Wednesday, January 18, 2012

Justice League: Cry for Justice (2009-2010)



Following Final Crisis, Green Lantern Hal Jordan made a big show of quitting the Justice League to form a more proactive super-team. Self interest was probably also a factor, given the recent killings of Martian Manhunter and Batman. Green Arrow was the first to join his friend. Vixen and Zatanna seemed to sit out most of
the discussion, although Mari did say, "Hal, Ollie, this is crazy."

A number of super-heroes joined in Green Lantern's crusade, which uncovered a vast super-villain conspiracy spearheaded by Prometheus. This group consisted of the Atom (Ray Palmer,) Supergirl, and Captain Marvel (Freddy Freeman.) Lantern's League eventually returned to the Justice League Satellite, where the mainstay team stood as Vixen, Zatanna, Black Canary, Red Arrow, the Flash, Hawkgirl, Hawkman, Red Tornado, Firestorm and Plastic Man. Roy and Dinah were of different minds of whether to extend aid to the rogue faction. Ultimately, the needs of the innocent outweighed inter-company strife, with Vixen observing of Prometheus "We have to find him and learn his plans. Well, we have been getting reports. Established villains appearing in cities that they're unfamiliar to-- and unfamiliar to the heroes fighting them."

Zatanna wondered if new Batman Dick Grayson had learned anything, and other avenues were pursued. In a blatant bit of foreshadowing, Red Arrow announced that he needed to disappear to Star City for a moment. Zee protested, "Roy Harper, if you hadn't noticed, we're in the middle of something already." Single dad Roy needed to tuck in his daughter Lian for the night.



A third group of heroes showed up, including Donna Troy, Congorilla, Animal Man, Starman Mikaal Tomas, and Starfire. Vixen felt, "Buddy, this isn't the best time. Donna and Kory, it's great to see you, but-- we have a situation." More than she knew, since "Captain Marvel" turned out to be Prometheus in disguise, who maimed Red Arrow and began picking off heroes one by one. "Zatanna: Magic via oral incantation-- solution-- render inaudible." Prometheus shot Zee in the throat with an unknown small caliber projectile, then listened to his helmet offer more vulnerabilities to exploit. Most of the heroes were out of commission in minutes.

The Vixen leapt on Prometheus' back with a growl. The villain threw her off, then broke her left leg with Hawkman's mace. "Funny... never met you... but never liked you!" Prometheus' rampage continued until he was finally downed by Donna Troy in a moment of savagery for which there was no calculated avoidance. Unfortunately, Prometheus' plan was to shunt all the major fictional metropolises on Earth irretrievably to randomly selected dimensions, and he used this as a bargaining tool to demand his release. An example was made of Star City, which didn't teleport, but was shaken to pieces. Little Lian Harper died in the quake.

Vixen manned the teleporter while other heroes tried to find a solution or offer aid. Zatanna must have been seriously injured, as she disappeared for the rest of the series. Mari was disgusted by the extortion, and protested the final decision, but ultimately Prometheus was released. However, Green Arrow secretly tracked him down and drove an arrow through his head to avenge his ward, granddaughter, and city.

“Cry For Justice” was by James Robinson, Mauro Cascioli, Scott Clark and Ibraim Roberson with David Beaty.

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