JLA, Vol. 14: Trial by Fire

JLA (Original Trades)

by Joe Kelly, Doug Mahnke (Illustrator), Tom Nguyen (Illustrator)

The surviving members of the JLA unravel the secret of a creature of unimaginable power and fight to prevent it from unleashing World War III!

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

144 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 2004

About the author

Librarian note:
There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name

Reviews

[Andrew Ives · Rating 2 out of 5]

This JLA graphic novel comprises of a 6-comic arc, and so, is about 150 pages long. The story is wall-to-wall craziness - fire, fighting, space, Martians and nuclear bombs - which spans almost the whole of the book. This isn't my favourite kind of scenario anyway, but worse still, the last 30% involves Plastic Man who irritates me intensely. On the plus side, the artwork is occasionally very cool in certain panels and double-page spreads, albeit just 'too much' action, while any plotline is rather negligible. I can't say I enjoyed this much and even the printing isn't glossy. 2.25/5

[Virginia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Poor Martian Manhunter. Does he never get a break? I think I feel sorrier for him than for Batman and I LOVE Batman. Good story overall.

[Olivia · Rating 4 out of 5]

this one was pretty awesome

[Tomás Sendarrubias García · Rating 3 out of 5]

Con Prueba de Fuego, llegó a su final la etapa de Joe Kelly. Crisis de Identidad y todo lo que iba a traer se aproximaba en el horizonte, y había ajustes que hacer para todas las colecciones de DC a medio plazo. Aún quedaba tiempo para una interinidad que llegaría de la mano de dos autores míticos (ya llegaremos a eso). Y en su último arco, Kelly y Mahnke decidieron enfrentar a la JLA a una auténtica prueba de fuego, uno de los enemigos más poderosos que la Liga se había encontrado nunca... y que se trataba de uno de ellos.

Después de los acontecimientos de La Era de Obsidiana, donde J'onn J'onnz había sido anulado por el dominio de Rama Khan sobre el fuego, el Detective Marciano había dejado la Liga para intentar eliminar su miedo al fuego, y lo hizo acudiendo a una antigua enemiga de Superman, la villana Quemadura, con la que J'onn iría comenzando en los arcos anteriores una relación relativamente romántica... con consecuencias inesperadas para todos los implicados. Y es que en Prueba de Fuego, vemos como al liberarse de su miedo al fuego, J'onn libera una antigua memoria genética eliminada milenios atrás por los Guardianes de Oa, los Marcianos de Fuego. Convertido en una entidad llamada Fernus el Incinerador, J'onn comienza intentando establecer una nueva paz mundial utilizando su telepatía para forzar por ejemplo una paz entre Bialya y Qurac, pero también comienzan a aparecer asesinados diferentes villanos, siendo amenazado el propio Lex Luthor... y a no tardar, toda la Liga de la Justicia.

Con este arco, Joe Kelly ponía fin a una etapa que había comenzado tan en lo alto que, aunque supo mantener un nivel más que alto, fue decayendo poco a poco, a pesar de las interesantes propuestas del guionista y de los dibujantes que le acompañaron.

[Lillian Francis · Rating 4 out of 5]

#83 - not in this volume but I’m reading as issues so I’ll leave the review here. Wow, this issue feels really prophetic reading it now in 2026. At least Luther has better hair than Trumpet. I enjoyed it for the main part, including the art, but the artist went off piste towards the end. WW suddenly had massive boobs and the final panel with Clark and WW embracing, Clark in nothing but a bathrobe and WW draped all over him just felt off. Especially as a few panels earlier Clark was talking about Lois being his rock.
#84 - 89 Trial by Fire takes up the whole of this book. Poor Martian Manhunter, I really felt for him here. It’s an epic story that doesn’t always work. Love that Superman especially is conflicted about hurting his friend. MM killed a lot of people in these issues, including the White Martians, and isn’t really held accountable. Annoyingly (for me) Plastic Man saved the day, he’s slightly more bearable now he’s trying to be a good dad, but boy is his wisecracking annoying.

[David Ross · Rating 4 out of 5]

J'onn J'onnz has a secret: he has a dark alter-ego who's a pyromaniac! It seems that long ago the little blue meddlers of Oa decided to genetically alter an alien race (again) and nudge the savage martian race in a more positive direction. (Later on, presumably, the species split into the white and green races.) Unfortunately, it seems that the shape-changing Martians aren't absolutely bound by genetic locks. It's complicated.


