WARNING! SPOILERS GALORE! PUT YOUR PANTS BACK ON!
Title: Seven Soldiers of Probability
Release Date: June 1998
Writer: Mark WaidPenciller: Howard PorterInkers: John Dell and
Walden WongJLA Members: Superman,
Wonder Woman (
Hippolyta),
the Martian Manhunter,
the Flash,
Green Lantern,
Plastic Man, and
Oracle.
Guest Stars: The Atom.
Bad Guys: The
Probability Cancer.
So what happens?With the
disappearance of
Batman, the JLA has been pared down to exactly
seven members, including the
computer genius (and former
Batgirl) Oracle, who has discovered that Batman no longer exists because historical
probability has been altered to save his parents from being killed so many years ago. And
history and probability continue to change radically, changing America back to a
British colony and speeding up the Earth's
rotation.
The JLA goes out hunting for
Julian September, hoping he can help fix the situation, but they discover that, by an unfortunate
coincidence, he has just died of a
heart attack. When Oracle balks at decoding September's encrypted computer files, J'onn accuses her of gambling that history could change to keep her from being paralyzed, but she says she's trying to figure out a way to keep
Bruce Wayne's parents alive for good. Reluctantly, Oracle unlocks the files, but without any
scientific background, the current Leaguers don't understand September's notes. And then J'onn unexpectedly starts to disappear also--but before he goes, he tells the rest of the team that the Atom is about to arrive. In a
bizarre coincidence, the Atom, a trained
scientist, does indeed arrive on the scene soon afterwards, and he figures out what's going on...
Here's what happened--and this is the
cool bit, 'cause it's based on a real-world experiment AND real-world results: September, working on a
subatomic level, divided seven photons and found that any alterations he made in one half of a
photon was instantly mirrored in the other half, no matter how far apart they were, with no physical link between the two halves. The experiment suggested that there was an
interdependence between all things and all events, that everything is tied together somehow. September believed he could control synchronicity and coincidence by controlling the halved-but-linked photons, but he accidentally severed the links between the photons, creating a Probability Cancer that was poisoning the stability of
reality.
So the Atom shrinks the JLA down to a
microscopic size so they can all put the halved photons back together and repair the universe, but the Probability Cancer doesn't want to be cured, so it starts fighting back, changing Green Lantern into another person entirely and severely burning the Flash. But at the last possible second (is there any other kind of
rescue in the comics?), they get the last photon together, and reality reverts back to normal.
With all the Leaguers returned from
limbo, Oracle asks J'onn how he knew the Atom was about to appear. The answer, J'onn explains, is very simple: of all the superheroes who have ever served the JLA, the Atom was the
seventh to join.
And now you know...the rest of the story...
Cool Moments!The JLA forming a
human chain to connect the last two photon halves--very
cinematic...
Cool Quotes!Green Lantern, after being shrunk: "Wait. I'm confused. If we're smaller than
light particles now, how are we even seeing?"
Atom: "You're not...not in any human way. The
five senses become something else entirely at this level. Your mind's doing you a favor. It's processing all this into familiar visuals so you won't go insane. By the way, you're not breathing oxygen, either. It's best not to think about it."
Green Lantern: "No kidding."
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