DC Reveals the Shocking Identities of Inferno, and We Have Questions

There’s a lot happening in the DC Universe at the moment, so it takes a lot to throw things into complete chaos, especially in regard to the Justice League. That’s why Justice League Unlimited #5 is so impressive, as not only did it reveal the identities of the lethal threat Inferno, but that reveal then shook up everything we know about a host of other books in the DC Universe, and we have so many questions. Spoilers are incoming for Justice League Unlimited #5, so if you haven’t read the issue yet you’ve been warned.

Things start out with the League protecting the G20 Summit happening in Australia when the entire summit is transported in a blink to an alternate dimension. That would be an issue in itself, but that dimension also happens to be inhabited by vicious monsters, and the League springs into action.

That event causes the global economy to flatline as nations try and pinpoint who is responsible since their leaders have now completely vanished. This is in conjunction with several other attacks happening simultaneously, so the League is scattered and Mister Terrific is trying to figure out who Inferno is to get to the source.

Terrific thinks initially it is the return of the Legion of Doom, as Inferno referred to the League as old foes. The problem with that is Terrific goes down the roster and determines that everyone in the group is accounted for, citing Lex’s memories, Sinestro’s recent return to being a Green Lantern, and Joker’s last known whereabouts.

[RELATED: 7 Biggest Changes Absolute DC Has Made To DC’s Trinity]

It is eventually figured out that one of the world leaders at the summit was an Inferno plant, so after the League is able to get everyone back to the Watchtower the planet is confronted and revealed to be Gorilla Grodd. Grodd gets out of there thanks to AirWave, who helps Grodd escape and reveals his spy status to the League in the process, but it’s the last page that really throws everyone for a loop.

Grodd is brought back to his home base, which turns out to be the old Legion of Doom headquarters. That’s apt it turns out, as we learn The Legion of Doom is back in action and has been operating as Inferno the entire time. The group includes Grodd, Scarecrow, Sinestro, Joker, Bizarro, Black Manta, Captain Cold, and Lex Luthor, and now we have all kinds of questions.

Is this our Legion of Doom, or some sort of alternate timeline or dimension’s Legion of Doom? The reason for that question is that between what’s happening in Superman, Batman, and Green Lantern, there seem to be some inconsistencies with several characters. The biggest question mark surrounds Luthor, especially after the reveals in Superman #24.

Luthor lost his memories after the House of Brainiac event, and while he has started to recover some of those memories, they still haven’t fully returned. Lex is also arrested in Superman #24, so not only is he somewhere else at the moment, the versions of Lex there and here don’t line up. This Luthor also doesn’t seem to be the new Superman Black Suit version either from the end of the issue, so is this one of those Luthors, or is it someone else completely?

The same goes for Joker and Sinestro. Sinestro has been part of the Green Lantern Corps since the book’s relaunch and also doesn’t have access to his old fear-based spectrum powers, but this Sinestro is back in the old costume and is wielding the power of fear once more. Joker is currently being tortured by Hush over in Batman and is barely hanging on to life, so to see him 100% and aligning with this team is certainly a surprise.

As you can see, there are a lot of questions that need answering, and the text at the bottom of the final page gives a hint that we are in fact seeing a group from the past in this panel, as it says “The time-tossed terror starts in Batman/Superman: World’s Finest #38, which begins the We Are Yesterday event.

What did you think of the reveal, and what are your theories? Let us know in the comments and you can talk all things comics with me on Bluesky @knightofoa!