The Predator comics are on a whole other level, with each one maintaining its unique identity. We have stated this before when we produced the Predator Killer Bear Origins, and we will mention it again. This brings us to one of the strangest comic crossovers ever, as the world’s finest superheroes cross paths with the galaxy’s toughest and fiercest hunters.
We are focusing on the one-shot comic book JLA versus Predator by John Ostrander and Graham Nolan, which is co-published by DC Comics and Dark Horse Comics. The Justice League has undoubtedly joined forces with other super-villains over the years, but this time, we are focusing on the Predators. However, they are far more than just highly developed weapons, and they have the ability to put everyone in immediate danger.
Prepare yourself for today’s video, in which we will examine the comic book in great detail. Shall we get started?
Meta Predators Vs Justice League Explored
The opening page of this single-issue prestige comic book gives readers a clear glimpse of a watchtower on the moon. The Justice League of America’s headquarters is located in the tower, where the superheroes frequently gather to protect the globe from approaching threats. Having said that, the threat they will soon face will inevitably put each member of the superhero team in peril, and what is worse is that they have no idea what it is.
Well, it all begins with a burning, severely damaged Dominion spaceship passing within the lunar orbit. We are introduced to the Leaguer on duty at the very moment, one that happens to be the J’onn J’onzz, the Manhunter from Mars. From his conversation with the Oracle aka Barbara Gordon, the premier supplier of information for the League, we learn that all of Martian Manhunter’s hails have gone unanswered while he was trying to reach out to them earlier and that he has plans of bringing the Dominators into the watchtower.
Barbara attempts to warn J’onn and tells them that the Dominators aren’t really friends of the League or of earth for that matter especially given the fact that they have tried to conquer earth in the past. We as readers learn more about this alien race – how they are the most brilliant and aggressive military strategists in the galaxy besides also being one of the most technologically advanced.
Martian Manhunter informs the Oracle that the Dominators are attempting to reach earth with their teleporters but because it is beyond their range, they will perish if the former does not bring them into the watchtower. Barbara is seen to be a bit hesitant in aiding them out and the spaceship explodes. However, Martian Manhunter has already gotten a lock on them and the Dominators are seen to materialize in the watchtower.
But instead of being grateful towards the Martian Manhunter, they respond with hostility upon realizing that they have not reached their destination, earth. One of them even shoots at the Martian Manhunter stating to him that they will not surrender and further says, ‘in saving us, you have doomed us.
The hunt begins.’ Of course, Martian Manhunter is not able to make out neither the head nor the tail of it but it is precisely then when we see three red laser dots aimed at the back of his head. This is followed by a blast, one that misses him just by a few inches. It gets pretty clear that there happens to be another intruder amongst them in the watchtower. He informs the Oracle about it who asks him if he wishes to call in any of the other Justice League members.
Martian Manhunter decides to determine the very nature of the attacker before letting Oracle inform the League. However, just as he is about to switch to communicating telepathically, we get to see this sharp blade right behind him and the connection breaks off. The Oracle tries to reach out to him but there seems to be no response from his end thereby leading her with no other options but to call in the troops.
Amongst the available members, Batman, Green Lantern and Superman reach out to her priority call. With the Oracle filling in the details to the trio and specifying to them about the fourth presence, Batman tells the group that his league teleporter has been locked out and suggests Superman and Green Lantern to head to the watchtower as soon as possible. He further recommends Oracle to contact the other members of the League while classifying the probable attack on Martian Manhunter as ‘Class A’ menace.
Oracle reaches out to the remaining members of the Justice League – Aquaman, Flash, Wonder Woman, Plastic Man as well as the Atom and brings them up to speed with the current situation on the watchtower. As for Superman and Green Lantern, they are already inside the watchtower and even with the former unlocking the controls, they cannot spot Martian Manhunter anywhere.
With Green Lantern calling out J’onn by his name, the pair eventually comes across the severed head of the Martian Manhunter, one that’s impaled on some kind of a spear. Now this goes without saying that it is a horrifying sight but it only takes Superman split seconds to utter the term ‘Predators’. He briefs the traumatized Green Lantern about his and Batman’s run-ins with the extraterrestrial alien race.
