After an alright debut issue and an action-packed second installment, Justice League takes one step forward and two steps back as a marquee series this month. The cast of characters are almost assembled and Geoff Johns, Jim Lee, and Scott Williams hit their story and art beats with precision most of the time.

This issue features the Justice League premiere of Wonder Woman, and unlike Cliff Chiang’s present-day iteration, the flashback version Diana of Themyscira is more naïve as she wanders about Washington D.C. eating ice cream for the first time and interacting with various citizens.

Cyborg’s tale is grim so far and separated from the rest of the team. Aquaman shows up towards the end of the comic and spots a cocky one-liner, too. The elements are certainly here for an exceptional, must-buy comic. The reality is that Johns and Lee are kicking up a lot of dust, only to obscure these well-drawn chracters. Lee’s background visuals get all fuzzy here and there, too.

Darkseid’s Parademons are still attacking various cities and that’s fairly interesting. Issue #4 needs to either up the stakes more or add some poignant character moments. The drama centering on Cyborg’s origin and its connection to the forthcoming threat is meaty enough.

Lee and Williams turn in some truly eye-popping panels this month. One of my favorites is Wonder Woman’s “Back to Hades” action shot. Her motion and anger are rendered so well. The streets of D.C. are captured fairly well, too. Per usual, Alex Sinclair, Hi-Fi, & Gabe Eltaeb’s colors are breaktaking.

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