TRANS-SCRIBE: Justice League vs. Godzilla vs. Kong #1

Crossovers are a staple of comic books, with characters within the same universe cropping up in their friends book having become a norm for big companies. Nowadays they don't even really get seen as cross-overs, and it's only when big, separate franchises join up that things get exciting and wild. And DC is no stranger to this, having crossed over with the Power Rangers, the Predator, Hellboy, The Mask, and even the entire Marvel Universe. Now it's time for some of the biggest monsters in existence to make their presence known in DC as we crossover with the Monsterverse.

Apparently set in the main DC universe (it really doesn't actually seem to fit there for a number of reasons, but continuity and timelines are a tangled spaghetti so who knows?), this story takes place in the past, before Clark and Lois have married. In fact, them being married is a major part of the story, as this is the issue in which Clark tries to propose to her on the roof of the Daily Planet, in the place where they first met. Unfortunately, that proposal gets interrupted by Godzilla rising out of the ocean beside Metropolis.

From here the issue jumps backwards, and we follow two narratives, one with the heroes and one with the villains. Superman is rushing around the world, trying to do everything that he can to make things okay as he nervously prepares to take Lois on vacation, and propose to her. This situation results in various members of the Justice League giving advice, and voicing their opinions on the matter, and giving him their input. On the other side, the Legion of Doom has gathered under Lex Luthor, who has a plan to steal a couple of objects from the Fortress of Solitude, including a Boom Tube, in order to take down the heroes.

Of course, the heist doesn't go as planned, Toyman messing things up when he snags the Dream Stone from one of Superman's cabinets. This results in the League arriving to fight the villains. Their modified Boom Tube goes off, and the bad guys are sucked through the multiverse to another world; one where they encounter a giant ape on a place called Skull Island. Here, they learn that the world is populated by Titans, and Toyman suggests using them to fight the League. Whilst transporting giant monsters to their world seems impossible, he happens to be holding the Dream Stone at the time, and uses an important phrase 'I wish'.

The first issue of this new cross-over series is very much setting everything up, and those hoping for Kaiju action straight out of the gate will have to wait until next issue to get that, as other than a few pages with Godzilla and Kong this very much feels like a DC book, with a big focus on those characters. And this isn't a bad thing. A lot of the best Godzilla movies put a decent amount of focus on the human characters, and understood that the stories couldn't be entirely carried by the monsters and action. King Kong films do this too for the most part, with the titular ape tending not to appear until a decent way into the films. This series is following this road map, and getting folks into the characters and their dramas early on. But with these being characters we know already it can lead to some who just came for the monster fights feeling a bit bored I'm sure.

The character seem well written enough for the most part, with the villains definitely getting the most accurate characterisation across the board. They fit established stuff well, and their interpersonal fights feel like things their characters would do in regular continuity. also, Grodd seeing Kong and immediately seeing him as a god is great. The heroes, in contrast, are a bit more of a mixed bag. Clark has a great scene with Bruce at one point, the two friends having a good heart to heart chat, but others come off as odd. Hal Jordan is mostly unlikable this issue, basically telling Clark that getting married would be the worst thing to do as it'd tie him down. Considering he's a disaster at relationships it just makes him look a bit like a douche. He and Barry also have back and forth banter that feels a bit forced at times, and it seems like another case of a writer trying to make Barry and Wally into one person yet again.

The art on the issue is pretty decent, with Christian Duce and Luis Guerrero creating some decent looking versions of these characters. It's all very clean and neat, and whilst there are never any moments where you struggle to understand things or don't know what you're looking it, it also feels a bit too clean at times too. It's like there's no grime, no dirt, and things are ultra polished. I can't quite put my finder on what it is. The character designs all fit established looks that we've seen from various points in DC's publication, though things like the new Nth metal wings Hawkgirl in this time, show off how the timeline here just doesn't line up with stuff neatly. It's like the characters have been grabbed from various points in history and thrown together because these are the versions of the costumes the art team wanted to use, rather than using the ones that they would have had.

Overall, this was a decent set-up issue, one that gives us tiny hints at things to come with brief appearances of the Monsterverse characters, whilst giving the main focus to the DC heroes. Some small gripes aside, it's fun and engaging, and whilst the stuff in this issue isn't the main draw to the series for most of the people getting it, it does make things enjoyable enough.