From the Comics: The Origin of the Justice League Dark

There have been a number of different Justice Leagues over the years that have brought together a number of different heroes. However, in 2011, one was created with a rather unique purpose. Their goal was to bring together magic users to defend the world against magical threats, which only they had the capability to handle. This group became the Justice League Dark.

In today’s “From the Comics” exploration, we’re looking at the events of Justice League Dark: In the Dark a story, written by Peter Milligan and illustrated by Mikel Janín, that introduced the world to the Justice League Dark.  

Background

At the time Justice League Dark: In the Dark was published, the DC Universe had just been reset by the events of Flashpoint. This meant that the world of DC Comics was still young and heroes were still making their debut.

In this world, Deadman (Reading Order), John Constantine, Madame Xanadu (Reading Order), Shade, the Changing Man, and Zatanna (Reading Order) had all been operating on their own for a while. Most of these heroes knew of each other, some had met before, but few had extensively worked with anyone else. Constantine and Zatanna were the only two with a longstanding connection (to be explored in a future From the Comics entry).

Foundation

It all started when Madame Xanadu tried to do something good. She was aware that the evil spirit of the Enchantress had bonded with the innocent spirit of a woman named June Moon. So, to spare June from this torment, she found a way to separate the two.

Unfortunately, once the Enchantress was free of June’s influence, her madness was able to fully flourish. She caused waves of destruction which were felt across the world. Children attacked their parents, power stations threatened to explode, and a swarm of June Moon-duplicates began causing chaos in the streets. Superman, Wonder Woman, and Cyborg attempted to stop the Enchantress but were overwhelmed by her magic. With the Justice League unable to do anything, it seemed as if the situation was hopeless. 

However, Xanadu had other plans. Her visions of the future told her that assembling a group of specific individuals would change the course of the present and stop the destruction. Working with Shade, the Changing Man, she was able to interrupt one of Zatanna’s spells and bring her in on the plan. Since Zatanna was already trying to shut down the Enchantress, she agreed.

Meanwhile, June Moon went to Deadman for help. She explained that she didn’t know how she became free of the Enchantress but she needed someone to protect her. Deadman was able to protect her for a while but, eventually, June was taken by the Enchantress’s forces.

At this point, Deadman joined the main group in a direct assault on the Enchantress. Though the battle was tough, they received help from a man named Mindwarp, who Shade had reached out to earlier. Together, they were able to defend against the Enchantress’s attack and launch their own.

Despite all of this, only one person ended up having a real impact on the Enchantress’s situation. Constantine had been tangentially involved in the entire situation thus far but, now that the world was threatened, he was forced to take action. Upon arriving nearby, he found June Moon hiding from the chaos. He realized that the Enchantress’s instability was due to her severed connection with her “good” half, June. So, Constantine undid Xanadu’s spell from earlier and rebound the Enchantress and June once more; condemning an innocent girl to a life of torture in order to save the stability of all reality. The combination of the two entities unleashed a powerful blast of magical energy, which the nearby heroes were able to absorb.

In the aftermath of the battle, Xanadu explained that everything she had done was done in order to bring this group of magical heroes together. She insisted that the fate of the world was in danger if this specific grouping of people did not exist. At first, they all refused and rejected any idea of a team.

However, over the next few days, each hero suffered from terrible nightmares depicting gruesome and apocalyptic scenarios. Looking for an explanation, they all, with the exception of Mindwarp, visited Xanadu and asked what was happening. She explained that these dreams were actually visions of a potential future and that they would come true if they continued to refuse to work together. Realizing Xanadu was telling the truth, everyone agreed to work together, as long as they “don’t actually have to like each other.” With this begrudging acceptance, the Justice League Dark was born.

Recommended Reading

If you’re interested in reading these comic adventures for yourself, we recommend the following:

• Justice League Dark #1-6- Which depicts everything about the Justice League Dark’s origin. These issues are collected in Justice League Dark: In the Dark (Review).
• Check out ComicBookWire’s “Justice League Dark Reading Order” to see how their adventures progress throughout this era.

“From the Comics” is ComicBookWire’s attempt at placing the spotlight on important, memorable, or just plain fun moments in comic history. For more articles like this check here. Also, make sure to connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or Pinterest.