In the interests of fairness, there were a few good "bits" in ROCK OF AGES.
Grant's display of Argent's full, frightening power, for instance. It's the only time Argent has ever been cool, and I'm amazed that other writers haven't "paid off" on the promise this story offers.
Aquaman telepathically commanding the weird, mutated sealife of a polluted earth. COOL.
Four Words: Jem, Son of Saturn. These sort of guest-appearances are what Geoff Johns would later perfect in JSA and his other writings.
But none of these cute little bits make up for the fact that the story makes no sense.
Why would Metron, under the control of Darkseid, send heroes from the present to the future where they would learn it and prevent it? Why does Metron do anything in this story? His motivations aren't clear.
Luthor has the Worlogog, but he did NOTHING WITH IT. The whole concept behind the Thanos War is that Thanos + Cosmic Cube = Oh Crap.
Speaking of things that do nothing, I hate to repeat myself here, but the Injustice Gang did nothing but sit around Luthor's satellite Castle Greyskull.
The seduction of Green Arrow was laughable. "Gee, Conner, I bet she's totally not evil or anything." Does anyone seriously believe that Green Arrow would be made to turn against his friends by some obviously evil chick? Also: does anyone know how WEIRD it would really be if Green Lantern and Green Arrow in full costume just went into a random diner and bought coffee?
Could someone explain to me what the point of the hard light hologram attack on Star City was meant to actually accomplish? Why were the hard light sprites not used again in the story?
Why is Wally West still alive? His identity was public knowledge, you really think he can disappear as some random human grunt? I'm not saying there isn't an explanation, but what I am saying is that Morrison didn't think this Darkseid world through. Compare that to say, the alternate world Busiek created in "Morgan Conquest," which hints at a history and geopolitics as complicated as ours.
Amazo was just thrown away. It's a pet peeve of mine, but it bothers me that a villain as powerful as Amazo has become a goofy paper tiger that can be taken down with one punch by Black Adam. Here the robot was disposed of five seconds after the battle began by computer viruses. Even the heroes were cavalierly dismissive of Amazo. "Oh, no, we can't take on Darseid! All we've got is a reprogrammed Amazo! Now, if only Elongated Man had survived we'd be somewhere..."
PLASTIC MAN. Oh, God, kill me NOW. Just when I thought Snapper Carr was the most annoying person in JLA history, Plastic Man comes in with spastic circa-1996 pop culture references to BABE. This is just the sort of thing austistic people find hilarious.
(And Waid found Plastic Man hilarious enough to be the only Morrison guy besides the Founders he kept. I hate to give these armchair diagnoses, but I sincerely believe Waid has Asperger's Syndrome. An inability to understand human emotions and motivations, anxiety bordering on terror when confronted with sex, jokes that aren't really jokes...)
Morrison's attempt to give his whole run something of a coherent plot is likewise lame. While Busiek was actually writing THUNDERBOLTS and AVENGERS long-term arcs with stories like the Scarlet Witch/Wonder Man/Vision love triangle and the conspiracy and media manipulation of the Triune Understanding, Morrison mentions Meggido and says, "hey, look, a big monster! When will the JLA fight it, gentle reader?"
Make no mistake, comparing Busiek to Morrison is like comparing LOST to professional wrestling. "When will Superman bodyslam Megiddo? Tune in next month, at Wrestlemania XXV!"
Oh yeah, and the whole octopus with the glowing red gem between the eyes look? I liked that idea best when it was called Pyaray, Lord of Chaos. This is not being catty or nitpicky. Seriously, that design is IDENTICAL to Pyaray from STORMBRINGER.
It was a great read. For starters, who cares why it is that the Worlogog would result in Darkseid's ruling Earth?
The Worlogog/Darkseid connection is important because it unites the Injustice Gang story with the Days of Future Past Darkseid story. Otherwise, the Darkseid thing becomes a tangent.
It isn't necessary for two stories to coincide: Englehart had the Avengers encounter the Serpent Crown the same time as "Go West, Young Gods," for instance...but neither of those stories pretended to unity with the other.
What's worse, at no point is there any "payoff" for this thread with the Darkseid/Worlogog. The reason this is a problem, the reason why we should care, is because if we never see WHY it is so important, then destroying or not destroying the Worlogog becomes an entirely arbitrary course of action, like flipping a light switch connected to nothing.
I personally thought the guys writing was phenomenal and frankly, thanks to him, my favorite heroes started getting the love they deserve and knocked those darn X-books off the top ten lists for some time.
The best job Morrison did in knocking off the X-Books...was when he was writing the X-Books.
Further, Superman and Bats had genuine admiration for each other, for the first time I've seen since World's Finest pre-crisis. The biggest kick I got was Superman realizing that Batman was still free and the whole "the most dangerous man alive" thing, as well as the confidence knowing that the Martian's time was up with Bats on the loose. I loved it!
True, there was admiration, but there was also a mutual sort of suspicion and criticism which makes it not quite the usual friendship. Morrison laid the boundaries for Waid's "Tower of Babel" with Batman and Superman's disagreement about trust after the secret mission with Barda and Orion. I was responding to the point that Morrison is somehow "Mr. Silver Age" when his dynamic is complicated.