Since debuting in the “Silver Age” of comics in Brave and the Bold #28, the Justice League has been the paragon of superteam books. After all, what other team can boast having the “World’s Greatest Super-heroes” and actually mean it? It was such a huge success that it brought DC Comics back to the forefront of the industry from the slump after the Golden Age and inspired Stan Lee to create the Fantastic Four! Now, over 50 years later, it is once again poised to usher in a new era. But does this new Justice League deliver?

The story, written by Geoff Johns (who is “Mr. DC” at this point in his career), starts off in an unusual manner. Whereas previous Justice League debuts begin big, with a threat that endangers the entire world and beyond, this new debut starts small. It establishes the parameters of the world rather quickly: superhumans are relatively new and the people of the world don’t trust them. Opening the narrative with Batman as the focal point seems to be a no-brainer, given that the Dark Knight is arguably the most popular character in the DC stable, but it also helps to emphasize the theme of distrust among the populace for “his kind” in this new DC universe. Of course the irony that Batman is not really one of the superhumans is not lost and is, in fact, pointed out quite well later in the story.

As The Batman shakes off the police and catches up to his quarry, a new wrinkle is presented: the being is not human and not of this world. Before the Batman can question it, however, it unleashes a weapon that takes him by surprise. Keen-eyed folks will notice something familiar from the design of the antagonist but rarely at first glance, hinting at the origins and the likely first foe the birthing League will face (more on that later). With the Batman dazed, his foe presses its advantage but is stopped by a runaway Fire Engine that slams it at full-speed… a Fire Engine entirely made out of luminous green energy constructed from the Willpower and the ring of one Hal Jordan aka Green Lantern.