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JLA/JSA: Virtue and Vice

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"Virtue and Vice": The Justice League of America and Justice Society of America gather on the Watchtower for Thanksgiving. However, they are soon alerted to a disturbance in [[wik

JLA/JSA: Virtue and Vice is a one-shot with a cover date of February, 2003. It was published on December 4, 2002.

Synopsis for "Virtue and Vice"

The Justice League of America and Justice Society of America gather on the Watchtower for Thanksgiving. However, they are soon alerted to a disturbance in Arusha, Tanzania. The teams go there and find Vixen defending President Lex Luthor and from Doctor Bedlam. The teams fight off Bedlam’s animates and put an end to the disturbance.

Later, at the Justice Society’s headquarters, Batman, Captain Marvel, Plastic Man, Kyle Rayner, Mister Terrific, Doctor Fate, and Power Girl begin to act strangely. Soon, these heroes turn on the others. Martian Manhunter realizes his telepathy is being disrupted and he begins to lose control of his shape, rendering him incapacitated. In the resulting conflict, the Justice Society headquarters is severely damaged. Captain Marvel robs Black Adam of his power, rendering him mortal. Atom Smasher, J.J. Thunder, and Hawkgirl, are all injured as well. Doctor Fate banishes Superman, Wonder Woman, Sentinel, and Star-Spangled Kid to his Tower of Fate where they are soon attacked by the defenses of the Tower. Jay Garrick, Wildcat, and Hawkman are also injured in the conflict, so Jay Garrick and The Atom get aboard the teleporter, attempting to teleport them to the Watchtower. However, Mister Terrific manipulates the teleporter to send them to Limbo where they are attacked by evil creatures including the fire giant Surtur. The five heroes under some evil influence, Batman, Captain Marvel, Plastic Man, Green Lantern, Mister Terrific, Doctor Fate, and Power Girl leave the ruins of the Justice Society headquarters.

Later, Atom-Smasher, J.J. Thunder, and Hawkgirl are recovered from the ruins of the Justice Society headquarters and, together with Martian Manhunter, are placed under the care of Doctor Mid-Nite at the Watchtower. Martian Manhunter, barely able to speak, manages to give a warning to beware of President Luthor.

Soon, the people of Gotham City and Fawcett City begin rioting, spurred on by the evil-influenced heroes, and the police are unable to quell the riots.

Reserve and other members of the Justice Society and the Justice League are mustered, composed of Green Arrow, Black Canary, Zatanna, Firestorm, and Hourman. To the surprise of the heroes, the Rock of Eternity emerges in Earth’s dimension. When Captain Atom investigates, he spots a shadowy figure in the sandstorm. As he approaches, he is attacked by the man and seemingly destroyed by him. President Luthor conducts a press conference at which he enacts martial law in the United States. After the conference he meets in secret with the evil-influenced heroes and directs them to keep inciting chaos.

Zatanna, Firestorm, Sand, and Hourman arrive at the Rock of Ages and discover statutes of the evil-influenced heroes have replaced the statues of the Seven Deadly Enemies of Man, with Batman representing anger, Captain Marvel representing gluttony, Plastic Man representing greed, Green Lantern representing envy, Mister Terrific representing pride, Doctor Fate representing sloth, and Power Girl representing lust. They discover the wizard Shazam has been turned to stone. At that moment, Johnny Sorrow reveals himself and claims responsibility.

Meanwhile, Green Arrow, Black Canary, and Doctor Mid-Nite infiltrate the White House by using Canary's scream to incapacitate the defenses. They confront President Luthor. However, it is revealed that Luthor has been possessed by Despero. Despero transforms Luthor’s body into his own formidable form.

In the Tower of Fate, Superman finds his strength drained quickly by the magic of the place. Alan Scott manages to create a portal out of the Tower.

In Limbo, Jay Garrick warns Wally West that this fight will go on forever because of the nature of Limbo. Jay suddenly falls victim to a blast that melts his flesh. Wally initially panics but Jay is proven correct when he is soon restored by the nature of Limbo, which will cause them to fight forever.

At the White House, Despero reveals that he wants Earth because it is a jewel of the universe, unique in its diversity. He reveals how Sorrow freed him from the Abyssal Plane where Despero’s form had coalesced after he was seemingly destroyed by Supergirl.[1] Despero revives the defenses of the White House with his mental powers, which causes the heroes to flee.

Back at the Rock of Eternity, Sorrow reveals that he escaped through the Rock of Eternity as it touches all dimensions including the Abyssal Plane. There, he freed the seven sins, who then possessed the now evil-influenced heroes. As he attacks, Firestorm transmutes his mask into tar and Sorrow retreats giving the heroes time to plan.

In Limbo, the heroes emerge from Alan Scott’s portal and join up with the other heroes there. Atom suggests a plan that involves the Flashes running around Surtur to speed up his internal reaction, which he hypothesizes will cause a black hole though which Alan Scott could transport them back to Earth. Reluctantly, the Flashes and Alan Scott agree, and Scott successfully brings them back to Earth where they see the mobs and riots.

Zatanna uses her teleportation magic to reunite the reserves, and the heroes returned from Limbo. However, they are suddenly attacked by the evil-influenced heroes, who they now know are possessed by the seven deadly sins. Doctor Mid-Nite confronts Batman on a rooftop and gets to the source of Batman’s anger and tells him it is not anger that drives him, but the hope for a better tomorrow. The anger sin is suddenly banished from Batman and he returns to his senses. Batman tells Mid-Nite it is imperative to get the Sin out of Captain Marvel. The rest will fall if they succeed. After wrapping the Lasso of Truth around Captain Marvel, they get him to say his name and return him to his mortal form. This frees the wizard Shazam who exorcises the sins from all the affected heroes.

The Justice League and Justice Society reunite and head to take on Despero and Sorrow. A massive battle ensues. Captain Atom reforms and joins the fight. When Sorrow takes off his mask and becomes tangible, the Green Lanterns encase him in a straitjacket and a helmet to contain to his face. They then place Sorrow in front of Despero and open the helmet exposing Despero to Sorrow’s face which banishes Despero from Luthor's body. Luthor thanks the heroes and offers them a reward. They ask him to rebuild the Justice Society’s headquarters. He agrees.

A week later, a new massive high-rise Justice Society headquarters is built on the site of their old brownstone. The heroes are finally able to celebrate Thanksgiving.

Appearing in "Virtue and Vice"

Featured Characters:

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Notes



See Also

Recommended Reading

Links and References

  1. ↑ Supergirl (Volume 4) #17-18
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