The Justice League is in sizzling water lately — the sort that even impacts Aquaman. For the guide’s present story arc, the author Priest has launched a somewhat pointed villain often called the Fan.

The Fan, impressed by their heroism, has been with the Justice League from the start, . He’s additionally listened to all their communications and studied all their personalities and strategies, and now he thinks that he is aware of extra about what the Justice League needs to be than the Justice League does. He’ll spoil their public picture so as to get them to bow to his needs — and it’s not arduous to see the parallels Priest is drawing to precise poisonous fan relationships to creators.

And on this week’s Justice League #39, the author is dialing up that metatextual subtext even additional.

[Warning: This post contains spoilers for Justice League #39.]

Because of the Fan’s management of the Justice League satellite tv for pc’s teleportation system, some members of the League are nonetheless stranded throughout the globe, particularly Aquaman, who was dropped in the course of the most important desert on the planet. The Fan reveals as much as homicide some ruffians who’ve come throughout the weakened and dehydrated king, and ship a little bit of a basic villain speech.

Nevertheless it’s who the disguise knowledgeable reveals up as that’s actually the shock:

My man.Priest, Ian Churchill/DC Comics

Welcome to comics, Jason Momoa’s Aquaman design! After delivering his speech and handing Aquaman a self-hydrating costume, the Fan teleports away — nevertheless it’s not the final reference to the numerous variations of those characters that real-life followers have latched on to.

The Fan kicked off his Justice League correction marketing campaign with framing Batman for the assassination of a congresswoman — by killing her whereas dressed as Batman. In Justice League #39, Cyborg has the understandably tough job of convincing a senate listening to to easily take the Justice League on its phrase when he says that this wasn’t the precise Batman. A senator attracts his consideration to the gang gathered exterior the senate chambers, made up of individuals claiming to be the true Batman.

Priest, Ian Churchill/DC Comics

And yep, that’s Frank Miller’s The Dark Knight Returns’ Batman, with Jim Aparo’s Batman simply to the correct, and Frank Quietly’s Batman simply to the correct of that — and Batman: The Animated Sequence Batman (after the The Adventures of Batman & Robin redesign, naturally) with Tim Sale’s Batman simply to his left.

Priest’s arc, drawn by Ian Churchill, forces the Justice League to confront lifelike considerations of a public-facing, first-responder group that follows no specific authorities authority and wields incredible energy, all within the identify of lofty beliefs like heroism and justice. Placing Batman: The Animated Sequence’ Batman and Jason Momoa’s Aquaman into Justice League #39 each performs into the core conceit of the Fan as a entitled fanatic and gives a little bit of a wink and a nod to readers.

In spite of everything, with all these Batmen in a single panel, the percentages that you just’ll be reminded of one among your favourite Batman tales — or one of many tales you actually want had by no means occurred — is fairly excessive. And it’s precisely that want for management over his favourite heroes that motivates the Fan within the first place.