Justice League Unlimited #22 — Despero Rises and the Watchtower Shudders

Mark Waid and Dan Mora turn the galaxy upside down. Despero returns to Powers Planet, while the Watchtower faces its own internal fracture. A story of cosmic stakes and domestic collapse.

There’s a specific kind of chaos that happens when the people who usually hold the universe together forget to hold each other together. In Justice League Unlimited #22, that fracture isn’t just theoretical — it’s structural. Mark Waid and Dan Mora have built a story where the threat isn’t just coming from the stars; it’s echoing from within their own walls.

The premise is a double-edged sword. On one side of the screen, the arch-dictator Despero is back, and he’s not asking for permission. He’s seized Powers Planet, surrounding the League in a barrage of forces that make the odds look impossible. But the real story might be waiting for us back home. The Watchtower is dealing with the fallout of the Amnesty program, and those fissures are finally cracking wide open.

Dan Mora’s art on this one feels heavy, in the best way. He captures the weight of a galaxy in crisis and the claustrophobia of a command center under siege. You can feel the tension in the lines, the way the characters move when they know they’re running out of time. It’s a masterclass in visual storytelling that makes every panel feel urgent.

If you’ve been riding this run with Waid, you know he loves to explore the cost of heroism. This issue takes that theme and amplifies it. It’s not just about punching hard; it’s about holding the line when the ground beneath you is shaking. It’s the kind of issue that makes you want to turn the page just to see how they’re going to fix it.

I’m keeping an eye on the Mora variant cover for this one. The artwork is striking, and these tend to move quickly once people realize what they’re looking at. If you’re grabbing the issue, that’s the one to look for on the shelf.