JUSTICE LEAGUE versus DARKSEID

Rock of Ages Part Five: Twilight Of The Gods (DC)
Where: JLA #14 When: January 1998
Why: Grant Morrison How: Howard Porter

The Story So Far...
Hard light holograms simulating the seven core members of The Justice League are just the beginning of their problems when a new Injustice Gang is formed by Lex Luthor!

The wealthy businessman has come into possession of a rare and powerful stone that allows him to control an alien prisoner and his Injustice Gang teammates. He thinks it might just be the ultimate weapon -- but in its many guises The Worlogog is the key to initiating cosmic armageddon!

Aquaman, Green Lantern, and The Flash find themselves thrust through time & space by the New God Metron in an effort to destroy "The Philosopher's Stone", but when they arrive fifteen years into the future they discover its destruction has brought humanity to the brink of annihilation!

Tale of the Tape...
Strength: Darkseid 7 (Omnipotent)
Intelligence: Metron 7 (Infinite Wisdom)
Speed: Flash 7 (Lightspeed)
Stamina: Darkseid 7 (Unstoppable)
Agility: Batman 4 (Gymnast)
Fighting: Wonder Woman 6 (Warrior)
Energy: Green Lantern 7 (Cosmic Power)
Total: Darkseid 36 (Cosmic)

What happens if evil finally wins? It's a question every comic book reader has pondered, and a few too many contemporary storytellers are willing to answer.

In 1998 JLA struck the right balance with a dark future dominated by evil New Gods in Rock of Ages. This Justice League are: Batman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Swarmtrooper 000830, and Wally West.

The tattered future League aren't entirely the heroes you remember. Huddled in the underground Detroit JLA Bunker, they represent the last remnants of the JLA gathered by a time displaced Aquaman, who now inhabits his future-self.

Joining him from fifteen years in the past is Kyle Rayner, whose body has been converted into a techno zombie-like Swarmtrooper sans Green Lantern ring, and Wally West: a pale shadow of his former self, now disconnected from the Speed Force, and reduced to a sickly, overweight firepit builder in the Keystone Ghetto.

Their first ally from the future is Wonder Woman: a battle-hardened, armor-clad survivor who'll die before the Zombie Factory takes her. They're also joined by Green Arrow, Atom, Argent, Azteka, and a reprogrammed Amazo, all of whom have roles to play in coordinated strikes away from the rest of the team.

Batman was believed taken some eight years prior, but it turns out he endured years of physical and psychological torture, overthrowing Desaad to remain embedded under deep cover for two months disguised as his captor. He's perfectly positioned to formulate a plan to strike at the heart of Darkseid!

Darkseid is a New God of unspeakable evil whose pursuit of domination is as likely to be directed as his own subjects as it is his enemies! Born Uxas, he reinvented himself with the murder of his mother and conquest of the planet Apokolips!

He seeks ultimate power through the Anti-Life Equation, believing fragments of its solution to lie within the recesses of the human mind. This has drawn him toward the Earth many times before, making playthings of its mightiest champions!

His powers dwarf the godly pantheons, but he has never the less known defeat. We saw Superman and Batman overcome him in Superman/Batman #42, and his son Orion fulfilled destiny by ripping Darkseid's burning heart from his chest in the explosive battle of Countdown #2! He died of his wounds, but Darkseid and the New Gods always find a way to return to life...

The Tape: Justice League Rankings: Batman (#1)

What Went Down...

In a ship hovering over the ruined city of Metropolis: Darkseid awaits the arrival of his vile inquisitor Desaad. The New God of evil doesn't yet know his agent was replaced months ago by The Batman -- and he's bringing a new Justice League!

Batman leads the heroes through the Boom Tube, tossing scattered grenades ahead. The Apokolips-based technology fills the room with a dense "theotropically engineered" fog that baffles even the perceptions of Metron!

Darkseid erupts with furious bemusement while the League rushes purposefully through the smoke to their carefully planned destinations.

Wonder Woman elects to hold Darkseid, and the massive cube now called Granny Godness, at bay. She only promises an undisturbed minute or two. It takes mere seconds for Batman to reach The Mobius Chair and startle Metron.

The Dark Knight tempts Metron with the promise of undiscovered knowledge. He dares the New God to use his limitless power to become human for but a moment. Just long enough to record data most elusive to gods: mortal feelings.

While Metron considers the ease with which he could convert himself to a human approximation -- Wonder Woman harnesses defiant rage to fight for humanity!

"I'LL DIE BEFORE I BOW TO YOU!"

The Amazon's vow is dismissed with cold agreement. Darkseid swats her away with the back of his hand, quite certain that she will die. Not by him, though. He has trusted followers to carry out such menial tasks.

Metron was never one to get his hands so dirty. Now flesh and blood, he discovers the sensations of weight and "ceaseless particle movement". He seeks the value of recording feeling. Batman gives him a crash course in pain.

A stiff right hand stuns Metron and allows Batman to fill the gods' vulnerable mortal form with powerful hypnotic drugs. Metron will now be completely pliant and ready to obey their every instruction.

Batman leaves Metron and his Mobius Chair to the time-displaced Aquaman, Green Lantern, and Flash. He trusts that a new fate will be made in the past, so that this doomed existence could be unwritten. The chair takes them back.

Still in the damned future: Darkseid summons his Grandmother Box to destroy Wonder Woman.

With all the heinous cruelty of the living Granny Goodness, the machine opens a Boom Tube to the molten core of Apokolips -- and teleports a direct stream of firepit energy directly at the Wonder Woman!