The story line is chock full of surprises; like learning that Vandal Savage may once have saved the human race from extinction, finding out what makes Batman smile, and the real reason Wonder Woman carries a rope. If you're a JLA fan you'll be glad you bought this one.

[Iris Bratton · Rating 5 out of 5]

My favorite Justice League comic so far!

This volume blew me away! I was recommended this after expressing my love for Martian Manhunter, and I couldn't be happier! This highlights his inner struggle as well as proving just how powerful he is.

I haven't felt a book hangover like this in a while! The storyline is interesting, the art is gorgeous, and it ends satisfactorily so you don't have to continue on in the series to know more. I had a blast reading this! If you love the DC universe, definitely this pick up!

[Andrew Alvis · Rating 4 out of 5]

While the story seemed a bit all over the place, I loved Mahnke's art.
J'onn is certainly a more complex character than I ever thought before.

[Sean · Rating 3 out of 5]

One huge problem I have always had with the DC Universe is that their heroes are created too powerful. The likes of Superman, Flash, Martian Manhunter, etc. are shown here to do some unbelievably feats yet they are also succumb to things that wouldn't seem to make sense given their power displays earlier. It's the unevenness that bothers me and its quite evident here. This story, focusing on Martina Manhunter isn't bad but at times it was hazy as what exactly was going on. That could be Joe Kelly's fault or the artist, Doug Mahnke, might not have been clear enough. Mahnke does provide some spectacular visuals. There are certain scenes here that I will always remember. They are that good. However, there is are a lot of pages that seem to lack that same effort. Overall, this is a an interesting book that is a little convoluted but worth your time.

[Chris Haley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Every so often, I go back and re-read this, and every time I think, "This is gonna be the time that I realize this book isn't as good as I remember it being."

And every time, this book proves me wrong and is every bit as good as I remember.

I started to say, "I have no idea why this creative team' run on JLA didn't set the world on fire the way Morrison and Porter's before them did." but then I remember what the comic world was like at the time and all the other mitigating factors and sigh.

There are some details that will probably be lost on you if you haven't read all of the 70-80 issues of JLA prior to this arc, but it's still completely enjoyable and easy to follow without having done so.

[Shane · Rating 4 out of 5]

Forgot to add this in when I started it and now I'm done. Kelly pulls it off as usual. I was riveted from the start. The setup was actually in the last graphic novel but I just read that one a couple weeks ago. I don't really know that much about Green Lantern or J'ohn's origins so this gave some cool glimpses into what they're all about. Loved the conflicted heroes (especially Superman) who didn't want to kill their long time friend and ally and of course it was cool to see Plastic Man back, he's always loads of fun.

[Brad · Rating 2 out of 5]

Martian Manhunter sorta goes evil, and it’s sorta Green Lantern’s fault! I’m getting a little sick of all the revisionist history with Martians and Oans—they both seem to have a lot of retcons.
On the whole, there were just too many characters in this book (Scorch? Major Disaster? Faith? Manitou Dawn?) for anyone to easily slip into it. Some of the major emotional moments, like Batman talking to Plastic Man’s son, also didn’t hit home.
In the end, and mildly fun blockbuster.

[Steve · Rating 5 out of 5]

By far, this is Joe Kelly's masterpiece in his run of JLA. I don't want to spoil it for anyone going in, I just want to say that you should go into this one blind. Its got the most character development and action I've ever seen, making for a blockbuster that is truly breath-taking and unforgettable.

[Devero · Rating 2 out of 5]

Una sequenza, l'ultima di Joe Kelly per la JLA, che ancora una volta non soddisfa per nulla le mie attese. Certo è un poco meglio delle ultime storie, ma in generale è stata una vera pena leggere il ciclo di Kelly.

[Erik · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the best of the Kelly/Mahnke run and a fitting conclusion to everything they did up to this point. The hero goes bad story has been done a million times but this one worked better for me than most of the others I've read.

[Declan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Solid, but never really got my juices going.

[Angela · Rating 3 out of 5]

A telepath reeks havok on the earth. It's ok, and there are some nice character touches. This volume concentrates on Superman and Martian Manhunter.

[Paige · Rating 3 out of 5]

This storyline can pretty much be summed up in three words: well, that happened.