JLA Classified, Vol. 4: The Hypothetical Woman

JLA Classified

by Gail Simone, José Luis García-López (Illustrator), Sean Phillips (Illustrator)

The Justice League of America is caught in a harrowing situation after being sent by the United Nations Security Council to intervene in a South American nation ruled by an iron-fisted dictator. But General Tuzik has an ace up his The Hypothetical Woman,a mysterious being who enables Tuzik to create his own evil version of the JLA --

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Superheroes, Dc Comics, Comic Book, Fiction, Batman

144 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2006

About the author

Gail Simone is a comic book writer well-known for her work on Birds of Prey (DC), Wonder Woman (DC), and Deadpool (Marvel), among others, and has also written humorous and critical commentary on comics and the comics industry such as the original "Women in Refrigerators" website and a regular column called "You'll All Be Sorry".

Reviews

[Scott · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

"He's attacked us . . . with an all-out military assault. This isn't some grinning idiot in a cape. He's been ahead of us the whole time. It's not an approach we're used to . . . Propaganda. Biological warfare. Chemical weapons. Direct military force . . . All right, General - let's play!" -- an angry Batman

A Justice League adventure penned by special guest writer Gail Simone, The Hypothetical Woman takes a little bit to get moving but ultimately benefits from a pretty good storyline. The JL remove a stereotypical military officer-dictator from power in a troubled third-world country. However, the general quickly spins around and harshly turns the tables on them, putting the entire team through the wringer in a variety of ways (see the quote above for Batman's thoughts on the situation) before playing his trump card -- a squad of soldiers-turned-metahumans with abilities similar to those of the JL. Batman really shines in this one, whether he's in tactician mode, cracking a few jokes (!) to his teammates, or giving a cautionary speech in the final pages. Thanks for stopping by, Ms. Simone.

[Molly™☺ · Rating 2 out of 5]

Whilst Simone's grasp on the JLA characters is pretty damn good, the plot leaves a lot to be desired. Perhaps it is the lack of originality or the poor portrayal of political dominance (truly mind boggling why all the countries decide to blindly trust one dictator with their most powerful weapons), but it becomes quite hard to sit through at times. It's a shame as she presents a lot of interesting ideas that are trapped in a stale story. Skip.

[Craig · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book begins with an interesting premise-- The J.L.A. is going to take down a ruthless human dictator rather than face-off against their usual super villain or super-alien foe-- but then introduces a super-being who creates a super-team after all, and the story slides into a more run-of-the-mill pattern. The titular Hypothetical Woman is never really explained or developed too well. The art is nice, kind of DC-average. Batman has a very nice scene at the very end, warning the new ruler that he will be watched and making the point that vigilance is the price of freedom. There are some very good throw-away bits, characteristic of Simone, such as the horrified and confused reaction Green Lantern and Flash have to Wonder Woman baking them snacks; Batman hands out assignments to the team, then turns back to tell Diana that Alfred will need the recipe. It's a fun and well-written book, but doesn't quite live up to its potential.

[Aidan]

Skimmed the second half, easily the worst Gail I’ve read. While her characterization of the JLA cast is fun, and the Starro virus is cool, anytime a superhero writer introduces generic evil dictator as the villain I prepare for the worst. Not only does a JLA story not possess the facilities to deal with something like a real dictator, it seems like Simone has less than a child’s understanding of how political power and wars work in the real world, not to mention this bad guy isn’t even a character so he’s not fun to read about. This is soaked in the rhetoric of “screw politics, let’s punch the bad guys!” that got us into two wars during the Bush administration. Self serious, very little fun, says nothing. Everything that was wrong with superhero comics in the 2000s, and from one of my favorite writers no less.

[M · Rating 2 out of 5]

Featuring the writing of one Gail Simone, I was really looking forward to the collection dubbed The Hypothetical Woman. What I discovered was a grandiose scheme trapped by the rules of the DC Universe. We open with the JLA taking apart the dictatorship of one General Tuzik. Upon his arrest, they discover the genocidal madman has already made a back door deal with the United Nations for a peaceful extradition and freedom from prosecution. Months later, the General launches his own biowarfare campaign against the League, utilizing the weapons caches of other distasteful leaders like himself. The greatest threat, however, is the mysterious Hypothetical Woman: A female being capable of resurrecting those who die in her presence and infusing them with enhanced abilities. Fighting a war on two fronts, the League must take down Tuzik and end his terror campaign all while playing according to the rules of the political stage. As previously stated, this idea is one that bears merit; how does a group like the JLA deal with international red tape? Unfortunately, the message gets scrambled with the introduction of the Hypothetical Woman and her deus ex machina abilities. Her creations and plot points only serve to add super-powered foes into the mix, which was wholly unnecessary for this story. Hypothetically, this scenario would be great if fully explored to its fullest.

[Rosa · Rating 3 out of 5]

The JLA gets involved in ousting a dictator which is a very political move that is rife with difficulties for them. Unfortunately he strikes a deal with the UN rather then going to court and paying for his crimes. While living in China as an ousted dictator he manages to convince other nations through threats and fear that he should be given weapons and money in exchange for getting rid of the JLA. The JLA will try to stop him but it isn't easy b/c the dictator is willing to make sacrifices that they will not make.
It was really interesting to see how the JLA tried to handle the situation without getting smashed in the politics. The different weapons the dictator uses are truly awful, and it was really interesting to see what members of the JLA handled which situations both diplomatically and within combat. There was a lot of meat to this story and it was a good read.
I just realized it was by Gail Simone, no wonder.

[James Bowman · Rating 3 out of 5]

A interesting idea for a story - a deposed dictator uses discarded supervillain tech to seek revenge on the League. Results in some interesting callbacks, too! Unfortunately, it feels like it doesn't quite live up to its potential, and the ending seems a bit truncated. But still a worthwhile read. (B)

[Theediscerning · Rating 3 out of 5]

A three and a half star read - not too bad, as the action is quite good, and it's a decently self-contained arc. If the baddie (and his chief helper) were a little better defined, things would be really good. As it is his progress against his equivalents elsewhere, and his whole plan of campaign, were quite muddled. On the plus side is the artwork, some reasonable new characters, and a healthy balance of the League all getting their share of our attention.

[Mjhancock · Rating 3 out of 5]

The JLA go up against a global despot, one who's assembled his own army of superheroes. It's a solid enough story, with some interesting ideas, such as Starro as a miniscule virus and the idea that someone's been gathering up all the scraps left from superhero fights. At the same time, it never really rises above servicable; everyone's in character, but they lack the personality of Simone's Secret Six, or even the simple bonds of her Birds of Prey. The art is roughly the same; it's DC House style, no more, no less.

[Brad · Rating 2 out of 5]

Gail Simone packs in plenty of interesting ideas in this book (micro-Starros, a Society of Super Villainous Despots, a character that conjures stuff out of stories), but the pacing and characters get rather unreadable at several points.

[Allen Setzer · Rating 2 out of 5]

The whole story was a mash up of derivative ideas we’ve seen countless times. Simone’s character dialogue so atrocious none of the characters sound like themselves. Really lazy effort and its only value is as a warning how not to treat well established characters.

[Mulberry Street Library]

Barry's pick

[Shannon Appelcline · Rating 2 out of 5]

A nice setup, but other than that, a dull six-issue fight. Bleh.