Do not let that 2017 film tell you otherwise: the Justice League of America is without a doubt the most popular superhero team of all time. Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, Martian Manhunter, Aquaman, and The Flash have all been reimagined in DC’s mythical “Multiverse,” resulting in some fairly colorful variant versions of the League. They are the Crime Syndicate of America on Earth 3, reversing their former responsibilities as Earth’s guardians.
They form Hitler’s New Reichsmen on Earth 10; that is right, a Nazi Justice League! On Earth 14, they are the Justice League of Assassins, a brutal group of killers inspired by Mad Max. The point is that while there are many cool and slightly creepy versions of the Justice League floating around in the Multiverse, none of them are as eerily accurate as the one found in the Justice League: Gods & Monsters Universe.
The famous Bruce Timm produced this Elseworlds-inspired nook of DC’s Animated Universe, which is possibly one of the most subversive re-inventions of the Justice League. To begin with, it simply includes Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman. But that is not the only thing that distinguishes them. Without further ado, here is the Gods & Monsters Universe – Explored Justice League.
Who Are The Trinity? JLA from Gods & Monsters Universe Backstories – explained
As we just mentioned, the Justice League of this Universe is only comprised of Superman, Wonder Woman & Batman. The rest of the Leaguers do not make an appearance in these stories; period. And after watching this video, you’ll agree with us when we say; that perhaps it is for the best.
Because let’s be honest, The Trinity is the core of the League, and the places this universe takes them to; their Prime Earth counterparts would be horrified to even look at. See, Superman is the last son of Krypton in this universe, but he doesn’t have the childhood we’ve come to expect from his story. Wonder Woman is a Goddess, just not the one you’re thinking of right now. And Batman…well, why don’t we just tell you instead?
Kirk Langstrom becomes Batman after an experiment gone wrong
That’s right! You thought you were going to get an alternate Bruce Wayne origin story? Well, guess what; he isn’t even Batman in this universe! No, that dubious honor goes to another chiropteran enthusiast from Gotham City; Dr. Kirk Langstrom. In the main DC Continuity, Langstrom is the monstrous metahuman called Man-Bat, who is a literal Man-Bat-Hybrid and needs to be cured of his “illness” multiple times by Bruce Wayne. In the Gods & Monsters Universe, the latter doesn’t even make an appearance! And Langstrom’s fateful mutation, too, is somewhat different.
In this world, Kirk Langstrom is a brilliant biochemist as well, but he starts off his story as one of “Luthor’s Boys”- a select group of scientists who were personally mentored by Lex Luthor himself. He researches bats here, too, but he’s looking for a different kind of cure; specifically, lymphoma, which he, unfortunately, suffers from.
Kirk lives with his peer & best friend William Magnus (yes, that guy) and is hopelessly in love with his girlfriend Tina, but he keeps that to himself because he’s got bigger fish to fry. Langstrom notices that Magnus’ nanotechnology research has far exceeded his expectations; trillions of specimens are currently at work creating a ship-in-a-bottle for him.
And at that moment, inspiration strikes him! Kirk believed that William’s nanotech was the key to achieving stabilization for his formula, but has to be hospitalized before he can test his theory. Magnus goes through his research and realizes he might be right, agreeing to help him create the formula. Their experiments are a partial success; they lose 3 lab rats rather ghoulishly nicknamed Mickey, Minnie & Mighty, but the 4th specimen is stronger than any rodent they’ve ever seen.
Langstrom decides to inject himself with the formula despite its instability, and when he hesitates, his best friend helps him do it, before making him promise that he will survive this. That, he does, but he would not remain the Kirk Langstrom that Magnus knew anymore. Instead of repairing his DNA as they’d theorized, the nanobots spliced it with the bat genome he had used as his base, transforming him into a living vampire.
Kirk breaks out of his apartment and spends months terrorizing the streets of Gotham City, draining its criminals of their blood while trying to come up with a cure for both cancer & his vampirism from a comically rundown “lab”. After being on the run for what felt like a lifetime, he hit rock bottom, feeding off rats and hiding at the docks to avoid capture. That’s where Superman found him.
