By Mark Rodriguez
The Justice League have overcome impossible odds and defeated Luthor's Legion of Doom's efforts to use the Totality for their goals. The heroes now protect the Totality in the Hall of Justice. Suddenly a time traveler called Star Man arrives saying he must kill three of them. Luthor also reveals he has The Batman Who Laughs from the Dark Multiverse locked up in his basement.
The Legion of Doom Part 2 opens in the year 1988 as a space mission sees the Totality zoom past them. The Stellaron-5 tries to absorb and process its energy but its systems backfire and a beam of light fires down towards the Earth. The beam hits a random human called Will Payton. He decides to use his new powers given to him by this energy blast to call himself Starman and be a hero.
One day Starman gets blasted out of the air. He turns to see Luthor stepping out of a portal from the future with an advanced gun. Luthor introduces himself and says he has a few questions about the end of the universe.
Martian Mahunter explains that this is where Starman's memory ends, as Luthor tortured and experimented on him to get the information he needed. Payton is connected to the Totality and whatever information Lex obtained, he erased from Starman's mind afterwards. While the heroes have the Totality, Lex is still winning, able to go through time and space to learn what he needs.
Joker, Grodd and Sinestro watch as Luthor passes through 4 layers of defense to get to the secret he's been hiding in the basement of their base. Joker says Luthor shouldn't have brought him here. Sinestro says the creature in the cage is a cosmic horror form the darkest underbelly of multiverse and is not the same as his rival. Joker says Batmans are Batmans and you don't put a Batman in a cage unless he wants to be there. Lex approaches The Batman Who Laughs, in retrained of multiple chains, and says he was right, he does need his help.
The Batman Who Laughs says he remembers a time when his version of Luthor tried to play the hero and join the League but wasn't able to humble himself. He says he sees that chip on his shoulder as strength. He knows the heroes broke the Source Wall and the tools of creation are free for the taking. Lex reminds him he has him locked in the cage and he needs answers. Laughs spits out a lockpick made of dark metal and tells him he's only there because he wants to be and he can free himself in seconds if he wanted.
The Batman Who Laughs was able to deduce that Luthor was able to find the Legionnaire Club with the papers on information regarding the Stellaron-5, go back in time to experiment on Starman, and choose the perfect members of his Legion of Doom. He knows he must have already obtained the Still Force and the Invisible Emotional Spectrum. Even though Luthor assured his victory he still lost, without knowing why. He offers to tell him, at a cost and laughs evily. Joker says he hates that sound. Grodd asks what mess Luthor is getting them all into.
At Newfoundland, Canda, Black Manta and Cheetah attack a ship. Cheetah asks Manta if he trusts Luthor and he avoids the question. Manta blasts one of the sailors to death and tells the others that the first to point out where their captain is will be spared. One of the men points out that Captain Proteus is in the lighthouse and says he was the first to point. Black Manta kills them all anyways.
Black Manta tells Cheetah that trust is foolish. Lex has offered him the way to finally kill every last Atlantean. If Lex can deliver this, he will be sated, but if not, he'll have to seek another path without Luthor.
Cheetah and Manta find Proteus and chase him down. Cheetah quickly catches him and slashes him across the chest. She tells him his wounds aren't healing like before because her claws have been tainted by the Tear of Extinction. She tells him he can't hide in this world anymore. She says the Graveyard of the Gods is calling his name from the ocean and they'll send him in to release what he has kept trapped inside all these millennia. Proteus, who is actually Poseidon, warns that they'll drown the Earth, and Cheetah says they are willing to do that to get what they want.
Manta and Cheetah walk away from the lighthouse, now burning down. Cheetah says she has dreamed of killing one of the gods from her pantheon. Her claws are now capable of killing gods, and she's eager to use them on Wonder Woman.
The Batman Who Laughs says when Luthor joined the Justice League, eventually everyone, even Superman learned to trust him, except him. Laughs still knew Luthor was humbling himself to something he didn't truly believe in. The problem is Luthor has never humbled himself to something that he believed in, that he always say himself at the center of the universe. When the Totality called out to him, Luthor thought it was his own voice, that the Totality needed him to survive.
Luthor says he has seen the future and the Totality has been calling out to him. The universe for him to deliver Doom and he wants to give it to them. Laughs says Luthor needs to let go what's always held him back. The universe isn't destined for Luthor, but he can still take it. Luthor has heard enough and walks away. Laughs says it's a pity because he was about to tell him her name.
The Jokerized Batman says the deal is to release him and accept he has his own plots and motivations which might not correlate with Luthor's, but Luthor is to stay out of his way and he will stay out of him. Luthor asks why he should trust him. Laughs says trusting in others is a fool's game and he should trust the own chip on his shoulder. Luthor agrees and wants to know what Laughs knows. The evil Batman tells him that the dark forces of creation were locked away, but from who? The source wall was a prison, but who was it imprisoning?
