10 Times The Justice League Were Utterly Destroyed

Kingdom Come was a four-part limited series written by Mark Waid and illustrated by Alex Ross. Set 20 years in the future, the older heroes had retired and a second generation of heroes arose who were little better than the villains they opposed.

Wonder Woman visited Superman in his Fortress of Solitude to convince him to return. At first he refused, but accepted that he was needed. Clark went to see Batman but Bruce rebuked him, saying he never left. Factions arose with heroes aligning behind Superman or Batman. Wayne also struck a deal with Lex Luthor’s cabal. Kal-El created a prison to rehabilitate the criminals that immediately became overcrowded and out of control.

In issue # 3, Batman discovered that Luthor’s right-hand man was a brain-washed Billy Batson. Marvel traveled to the Gulag to destroy it. Superman raced there but was too late. A pitched battle ensued with Superman and Marvel trading the strongest blows.

Wanting to deal with the “superhuman problem” for good, the United Nations authorized the Blackhawks to drop a nuclear bomb on them. Despite Billy destroying the bombs in the air, only Superman and a few people protected by Green Lantern bubbles survived. The Man of Steel angrily threatened to bring the UN down around their ears. The Spectre and pastor Norman McCray, who had observed everything, convinced Kal that people lost faith when he left. Clark vowed to work alongside humanity rather than above them.