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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CHEETAH versus CATWOMAN
The Long Road Home: Part 1 (DC)
Where: Catwoman #78 When: June 2008
Why: Will Pfeifer How: David López

The Story So Far...
After a spate of especially violent superhuman crimes, the secreted United Nations agency called Checkmate set about plans to 'relocate' the world's super powered criminals on a distant planet called, Salvation.

Amanda Waller leads the initiative with her group of reformed and controlled criminals, the Suicide Squad, in an effort to round-up the powers, and redistribute them with the use of Apokoliptian Boom Tube technology.

Catwoman finds herself among those trapped on the hell planet, which is actually a training ground for the New Gods. Populated by deadly and malicious creatures designed to harden those trained there, Catwoman has much to contend with, not only the wildlife, but also arch enemies like Hammer and Sickle...

Tale of the Tape...
Strength: Cheetah 4 (Enhanced)
Intelligence: Catwoman 3 (Professor)
Speed: Cheetah 4 (Olympian)
Stamina: Draw 4 (Athlete)
Agility: Cheetah 5 (Cat-like)
Fighting Ability: Catwoman 4 (Trained)
Energy Power: Draw 1 (None)


- Dr. Barbara Ann Minerva was an anthropologist who travelled to Africa to seek out the secrets of a tribe whose guardian is said to possess the powers of a cheetah.

When this guardian is killed by marauders, Minerva steps up to the mantle, but details of the mystic process mean the recipient must be a virgin, which she is not. The irregularity means the mystic powers of the Cheetah become a curse, as Minerva finds herself wracked with pain, and bloodthirsty when in the form of a human-cat.

As Cheetah, Minerva possesses strength, speed, agility surpassing any ordinary human, approaching the levels of the creature from which she takes her name. Her senses are also heightened to comparable levels to the animal.

- Selina Kyle lives a life on the streets, coming to be known as a notorious thief. Her escapades garner much attention, and eventually force the burglar to lay low, where she continues her career in crime as a dominatrix extracting information from potential victims.

Kyle gains extensive training in the martial arts, and inspired by the mysterious vigilante called Batman, adopts her own leather mask and catsuit ensemble to become Catwoman.
As Catwoman, she embarks on a career as an ambiguous entity in the Gotham City landscape. Though regularly acting as a professional burglar and occasional mercenary, Catwoman also comes to be known as a protector of Gotham's East End. She is also known to be romantically involved with Batman.

Catwoman is a highly skilled fighter at peak physical condition, with impressive physical strength, agility, and speed. Catwoman also utilizes weapons including a whip, cat o' nine tails variation, and claws contained within her gloves.

History: Catwoman (1-0-0)
The Math: Cheetah Ranking: Catwoman (#21)

What Went Down...
Alone on a planet populated by murderers and madmen, Catwoman finds herself face-to-face with her Russian arch-enemies, Hammer and Sickle. Ever the survivalist, Catwoman convinces them her alliance with Lex Luthor can get them off the planet, but only if she can convince the All-American Luthor to aid the tandem of Russian super-soldiers.

The Russians prove less than invested in their role as Catwoman's super-muscle when Cheetah descends on the trio while they overlook Lex Luthor's camp. Tensions between the feline-themed ladies had built over previous encounters.

Forced to fend for herself; Catwoman finds herself physically overwhelmed by her stronger opponent, who pins her to the ground before slamming her head into the stone underfoot. Cheetah prepares to toss her foe to the villains below, but the incredibly agile Catwoman is able to swing out of the press position, using her momentum to drive Cheetah's arm into a jarring slam.

Suffering a broken wing, Cheetah is too distracted to defend herself from Catwoman's preemptive assault. A rock serves as a makeshift equaliser, Catwoman wielding it as a weapon she breaks across Cheetah's face, before toppling her with a roundhouse kick.

The rush attack hurts Cheetah, making her increasingly desperate.
Catwoman reaches for the whip, wrapping it around Cheetah's head with a violent crack. Unwilling to go down so easy, Cheetah yanks on the whip, flicking Catwoman over the edge of the cliff. The whip drags both women down, but only one of them is in condition enough to maneuver in the air...

Catwoman rides her attacker to the ground, but the impact fails to put an end to Cheetah's vengeful desires. Catwoman paws at her belt, revealing a cigar marked "J" just as the feline villainess launches herself.

"Any of you *koff* guys see the Joker tell him I said thanks for the cigar."

The explosion puts a punctuated end to the latest installment in the growing rivalry between vixens. The war, however, is but beginning, as Luthor and Catwoman look to the night sky to witness a boom tube open...

The Hammer...
Ladies and gentlemen, Catwoman officially smoked Cheetah. Oh, come on! What would victory-by-Joker cigar be without a bad joke to close the deal? Ah, to hell with you guys!...