The woman's name is Perpetua. The Dark Multiverse Batman tells him that her name is in every corner of the universe. Once he unlocks the seven powers of the universe, he can unlock her. Lex wants to know who she is. Laughs says the main thing to know is not who Perpetua is, but where.
Martian Manhunter and Batman (who is in a full body cast) watch over the Totality concerned about what Luthor might already know about it. Batman says this is bigger than all of them but they have to humble themselves and trust their instincts. Manhunter says the Totality seemed to have given Hawkwoman the edge to defeat Luthor before, but they can't assume the Totality is on their side, it's on its own side.
Batman will see what else he can find out about Starman while Manhunter will go to Thanagar Prime. Batman says the Totality is a mystery but they have the advantage because they have it in their possession. They can only trust that they can solve this mystery first. As Batman and Martian Manhunter leave the room, the beams of light within the Totality take the form of a woman.
My Opinions
Man, does the story continue to escalate. Lex has no idea that he's about to unleash a universe-destroying threat upon the universe, while at the same time dealing with the Totality. The Batman Who Laughs represents everything Batman can do and everything he knows (including the weaknesses of the Justice League and most every powered being on the planet) but with the Joker's lack of morals and restraint. This is someone the Joker himself is worried about, which is ironic since another version of the Joker infected him with the Joker Toxin in the first place. It kinda sucked that he was chained up the whole time, but I understand he is too dangerous to unleash just yet and would throw the whole story into a whole other tangent.
Black Manta and Cheetah make an interesting pair. Not that they like each other, but they at least aren't insulting each other and talking about killing each other once this is over ten times. I don't think they are above killing the other to achieve their goals, but at least they're able to play nice for now.
Another thing to note is that while Legion of Doom Part 1 was kind of a self-contained story that while it explains Luthor's motivations, it can be skipped and not break the flow where issue 5 ended and where issue 7 began. This one though, does show a bit of what the Justice League is up to, so it's important to the flow.
The art is much better in this one as a new artist takes over. Especially now that Joker looks more like his classic self and not that weird artistic interpretation with the blood splattered drawn on lipstick.
I wonder how all of this will end since this story seems like it's a long way from ending.
The Justice League have overcome impossible odds and defeated Luthor's Legion of Doom's efforts to use the Totality for their goals. The heroes now protect the Totality in the Hall of Justice. Suddenly a time traveler called Star Man arrives saying he must kill three of them. Luthor also reveals he has The Batman Who Laughs from the Dark Multiverse locked up in his basement.
The Legion of Doom Part 2 opens in the year 1988 as a space mission sees the Totality zoom past them. The Stellaron-5 tries to absorb and process its energy but its systems backfire and a beam of light fires down towards the Earth. The beam hits a random human called Will Payton. He decides to use his new powers given to him by this energy blast to call himself Starman and be a hero.
One day Starman gets blasted out of the air. He turns to see Luthor stepping out of a portal from the future with an advanced gun. Luthor introduces himself and says he has a few questions about the end of the universe.
Martian Mahunter explains that this is where Starman's memory ends, as Luthor tortured and experimented on him to get the information he needed. Payton is connected to the Totality and whatever information Lex obtained, he erased from Starman's mind afterwards. While the heroes have the Totality, Lex is still winning, able to go through time and space to learn what he needs.
Joker, Grodd and Sinestro watch as Luthor passes through 4 layers of defense to get to the secret he's been hiding in the basement of their base. Joker says Luthor shouldn't have brought him here. Sinestro says the creature in the cage is a cosmic horror form the darkest underbelly of multiverse and is not the same as his rival. Joker says Batmans are Batmans and you don't put a Batman in a cage unless he wants to be there. Lex approaches The Batman Who Laughs, in retrained of multiple chains, and says he was right, he does need his help.
The Batman Who Laughs says he remembers a time when his version of Luthor tried to play the hero and join the League but wasn't able to humble himself. He says he sees that chip on his shoulder as strength. He knows the heroes broke the Source Wall and the tools of creation are free for the taking. Lex reminds him he has him locked in the cage and he needs answers. Laughs spits out a lockpick made of dark metal and tells him he's only there because he wants to be and he can free himself in seconds if he wanted.
The Batman Who Laughs was able to deduce that Luthor was able to find the Legionnaire Club with the papers on information regarding the Stellaron-5, go back in time to experiment on Starman, and choose the perfect members of his Legion of Doom. He knows he must have already obtained the Still Force and the Invisible Emotional Spectrum. Even though Luthor assured his victory he still lost, without knowing why. He offers to tell him, at a cost and laughs evily. Joker says he hates that sound. Grodd asks what mess Luthor is getting them all into.
