Justice League #1 went on sale on July 20, 2016 with a September cover date and a $2.99 cover price; the cover art was by Tony Daniel and the cover color was by Tomeu Morey; and the variant cover art was by Yanick Paquette and the variant cover color was by Nathan Fairbairn. The 24-page story was titled “The Extinction Machines Part One” and was credited to Bryan Hitch (writer); Tony Daniel (pencil artist); Sandu Florea (ink artist); Richard Starkings with Comicraft (lettering); Tomeu Morey (color artist); and Brian Cunningham (editor).
Before we get going on “The Extinction Machines”, just a brief bit of background information. When the “New 52” marketing push at DC was replaced by “DC Rebirth”, DC symbolized the changing of the eras by having the New 52 Superman die off and be replaced by a Superman from the pre-New 52 storylines, who was married to his version of Lois Lane. When Clark and Lois came to live in the New 52 continuity, which already had a Superman, they lived in secret on a farm while raising their son Jon. Clark did not emerge from secrecy until the New 52 Superman’s death. Batman was the New 52 Superman’s best friend and Wonder Woman was romantically involved with him, so neither of them nor the other Justice League members are very trusting of this replacement Man of Steel.
The story opens on a splash scene, with Wonder Woman swooping down from the sky holding a bolt of lightning as several explosions rock the skies around her as the captions read “I am Diana, Amazon Princess. Wonder Woman. Some have called me a hero.”
Next is a double-paged splash, with Wonder Woman and the lightning bolt crashing to the ground in the middle of what appears to be a combat scene, her landing causing a shockwave that sends several soldiers and tanks flying through the air as the caption says “I am here on a mission of peace.” Wonder Woman proceeds to defeat the soldiers even as the ground around them shudders and shakes, with buildings collapsing all around them. Finally one soldier, holding a comrade either dead or dying, speaks in Russian to Wonder Woman and says “What have you done? You have killed us all…”. Wonder Woman replies “This... wasn’t me…”.
A television reporter narrates scenes of people fleeing from collapsing buildings explaining that the earthquakes are happening all over the world and that some have labeled the situation as “an extinction level event.” Flying in to help the people of Beijing, Green Lanterns Baz and Cruz create structures to support the crumbling buildings as the locals capture them in action on their smartphones. The Lanterns then contact Cyborg for further instructions.
Cyborg responds to the Lanterns from New York, explaining to Baz and Cruz that Flash is handling the U.S. west coast, that Cyborg hasn’t heard from Aquaman, Batman, or Wonder Woman, and that the Lanterns should proceed to Hong Kong. As Cyborg is explaining this we see him in a subway tunnel stopping a runaway train from causing too much damage. Apparently this superhero is also more powerful than a locomotive.
Flash races through multiple collapsing buildings trying locate a woman’s young daughter. The woman drops her water bottle, and over the next several panels we see the Flash do his thing and rescuing the girl before the water bottle hits the ground. Flash then hands the girl off to her mother before he races off. We then see several buildings being destroyed in Atlantis. Meanwhile Aquaman assists in the evacuation of the underwater city, stating that since the oceanic earthquakes must be causing tidal waves, he hopes his friends on the surface are taking care of it.
We then see the Lanterns flying above the skies of Hong Kong attempting to create a structure to protect the city from a tsunami as the populace seems to be possessed, their eyes glowing red as they chant “Green light. Stolen light. Our light.” Just then the power cuts out of the power rings, causing Baz and Cruz to fall through the sky as their structure dissipates, sending the giant wave hurtling towards them.
Next Wonder Woman stands in the rubble of the city when she too starts to hear the chanting of the possessed, although in her case it appears to be the dead rising from the rubble who proclaim: “Stolen power. Our power. ...our power… ...guardian… ...keeper… ...watcher… ...your time is over… … stolen power…. We are coming back. We, the Kindred… Your time is over…” Flash races through the rubble of San Diego hearing the chants of the possessed of that city when his super speed leaves him and he crashes into some barrels. Cyborg in New York lifts a building as he finally is able to contact Batman. Batman is seen in his Batmobile in Gotham City stating he has not yet figured out the cause of the calamity as he wonders what the new Superman has been doing during all of this. Cyborg replies he’s been everywhere - Metropolis, Chicago, Boston, Washington D.C. - `and asks if Batman wants him to call Superman.
Batman declines as he gets out of the car when a giant projectile - he cannot determine if it is a ship or a weapon - lands in the street in front of him. Just then oversized alien insectoids emerge from the projectile and begin attacking the citizens of Gotham. Batman then tells Cyborg to alert the authorities to establish a quarantine. Aquaman continues to work with the Atlanteans on getting them to safety when they too become possessed and chant: “Stolen words… The words started here… the words that make the worlds… our words, our worlds…. Give us back our words!”
Finally Wonder Woman is in Eastern Europe when the possessed soldiers on both sides of the conflict begin to attack her. And on page 24, after fighting off dozens of soldiers, Wonder Woman says calmly “The Kindred? Well hear me now, Kindred… I have friends. And we’re coming for you.”
