WARNING: The following article contains spoilers for Justice League #9 by Scott Snyder, Jorge Jimenez, Alejandro Sanchez and Tom Napolitano, in stores now.
"Trust" is a word you don't always find in Batman's vocabulary. The Dark Knight often keeps people at an arm's length, whether it be the Bat-family or his fellow heroes in the Justice League. After all, not everyone can be Selina Kyle/Catwoman and disarm Bruce Wayne, leaving him vulnerable to open up and express his full emotions.
But when it's all said and done, Batman usually has a solid (if often flawed) reason for being so secretive, and for taking actions that even the League would condemn. In the recently relaunched Justice League, he's taken this to another level with an audacious attempt to weaponize the moon and turn it into a Bat-moon (no, we're not paraphrasing)!
RELATED: Justice League Has Transformed A B-List DC Villain Into a Genuine Godslayer
Bruce has quite a history of being the most stringent, hard-headed military strategist around, one which even leaves John Stewart (an ex-Marine) scratching his head. Now, that's not to say all of Batman's plans have been successful, with quite a few actually leading to potentially world-ending chaos. He always has his Kryptonite arsenal hidden in case Superman goes rogue -- a contingency plan which has never sat well with his colleagues -- but the incident which backfired big time came during 2000's JLA: Tower of Babel. This story (from Mark Waid, Howard Porter and Steve Scott) saw Batman's protocols to take the League down if they turned evil fall into the hands of Ra's al Ghul, causing no end of trouble for the team. Of course, a close second is the time his Brother Eye satellite, designed to police the world, was taken over by the wicked Max Lord and used to hunt down heroes.
That said, we've come to accept Batman's methods, because time and time again he finds a way to save the world. Thus, his teammates believe he's earned their trust, and he decides to play that card in Issue #9.
But first, we have have to revisit Issue #1 where Vandal Savage was using the moon to disrupt Earth's gravity field and tear the planet apart. This was to eliminate humanity and its heroes, allowing him and his neanderthal worshippers to live freely on it. The plan failed when Martian Manhunter got the Caped Crusader to detonate bombs he planted on the moon, something he never gave an explanation for, leaving it in pieces orbiting the planet.
RELATED: Justice League Gives An ’80s DC Superhero’s Origin Story a Rebirth Retcon
WeIn Issue #9, by Scott Snyder and Jorge Jimenez, Kal-El is stitching the moon back together with his heat vision. It's been a rough couple of days, though, as the team recently escaped Lex Luthor's cosmic rage, barely managing to secure the energy-based orb known as the Totality at the Hall of Justice. It came at a price, however, as Batman's body was brutally broken, forcing him into a special chair and cast which doubles as a Bat-armor. As surgery's being performed on Bruce here, Superman is attacked by solar creatures known as Carnavores, who Batman says were hiding in the moon's crust. He warns Superman to leave, suits up and gets ready to head into space himself, but Superman calls his bluff. He accuses Batman of calling the creatures on the Man of Steel, just so he could have an excuse to arm the moon as a base.
After some probing, Batman admits that, yes, he faked the alien attack because he wants to create a Bat-moon so it can be used as the first wave to fight off incoming cosmic threats, and prevent an entity like the Totality from ever reaching Earth in the first place. Anxious and a bit paranoid, Batman pleads his case but Superman shuts him down as he puts the finishing touches on the moon. Everyone marvels at its beauty and Superman reminds Batman that something this pure shouldn't be tainted.
RELATED: A Justice League Member Has Uncovered The Multiverse’s Dark Secrets
Bruce eventually concedes, trusting in the Kryptonian's words. Batman remembers to have faith in his comrades as Superman assures him whatever comes next, they'll be prepared, shaping yet another moment of camaraderie for the World's Finest to add to their memory bank.