Justice (DC Comics)
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Justice is a 12-issue limited series comic book published by DC Comics, commencing bi-monthly publication in August 2005. The title is written by Alex Ross and Jim Krueger, with art by Ross and Doug Braithwaite.
The Justice League of America confronts their enemies, (Lex Luthor, Riddler, Brainiac, Black Manta), who have combined forces. The villains are motivated by a shared a vision of the planet's destruction, which they intend to avoid. They have banded together to defeat the League in order to divert Earth's inhabitants from their over-reliance on the superheroes, which they believe to be the root cause of the apocalyptic events they have forseen.
Ross brings to Justice the photorealism, painted art, and the exploration of the superhero mythos which was seen in his 1996 collaboration with writer Mark Waid in DC's limited series Kingdom Come.
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[edit] Continuity
Many aspects of Justice appear to relate to the Silver Age of comic books; Ross has a well-known affinity for that era. However, key differences distinguish the series from taking place in either Pre-Crisis or Post-Crisis DC Universe continuity. The series either takes place in a newly-rebooted past (post-Infinite Crisis), or in a parallel universe. Unlike other "imaginary" stories that fall outside of DC continuity, Justice does not bear the Elseworlds label.
Particularities of Justice's timestream and continuity:
- Lex Luthor is still a mad scientist; there is no relation to his modern age backstory.
- Brainiac appears in the form and costume of his first incarnation, Vril Dox.
- Barry Allen, Iris West, Hawkwoman, the original Doom Patrol, Black Manta and Arthur Curry Jr. are all alive.
- Wonder Woman is on the team with Barry Allen. Following the original Crisis, Wonder Woman's debut didn't occur until after Barry Allen's death.
- Hal Jordan still works at Ferris Aircraft Co. (In the current DC continuity, the character works at Edwards Air Force Base.)
- The Cheetah is Priscilla Rich.
- Ray Palmer is active as the Atom, and is depicted as talking to Jean Loring on his phone (issue #4).
- The Parasite is the Silver Age version, Maxwell Jensen.
- Doc Magnus may not be Veridium of the Metal Men.
- Aquaman has both of his hands, and is still married to Mera.
- Metallo does not appear to have morphing powers, and is depicted with his silver age appearance of dark hair and mustache, as opposed to his current appearance (blonde hair, no facial hair).
- Bizarro seems to be a villain, as he is in the Super Friends version rather than in his comic book appearances.
- Elongated Man is on active duty.
- Sue Dibny is still alive.
- Giganta appears in her Golden Age persona as an evolved ape rather than in her Dr. Zheul persona.
[edit] Legion of Doom connection
Thirteen villains comprised the Legion of Doom during the Challenge of the Super Friends, and they appear in Justice.
- Bizarro #1
- Black Manta
- Brainiac
- Captain Cold
- Cheetah
- Giganta (the sniper in issue 4)
- Gorilla Grodd
- Lex Luthor
- The Riddler
- The Scarecrow
- Sinestro
- Solomon Grundy
- Toyman
In addition, the following villains appear in Justice: Poison Ivy, Parasite, Metallo, Black Adam, and Clayface. The Joker appears in issues #2, #3, #6 and #8, while Two-Face and Dr. Sivana have cameos in issue #2.
[edit] League roster
- Batman
- Superman
- Wonder Woman
- Green Lantern
- Aquaman
- The Flash
- Captain Marvel
- Plastic Man
- Green Arrow
- The Atom
- Hawkman
- Hawkgirl
- Red Tornado
[edit] Synopsis
[edit] Justice #1
The story begins as dozens of missiles simultaneously strike the Earth. The members of the Justice League of America independently attempt, and fail, to rescue the citizens. Throughout the sequence, an unseen narrator laments the human race's idolization of and reliance on superheroes which, the narrator opines, has lead to the destruction of Earth.
The arrival of a crisis too immense for the heroes to mitigate underscores the narrator's view that human beings have delegated too much of their destiny to the heroes. This sequence ends with the destruction of the Earth and all of its inhabitants except for Superman, who flies into space at the last moment. The sequence is revealed to be a nightmare — one shared by several supervillains.
