WARNING! SPOILER ALERT! BATTLE STATIONS! BATTLE STATIONS!


Title: Tower of Babel, Part I: Survival of the Fittest
Release Date: July 2000
Writer: Mark Waid
Penciller: Howard Porter
Inker: Drew Geraci
JLA Members: Superman, Batman, the Martian Manhunter, Wonder Woman, the Flash, Aquaman, Green Lantern, and Plastic Man.
Bad Guys: Ra's Al Ghul.

So what happens?
Long-lived Batman foe Ra's Al Ghul has a new plan for thinning the ranks of humanity to help nature and the environment thrive, but to do that, he and his League of Assassins have to get the JLA out of his way. He's got some evil ideas, too...

First, Bruce Wayne, taking flowers to the grave of his parents, is horrified to discover that someone has stolen their bodies...

Next, over the Black Forest, the Martian Manhunter is attacked with nanobots that bond with his skin and transmute base elements into magnesium. Since magnesium bursts into flame when it reacts with oxygen, and since J'onn is vulnerable to fire...

And at the UN, Aquaman and Plastic Man are attacked by assassins. Plastic Man is frozen solid and then shattered. Aquaman is dosed with a toxin that makes him afraid of water...

Back at the Watchtower, J'onn is submerged in water to keep him from burning up, and Flash gets to work piecing Plastic Man back together. Aquaman is dehydrating, but he can't bring himself to have anything to do with water. Batman is too busy hunting for his parents' bodies to be bothered by anything else, and Green Lantern isn't answering any calls.

While Ra's makes final preparations on his latest device, Flash and Wonder Woman head to GL's apartment to see what's up with him--they discover that he's been blinded somehow. Superman flies down to the Daily Planet to see if there are any clues in the news. No one is prepared when Ra's activates his device--and turns all printed text on the planet into gibberish...

Cool Moments!
Bruce Wayne discovering that his parents' grave has been robbed.

Cool Quotes!
Flash, spotting a fire-emitting figure (actually J'onn J'onzz) in a forest fire: "You were asking who dissed Smokey Bear? I think I've spotted a clue."
Wonder Woman: "You mean him?"
Flash: "Sarcasm is so lost on you."

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