WARNING! SPOILERS BELOW! DIVE! DIVE! DIVE!


Title: Scorched Earth
Release Date: January 1999
Writer: Grant Morrison
Penciller: Howard Porter
Inker: John Dell
JLA Members: Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, the Flash, Green Lantern, Aquaman, Plastic Man, Zauriel, Steel, Barda, and Huntress.
Bad Guys: General Wade Eiling and the Ultramarine Corps (Warmaker One, 4-D, Flow, and Pulse 8).

So what happens?
In Phoenix, the JLA is ambushed by the US military and the Ultramarines. With an electromagnetic shield preventing the Justice League from retreating, they are getting clobbered. Green Lantern has been hit with a sonic weapon that has temporarily disabled his inner ear functions (and left him puking his guts out), and the Flash has been injured by shrapnel. Pulse 8 takes down Steel and Barda, Warmaker One is hitting Superman with numerous mini-missiles, and 4-D gives Wonder Woman a concussion after punching her through a number of skyscrapers.

Flash and Aquaman are about to be crushed beneath the falling buildings--Flash lends Aquaman enough Speed Force energy to give him superspeed, and he races them both to safety. But Flash is ambushed by Flow, who tries to drown him within his watery form. Luckily, Aquaman is able to get Flash free, and Flash is able to super-accelerate Flow's molecules into harmless steam.

Meanwhile, Batman, Huntress, and Plastic Man have sneaked into Area 52 in Nevada where they discover (1) General Eiling has committed suicide, (2) the Ultramarines are dying because their powers are overloading their nervous systems, and (3) Eiling has transferred his consciousness into the unstoppable (and completely shaven) body of the Shaggy Man...

Cool Moments!
Wonder Woman getting socked through and demolishing at least three buildings; Flash giving Aquaman superspeed; Plastic Man scaring the hell out of the Huntress by disguising himself as a scaly Alien; the first glimpse we get of the New and Improved General Eiling.

Cool Quotes!
Plastic Man, disguised as a red-uniformed general, bellowing at a guard: "We're testing a new top secret X-Files black ops microwave mind control weapon, soldier! Got that? For at least a half hour, it'll make you see everybody's uniform in bright primary colors! And so help me God, if you ain't seeing my uniform in bright primary colors, you are a sissy middle eastern communist traitor with no future in this man's army, soldier! So what do you see when you look at me, girlie-boy?"
Guard: "Sir, bright primary colors, sir!"

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