Superman elucidates how the Predators are devoted to hunting with high technology, how they take pleasure in the thrill of the hunt and that they are known for acquiring trophies from their victims – the head and spinal cords. With Superman lamenting how the alien race has killed one of their very best, we hear the voice of the Martian Manhunter.
Well, apparently, he would have died had his brain been in his head but it wasn’t when his head was cut off. This can only mean one thing, he is very much alive. With Superman bringing his head back to him, he reattaches it to his body and confides in the duo that it is only the element of fire which can truly destroy him.
With Superman telling him the Martian Manhunter that a Predator ambushed him, the latter is quite taken aback. Why wouldn’t he? After all, he was just assaulted by someone whom even his telepathic mind could not evaluate. With him unable to make out since when do the Predators have psionic abilities, Batman interrupts him and also answers his question. He tells the group that he teleported the minute Superman unlocked the controls.
Also, as per the teleport records, the three Dominators have made use of a teleporter to flee to earth, each at separate locations. Batman is seen to wonder two major things: the first is why are the dominators being pursued and the second is how is it that the one who attacked the Martian Manhunter was able to slip past his powerful telepathic senses. With J’onn telling them that the attack has taken a temporary toll on his health and that he’d be very likely to be out of commission for a while, Batman comes up with a plan.
The League is divided into three teams and each team is sent off to the location of the Dominators. The plan is simple – subdue them and bring them back at the watchtower for questioning. We get to see the trio of Aquaman, Wonder Woman and Plastic Man in Venice and in pursuit of the Dominator there. The trio are engaged in a friendly banter when each of them suddenly get attacked; Aquaman underwater, Wonder Woman on land and Plastic Man up in the air.
What is further strange is the trio coming to a realization that whoever their attackers are seem to be in possession of their parallel powers. It’s actually fair to address the attackers as the better armed version of the superheroes and soon the latter’s seen to get tired of the relentless attacks.
As for Plastic Man, he is able to spot the Dominator and he wastes no time in grabbing him along with Wonder Woman and Aquaman, the latter literally in his tongue. However with him asking the Martian Manhunter to transport them back to the watchtower, he doesn’t get a response. As far as things are concerned in the watchtower, Martian Manhunter realizes that his attacker never really left the base in the first place.
The readers are next taken deep into the Amazon, amidst the ruins of an ancient civilization to be more precise. We get to see Flash, Green Lantern and the Atom here; the mission remains the same – catch hold of the Dominator and come back to the watchtower. No points for guessing that it is the speedster who is able to locate the Dominator thanks to his superhuman ability.
However, before Flash can even blink, he gets smacked by something he is not able to see. The Atom and Green Lantern are also hit by the same force and it suddenly dawns upon the group that they are being attacked. Eventually, a trio of Predators appear in front of our superheroes but mind you, they are not the regular ones. Something is different about each of them; for starters, each of the Predators has a specific superhero logo on their armor, add to that their superhero power too.
The Superhero group resorts to using Plan B, which is to separate themselves and run but with each of the superheroes getting attacked by their respective super-powered Predators, the former realize how the latter are keyed to their individual abilities. The group is almost on the verge of tiring themselves out when Flash contacts the watchtower asking the Martian Manhunter to teleport them from there but similar to Plastic Man, he doesn’t get a response either. Well, looking at Martian Manhunter back at the watchtower, he surely looks occupied at the moment with his invisible attacker. Well of course, he isn’t going to teleport the members and put their lives at risk till the time he has secured the watchtower.
Speaking of Superman and Batman, both are seen enjoying the beautiful countryside of England. To be honest, Superman is quite surprised to learn that Bruce fancies country life way more than the city. It’s in the middle of the duo’s conversation that Superman is able to lay his hands on the third Dominator and with them attempting to go back to the watchtower before they get attacked by the Predators, the inevitable thing takes place.
With Superman getting hit on the head, he realizes who the culprits are and asks Batman to take the Dominator and go. Of course, he can’t see his attacker and to top things, his attacker seems to be as powerful as he is. There comes a point when he is not even sure if a Predator is attacking him in the first place but soon his concerns are put to rest.