The Amazon ricochets through the halls of the dark aerial fortress.

Granny Goodness turns her red lens towards Batman, but before she can enact any cruel disciplines -- Wonder Woman smashes through the Grandmother Box's shell in a final furious blaze of glory!

Batman hurls his batarang through the gaping chasm of what's left of the murderous machine. His aim is true -- cutting a perfect line -- but the weapon explodes with indifference against the impenetrable shield surrounding Darkseid.

The Batman instructs an unseen Atom to do what he can about it. Maybe the guerilla scientist hears him, maybe he doesn't. It hardly matters with Swarmptroopers flooding into the chamber to surround him.

Darkseid condescendingly wonders if this dark individual is known to him, and what he could think his "pathetic display" would achieve. The New God still doesn't fully grasp the scale of Batman's deception and his planned "display".

The Dark Knight kneels over Wonder Woman's motionless body and whispers, "We did it." Then he tells Darkseid that they've shared a few laughs, but now he's taking everything. The dark god need only look up to see the beginning...

Somewhere within Darkseid's Zombie Factory: the young hero who answers to Azteka flips a switch on her belt. It unleashes the destructive power of her four-dimensional battery's energy! The explosion rips through The Moon base!

As masses of humanity begin to awaken from the nightmare of Anti-Life, Darkseid confesses his respect for such a small being's ability to hurt him.

Darkseid's mercy is expressed through the red beams that dart jaggedly through the room until they reach their intended target.

Batman will suffer The Omega Effect, but not before he hurls a final insult at Darkseid. A bitter truth: that Darkseid finds himself surrounded by "maggots" because he did what he said he would: "You recreated the whole world in your image ... and what you see is your own ugly faaaaa--"

The last word trails off as Batman ceases to exist -- lost in a cloud of sizzling red particles. To where or when, even Darkseid does not know. It simply is.

The Hammer...
The fight does not begin or end with the death of Wonder Woman, and defeat of Batman.

The Justice League's last stand is part of a three-pronged attack fought over multiple arenas, including a second front over the skies of Metropolis.

Batman's attempt to relay intelligence to Atom will play out minutes after he suffers The Omega Effect: an ambiguous fate that sent him through ancient history, and multiple lives, when it happened again in Final Crisis.

It could be argued that the arrival of Atom & Green Arrow minutes later is part of a single coordinated strike, but it functions as part of a very separate sequence, which we'll examine as Round 2 when we reconvene in the future.

I suppose efforts to send Aquaman, Green Lantern, and The Flash back to then-present 1998 could be considered an additional front -- if we take Doc Brown's advice and think of it fourth dimensionally. Otherwise, it's a pre-emptive strike that will render this entire future moot once the Philosopher's Stone (or Worlogog) is protected.

That just leaves Argent & Azteka's attack on the "Zombie Factory" Moon base unaccounted for. We caught an indirect glimpse of it during the fight recap. If you'd like to see more of that one, you can contact me through the various available channels, including Patreon. It's interesting, but incredibly brief.

Here in the grim future (or past) of 2021: it seemed appropriate to finally touch upon Rock of Ages for the imminent release of Zack Snyder's Justice League.

It's not so much a celebration as a comparison. Both stories have superficial similarities, but play out with significantly different quality, priority, and context.

Snyder restores his original vision with a four hour runtime that shares some of the dark palette seen in the now-classic JLA comic arc, but apparently benefits from little of its levity, brisk optimism, or inventive comic book genius.

Grant Morrison takes cues from the high concept mastery of Jack Kirby and bakes it with the dizzying excess of late 90s comics. Nothing is held back, allowing JLA Rock of Ages to be many things to many people, if a little cluttered and hurried.

The story is bookended with Lex Luthor and his Injustice Gang, whose plan sets the possible dark-future into motion. It is told in two dedicated issues after an excursion through Wonder World, and a multiverse of strange and chilling realms. The beginning and end, rooted in an exciting and turbulent contemporary DC Universe, anchor the darkness with colour and the joy of good superheroes.

I would argue Morrison perfected his New Gods epic with Final Crisis. It revisited similar concepts with slightly more clarity and breadth despite a "channel changing" style that incorporates many more players and series than Rock of Ages. It also can't be understated how Morrison's work benefits from interplay with itself, and how both stories benefit each other. The guy really knows what he's doing!

The depiction of Wonder Woman in this grim future is interesting. I didn't find myself able to include some of Howard Porter's most dynamic depictions of the Amazon. In truth, she is frustratingly out of focus, even when she leads the fight against Darkseid, and rips through his sinister servants.

The helmet and armor design reminds me a little of Big Barda, but behind its gold and silver plating is a story of battle-hardened survival and withdrawal into violent warrior culture. It should read as a contrast to the superhero, but here in 2021, I can't help but notice how much this seems like the contemporary depiction of Wonder Woman. A bit like Kingdom Come, it feels like its dark example has been ignored, serving as precedent & inspiration, instead of warning.

I've written about the struggle for a definitive Wonder Woman, and the intuitive emphasis of her Amazon warrior's heritage, but today's battle, with all its sound and fury, gives me a moment's pause to consider the finer points of her status as an ambassador for peace. There may still be much work to be done.

In-fiction, the grim future of Rock of Ages ultimately doesn't matter. It's obliterated from within by Orion and the Genesis Box before our time travelling heroes even set things right. Which is good. Because as tempting as it is to wonder about the darkest outcome -- the inherent beauty of superheroes is their ability to always prevent it. Wanting anything else is just madness. Anti-Life.