The Man of Steel took him on as his friend & confidant, helping Kirk get back on his feet and giving his life purpose. Langstrom used his immense intellect to create a suit that helped him traverse the night skies without exposing himself to the elements and focus his heightened senses on those who deserved them. And that is how Kirk Langstrom became The Batman; the lethal protector of Gotham City who will rather drink your blood than turn you over to the cops.
Just ask Harley Quinn! And interestingly enough, he is also involved in Bruce’s origin story; or a lack thereof because in this universe, Batman kills Joe Chill before he ever gets to Crime Alley. Or at least, that’s what we’re told. Now, let’s take a look at the man who saved his life…
Superman – The Son of General Zod & Mexican Immigrants!
In the Gods & Monsters Universe, General Zod wasn’t locked away in the Phantom Zone during the Destruction of Krypton; he was the cause of it. In his quest for dominating his homeworld, Zod drilled into Krypton’s core, thus setting into motion the death of the greatest race in the Universe. Jor-El, Krypton’s leading scientist, had figured out a way to send a birthing matrix into orbit with the DNA of his wife Lara & himself, ensuring that Krypton would survive through their child. But while he was about to complete the process, Zod broke into his workspace and took him into custody, implanting his DNA in place of Jor-El’s! As Krypton blew up around them, Zod looked at his progeny and bade it to become just like him; a tyrant of immeasurable power.
Lucky for us, then, that the people who found him were the kindest human beings you could find on planet Earth. No, not Jonathon & Martha Kent; we’re talking about Manuel & Rosa Guerra, who found his spaceship while crossing over into the US, and decided to take him with them.
The Son of Zod was given the name Hernan Guerra, and he grew up in rough conditions, living life as a poor daily-wage laborer alongside his adoptive parents & his sister. But he loved his family, who always kept him on the path of goodness through faith in him & God. When he was 8 years old, he started having “dreams of another planet” and unlocked his powers; when his mother saw him use them, she implored him to keep it a secret. Hernan would often stare at the stars and wonder about his “real life”.
His one emotional anchor was his sister, but he ruined that for himself when he let her fall off his back as a prank while flying around town and she lost the use of her legs. This moment inspired him to not use his powers anymore, but how could he resist saving people when evil was being committed in front of his eyes? He killed a couple of local thugs with his heat vision and would have killed the cops who pursued him, too, had his sister not pleaded with him to stop.
After which, he summarily exited the Guerra household, traveling the world, experiencing everything that it had to offer to him; the good, the bad, and everything in between. But he never found the peace he had so desperately been searching for. He thought that by re-connecting with his Mexican roots, he’d finally have it, but he only saw the depravity of life. And to top that off, his mother had died in his absence; and Valentina had started a family of her own!
It was his sister who convinced him to use his powers in the service of good people and empowered by her words, he flew back to Mexico and confronted the evil drug lord Juan Carlos Fuentes. Having reduced him to ashes with his heat vision, he declared himself The Superman, traveled the world, taking out anyone he deemed a threat, and even cooperating with the US govt. on occasion. As seen during the Brainiac incident, where he saved Metropolis from meeting a nuclear fate by mercy-killing the out-of-control meta-human. But Superman isn’t the only Trinity member working for the feds in this Trinity…
Bekka of New Genesis: The Bride of Apokolips & The “Wonder Woman”
Before she came to be known as Wonder Woman, she was Bekka; a New God from New Genesis. The New Gods were comic book legend Jack Kirby’s contribution to the DC Universe; his Fourth World entities embody the very idea of cosmic extremes. The Highfather’s New Genesis was a reflection of purity, while Darkseid’s Apokolips was a world powered by malice. In the official DC continuity, they tried to squash this beef by exchanging sons; that’s how Mister Miracle ended up as the adopted son of Darkseid, while Orion arrived on New Genesis and became a great hero of that world. In the Gods & Monsters Universe, they tried it via marriage.
