Random Retrospective #37 – JLA Classified #41

I think I’ve asked this before, but just in case I haven’t: the 60s JLA villain Amazo (and the Kid version we see here) – how do you pronounce the name? A-MAZE-O (as in amazing) or Am-Ah-Zo? I’m unaware of there being an official pronunciation put out there, but if you know of one, let me know.

So anyway, the end of the Kid Amazo storyline finds the JLA going up against the newest version of Professor Ivo’s android who has not only all the powers and abilities of the League as the old version did, but also all of their personalities as well. In order to defeat him, the League has to come to grips with being a better team (as Peter Milligan here has them going through a “we don’t trust or like each other” phase.)

Kid Amazo, meanwhile, returns to Professor Ivo and demands to know who has supplied the human side of his being, who, in effect, was his mother.

That’s right, folks – Kid Amazo and his mom hooked up earlier in the storyline. (And is my fourteen year old self the only one chortling at the line about things getting “pretty Greek back there“?)

With that shock delivered, Kid Amazo decides to fulfil his programming and take on the Justice League, taking them out almost shockingly easy not by defeating them in terms of strength but by getting inside their head. Having taken down Batman, he takes the time to put on the batsuit so we can get a quick Batman vs Superman moment:

Ultimately, Batman uses the fact of Kid Amazo having all their personalities against him, starting an argument amongst them all which leads to the traditional overload:

And a moment later, Kid Amazo goes boom, and the League feel like they’ve won only by exposing their hitherto hidden dislike of each other – so nobody ends up feeling happy.

I’ve never been a major fan of Peter Milligan’s writing so this arc didn’t do a whole lot for me, to be honest.