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Five More Ways DC's 'The New 52' Has Changed the Justice League

Justice League #2 reveals some more changes in the DC Universe.

We're into the second month of DC's 'The New 52.' Most of the characters have been revealed and we've had a good idea who has had tweaks to their pasts and who has remained the same. While we still have many questions as to how things played out 'in the beginning,' Justice League is serving to pave the way as to who the world's greatest heroes got together to form the team. We've seen some changes as a result of the first issue and we're still getting some more in the second.

The second issue was a blast from a fanboy's perspective. You have to hand it to Geoff Johns and Jim Lee to giving us some action packed bickering between the future team members. There will be some spoilers for issue #2 below but you owe it to yourself to read the issue for yourself to see everything that happens. You can also check out our review for the issue here.

There was a Flash Task Force

We've heard of a 'Batman Task Force' before. Batman was immediately accepted by the police force and we've seen stories of the mayor ordering a team dedicated to putting a stop to his vigilante ways. When Barry Allen became the Flash, he didn't have those problems. It could've been because he didn't operate in the shadows and was a little more open with the public. He was accepted as a hero. Due to an incident in trying to capture a certain villain, some destruction resulted and Central City wasn't too crazy about him.

This is also the first time we're seeing a 'younger' Barry Allen. If last month's Flash #1, Flash appears to be considered more of a hero. We also find out Barry and Hal are sort of friends at this point.

Superman's strength is stronger than Hal's willpower

We all know that Superman is stronger than just about anyone. We have seen Green Lantern constructs shattered before but usually it's by other power rings. Hal is said to have one of the strongest will around. The fact that he's so surprised here that Superman is able to shatter them shows that either he's stronger that before or this is just the first time Hal faced someone at this strength level. Then again, maybe his focus slipped a little during all the chaos.

Flash is faster than Superman...maybe

There's always been the debate, who's faster, Flash or Superman? Over the years, when we had the Superman/Flash races, it seemed the winner always flipped back and forth. When the two tangle here, it's almost embarrassing for Superman. But, Superman does manage to get the upper hand eventually. It appears that Flash is faster and Superman either proved that wrong or was able to anticipate his next move. Superman should have a super-brain after all so I took it as he actually used it to deal with Flash. The look in his eyes are pretty convincing that this was the case.

There's no Fortress of Solitude?

Poor Superman. It's been spoiled what happened to his parents in the back of Action Comics #2 and in Superman #1 we saw that Lois has a boyfriend and isn't interested in Clark. We see that he uses an abandoned printing press so what does this mean for the Fortress of Solitude? It would't really make sense for everyone to take a trip there just to have a chat but he specifically says he doesn't have a base of operations. It's possible, since this is taking place a few years ago, he might still go about acquiring the Fortress. For now, he's stuck entertaining at a place that isn't too fancy.

Cyborg's 'accident' is because of Darkseid

Originally Victor's parents were messing around experimenting at STAR Labs and an accident caused Victor's body to get damaged. Victor's dad then tries to rebuild it and Cyborg is born. Because they were examining a Mother Box. As you can imagine, something happens and Victor happens to get caught in the blast. Another thing that could have a big affect on Cyborg is the blast of energy he's hit with. Could we be seeing a new set of powers when we officially see Cyborg in 'The New 52'? What's going to happen when Darkseid finally shows up? We'll have to wait for the next issue.

frozenedge is online on Oct. 20, 2011 at 12:17 a.m.

I always wondered who was faster: Flash or Superman. Looks like this new issue will finally answer that question for me lol. Goodbye Fortress of Solitude, hello Printing Press of Embarrassment

leader77on Oct. 20, 2011 at 12:25 a.m.

@frozenedge:yeah

ssejllenradon Oct. 20, 2011 at 12:46 a.m.

Flash > Superman! Oh yeah! Superman's strength > Hal's will! Double Oh yeah!

VaizDon Oct. 20, 2011 at 12:52 a.m.

I'm still not sure whether or not I like this new, cockier Superman. It's jarring, but in a way it almost makes him more human. Being human doesn't necessarily mean being a super powered boyscout; people somehow always associate Clark's humanity with his morals. Being human is being flawed. If any of us got Supes' powers this instant, yeah we'd become huge jerks. Being the biggest guy on the block does that.

Keep in mind, of course, we haven't really seen much of modern Superman yet. We've seen action comics, where he's a spritely, developing, loose cannon of late teen/early 20's man, and this, which takes place five years in the past with a still cocky, short tempered superman with a cool suit. There's a good chance that in the five years that pass between this and present day, exposure to the public and the influence of his fellow Leaguers (possibly sans Batman, since I can't see Batman influencing anyone to be more docile.), develop Clark into a more grounded individual than he is here.

rudorudoon Oct. 20, 2011 at 1:01 a.m.

I always thought Flash was unquestionably faster than Supes - especially when the whole Speedforce thing became more prevalent. Hal seriously needs to whip out that Kryptonite-planet-construct for old times' sake, show the big bad bully who's the boss ( I know one can only wish =] ).

goldenkeyon Oct. 20, 2011 at 1:01 a.m.

I glad this book showed just how powerful Flash's punches are. One punch threw Superman pretty damn far and threw a brick wall.

UltimateSMfanon Oct. 20, 2011 at 1:04 a.m.

@ssejllenrad said:

Flash > Superman! Oh yeah! Superman's strength > Hal's will! Double Oh yeah!

agreed flash is faster but this is five years in the past,so in the present if flash hasn't fully exploited his speed force yet he's still faster but won't be able to embarass supes(cuz supes wldv absorbed alot more sun in that time) like that, even if supes did show him whos boss in the end(as a superman fan,i LOVED that part :D thx geoff!!) oh n totally Superman's strength > Hal's will! even when hes not at full power lol,he musta been srsly angry.

