As I sit here having just finished the final two chapters of the Justice League vs Suicide Squad crossover, I’m sure of two things. One: Joshua Williamson can write an event with the best of them, and the next few months in the DC Universe are going to be a blast.
When we wrapped up issue four, Max Lord, under the influence of Heart of Darkness (aka the Eclipso Diamond), had just converted the Justice League into his personal army of destruction. That followed Batman blowing Lobo’s head off. It was an eventful issue.
As issue five opens, we learn that the League has made the world a much safer place. Flash dismantled the world’s collective cache of WMDs. The Green Lanterns encased the planet in a protective bubble. Aquaman shored up security along national borders, while Wonder Woman put all world leaders under her protection. Finally, Superman helped Lord take the White House..all in 13 minutes.
Meanwhile, Batman, Amanda Waller and Deadshot are trapped under Belle Reve Penitentiary with Lobo’s body nearby. After Superman appears and threatens Batman, Lobo sits up, a new head in place. Oh, that handy ability to regenerate body parts. Batman tells the Main Man that blowing his head off was the only way to ensure Waller’s brain bomb deterrent would be rendered ineffective.
With Lobo and Deadshot on board, Batman recruits Harley Quinn, Killer Croc, Captain Boomerang and Killer Frost to help stop his friends, and recruits the insidious six into the Justice League.
Back to the White House, where Lord tells Waller he’s changed the world for the better. Waller slaps Lord and shows him the diamond is making him see things that aren’t there…making him see glory where ruin lays. One has to wonder if Williamson was using Lord as an analogue for a certain someone who recently assumed power…anyway, back to the story.
Eclipso forces himself out of Lord’s body as the teams battle on the White House lawn and declares his intention to corrupt all of creation as issue five, drawn by Robson Rocha, comes to a close.
Issue six, with Howard Porter on art duties, picked up with the teams continuing to battle for supremacy as Eclipso pontificated about the corruption and chaos he has wrought. Eclipso quickly takes control of Deadshot, and seemingly within seconds the rest of the Suicide Squad is under his control.
Batman and Killer Frost hatch a plan to stop the series’ Big Bad, by having Frost create a prism to trap Superman’s solar energy inside. Waller used sunlight to contain the Heart of Darkness while it was housed at Belle Reve, so Bats deduced that using Superman’s heat vision in the prism would nullify the diamond’s power. He was right, of course, but the blast from Big Blue was only strong enough to free the heroes and anti-heroes from Eclipso’s influence.
To stop their foe once and for all, Batman offers Frost his life force to afford her the opportunity to keep the prism powered. Superman tells her to instead take power from all of them, and it works. Frost stops Eclipso, but stops short of killing him at Waller’s behest.
With the threat neutralized, the teams return to Belle Reve and mingle in a scene reminiscent of the classic Justice League-Justice Society crossovers.While most of the teams are chatting, two very important conversations are taking place, with Killer Frost at the centre of each. The first is a chat between Superman and Frost herself, where the latter says it didn’t matter if she lived or died, as long as she stopped Eclipso and that maybe she’s best suited remaining with the Squad. Superman tells her that her actions weren’t suicide, they were sacrifice.
Meanwhile, Batman and Waller discuss Batman taking Frost away from Belle Reve to potentially join the Justice League. Naturally, Waller resists. Batman acquiesces that there is value to a program like Task Force X, and that there is room in the world for both teams. After settling Frost’s account with Waller, Batman turns his attention to Lobo.
The Main Man tells Batman if he ever needs his help, no matter how messy or crazy, Lobo will give the Dark Knight a freebie. Batman responds by telling Lobo he wants him to join a new kind of Justice League. Lobo tells Batman he’s not really a team player, but Batman plays on his sense of honour and asks, “are you a man of your word or not?”
In the issue’s final act, we see a subdued Lord telling Waller about the loose ends she’s forgotten about, plot threads that should prove to be fun to follow in the next few months. We see Emerald Empress discussing the hunt for Saturn Girl and making a reference to the Five, a comment sure to make Legion of Super-Heroes fans giddy. We see Johnny Sorrow’s mask and a reference to a lost Society. We see Polaris and Rustam taking stock of things after their defeat and a small boy who finds the Heart of Darkness. Finally, Waller makes reference to Task Force XI, which simply cannot bode well for the rest of the DC Universe.
I was all set to give the series a must-read recommendation on its own merit, but given that it serves as a prequel to a new Batman-led Justice League series, the recommendation is even stronger.
