Justice League Unlimited Vol. 1: Into the Inferno

Justice League Unlimited

by Mark Waid, Jeph Loeb, Dan Mora (illustrator)

The League is back and bigger than ever, as writer Mark Waid and artist Dan Mora helm the flagship series of DC's bestselling, new-reader-friendly All In initiative!

In recent years, the Justice League had disbanded--but now, following the events of the DC blockbuster event Absolute Power, the World's Greatest Super Heroes are a team once again--and opening the doors of their Watchtower headquarters to heroes from across the DC Universe!

Following the death of the ultra-powerful super-villain Darkseid, a massive power vacuum has been triggered, and Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman must unite like never before and expand the Justice League to encompass every hero championing the forces of good in the face of incredible evil! DC fans will thrill at watching never-before-seen configurations of heroes--from the iconic to the obscure--taking on the biggest threats in the universe!

As our heroes work to uncover the mystery of the dark lord's successor, Ray Palmer's Atom Project triggers a race between hero and villain to control the fate of metahuman abilities on planet Earth that threatens to destroy everything the League has built--unless a traitor in their midst destroys them first!

Do not miss the dawn of the new era of justice in the first Justice League story in years!

This volume collects Justice League Unlimited #1-6.

Genres: Comics, Dc Comics, Graphic Novels, Superheroes, Graphic Novels Comics, Batman, Comic Book

160 pages, Hardcover

First published August 5, 2025

About the author

Mark Waid (born March 21, 1962 in Hueytown, Alabama) is an American comic book writer. He is best known for his eight-year run as writer of the DC Comics' title The Flash, as well as his scripting of the limited series Kingdom Come and Superman: Birthright, and his work on Marvel Comics' Captain America.

Reviews

[Molly™☺ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Waid and Mora collaborate again to bring us a fast paced Justice League revival that feels extremely grand scale with its huge ensemble cast and world ending threats. There's too much going on to really focus on the characters and their dynamics. However, for those who enjoy a simple big bad vs. fan favourite faces, this does the job. Overall, it looks great and provides some decent entertainment for a 'set-up' volume.

[Oscar · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Justice League got a lot bigger! Really good start to this series.

[Rory Wilding · Rating 3 out of 5]

When it was first announced DC Comics was bringing back their flagship superhero team with Justice League Unlimited, I was immediately reminded of the awesome Bruce Timm-produced animated series of the same name during the mid-2000s. After two seasons of the Justice League cartoon, which solely focused on a team of seven, Unlimited would shift the format by expanding the team with a wide array of superheroes from the DC Universe, which allowed for many kinds of adventures that could focus on one singular hero or a particular group.

Based on this comic that continues the collaboration of the World’s Finest team Mark Waid and Dan Mora, Justice League Unlimited doesn’t quite capture the magic of that cartoon, despite the attempt. Following the events of Absolute Power and the DC All In Special, the holy trinity of Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman must unite like never before and expand the Justice League to encompass every hero that will reside at their new Watchtower headquarters. With the new League being split off into various groups to resolve any conflict or disaster from around the world, the heroes must come together to fight a new organisation known as Inferno.

Over the course of five issues, Waid is juggling so many characters that it ends up being the main problem of this series. As much as I can appreciate Waid for including the most obscure characters like Doctor Occult teaming up with popular ones like Martian Manhunter, the series or at least this storyline could have benefited more by just focusing on a handful of heroes so that we can get a team dynamic. There is even a whole subplot about the two Atoms Ray Palmer and Ryan Choi crafting the world’s first superpower reallocation and backup system as a way of everyone getting their powers back after the events of Absolute Power, though it want to see more of this, go read Justice League: The Atom Project.

Waid’s strength as a writer here is when he focuses on the little moments, such as the introduction of Harold Levey/Air Wave who serves as a gateway character as he is inducted into the League and given a tour around the Watchtower by the Flash. Considering that Martian Manhunter has always felt like an outsider, even among his Super Friends, Waid takes the character in an interesting direction where he is not quite as powerful as he was before. While you do get the heavy hitters like Superman and Batman, more focus on the obscure players would have given this book a more unique perspective.

With the huge number of characters sprinkled throughout, it feels like an excuse for Dan Mora to go unhinged with his art. Considering his busy schedule where he draws more than one issue monthly, it is shocking that Mora brings so much detail to his work where almost every page displays a particular superpower, while his panel layouts serve as crazy transition points for when we are in a new setting, whether it is space or another dimension.