To bring peace between the two opposing factions of New Gods, The Highfather proposed that his granddaughter Bekka would marry Darkseid’s son Orion, and surprisingly enough, the Ruler of Apokolips agreed to the deal. Bekka was betrothed to Orion, who took her for a night journey to his favorite spot on the industrial planet; a field of crystals which was the only spot where anyone could see the stars.
He gave her a Mother Box-infused sword as a bridal gift, and she fell for him. But on the day they were to be wedded, Highfather revealed his treachery; that’s right, the usually peace-preaching leader of New Genesis had grown too weary of the might of Apokolips and had come up with a plan to destroy it inside-out. His New Gods killed every major wedding guest- including Darkseid- while Bekka tried to escape with Orion. But the latter broke away & fought for his father’s honor, and was promptly killed for his transgressions.
This broke Bekka, who had made Highfather promise to spare him, and she turned on her family, attacking them with her sword before using Mother Box to teleport away to Earth. She arrives disheveled and severely injured and is nursed back to health by a Hindu couple, after which she begins wandering through this alien planet. For a time, she becomes a part of the hippie movement and meets a man calling himself Dr. Psycho.
She even goes on to form her own commune, using the Mother Box as her “foundational discipline”, but soon realizes the evil nature of Psycho and ends up coming into conflict with him. At some point through her adventures, she meets Superman, with whom she shares a brief but rather passionate affair; being the only two super-powered individuals on Earth, their bodies could handle the “pounding” they dished out to each other if you catch our drift.
But she realized how egotistical Hernan was, so she left him and started working with the US govt, where she met Steve Trevor; her other “boy toy”, and the love interest of the original Wonder Woman. However, even their relationship breaks down, after which she becomes a part of this much darker version of the Justice League, whose first real mission as a team nearly destroys the world.
But before we get to that story, here’s how THIS Justice League was formed
We’ve already mentioned how Batman & Superman met each other, so we thought now would be a good time to explain how this version of the JLA came together; which is revealed in the Justice League: Gods & Monsters miniseries. At some point in time, an underground scientist called Jackson Alpert reveals that he has come up with a formula for helping humanity transcend into Godhood.
He has already injected several subjects with his formulas and created a new race of “Forever People” who all possess enhanced abilities much like Superman & Wonder Woman. Perhaps unsurprisingly, they’re both drawn to Alpert’s group. Given that before the creation of the Forever People, they were the only “gods on Earth”, they wanted to spend more time among their kind. Well, at least that’s what Bekka says; Hernan is just there to get a power boost from Alpert, which ends up not working because of his Kryptonian physiology.
A frustrated Hernan continuously spars with Bekka, getting increasingly violent as he nears his peak strength; but he isn’t doing this to impress Alpert. He’s actually quite suspicious of the man and his Forever People and turns out he’s not the only one. Bekka reveals that she has been working with Kirk Langstrom- Hernan’s best friend- in secret, to deduce Alpert’s true identity; because Jackson Alpert had been dead for close to half a century, and the man wearing his face right now was none other than Dr. Psycho- the same guy who tried to corrupt Wonder Woman all those years ago, and who was presumed dead after he was taken down by Bekka & Steve.
After having his ruse exposed, Psycho unleashes his “Never People” onto the world, and they quickly divide Earth into fiefdoms, taking over major cities like London & Mumbai. Superman, Wonder Woman & Batman tear through these cosmic-level threats, and leave a wanton trail of destruction in their wake; something series narrator Lois Lane makes sure readers are aware of.
But killing the Forever People wasn’t enough, because as the Trinity was wrecking shop, Psycho was busy injecting himself with an upgraded version of his Forever Formula which also contained the DNAs of Superman & Wonder Woman. This transformed him into Imperiex; not the cosmic form of entropy that Superman battles in the mainstream continuity. The mutated Imperiex starts leveling towns in his rampage, and it is only when Bekka plunges her Mother Box-infused sword into his metallic skull that he’s brought to a stop.
Before he can regain his monstrous form, Superman burns him alive with his heat vision, just as President Waller & Team A.R.G.U.S arrive to negotiate a deal. The Trinity’s actions have caused more death & destruction than peace & harmony. Lex Luthor points this out, and Kirk Langstrom agrees; and after Waller shows Hernan footage of a public uprising against him, he agrees to play ball with the govt.