The phenomenon of Zack Snyder's Justice League has been a little off-putting in total. The zealous fervor of its most die hard cultists un-ironically recalls the edicts of Darkseid himself. A ravenous pack dedicated to nothing but the darkness of Snyder's vision and the inevitability of consuming more of it. Dark Snyder is.

I've pretty much had my fill of middling to disappointing adaptations and their expanding circumference of influence. As a consumer I want more from my purchases, and as a fan I crave better days of inventive, colourful superheroes.

DC Films President Walter Hamada referred to the Snyder Cut as a "storytelling cul-de-sac". I don't think that was a comment on its creative vision, but I wouldn't be opposed if it was, and hope in the face of dangling plot threads it can live up to that designation. The new cut may restore an acceptable degree of coherence to the plot, but I find it very hard to believe it is the best the Justice League can be.

Of course, the dark future of Rock of Ages isn't the best they can be, either.

If you find yourself feeling similarly, and want to experience the entirety of today's featured battle, you might like to check out JLA: Rock of Ages collected in JLA: The Deluxe Edition Vol. 2 or JLA Rock of Ages. Using Amazon purchase links provided will not only net you a good deal, but also help support the site.

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Secret Wars on Infinite Earths has eatured well over 600 battles and ranked more than 1000 characters! You can discover them all by diving into the Secret Archive for an index of battles by publisher, series, and issue number -- or discover the joy of following links throughout this post to other stories.

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Winner: Darkseid
#119 (+287) Darkseid [+1 kill]
#466 (+6) Granny Goodness [+1 assist] [+1 kill]
#609 (new) Metron [+1 assist]
#1 (--) Batman
#10 (--) Wonder Woman [+1 kill]
#25 (--) Aquaman [+1 assist]
#34 (--) Flash (Wally West) [+1 assist]
#75 (--) Green Lantern (Kyle Rayner) [+1 assist]

JUSTICE LEAGUE versus
INJUSTICE LEAGUE
Unlimited Chapter 4: Unleashed (DC)
Where: Justice League of America #15 When: January 2008 Why: Dwayne McDuffie How: Ed Benes

The Story So Far...
The matrimonial union of Dinah Lance and Oliver Queen -- better known to the world as Black Canary and Green Arrow -- should have been one of the happiest occasions on the Justice League calendar. Instead, it was to initiate a new incarnation of the Injustice League into being, marking another in a long line of personal attacks suffered by the heroes in recent years.

Organized as an "unlimited" version of the team by Lex Luthor, Joker, and Cheetah; the League of criminals forms as a response to the dissolving Society of Supervillains. With motives of widespread corruption and protection of crooks, the Injustice League strikes with startling success.

Having captured the JLA, the Injustice League holds their nemesis in captivity with the intent of executing them, but despite their consumate planning they failed to take into account the legacy of an atomic hero called Firestorm!

Tale of the Tape...
Strength: Superman 6 (Invincible)
Intelligence: Lex Luthor 6 (Genius)
Speed: Superman 6 (Mach Speeds)
Stamina: Shaggy Man 7 (Unstoppable)
Agility: Shadow Thief 7 (Unlimited)
Fighting Ability: Deathstroke 7 (Living Weapon)
Energy Power: Green Lantern 7 (Cosmic)


- The Justice League of America are: Black Canary, Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Red Arrow, Hawkgirl, John Stewart, Geo-Force, Vixen, Hal Jordan, and Firestorm.

Born of necessity; the Justice League represent a coordinated effort by the world's finest heroes to protect and serve in the many iterations of their regional representation, and on a global scale. Boasting some of the planet's most powerful humans and extra-terrestrials, the League is equipped to combat any threat that should overwhelm the individual efforts of their member, or conventional defenses of the world's nations.

The League is classically defined by the core membership of it's founding members, affectionately referred to as the big seven. Overseen by stalwarts, Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman, they are; Flash, Green Lantern, Aquaman and Martian Manhunter. Several of these members would come to be succeeded by others baring their name, Wally West and Kyle Rayner, while many other heroes would come to be prominently listed with the group; Hawkman, Atom, Green Arrow, Black Canary, Zatanna, Elongated Man, Firestorm, Captain Marvel, Red Tornado, Blue Beetle, Booster Gold, Fire, Ice, and others.

- The Injustice League are: Lex Luthor, Dr. Light, Giganta, Shadow Thief, Mr. Freeze, Fatality, Killer Frost, Gorilla Grodd, Poison Ivy, Deathstroke, Cheetah, Joker, Chesire, Shaggy Man, and Volcano Man.

Formed originally by a bored alien despot, Agamemno; the Injustice League exists as a none-too-subtle counter response to the premiere superhero collective of the DC Universe, the Justice League. Their original membership consisted of Kanjar Ro, Lex Luthor, Catwoman, Sinestro, Penguin, Dr. Light, Chronos, Black Manta, Felix Faust, and Mr. Element.

Sometime after his interdimensional doppelganger galvanized the criminal community as The Society, Lex Luthor reformed the League with a large group of villains, intending to utilize their powers as a protection unit. His true motives behind the formation of the team remain secret, but when the Earth's villains are banished to the planet Salvation, Luthor is prepared to lead them to safety.

Math: Injustice League (Ttl) Justice League (Avg) Ranking: Batman (#2)

What Went Down...
Lex Luthor, armed with powersuit and kryptonite knife, looms over a battered Superman with victory seemingly imminent. That is, until Firestorm arrives to transmute the life-sapping alien shiv into a harmless carbon-based toy!

