Justice League America: Destiny's Hand
Aug. 5th, 2006 02:35 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
shankieJustice League America #72-75.
I've said a lot about how Justice League International and the ilk were lighthearted and all that. Then I found this. It makes the Justice Lords look like Girl Scouts holding a bake sale.
The story takes place just after the death of Superman; Ted is in a coma, Booster's power suit is in tatters beyond repair, J'onn is nowhere to be found, and the League has just reformed with Wonder Woman, Black Condor, Maxima, The Ray, Guy Gardner (yellow power ring version) and a mysterious fellow named Bloodwynd.
It opens in an alternate reality, with J'onn fighting Star Sapphire, Sinestro, and others... and using his Martian Vision to murder Star Sapphire, while Sinestro manages to escape.
I took a lot from this, so many of the scans are linked, to save everyone from loading a gigantic page.
As I mentioned, J'onn lets out a blast and fries Star Sapphire... then Gordon shows up on the scene, and it's revealed just where thing stand in this reality...
So Hal and J'onn's squad take the men away, and Gordon is rather understandably not happy about the way power is working these days. But really, aside from J'onn just freakin' blasting someone to death, things haven't moved all that far from what the League really does, hauling guys off to the Slab. Right?
Ollie finds and corners Sinestro, but cool as Ollie is, he can't really match up to a power ring. Unluckily, very unluckily, for Sinestro, Hawkman is around.
First he breaks his face and man-handles him, then things get even more out there as Hawkman brings him in...
I will never, ever, complain about Hawkman being a jerk ever again holy CRAP.
So where's Batman in all this? Gordon is wondering the same thing, and seeks him out that night.
Meanwhile, Atom and Flash are on a mission. China has armed some nukes, and they're going to stop them.
Or are they?
Ollie is unsurprisingly, very upset about this. He's the same no matter where you go, and he'll be bickering with Hawkman in every DC reality until the end of time.
The Atom makes his position clear... and it's revealed that Hal Jordan is the Vice-President of the United States.
Hold up! Hal just took office as President? Through force?
The scenario has been played out some in Elseworlds, Hal being a politician... but this is a totally different animal. It has the League, in this incarnation, laying down plans over time to end up with total control. I, for one, find this all a little unsettling.
This next exchange doesn't make me feel any better.
At the same time, this reality begins to overlap with the "real world" and the counterparts don't react well It wouldn't be going to far to say... They react aggressively. And, in a rare shining moment, Guy saves their lives by the skin of his teeth.
And, Sinestro has escaped. Hawkman is not happy, and leaves Sinestro's current condition pretty clear.
He ripped his arms off.
The rest of the "real" League finds him, and tries to help.
Meanwhile, Bloodwynd, is attacked while Ray and Guy are still down. It doesn't look good.
But we're finally getting a better idea of just what the heck is going on. Doctor Destiny.
So none of this is really real? Well, it's certainly feeling real for quite a few of our heroes, including Black Condor, who takes a beating from Hawkman for helping Sinestro.
The battle continues, with Ollie (who's on the "evil" side remember) showing up... Then, the Flash shows up and gives Diana some trouble.
But ultimately, Hawkman ends the conflict with a threat that he's proven he'll follow through with.
He is SO EVIL OMG.
The evil J'onn, Hal, and Firestorm lose track of Bloodwynd but capture Ray and Guy, leaving Bloodwynd the only one of the "real" guys not in the hands of their counterparts.
And there's an interesting development back in the real world. Ted is still in a coma... And it appears that Atom has been having dreams about the other reality.
Interesting...
And back in the bizzaro-zone, Bloodwynd finds Batman, to explain just what is going on. He does.
Understandably, Bloodwynd is a little shocked to learn that the incident in China was an intention action by the League, and Batman makes it clear his loyalties no longer lay with the others. But when they go to find some help in taking down the evil League... they find that Hawkman has been busy getting his dungeonmaster on, and not in that D&D sense.
Things look dire, but they make an attack to free the capture League members from torture, anyway. Because that's what they do. And some more interesting developments from the real world...
And then even more.
But what's this all leading to? Beetle entering the alternate reality, and bringing the awesome with him.
You're seeing two J'onn's now because Bloodwynd was actually J'onn in disguise. ::shrug:: The good one is the one with the crystal in his chest.