The story shifts to Aquaman who, after his own sleepless night, reveals to his wife Mera that he senses the presence of something in the oceans that does not belong there. A school of sharks arrive and lead him to the object — a massive city-sized black sphere. Aquaman is attacked by Black Manta and his henchmen; he is overwhelmed and rendered unconscious. Aquaman is conveyed into the sphere and delivered to Lex Luthor, who is revealed as the issue's narrator.
[edit] Justice #2
Riddler and his henchmen are in Wayne Tower, using the powerful computers to hack into Batman's network. The building's surveillance system identifies the presence of Bruce Wayne in the building. As Riddler completes the transfer of the computer files onto a removable disk, the security system informes the villains that Wayne has stopped outside their door. However, when the door opens, Batman greets the villains instead.
Riddler and his men dash from the building into a van; Batman follows in the Batmobile. He receives a call from Red Tornado, informing him that Aquaman is still missing. Batman stops Riddler's van and pursues him to a club called the Batcave. The two trade blows before the villain's associated grab Batman. However, in a bar named for Batman, he has many allies. The Riddler unleashes a torrent of light and question marks and escapes; Batman gathers a few clues, and leaves.
Elsewhere Jonathan Crane (aka the Scarecrow) is seen administering an injection to a sickly girl, who miraculously walks again. Flash runs to a desert which has been revitalized. The inhabitants inform him that a man arrived with a gun that first made ice, and that the ice became the sea. Flash wonders what Captain Cold could be up to. Elsewhere, Poison Ivy commands a huge stalk to grow, providing an entire city with much-needed food.
Batman trails Riddler to the cemetery, armed with heat goggles that make him immune to Riddler's hologram technology. He attacks Riddler again, finally besting the villain and demanding the disk. As Batman holds him, the Riddler begins to strangle himself. Finally, he releases his grip and asks what's wrong with him. Back in the Batcave, Batman tells Alfred that he is very concerned that the Riddler had his hands on the disk's information. In Arkham, Riddler interacts with the Joker, who has heard about the apocalyptic dreams the others are having, and he wants to be involved in the grand acheme.
Elsewhere, Aquaman lies strapped to a table; he is to be subject to experiments. Brainiac appears bearing a scalpel, informing Aquaman that he wants to get inside his head.
[edit] Trivia
- In the cemetery scene, Batman passes a tombstone with the name of Jonah Washington upon it; this is the name of Jonah Hex.
- The patrons of the club "The Batcave" bear a resemblance to the Sons of the Bats from Frank Miller's The Dark Knight Strikes Again.
[edit] Justice #3
Martian Manhunter searches the world for Aquaman. Transforming into a dolphin, he tracks Arthur though the ocean. Elsewhere in the world, the Toyman develops prosthetic limbs for people in need. News reports confirm that many villains are helping to solve the world's problems. J'onn locates the structure that Aquaman located and finds a deserted city; a psychic attack sends him reeling. As J'onn falls to the ground images of a burning Mars fill his mind; he has been attacked by Gorilla Grodd. At a UN conference convened by Wonder Woman, Cheetah sneaks in and prepares for her attack.
In Arkham, Joker demands that Riddler tell him what is going on, but Riddler informs him that the plotters do not want him involved. Luthor teleports into Riddler's cell, and the two escape. Joker shouts that he only stays in Arkham as long as it's funny, and it's not funny anymore.
At the JLA satellite, Red Tornado sees that someone has teleported onto the satellite. Suddenly, the android begins to tear himself to pieces. Grodd tells his allies that he has taken the secrets the satellite held, and he now knows the identity of all the Leaguers. Luthor announces that it's time to make a statement about the good things they have been doing for humanity.
- Easter Egg: The theme of this issue is the mind, when Martian Manhunter is in the sea he passes brain coral.