Unaware of the young hero's efforts to free an imprisoned Justice League, Luthor gloats over the numerical superiority of his collective. Killer Frost is the first to strike, firing ice that easily countered with Firestorm's nuclear heat.

Dr. Light joins the femme fatale to lend a little extra power, but Firestorm is not without his own impending back-up... Having freed himself and the team with a ballpoint pen supplied by Firestorm - Batman marches the JLA into a rematch with their sinister counterparts!

Acting team leader, Black Canary, immediately makes her presence felt, dissipating Shadow Thief with the blasting echo of her canary-cry.
She promptly turns her attentions to grappling with Cheshire, while some members of the Injustice League opt to make an escape, left to run free in favour of strategic grouping by the JLA.

Canary tosses her opponent into Cheetah, leaving Chesire to attempt an escape into the surrounding swampland of her own. Hawkgirl borrows some of Red Arrow's hollowpoints to account for the absence of her mace, suggesting the archer might be going soft on his former flame.

Told not to pursue Mr. Freeze or Deathstroke; Wonder Woman takes the initiative to swing back around to aid Firestorm with a knock-out blow to Killer Frost!

Still unconscious, Black Lightning finds himself with the talon-like fingernails of Cheetah at his throat. Seemingly out of the game, the hero awakens, responding to Cheetah's threats with an unforgiving electrical charge!

Green Lantern joins the fray, forming a green force bubble to fend off the combined attack of Fatality's yellow Qwardian powerring, and Dr. Light's light manipulations.

Red Arrow lends the assist, firing a warning arrow into Fatality's hand with the promise of a second to the forehead. Undeterred by the hero's threats, it's Firestorm who puts the Xanshian warrior down by using his matrix powers to turn the Qwardian ring's energy against her!

Wonder Woman turns her Amazonian super-strength to Gorilla Grodd, swatting him into submission with a devestating three-fist combo! Alas; the attention required by the Gorilla leaves her wide open to a sneak attack by the Shaggy Man! Meanwhile, Wonder Woman's arch-nemesis, Giganta, challenges Black Canary to a one-on-one tussle.

The Canary narrowly vaults over Giganta's giant piledriving fist, using her bodyweight to snap back on the fifty-foot woman's oversized thumb! Having the proportionate dimensions of a skyscraper turns out to be a horrible disadvantage when Black Canary unleashes her sonic scream on the giant-woman's eardrums. As she passes out, Lex Luthor narrowly avoids being crushed by his ally.

Vixen, having absorbed the powers of Superman, launches into battle with Volcano Man, withstanding the burning sear of his rocky body to deliver a two-fisted polish hammer! The Volcano Man gets a taste of the Earth as the mimicking hero uses Kryptonian power to grind his head into the ground with a super-fast boot, before returning the powers to their original vessel.

Armed with the razortips of two red arrows, she easily slices through the animated fauna at the command of Poison Ivy. Not so easy, however, is the renewed assault launched by Fatality on Red Arrow and John Stewart!

While Black Lightning and Firestorm tend to a damaged Red Tornado, Gorilla Grodd launches a charging assault spotted by the legless android. Firestorm creates a brickwall to slow the charge, but Grodd easily pounds through it. Just as the rampaging beast reaches his prey the ground suddenly opens up by the will of Geo-Force, who entraps Grodd by closing the chasm!

With the tide definitively turning, Cheetah seems to come to the aid of an unconscious Dr. Light, but as soon as he gets to his feet, it is Cheetah who rakes her claws through the doctor's back!

Light's past comes back to haunt him at the least likely of moments, but before Cheetah can deliver the killing stroke to the sex offender, Wonder Woman intervenes to deflect the slash. The Amazon talks her arch-villain down, only to have Firestorm swat her unconscious with an energy blast.

Meanwhile, with his powers restored, Superman interrupts an aerial skirmish between John Stewart and Lex Luthor, to challenge his arch-nemesis.
Hal Jordan arrives to join his fellow GL Corpsman in gripping the kryptonite gauntlets on Luthor's suit with the energy of the power rings, giving Superman the chance to deliver a knock-out blow.

The defeat of founding members, Luthor and Cheetah, puts an end to the Injustice League's antics. Batman, who had been conspicuously absent from the fight, arrives with the final member of the founders, the Joker, having ignored a direct order from the team's newest leader, Black Canary.

With the unconscious collection of the villains at their feet, the question of what to do with them becomes the JLA's most pressing concern. It's then that Amanda Waller leads her ragtag team of reformed villains into the room, waving an official warrant in the generation direction of the heroes!

The Hammer...
Okay, you probably figure it's a pretty clear case of the Justice League taking the victory here, but the end of the issue includes an additional twist. For the villains who appeared to escape, a seven-issue maxi-series earns them an off-page defeat at the hands of Amanda Waller's Suicide Squad for the assist!

Unbenknownst to Bane, Deadshot, Blockbuster, Plastique, Count Vertigo, Bronze Tiger, Multiplex, and Captain Boomerang, a good number of them are slated to join the captured villains on a prison planet called Salvation. All part of the Salvation Run event that defined much of the DC villains' 2008.

For November on the belated Infinite Wars, this issue made for a great opportunity to stop in with a good many playable characters from Mortal Kombat vs DC Universe. While we can't help but offer a somewhat damning assessment of the final product, we are still quite enthusiastic about the properties surrounding the game. Of the heroes and villains appearing in this issue, you can so far play as: Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, Deathstroke, Joker, and Lex Luthor. Downloadable characters may emerge before the end of the year.

