When we last saw the Batman Who Laughs in the Metal series, we saw a fantastic fight sequence wherein the Batman and the Joker ally together to break the insane Batman. It was a brutal and unexpected scene; it was a scene that, honestly, got me excited to read comic books again. As Batman left the broken Batman Who Laughs to return to the massive battle above on Earth, we last see the Joker possibly killing the Batman Who Laughs in one final panel. Not to be, however!
The Batman Who Laughs is possibly the greatest villain in DC comics at the moment. He has the mind of the greatest hero in the Promethean Universe; he is the Batman with all moral and human boundaries stripped from his existence. It is the scariest creation in the DC Universe, and this character nearly sunk the Earth out of existence when declaring war on the multiverse. If you haven't read the series, I would highly recommend it.
In Tynion IV and company's Justice League 8, we see the return of the Batman Who Laughs. In what is fast becoming an epic tale of how and why the Promethean Universe began, the Justice League is focusing on the all important, Jack Kirby creation: the Source Wall.
As a quick reminder, per the Metal storyline, the Source Wall was ripped open when the Justice League saved the Universe by igniting the collective unconscious. With this ignition, or generation of power from the League, the Earth was saved by unifying human consciousness. This ignition also tore open the Source Wall, or the "thing: that exists at the edge of the known Universe. Unknown energy that has existed before Creation is spilling out into the Promethean Universe and possible working to negate the material world. The Justice League may have saved Creation, but it did so with a catastrophic price.
Thus far, we've learned that:
- The Totality is the oldest energy source in existence, and existed behind the Source Wall
- Hawkgirl was able to secure the totality in a cube/spherical form
- The Totality is the tool of the Creator (whatever that might be) and shaped reality
- The Legion of Doom believes the original purpose of Creation is designed to be predatory and dark in nature
- The Flash has seen images of the Creator's original blueprint, and humanity's true purpose
There are seven unknown, dark forces that the DC Universe is attempting to decipher. We've seen Sinestro become an agent of the Ultraviolet/Emotional Spectrum. We've also seen the Still Force; the counter energy to the well known Speed Force. Other forces are yet to be revealed, but we finally learn who originally wielded such energies. That entity? Perpetua.
We discovered through a conversation between The Batman Who Laughs and Lex Luthor that her name is encoded in all corners of Creation. We have to buy the next issue to learn more, but again, it appears that Synder/Tynion IV are once again moving down the Gnostic path.
This one has a lot of stuff going on it. We have the Gnostic number 7; we have the tools of the Demiurge in the Totality. We have the original intent of human design as being something very dark, predatory, and disturbing. This is the possible role of the human soul in preventing the Divine Spark from returning to the Pleroma and collapsing the Demiurge's Creation upon itself. Perpetua? We may finally see the Sophia archetype make an appearance. The Batman Who Laughs is possibly the ultimate antihero; a disturbing creature, never meant to continue to exist, and that has rebelled against the will of the Demiurge and survived its plan. And the Legion of Doom vs the Justice League? The idea that the Justice League is the true villain of the story? Again, it's the possible ultimate conspiracy. We are entrapped in the prison of the physical world...the world of the Demiurge and the Archons. Those with true Gnosis are the villains in the story, for they alone can escape the Demiurge's demented and insane Creation.
It's one take anyway! If you too have read the current Justice League series, I'd love to hear from you and your thoughts on the series. I'm going to keep up with stories, as well as the Dark and Odyssey offshoots. I'm enjoying the writing, art, and mystical elements very much. Thanks, as always, for reading and for dropping a line.