WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Justice League #59 by Brian Michael Bendis, David Marquez, Tamra Bonvillain & Josh Reed, on sale now
The Justice League is the first, last, and best line of defense in the DC Universe. With the world still picking itself up after the recent chaos of the last few years, the team will need to evolve to protect an ever-changing multiverse in the wake of Dark Nights: Death Metal. However, one step towards that goal might just end up bringing nothing but pain to the team.
In Justice League #59, Green Arrow argues for a larger, more inclusive Justice League that can broaden the team’s collective worldview. However, he may have also unknowingly put himself and the League on the path towards their Future State fate, which resulted in a member of the team turning on them.
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In the aftermath of Dark Nights: Death Metal, the Justice League has been reformed with a slightly different roster — in part to accommodate the currently absent Wonder Woman. For the moment, this includes bringing Green Arrow and Black Canary back onto the team roster. Upon arriving at the Hall of Justice, Green Arrow makes the case that the team should be doing more to help the world, which Superman agrees with. He argues that it’s important for the team to bring in new members as a means of opening up their worldview and inviting some disruption and dissent into how the team operates. Although Black Canary and Aquaman bring up how the tight circle of trust the Justice League has built with their specific roster is a strength, Superman admits that he’s been thinking the same way as Green Arrow.
It’s likely this suggestion will translate to Black Adam, Naomi and Hippolyta joining the Justice League, which the cover of the issue implies will end up occurring. However, it’s worth noting that despite his good intentions in arguing for more inclusion in the Justice League, there may be a serious threat at the heart of what Oliver Queen’s suggesting.
The Justice League of Joshua Williamson and Robson Rocha’s Future State: Justice League is a far more splintered group, with a hard rule against fraternizing with their teammates outside of their work as heroes. This is because, during this era of the Justice League, one of the team’s members ended up betraying the others. With their access to the secrets of their teammates, the ensuing battle was bad enough to cost a number of lives, potentially even those of some members of the team.
This led to the end of the Justice League as it stood, with the Hall of Justice ending up forgotten and abandoned. It’s enough of a tragedy that it still has an effect on the Justice League of the future, serving as a dire warning of what could happen if the team is too trusting. Future State teased that Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Martian Manhunter, and Green Arrow would be the five to directly confront the unconfirmed traitor. This possible timeline seems to hint that Black Canary and Aquaman were right to be wary of bringing in someone who wasn’t already trustworthy. Justice League #59 makes this inclusion of Green Arrow all the more heartbreaking, as it means it was his idea that eventually led to the end of the Justice League.
The idea of a larger and more inclusive Justice League is a good one, but Green Arrow could be leading the team down a dangerous path far too quickly. While there’s no guarantee that his plans on expanding the League will end in tragedy, Oliver could be setting up the team for failure as they stumble towards the dark possibilities of the Future State timeline.