Over the course of nearly 20 issues, New Super-Man by Gene Luen Yang, Brent Peeples, Billy Tan, and Viktor Bogdanovic has slowly been introducing members of the Justice League of China. Unlike the regular League that we've come to know and love for decades, this League is an extension of the Chinese government's Ministry of Self-Reliance, a secret government agency that's been working on creating Chinese counterparts of Western superheroes to defend their nation.

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In the case of Superman, this simply means replicating his abilities, since aside from the Kryptonian physiology, that's relatively manageable. But if there's one superhero that you didn't think could have their abilities replicated so easily, if at all, it would be that of intergalactic space cop Green Lantern--but they've done it.

The first issue gave our protagonist, Kong Kenan, his Superman powers, though he's had to unlock them all over the course of the series. In the second issue, we got our Batman and Wonder Woman of China, respectively Wang Baixi and Peng Deilan. (There's also an adorable Robinbot that comes with Baixi, who can do everything from turn into a cannon to deliver great statistics.) Though the three of them wear the names of these iconic heroes, they lack their respective origins.

Deilan, it turns out, is a Green Snake who, with the help of her friend the White Snake, converted her qi to become human. Both Snakes later crossed over into the Human Realm before Deilan wound up turned to stone for some centuries. She was eventually saved by the Ministry's Dr. Omen, the same woman who recruited Kenan. Baixi, meanwhile, actually trained to be Bat-Man at the Ministry's Academy of the Bat. After all, with Batman lacking powers, the only thing you could reasonably do is train to be like him. The Ministry also ends up with a Flash with Avery Ho, a speedster who acquired her powers in Flash Rebirth.

Baixi's Academy of the Bat shows up in the book's seventh issue, during which he's challenged by an old rival for a sparring match that'll settle their years' long grudge. The two duke it out in a simulated version of Gotham City, created by hard light constructs that the Shifu says came from a new academy: the Academy of the Lantern.

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The Academy isn't seen or mentioned until the book's 18th issue, though. After having defeated powerful demons, the League of China -- Kenan, Deilan and Baixi, along with Robinbot and Avery -- decide to operate as freelancers, separate from the Ministry. The five of them are going to help China and soon the world find the balance that Kenan finally has, despite the fact that doing so officially makes them enemies of the Ministry. Dr. Omen's superiors assure her that in the end, everything will be fine -- Western heroes are too chaotic, after all, and what they need is control. At this point, three members of the Lantern Academy step forward.

Like Super-Man, Bat-Man, Wonder-Woman and Flash, the Green Lanterns of China sport a look similar to the actual Green Lanterns while also reflecting the militaristic style of the Ministry. But what's most intriguing is their headgear; all three Lanterns are wearing helmets with a yellow light in the center. On one hand, it could be a Third Eye that ties into the overall Green Lantern concept of having great will and overcoming fear. But given that compliance was clearly a problem with Kenan and the others, it's also reasonable to think that the helmets give the Ministry some form of control over the Lanterns should they consider going rogue.

Also important to keep in mind is that we're only seeing the Green Lanterns of China. Given that the name of the Academy is general, it's possible that the Ministry has students training for the other Lantern colors as well. Should they exist, we could very well see them help the Greens bring in the renegade Justice League.

New Super-Man is getting a title change to New Super-Man & the Justice League of China with next week's issue 20, effectively making the book an official ensemble title. That same issue will introduce us to the Aqua-Man of North Korea, making it a good chance that the League will be dealing a threat on two fronts. Whatever path the Green Lanterns end up taking, this won't be last we see of the Ministry's creation of Chinese superheroes.