Needless to say, it wasn't the pun that delayed yet another entry in the Infinite Wars. Suffice to say my time's been pretty well booked lately, but I was too excited about the prospect of getting another entry from 2008 up on the Wars, that I just had to push on! What a trooper.

Earlier in the year we featured a previous encounter between these two characters; from the Loeb/Sale mini, Catwoman: When in Rome; as a direct response to the release of this issue that caused a minor stir. It's nice to be able to follow up, because the issue delivers exactly the kind of whip cracking throwdown I had hoped for.

For those who missed it; it was the salacious reception of the Adam Hughes coverart that had many interpreting the lip-biting cover as the latest in a long line of covers that are gratuitous.
While I would accept Hughes has a reputation for provocative artwork, and Catwoman covers have certainly pushed that line; I felt, and feel, this was more fantasy than fact when describing the feral ferociousness of this cover. Suffice to say, it proves an accurate representative of internal materials now detailed.

That's not to say I'm stupid or blind, mind you.
My threshold for embarassment and arousal might be a bit more relaxed than our friends from the United States, but my thoughts did turn to the Comics Fairplay regular feature when spying what is to be the second-to-last cover for this series of the book [Catwoman #81].


Top 25 Ladies#1 Invisible Woman (Marvel)
#2 Catwoman (DC)
#3 Storm (Marvel)
#4 Rogue (Marvel)
#5 Wonder Woman (DC)
#6 Wasp (Marvel)
#7 Zatanna (DC)
#8 Elektra (Marvel)
#9 Kitty Pryde (Marvel)
#10 Hawkgirl (DC)
#11 Tara (Marvel)
#12 Spitfire (Marvel)
#13 Hellcat (Marvel)
#14 R. Mika (Capcom)
#15 Phoenix (Marvel)
#16 Black Cat (Marvel)
#17 Black Canary (DC)
#18 Black Widow (Marvel)
#19 Lyja (Marvel)
#20 Tabitha Stevens (Marvel)
#21 She-Thing (Marvel)
#22 Powergirl (DC)
#23 Stargirl (DC)
#24 Sayd (DC)
#25 Sakura (Capcom)I'm no wowser, but if a scene depicting the catsuit clad heroine bent over infront of spotlights isn't gratuitous, I do not know what is! Yeesh!

Food for thought, though that may be, it's actually the impending cancellation of the title that's the real talking point. Upcoming issues bring Selina Kyle back to her stomping grounds of Gotham, but it looks like her return from Salvation will only bring her into conflict with the villains of Gotham, and former-flame, Batman.

Admittedly, between being busy and distracted by other sources, I'm a bit out of the loop, but I just don't know what to expect from the coming months at DC!

Final Crisis has thrown all kinds of theories at the wall! The final chapter of the so-called "Crisis Trilogy" has me feeling everything I've mocked others for. After scoffing notions that Identity or Infinite Crisis were building to a line-wide reboot or fragmented multiverse; I find myself dreading the potential of exactly that.

Catwoman has been confirmed for post-cancellation appearances in Detective Comics, but for a title that's held such a consistent standard for over eighty issues, it seems like a bitter consolation for Will Pfeifer, David Lopez, and fans of the series. It also begs the question of what the future holds for the character.

I have to admit, thoughone of Wonder Woman's few readily identifiable adversaries, I liked the notion of seeing Cheetah and Catwoman continue their acquaintance as rivals. As a supporting character herself, that might be a little too much to ask for, but the baggage Catwoman has accumulated in her solo adventures may yet find it's way to pages inhabited by the Dark Knight, which could make for some very interesting material.

Continuing the theme that seems to have trumped Invincible Iron Month; Cheetah and Catwoman are also prime examples of characters it might be nice to see in the upcoming Mortal Kombat versus DC Universe. The modern Cheetah certainly has qualities sure to appease certain expectations of MK fans.
I'd love to elaborate, but I'm absolutely zonked, so I'll take my leave satisfied with just getting an entry done! Make sure you stay tuned for the various things going on around the site, and keep rocking! More soon!

The Fight: 4.5 The Issue: 5

You'll have to wait a while before preordering the collected edition of this Catwoman story, but there's plenty of other Catwoman goodness on offer in the Infinite Wars: Amazonian Gift Shoppe! Titles reviewed, and recommended, are all available at low prices thanks to Amazon, and by using purchase links provided, you help sponsor future entries in the Infinite Wars! Show your support, check out the many titles on offer, including the series, Salvation Run! Be sure to also check out the urban adventures of the White Ghost in our very own, The Kirby Martin Inquest. At the special price of $1.99 for twenty-two pages of full-size story, it's the perfect time to show your support for resident fledgling (and exhausted) talent, Mike Haseloff!