WARNING: The following article contains spoilers for Justice League: No Justice #1 by Scott Snyder, James Tynion IV, Josh Williamson and Francis Manapul, in stores now.
The greatest heroes of the DC Universe are forced into an uneasy alliance with their greatest villains in the Justice League: No Justice four-issue weekly series. The hardest part of it all is that, in order to save the universe, the League will have to align themselves with Brainiac. It's too bad they all hate his guts.
In the opening salvo of the series, Brainiac invades Earth, and Superman tells the villain just how he feels about him; the column villain is an untrustworthy menace who is just one among a long list of "would-be invaders" that the Justice League has stopped time and time again. In order to stop someone as dangerous as Brainiac, Superman is willing to seriously lay on the hurt.
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It turns out the invasion was all an effort to prove to the heroes that they are too predictable and can easily be defeated. Instead of taking the time to explain why he needs them, Brainiac instead dispenses with such pleasantries. He makes quick work of the Justice League, Titans, Teen Titans and Suicide Squad before abducting the people he needs, and dressing them in new costumes while they are unconscious. As you might expect, this move doesn't exactly sow the seeds of trust among his chosen troops.
Brainiac attempts to explain to the assembled heroes that he needs them just as much as they need him. After all, the Omega Titans, powerful cosmic gods that feed on the energies of the universe, are coming to wipe out all life in the cosmos. It's the kind of event that brings hero and villain together, but the good guys still don't trust Brainiac, and who can really blame them?
Having no more time to mess around with these puny organic beings, Brainiac turns to Wonder Woman's Lasso of Truth to prove everyone can trust him. Compelled by the lasso's power to tell the truth, the gathered heroes have no more reason to believe he's playing them for fools.
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It's a bold move, but one that pays off, allowing the assembled heroes to at least begin to feel they are truly "among allies" on Brainiac's skull ship. Unfortunately, the uneasy alliance falls apart when he attempts to introduce some other unsavory characters into the group. Working with Brainiac was one thing, but trusting him to manage Lex Luthor, Deathstroke, Lobo, and Etrigan the Demon is another matter entirely...