WARNING: The following article contains spoilers for Justice League #25 by Scott Snyder, James Tynion IV, Jorge Jimenez, Javier Fernandez, Alejandro Sanchez, Hi-Fi and Tom Napolitano, on sale now.
Readers received their first taste of what to expect from DC's linewide Year of the Villain story arc in May's 25 cent one-shot comic, featuring stories centered on Justice League's Legion of Doom, Superman and Action Comics' Leviathan, and Batman's "City of Bane" and the Dark Multiverse's Batman Who Laughs. While Year of the Villain will run across multiple titles, there's another major event about to take place, only it will stay confined to the pages of Justice League.
Scott Snyder, James Tynion IV, Jorge Jimenez, Jim Cheung, Francis Manapul and other collaborators on Justice League are building toward "Justice Doom War," which sees DC's premier superheroes pitted against the villainous Legion of Doom, led by Lex Luthor. He's obsessed with resurrecting the creator of our Multiverse, Perpetua, who was freed when the Source Wall blew open.
DC's Year of the Villain one-shot offered some pieces of the puzzle, but a prelude in Justice League #25 reveals the lengths Luthor has gone to in order to secure victory. The aftermath leaves the Justice League weighing multiple options on how to turn the tide in their favor heading into the "Justice Doom War."
A Bigger And Better Justice League
When the Justice League returns to Earth from the Sixth Dimension, Mera and Starman inform them of everything they've missed -- primarily, Luthor and the Legion of Doom unleashing Bat-Mite to defeat Mister Mxyzptlk. With the League missing for a week, this act of heroism makes Luthor look like a good guy, allowing him to reveal how the League is responsible for breaking the Source Wall and the upcoming destruction of the Multiverse.
He then makes a public plea for everyone to embrace their inner villains while giving away his multibillion-dollar fortune. Of course, we know Luthor is really using his vast resources to make an offer to the DC Universe's worst villains, but as far as the public knows, Luthor is a savior.
It's here where members of the Justice League offer ideas on the best strategy to fight back. First up is the World Forger, the newest member of the Justice League. Although he trapped and separated Superman from the team, and almost had him killed, the Man of Steel recruits the World Forger with open arms. None of his calculations accounted for him working with the Justice League, so perhaps his involvement will make a difference in the coming Justice Doom War.
World Forger wants to go find his brothers, Monitor and Anti-Monitor, and bring them in to help defeat Perpetua. The classic DC characters played a major role in Marv Wolfman and George Perez's Crisis on Infinite Earths, which is being adapted for the next Arrowverse crossover on The CW.
Starman has mostly been in the background after having his origin retconned in Justice League #8. However, he is ready to finally solve the mystery of how the Totality gave him his extraordinary powers. This journey will take Starman through Hypertime and the Multiverse itself, as Will Payton builds an army with heroes like Val-Zod, the Earth-2 Superman, Captain Carrot, Kamandi, Mary Marvel, Deadman and many more.
Of course, there are plenty of heroes for the Justice League to turn to on Earth, and Wonder Woman knows how valuable they can be if called upon. As she says, "The Justice League needs to be bigger than ever before." Again, we see a who's who of DC characters who will more than likely make an appearance in "Justice Doom War," including Shazam, Justice League Dark, the Terrifics, Supergirl, Black Lightning, the Titans and Green Arrow.
With "Justice Doom War" and Year of the Villain both taking place in Justice League, the title will be the must-read DC comic for the remainder of the year. The team roster will expand and the Multiverse will be explored, along with the returns of the Monitor and Anti-Monitor. And as longtime DC fans know, whenever those characters are involved, a crisis can't be too far behind. Snyder said he wants to tell a "[Jonathan]-Hickman-esque" story that reverberates across the DCU, and Justice League #25 is another huge piece of the overall puzzle.