Warning! Spoilers ahead for Justice League: Last Ride #2!
In Justice League: Last Ride #2, the Justice League head back to Apokolips, the location of their greatest failure. This version of the Justice League, like a lot of other versions, hasn’t had it so easy. Facing off against the universe’s greatest threat, Darkseid, the team lost Martian Manhunter and nearly all died themselves. The tragic events of their time on Apokolips haunt them to this day.
The start of the issue details the chaotic events of the league’s past time on Apokolips. With the team split up into different factions, tackling different threats, it’s clear they are extremely overwhelmed. Even Wonder Woman kills some of Darkseid’s minions, proving that their mission truly warped them. Superman is battling the airborne batch of Darkseid’s army, whilst Batman and Martian Manhunter hold the fort in Darkseid’s control center. At this point, Martian Manhunter detects a whole new horde of Parademons approaching, and something much darker. It’s suggested that this is where Martian Manhunter will die.
In Justice League: Last Ride #2 by Chip Zdarsky, Miguel Mendonca and Erica Eren Angiolini, the Justice League are tasked with delivering Lobo to face justice alive and the team head to the only planet where they can be relatively untraceable. That planet is, of course, Apokolips. The Justice League band together for the first time since Martian Manhunter’s death, thanks to Hal Jordan who seeks their help. They have been separated for a long time and some heroes like Batman and Superman hold serious grudges. It looks like everything will bubble to the surface as their arrival on Apokolips draws parallels to their past failure.
The reason that the Justice League are heading to Apokolips is that as a team they have strong energy signatures that they need somewhere that can mask their trace. Batman seems to think that Apokolips’ extreme pollution, thanks to Darkseid, is the only place that will hide them. This is ironic as it’s where the Justice League’s individual powers were not enough. If they had worked as a better team, utilizing their differing abilities, they potentially could’ve saved Martian Manhunter. Nevertheless, the Justice League’s time on Apokolips will determine their future. Will they reconcile and officially reform the team or will it tear them apart even further?
Landing on Apokolips and flying near black holes is a huge risk that Batman is taking, but it’s all worth it to succeed with their final mission, in their eyes. Wally West, aka the Flash, is the only core Justice League member that wasn’t on Apokolips, so he has a fresh, innocent perspective. He will prove to be a breath of fresh air for when Superman and Batman inevitably face off against each other, again. What lurks on the supposedly dormant Apokolips remains to be seen, but it’s almost certain that the team won’t be alone. Justice League: Last Ride #2 is available in comic book stores and on digital platforms now.
