"Trial by Fire": Part Two--Witness for the Prosecution
Writer: Marc Andreyko
Artists: Jesus Saiz(p), Jimmy Palmiotti(i), Steve Buccellato(c)
Publisher: DC
The last time I saw a trial in a DC book was--gee, let me think--was it really during the Huntress backups in Wonder Woman and her features in The Batman Family? Yes, I do believe so.
Manhunter teaches another lesson to DC comics. Rather than interpret realism as super-heroes flying over a disaster they could have prevented or stubbornly refusing to use the thousands upon thousands of scifi and magical methods available to heal a spine, the brain trust should help their writers extend their stories beyond the battle. Hold a trial.
Marc Andreyko's Kate Spencer A.K.A. Manhunter having failed to eradicate the Shadow Thief who somehow managed to kill Firestorm during The Identity Crisis, or as I like to call it ICK, seeks to take him down the old fashioned way. Prosecute him.
Andreyko makes a DC universe trial fascinating. This was a door just waiting to be opened, and he does not fail in this foray. How does the presence of DC super-heroes affect the judicial system? The answer surprises and differs even from the Marvel exploration of the subject in She-Hulk, eighties Daredevil and eighties Avengers.
Kate Spencer calls her witnesses. One is Hawkman. Always dangerous because Katar Hol is the poster-child of screwed-up continuity. Oh, I mean Carter. Katar never existed despite he and Shayera fighting the Shadow War during the post-Crisis. Andryko very smartly side-steps emphasis on the reincarnation angle. He neither denies or supports the messed-up continuity and has Hawkman answer very cagily the questions about his history.
Andreyko is on stronger ground when Kate calls Superman to the stand. Now, the company line has always been that Superman never was part of the original Justice League. Meaning, every pre-Crisis adventure with the League having Superman on the roster--pretty much every one until they move to Detroit--no longer exists.
Of course, people who have never read a comic book in their entire lives would look at you as if a cuckoo was about to spring from your forehead. Superman was in The Super-Friends. Duh! Thus culturally if not by the complete chaos that is the DCU, Superman served with Firestorm in the JLA during the classic line up era. This fudging of foolish revisionism allows Andreyko to write stirring words fitting the Man of Steel and reveal in the narration Kate's admiration for him and indeed all super-heroes.
Manhunter is a very unusual character in the DC universe. She actually wants to be a super-hero. She sees the super-hero as a noble field and an extension of the law which sometimes fails to mete out justice.
It's during Superman's scene that Andreyko shows some of the hypothetical pitfalls associated with the fusion of the morality drama and the realism of the law. The defense attorney as if he were a kryptonite poker punctures Superman's invulnerability. His tactic makes sense, though I doubt he'll dare to use the same tactic if Kate calls Batman to the stand. Mind you, Superman does have a legal standing. In Man of Steel he was given special deputy status. What? That doesn't count any more? Never mind.
Andreyko's story while impressive would not be so accomplished in the comic book medium without Jesus Saiz, DC's all too secret weapon. His art relies on anatomy, scale and proportion and observation of expression.
It's easy to be wowed by Saiz's depiction of the League, but his skill is evident on the very first page. Examine the understated motion of the newscaster reporting the trial. Her movements look realistic and natural. Subtle facial flinches and nods of the head characterize her as being on camera and a professional in control of her emotions. She's a perfectly coifed lure to the story.
What you find beyond her cameo keeps you enthralled. I am convinced that some artists hate to draw super-heroes. To be kind maybe they're just inept. Not so Mr. Saiz. He understands that he is embellishing myth, and Saiz bestows artistic reverence to those in cape and cowl.
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