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In the 853rd Century the original Superman still lives, but has spent over fifteen thousand years in a self-imposed exile in his Fortress of Solitude in the heart of our sun. The galaxy is protected by the Justice Legions, which trace their descent from the 20th Century Justice League a

DC One Million is a Possible Future explored in the DC One Million (Volume 1) miniseries and a number of special issues of existing series, irregularly numbered 1000000. The event is set a million issues in the future - in the 853rd Century - where heroes and villains are as active as ever.

History

In the 853rd Century the original Superman still lives, but has spent over fifteen thousand years in a self-imposed exile in his Fortress of Solitude in the heart of our sun. The galaxy is protected by the Justice Legions, which trace their descent from the 20th Century Justice League and the 31st Century Legion of Super-Heroes, among others. Justice Legion Alpha, which protects the solar system, includes future analogues of Superman, Wonder Woman, Hourman, Starman, Aquaman, The Flash, Captain Marvel and Batman.

The original Superman announces that he will soon return to humanity, and to celebrate, Justice Legion Alpha travels back in time to the late 20th century to meet Superman's original teammates in the JLA, and bring them and Superman to the future to participate in games and displays of power as part of the celebration.

Meanwhile, in Russia, Vandal Savage, defeats the Titans single-handedly when they attempt to stop him purchasing nuclear powered Rocket Red suits. He then launches a nuclear strike on Washington D.C.

Unfortunately, one of the Justice Legion (the future Starman) has been corrupted by Solaris, who has returned to his old habits. Before the original heroes can be returned to their own time, the future Hourman, an android, collapses and releases a virus programmed by Solaris to attack machines and humans.

The Virus affects the guidance systems of the Rocket Red suits and causes them to instead detonate over Montevideo, killing over a million people. The virus also drives humans insane, causing an increase in anger and paranoia worldwide. Believing this was deliberately planned by the JLA to stop him, Savage launches an all out war on superhumans using "blitz engines" he had created and hidden while allied with Adolf Hitler during World War II. The paranoia caused by the virus also leads the Justice Legion Alpha and the contemporary heroes to attack each other.

The remnants of the JLA that stayed in the present and the Justice Legion Alpha overcome their paranoia when the future Superman and Steel realize the significance of the symbol they both wear. The two JLA's are eventually able to stop the virus when it is discovered that it is a complex computer program looking for appropriate hardware. To provide this hardware the heroes build the body of Solaris (including in it a DNA sample of Superman's wife Lois Lane) and the virus flees from the Earth to this body, bringing Solaris to life. In a final act of repentance, the future Starman sacrifices himself to banish Solaris from the solar system. The future Superman forces himself through time using confiscated time-travel technology he finds in the watchtower, almost dying in the process.

Meanwhile, in the 853rd century, the original JLA are fighting an alliance between Solaris and Vandal Savage. Vandal Savage has found a sample of Kryptonite on Mars (where it was left by the future Starman in the 20th century), which he gives to Solaris. Savage has also hired Walker Gabriel to steal the time-travel gauntlets of the 853rd century Flash (John Fox) to ensure the Justice Legion remains trapped in the past. However, he ultimately double-crosses Gabriel.

Solaris, in a final attack, slaughters thousands of superhumans so he can fire the kryptonite into the sun and kill Superman before he emerges. The JLA's Green Lantern causes Solaris to go supernova and he and the Superman of the 853rd century contain the resulting blast - but not before the kryptonite is released.

The future Vandal Savage teleports from Mars to Earth using the stolen Time-Gauntlets. It turns out however that Gabriel has sabotaged the Gauntlets and Savage instead arrives in Montevideo moments before the nuclear blast he caused centuries earlier, finally bringing his life to an end.

It is then revealed that a secret conspiracy - forewarned by the trouble in the 20th century - has spent the intervening centuries coming up with a foolproof plan for stopping Solaris. Their actions included replacing the hidden kryptonite with a disguised Green Lantern Ring - with which the original Superman emerges from the sun and finishes Solaris.

In the aftermath the original Superman, who has become almost a god, him and the Superman of the 5th dimension use the DNA sample Kyle Rayner saved from Solaris to bring Lois Lane back to life. The future Justice Legion (specifically Hourman with the Worlogog) also recreate Krypton, along with all its deceased inhabitants within our solar system. Lois and Superman apparently live happily ever after.

Issues

Core Issues:

Tie-Ins:

Notes

  • DC One Million was a crossover event published by DC Comics in 1998. It featured a vision of the DC Universe in the 853rd century (chosen because that is the century in which, assuming they maintain a regular publishing schedule, DC Comics will first publish an issue #1,000,000 of one of their current monthly titles. The mini-series was written by Grant Morrison and drawn by Val Semeiks.
  • The core of the event was a four-issue mini-series, in which the 20th-century Justice League of America and the 853rd-century Justice Legion Alpha co-operate to defeat a plot by the super-villain Vandal Savage (who, being practically immortal, exists in both centuries as well as all the ones in between) and future Superman nemesis Solaris the Living Sun. Every series then being published by DC also put out a single issue numbered #1,000,000, which either showed its characters' involvement in the central plot or gave a glimpse of what its characters' descendants/successors would be doing in the 853rd century.
  • A trade paperback collection was subsequently published, comprised of the four-issue mini-series, and tie-in issues necessary to follow the main plot. The series was then followed by a one-shot titled DC One Million 80-Page Giant #1,000,000, which was a collection of further adventures in the life of the future heroes.

Trivia

  • The original miniseries was a top vote-getter for the Comics Buyer's Guide Fan Award for Favorite Limited Series for 1999. The storyline was a top vote-getter for the Comics Buyer's Guide Award for Favorite Story for 1999.


Links and References


JLA One Million TP
DC One Million Crossover
DC Rebirth Logo

This comic issue is a part of the "DC One Million" event that crossed over into every DC Title in 1998. It involved present day interaction with versions of the characters seen in contemporary comic books with their counterparts in the 853rd Century.
This template will categorize articles that include it into the "DC One Million" category.


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