WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Future State: Justice League #2, by Joshua Williamson, Robson Rocha, Daniel Henriques, Romulo Fajardo, Jr. and Tom Napolitano, on sale now.
One of the most formidable supervillain teams that the classic Justice League ever faced was the Hyperclan, created by Grant Morrison and Howard Porter in 1997's JLA #1. A group of White Martians disguising themselves as more proactive superheroes that attempted to usurp the public's adoration of the Justice League before revealing their true nature and conquering the world, the Justice League narrowly triumphed over their insidious enemies.
As the Justice League of Future State still experiences their own growing pains, it soon becomes clear in Future State: Justice League #2 that the only way this new generation of heroes can emerge victorious over the Hyperclan is if they are able to do the one thing that has proven difficult for this new team. They have to learn to trust one another.
It's hinted that the fallout Superman experienced after publicly revealing his secret identity to the world led to him enduring cataclysmic tragedy and forcing his eventual exile from Earth. Seeing this example of trust gone wrong, the next generation of superheroes tightly guard their own secret identities as best as they can. To take this edict one step further, the team has tacitly banned its members from fraternizing with one another when not on the job in order to maintain a higher level of secrecy. Despite this team rule, Jon Kent and Yara Flor hang out together off the clock while alternate universe speedster Jess Quick and Aquawoman Andy Curry have struck up their own quiet romance in the remote solitude of Andy's family lighthouse at Mercy Reef.
After recovering from the Hyperclan's initial attack, the League realizes that these protective elements they've established, while intended to defend their identities, has put them at a disadvantage. The White Martians caught them off-guard by disguising themselves as the various Future State heroes, ambushing them and stranding them off-world to die. Fortunately, as the rematch against the extraterrestrial invaders begins in earnest, the Justice League realizes that they actually know more about each other than they had admitted amongst themselves and use this knowledge to their advantage.
From pet names that Jess and Andy use for each other in their private lives to each others' personal ticks, the Justice League is able to spot which of the heroes among them are the real deal and which are White Martians in disguise. With this in mind (And armed with a hefty flamethrower to take advantage of the White Martians' inherent weakness to fire), the Hyperclan is systematically picked apart and defeated. While the heroes remain divided on whether they should share their identities with one another in the aftermath, even the new Batman Jace Fox sees the value in dropping his guard, unmasking before his teammates the next day as they chart a bold new future for the DC Universe.
Just as the Hyperclan reaffirmed the need for the Justice League in 1997, the White Martians' latest ploy to replace and masquerade as the Future State iteration of the superhero team underscored the last push for its heroes to truly come together and trust in one another. The heroes use the more intimate knowledge of one another to spot the false allies among them and take down one of the classic League's greatest foes together.
And now, truly a team for the first time, the Justice League looks to expand their numbers as a full-on community rather than just an impersonal peacekeeping force.