A.R.G.U.S builds a massive watchtower equipped with all the toys they’ll ever want, Steve Trevor is appointed as their liaison, and the Trinity is officially christened The Justice League; a govt-sanctioned strike force that maintained a considerable degree of autonomy, all in the name of Justice.
From Dark Heroes, Justice will Dawn – Justice League: Gods and Monsters (2015)
After giving us a recap of Superman’s journey to Earth, the movie opens with the Justice League in action against a terrorist force that has taken over the Kaznian Embassy. Batman, Superman & Wonder Woman break up the party with extreme prejudice, taking out the low-level soldiers with relative ease before coming upon what looks like an alternate version of the League of Assassins, as “Bronze Tiger” & “Bane” attack Wonder Woman & Batman respectively while Supes is held in place by an equivalent of Talia al Ghul.
But these guys are just human beings; The League is the closest thing to Gods on Earth. They make short- yet brutal- work of the thugs and secure the scene. When Steve Trevor, their govt liaison arrives to survey the carnage and deliver a warning to the League for their “methods”, Superman reminds him exactly who is in charge. The League then retires to their Watch Tower, where they are greeted by a mob of divided opinions and an intriguing case. Over the course of the past few days, 3 scientists were murdered.
The first was Dr. Victor Fries, who was found with fang marks on his neck and drained of large quantities of blood. The second was Dr. Ray Palmer, whose car was found cleaved open, and whose body was slashed clean in half. The 3rd one was Dr. Silas Stone, a tech wizard that Superman had recently invited to the Watchtower to help him with a secret project. His entire laboratory was blown to smithereens, with Stone & his son Victor being burnt to a crisp by, authorities suspected, heat vision.
Kirk points this out to Hernan who immediately realizes what’s going on; someone was trying to frame the Justice League for taking out high-profile scientists who worked on top-secret govt projects. This was most likely being done to portray them as unjust conquerors, and they weren’t wrong in a sense, mind you. Superman is only playing nice with President Amanda Waller because he keeps her on her toes with his demands.
He hasn’t forgotten about the “other option” available to him- after all, he’s the Son of Zod- but he wouldn’t bring his heritage into play just yet. Instead, the League went their separate ways, trying to pre-emptively solve the crisis they had on hand. Superman invited his biggest critic, Lois Lane of PlanetNWZ.com, for a personal tour through the Watchtower. That’s right; Superman’s greatest love interest despises him to her very core in this universe! That’s why he brought her to the Watchtower, something that he himself has forbidden his other teammates from doing.
He did so with the hope of showing her how he truly intended to help the people of Earth, but he was also hoping to sway her to his side, something she saw right through. Batman visited his old friends Will & Tina, trying to figure out why his old friends were dying. He hacked into Will’s computer and found something called Project Fair Play and noticed that every person who had died so far was connected to the project, and was a part of Luthor’s boys. He keeps this information to himself and flies away to prepare for the next act.
Wonder Woman visits her old flame Steve Trevor and after a playful sparring session that delves into personal territory, she confirms what Batman & Superman had surmised. The next time we see the former is when he’s spying at Will’s home. Every scientist who had worked on Project Fair Play was there, and they all had the same idea; the Justice League was out to get them.
But before they could do something about it, 3 Metal Men flew in and started murdering everyone in the building. Kirk tried to protect Will & Tina as best as he could, but he was barely hanging on. Superman & Wonder Woman saved him, but the damage had been done by that point; everyone was dead, except Will Magnus, who had been grievously injured. The League knew that this act had effectively sealed their fate, and they retreated to the Watchtower with Magnus’ body to claim him as their witness when Madam President came knocking.
While he healed, Kirk suggested to Hernan that he should perhaps go visit the man who was connected to all of the people who had died so far; Lex Luthor. Superman visits Luthor at his space station and the 2 adversaries have a rather level-headed conversation, where Lex reveals to Supes the true history of his birth. The US govt had allowed him to believe his father was a Kryptonian hero, when in fact, he was their doom.
