Review by Ian Keogh

In 2006 successful novelist Brad Meltzer was hired to reboot the Justice League for a fourth time, and The Tornado’s Path is his starting point. He begins by identifying Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman as the guardians of the Justice League franchise and has them in the process of selecting a new team, before rapidly switching to the deactivated Red Tornado and his girlfriend mourning him.

Red Tornado is definitely Meltzer’s go-to character, the central idea being that his true potential has never been fully activated, and he has some pretty good ideas about why. Red Tornado discarding his artificial body to become human is well arranged amid discussion about who should be on the team, and short scenes spotlighting the successful candidates. Meltzer supplies a novel selection.

It’s quite some while before we see an actual Justice League team, although there’s no shortage of action drawn by Ed Benes. Time has reduced his popular style to era-defining, with constantly grimacing people low on human emotion. The characters who’re supposed to supply that emotion do so by exaggerating. Benes is a solid storyteller, though, and if you like his fiddly lines, the pages still shine, except for those where he crosses into excess. There’s no cause to show someone having their hand ripped off so graphically, never mind the following scene, where Benes at least uses silhouette.

While the inclusion of Black Lightning and Vixen sends a message, restoring tradition is Meltzer’s main aim, building and improving on the Justice League of his childhood. The members operate in small teams, there’s the return of the membership certificate and a wide variety of heroes are discussed, if not all involved. However, in attempting to pack in the Justice League’s old enemies, Meltzer over-complicates the plot as behind one villain there’s another, and then another still. Their individual use is clever, but a shorter story with fewer of them would better hold the interest whereas the curtain pulled back so many times doesn’t. The concepts are good, but the reality doesn’t do them justice.

Seven chapters produce a viable team who continue into The Lightning Saga. Alternatively, both are combined with other material in Justice League by Brad Meltzer Deluxe Edition.