WARNING! SPOILERS?! SPOILERS?!? I LIKE TO BE HAPPY!
Title: World War III, Part VI: Mageddon
Release Date: May 2000
Writer: Grant MorrisonPenciller: Howard PorterInker: Drew GeraciJLA Members: Superman,
Batman,
Wonder Woman,
Green Lantern,
the Flash,
Aquaman,
the Martian Manhunter,
Oracle,
Steel,
Orion, and
Zauriel.
Guest Stars: Aztek,
the Glimmer,
Animal Man,
Black Lightning, and
Metron.
Bad Guys: Mageddon.
Cameos: Guy Gardner,
the Flash (
Jay Garrick),
Hippolyta,
Hitman,
Blue Beetle,
Booster Gold,
Nightwing,
Gypsy,
Argent,
Firestorm,
Supergirl,
Deadman,
Hawkgirl,
the Ray,
the Red Tornado,
Wonder Girl,
Mister Miracle,
Hourman,
Starfire,
Captain Marvel,
Mary Marvel,
Zatanna,
Black Canary,
J. J. Thunder, and a
Skrull (hidden on the cover).
Special Features: Death of Aztek; writer
Grant Morrison's last JLA issue.
So what happens?Wars still run
rampant across the globe as the
malign influence of Mageddon drives
violence,
aggression, and
despair to peak levels on Earth. How do you stop a weapon that has already caused countless planets to destroy themselves?
We open in
Heaven, where Zauriel has just arrived after he was killed by the bombs that demolished the JLA Watchtower. He finds the other
angels working on plans for a new universe and a new Earth to replace the one that they expect Mageddon to destroy...
Back on Earth, the Flash introduces the Glimmer to the other superheroes. The last survivor of
Wonderworld, the Glimmer promises that he can help stop Mageddon, with the help of everyone on Earth. Hey,
no problem...
The Martian Manhunter is
shellshocked after discovering that Superman has been enslaved inside Mageddon, but Batman gets J'onn to agree to connect him to Superman's mind so he can talk the Man of Steel back to his senses. Meanwhile, Green Lantern is finally able to conquer his doubts and get his
power ring working again, and Aquaman uses the
military forces of
Atlantis to start imposing
peace all over the planet...
On
Easter Island, Animal Man explains that Mageddon is stimulating the
reptilian backbrain of the human brain to crank up
territorial aggression. He, Steel, Blue Beetle, Wonder Woman, and Black Lightning set out to build a machine to block Mageddon's
signal and temporarily awaken the
dormant potential for superpowers within everyone on the planet...
In Heaven, Zauriel talks the angels into returning with him to Earth to try to stop
Creation from being destroyed. They arrive on Earth and stop the world's leaders from starting
global thermonuclear war. And out in space, Aztek, even
blinded, returns to Mageddon. He encounters a dying Orion floating in space and heals him, then continues into the planet-sized annihilator...
J'onn puts Batman in contact with Superman's mind, and Bats is astounded and horrified by the
despair and
hopelessness overwhelming Supes' mind. Orion gets inside Mageddon, but he is quickly captured and restrained by Mageddon. While Batman desperately tries to talk Superman out of his despair, Aztek enters Mageddon and shuts down the
containment field on the
four-dimensional battery of his armor, causing an
explosion that severely hurts Mageddon. Green Lantern arrives and frees Orion. On Earth, the
armistice enforced by Atlantis and the angels is holding--unfortunately, Mageddon is scheduled to go
nova in 30 minutes...
On Easter Island, the Flash and the Glimmer arrive, and the Glimmer uses his speed to power the machine--and just like that, everyone on Earth has superpowers, and they are off flying up to confront Mageddon. Batman's lecturing finally breaks Superman free of Mageddon's spell. Supes flies into Mageddon's
power source and uses his ability to absorb
sunlight to drain away Mageddon's power. Mageddon is shut down, Orion and Barda return to New Genesis, the
JLA Watchtower gets rebuilt, and everything on Earth returns to normal. Whew!
Cool Moments!The angels of Heaven joining Zauriel to defend Earth; Wonder Woman leading the superpowered populace of Earth against Mageddon; the whole thing is really pretty
nifty.
Cool Quotes!Green Lantern, concentrating on getting his ring working again: "You're throwing
self-doubt at us? Mageddon, dude, you're up against the
Jerry Springer generation."
Flash: "You look rough, Kyle, but...I can't believe I'm saying this...you look like Green Lantern, man."
Green Lantern: "Yeah. Finally starting to feel like him, too."
Martian Manhunter, describing mental contact with Mageddon: "...dark... empty...
meaningless oblivion..."
Batman: "Sounds like my last
date."
British prime minister, preparing to launch
nukes: "Why not just press it? Better to go quickly...better to go by fire and light...Give the
cockroaches a turn..."
Angel: "They're not quite ready for the
responsibility, Mr. Prime Minister. Trust me."
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