[edit] Justice #4
Lex Luthor, Black Manta, Poison Ivy and Riddler (using floating spheres that project their likenesses while translating their speech into each language) address the citizens of the planet. They denounce the Justice League for their "criminal" inaction, unwilling to change the condition of the poor, hungry, the injured, and the unaided. They do not apologize for their criminal pasts, but claim they were merely "standing up" to these figures who chose to fight crimes rather than combat the ills of humanity. The quartet declare that they have created model cities where poverty, disease and other ills do not exist. They offer these cities to the peoples of the world — first to the people they have already cured, next to the people who dream of the possibilities of life they know they cannot achieve on their own. They promise the people that they will be the "men and women of tomorrow."
As the speech is being transmitted, the villains unleash their coordinated attack on the League. Bizarro bursts through Clark Kent's apartment, transporting the struggling hero to an isolated place where he is ambushed by Solomon Grundy, Parasite and Metallo. Hal Jordan is ambushed by Sinestro in the Ferris Aircraft locker room; his enemy uses a Boom Tube to transport Jordan to a starless void. Scarecrow keeps Black Canary occupied with hallucinations while Clayface attacks Green Arrow. Cheetah attacks Wonder Woman, who discovers the JLA Satellite transporter is not responding. The Toyman sends miniature warplanes after Hawkman and Hawkwoman in their museum. A female sniper shoots Ray Palmer; he is able to respond to a phone call from his wife, asking her to call an ambulance and Hawkman.
Superman manages to summon the Flash, who while rushing to aid his comrade aid realizes something wrong — he is unable to stop. (Barry had just eaten some soup served to him by Captain Cold, who was disguised as a waiter.)
[edit] Justice #5
Elongated Man suspects something is wrong; the world's supervillains are serving humanitarian causes and no one from the Justice League is responding to their allegations (or answering his calls). Martian Manhunter frees himself from Gorilla Grodd's psychic assault and realizes that the League faces a unified conspiracy. Brainiac and Lex Luthor acknowledge a mutual professional enmity, but agree to work together nonetheless. Brainiac hands Luthor several small spheres.
The Atom is in the hospital with Jean Loring at his side. Black Canary, seeing a fear-induced hallucination of Green Arrow lying dead, screams (with her Canary Cry); the two drive off Clayface and the Scarecrow. During her struggle with Wonder Woman, the Cheetah slashes Diana's face, arms, and body with her claws; although Wonder Woman nearly subdues her foe, the villainess manages to escape. Green Lantern is lost in a space void, with his ring providing him life-support. Hawkman and Hawkgirl survive Toyman's attack.
Superman is rescued by Captain Marvel and the two travel to the Batcave for help, but Batman and Alfred, under the control of microscopic mechanical worms, attack them. Elsewhere, Luthor realizes that Brainiac plans to betray him, just as he will betray Brainiac — and throws the small orbs he has been given into the ocean. The orbs enlarge and become the model cities.
Superman realizes that he too is infected with the mind worms, and instructs Captain Marvel to throw him into the sun to burn them out of his body.
- The mind controlling worms (derivatives of the Mr. Mind character) resemble the ploy Luthor used to control Captain Marvel in Kingdom Come.
- Captain Marvel's splash page pose pays homage to his less friendlier pose in Kingdom Come (also with art by Alex Ross).
[edit] Justice #6
Captain Marvel throws Superman into the Sun. Giganta tries to finish off Ray Palmer in the hospital, but Jean Loring has brought his shrink technology, and he escapes. Hal Jordan's ring converts him to pure energy and transports him inside the ring itself; he is placed in a simulacrum of Coast City. Martian Manhunter heads to Superman's Fortress of Solitude to rendezvous with the other League members, and Hawkman and Hawkwoman investigate Toyman.
Gorilla Grodd remarks to Brainiac and Luthor that he has no mental sense of Superman, and that the Man of Steel may be dead. Luthor is dubious; Brainiac seems nonplussed by Captain Marvel's inclusion in their calculations. Grodd recommends sending "the dream" to Black Adam. Elsewhere, Jonathan Crane (Scarecrow) administers eye treatment to one of many patients waiting to enter one of the new cities. Meanwhile, Vicki Vale comments on television about the villains' benvolence, and the absence of the Justice League.
