One of DC’s Most Powerful Heroes Just Met a Fiery Fate

Justice League Unlimited has truly captured the brilliance of the best Justice League adventures, and issue three is yet another stellar issue. Creators Mark Waid and Dan Mora have proven on Batman/Superman: World’s Finest that letting them play with DC’s biggest toys leads to fantastic stories, and this newest one us building into something special. From the mystery of new Justice League baddies Inferno to the reveal of the traitor to the team, Justice League Unlimited has kept throwing curve balls at readers, and the latest installment is no different.

Inferno’s attacks on Earth have so far targeted areas with lots of natural resources, and the third issue sees them hitting the Amazon rain forest. This leads the League to call for help from a familiar ally, one uniquely suited to helping them. However, bringing him into the mix may have been the biggest mistake the Justice League could have made.

Inferno’s Newest Attack Reveals Some Startling Secrets

Inferno newest attack involves dropping fire-producing pillars all over the length and breadth of the Amazon rain forest. The Justice League sends in Superman, the Captain, the Flash, Wonder Woman, Stargirl, Star Sapphire, and S.T.R.I.P.E. to try to stop the blaze and figure out how to contain the damage. Superman quickly finds the source of the fire, but when he goes to remove the nearest pillar, he’s burnt by the flames. This shows that the flames are magical in nature, and the League calls in three other members to help them deal with the fire – Zatanna, Doctor Occult, and Xanthe Zhou.

Superman and Flash begin to evacuate the areas surrounding the pillars, while the three magic users begin to use their mystic abilities to try to figure out how to stop the pillars. As the League gets to business, Mister Terrific speculates that the flames of Inferno may be somehow related to the same fires that destroyed Mars centuries ago, but since Martian Manhunter is MIA, there’s no way to be sure. Flash and Terrific try to figure out just what Inferno wants this time – their first attack saw them try to take control of resources while this one is simply an attack designed for collateral damage. This gives Zatanna an idea.

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Since Inferno is using magic to summon the flames, they’re connected to them. That means that Justice League mages can in turn summon them to ask them about their motives. This leads to a dark robed figure appearing, similar to what readers saw in the first issue. They don’t really reveal much more than they did when Superman found their communication device, but add one interesting new caveat – that they want the heroes to live to see them conquer the Earth and that they are agents of vengeance. The robed figure is able to break the summoning, but Doctor Occult jumps through the portal after them.

Mister Terrific realizes that Inferno’s goal with this attack is to take control of the Green, the elemental energy that is present in all plant life. This leads him to dispatch Air-Wave and Aquaman to Lousiana to get the avatar of the Green, Swamp Thing, to help. However, that proves to be a terrible mistake, as Swamp Thing bursts into flames!

Targeting Swamp Thing Shows How Powerful Inferno Is

Inferno’s first attack involved using powerful technology to try and take control of an iridium supply. Their next attack involved using powerful magical items to try to take control of a magical force – the Green. These two attacks are both quite different and show just how much of a threat that Inferno is. Most of the time, the worlds of magic and technology don’t interact, so Inferno using both is quite rare.

Their latest attack also proves just how powerful they are. Swamp Thing is something of a niche character, but one thing that can’t be denied is how powerful he is. While the current Swamp Thing isn’t the classic Alec Holland but new guy Levi Kamei, he’s still completely in control of the Green. Inferno targeting him makes a lot of sense, and the fact that they can they’re able to attack him without even being near him shows just what kind of powerful magic they’re working with. Justice League Unlimited is developing Inferno into the scariest force in the DC Multiverse; if they’re able to destroy Swamp Thing, they are a threat that even the Justice League might not be able to stop.

Justice League Unlimited #3 is available wherever comic books are sold.