While there is enough to like from the few intimate moments to the eye-popping art, Justice League Unlimited is prioritising the spectacle as well as the major story beats that is not only setting up subsequent issues, but what is happening in the wider DC universe as part of the DC All In initiative.

[Khurram · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great start to the Justice League Unlimited series. This book contains the first five issues of the series.

Love the artwork, on that note I love where the interior artwork is as good or better than the cover artwork. In the story, I especially liked how they managed to give so many characters a chance to shine considering the size of the cast.

The Justice League is back. Bigger and better than ever right? Unfortunately, they have some problems heroes who have had their powers swapped or lost. Also with everyone being a member, it opens the door for infiltration.

For me, there are any number of ways individual series can be launched. They are already looking at the first crossover. I was worried the characters might get lost in the shuffle however I think they managed to give the character the spotlight perfectly. The book finishes with a huge variant cover gallery.

[James DeSantis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Justice League Unlimited marks the return of the Justice League after a two-year hiatus, and it's quite fun! But it definitely could be more.

Essentially, nearly every single person in the DC Universe is now working under the "Justice League" to solve problems, which makes the Watchtower a very, very busy place. This also helps give a lot of smaller characters time to shine, or even medium-sized ones like Swamp Thing. There's excellent art and fun interactions, but the all-too-typical return of the "Legion of Doom" made me groan so loud. Give us something fresh and new for the League already!

A 3 out of 5.

[Oscar · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good start to this series! 3.4 🌟

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.3 stars

I really enjoyed this. Old-fashioned superheroics with the added twist of the JL’s new ‘Unlimited’ setup, which was great. Waid, Mora and co. really delivered with this one.

[Frédéric · Rating 3 out of 5]

I know nothing about DC superhero teams, so I'm approaching this title with a completely open mind, simply because DC is riding high in terms of quality and innovation at the moment.

What can I say? It seems pretty classic to me—big threat, Machiavellian plot, team spirit, all that stuff—but it has the merit of being well constructed and very well illustrated by Dan Mora (with colours by Tamra Bonvillain).
Waid's talent is well established: a quick and well-organised introduction, quick reminders of the other series in the new line, good pacing. The great architect is holding the fort.

Probably not the best series of the year, but an enjoyable read.

[Gavin Thomson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mr. Terrific pog

[Arianna · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is remarkable in that it manages to juggle an enormous cast of characters without ever creating confusion as to what's actually happening and who is involved.

Unfortunately, there is not much more to it. The character work involves maybe two people (Air Wave and the Martian Manhunter), with everyone else just punching and fighting and shouting orders at each other. The stakes are extremely high at points but everything is resolved quite quickly.

The trope of a new and mysterious evil force that is way too powerful compared to what heroes are used to deal with is not very interesting. The reveal of what this force actually is brings the story back to familiar territory and opens a lot of questions.

I noted before that a Justice League with this reach could turn dystopian really quickly, or at least dismantle the very reasons why it needs to exist (barring extraterrestrial threats) too fast. The book quickly proved me wrong on this point by showing that heroes will continue to be as incompetent as the story requires of them, even if they have Earth under constant surveillance.

It seems unlikely that a story with this scope, with so many smaller stories spinning out from it and such a gigantic number of characters, could be pulled off for a long time. I will be able to tell as I continue reading.

One of my most unpopular comic book opinions is that Dan Mora's art is soulless and unappealing, so I don't have that going on for me as a reason to appreciate this comic book, although Bonvillain's coloring is nice to look at.

[Anna Quilter · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun start to the revamp for JL after ABSOLUTE POWER.
the interesting part will be to see if they do continue to use a wide range of heroes...and not just relying on the big three.

[Odo · Rating 3 out of 5]

7- out of 10

[Emmett Spain · Rating 3 out of 5]

A brisk bunch of fight scenes, overloaded with characters and calamity. Some fun concepts, though. I’ll hang around for more. 3.5 stars.

[AChristianNerd · Rating 5 out of 5]

5.0
This comic is absolutely incredible!! I haven't read any previous ones for this series, but by itself, it tells you everything you need to know.
Seeing the whole League together again is so emotional. The writers knew what they were doing, giving them all times to shine in personality and power. The incidents leading up to this series are still affecting everyone, which is such awesome worldbuilding.
This felt like visiting old friends. Seeing their care and love for each other, an even more well organized teamwork, and seeing so many generations of heroes work together. And some redeemed villains?? I would've never guessed!!
So well written, such a perfect art style. These writers and artists really understand the DCU and what the fans love about its characters. Loved seeing some less frequent league members get some well-deserved time front and center.

