Noteworthy Issues: Justice League 3001 #6 (November, 2015)

You know, I wasn’t going to do reviews for every comic I started reading once my subscriptions to DC Infinite and Marvel Unlimited started.  I mean, some would be short-lived series that I was curious about, but not enough to actually pay for trades for.  One such would be Justice League 3001, a sequel series to Justice League 3000, a book set in the far future where defective clones of the original Justice League are trying to be heroes, often with humorous results from writers Keith Giffen and J.M. DeMatteis.  Heck, they started bringing in the members of the more humorous Justice League that the two writers are best remembered for.

Then along came Justice League 3001 #6…

Issue:  Justice League 3001 #6, November 2015

Writers:  Keith Giffen and J.M. DeMatteis

Artist:  Colleen Doran

The Plot:  Everything changes.

Commentary:  OK, I just did not see this coming, and I am still not sure how to process it.

See, the first series, Justice League 3000, ran for 15 issues and established the future Justice League as clones of the originals.  Faulty clones with incomplete memories, but still clones.  Superman had half the powers and was mostly an arrogant moron.  Batman wasn’t sure why he stuck around.  Wonder Woman had almost no compassion.  The Flash was also one of the young scientists who started the cloning process.  Hal Jordan’s emerald energy was in him and was slowly killing him.  Barry Allen clones kept dying.  Firestorm might have been a sociopath at best.  Then some more clones showed up of an Injustice League led by a villainous Lois Lane.  Blue Beetle and Booster Gold woke up from cryofreeze.  Ice was immortal.  Fire was working for Etrigan the Demon until she and Tora met up again.  When the new series, set a year later and only running for 12 issues, came out, Guy Gardner was revived in a woman’s body.  What looks like the Silver Age Supergirl showed up.  And the whole thing felt like a fairly silly continuation of what came before.

And then there was this issue.

This issue is where the creative team basically decided to wipe the board clean, and it does so in a very violent manner without trying very hard.  The Earth, also the prison planet of Takron Galtos, was the new home base for the Superbuddies.  They weren’t doing so well, with Hal and a newly revived Barry watching over them.  Firestorm had taken over the Cadmus Planet and was apparently just popping out cloned heroes whenever he felt like it.  Starro had legally taken over a planet and one of his drones moved into Guy’s room in the League’s headquarters.  Lois Lane was finally ready to spring her trap.  And back on Earth/Takron-Galtos, Batman and Supergirl found a new Batman, basically a teenage girl in a robotic suit who was actually descended from Bruce Wayne, but one who thinks killing is A-OK.  The issue starts off as expected.  Bruce learns he’s stuck with this girl he just met, Supergirl and the teen clash, and it’s all par for the course.  Cut to a future Harley Quinn, steaming that her best friend Batman might not be getting together for any more of their regularly staged fights.  Harley first appeared in the last page of the previous issue, possibly setting her up as a future threat.

She isn’t.

It’s that point when some silver androids show up, looking for Batman.  Harley stands up to them, and they…kill her.  Like, violently.  It looks like they might have ripped if not her whole head off, then at least pulverized her face.  Who are these things?  What do they want?

I don’t know.  They follow some major cosmic power I don’t think I have ever heard of, and they’ve just more or less wiped out Cadmusworld.  Firestorm appears to be if not dead than at least not well, and that would suggest that the resurrection process is over.  No more cloning the heroes, no new heroes, and the ones left had best watch it.

Oh, and these robots not only can quickly call on reinforcements, but they repair themselves very quickly as both Batman and Supergirl find out.  Whatever they are, they want the League dead.

And when the rest of the League shows up to help, well, they kill Superman.

Now, this Superman is more like the humor League’s Guy Gardner.  He’s obnoxious and full of himself, but he’s still dead.  I am not overly surprised.  Many of the original Leaguers don’t appear on many of the covers for future issues from this point on, and I do not expect Batman to last much longer either.  But still, this is a major change in tone and seriousness, wiping out an original member of this team, arguably one of the most recognizable even if he wasn’t much like his namesake, and it does really alter the tone for the last six issues.  Was this a last ditch effort to increase sales or was it planned?  I don’t know.  But this is the same creative team (give or take fill-in artwork from Colleen Doran), not some new people taking over.  So, I just did not see this coming.

That said, I don’t plan on reviewing more of this series.  Just…this was a big change in tone, and it really worked, so I figured I could write it up all the same.

Grade:  B