Warning: Spoilers for Action Comics #1079
TheJustice Leaguehas long struggled to find a way to defeatSupermanin the event that he betrays them, and with help from an underrated hero, the team just unlocked the ideal weapon. Superman is a trusted member of the Justice League, but if he switched sides, they’d be powerless to stop him. Thankfully, the Justice League’s new anti-Superman contingency plan is a foolproof strategy to beat Superman if necessary.
InAction Comics#1079 by Mark Waid, Michael Shelfer, Matt Herms, and Dave Sharpe, Superman is down for the count, so it’s up to the Justice League to mount a defense against thePhantom Zone’s escaped Kryptoniansthat are now terrorizing the Earth. Batman suggests that Firestorm synthesize Kryptonite to weaken them, and though it takes time, the hero eventually succeeds at generating the element in a surprising new form.
The Justice League has revealed the ultimate anti-Superman contingency plan in the form of Firestorm’s Kryptonite gauntlets, and with every hero wielding this weapon, Superman wouldn’t stand a chance against them if he ever turned evil.
The Justice League Just Developed a Surefire Method to Defeat Superman
With Firestorm’s Help, The Justice League Perfects an Anti-Superman Contingency
With evil Kryptonians from the Phantom Zone wreaking havoc across the planet, the Justice League needs a large supply of Kryptonite if they want to have any hope of weakening them. Kryptonite is, after all,Superman’s greatest power limit in DC lore- and the same holds true for every Kryptonian. Luckily, Firestorm arrives in time with a secret weapon. This nuclear hero’s powers let him transmutate any element he chooses, which includes Kryptonite.Firestorm is thus able to synthesize Kryptonite gauntlets for the Justice League’s heroes to equip, helping them overpower the rampaging Kryptonians by exploiting their weakness.
According to Superman, DC’s Justice League Just Reached Its Peak
Superman has declared the new Justice League the most powerful iteration of the team yet, but their latest villain may be even more formidable.
Firestorm has successfully synthesized Kryptonitein the past, as seen inTales of the Corps: Superman-Prime#1 by Geoff Johns and Pete Woods, when he reveals he can forge an unlimited supply of the element with his powers. However, he’s now figured out a way to transform Kryptonite into a tangible weapon that he can share with every superhero. With theJustice League’s strongest fighterswearing these gauntlets, they can weaken Superman with each devastating attack they land on him.Heroes like Shazam are already close to matching Superman in raw power, and this upgrade from Firestorm can give them the advantage they’ve needed to win.
Doctor Light Takes the Justice League’s Superman Contingency to the Next Level
The Justice League Can Not Only Weaken Superman, But Also Imprison Him
Superman also hasweaknesses that aren’t Kryptonite, with one of the most prominent being his weakness towards red sunlight. Under a yellow sun, Kryptonians unlock their superpowers and are able to reach their god-like level of strength. Meanwhile, under ared sun, they are unable to access their powers at all and become as vulnerable as any mortal being.Kryptonite may weaken Superman considerably, but to truly defeat him, a red sun must be in place to prevent him from fighting back in any capacity.Luckily, the Justice League has a hero who can bend red sunlight to her will.
Superman recently felt the effects of his red sunlight weakness inAction Comics#1074, when he traveled back in time to Krypton and was rendered powerless by the planet’s red sun.
Doctor Light, also known as Kimiyo Hoshi, possesses the ability to manipulate light however she pleases. In this issue, she’s enlisted by the Justice League to trap the Phantom Zone escapees who have already been incapacitated by Firestorm’s handy weaponry. By channeling light,Doctor Light creates a prison out of red sunlight that traps the Kryptonians and deprives them of their superpowers. This method proves effective against the criminals as they’re securely imprisoned with no chance of escape. Therefore, if the Justice League ever required it of her, Doctor Light could employ this same strategy to construct a red-sun cage for Superman.
The Justice League’s New Plan to Defeat Superman Is Their Best Yet
A History of Anti-Superman Contingency Plans Throughout DC Lore
The Justice League has formulatedanti-Superman contingency plansin the past, though none are quite as elaborate as this one. Batman is typically the mastermind of these, as forming contingencies for every possible scenario is a specialty of his.Because Superman’s main weakness is Kryptonite, Batman always makes sure he has some form of the element on hand, even deploying aKryptonite tankonce. The rest of the Justice League prepares similarly, with the Atom being capable of shrinking down and exposing Superman to Kryptonite from inside his body. Batman and the Justice League trust Superman, but they also know to take precautions.
1 Justice League Hero Is Officially More Powerful Than Superman (According to the Flash)
While Superman is often seen as the definition of power in the DC Universe, there’s one Justice League member who is even mightier.
Beyond the standard Green Kryptonite, Batman and the Justice League’s heroes have utilized other methods of weakening the Man of Steel. A famous instance of this occurs in theTower of Babelstoryby Mark Waid and Howard Porter, when Batman usesRed Kryptoniteto turn Superman’s skin invisible and make him vulnerable to the yellow sun rather than fueled by it. Of course, all the previous contingencies have been fleeting, as Superman has managed to recover from each in time.This new contingency plan, on the other hand, has already succeeded with other Kryptonians - which means it just might defeat Superman.
Can Superman Beat the Justice League’s Contingency Plan? It’s Possible
Superman Has Overpowered His Weaknesses Before, So He Could Again
The Justice League doesn’t just have Kryptonite at their disposal thanks to Firestorm, since Doctor Light can also harness red sunlight to de-power him. Considering these factors, it may seem like Superman would have no hope of overcoming this contingency plan, but theJustice League has failed to account for the fact that Superman has beaten these weaknesses before. InLegion of Super-Heroes#293 by Paul Levitz and Keith Giffen, Brainiac 5 invents micro-circuitry thatallows Superman to use his powers beneath a red sun, thereby eliminating that weakness. If Doctor Light were to imprison Superman, he could easily break free using this device.
Regardless of how ready the Justice League is to take down Superman, there’s still a chance that Superman could come out on top if he had time to prepare.
Kryptonite is a tricky weakness for Superman to circumvent, but past examples have shown that it is indeed possible for him to withstand it. Superman’s X-ray vision can actuallygive him immunity to Kryptoniteby melting it from a distance, so as long as he doesn’t get too close to the Justice League heroes when they’re wearing their gauntlets, he can destroy them. Moreover,Superman has worn costumesbefore that ward off the effects of Kryptonite. Regardless of how ready theJustice Leagueis to take downSuperman, there’s still a chance that Clark Kent could come out on top if he had time to prepare.
Justice League
Superman
The icon who launched the entire world of superheroes, the last son of Krypton escaped his dying world to crash land on Earth and be raised as Clark Kent. The world knows him better as Superman, the Man of Steel, the leader of the Justice League, and the most well-known hero in the DC Comics Universe. Blessed with the powers of a demigod, Kal-El of Krypton fights enemies both small and cosmic in his endless pursuit of truth, justice, and a better tomorrow.
