First Part of "Break Downs."
And I am noticing that the next issues are number 3 and number 5. So I guess, once again, I will miss partial issues in a series. Darn you, DC.
I had already forgotten that Max was shot at the end of the last issue. I was looking at this cover and wondering if it was Beetle in the hospital (after getting beat up by Max), but, no, Beetle is there. I just thought Guy looked so broken up. Everyone looks very sad. And the doctor seems to be telling them someone is dead.
We get a recap at the beginning of the issue. Max Lord is shot while out with his current girlfriend. He doesn't really seem to have been shot-shot, though, as there was no noise, and the bullets appeared from nowhere. We also learn that Max was once married, to the current head of the Conglomerate (which may be the super-group that Booster left to join?). I think she must have something to do with it!
So while Max is lying in the hospital, the UN is debating on whether to let the JLI keep their charter. Since Max is dying, who could possibly run the JLI? Since Max hasn't really been around, and since the JLI really doesn't seem to do much in the way of fighting super-villians, I think anyone could!
The JLI is standing around in the hospital, debating what to do. Will Max be okay? Should Guy be there? (Since Max didn't have a chance to fire him, he hasn't left yet.) Fire complains that she feels so helpless, not being out looking for the culprit. Everyone goes in to see Max, who is in critical condition (and in a HUGE bed). Booster and his boss (Max's ex wife) come in. So now there are at least 9 people in this room, standing around the bed. This is one huge hospital room! And with all these people, Max's current girlfriend is nowhere to be seen. Hmmmm.
Then, J'onn gets a call that the JLI is needed. And Fire, who has just been complaining about not doing anything at the hospital, doesn't want to leave. Argh. But the whole JLA goes off to fight rescue people in a subway tunnel that collapsed.
Once the JLA leaves, the JLA arrives. The Justice League ANTARCTICA! Well, they aren't JL-Antarctica anymore, they are just a bunch of second-rate villains. But they should get to visit Max, too. They like Max. Perhaps they should have come one at a time, as they really scare the guards and staff. Eventually things work out, and J'onn puts "JL-Ant" in charge of guarding Max.
At the same time, though, the UN is getting together to completely reform the JLI, under Kurt Heimlich. I am not sure who this is.
And, before I forget, there was a brief interlude with Manga Khan in this issue. To me, it sounded like he might be after OMAC. Hmmmm.