JLA: Act of God

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JLA: Act of God
Publication information
Publisher	Elseworlds (DC Comics)
Schedule	Monthly
Format	Limited series
Genre	Superhero
Publication date	January – March 2001
No. of issues	3
Creative team
Written by	Doug Moench
Artist(s)	Dave Ross
Editor(s)	Andy Helfer, Harvey Richards

JLA: Act of God is a three issue limited series published by DC Comics under the Elseworlds banner in 2000. It is written by Doug Moench and illustrated by Dave Ross.

The story is a psychological look at what could happen to many superheroes if their powers were taken away by an unseen natural event, and has them pondering whether it is right for them to have powers in the first place.

Plot

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On May 23, 2000, an event called the "Black Light" causes all technology on Earth to stop working for a split second - and also permanently robs every superpowered being on the planet of their powers. The cause of the Black Light is never revealed. Heroes such as

Things are not going well for some of the retired heroes. Clark agrees to split with Lois Lane who is upset at him being a self-loathing drunk, and he later moves in with Diana Prince, formerly Wonder Woman. Green Lantern becomes obsessed with finding a way to defeat Sonar, and Linda Danvers, formerly Supergirl, finds working as a cop insufficient to bring justice to criminals. Natasha Irons finds that someone stripped Steel's lab down to nothing, and Blue Beetle and Booster Gold have had their weapons stolen.

Nearly a year after the Black Light event, Supergirl, at a meeting with

At Zen-Gen Biotech Systems Inc., Ray Palmer, formerly

Meanwhile, the Phoenix Group finishes their training, and reveal their new identities. Supergirl is now Justice, Aquaman is now the Hand, Flash is now Red Devil, and Martian Manhunter is now the Green Man. They begin investigating Ray Palmer's death.

Clark leaves Diana when she starts to believe that all that has happened is merely a test from God and that her powers will return when it ends. Clark winds up living on the street, but receives some money in a homeless shelter from a priest. He sees firefighters rescue someone from a burning building, then moves to a secluded home in the woods.

The Phoenix Group and Batman, with help from

In a final note, Kyle Rayner faces off against Sonar one last time and soundly defeats the villain, but dies when Sonar impales him on a shaft of wood. Clark goes back to Diana and stops her from killing herself. The two marry, Clark goes back to his job at the Daily Planet, and the Phoenix Group looks toward the future.

Two years later, Clark and Diana have a healthy baby boy who, unbeknown to the two of them, has the ability to transform matter into whatever he wants. With his birth, he opens the door to many possibilities.

Criticism

Reviewers have heavily criticized the irrational characters and severe

• JLA: Created Equal, a similar Elseworlds tale involving a cataclysmic event that strikes Earth.
• Decimation, a Marvel Comics event involving the mass depowering of mutants.
• List of Elseworlds publications

References

External links

• JLA: Act of God at the Comic Book DB (archived from the original)