Scans: Justice League 19 & 20
Justice League 19: Written by Geoff JOHNS; Pencils by Ivan REIS
Justice League 20: Written by Geoff JOHNS; Pencils by Gene HA, Andres GUINALDO, and Joe PRADO
The most recent Justice Leagues have featured the return of one of my favorite things about the DCU: the Kryptonite ring! Unfortunately it's embedded in some writing I don't much care for, but I love the ring so much that I want to burble about it here, and I have to admit Johns adds an angle to the trope that I didn't see coming and I quite like.
The story starts with Superman and Wonder Woman freeing hostages in Kahndaq and debating whether or not they should start ignoring international law to start being a more active presence in such places. Superman says no, Wonder Woman says yes, concluding that "Nothing can stop us, Clark."
You probably don't need to know me very well to guess I've got a variety of things I dislike about Clark/Diana as a pairing, but it's obviously what TPTB are committed to. But like me, Bruce isn't there to lecture them about their love lives, he's there to let them know that he apparently needs to beef up the security in the Batcave, as someone broke in there last night and got into his super-secret special room where he keeps his "How to stop the Justice League" boxes.
*sigh* This is another plot point I've never really liked, even when Mark Waid used it as a starting point for a very good story back in the 90s. As far as I'm concerned, I'd expect everyone in the League to know Batman keeps plans on taking them down and there's nothing secret about it. But that's not how they run it, although I admit the next couple of panels make me very happy, because even when the rest of the League doesn't know about it, Superman is always a willing participant in the "Stop me if I go rogue" plans.
OK, putting aside the issues with Wonder Woman here (and there are many), I'm going to come right out and say that this sequence really makes my shipper's heart turn flip-flops. Because it adds an extra layer of equality to Clark and Bruce's relationship. Yes, most likely what's in the box is a note saying "You've got super-strength and heat-vision, duh. Use them," and I think Clark and Bruce have always assumed that Clark would be the one to stop Bruce if he went rogue. But there's something about seeing Bruce actually say it to him, coming right out and saying "It's not just that I'm the one to stop you. I trust you to stop me as well and I want you to use any means necessary to do it" that makes me really happy.
Basically, in short, in this scene they exchange rings.
Justice League 20: Written by Geoff JOHNS; Pencils by Gene HA, Andres GUINALDO, and Joe PRADO
The most recent Justice Leagues have featured the return of one of my favorite things about the DCU: the Kryptonite ring! Unfortunately it's embedded in some writing I don't much care for, but I love the ring so much that I want to burble about it here, and I have to admit Johns adds an angle to the trope that I didn't see coming and I quite like.
The story starts with Superman and Wonder Woman freeing hostages in Kahndaq and debating whether or not they should start ignoring international law to start being a more active presence in such places. Superman says no, Wonder Woman says yes, concluding that "Nothing can stop us, Clark."
You probably don't need to know me very well to guess I've got a variety of things I dislike about Clark/Diana as a pairing, but it's obviously what TPTB are committed to. But like me, Bruce isn't there to lecture them about their love lives, he's there to let them know that he apparently needs to beef up the security in the Batcave, as someone broke in there last night and got into his super-secret special room where he keeps his "How to stop the Justice League" boxes.
*sigh* This is another plot point I've never really liked, even when Mark Waid used it as a starting point for a very good story back in the 90s. As far as I'm concerned, I'd expect everyone in the League to know Batman keeps plans on taking them down and there's nothing secret about it. But that's not how they run it, although I admit the next couple of panels make me very happy, because even when the rest of the League doesn't know about it, Superman is always a willing participant in the "Stop me if I go rogue" plans.
OK, putting aside the issues with Wonder Woman here (and there are many), I'm going to come right out and say that this sequence really makes my shipper's heart turn flip-flops. Because it adds an extra layer of equality to Clark and Bruce's relationship. Yes, most likely what's in the box is a note saying "You've got super-strength and heat-vision, duh. Use them," and I think Clark and Bruce have always assumed that Clark would be the one to stop Bruce if he went rogue. But there's something about seeing Bruce actually say it to him, coming right out and saying "It's not just that I'm the one to stop you. I trust you to stop me as well and I want you to use any means necessary to do it" that makes me really happy.
Basically, in short, in this scene they exchange rings.