Inevitably, he has a silly in-battle exchange with the Flash. Then he clears up just what's going on around here.
Cue big climactic fight scene! And Batman shows up, with him and Ollie both making their opposition to their reality's members and their wicked ways. Unfortunately for Ollie, Hawkman still has Sinestro's power ring, and the will to use it.
Meanwhile, Booster has a silly fight with Doctor Destiny.
Atom suddenly finds himself within his counterpart's body, and begins to figure out what's going on, and just how to fix it.
And part of it rests with Beetle. A sequence of pure Ted love ensues.
And as things begin winding down... Atom reveals where this all came from in the first place. He words it way better than I would... and it has some interesting things to say about the possibilities of the League going bad. Not alternate versions of them, but them.
What an insane story to use as a follow-up to Superman's death.
In JLA: The Nail, the Elseworlds story, it's made clear that without Superman, the League is held in less than high regard. The world is actually rather close to the Marvel universe, in which metas are feared and loathed despite the good they do for the world.
Is this story saying that, as the DCAU implied with the Flash, here, without Superman, the League falls to corruption and domination? I think it is. And I think it's an interesting point.
And, so I make sure to end all this with something a little less harsh than all that...
Wow that shirt is gay.
I've said a lot about how Justice League International and the ilk were lighthearted and all that. Then I found this. It makes the Justice Lords look like Girl Scouts holding a bake sale.
The story takes place just after the death of Superman; Ted is in a coma, Booster's power suit is in tatters beyond repair, J'onn is nowhere to be found, and the League has just reformed with Wonder Woman, Black Condor, Maxima, The Ray, Guy Gardner (yellow power ring version) and a mysterious fellow named Bloodwynd.
It opens in an alternate reality, with J'onn fighting Star Sapphire, Sinestro, and others... and using his Martian Vision to murder Star Sapphire, while Sinestro manages to escape.
I took a lot from this, so many of the scans are linked, to save everyone from loading a gigantic page.
As I mentioned, J'onn lets out a blast and fries Star Sapphire... then Gordon shows up on the scene, and it's revealed just where thing stand in this reality...
So Hal and J'onn's squad take the men away, and Gordon is rather understandably not happy about the way power is working these days. But really, aside from J'onn just freakin' blasting someone to death, things haven't moved all that far from what the League really does, hauling guys off to the Slab. Right?
Ollie finds and corners Sinestro, but cool as Ollie is, he can't really match up to a power ring. Unluckily, very unluckily, for Sinestro, Hawkman is around.
First he breaks his face and man-handles him, then things get even more out there as Hawkman brings him in...
I will never, ever, complain about Hawkman being a jerk ever again holy CRAP.
So where's Batman in all this? Gordon is wondering the same thing, and seeks him out that night.
Meanwhile, Atom and Flash are on a mission. China has armed some nukes, and they're going to stop them.
Or are they?
Ollie is unsurprisingly, very upset about this. He's the same no matter where you go, and he'll be bickering with Hawkman in every DC reality until the end of time.
The Atom makes his position clear... and it's revealed that Hal Jordan is the Vice-President of the United States.
Hold up! Hal just took office as President? Through force?
The scenario has been played out some in Elseworlds, Hal being a politician... but this is a totally different animal. It has the League, in this incarnation, laying down plans over time to end up with total control. I, for one, find this all a little unsettling.
This next exchange doesn't make me feel any better.
At the same time, this reality begins to overlap with the "real world" and the counterparts don't react well It wouldn't be going to far to say... They react aggressively. And, in a rare shining moment, Guy saves their lives by the skin of his teeth.
And, Sinestro has escaped. Hawkman is not happy, and leaves Sinestro's current condition pretty clear.
He ripped his arms off.
The rest of the "real" League finds him, and tries to help.
Meanwhile, Bloodwynd, is attacked while Ray and Guy are still down. It doesn't look good.
But we're finally getting a better idea of just what the heck is going on. Doctor Destiny.
So none of this is really real? Well, it's certainly feeling real for quite a few of our heroes, including Black Condor, who takes a beating from Hawkman for helping Sinestro.
The battle continues, with Ollie (who's on the "evil" side remember) showing up... Then, the Flash shows up and gives Diana some trouble.
But ultimately, Hawkman ends the conflict with a threat that he's proven he'll follow through with.
He is SO EVIL OMG.