We along with Superman finally come face to face with a Predator, one who is not only seen to imitate the superhero’s dialogue but also his whole look. We are stressing on his blue superhero costume, the flowy red cape as well as his superman symbol.
This only makes Superman highly enraged and he is seen resorting to heat vision against his enemy. As for Batman, he also gets attacked by his Predator counterpart and manages to dodge an incoming blast towards him thanks to the Dominator letting out a squeal. The Predator is about to attack Batman from behind once again when the latter and every other Justice League member are teleported back to the watchtower by the Martian Manhunter.
The Martian Manhunter eventually shows the whole group his Predator, the one who remained on board with him. He possibly could not have brought back the members unless he had taken care of his attacker. Batman wastes no time and goes straight up to the Dominators and demands an explanation from them. Their immediate answer shocks the entire group, especially when they state that they came to earth to ask for the League’s protection.
The Dominators are seen labeling the Predators as Meta-Predators and explaining to the League that they created the meta-versions or in their words, cloned and DNA-modified them to kill the Justice League. Well, can you really blame them for always confounding their plans?
Anyway, coming back to the Dominator’s storyline, the Meta-Predators post waking up ambushed everyone in the facility. Only, the three of them were able to escape and the reason why they went to earth in the first place was to tempt them into following their instincts – to hunt and kill the Justice League. With Batman stating that they finally know what they are up against and that they can work as a team to defeat them, Superman tells the group that the Predators have made it to the watchtower.
With Superman demanding the Predators to reveal themselves, they appear in front of them while imitating the last words of the Dominator, ‘Come where you are. To hunt. To kill.’ With the Predators attacking the League, Aquaman comes up with a unique idea – change partners and fight them instead of them fighting their counterparts. This has Green Lantern engaging in a fight with Atom’s counterpart, Atom engaged with Green Lantern’s counterpart, Martian Manhunter up against Wonder Woman’s counterpart, Wonder Woman herself against Plastic Man’s counterpart, Batman taking care of Flash’s counterpart and Plastic Man literally snuggling with Batman’s counterpart.
This whole thing proves to be quite effective and in the process, the superheroes realize that each of their Predator counterparts is meant to fight a League member with the same powers. But exceptions are always there and here it is Superman powerful enough to take down his own counterpart. The Justice League eventually emerge victorious but Batman notifies the rest of the members about the Predator’s strict code of honor that they would sacrifice themselves any day than surrender.
This is precisely when one of the Predators mimics the last words of Batman and fires a shot via its shoulder canon. This results in creating a massive explosive decompression, one that sucks out the Meta-Predators in to the space. As for the three Dominators, they are eventually saved from meeting the same fate as the Predators by the League members. Green Lantern also manages to plug the hole!
The Dominators are sent back to their home planet; Batman informs them that the controls on their spaceship are preset to their home world and that they won’t be able to countermand them. In fact, the Martian Manhunter has also set a telepathic command in them so as to prevent them for altering the settings of the controls. Of course, the Dominators are surprised by the gestures of the League; they tell them that they don’t really understand why they saved them in the first place when they knew that they were trying to kill them.
They further tell the League that they are sending them home aware of the fact that they are capable of making more of such Predators and definitely stronger ones than before. It is then that Superman tells them that they believe in preserving life and given a chance they would have saved the Meta-Predators too because all life according to them has worth. The issue ends with Superman further stating that hopefully someday, the Dominators will comprehend the message. After all, it is on hope that the future is built.
Should You Be Owning JLA Versus Predator?
There is no denying that the Predators on display are categorically one of the craziest groups of super villains that the League had to team up against. So, of course the whole idea of exploring our favorite DC super heroes battling their Predator counterparts is an idea worth exploring. We say why don’t you grab a copy and decide for yourself?
And with this, we have come to the very end of our video here. Do hit us with your thoughts in the comments section and let us know if you have read this one-shot comic book. Also, have you seen the new Predator movie titled Prey yet? It is officially streaming on Hulu in case you want to watch!
Stay tuned with us for more interesting content on Predator.