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| "The Lightning Saga" | |
|---|---|
 Incentive variant cover ofJustice League of America, vol. 2, #8 (July 2007), art byPhil Jimenez. | |
| Publisher | DC Comics |
| Publication date | April – June2007 |
| Genre | |
| Title(s) | Justice League of America vol. 2, #8–10 Justice Society of America vol. 3, #5–6 |
| Main character(s) | Justice League of America Justice Society of America Legion of Super-Heroes Per Degaton Ultra-Humanite Despero |
| Creative team | |
| Writer(s) | Brad Meltzer Geoff Johns |
| Artist(s) | Shane Davis Ed Benes Dale Eaglesham |
| JLA Vol. 2: The Lightning Saga | ISBN 1-4012-1652-8 |
"The Lightning Saga" is acomic bookcrossoverstory arc that took place inDC Comics' two flagship team books:Justice League of America andJustice Society of America. It was written byBrad Meltzer andGeoff Johns, and illustrated byEd Benes,Dale Eaglesham, andShane Davis.[1] It is notable for re-introducing theLegion of Super-Heroes in the post-Infinite Crisis era.
This crossover would also be the beginning of DC's three year reinvention of the Legion, with the next part occurring in theAction Comics story "Superman and the Legion of Super-Heroes" and culminating inFinal Crisis: Legion of Three Worlds.
A captured villain,Trident, is under the control of aStarro drone.Batman performs a DNA scan and discovers that he isKarate Kid of theLegion of Super-Heroes. Karate Kid awakens and fights Batman untilBlack Lightning steps in. Meanwhile,Starman reveals to the JSA that he is also from the future.
Batman,Sandman, andGeo-Force visitArkham Asylum, whereDoctor Destiny is manipulatingDream Girl into creating horrific illusions. Starman frees her by saying "Lightning Lad" in Interlac. Dream Girl then reveals that there are other Legionnaires in the present, and the JSA and JLA work together to find them.
Superman,Stargirl,Cyclone, andRed Tornado go to theFortress of Solitude and freeWildfire, who has been frozen among statues of the Legionnaires. At theBatcave, Batman, Starman, and Black Lightning talk to Karate Kid, who insists that he is a member of the Trident Guild until Starman restores his memory.
Jay Garrick,Vixen,Hal Jordan,Ted Grant, andTomcat enter Gorilla City, where they findTimber Wolf. Meanwhile,Red Arrow,Power Girl,Hawkman, andHawkgirl head toThanagar to findDawnstar, but find that she has already left for Earth. The Legionnaires retrieve miniature lightning rods fromBatman's utility belt and plan for one member to die to resurrect someone.
The JSA and JLA converge at the oldSecret Society of Super Villains base in Slaughter Swamp to find the final Legionnaire and are attacked byComputo. Despite the Society and League's efforts, the Legion enacts their plan, retrievingWally West,Linda Park, and their two children from theSpeed Force. Karate Kid is chosen to be sacrificed, but survives. The Legionnaires return to the future, with Starman, Karate Kid, andTriplicate Girl remaining in the 21st century. A close-up of Karate Kid's lightning rod shows it to havesomeone trapped inside.
The Lightning Saga contains a subplot in which theUltra-Humanite's brain is transferred to a second albino ape body. These events are continued inBooster Gold (vol. 2), where Ultra-Humanite,Despero, andPer Degaton plot to erase the heroes of the present by tampering with the past.
TheAll-Flash one-shot reveals that theRogues killedBart Allen duringThe Lightning Saga.[2] He is later resurrected inFinal Crisis.[3]
Karate Kid and Triplicate Girl's exploits in the 21st century are detailed inCountdown to Final Crisis.
The Lightning Saga and three issues ofJustice League of America (#0, 11–12) were collected in the hardcover volumeJustice League of America Volume 2: The Lightning Saga (ISBN 1-4012-1652-8), which was released in 2008. The collection features a written introduction by actor and comedianPatton Oswalt.[4]
The story has since been republished in a deluxe edition hardcover collecting all of Meltzer's run onJustice League of America,[5] as well as the third volume of theJSA Omnibus, which collects all of Johns'JSA issues through 2009.[6]
