DC’s biggest heroes are at war with each other but The Trinity War is just the beginning of the chaos coming to The New 52!
Alliances crumble. Heroes lose. Bad guys win. Turns out there’s a “secret” behind the Secret Society!
Villains Month and Forever Evil kick off in September. Just when you thought you knew all the players Geoff Johns reveals (via IGN) the real power behind the massive crossover event:
Before we continue here’s a SPOILER WARNING in case you have not read Justice League #23 yet:
“As far as the world knows, the Justice Leagues are dead. What happened to them and where they are will be revealed within the pages of Forever Evil, which is focused squarely on the greatest villains in comics,” said Johns.
“There are some major events that happen to some of our heroes and villains, and those are all reflected in the monthly books at the end of [the series], except for the ones that tie-in directly like the Justice League titles, Suicide Squad, and Teen Titans. Those books will be up-to-speed monthly.”
“What’s most surprising about Forever Evil isn’t its repercussions, however. It’s that everything we thought we knew about the series is wrong. Up to this point, we’ve believed that the Secret Society of Super Villains has been in control, manipulating the Justice League and turning public opinion against them.
The fact is that there’s an even higher power, one that will be revealed at the end of Trinity War in Justice League #23 – “The Crime Syndicate will be the ones leading the charge to take the world in Forever Evil.” The Crime Syndicate’s debut in the New 52 calls back to their roots – a team of twisted, evil incarnations of the Justice League that come from the parallel Earth-3.
“Evil is relative – and what I mean by that, is that our villains are as complex, as deep and as compelling as any of our heroes. Every antagonist in the DC Universe has a unique darkness, desire and drive. And the reason for being of Forever Evil is to explore that darkness,” explained Johns. “We start literally, in the first issue, when the whole world goes dark; communication and power are gone. And as our Earth is plunged into darkness, the Crime Syndicate begins their plan for conquest.”
“[They] make themselves known and they enact their mission to take over. They will lead an army of super villains, but not every villain sees things the way they do,” he continued. “Every villain in the DC Universe wants something different and not all of them want to rule the world. Or at least, not all of them want to rule the world in the way the Crime Syndicate do.”
Interestingly, in the original Crime Syndicate stories from the 1960s, the hero that rose up to stop the villains on Earth-3 was that parallel world’s own version of Lex Luthor. Mirroring that sentiment, Johns has placed Luthor as the main protagonist in Forever Evil, who will be forced to take matters into his own hands and “form his own version of a Justice League to take them down. Who are we rooting for in this scenario? How bad are things if we are forced to rely on Lex Luthor they way he’s always wanted us to?”
The Crime Syndicate will be classic dark mirror version of DC icons: Ultraman, Superwoman, Owlman Johnny Quick, Power Ring plus a new member, Deathstorm.
“Forever Evil is my love letter to DC super villains. It’s my chance to take all of the villains I’ve worked with and all the ones I’ve never worked with and put them into one gigantic, epic story that will bring together the bads of the DC Universe.”
Villains Month and Forever Evil take control of DC Comics The New 52 in September.
By Editor