Originally published on Patreon
The Dark Crisis kicked off with a shocking, if somewhat misleading, moment with 'Death of the Justice League'. To outside observers it did indeed look like the members of the League, minus Black Adam, were destroyed. But, if you'd been reading the build-up to this you were aware that the League were more likely put in their own pocket worlds filled with their dreams brought to life; just like what had happened to Barry Allen.
Well, Dark Crisis: World Without A Justice League - Superman confirms this as we get an insight into two of the realities of the League as we catch-up with Superman and Aquaman.
The first story in this issue deals with Superman, and is written by Tom King, with art by Chris Burnham and Adriano Lucas. Despite being about Clark, the story focuses on Jonathan; which is great because Tom King is brilliant at writing Jonathan.
In this world Jon isn't lost, doesn't grow up without his parents, and Clark gets to be there for his son through his childhood and teen years. We see him and Jon and their relationship at a few points over the years, skipping from point to point as their relationship goes through some changes. Clark also seems to have considered the fact that he recently left Earth to help free alien worlds in the real world, and in this reality Darkseid wages war on the galaxy, but has agreed to leave Earth alone if Superman doesn't interfere.
Whilst this doesn't sound like the kind of deal Clark would make in the real world it does prevent him from leaving his family, keeping their unit together. However, even in paradise isn't perfect, and he and Jon clash a few times; mostly because Jon can't ignore the sounds of screaming from space. Clarke agrees to let his son head out into the galaxy as he reaches adulthood, set to make his own future; and even though he knows it's dangerous for him he thinks that he would't change this for anything.
It's strange to see this version of Superman, one who is willing to let others suffer if it means it keeps him and his family safe. Yes, he still protects Earth, but he allows other planets to be conquered by forces of evil, for children to die. This goes a long way to show how twisted these 'perfect' worlds that Pariah has created for the League really are, because they're not just designed to keep the heroes contained, they're twisting them too. Clark would never stand by and let others suffer. The recent run on Action Comics shows us that.
The Aquaman story takes a slightly different approach, though has some similar themes. In this story, written by Brandon Thomas with art by Fico Ossio and Sebastian Cheng, Aquaman and his family are attending the vow renewal of his parents. Everyone has gathered to take part, including a number of villains who's seemingly put their evil ways behind them.
Much like the Superman story, this takes Arthur years into the future, where his daughter has grown into a young woman, Jackson has been Aquaman for years, and things have become peaceful for their family. Despite this, there is some trouble at the ceremony when one of Andy's villains tries to blow them up, but Jess Chambers is able to stop it.
The story draws upon some of the things from the Future State books, such as Andy being Aquawoman, and Jess from Earth 11 being her partner, which makes things interesting. And I honestly did find this one to be more interesting than the Superman story; especially as Arthur seemed more aware of things being fake, and literally breaks free of the illusion at the end. Free of the fake reality, Arthur threatens to take revenge against the person who trapped him there.
Getting to see the inner workings of the Leagues pocket realities is a great addition to the Dark Crisis narrative, and it's good that it's happening in these books, rather than only getting small glimpses of them in the main title where less time can be given over to it. I'm looking forward to seeing what the other members of the League have going on in their worlds.
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