of everyone. A glowering Batman wants to send him to Arkham, which seems like it would make him a worse menace, as well as being brutally inhumane. Instead, Dawn exiles the Key to an empty astral plane dimension, where his thoughts will be his own, and the Key seems content.

Aaaaaand...that might be the last appearance of Dawn, who goes into a cave, where she may remain to this day. (To the best of my knowledge, and hopefully Ollie didn't knock her up. Geez, Hal at least keeps it out of the League.) The rest of the League, what's left of it, goes their separate ways, although Dawn, and the readers, and DC, all know the Justice League will be back some day.

Ugh. I remember really enjoying Identity Crisis up until the end; but good grief it messed up the DCU. I don't know how long it took for Batman to stop moaning about being mindwiped, but it seemed like that storyline went forever. And while this issue isn't great, I think it continues a proud Justice League tradition of going out like losers in their last issue. Justice League of America #261 featured the end of the Detroit League; Justice League America #113 ended the book best known for the 'bwah-ha-ha' days with League luminaries like Blue Devil, Obsidian, and Nuklon about to be sent to the unemployment line. Well, JLA had a pretty good run: 125 issues, maybe 65, 70 pretty good ones? That's not too shabby. (I never read the short Kurt Busiek run; and he seems made for the book, but he was out about the time the Identity Crisis business started.)