| Justice League: Cry for Justice | |
|---|---|
 Cover ofJustice League: Cry for Justice #1 (September 2009), art by Mauro Cascioli. | |
| Publication information | |
| Schedule | Monthly |
| Format | Limited series |
| No. of issues | 7 |
| Main character(s) | Hal Jordan Oliver Queen Batwoman Ray Palmer Freddy Freeman Mikaal Tomas Congorilla Supergirl |
| Creative team | |
| Written by | James Robinson |
| Artist(s) | Mauro Cascioli (1-5, 7) Scott Clark (5-7) (Ardian Syaff) on #1 and #5 Ibraim Roberson (7) |
| Letterer | Steve Wands |
| Colorist(s) | Mauro Cascioli (1-5) Siya Oum (6-7) |
| Editor(s) | Eddie Berganza Adam Schlagman |
| Collected editions | |
| Hardcover | ISBN 1-4012-2567-5 |
Justice League: Cry for Justice is a seven-issuecomic booklimited series, written byJames Robinson, drawn by Mauro Cascioli, and published byDC Comics in 2009. It follows the adventures of a spin-offJustice League, led by Justice League veteransGreen Lantern (Hal Jordan) andGreen Arrow, and composed ofStarman (Mikaal Tomas),Congorilla,Freddy Freeman, theAtom (Ray Palmer), andSupergirl (Kara Zor-El). They are seeking a more proactive stand for seeking justice following the apparent deaths of long-standing Justice League membersBatman[1] andMartian Manhunter[2] during theFinal Crisis event.
James Robinson and Mauro Cascioli announced that they would be starting a new Justice League series atWizard World LA 2008. Robinson stated that this series would be about "justice and seeking justice, rather than responding to emergencies, letting the problems come to them, and being almost entirely reactive". Robinson revealed that the team would be brought together by a murder, and that it would be tied toFinal Crisis.[3]
Robinson explained that, "Hal Jordan decides that he wants a pro-active team. This team will go after the equivalent of the FBI's most wanted list, sometimes in different countries, sometimes through time. It's a nice eclectic team of established teams and some oddball characters I've thrown in". He also said that, "the difference is, the Justice League of America is all about the League, it's a family. While this is about justice. It's all about bringing in the bad guys".[4]
The planned on-going series was changed to a seven-issue mini-series, the first issue of which went on sale July 1, 2009.[5]
InFinal Crisis: Requiem, Hal Jordan and Oliver Queen contemplate the implications of having Martian Manhunter's killer run free. WriterPeter Tomasi confirms this, explicitly saying that, "J'onn's death will have repercussions... when the rage and anger is channeled by some of the big guns, especially Hal Jordan".[6]
InJustice League of America vol. 2, #31, Hal and Oliver have a disagreement withBlack Canary, the wife of Oliver and current chairwoman of the Justice League, over the formation of the "new league".
After a heated argument with the other members of the Justice League about bringing villains to justice, Green Lantern and Green Arrow quit the Justice League to hunt for villains who were part of theSecret Society.Ray Palmer andRyan Choi team up to beat upKiller Moth for information about the theft of some of Ray's technology. After being tortured by Palmer, Killer Moth reveals that the person who hired him wasPrometheus.Starman (Mikaal Tomas) is distraught over the death of his boyfriend, Tony, who died when a group of villains attackedS.T.A.R. Labs. In Africa,Congorilla mourns the loss of his tribe and the death ofFreedom Beast.[7]
Starman and Congorilla meet and decide to findShade. InCentral City,Jay Garrick meets up with the Atom andShazam to investigate the theft of cosmic treadmill technology from theFlash Museum. Green Lantern and Green Arrow defeat a group of villains that includes Prometheus, and are joined by Ray Palmer, Shazam, andSupergirl.[8]
Green Lantern, Green Arrow, and Ray proceed to question Prometheus, but soon learn that it isClayface impersonating him. They realize they have fallen into a trap just as a bomb goes off. At his headquarters, the real Prometheus brags toI.Q. that he has a plan in mind larger than his foes realize. Prometheus also revels at having killedGlobal Guardians membersTasmanian Devil,Gloss, and Sandstorm.[9]
Freddy Freeman manages to save the others from Clayface's bomb. Deciding they need help, they go to the Justice League of America.[10] Jay Garrick races home to find the Shade waiting to speak to him. Congorilla and Starman seek outAnimal Man for help.
On the JLA satellite, the League has issues with Green Lantern and Green Arrow. TheGuardian arrives with a device he recovered inMetropolis that the team discovers is a teleporter. Suddenly,Red Arrow shows up with his right arm ripped off. The others race to help Red Arrow, while Supergirl confronts Red Arrow's attacker, Shazam.[11]
Shazam reveals that he is actually Prometheus and swiftly takes out each of the heroes through his computer, which has gathered all their weaknesses; as he makes his way to the JLA computer room and nearly reaches his goal when the Shade confronts him. He is confused; as he searches through every hero database he seems at a loss not to be able to find Shade (as he is a reformed villain turned hero) and is delayed long enough for a woundedDonna Troy to beat him unconscious and almost to death, but Shade stops her. Prometheus reveals that this has all been about hurting the heroes. He has placed devices in each of their home cities that will teleport the cities through time and space, leaving the people alive but lost. He says he will give up the location of each device if they let him go. When Green Arrow refuses to let him go, Prometheus states he has already started the countdown andStar City is the first target to activate.[12]
Star City is in chaos as the heroes arrive and discover that the teleport device malfunctioned; instead of moving Star City elsewhere, part of the city was demolished. In the ruins of the city, Green Arrow finds the body ofLian Harper, Red Arrow's daughter, crushed under a building. Across the country, the various heroes are unable to disable the devices. With time running out, Green Arrow relents and tells the heroes to let Prometheus go. Prometheus tells them how to defuse the devices and then teleports away.
Shortly after theBlackest Night conflict, Prometheus is in his lair planning his next moves. Hearing a noise, he turns to see Green Arrow, who fires an arrow between Prometheus' eyes, killing him instantly.[13]
The entire miniseries is said to be a herald toward James Robinson himself taking up writing in the regularJustice League of America title.[14]
Justice League: The Rise and Fall was released in March 2010, along with a four-issue miniseries calledJustice League: The Rise of Arsenal.
A story arc fromGreen Arrow vol. 4, #31-32 (2010), called "The Fall of Green Arrow", also shows the ramifications. A newGreen Arrow series was launched under theBrightest Day banner in August 2010.
Robinson later wrote a one-shot entitledStarman/Congorilla, which was released in January 2011 and featured the resurrection of Tasmanian Devil following his death at the hands of Prometheus.
The series was collected into the 232 page hardcover volumeJustice League: Cry for Justice (June 2010,ISBN 1-4012-2567-5)
Although the art was met with acclaim, reviewers strongly criticized James Robinson's writing, especially the dialogue and characterization of the main characters.[15][16][17] The final issue, in addition, was met with great controversy due in large part to the art and deaths of certain characters (in particular, Lian Harper).[18] Despite the controversial reception, Robinson was nominated for Best Writing, while Mauro Cascioli was also nominated, in the 2010Eisner Awards;[19][20] neither won.