Easy, no. But possible. Because this is my territory. Spells, Hocus Pocus, demons. It's meat and drink to me.
- — Zatanna
Justice League Dark #1 is an issue of the series Justice League Dark (Volume 1) with a cover date of November, 2011. It was published on September 28, 2011.
Synopsis for "In the Dark, Part One: Imaginary Women"
Madame Xanadu reads the cards, and looks into the future. It looks back, portending great wickedness, and she fears that the future will be no place for innocence.
Elsewhere, a disoriented June Moone wanders the streets, and is suddenly terrified by the appearance of a horrifying demon. She escapes into a diner, hoping there's a sporting event on the TV to remind her of boring, everyday life. Unfortunately, the patrons are all mesmerized by live news coverage of what appears to be 34 women who bear a strong resemblance to June herself, all standing in the middle of the freeway, and getting killed by oncoming traffic.
Meanwhile, Shade, the Changing Man's Meta-Vest alerts him to the fact that his presence is required elsewhere. His companion, Kathy, would like him to stay, begging him to ignore his vest's pull. She says, if he loves her even just a little, he will stay. Ultimately, she decides to leave him, because she needs to have a future. Suddenly, she begins to melt away, and she realizes that she has only been one of the M-Vest's reality-warping illusions. Sadly, Shade says his goodbyes and moves on.
On a deserted farm lies the sanctuary of the broken witch; the Enchantress. Her mad spells are affecting nearby towns where a shower of books in a dead language kill six people; cows give birth to mechanical meat slicers, prompting a farmer to shoot himself; a local power station threatens to explode when it gains consciousness and gets bored.
The Justice League deduces the Enchantress' involvement, and sends Superman, Wonder Woman, and Cyborg to investigate. Meanwhile, Batman and Zatanna try to determine why the Enchantress is causing such havoc.
Cyborg is sensibly nervous about facing a powerful magic user, and his feelings prove valid, given the horrifying visage they encounter at the farm house. They find themselves surrounded by millions of sharp teeth, floating in a whirlwind. They are powerful enough to cut Superman to ribbons. They barely escape with their lives.
Zatanna decides to go herself, given that she has magic abilities, and the JLA does not. Batman insists on accompanying her, but she responds that the world can't afford to lose him, meanwhile, it could get along fine without her. She casts a spell to bind his feet, and he becomes trapped in the wiring in the floor as she leaves without him. He shouts after her that she is not stable enough to face the witch on her own.
In London, John Constantine suddenly finds himself falling through the sky as a result of some magical vortex created by Zatanna.
Meanwhile, June Moone finds her way to a specific apartment. When the woman inside answers the door and sees June looking distraught, she asks whether the girl is in some kind of trouble. June responds that she thinks she is, and that she is looking for Deadman, who happens to be in the room, listening unseen.
Shade arrives at Madame Xanadu's shop, and finds her collapsed on the floor, mumbling incoherently. He finds drugs in her hands, and warns her to stop doing so much of it. She explains that it's the only thing that takes her mind off of the future, as she stares into it again, seeing all of her friends dead at the hands of the Enchantress.