With the Infinite Wars a horrid two weeks behind schedule once more, our unforgiving agenda quite naturally lands us with an epic battle between two mammoth teams. I'm sure there was a lot of commentary that could've made for some interesting and ponderous discussion, but as has been a bit characteristic of our second-half of 2008, you might have to make do without the best of us.

I wouldn't be quite as harsh on the heavily editorialized nature of the series, but would have to agree with some other reviewers' sentiments that the Meltzer-reboot of JLA as a series has failed to really present the A-list title you would expect. Marvel's New Avengers has suffered a similar deterioration, but holds on stronger to the focus of it's characters and an independent story.

In the end the biggest negative is the burden that seems to filter through to McDuffie's script. I'd like to think it isn't his public acknowledgment of frustration that's colouring this interpretation of the issue which feels much less inspired than other superhero skirmishes we've seen from McDuffie, or other writers. The team and adventure feels like a restrictive checklist of required beats.

At the end of the day, a sizable portion of the mainstream audience has been reacting negatively to this editorial vision. While it might not be benefitting JLA as much as one would like, Dan Didio's corporate ship feels cohesive and logical. I simply couldn't fault the issue for being connected to events that contribute to the saga of the DCU and the League as a vital component of that Universe.

Cheetah's sudden betrayal of Dr. Light reads like an awful pro wrestling plot twist, but as described in our Final Crisis #1 review, is an appreciated acknowledgment of a major event that's felt like the elephant in the room every time Dr. Light makes casual appearances in titles like Teen Titans, Green Arrow, or Superman/Batman. Light, of course, suffered a more torturous penance for his sexual assaults under the vengeful gaze of The Spectre -- a fate befitting of one of the most vile criminals DC has seen, depending on when you've read him (post-Identity Crisis). Wonder Woman's speech feels as ham fisted as Cheetah's attack, but with that vital acknowledgment of his crimes, it feels much easier to respect and enjoy Light's tumultuous career over the past few years.

The Infinite Wars will be back again with more Mortal Kombat and DC Universe features in the coming days, including the follow-up to our MK spotlight, this time with the characters from the DCU portion fo the recent game. Stay tuned!

The Fight: 4.5 The Issue: 4

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QUICK FIX DOUBLE FEATURE: Under the Influence/Ones We Love
ROBIN versus BATMAN
As the Crow Flies Part Four: Shotgun (DC)
Where: Batman #629 When: August 2004
Why: Judd Winick How: Dustin Nguyen

Quick Fix...
So, Galactus and I might not have a lot in common, but there is one indisputable commonality: We're both sticklers for rules, especially our own.

Which brings us to now. Up against the wire, I feel an obligation to turn in a Street Fighter post for Sunday, a Marvel Ultimate Alliance post for Monday, and, well, okay, that's really about all... But still, here we are, as the clock ticks over to Sunday (here in the future), and I'm starting a post for Saturday! Egads, what sinister plot could provoke such madness?!

A couple of days ago The Fortress Keeper had some interesting things to say about the state of Batman, with a particular slant towards an evolution away from the grim and gritty mania that has gripped the character for the best part of three decades. I, of course, subscribe to that classic take within reason, actually fairly disinterested in progress being made by Grant Morrison to return the hairy chested love-god to his globe trotting throne; but I digress...

Inevitably one travels from Batman's world and state of mind, to the relationships important to his life.

There's a purveyance of opinion that says Batman, in his grittier and more obsessive incarnations, is a two-dimensional character devoid of layers. It's perhaps because of that opinion that many people draft their complexities onto the characters surrounding the Dark Knight Detective. Right or wrong, it provides us another nice segue to use a dangling quick fix from our last entry, but first...

It's actually been quite a while since I've fawned over Judd Winick's run on Batman. Or maybe it isn't, and the increased activity just makes it seem like it's been a while. Regardless, not the case today, as we take a look at the standalone "As the Crow Flies" arc, which preceded Winick's bulky, on-going stay on the book, which I am particularly fond of. Incidentally, it was the graceless intrusion of the interrupting War Games story that broke-up Winick's work, but incidentally set-up much of what I enjoyed so much.

The majority of this story revolves around the cagey relationship between Jonathan "Scarecrow" Crane, and the Penguin, who has employed the former to contribute to his criminal investments. Coinciding with this alliance is the emergence of a hulking Scarebeast, more monster than man, who terrorizes Gotham City and the criminal underworld by night.

Despite his best efforts, Batman is unsuccesful in confronting the Scarebeast, succumbing to it's own unique brand of fear toxin.

Falling into the abyss of fear and panic, Batman's dedicated training sees him able to escape to the Batmobile, where it's autopilot technology can navigate to the Batcave. The mobile also puts Batman in much needed contact with trusted butler, Alfred, who is able to talk him down from his panic for at least part of the long journey home.

With hallucinations setting in, Batman flails his limbs at an imaginary Joker and Two-Face. His fevered attacks damage the Batmobile console, severing his connection with Alfred, and perhaps even sanity. Concerned, Alfred summons the aid of the boy wonder, Robin, who pursues atop dirt bike.

Where there rides a Robin, the unsettled Batman sees the demon of his greatest failure, the supposedly deceased Jason Todd. Still haunted by the tactics employed by the villainous Hush (and Todd), Batman pops the Batmobile hatch and yanks the young Tim Drake from his motorcycle.

