The Justice League brawl that breaks out in DC vs. Vampires proves just how lethal a civil war in this multiverse could really become.
WARNING: The following contains spoilers for DC vs. Vampires #5, now on sale from DC Comics
Due to their occasionally contradictory goals, it’s not uncommon for heroes to come to blows on occasion. Especially in Elseworld stories, the heroes of the DC Universe often times end up becoming enemies. But it’s rare that an entire team collapses to in-fighting, as a recent issue proved it would likely come to grusome results.
DC vs. Vampires #5 by James Tynion IV, Matthew Rosenberg, Otto Schmidt, Simone Di Meo, and Tom Napolitano turns the Justice League against one another — and highlights just how dangerous a DC Civil War would quickly become.
DC vs. Vampires has featured a uniquely dangerous take on a conflict between the DC heroes, with a vampiric curse spreading among members of the team. While Batman and Green Arrow (along with their respective allies) have been preparing to contend with any corrupted heroes, a vampiric Green Lantern has helped transform the likes of Wonder Woman and Zatanna into dark undead killers like himself. This all builds to a confrontation within the Bat-Cave, with Green Lantern framing Batman as a vampire to the rest of the League. Confronting Batman and Green Arrow in the Bat-Cave, the assembled League are caught by surprise when the two human heroes put up a shockingly good fight.
Soon though, the battle begins to take harder edges. Cyborg and Martian Manhunter both fall victim to traps lain by the Dark Knight, brutally removing them from the battle via electrocution and transportation. Hal is able to use specially designed arrows to seriously wound Hal Jordon, although the remnants of restraint in the hero keep him from killing the corrupted Green Lantern. However, he has less conjunctions about Hawkgirl, and wounds her wings with well-placed shots. Batman brings down Superman with a well-placed Kryptonite gas, leaving him largely removed from the rest of the fight. But without any of her own morality weighing her down, Wonder Woman quickly leaves Batman and Green Arrow seriously injured — and takes her time corrupting Hawkgirl as well.
Batman only ultimately survives the fight thanks to the intervention of the newly arrived Robins, who stun Wonder Woman long enough for Batman, his sidekicks, and Green Arrow to escape and self-destruct the Bat-Cave. Unfortunately, this doesn’t stop Green Lantern or Wonder Woman — who now may have the perfect opportunity to corrupt Superman into one of their number as well. It’s an absolutely brutal brawl, with the heroes not pulling punches and coming close to killing one another multiple times in short order. This speaks to an inherent difference between the heroes of the Marvel and DC Universe. In the Marvel Universe, the powers may be fantastical but tend to have limits. Inner conflicts between heroes like Marvel’s Civil War, even when the heroes stop pulling punches, don’t tend to become too dangerous.
Heroes might be hurt, but rarely does anyone go as brutally as the vampiric Wonder Woman. She easily manhandles Batman and leaves him seriously wounded — forcing him to destroy his home in an attempt to potentially even break his moral code and inadvertently kill the likes of Cyborg or Hawkgirl. Although this happens under darker circumstances and in an Elseworld-style reality where death has less overarching importance, the collapse of the Justice League showcases just how dangerous and deadly a DC civil war would likely turn. The power on hand and the capabilities of the heroes mean any internal conflict would quickly become far bloodier than it does in the Marvel Universe — making it crucial that the DC heroes retain their friendships and restraints.
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