So this issue isn’t technically part of the main crossover and acts more as a setting up point, we felt that Jackson and I should do our due diligence and review this issue together. As always Jackson’s text will be in blue and mine will be in purple.
So the epilogue to this long, long event thankfully deals with the few immediate issues brought up in the last part. However, given how they were handled “deals with” might be a strong word.
Not helped by the fact that the continuity remains wonky between issues, with the last one having a heroic Harley Quinn and this issue opening up with the same Harley demanding to know what happened to Mistah J.
Well if there’s one thing that I’m willing to accept with Harley Quinn (especially Puddin’ era Harley Quinn), it’s mercurial temperament swings.
Overall I felt that this did a good job wrapping up the event. In fact, I might even say it was my favorite issue of the whole thing. It was the first time that the plot felt focused, driven, and made progress towards a clear goal.
The issue attempts to wrap up loose ends by sending back some of the time displaced heroes…but complicates matters further by bringing in new heroes. I’m assuming from the roster left behind that they are meant to star in the upcoming Justice League Dark Tomorrow special and beyond.
What irks me a lot is that this issue is full of callbacks and call-forwards, but cannot take the time to focus on the characters a bit. For instance, we see Hal having a brief moment with Abin Sur…only for him to start quipping about Composite Superman showing up. It really reminds me of that complaint you had about how World’s Finest would often just have Dan Mora draw cool things because he draws them well. But even after employing the cheat code that is Dan Mora’s art you still need the story to do more than just move the characters around from plot point A to plot point B.
Speaking of which, what did you think of the characters left behind?
I think the somewhat “rushed” nature of the story is because this issue is essentially pulling double duty. Just as much as it’s an epilogue to We Are Yesterday, it’s also a prologue for the next All In event. As with any capital “E” Event, it can’t be character driven. Maybe one or two will be selected as the functional protagonists and get real development (in this case it was Air Wave), but everyone else will mostly be set dressing. It’s great seeing Dan Mora draw some of them, but that’s what they are. The specifics of who gets left behind will 90% just be who you get to see pictures of in the background.
In fact, reading this in many ways reminded me of reading Crisis on Infinite Earths. In both instances you have all of time/the multiverse in danger of collapsing in on itself, resulting in a bunch of characters meeting different versions of themselves. Just as with Crisis, the vast majority of those characters are little more than cameos, complete with someone exclaiming their full name and description for the reader. I think the similarities are at least somewhat intentional, if the presence of the Anti-Monitor’s brother is anything to go by.
Well that brother and Time Trapper Doomsday are the source of the main conflict in this issue as in order to get the time distortions under control they plan to… cut Grodd open to learn the secrets of Omega. Which the heroes oppose not only because killing is wrong and also because it sounds like the stupidest plan ever. And then Grodd basically weasels his way out of there by claiming to be an expert on the phenomenon and gets to be their advisor.
Y’know when I say it out loud it almost feels like everyone is written to be incompetent?
We’re circling the same point a bit, but it’s partially a result of having just so many characters. The plot has to happen and you have 22 pages to do it. Not only that, but evil Bill and Ted need to get Grodd so he can do whatever he needs to do for the next event. This was always going to be a functional bridge story more than anything else.
We do get a moment of competence from the character who is mostly allowed to be by himself, Mr. Terrific. It’s a scene that felt a lot like those moments of Star Trek: The Next Generation where Geordi would spout off some Treknobabble explanation as to how they would fake science their way to the solution. The rules are all made up, but when you accept that, it works fine. It’s a decent scene that allows some smaller character moments that the story needs. That being said “you need to be less emotionally invested” is a really funny character lesson to have.
Yeah Mr. Terrific manages to somehow be the sole emotional force of the story as he is clearly struggling with what happened with Air Wave. I do admit as a result of time passing the character of Michael Holt has become a bit more arrogant (which is a common trait among smart people in fiction) but at least this issue manages to do something worthwhile with it. Which is funny because if someone read Mr. Terrific’s earliest appearances he would come off as someone who was smart and level-headed as opposed to the man who threw a keyboard at a teammate.
And hey, we finally get a conclusion to the Air Wave sub-plot. So that’s something, I guess?
I’m not going to harp on this point any more after this or we will be here all week. But the fact that the members of the Justice League in this issue, barring Mr. Terrific and Air Wave, could be swapped around at random or say each other’s dialogue without it feeling off just makes my experience feel worse.
Recommended If
- You enjoy Dan Mora drawing all these colorful characters
- You’re a fan of using previous story arcs to tell new stories
- You wanted more Mr. Terrific stuff after watching Superman 2025
Overall
We Are Yesterday ends mostly on a high note, as everything gets both wrapped up and set up for the next event. As with any event like this the cast can often feel overly stuffed and the story driven by the necessities of the plot, but the time displacement drama keeps things exciting and focused. Also while the cavalcade of cameos might not have much to do, it’s always nice to see Dan Mora draw them.
Score: 7.5/10
The story being told in this issue is functional and gets its point across decently well. Additionally, the art continues to be excellent. However, in addition to having far too many characters to the point where no one can be expected to keep track of them, the decision to have time displaced versions of those characters also be part of the plot hurts this story. Also the League keeps needing outside help despite its massive roster, so they can’t help but come off as incompetent.
Score: 6.5/10
Disclaimer: DC Comics provided an advanced copy of this comic for review purposes.
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