Though Robin lodges a verbal appeal in an attempt to navigate Batman back through the forest of hallucination, he continues only to see Jason Todd. Prompted by imagined taunts, the Batman clutches at Robin's throat, squeezing.

Barely able to overcome the hostility of his adopted-father, Robin manages to lift from a whisper to a call, requesting Alfred to blow the rooftop via remote from the Batcave headquarters.

The sudden rush of air rips the tiny Robin from Batman's vice-like grip. His acrobatic training helps the young hero maneuver himself to catch the tail of the Batmobile as it thunders into the hidden entrance of the secret Batcave.

Batman is thrown from the convertible vehicle, coming to land in a tangled, bloody mess. Robin makes a far more graceful landing, joining Alfred at his master's side to administer an anti-toxin. For the sidekick, a job well done.

I touched on the fact that I'm one who quite enjoys the darker side of Batman.
Traditionally I'm not a fan of Robin the side-kick as a part of that, but here actually lies a pretty good example of ways to make the character acceptable.

I tend to think Robin is at his best as a character who has grown up to leave the nest. I think that relationship of father and son is one of the most dynamic qualities of the duo, and that's played to particularly strong effect here.

While it doesn't really seem to be examined as the soul focus of what is essentially a strong, if grounded, episode in a superhero adventure; there's a strong undercurrent of fear and what is fear. For a child, I think there are few scarier scenarios than this, where the father is completely out of control.

I don't mean that just in the violence of the way Batman lashes out, but the fact that Batman is such a staunch pillar of certainty. I suppose stability is an important part of a child's life, and as much as an unstable environment can be damaging, it also reshapes a sense of normality. For someone who has viewed a personal aquaintance as an unshakable force of of strength, few things can be more frightening than the dissolving of that.

It's looking at the character's psychological flaws and darkness in manners like this that make me greatly appreciative of the grim and grit of the character.
I tend to feel I can find well-adjusted superheroics, and gadget filled adventure from a lot of avenues, but few characters bring such a rich tapestry of psychological layers, and motivations.
I personally feel in the assumed flat characterization, there is actually more juice than in the showy, gallavanting Batman. The more he supposedly shuts down, the more we learn about the character. The less spoken, the more said.

Winick does well to inject that into what is essentially a monster story, even if Nguyen's kinetic pencils ground it in a more superhero, capes and tights motiff.

The Fix: 5 The Issue: 6
Winner: Inconclusive

[No one really wins or loses in this quick fix, but it should be noted as but a tiny portion of what turns out to be quite a fun comic.
If most Bat-villains are justified as mirrors held up to Batman, Scarecrow represents the detached. A character who does not distract his reflection through a filter of antagonism, forcing Batman to confront himself quite literally, rather than through a green and white abstraction.]

---

BATMAN versus CATWOMAN
Crisis of Conscience: Part Four (DC)
Where: JLA #118 When: Early November 2005
Why: Geoff Johns & Allan Heinberg How: Chris Batista

Quick Fix...
I like the idea that Gotham is an old fashioned city.
A city with a certain musk to it's looming skyline, that eventually colours the denizens within it. It wasn't always as corrupt as it is now, but even the Green Lantern (Alan Scott) will tell you, it had that intangible quality to it.

Robin, in all his colourful glory, tends to represent much of the hope, promise and innocence lost to Gotham City, and to Batman. He personifies, in many ways, a future where Gotham might not need the protection and aid of a man garbed in emotionless black and grey. A man, who like many of Gotham's others, has been dragged so deep into the skirmish that he is almost what he fights.

I like to think Martian Manhunter represents a bit of that, too.
As much as he has walked the streets and tasted the dusty air of Gotham's criminal underworld, he remains the city's secret Superman. An alien from a world outside Gotham, who hides beneath the muted browns and greys of his store bought suits the vibrant green of blossoming nature, and a perspective of everything the city may be.

They don't necessarily enjoy each other's company, or agree on the degrees of what's required to achieve good in the world, but I like to think Batman and Martian Manhunter are always bound by the mutual understanding of Gotham.

While Batman represents a brutal, corrupted version; he remains a pillar on the non-lethal side of the justice scale we've been talking about. Far more harsh than anything Martian Manhunter would usually subscribe to, but still on the same wave length of what is and isn't crossing the unspoken line.

It's this commonality that brings the two characters together in the pages of Crisis of Conscience, which deals with the aftermath of the revelation that Zatanna spent her career with the League wiping the minds of villains and heroes alike.

For Batman, the matter is a direct issue of intellectual intrusion and doubt, while for Martian Manhunter it's a question of power versus responsibility. As a telepath with the capability of carrying out the same function, he holds dear a moral code that denies any such invasion of personal space.

It is on this level that Martian Manhunter is challenged by the master manipulator of events surrounding the exposure of Zatanna and the League's secret -- Despero. After defeating both J'onnz and Aquaman [JLA #118] he marches them to the Batcave, where he seeks to usurp control of Batman aswell.
Confiding in Catwoman over the anguish and uncertainties brought on by the gaps in his memory, Batman is vulnerable to the surprise attack. Despero quickly takes control, and turns him against the potential interference of his lover.

The Batman swats Catwoman into his computer console, following quickly with a stiff kick narrowly blocked by the beseiged burglar. She retaliates in a characteristically independent manner, shedding any personal loyalties to slash Batman across the head.

Though unsuccessful in harming the possessed Dark Knight, it does reveal a glowing third-eye beneath his cowl, the trademark of Despero's telepathic control.

Catwoman is obviously a big part of the Bat-family, even though the two have been somewhat distanced of late.