Ps. I grew up with the 2000s Justice league and Justice League Unlimited timmverse series, and this is the closest I've found to that level of care for eachother as a family and team in the comics

[Ángel Javier · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ya, llegados a este punto, me da igual lo que hagan: Mark Waid y Dan Mora son el mejor equipo creativo de cómics de súpers en la actualidad. La idea está guay, también: todo súper medio qué y que le apetezca, puede pertenecer a la Liga de la Justicia, y ya está. Cada uno tiene su rol; Question investiga; los Beetles son expertos en tecnología; los magos hacen cosas de magos; los Desafiadores de lo Desconocido exploran; los seis grandes son los seis grandes... y así sucesivamente. Todo muy chulo, muy luminoso, muy de la actual DC.

Y, seamos serios, ¿quién en su sano juicio puede preferir los Vengadores a la Liga?

[Kris · Rating 4 out of 5]

The concept of the right hero for each job reminds me of the Avengers a few years ago, I think when Hickman first started writing it. I like the opportunity it presents for seeing some of the less-common heroes in action, and for the unexpected team-ups it creates.

[Tim Goodings · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty fun, Dan Mora is the new look of DC Comics to me, so I'll gladly see as many superheroes as he wants to draw. One thing I realised is how breathless this story felt, with not many establishing panels, pacing feeling a little off kilter to me. You don't get much of a sense of how much time things are taking unless it's explicitly stated in a caption. Is it over days? Weeks?
The Airwave subplot ultimately seems to have come to nothing so far, but the Martian Manhunter one is the most interesting part of the story.
An underwhelming reveal as to the identities of Inferno, but this was diverting and entertaining enough otherwise.

[Chris · Rating 3 out of 5]

The colours on this book are making it difficult to read.

Undermining the writing and art with a murky palate and muddy panels. In addition to it just looking absolutely awful it’s impossible to see what is going on in some pages and difficult to understand which characters we are suppose to be looking at - not what you need on a team book.

The whole thing is such a distraction and manages to make Mora’s art look bad, which is impressive given the calibre of the artist - he’s doing 2 monthly books just now and his art on Superman looks great. Because he’s been given a competent colourist.

Someone at DC editorial must see this, this is basic stuff to get right.

Other than that the story so far lacks direction and focus, not Waid’s best work but I trust him to settle into a rhythm.

Pointless if they don’t sort out the problem with the colours.

[Dean · Rating 3 out of 5]

The art and colours are outstanding. They're the reason to buy this book.

The story is fine, I do enjoy the bigger cast so lots of characters get a moment. Mary Marcel and Diana were great in issue 2. DR occult had some time to shine. There still was a lot of Batman, that can be toned down.

The reveal of who are Inferno was very disappointing. Mr Terrific, or Red Tornado, one issue earlier call out it can't be these characters for specific reasons ; turns out it is those characters after all.

I understand they wabt to promote Question and Atoms' books, but felt a little unnatural to the way the dialogue forctgen is shoehorned in to refer to their own books. The cameos were fine. Maybe a few too many.

[Luke Thomas · Rating 3 out of 5]

I used to be a teacher and this is like handling a class of 35 students. You can’t possibly cover all you can how you’d like. A team book where the team is absolutely unlimited. It goes as you’d expect, change is constant, the POV is unstable and there’s no focus with such a wide field of vision. I like Waid’s writing and he’s been hitting it out of the park on other books this year. Just not this one.

[Malum · Rating 3 out of 5]

Justice League and Avenger books are all pretty much the same. Lots of heroes, world-ending threats, and usually an evil team that is the antithesis of the good team. It's an old formula, but one that's hard to make totally boring.

[Sarospice · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is all set-up for the next storyline which you'll want to read because hello Legion of Doom. we get some fun combos of heroes in the same panel but no one really works together and mostly no one uses their powers. waid, you're better than this.

[MannyLikesPie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Love the beginning, not so much when the legion shows up but it’s fun

[Sem · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fine overall but nothing more, and perhaps it's saved somewhat by the fact that I read the first two issues of "Hush 2" before this and that book is, uh, a real easy act to follow.

[Kamen Rider Ben · Rating 5 out of 5]

Genuinamente toda esta época de DC está llegando con todo me encanta esta serie y amo todo lo que está haciendo

[Alejandro · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Justice League gets bigger than ever!


