JLA Classified #54 - DC

Roger Stern and John Byrne basically took a 2-story approach to telling this fable. The one story is the past. And the other is the present. In the past we see how Titus brought the JLA to the moon to, as he said, " . . to be your tomb!" It was a young League at the time. They had some experience working together as a group, but never against this much power. Also, at the time, Superman and Batman were really not much more than reservists. Of course they did show up to help their comrades fight this evil power. When the battle ended, they thought they had defeated him. And they left him buried on the moon in their stead. But, as is common in this genre, the dead don't always stay dead. The present story is when he comes back. What I feel is the difference in these 2 stories is their basic approach to fighting Titus. In the past they just tried to defeat him with sheer strength. Yes they used some team-work. And they took advantage of their strengths in their plan to take him down. But really, it was just a knuckle-fest. In the present, however, they work much smarter . . and not harder. They know their strengths and weakness' and have had much more time to work together cohesively. They know who's good at standing on the battle-line, and who's good formulating the strategy to take Titus out of the picture. And they trust each other to do their jobs. Also, with the defeat of certain enemies, they've gathered memento's and souvenirs. Very powerful souvenirs, which they have studied and know how to use. Even if someone has studied them, as a group, and knows how they operate, they can still throw a twist in to it here and there. Also, in the past, Wonder Woman wasn't part of the group, as she is now. Anyways, long story short . . to late . . they end up defeating him by dispersing him across time and the cosmos. They feel it's the end of his threat, but, I'm wondering, now that we know who he is, if he might not come back in the future to cause further mayhem. It was a decent story, by Stern, Byrne and Farmer. The real sad part though, for me, is that this is the last issue of this series. I really like what they've done here, and how they've used this book as a way to install some retroactive continuity. I thought it was a neat idea. But apparently they've got other plans. It was nice having another League book out there. Hopefully, there will be another. Please!