"Phantom Menace"

Kung, the ghost of a super-powered Japanese agent, forces the Justice Society to face the victims of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings. His ploy, however, conceals an ulterior motive. Will the new Spectre be able to shine a light on his agenda, and who is the ace up the sleeve of the schemer?

The central premise of the plot is historically sound. There was a Japanese agent who attempted to broker a peace deal between Japan and the Allies to the very end, almost to the countdown. Had he succeeded, our world may have changed. Using this titbit, Ordway structures the empathy around Kung and the ghosts, yet you still root for the JSA.

It's always dicey when writing historically based fiction. There's a chance you will unwittingly insult or undermine the true heroes of the period under exploration. Ordway sidesteps the pitfall by emphasizing Kung's super-villain qualifications. Even when ignoring his abilities, with the purple tights and red shorts, there is no way that one could mistake this unreal character for the genuine article. So, Ordway uses the traditions of the medium to protect the facts, and those facts still lend more substance to his story.

Ordway is not known for his writing, but I found his work to be far more scintillating than the endeavors of those usually hyped. The way in which Ordway characterizes the senior members of the JSA as accepting the bombings rings true. The Flash and the Green Lantern rationalize the bombings in the same way some historians view the tragedies.

If there's one thing Ordway can do, it is draw, and Bob Wiacek is the perfect inker for him. Look at the way Ordway and Wiacek express Liberty Belle's psychological pain when facing the spirits of the dead. You can almost hear her mask rustle when she wrinkles her brow.

When Ordway focuses on the mole in the Justice Society, he closes in on the betrayer's face. Both he and Wiacek make that countenance subtly evil. You can take one look at the visage, and you realize who has been possessed. Who is up to no good. This is a far cry from the usual depiction of scenery chewing deranged mania.

Because Judomaster does not speak English very well, she looks reticent when expressing herself. Reticence is one of those nuanced emotions that you rarely see in comic books because few artists can actually depict the feeling with any conviction. Despite the excellent rendering, I cannot help but wonder why language is an issue. Alan Scott's ring should be able to translate Japanese. It is a magic ring afterall.

The lost in translation question isn't the only one I had. When did Liberty Belle get her powers back? Why doesn't she resume her Jesse Quick guise? Don't misread. I liked the original Liberty Belle and thought her costume was complimentary. I nevertheless prefer Jesse Quick rather than a doppelganger of her mother. Since Jesse has her speed formula back, what is stopping her from reprising her former identity?

I would like to know what is it with Geoff Johns and the fetish he seems to possess with regard to the Star-Spangled Kid's love life. First, he set her up with Captain Marvel. At least he had the cushion of Billy Batson being Cap's alter-ego, though you would think the Wisdom of Solomon would have kicked in sooner rather than later. In any case, there is no excuse putting together a doomed romance between the Star-Spangled Kid and Nuklon. Nuklon is pre-Crisis. He's older than Courtney is, about as old as Nightwing. Nuklon knew Courtney's father. Talk about skuzzy. Thankfully, Ordway firmly establishes Courtney as the Jennifer Aniston of the super-hero community, but two adult paramours in a row? That's just sick. Where the hell was the editor? Hopefully, now that Geoff Johns is off the title Courtney can start a healthy, wholesome relationship with the Enchantress’ daughter. She's at least in the Kid's age group.

Then we arrive at Spectre Two: Electric Boogaloo. Crispus Allen as the Spectre doesn't cut it for me. I never understood the big deal with this character in the first place. He was a token learned black man on either Gotham City or the Metropolis police force. As the Spectre, he looks like an angry, bleached Shazaan--look it up. He's also another non-entity with a hoodie. This is becoming a disturbing trend. I accept Spectre Deux as much as I accept Cassandra Cain or Wendy as Batgirl. Not at all. I just cannot take the Crispus Allen Spectre seriously, and I would have preferred to see Ordway's Spectre of old, in terms of quality equal to Jim Aparo’s version of the character. That's a bit of time travel that would have been welcome.

I had some problems with the comic book. I did not enjoy this story as much as I should have. Normally, I wouldn't hesitate to give such an issue three bullets, but Jerry Ordway was not the cause of any of these problems. That's why it still earns four bullets.

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