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"The Extremists, Finale": In the sky above the city of Martoras in the eastern European nation of Kravik, Ray is surveying the work of Dreamslayer of the Extremists. Dreamslayer has a personal predicament: they possess incredible power, but are afraid to use it, for fear of consequences. This fe

Quote1 You don't get it, Havok. One back will never hold up a billion lives. No matter how strong. But if billions hold up the person next to them? We're all standing. Quote2
Vixen

Justice League of America (Volume 5) #4 is an issue of the series Justice League of America (Volume 5) with a cover date of June, 2017. It was published on April 12, 2017.

Synopsis for "The Extremists, Finale"

In the sky above the city of Martoras in the eastern European nation of Kravik, Ray is surveying the work of Dreamslayer of the Extremists. Dreamslayer has a personal predicament: they possess incredible power, but are afraid to use it, for fear of consequences. This fear has spread to being a fear of consequence itself, and so Dreamslayer has "freed" the people of the city by stopping time for them. As Ray surveys the scene, he prepares to argue down his foe, as across the nation, his team-mates face the other Extremists.

In Kravikoras, the capital, Batman and Vixen face Lord Havok, the leader of the Extremists and dictator of Kravik. Batman has found a shield from the Extremists' world, and Lord Havok tries to intimidate them, saying that he killed the last man who held it. When this fails to scare, he resorts to rhetoric: how a controlling leader is necessary to hold people in check, how his attempt at proving this on his world was stopped, and so he will try again here, using the corpses of his foes as his intimidation. As he shoulders the unbreakable shield, Batman admits that there is power in a foe's fear, but that applying this power on a national scale is a crime.

In Ekaterinoras, Tracer of the Extremists is facing Lobo of the JLA. Tracer rants that Lobo should be on their side, but that he is prepared to best him. He drives his blades into Lobo's flesh, explaining that they are made of amazonium, an unbreakable metal from his universe. Lobo catches the blade in his free hand, and shatters with his prodigious strength, then capitalizes on this victory by beating Tracer's head, chiding him for not combining unbreakability with the power to bend.

In Elizabetoras, Gorgon of the Extremists is fighting Black Canary. His argument to her is that his team is acting to protect, and that he has seen enough secret footage of her heroics to know that if she could save lives by taking over the police of Seattle, she would. Black Canary responds by unleashing her sonic cry, and says that she helps people to fight off terrible ideas like his.

In Annoras, Death Bat of the Extremsists is fighting Killer Frost and Atom. Killer Frost uses her ice power to counter the fire-breath of Death Bat's mighty mount, Chiroptera, but the villainess rises from the crash site with fire falling impotently off her. Death Bat explains her grief - how she sacrificed of herself to better the lives of her grandsons, and how they responded by leaving her in a hospice to be killed by vivisectionists. How this fed a jealous grief that led her to burn her family alive. As the villain's hellfire attack vaporizes Killer Frost's ice shields, Atom realizes that she can repeat her previous attack, and tells Killer Frost to freeze the oxygen in the villain's mouth, blocking her throat and knocking her out. Victorious, the duo turn their attention back to Kravikoras.

In Kravikoras, Lord Havok continues his rant: how yielding led to destruction on his world, and how he refuses to stop now. How he does not care about his people, but will fight to protect his ego and the success which is the support of his ego. How alone, Batman can only fight until the arm behind the shield breaks - but he is cut off by the sudden arrival of Lobo, Black Canary, Killer Frost & Atom. Stunned, Lord Havok warns them that his allies will retake the provinces, but Vixen counters this - his team-mates are defeated.

As Vixen proceeds to attack him with hand-to-hand combat, Lord Havok tries another debate tactic, arguing that a strong leader is necessary to ward of argument and chaos. A committee cannot secure peace, not while so many people are so flawed. Vixen agrees that individuals are weak, but proposes another strategy - if everyone does a little, they can achieve more than one person doing everything.

Lord Havok tries to counter her logic, but keels over. She explains that his prior boast that his very skin was armor had given her an idea. By using her totem to channel the power of the poisonous tree frog, she has been weakening him through their entire bout - not with strength, but by doing the little that she could.

Above Martoras, Ray has been arguing with Dreamslayer. He has explained his life - how his family's fear of his power led them to lock him in the house, how he eventually sought his own freedom, how he took responsibility for his power, and how he wants to help Dreamslayer take control of himself. Dreamslayer is hostile, but eventually decides that if he cannot control his own life, he can save it. Undoing his effect on the city, he teleports away, leaving a confused Ray.

In Kravikoras, Bogna, the leader of the Kravian rebels, emerges from the crowd with a shotgun, and levels it at Lord Havok's head. He is content with this outcome, saying he expected resistance because his policy of imposing his will through strength required it. Just as it requires that the new leader prove their strength by defeating their opponent. Bogna responds by knocking him unconscious.

As the crowd cheers, Bogna talks with the Justice League of America. She discusses her plan: to undo the annexations that Lord Havok perpetrated, leaving a smaller Kravia, which will then need to include everyone in the discussion of what their country is, culminating in a new constitution. Batman smiles, approving of the defeat this will do to lord Havok's philosophy.

Several days later, in the Secret Sanctuary, Batman & Vixen are watching the news. Batman admits that he does not like civilians guarding super-terrorists, but Vixen disagrees. WayneCorp built the cells and the McCabe Foundation donated them to Kravia. They must trust, otherwise their mission is already lost.

As Batman & Vixen muse on the two trophies they recovered from Kravia - the unbreakable shield of the Crusader and the lightning axe of the Thunderer, two artefacts from the Extremists' universe - Killer Frost corners Black Canary and explains that she has doubts about Batman's stated goal in bringing the team together. Black Canary agrees, saying that a roster including Lobo cannot inspire the way that Batman claims to want, and he must need their help for some specific coming problem. And they will help, doing what little they can.

The story then backtracks, showing that the Extremists fought a mighty battle in their home universe before coming to Prime Earth. During the battle, a hero named Blue Jay escaped an attack by Dreamslayer by shrinking. He lost track of how small he became, but when he regained focus, he was confronted by a swirling field of chaos!

Appearing in "The Extremists, Finale"

Featured Characters:

Supporting Characters:

  • Kravian Insurgency
    • Bogna Budusheva

Antagonists:

Other Characters:

Locations:

Items:

Concepts:

Notes

Trivia


See Also


Links and References

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