At Newfoundland, Canda, Black Manta and Cheetah attack a ship. Cheetah asks Manta if he trusts Luthor and he avoids the question. Manta blasts one of the sailors to death and tells the others that the first to point out where their captain is will be spared. One of the men points out that Captain Proteus is in the lighthouse and says he was the first to point. Black Manta kills them all anyways.
Black Manta tells Cheetah that trust is foolish. Lex has offered him the way to finally kill every last Atlantean. If Lex can deliver this, he will be sated, but if not, he'll have to seek another path without Luthor.
Cheetah and Manta find Proteus and chase him down. Cheetah quickly catches him and slashes him across the chest. She tells him his wounds aren't healing like before because her claws have been tainted by the Tear of Extinction. She tells him he can't hide in this world anymore. She says the Graveyard of the Gods is calling his name from the ocean and they'll send him in to release what he has kept trapped inside all these millennia. Proteus, who is actually Poseidon, warns that they'll drown the Earth, and Cheetah says they are willing to do that to get what they want.
Manta and Cheetah walk away from the lighthouse, now burning down. Cheetah says she has dreamed of killing one of the gods from her pantheon. Her claws are now capable of killing gods, and she's eager to use them on Wonder Woman.
The Batman Who Laughs says when Luthor joined the Justice League, eventually everyone, even Superman learned to trust him, except him. Laughs still knew Luthor was humbling himself to something he didn't truly believe in. The problem is Luthor has never humbled himself to something that he believed in, that he always say himself at the center of the universe. When the Totality called out to him, Luthor thought it was his own voice, that the Totality needed him to survive.
Luthor says he has seen the future and the Totality has been calling out to him. The universe for him to deliver Doom and he wants to give it to them. Laughs says Luthor needs to let go what's always held him back. The universe isn't destined for Luthor, but he can still take it. Luthor has heard enough and walks away. Laughs says it's a pity because he was about to tell him her name.
The Jokerized Batman says the deal is to release him and accept he has his own plots and motivations which might not correlate with Luthor's, but Luthor is to stay out of his way and he will stay out of him. Luthor asks why he should trust him. Laughs says trusting in others is a fool's game and he should trust the own chip on his shoulder. Luthor agrees and wants to know what Laughs knows. The evil Batman tells him that the dark forces of creation were locked away, but from who? The source wall was a prison, but who was it imprisoning?
The woman's name is Perpetua. The Dark Multiverse Batman tells him that her name is in every corner of the universe. Once he unlocks the seven powers of the universe, he can unlock her. Lex wants to know who she is. Laughs says the main thing to know is not who Perpetua is, but where.
Martian Manhunter and Batman (who is in a full body cast) watch over the Totality concerned about what Luthor might already know about it. Batman says this is bigger than all of them but they have to humble themselves and trust their instincts. Manhunter says the Totality seemed to have given Hawkwoman the edge to defeat Luthor before, but they can't assume the Totality is on their side, it's on its own side.
Batman will see what else he can find out about Starman while Manhunter will go to Thanagar Prime. Batman says the Totality is a mystery but they have the advantage because they have it in their possession. They can only trust that they can solve this mystery first. As Batman and Martian Manhunter leave the room, the beams of light within the Totality take the form of a woman.
My Opinions
Man, does the story continue to escalate. Lex has no idea that he's about to unleash a universe-destroying threat upon the universe, while at the same time dealing with the Totality. The Batman Who Laughs represents everything Batman can do and everything he knows (including the weaknesses of the Justice League and most every powered being on the planet) but with the Joker's lack of morals and restraint. This is someone the Joker himself is worried about, which is ironic since another version of the Joker infected him with the Joker Toxin in the first place. It kinda sucked that he was chained up the whole time, but I understand he is too dangerous to unleash just yet and would throw the whole story into a whole other tangent.
Black Manta and Cheetah make an interesting pair. Not that they like each other, but they at least aren't insulting each other and talking about killing each other once this is over ten times. I don't think they are above killing the other to achieve their goals, but at least they're able to play nice for now.
Another thing to note is that while Legion of Doom Part 1 was kind of a self-contained story that while it explains Luthor's motivations, it can be skipped and not break the flow where issue 5 ended and where issue 7 began. This one though, does show a bit of what the Justice League is up to, so it's important to the flow.
The art is much better in this one as a new artist takes over. Especially now that Joker looks more like his classic self and not that weird artistic interpretation with the blood splattered drawn on lipstick.
I wonder how all of this will end since this story seems like it's a long way from ending.
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