I like to think she represents a part of the corruption brought about by life in Gotham. I think she connects to the thought processes that govern Batman's brand of harsh justice. She highlights the fact that he has taken the fight so close to villainy, he freely associates with a thief on the merit of her inner goodness. For Batman, the cramped highrises of Gotham prevent scope of the bigger picture, leading him to hold onto only what he knows is explicitly right and wrong.

Sometime in the next week or two I'd like to take a more specific look at the relationship between Catwoman and Batman, but in the mean time, I think it's been a long warm day, and I've become too distracted to wrap this up well.

The Fix: 3 The Issue: 4
Winner: Inconclusive

[The briefest of quick fixes to be sure, but now you have the full picture for that particular issue. As much as I enjoy Batista's pencils, there a frustrating resemblance to Michael Keaton in his Batman that really bugs me. It's probably just because of the way he draws lips, I don't know... Leave me alone!]

DESPERO versus MARTIAN MANHUNTER/AQUAMAN
Crisis of Conscience: Part Four (DC comics)
Where: JLA #118 When: Early November 2005
Why: Geoff Johns & Allan Heinberg How: Chris Batista

The story so far...
With their dirty little secrets exposed, the Justice League is imploding into itself in a maelstrom of disapproval and mistrust. The revelations over Zatanna's mind-wiping practises regain their relevance when members of the Secret Society of Super-villains discover the true identities of the heroes.

Unknown to the league, the foe responsible for awakening the minds of the Society, Despero, is hurtling toward Earth in pursuit of a helpless Martian Manhunter. Unable to locate the league, the Manhunter plummets Earthbound with one member in mind -- Aquaman!

Will J'onn J'onnz find the assistance he needs, or has the inner turmoil of their actions exposed a weakness in the League, and allowed Despero the opportunity to finally seek a final revenge on those he has called enemy?

Previous Form:
Aquaman (#73): Gained an unlikely victory over the Sub-Mariner.
Despero, Martian Manhunter: Each making their Infinite Wars debut.

Tale of the tape...
Strength: Martian Manhunter 6 (Invincible)
Intelligence: Draw 4 (Tactician)
Speed: Martian Manhunter 4 (Olympian)
Stamina: Despero 5 (Marathon Man)
Agility: Aquaman 2 (Average)
Fighting Ability: Aquaman 4 (Trained Fighter)
Energy Powers: Despero 5 (Lasers)


So, this is the first time we've talked about Martian Manhunter, which is kinda one of those travestys of justice you tend hear about. I guess if there's a reason, it might be because J'onn J'onnz traditionally isn't one to pursue combat as actively as others, but that's something you can read more about in the hammer, later in the entry.

Still, like the Batman animated series, I feel like this might be one of the few glaring omissions to what I've done, so it's nice to rectify the situation. Shame about Aquaman. Ho ho, tee hee, ha ha. Yes, I think that's out of the way now.

Yes, I'm a Sub-mariner man, but I'm going to try to be impartial about Aquaman's total inability to have anything but an anchoring effect on this scenario. I of course mean this purely from a statistical standing, which sees Aquaman's particular brand of unique abilities less expressive on the statistics listed above.

Despero's a pretty tough customer. He's one of those space foes that's got a wide bredth of capabilities, and specialist skills like telepathic manipulation, and laser beams, and all that kinda stuff that compliments your usual flight and super strength. He's a character that has to work on a scale of both Superman alone, and also a team that includes Superman, so his capabilities are broad.

Martian Manhunter is on a Superman level, and I'd like to think on his day he could single handedly take Despero out. His telepathy tends to range everywhere from the incredible, to the struggling bare minimum. I like to think of it as levelling out somewhere in the middle, so telepathic dominance might not be within reach for ol' J'onn, but he's got other tools to combat Despero.

Aquaman remains a conundrum on the comic landscape. I don't think anyone is really one hundred percent committed or comfortable with the theory that he has super strength, even if it makes perfect sense for the same reasons Namor's strength makes sense: A lifetime spent in the crushing depths of the ocean.

Together, I'd probably like to lean toward the heroes on paper, even though Despero does represent one of the prominent threats to the League. Right about now I'm too tired to wax much harder on it, saving my energies for later, so...

The Math: Martian Manhunter/Aquaman (Total) Despero (Average)
The Pick: Martian Manhunter/Aquaman

What went down...
Escaping the Justice League's moonbase headquarters, the Martian Manhunter hardly notices the searing heat as he hurtles through Earth's atmosphere followed by another. Blazing a trail toward San Diego, he telepathically calls to the members of the League, but they're both too busy, and out of reach, as Martian Manhunter combats the dampening effect of Despero's strong brand of offensive telepathy.

Climbing bruised from a crater created by his impact on a barren construction site; Martian Manhunter is picked up by the following Despero. He boasts of the League's distractions, while burying his fingertips into the Martian's malleable flesh, as though to create a physical manifestation of his telepathic invasion on J'onn J'onnz' mind.

Having already unlocked erased memories from the minds of members of the Society and sent them in the direction of the hero's loved ones, Despero declares off the back of his machinations, that there is no one left to save the Martian.

A defiant answer comes in the form of a spiked piece of construction metal, piercing Despero's alien shoulder in a spray of blood: Enter Aquaman!

The Atlantean monarch continues his assault, knocking Despero through the surrounding barrier of the construction site, into the surrounding ocean.

The grizzled Aquaman calls ahead, telepathically summoning the aid of sharks to "Make. Him. Bleed."

