Back to the fledgling League, we find the group huddled in an abandoned printing press where Superman brought them. Batman, ever the detective, inquires about Superman’s activities. One line stands out: “You don’t wear a mask, so apparently you have no identity to protect.” Is Johns stating the “World’s Greatest Detective” won’t figure out Superman’s alter ego in this new continuity? Or simply vocalizing how Clark hides in plain sight? It’s a nice touch if it is the latter, but if it is the former, then it just won’t hold water. Batman will figure it out, eventually.

As for the “Christmas-colored” team, GL attempts to convince Flash to go their own way. Hal is obviously tired of Batman being bossy and says Superman doesn’t know anything they don’t (though it’s more likely he’s pissed off Big Blue handed whupped his ass). Flash chimes in a question that bugged me in the previous issue about Hal’s bosses (i.e. the Guardians of the Universe) not having any knowledge about the Box. Hal answers that if the ring doesn’t know, then neither do they. Ok, at this point Hal should be reporting to his superiors. It’s just the sensible thing to do, even if there’s no protocol. Your bosses are supposedly the most intelligent beings in existence and they know ZERO about what’s in front of you. Why the hell aren’t you calling it in? Cops do that. Soldiers do that. A lowly office employee does that. At least show a panel or two of Hal calling it in to Oa and having Salaak or Ganthet or whoever say something like “We will look into this Lantern 2814. In the meantime, you are to continue your investigation”. See? This is a simple way to show GL hierarchy and explain why the hell the Guardians are letting Hal go off on his own without further backup.

Back to the story, Hal asks Flash if he can disassemble it but Barry wisely declines, as it could be anything. Superman chimes in that he can’t see inside, surprising Flash and leading him to ask Batman what he can do. “I can keep us on point”, making no bones that he’s the “de facto” leader for now. Flash suggests he can try to figure more about it in the crime lab through forensics, which is a “ding-ding” signal for Batman: “you sound like a cop”. Surprisingly, Flash admits to it, causing Hal to blurt out:

Hal: “Barry, you’re exposing your identity!”

Barry: “And you just called me ‘Barry’, Genius.”

This is a very funny moment, and well-executed. I have my caveats with Johns’ script, but there are few writers in comics who can deliver a funny, character-accurate moment as he does.