Perfect DC Universe Relaunch
This issue places the Justice League in a world where super heroes have never existed so Johns can examine how our modern world would deal with the sudden appearance of super powered beings. I'm not sure if DC dealt with this back in the 30s and 40s during the Golden Age. But we're in a much more cynical time. People aren't going to assume that super heroes will be benevolent. In Batman's case, this more or less matches the latest reboot where he was trying to keep himself as a scary rumor in Gotham. How this 5 years ago timeline will mesh with the fact that post-new 52 the Bat family's continuity is mostly exactly the same is an exercise best left to the uber-nerd comic reader.
What I love the most about this issue is that almost everyone Batman meets questions his lack of powers. It's a great bit of lampshade hanging and a nod towards the fact that anyone who's been into DC comics for a while has wondered how Batman rolls with all these truly super heroes. We all know the answer is his intellect and physical fitness, but this first story arc is his time to prove his place in the Justice League. I wasn't sure if I was going to keep this book on my pull list, but Johns has done a good job of keeping me intrigued. I can't wait until next month.
