WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Justice League Infinity #4, on sale now from DC Comics.
The comic book continuation of the beloved Justice League cartoon has introduced a vast new multiverse to the DC Animated Universe. Though introducing new versions of Superman and Wonder Woman to the animated world is exciting, the way these universes are colliding could lead to their end before too long. Previous issues of Justice League Infinity have shown characters across the multiverse switching places with their otherworldly counterparts all because of the actions of one seriously powerful old foe from the DCAU show.
Justice League Infinity #4 by J.M. DeMatteis, James Tucker, Ethen Beavers, Nick Filardi and AW's DC Hopkins immediately returns readers to the plight of Amazo. The comic book series originally opened on the troubled android, showing that since his disappearance from the show he's been wandering the universe still in search of the meaning of his existence. Unfortunately for the universe (and every other universe too), his tortured soul has led to untold catastrophe.
The DCAU's version of Professor Ivo's metahuman-mimicking automaton first appeared in the two-part story "Tabula Rasa" in the original Justice League cartoon. When Lex Luthor went looking in some old LexCorp facilities, he found the android and concocted a plan to destroy Superman and his superfriends. Unlike the Amazo in the comics though, the one on the show was no simple android but a sentient being. As his powers grew so did his own comprehension of his existence. When he used the Martian Manhunter's telepathy to learn that Luthor, who he had seen as a father, was simply using him, he decided that Earth had nothing else left to teach him. He turned from a dull grey to a shining gold and flew up, ready to learn what the rest of the universe had to offer.
He returned again in the Justice League Unlimited episode "The Return" looking for his one-time father Luthor and showing how much his powers had grown since his first appearance. He moved the Green Lanterns' homeworld of Oa to a pocket dimension simply because it was in his way. The entire might of the Justice League, which by that time had grown far beyond its original seven members, was unable to stop him. When Amazo finally got his hands on Luthor, he didn't want revenge - he wanted to know what his purpose is in life. Though he found Luthor's answer enlightening, it didn't satisfy him.
Whilst the entire Green Lantern Corps were ready to fight Amazo there and then, Dr. Fate saw a different solution to the android's chaotic tendencies. The Lord of Order offered to help the troubled being find the meaning he was searching for and his story picked up again, briefly, in the episode "Wake the Dead." When even his mighty powers couldn't stop a revived Solomon Grundy, Amazo teleported away so that he couldn't do any more damage by fuelling the behemoth's rage.
Justice League Infinity shows that Amazo resumed his voyages through space after teleporting away in the series. Overall, the android has shown that he doesn't realize how much power he holds or the accidental chaos it has caused to those who encounter him. The same happens again in this story. Finding himself in a mirror dimension, he spirals into an existential crisis. In his despair, he fractures the reality around him with his amazing powers and causes the multiversal threat that the Justice League are so desperately trying to stop now.
Despite the fact that he's not a villain, it seems Amazo can't help but be a destructive force in the DCAU. Something as simple and personal as finding the meaning of his own existence has caused the multiverse to fracture and collide. The fact that this act wasn't even on purpose proves that Amazo is the most powerful foe the DCAU's Justice League has ever faced.