Justice League of America - Issue 8
Featuring the twin menaces of mind-control rays and slave auctions
The Justice League (aka the Justice League of America, aka the JLA, aka Justice League International, aka Zack Snyder’s Justice League (2021)) is a collection of the DC Universe's greatest heroes (and also Green Arrow).
I talked about why I love the JLA in this piece here. Now I’m breaking down each and every issue of the comic book, from their very first appearance, with Atom-sized summaries. Enjoy!
A petty criminal’s chance discovery of a mysterious invention that shoots mind-control rays leads, as always, to the entire Justice League (minus Superman and Batman, who are ‘away on a mission in Dimension X’, as per their contract) being brainwashed and auctioned off to the Top Ten (ten gangsters inexplicably holidaying together in an empty seaside resort). The gangsters send the mind-controlled Leaguers off in pairs to see who is better at stealing rare artefacts, only to discover they’re improbably terrible at committing these robberies, thanks to the timely intervention of Snapper Carr, who saves the day with the judicious use of both the US postal service and anti-gravity discs.
Fun With Comics!
MVP
It’s Green Arrow, who not only recognises that an unexpected setback calls for something called a ‘reverse-rocket arrow’, but also happens to have one on hand. (Having said that, is this a case of ‘if all you have is a reverse-rocket arrow, then every problem looks like a reverse-rocket-requiring nail?’ Perhaps.)
Top Panel
The whole deal with Green Lantern is that he possesses almost unlimited willpower. What’s going on here, Hal? I mean, the ray’s not even yellow, bruh.
Villain Cryptic Crossword Clue
Don’t opt entirely for a story in which there are auction-loving gangsters (8)