As we approach the 30th anniversary of Superman #75 (“The Death of Superman”) it appears that DC is set on outdoing themselves. Not only are they intent on wiping out just one of their iconic heroes, but an entire team of them. Is this really the death of the Justice League?
The End?
Issue #75 will see the end of the current Justice League run. Fans will have to wait until April to find out the cause and the outcome of this seemingly disastrous tale. Long-time comic readers will have their doubts over the sincerity of the claim. The “death” could be used metaphorically regarding the disbanding of the League but seemingly this isn’t the case.
Writer Joshua Williamson spoke with EW.com about how seriously fans should take it.
It’s very serious. It’s an interesting opportunity to do this on the 30th anniversary of ‘The Death of Superman,’ which happened in Superman #75. We get to take Justice League #75 and do ‘Death of the Justice League.’ We want people to understand, this is serious and this is gonna have a major impact in the DCU moving forward.
I remember the experience of reading the build-up to ‘The Death of Superman’ and then waiting in the rain for my copy of issue #75. I think one reason that story was so powerful was that after the ‘Funeral for a Friend’ story, there were no Superman comics for three months. That’s part of what led us to make the decision that this is the last issue of Justice League. But then three months later, there’s still not gonna be a Justice League comic. It’s gonna be a while, and that’s gonna be a major part of what the DCU looks like after this story: There is no Justice League.”
The Death of the Justice League
Williamson is taking over on the main title from Brian Michael Bendis but has had involvement with the team previously. Having written last year’s Infinite Frontier event he has had these plans in the pipeline for a while. In regards to how this fatal clash comes about Williamson went on to say:
Justice League #75 will focus on the apocalyptic battle between the Justice League and the Dark Army in a dead multiverse. Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern (John Stewart), Martian Manhunter, Hawkgirl, Aquaman, Green Arrow, Black Canary, and Zatanna will embark on this mission — and only one will return to tell the rest of the universe what has happened.
There is no doubt, with a list of names like that the ramifications on the DC universe will be huge. Now we wait to see the impact this will have on the individual books.