The deep sea monsters do as commanded, gnawing viciously at the hulking frame of Despero. Aquaman plummets into his domain to strangle the beseiged victim of his patrons, presumably with the advantage in the familiar surroundings of water.

Meanwhile, Martian Manhunter recovers from the assault suffered at Despero's hands. He dusts himself off, telepathically coaching Aquaman in combat.
He offers a stern reminder of Despero's tactics, ensuring Aquaman is ready to defend himself mentally, should Despero find himself unable to match him on the physical plane of combat.

Aquaman stoicly welcomes Despero to try psychic attack, avoiding a laser blast from the alien's powerful third eye, and an equally dangerous fist that buries deep into the ocean floor.

Aquaman returns Despero's hostility in kind, using his water-bound strength to uppercut Despero out of the water!

The break in the action provides Aquaman the first opportunity for some face-to-face discussion with his Martian teammate. J'onn J'onnz is able to finally reveal his intention to seek out Aquaman, with the hopes that together they could use their combined telepathic influences to overcome the mentallist threat in Despero.

Battered, but not defeated, Despero rises to challenge the Justice League duo to test their strategy to disarm him.

Though they presumably fight valiantly, the pair are apparently unsuccesful, emerging next as king and rook in Despero's league against the league.

The hammer...
Well, how would you be? We finally invite Martian Manhunter to the party, and what do we do? Serve him up on a platter to our winner, Despero. That's bloody charming, eh?

On a tangent, I came across info regarding The Batman cartoon. You know, that redundant one with the monkey-Joker and other assorted disappointing revisions of classic villains, and the indulgence of Adam West as Gotham City Mayor. As if it weren't redundant enough, it looks like they're spinning the Justice League out of this new Batman. Groan.

The thing that bugs me more than the creatively questionable efforts of the series, is the fact that it's actually filled the few voids I felt the Timm/Dini animated series overlooked. Those, of course, are appearances by Martian Manhunter in Gotham, Solomon Grundy, and the still as yet unchecked emergence of Gotham's Green Lantern, Alan Scott. Oh, give them time...

So, we've been talking a lot about harsh justice lately. It's probably the subject that's kept me from becoming completely derailed, because it's a vaguely interesting subject. We talked about Wonder Woman and then Hawkman and Black Adam, but specifically amongst the royals of the DC Universe there was one more name mentioned -- Aquaman!

I fully realise that so-called "harsh justice" teeters dangerously toward the same kinds of watered down, poorly justified gimmicks of anger and grim and grit that have led many characters down an unsavory path. I fully realise Aquaman is one of those, who enjoyed brief recognition for a revamp dependent on poor grooming, the loss of a hand, and the loss of innocence.

I'd like to think that the saving grace of my suggestions is that there's a vaguely intellectual reasoning, providing some sort of foundation to the ideas. A motivating question about the differences of culture, beliefs, and justice.

For me, these two characters [Aquaman, Martian Manhunter] are a perfect litmus test. When I think of Martian Manhunter, I think of a character deeply driven for common justice, working both close to the streets on a human level, but also through subversive methods, by way of his powers which give him scope to deal with alien threats, too. I kinda see the character the same way Darwyn Cooke looks at him in New Frontier, forever impressed upon by a story in Secret Origins #35, that depicts J'onn J'onnz' early days as a detective in a similar fashion.

I think of Martian Manhunter as an unrelenting force for justice by the book, with exceptions where circumstances dictate. On the other hand, I'm more likely to adopt that more contemporary consideration of Aquaman.

Aquaman is a character who seems to have simply failed to maintain his relevance. In a world where the greatest dangers emerge from humanity itself, it's hard to find a place for a man so far removed from it. A man traditionally more concerned with the rising threat of tri-colour sea monsters and oil spills.

Without an insane agreement to keep the character constantly in-print, like Wonder Woman; Aquaman falls by the wayside, by the bayside. He needs a reason to exist, especially in those uncomfortable situations where he finds himself thrust into the so-called "big seven" of the Justice League, impotent and awkwardly ineffective until the villain takes a dip in the ocean.

In ironic juxtaposition to the Martian Manhunter, we've already talked about the potential to give Aquaman importance as a perspective alien and harsh to other members of the League. Like Wonder Woman, Aquaman's references are Roman and Greek, built on the epic tradition of Atlantis and the warrior code.

He has an opportunity to be a character aware of more than just the territory of the United States of America, opening the League up to it's oft overlooked International jurisdictions. Perhaps as Black Adam was in Black Reign, or Wonder Woman against the corrupted tyranny of Maxwell Lord; Aquaman could be a proactive force, using his immunities and broad world reference to bring justice to communities and nations that might not otherwise see it.

This might put the character(s) at odds with the likes of Martian Manhunter, who believe in due process, but without the injected personal insanities seen in Black Adam's downward spiral, that only makes for interesting and dynamic friction in the superhero community. It also arguably serves as an investment in the certainty of a character lost to a crisis of identity and characterization.

It need not be event driven blanket stories like Amazons Attack, involving the vast kingdoms characters like these represent. The point here is about the attitudes and directions of the characters, who have exhibited these sensibilities at one time or another, but who have not been courageously thrust into the world of moral ambiguity.

The Fight: 4.5 The Issue: 4

[Chris Batista's clean, crisp, well inked artwork is a joy to behold, but this story feels all too run of the mill for a big-name double feature like Allan Heinberg and Geoff Johns. The benefit of hindsight shows just how little it has meant in the developing world of the Justice League post-Identity Crisis. Fun, but disappointing.]