Warning: contains spoilers for DC vs Vampires #1!
In the new DC vs Vampires series, the vampires of the DC Universe just succeeded where the heroes of the Justice League never could. Mary Queen of Blood has been murdered, leading to a major vampire revolution. Furthermore, the majority of the Justice League have no clue of the imminent danger, and the growing vampire army has already taken out one of the deadliest organizations in the DC Universe: the Legion of Doom. However, they’ve done more than just kill the Legion’s members.
In DC vs Vampires #1 from James Tynion IV, Matthew Rosenberg, and Otto Schmidt, I…Vampire’s Andrew Bennet is trying to alert the Justice League to the danger of his kind. Murdered by an unknown assailant, the leader of the vampires known as Mary Queen of Blood is no more. Additionally, her death has also brought about the death of mankind’s fragile peace with vampires, and their global takeover has already begun in secret. Apparently, Mary was the only thing standing in the way of all-out war; something her killer is likely wishing to bring about as the series continues.
Interestingly enough, Andrew reveals to Green Lantern and Zan of the Wonder Twins that the vampire army’s first target was none other than the Legion of Doom. By going after the Legion first, the vampires were able to effectively remove a major threat while also infecting some of the Legion’s most powerful and deadly members, turning supervillains such as Gorilla Grodd, Scarecrow, Riddler, Cheetah, and more to their side to serve as secret vampiric weapons as they prepare for war with DC’s heroes. The vampires’ monstrous brutality has achieved something the Justice League has never been able to do: ending the Legion of Doom once and for all.
The fact that it took a vampire army to defeat the Legion of Doom for good is notable considering how long the villainous cabal has posed a threat to the world. It’s doubtful that the Justice League would have ever stooped so low as to murder all of the supervillains in the name of peace and security, but equally unlikely that they’d have been able to pull it off, given the villainous cabal’s vast range of powers and abilities (not to mention their ceaseless paranoia.) It’s a huge statement about the power of the vampire army that they were able to overrun the psychic powers, alien tech, genius tacticians, and even superspeed of the Legion of Doom.
Unfortunately, Andrew is met by Green Lantern when he finally gets to the Hall of Justice, who is soon revealed to have already been corrupted and turned into a vampire himself. Green Lantern kills Bennet (and Zan), which means that the rest of the Justice League likely won’t know about the vampire threat until it’s far too late. However, it seems as though Bennet did plan ahead, having sent a letter to Batman that detailed the threat while also including the blood of the now-dead Lex Luthor to validate his story. The Justice League are about to face a threat that just killed off all the villains they’ve fought since the beginning of their heroic careers – while they begin DC vs Vampires at a huge disadvantage, the strange truth is that if the heroes can triumph, they’ll emerge into a world where the Legion of Doom is no more – a huge win they could never have delivered without an army of supernatural killers.
