Marvel-Disney Merger: JUSTICE LEAGUE EUROPE #17-18 (JLI 55)

[tcampbell1000]

The Extremists lose no time taking control of Earth’s nuclear arsenals and suspending them over the world like 10,000 giant swords of Damocles. Max Lord doesn’t mince words at the UN: a second attack by the JLI might solve this problem, but it might exacerbate it. They have to form the best possible plan to--




It’s unclear whether Max is trying to use his power on Tracer…doing so would risk exposing that power to the UN, but he might take a stab at it, given the stakes. His nose is bleeding in panel 6, so maybe he tried, Dreamslayer sensed it, and Dreamslayer decided to show Max what real mind-manipulation felt like. That could be Dreamslayer’s idea of a joke. Or maybe Max didn’t try, and the nosebleed is just because of what D’s doing to him. Works either way.

The UN decides on appeasement: nobody is allowed to provoke the Extremists, least of all super-heroes. Various heroes from Superman to the Peacemaker are shown reflecting on how helpless they are.



This is the weakest part of the story, struggling with a question that weighs down a lot of non-crossover hero books: if the stakes are world-threatening, why aren’t all the world’s heroes pitching in? It's an attempt to address the problem, yes, but not one that holds up to a lot of scrutiny. “Sorry, Daredevil, but the Fantastic Four, the X-Men, and the Avengers are all in space until Tuesday, so I guess the fight with the Beyonder falls to you!”

On the other hand, this resolution gives the JLE’s next move some character-driven juice.



Cap asks Bluejay to brief him and the others on the Extremists, giving them enough intelligence to maximize their chances of victory. This seems like the smartest thing he can do, and it sure helps. But there’s something even Bluejay doesn’t know about the Extremists. Something important. We’ll get to it.



The JLE is right behind Metamorpho, attacking before the Extremists can break Diehard free.






The Extremists berating the JLE is hilarious, but also a little confusing. Both Bluejay and Lord Havok himself have presented the Extremists as, well, extreme enough to end the world on a whim. Yet here they are, acting terrified of the nukes and furious with the JLE for their carelessness. What’s going on here? Answers are coming…but not just yet.



The JLE find themselves on the Extremists’ postapocalyptic world. Some holographic advertising directs them to a place Rocket Red describes as “like nothing on Earth.”



Before long, the group hears music.



The parade starts looking more sinister when its main float brings a familiar passenger.



When the League awakens, they're bolted into an amusement park ride. Their powers could break them free, but Cap orders them to hold back "until we know where we stand."




Thursday: “The Extremist Vector” reaches its endpoint, and the Justice League picks up a member even more useless in combat than Bluejay.

Comments

[mazway_75]

I did like Jay telling them the only folks on their Earth who believed the Extremists nuts enough to nuke a planet were the heroes and Flash pointing out "and only you guys survived."

[cainofdreaming]

How did they gas Metamorpho? It's not like he needs to breathe. And Dimitri's armor apparently doesn't have any air filters built in either?

[tcampbell1000]

That is...an excellent question. There's another story that suggests Dmitri has to seal off his armor to be gas-proof, and maybe we can say the same for Captain Atom, but Metamorpho really shouldn't have an issue. Maybe he just saw all his friends collapsing, didn't like his odds of getting them all out of there safely, and decided to play along until they recovered.

[iamrman]

Diehard? More like Try-Hard, amirite?

[tcampbell1000]

😂