Appearing in "In the Dark, Part One: Imaginary Women"
Featured Characters:
- John Constantine (First appearance)
- June Moone (First appearance)
- Madame Xanadu (Narrator)
- Shade the Changing Man (Rac Shade) (First appearance)
- Zatanna (First appearance)
Supporting Characters:
- Justice League
- Kathy George (First appearance) (Deceased) (Madness construct)
Antagonists:
- The Enchantress (First appearance)
Other Characters:
- Alternate Future characters (Only as corpses) (In a vision) (Cameo)
- Etrigan (First appearance)
- Jason Blood (Single appearance) (Unnamed)
- John Constantine (Single appearance) (As an illusion only)
- Justice League Dark (Alternate Future) (First appearance; unnamed)
- Zombies
- Cult of the Cold Flame (First appearance; unnamed) (Cameo)
- Dawn Granger (Cameo)
- Deadman (Cameo)
- Demons (Also as a hallucination)
- June Moon's simulacra (First appearance)
- Pandora (Cameo)
- God (Mentioned only)
- Jesus Christ (Mentioned only)
Locations:
- Hypertime (Behind the scenes)
- Alternate Prime Earth Future (John Constantine is corrupted by the Books of Magic and destroys the world) (First appearance; unnamed) (In a vision)
- 21st Century
- Earth (In ruins) (Cameo)
- 21st Century
- Alternate Prime Earth Future (John Constantine is corrupted by the Books of Magic and destroys the world) (First appearance; unnamed) (In a vision)
- Prime Earth
- Earth
- England
- London
- Westminster
- Big Ben (Cameo)
- Houses of Parliament (Cameo)
- Westminster
- Brighton (Mentioned only)
- London
- United States of America
- Enchantress' Sanctuary (First appearance)
- New Jersey
- New York
- Washington, D.C.
- Dawn Granger's Apartment (First appearance) (Cameo)
- Fred's Diner (First appearance)
- Louisiana
- Belle Reve (Mentioned only)
- England
- Meta (Mentioned only)
- Earth
Items:
- Batcomputer
- Batsuit
- Bracelets of Submission
- Drugs
- Lasso of Truth
- Madame Xanadu's Tarot Cards
- M-Vest/Meta-Vest (First appearance)
- Silk Cut (First appearance)
- Wonder Woman's Tiara
Concepts:
- Madness (Unnamed)
- Magic
- Divination
- Magical Vortex
- Possible Futures
Notes
- This issue reintroduces all the major magical characters into the Post-Flashpoint continuity.
- John Constantine is reimaginated by Peter Milligan into the DC Universe as a much younger version of his Vertigo Universe counterpart, whose run on Hellblazer (also by Milligan) was still ongoing by the time this issue was released.
- Similarly, Rac Shade has also been merged into the main DC Universe continuity, This story implies that Kathy George is still dead, like her Earth-85 and Vertigo Universe counterparts after the events of Shade, the Changing Man (Volume 2).
- From the solicit: "The witch known as The Enchantress has gone mad, unleashing forces that not even the combined powers of Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman and Cyborg can stop. And if those heroes can't handle the job, who will stand against this mystical madness?
Shade, the Changing Man, Madame Xanadu, Deadman, Zatanna and John Constantine may be our only hope – but how can we put our trust in beings whose very presence makes ordinary people break out in a cold sweat?" - This issue is reprinted in Justice League Dark: In the Dark and The New 52: 10th Anniversary Deluxe Edition.
Trivia
Pandora appears.
- Pandora makes a cameo appearance in this story, as she does in every #1 published as part of The New 52. She can be seen observing the fight against Enchantress. This is directly following her first appearance during Flashpoint.[1]
See Also
Recommended Reading
- Justice League Recommended Reading
- Justice League of America (Volume 1)
- Justice League of America (Volume 2)
- Justice League of America (Volume 3)
- Justice League of America (Volume 4)
- Justice League of America (Volume 5)
- JLA (Volume 1)
- Justice League (Volume 1)
- Justice League (Volume 2)
- Justice League (Volume 3)
- Justice League (Volume 4)
- Justice League International (Volume 1)
- Justice League International (Volume 2)
- Justice League International (Volume 3)
- Justice League Europe (Volume 1)
- Justice League America (Volume 1)
- Justice League Task Force (Volume 1)
- Justice League Quarterly (Volume 1)
- Justice League Dark (Volume 1)
- Justice League Dark (Volume 2)
- Extreme Justice (Volume 1)
- Justice League Elite (Volume 1)
- Justice League United (Volume 1)
- Justice League Odyssey (Volume 1)
- Justice League Unlimited (Volume 2)
- Justice League Red (Volume 1)