I bought the single comic book issues, but I am choosing thiss TPB edition to be able to make a better overall review about the storyarch.


This TPB edition collects “Justice League Unlimited” (2025) #1-5.


Creative Team

Writer: Mark Waid

Illustrator: Dan Mora


WELCOME TO THE BIG LEAGUE

I choose to start buying this comic book title basically since it was drawn by Dan Mora, which is a Costarrican artist (I am from Costa Rica too, so I’m quite proud that he’s one of the current top artists in the comic book industry), but also that I am fan of the Justice League and from time to time I like to buy some title of the Justice League for a while.

Boy, I am truly glad that I decided to buy this one!

The story began great, having Superman deciding to expand the Justice League, now it’s a team of seven ore ven twelve members, but…

…MORE THAN FIFTY MEMBERS!!! AND HAVING EVEN MORE STANDING BY IF NEEDED!!!

This reminded me the animated series of the same name, Justice League Unlimited where precisely, after being a team of seven members, they expanded to become an impressive group of more than fifty members where multiple teams were assigned to deal with different missions, threats and emergencies. Here is the same idea.

In this first volume, they are dealing with a mysterious group calling itself “Inferno” and they’re provoking several emergencies around the globe, but the Justice League suspects that this vilain group isn’t that mysterious but actually something familiar from the past.

The real gift that I became crazy about this first volume was that since it’s drawn by Dan Mora, and he’s an artist quite respected in the media, he’s able to collaborate with the writers and setting some missions in Costa Rica, and here wasn’t the exception and then you have an impressive team made of Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Martian Manhunter, Star Saphire, Blue Beetle, Doctor Occult, Black Lightning and Mary Marvel dealing with an emergency in Monteverde, Costa Rica! Oh, yeah!

I went nuts when I read that the Justice League and quite a poweful deployed team (with big names in the roster) was in Costa Rica, even better in a place that I've been there and I know that it looks like Dan Mora draw it (in other books like World's Finest he already had used place of Costa Rica for scenes like Superman stopping a volcanic eruption in Arenal). It was amusing that Superman decided not taking chances and select such heavy-hitters' team since Batman arrived early along with Blue Beetle, and he asked for back-up...

...and since Batman never asked for back-up, Superman opted to take a big team to deal with the emergency at Costa Rica.

After that, the Justice League is sending different teams to diverse threats provoked by this shadow group “Inferno”, meanwhile they’re investigating the real identity of the insidious group...

...but that's not all...

...since the Justice League is unaware that they have a traitor in the midst!

[Alex Sarll]

In the wake of yet another crossover mess*, many of Earth's heroes (though obviously not the most marketable ones) have had their powers lost or scrambled – and when I say 'lost', I mean that in the geographical sense: there's one scene with errant powers being tracked across the map as if they were an errant pizza delivery. Not that this is properly explained, obviously: a footnote tells us it's being hived off to its own side-series, even if it then keeps on intruding on the main action here. Anyway, to push back against this, the Justice League has now expanded to include all Earth's heroes, hence the Unlimited. When the cartoon did likewise, it entered its best phase, each episode zeroing in on a small and often surprising cross-section of characters, and producing a series of wonderful character pieces in various veins which also built to tell a larger story. When the comic does it, on the other hand, it's apparently an excuse to take the cluttered, everything plus Kitchen Sink Man storytelling of a bad summer crossover and apply it to an ongoing series, characters popping up for a page or two like the mere sight of them is meant to be exciting without any consideration of giving them a cool moment, or even much understanding of some of their powers and purposes: of all the Metal Men, how the hell is Gold a good choice to send into an inferno? That stuff is malleable at room temperature! And Constantine, who (a couple of Americanisms aside) was used so well in his recent crossover with Doctor Strange, is here back to flinging flashy hexes around like a cut-price version of him. Nothing has space to breathe, or land; the few attempts at character work feel entirely generic. The last time I read Waid on the League, nearly 30 years ago, he was filling in for and then following Grant Morrison's run; it wasn't on a par, but Morrison's run was the joint best the title has ever been, and Waid's didn't fall embarrassingly short. At the very least it read like an actual story, not the over-caffeinated trailer cut of this farrago. About the best I can say is that, while I'd obviously rather Waid and Mora were still doing the Shazam book instead of having been given the poison chalice of this promotion, at least when the Big Red Cheese briefly appears he is still being addressed as Captain.

*If you're fed up of my DC reviews including this note, I assure you: not half so fed up as I am of reading comics which necessitate it.

