Again, a new twist is presented. In most Justice League stories, it is the World’s Finest (aka Superman and Batman) that first meet. Here, Johns uses Jordan as the first foil to the grim and gritty Batman. While it can be attributed to the preference Johns has to the character (of which he has never made a secret of), it is pulled off rather well. Hal Jordan’s overconfidence and cocky attitude is a great contrast to the straightforward, no-nonsense approach of Bruce Wayne, not to mention the disparity of their methods where one is flamboyant and overt while the other prefers stealth and subtlety.

The dialogue between the two never comes off as forced and there are story beats that further reveal the status quo between the banter of these two heroes. Pop culture references are sprinkled here and there to serve to establish a contemporary feel, as in the case of Hal saying, “What is that? A Transformer”, as their quarry escapes by changing into a robotic creature.

As the duo gives chase, Hal Jordan learns to his surprise The Batman is “just a guy in a bat costume”. Of course this surprising revelation pales in comparison to what happens next: Batman swiping the Green Lantern ring without Jordan realizing it. It’s a funny scene and, again, serves to establish who these characters are and what they can do. As they finally find their target in the sewers of Gotham, the creature commits suicide, hoping to take the interlopers with it but not before it cries out “For Darkseid!” Again, it establishes something familiar while setting up hints for those new to the universe: the baddie is only a grunt working for an even bigger baddie. While Lantern’s powers protect them both, the creature leaves something behind that even the Power Ring, with access to all the knowledge of the Guardians of the Universe, cannot identify. Ever the detective, the Batman surmises it is a computer of a sort but of alien origins. The mention of “alien” prompts GL to mention Superman, who is rumored to be one.