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Mild Mannered Reviews - Justice League Unlimited

Justice League Unlimited #19

Justice League Unlimited #19

Scheduled to arrive in stores: March 1, 2006

Cover date: May 2006

Writer: Adam Beechen
Penciller: Gordon Purcell
Inker: Bob Petrecca
Cover Art: Ty Templeton

"The Justice Rangers Ride Again"

Reviewed by: Adam Dechanel

Click to enlarge



Jud Saunders, a hustler by trade, is being chased by a gang of cowboys firing laser guns. The year is 1879. Just as it appears like Jud is trapped three shadowy figures arrive in his defence. Suddenly it's today. Wonder Woman, Vigilante and Elongated Man are cleaning up the JLU trophy room. While Vigilante examines an hourglass, Diana reveals it belonged to John Starr a villain known as the Time Commander.

Vigilante recalls that somehow John Starr is wrapped into his family history just as he drops the hourglass and it shatters completely. With its disruption a timewarp appears and sucks the three through time.

The three heroes realise they have no way to get home but before they can brood over their stupidity they see Jonah Hex, El Diablo, Bat Lash and Jud racing away from the lasers and angry hunters. Wonder Woman reveals she met them before when she travelled back to stop Chronos in a previous adventure. With the team of six superheroes the hunters turn coward and race away to meet their boss.

Wonder Woman questions Jud about his shady past. Although Jud reveals that he was a card shark and had even conned Bat Lash out of money, the men he was running from were nothing to do with his past.

Vigilante realizes Jud is his great great great great grandfather but before he can enquire about his past, Diana stops him if the past is altered the future becomes a time paradox. Elongated man and El Diablo are puzzled over the laser guns and Diana realises the JLU's trophy hourglass must have 'homed in' on its past incarnation. Meaning Time Commander was behind the plot.

Zowie.

Time Commander is ballistic, he had planned to prevent Vigilante from from being born into his nemesis by killing Jud Saunders. A flawless plot so he thought - except for the arrival of six superheroes! Commander travels to the future and returns to give his own great great great great grandfather his thug's super robo suits.

The superheroes are enjoying a campfire and discussing how to get hold of the hourglass to get home when suddenly the super robos arrive. A fight ensues. During the fight, which the JLU and Jonah Hex's gang win easily, Jud steals Time Commanders Hourglass handing it to his decendant.

Wonder Woman and Elongated Man gather Time Commander, the super robo suits and laser guns to return to the present with. Jonah Hex, Bat Lash and El Diablo tie up the remaining villains to bring to justice.

Jud inspired by his ancestors heroics swears to give up scamming and instead will be a force for good.

And with that the JLU return home. The heroes replace the old Hourglass with the new one and Wonder Woman asks Vigilante if he feels like a superhero or cowboy now?

Vigilante winks and tells her he is both, as it was a tradition of his ancestors!

2Story - 2: Again plot holes, plot holes EVERYWHERE. It had potential, but the time travel elements were all wrong. If they smashed the hourglass of today how is it they were able to replace it with ITSELF later? Anyhow aside from that the climactic battle at the end fizzled into nothing - oh dear. BTW WHY was Elongated Man even IN this story he did nothing!

4Art - 4: The art inside was nice and clean and very in tune with the animated style! My nag is that Jud was a TERRY McGINNIS clone so it drops a point.

5Cover Art - 5: It's a Ty Templeton cover - I don't think I need to say anything else do I?



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