10 Shocking Times The Justice League Turned On Each Other

Alex Ross and Mark Waid's 1996 commentary on nineties-era superhero comics is a mythical tale of clashing ideologies and questions the relevance and effectiveness of the older, more traditional heroes. Ross' Renaissance-era imagery is striking and compliments the story's weighty and apocalyptic tone very well.

Following the retirement of the old guard, a new, more violent breed of hero fills the power vacuum and their methods are nowhere as just and merciful as their predecessors. The brutality and carelessness of the new generation force an older, more jaded Man of Steel to come out of retirement and rejoin his counterparts.

Various factions quickly emerge and the heroes are pitted against each other under the leadership of Superman, Batman, and Lex Luthor and their potentially devastating conflict trigger a response from the rest of the world.

The story's grim sensibilities are born out of the heroes' infighting, most notably seen in the battle between Superman and Captain Marvel (currently known as Shazam). Its conclusion is more hopeful than the events that precede it, but at the cost of loss of life among the heroes.