The evil J'onn, Hal, and Firestorm lose track of Bloodwynd but capture Ray and Guy, leaving Bloodwynd the only one of the "real" guys not in the hands of their counterparts.
And there's an interesting development back in the real world. Ted is still in a coma... And it appears that Atom has been having dreams about the other reality.
Interesting...
And back in the bizzaro-zone, Bloodwynd finds Batman, to explain just what is going on. He does.
Understandably, Bloodwynd is a little shocked to learn that the incident in China was an intention action by the League, and Batman makes it clear his loyalties no longer lay with the others. But when they go to find some help in taking down the evil League... they find that Hawkman has been busy getting his dungeonmaster on, and not in that D&D sense.
Things look dire, but they make an attack to free the capture League members from torture, anyway. Because that's what they do. And some more interesting developments from the real world...
And then even more.
But what's this all leading to? Beetle entering the alternate reality, and bringing the awesome with him.
You're seeing two J'onn's now because Bloodwynd was actually J'onn in disguise. ::shrug:: The good one is the one with the crystal in his chest.
Inevitably, he has a silly in-battle exchange with the Flash. Then he clears up just what's going on around here.
Cue big climactic fight scene! And Batman shows up, with him and Ollie both making their opposition to their reality's members and their wicked ways. Unfortunately for Ollie, Hawkman still has Sinestro's power ring, and the will to use it.
Meanwhile, Booster has a silly fight with Doctor Destiny.
Atom suddenly finds himself within his counterpart's body, and begins to figure out what's going on, and just how to fix it.
And part of it rests with Beetle. A sequence of pure Ted love ensues.
And as things begin winding down... Atom reveals where this all came from in the first place. He words it way better than I would... and it has some interesting things to say about the possibilities of the League going bad. Not alternate versions of them, but them.
What an insane story to use as a follow-up to Superman's death.
In JLA: The Nail, the Elseworlds story, it's made clear that without Superman, the League is held in less than high regard. The world is actually rather close to the Marvel universe, in which metas are feared and loathed despite the good they do for the world.
Is this story saying that, as the DCAU implied with the Flash, here, without Superman, the League falls to corruption and domination? I think it is. And I think it's an interesting point.
And, so I make sure to end all this with something a little less harsh than all that...
Wow that shirt is gay.
no subject
on 2006-08-05 06:47 pm (UTC)Also, Bloodwynd! He is SO AWESOME. ): I only ever saw him in Death of Superman lolerz.
no subject
on 2006-08-05 09:37 pm (UTC)no subject
on 2006-08-05 10:02 pm (UTC)no subject
on 2006-08-05 10:04 pm (UTC)Of course, in regard to getting headaches, the history of the X-Men is probably worse.
no subject
on 2006-08-07 01:04 am (UTC)And I figured out freakin' Hawkman continuity one time. Man was I proud of myself. You have no idea.
no subject
on 2006-08-05 10:04 pm (UTC)What's with Bruce and Ollie and mauve shirts? Really?
And I love that Burce and Ollie, my pretty mauve shirt playboys, are traitors to the cause every time. Which makes Identity Crisis not-canon in my mind. Ollie would have never go for it. No sir. Go Ollie!
no subject
on 2006-08-05 10:20 pm (UTC)no subject
on 2006-08-06 06:34 pm (UTC)no subject
on 2006-08-05 10:05 pm (UTC)C'mon. Wonder Woman is praising Ted and he can't take his eyes of Booster and his ... "I'm really, really comfortable with my sexuality" shirt.
I mean, Diana looks like she'd go for a butt grab, if Ted would just acknowledge her...
no subject
on 2006-08-07 01:06 am (UTC)I actually kinda resisted it at first. Then I realized that they put subtext in every single issue they're in and I gave in to the dark side. Seriously. If they're only together for one panel in a whole JLA book, they're acting like a married couple. ::shakes head::
no subject
on 2006-08-05 10:05 pm (UTC)That shirt...yes.
In part this issue goes to show that people always fear and worry about the effects of unlimited power, and that put into comic-book analogy those fears are going to look very similar. This could have been written today and wouldn't have looked out of place (perhaps heavy-handed and pedantic, but not out of place). Very interesting.
no subject
on 2006-08-05 10:23 pm (UTC)Yeah, now it would be just... kicking the dead horse after everyone took a turn beating it.