[Tue Le · Rating 4 out of 5]

I could tell that the Mark Waid and his colleagues expended considerable effort and creativity in writing this book, whose title is obviously a reference to that popular television program from the 2000s, Justice League Unlimited, part of the DC Animated Universe, created by Bruce Timm, Paul Dini, and others. There are a lot of interesting ideas, though I must admit that prefer science-fiction to be free from magic. This, in my humble opinion, is also a drawback of the otherwise excellent DCAU. In addition, like the animated series of the same name, there is a recurring danger of having an overly complicated or unwieldy plot, simply because there are a lot of characters. In that show, each episode typically focuses on just a handful of characters, therefore achieving both high-quality story-telling and cinematic elegance.

Being highly familiar with the characters is not essential for enjoying this comic book, though it certainly helps to have read the prequel, Absolute Power by Mark Waid. I have not read that one; I just picked this one up after seeing on the shelf for new arrivals at my local public library. But even for an old-timer like me, there are a number of surprises. The Question is now a woman? What happened to Vic Sage? What about the Huntress (Helena Rosa Bertinelli)? Star Sapphire is now a hero and member of the League? Mary Shazam has joined, too? Who is this new Atom whose civilian identity is Ryan Choi? I am not familiar with this new character called Black Lightning. I like the new uniform for Supergirl. Having her fly around a skirt (which I assume to be actually a skort, that is, a skirt with a built-in pair of short shorts), does not seem convenient. It's better for her to have short shorts or pants. By the way, in real life, iridium, despite being a precious metal in the platinum group, is not a rare-earth element or a critical mineral essential for electronics. For the sake of realism, they should change it to, say, cobalt or nickel.

[Ilan Preskovsky · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm surprised it took this long for DC to directly take inspiration from their massively acclaimed Justice League Unlimited cartoon and apply it directly to what is really supposed to be their flagship book, but for years has been anything but. It certainly makes sense that now that they finally have, it's at the behest and penmanship of Mr DC himself, Mark Waid, who reunites with his Batman/ Superman: World's Finest artiste extraordinaire, Dan Mora, and colourist extraordinaire, Tamra Bonvillain.

And, indeed, this is a book of big action and iconic characters, beautifully rendered by Mora, though in a somewhat sketchier and more hyper-kinetic style than we're used to. It has a solid plot and smartly written superheroics, and Waid has such a good handle on these characters that he can distill the personality of each even within a single panel.

The problem, though, is that it often is only for a single panel. While I appreciate the epic scale, the result is a book where you spend almost no time getting to know the characters and see them interact outside of the big action scenes. This is especially noticeable when at the same time, I'm finishing off my sixth reread of the Giffen/ Dematteis Justice League, which is so great precisely because it spends so much time on the characters.

This is overpacked to a fault and though that makes sense for what the book is trying to be, I would have preferred an approach more in keeping with the animated series of having each episode (or in this case, issue or two) focus on different groups of characters on their respective adventures, while keeping a throughline running between them. Something, in fact, like Waid's own Brave and the Bold series from years back, albeit with more characters teaming up at once.

Still, for all its flaws, Waid is a pro so the book does succeed at what it's trying to be, and the art is terrific. It's just not entirely what I wanted it to be.

3.5 rounded up to a 4.

[Subham · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a fun read, I won't say its the best but the team has been missing for a while in the main continuity so I like that they have finally returned and after the events of Absolute power you see they have added everyone on the roster and its wild and you see them go on different missions and selecting people that do the best job!

Its fun seeing that but then again it doesn't really have that big hooked moment that will make you excited about the larger story being told in the series like you have the mystery of he villainous group INFERNO and that had real potential but when they revealed who it is.. its generic and I am like "okay same story again".

But I really like how they plan their attack like going after Iridium and hitting the financial sector or destroying the green which will create a food shortage and obviously have climate change effects and those 2 issues featuring the fate of the green and well having Swamp thing and Tefe was like some of the best ones here and the art was freaking spectacular!

The rest of the issues were fine and some character focus was there like on Air wave but man he quickly turns on the team maybe it should have been done after 5 more issues but oh well lets see how the crossover goes.. I was expecting big things from this book and aside from Mora's art there isn't that exciting story that will keep you hooked in the long run. Its waid so I will check it out definitely!

But its a fun quick read seeing the entire team together with the best DC artist atm in Mora drawing it and maybe it will become super good in the future issues lets see but definitely read it! You will have a good time reading it for sure.