They had kept all his original files hidden from him and given him fake copies to stifle his technological growth, afraid of his potential to destroy the Earth. And he also revealed the details of Project Fair Play: it was a weapons program that harnessed an energy signature identical to Krypton’s Red Sun, effectively making it a nuclear deterrent for the JLA. Superman takes this knowledge with him and flies out, but at that moment, Lex’s Space Station is destroyed.
Taking this as the final straw, Waller activates Fair Play, and Steve Trevor’s forces surround the Watchtower. Superman & Wonder Woman arrives to protect it from the outside; while the real threat emerges from within. William Magnus is revealed as the mastermind behind these machinations, and his motivation was pure jealousy. He knew about Tina’s love for Kirk. He thought by turning him into a monster, he would drive them apart, but it didn’t work; so he killed her in a fit of rage and used his organic nanotech- which could’ve saved Kirk’s life- to create Platinum; a robot that perfectly resembled his dead wife.
It also gave him enhanced abilities, which he used to batter his old friend into submission. Meanwhile, as Superman & Wonder Woman are struggling to keep up with Waller’s Fair Play, Lex Luthor suddenly teleports onto the battlefield, calling Trever & his troops imbeciles for focusing on them as a mega-zord-sized Metal Man starts attacking everyone in sight.
It takes the combined efforts of the Justice League to take down every major point of conflict in this Battle of Metropolis; Superman burns through the Giant Metal Man’s Mother Boxes and decommissions it once & for all. Wonder Woman uses her Mother’s assistance to stab into Platinum’s core before electrocuting her to death with an iconic send-off. And Batman takes on his oldest friend in a fight to the death.
Will’s body might be strong, but Kirk’s will is stronger. He pummels his old friend into submission, leaving him a battered mess. The scent of his blood makes Kirk hungry, and Will goads him into feeding on him, but he simply tells him off by betting he’d taste “like crap”; at which point Magnus promptly disintegrates himself. For the first time in their careers as basically hired mercenaries, The Justice League is viewed as heroes, with even Lois Lane changing her tune after witnessing their heroism first-hand.
And that isn’t the only change that occurs; in the aftermath of the Battle of Metropolis, Bekka reveals she is traveling back to New Genesis to face her reckoning, but she isn’t alone. Lex Luthor has decided to leave this boring universe and explore the stars alongside the New Goddess, and he has a gift for Superman. Lex stole all the original data that the US govt had on Kryptonian technology and gave it to Supes, asking him to be a real hero this time before disappearing into the Boom Tube with Bekka.
As the movie comes to a close, Superman decides that he will never kill again and that he will use Kryptonian technology to make Earth a better place. Batman quips that he could use a new science project to sink his teeth into. The last line of dialogue is the only time we hear the Symbol of Hope speaking with the emotion he’s most associated with, as Superman tells his best friend, “Time to look ahead, Kirk. You know what they say. The past is like another planet.”
Why Justice League from Gods & Monsters Universe deserves your attention
This version of Justice League works for us not because the characters are different and the storylines are gorier, but because all of them are jaded to a very real extent. Superman in this universe is completely aware of his superiority over every other living being and would become the tyrannical dictator his biological father had wanted him to become, had it not been for Manuel & Rosa. It takes him a lifetime of mistakes & violence to see the errors of his ways and finally reform into the Symbol of Hope he’s been since 1938.
Kirk Langstrom as Batman is a refreshing take on the character that manages to keep that sense of tragedy associated with it intact while also giving it catharsis by letting him be the one who kills Joe Chill. Bekka is a reflection of what Diana could have been, had she been a proper Greek goddess as opposed to an Amazonian warrior.
The lives of goddesses like Aphrodite, Artemis & Hestia are plagued by hardships the Amazonians never had to face in their idealistic society; but Bekka knows court politics, unwilling betrothals & blood betrayals all too well which adds heaps of complexity to her character that Diana Prince oft-times lacks. Overall, this version of The Trinity, despite being the Gods & Monsters that inspire the film’s title, is also the most realistic depiction of these 3 iconic characters; and the Justice League as a whole. That alone deserves your attention.