In disguise, the Joker lines up to enter one of the cities. Superman bursts out of the Sun, freed of the mind worms' control, while Wonder Woman heads to the Batcave. She finds it has been taken over by Poison Ivy. Batman, incapacitated by the mind worms, is freed of the control when Wonder Woman binds him in her Lasso of Truth. Meawhile, Hawkman and Hawkwoman find Toyman's warehouse, are assaulted by his forces, and discover that he is making multiple Brainiac androids. In the Batcave, Grodd takes mental control of Alfred, who threatens Batman and Wonder Woman. At Ferris Air, John Stewart inquires about Hal's whereabouts; no one has any leads. Superman and Captain Marvel arrive at the satellite just as it explodes. They initiate a vain search for the Red Tornado.
Elsewhere, Zatanna joins Will Magnus, who is repairing the Red Tornado; the Metal Men look on anxiously. Red Tornado comes back online and reveals that Aquaman is in Argentina.
Across the ocean, the Flash cannot stop running.
[edit] Justice #7
Zatanna and J'onn J'onzz continue their search for Aquaman, ultimately finding him unconscious in a warehouse. Brainiac watches, using holograms to communicate with Lex Luthor and Grodd in another facility. The villains, using the information gained about the friends and companions of the Justice Leaguers, intend to capture them all.
In the subway station in Fawcett City, Freddy Freeman and Mary Batson look for Captain Marvel, while Soloman Grundy spies on Dick Grayson and Wally West. Batman instructs Diana to keep the lasso around him, in order to fend off the mind control. The two head to the Fortress of Solitude in Wonder Woman's invisible plane.
Hawkman and Hawkgirl fight a large Brainiac robot army. In order to help Barry to stop running, Superman and Captain Marvel combine forces: Captain Marvel utters the word "Shazam!" and the resulting lightning bolt drives Barry off-balance and Superman catches him just after he catches Billy and throws the boy into the air so he can transform back into the Captain to rejoin his comrades. In the interim Aqualad, Jimmy, Lois, Wally West, and Dick Grayson are all captured, while Hal Jordan, trapped inside his ring, relives how he broke off his engagement with Carol Ferris. The ring informs Hal that he will live forever in his present stasis, alone and trapped.
In Shazam's cave, Black Adam grabs Mary and covers her mouth so she cannot her utter the magic word, and threatens to kill her if Freddy utters his magic phrase ("Captain Marvel!").
The superheroes rally at the Fortress of Solitude. They share information and learn how the supervillains learned of their secret identities and those of their loved ones. Zatanna and J'onn J'onzz call upon Niles Caulder and the Doom Patrol to help nurse Aquaman back to health. Brainiac has cut out the part of Aquaman's brain that controls his telepatic abilities, perhaps in a bid to enhance Grodd's own. Caulder informs the concerned heroes that their comrade's special anatomy is healing itself. Caulder has Aquaman placed in a special tank designed to enhance his natural healing factor.
At the close of the issue a mind-controlled Aqualad tears Aquaman's son from Mera's arms and turns him over to Black Manta.
[edit] Trivia
- Batman's penchant for keeping detailed files on his fellow Justice Leaguers is explored in JLA: Tower of Babel and Infinite Crisis.
- Though not introduced or named, Beast Boy appears in the form of several different animals in the final scene, which takes place in the Doom Patrol's lab.
[edit] External links
| Justice League | ||
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| Characters | ||
| Related teams |
Justice Society of America | Outsiders | Teen Titans | Young Justice | Super Buddies |
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| Headquarters |
Secret Sanctuary | Justice League Satellite | Justice League Watchtower |
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| Ongoing series |
Justice League of America (vol. 2) | JLA: Classified | Justice League Adventures / Justice League Unlimited | Justice |
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| Previous series |
Justice League of America | Justice League International | Justice League Europe |
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| Other media | The Superman/Aquaman Hour of Adventure | Super Friends | Legends of the Superheroes | Justice League | Justice League Unlimited | |
