JLA/Witchblade

JLA/Witchblade
Writer:	Len Kaminski
Penciller:	Mark Pajarillo
Inker:	Walden Wong
Colorist:	John Kalisz Heroic Age
Letterer:	John Costanza
Editor:	Tony Bedard
Cover:	Mark Pajarillo Walden Wong Peter Steigerwald
Published:	December, 2000

JLA/Witchblade is a one-shot comic crossover between Top Cow and DC Comics.

Synopsis

Current Witchblade wielder Sara Pezzini comes to Gotham to visit her old friend Barbara Gordon, but a strange turn of events has the most powerful eldritch weapon in existence jumping from Sara to take control of Barbara, who just happens to be the JLA's Oracle! Now the Justice League has the difficult task of fighting one of its own! But with members like Wonder Woman and the Huntress among the JLA, and the Witchblade being drawn to female hosts, the League might be serving up exactly what the Witchblade needs for its own wicked ends!

Characters

Featured Characters

• Sara Pezzini
• Justice League of America
  • Oracle
  • Wonder Woman
  • Superman
  • Martian Manhunter
  • Batman
  • Aquaman
  • Huntress
  • Plastic Man
  • Green Lantern
  • Flash
  • Steel

Villains

• Lex Luthor
• Kenneth Irons
• Witchblade

Locations

• Earth-7642
  • Earth
    • Justice League Watchtower
    • Atlantis
    • United States of America
      • New York
        • New York City
          • United Nations Building
      • Metropolis
        • LexCorp Tower
        • Project Cadmus
      • Gotham City

Plot Summary

Kenneth Irons travels to Metropolis in order to meet with Lex Luthor. Irons wants to get the Witchblade, and he's hiring Luthor to do so. Several days later, in Gotham, Witchblade stumbles down the street. She's brutally beaten, and dying. She busts in on Barbara Gordon, her old friend, and asks for help. After seeing her, Barbara immediately sends her to Justice League Watchtower. On the Watchtower, Martian Manhunter examines Sara and determines that before he can heal her physical pain, he must heal her mental pain. Manhunter then proceeds to probe her mind, and sees a scene in which Luthor's robots blow the heck out of Witchblade, sending her into the situation she was just so recently in.

Elsewhere, Irons is furious at Luthor for not yet bringing him the Witchblade. Luthor calms him down, saying that after the first attack, he now knows more about the artifact. He also reveals that Sara has been transported to JLA Watchtower. Luthor asks Irons if he didn't miss any information about Sara's affiliates in JLA. Irons answers that he had no such information and is concerned about taking on the entire JLA. Luthor calms him down again, saying that it has been done before.

Back at Gotham, Barbara finds a fragment of Witchblade and inspects it. She also informs Batman about her finding, although he's not happy that she transported Sara to Watchtower without a security clearance and without even knowing her identity. Barbara explains that she's her friend and she will respect Sara's right to make her own decisions about disclosure.

Meanwhile at the Watchtower, a protective cacoon forms around Sara, slowly healing her wounds. Manhunter, Batman and Aquaman are confused as to what Witchblade is. Martian Manhunter theorises that it's some short techno-organic symbiote. Aquaman decides to go to Atlantis library as the Witchblade looks somehow familiar to him. Then Oracle's communication system glitches. Batman is very alarmed, because he designed the systems, and his systems don't glitch.

Together with Plastic Man and Huntress, Batman decides to go and check on Barbara. When they show up at Oracle's, and they find her turned into a giant Witchblade spider. The Witchblade is moving from host to host, seeking the most powerful woman in the direct vicinity. They fight the spider, finally defeating Oracle by cutting her off from the internet, which the Witchblade travelled through. The Witchblade then jumps onto the Huntress and possesses her, but before she can anything, Batman knocks her out with a batarang.

Later, Batman checks on Barbara as she drinks a calming, herbal tea. Batman then forces her to reveal Sara's identity. Back at the Watchtower, the JLA inspects Huntress, concluding that she has bonded with a fragment from Sara's Witchblade. Once the symbiote spreads to the brain, it searches for any weak point in the personality psycho-matrix it can exploit. Much to everyone's shock, the fragment then joins back with the Witchblade.

At the Atlantis library, Aquaman discovers what he was looking for earlier about the Witchblade, and rushes off to tell the League. He reveals that more than ten thousands years ago, there existed a sorceress with a powerful gauntlet just like Sara's. They called it "corruptor, possessor, slayer and seducer."

Meanwhile, Wonder Woman, while examining the Witchblade, becomes the unknowing host. Wonder Woman is not immediately overcome, as her pure spirit saves her. As the Witchblade "disappeared", the JLA searches for it. Sara wakes up for a few seconds, surprised to see the Witchblade gone. Martian Manhunter senses a turmoil in Wonder Woman, but she calms him down, saying that she is perfectly fine.

Elsewhere, Luthor reveals to Irons that when the Witchblade will be in the company of JLA, it will go to Wonder Woman. Irons then asks if he means that it will be easier to take the artifact from Wonder Woman than from Sara, to which Luthor agrees. He explains that Wonder Woman will be inexperienced and overconfident with the Witchblade. Then, all they need to strike at right moment.

Back at the Watchtower, Martian Manhunter continues to monitor Sara's condition as Plastic Man watches other JLA members if they found something. Superman and Steel stops an asteroid that suddenly veered off-course toward Earth. Batman and Huntress visit a museum exhibition of art by inmates of Arkham Asylum, that goes wrong. Aquaman and Green Lantern help a sabotaged nuclear submarine. And Flash investigates bomb threats in 25 cities around the world.

Meanwhile, Wonder Woman gives a speech on women in the 21st century, then is overcome by the Witchblade and declares that women around the world should rise up and throw off the yoke of patriarchal tyranny. She then beats up UN senators who doesn't listen to her. She then senses the same machines sent by Luthor who attacked the Witchblade before and goes after them.

Back at the Watchtower, Sara finally wakes up and is happy to be free of the Witchblade. Plastic Man then informs them about Wonder Woman being possessed by the Witchblade. As much as she like to stay free of the artifact, Sara can't do it at someone's else expense and decides to have a talk with the JLA. Sara concludes that the Wichblade looks for a perfect host - an absolute innocent it can corrupt absolutely. Martian Manhunter having seen into Sara's psyche, adds that she's most worthy of the responsibility for the Witchblade. Then Steel informs everyone, that his sensors have tracked down Wonder Woman.

The JLA confronts Wonder Woman, who easily defeats Superman. The Flash then quickly takes him to project Cadmus were he can be taken care of. The JLA try to restrain Wonder Woman, but she manages to overpower all of them. Then Green Lantern faces her, but is quickly defeated too. Sara arrives, and she commands the Witchblade back to her body. It comes, reluctantly.

Later that day, Luthor is furious with Irons as to clean up this mess cost him a lot. Irons claims that it was Luthor's own fault. Both men are furious with each other and after sending threats to each other, they cut all ties.

Meanwhile at Gotham City, Barbara and Sara share a drink and remember their childhood. Barbara says that Green Lantern is still cheesed about the fact, that the Witchblade held as the strongest weapon in the universe. Sara answers that he should get over himself and the two laugh.

Trivia

• Green Lantern and Plastic Man reference, Aliens (1986) and The Thing (1982) respectively.