The Justice League has been through some impossible battles over the years, and they’ve usually come out on the other end just fine. DC decided to capitalize on this trend by revealing the death of the Justice League storyline where the Justice League would finally die — but not only did this actually not happen, but a Crisis from long ago already covered the true death of the Justice League.

The first death of the Justice League was seen in JLA #18 by Geoff Johns and Allan Heinberg. This story saw a Justice League that was more fractured than ever, and the team just couldn’t come back together. This resulted in the first, and arguably only, true death of the Justice League.

This was a far more compelling than any actual death of the Justice League, especially compared to what was shown in Dark Crisis on Infinite Earths, which included the supposed “Death of the Justice League.” This really wasn’t much of a death though, as the Justice League came back immediately after and only disbanded once the event had ended.

Infinite Crisis Pushed the Justice League to Its Breaking Point

JLA #18 by Geoff Johns, Allan Heinberg, Chris Batista, Mark Framer, David Baron, and Rob Leigh

Dark Crisis on Infinite Earths by Joshua Williamson and Daniel Sampere was DC’s latest Crisis-level event, and the publisher hyped it up as being the death of the Justice League. While DC technically kept its promise, as the Justice League disbanded after the final battle, it was only because they felt the world didn’t need a Justice League in its current state. Instead, the Justice League passed on the role of protecting Earth to the Titans. It was a fine passing of the torch moment, but it wasn’t exactly as dramatic as fans expected from an event that claimed to be the death of the Justice League.

The disbanding was also for an entirely different reason than a “death.” In Dark Crisis on Infinite Earths, the Justice League saw how far the Titans went to save the world and truly felt that the world would be safe in the Titans’ hands — that the world didn’t need a Justice League anymore. Combine this with how the Justice League really only served to help Pariah’s plans after he captured them, Batman felt it was time for the League to step down until they could figure out how to be better than they were. At the end of the day, this was a positive disbanding of the team where everyone is happy, which is a far cry from what happened in Infinite Crisis.

While the Justice League has yet to reappear as a united front in the DCU, all the members are still on good terms with one another. Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman still regularly team up to fight threats, and there’s no doubt that they will be working together during the events of Absolute Power, a new event series by Mark Waid and Dan Mora. But there was one Crisis event from nearly two decades ago that showed the exact failure of the Justice League that fans were expecting. Back in Infinite Crisis, fans saw what it truly looks like when the Justice League breaks down and isn’t able to work together anymore.

The Justice League Was At Its Lowest Point During Infinite Crisis

Green Lantern Points Out that the Justice League Is Smaller Than Ever

Infinite Crisis was one of the lowest points in the Justice League’s career. After the events of Identity Crisis by Brad Meltzer and Rags Morales, Batman’s mind was wiped by Zatanna. Eventually, Bruce regained the memories she had taken from him, and this made Batman’s paranoia far worse. No longer feeling that he could trust his friends, Batman made his ultimate contingency plan in Brother Eye, a giant satellite that spied on the metahuman community. This paranoia was only exacerbated when a mind-controlled Superman also attacked Batman in the JLA Watchtower.

It would later be revealed that it was Maxwell Lord who was controlling Superman and who had forced him to try and kill Batman. With Maxwell refusing to relinquish control over Superman’s mind, Wonder Woman did the only thing she felt she could to stop him and snapped his neck. Unbeknownst to Wonder Woman, this event was recorded and broadcast throughout the entire world. Everyone in the DCU now knew Wonder Woman was a killer, which further drove a wedge between the Trinity and the Justice League. Even though Superman was being controlled, he was horrified that Wonder Woman chose to take a life on his behalf.

DC’s Trinity Was Completely Distrustful of Each Other during Infinite Crisis

The Justice League Had Fewer Members Than Ever

With this wedge driven between the Trinity and the Justice League at its lowest point, the villain Alex Luthor nearly succeeded with his plans in Infinite Crisis. Luthor intended to recreate Earth-2 and wipe out Earth-1. This plan failed, but only because of Superboy’s tactile telekinesis destroying the equipment Luthor needed. The Earth was saved, and it had nothing to do with the Justice League, as they were far too fractured to be of any real help. Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman would eventually put aside their differences and fight together to prevent Luthor’s plans.

The only reason Alex Luthor was able to get as far as he did was because the Justice League was so fractured to begin with. Alex Luthor even points out that while he manipulated plenty of events during the Infinite Crisis, he didn’t manipulate anything leading up to it. Zatanna wiping Batman’s mind — and Batman creating Brother Eye in response — was entirely of their own choices, and Brother Eye became a major component of Alex Luthor’s plan to rearrange the universe. Likewise, Luthor didn’t manipulate Wonder Woman into killing Maxwell Lord either. All of these choices were still made by the League on their own.

Infinite Crisis Perfectly Executed the Idea of a Failing Justice League

Infinite Crisis Still Ended with the Justice League Disbanding

Both Dark Crisis on Infinite Earths and Infinite Crisis ended with the Justice League disbanding, but Infinite Crisis executed the idea far better. In Dark Crisis on Infinite Earth, the Justice League were defeated by Pariah and seemingly killed, then they came back and fought the war and won before disbanding. Infinite Crisis showed the Justice League already on a downward spiral, and Alex Luthor’s crisis simply pushed them over the edge. The heroes of the DC world were able to stop Luthor’s plans mostly without the help of the Justice League, and the story still ends with the Justice League disbanding to leave Earth to a new generation of heroes.

Infinite Crisis and Dark Crisis on Infinite Earths are available now from DC Comics!