@goldenkey said:

I glad this book showed just how powerful Flash's punches are. One punch threw Superman pretty damn far and threw a brick wall.

flash wouldv shattered his hand if he actually punched supes,he just pushed him at like 2000 miles an hour and inertia did the rest,simple physics......but the super flick totally overshadowed that push.

ArtisticNeedhamon Oct. 20, 2011 at 1:07 a.m.

Also the heroes, when first banded together, were more like rebels. Not god-like heroic heroes.

super_psychoon Oct. 20, 2011 at 1:07 a.m.

Hal is still a D-bag

ssejllenradon Oct. 20, 2011 at 1:19 a.m.

@UltimateSMfan: I always preferred Superman to be slower than Flash. Yeah Supes is my man but he shouldn't be the top dog in the speed division. He should be fast and not a pushover but that must be Flash's specialty. The way I see it, Speedforce should always be above Supes. Though I would have liked it better if that was Wally... Nyehehe! But still no biggie.

And I'm loving how Supes just shows he's the alpha male. This is what Supes should be.

TheHTon Oct. 20, 2011 at 1:24 a.m.

Red eyes Supes is pretty rad.

Burnout1212on Oct. 20, 2011 at 3:45 a.m.
I loved this issue and I loved the art I am hoping jim lee stays on this book for a while. Favorite part was when supes grabs bat and slams him into the brick wall and bats trying to explain lol
ltbrdon Oct. 20, 2011 at 4:43 a.m.

The one thing I liked more about this issue than anything..........no kryptonite in Batman's belt or simulating the radiation from Green Lantern's ring. At this point it doesn't appear that anyone knows about kryptonite (if it even exists in the new 52) and that makes this an interesting battle as there is no trick the two of them can use to stop Superman. The fact that Batman is trying to cool Superman and GL down and have everyone talk was also great as he's generally the one intimidating or threatening but I think Johns is correct in depicting him out of his element in a battle between these two and the best thing would be to calm the situation. However I didn't like how dumb Johns made Flash by having him reveal pieces of his secret identity (though Hal's line was on par with his character) and thought he should have said something more along the lines of "What, you don't like cops?" in response to Batman's observation of his mannerism.

I still think in the end that Flash is the faster of the two if they were going to run full out or Flash runs and Superman flies. Flash is the fastest man alive but consider the fact that he can't move at top speed in a battle. Its only when he actually has the room to run that he can achieve maximum velocity. So in this issue he's slower by nature of the fact he's simply moving around Superman and so is moving at a speed that Superman can almost match if not watch and react to. Remember Superman's eyes and reflexes are near on par with the Flash, he's just can't make the same top speed, so being able to follow the Flash's movements he could predict where he would end up at. But Flash is still faster.

Funny nobody mentioned the initial blow Flash dealt Superman. Was it amplified strength by way of the speed force or just the fact that he was moving so fast? The blow didn't seem to actually hurt Superman (whereas GL's ball and chain construct drew blood) but its definitely not a use of his powers we see very often from a Flash (though Wally did use velocity enhanced strength more).

Mbecks14 is online on Oct. 20, 2011 at 5:20 a.m.

I think Superman was always stronger than Green Lantern, and slower than the Flash

GothamRedon Oct. 20, 2011 at 5:32 a.m.

didn't the flash rebirth outright state that barry is faster than clark?

Roldanon Oct. 20, 2011 at 5:44 a.m.

@ssejllenrad said:

@UltimateSMfan: I always preferred Superman to be slower than Flash. Yeah Supes is my man but he shouldn't be the top dog in the speed division. He should be fast and not a pushover but that must be Flash's specialty. The way I see it, Speedforce should always be above Supes. Though I would have liked it better if that was Wally... Nyehehe! But still no biggie.

And I'm loving how Supes just shows he's the alpha male. This is what Supes should be.

While i do prefer Flash being faster, that was probably a poor example. I mean it's obvious that Superman isn't focused and is rushing everything too fast. I mean he's trying to capture Flash with 2 hands, when normally he'd only one.

Iridiumon Oct. 20, 2011 at 6:02 a.m.

I think, overall, DC has gone too far over the Douche Bag Line. Hal and Superman have jumped the shark.

I guess they ( being DC ) think it's "edgy" ... but alas they are wrong. They went full retar ... er .... Douche Bag.

Eyzon Oct. 20, 2011 at 6:02 a.m.

Looks more to me like Hall's lost concentration or "will", if you will, while fighting Kal-El. Something that happens a lot to GL outside their own books it seems :P

And I always considered the Flash fastest...when he's portrayed in his own title too :P

Outside_85on Oct. 20, 2011 at 6:09 a.m.
Always thought it was a pretty silly moniker to put on the GL-rings; "The most powerful weapon in the universe" when GL's are generally massacred in short order whenever something slightly different pops up, so Superman busting loose from Hal's constructs gets a thumbs up from me.
 
And woosaa for Cyborg being a product of Apokaliptian tech (cant see any other way he'd be back on his feet in time for all of this to resolve...unless we skip a few months suddenly).
keithmoon316on Oct. 20, 2011 at 6:12 a.m.

Justice League 1 & 2 have been so very enjoyable because of the interaction between the heroes. I like them feeling each other out and their personalities coming out, even if they kinda come off in a WWE kinda of way. For whatever its worth, my wife is picking up comics for the first time and loving the new Justice League, I think she would be happy with just a Batman Green Lantern spinoff show where they just bicker back and forth.

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