In the new previews for Crime Syndicate #1, the origins of DC's evil Justice League's leader Ultraman are revealed. Now, Ultraman reigns Earth-3's Metropolis with a fierce touch, threatening death on those who speak out against him. Ruling the world instead of protecting it, Ultraman is just one of the many so-called protectors of Earth-3's cities. The citizens live in fear as their unelected hero plays out a Bizarro-like reality which shows what Superman would be like if he were evil.
As part of DC's upcoming line-wide relaunch Infinite Frontier, Crime Syndicate follows on from the multiverse-shattering events of Dark Nights: Death Metal. The multiverse is reborn and with it, new heroes and villains spawn. Earth-3 is not as it once was. This new, backwards Earth-3 reverses the roles of good and evil. The Crime Syndicate, created by Gardner Fox and Mike Sekowsky, first appeared in Justice League of America #29 in 1964. Throughout the years, there have been many different iterations of the evil Justice League. The previews tease the new series which will be available in comic book shops and digital platforms on March 2.
Teased in Future State: Suicide Squad #1, Earth 3's Crime Syndicate consists of Ultraman, Superwoman, Owlman, Emerald Knight, Johnny Quick, and Atomica. The series will tackle the origin of the team and its members, for the first time. In the new previews for issue one of the six-part series written by Andy Schmidt with art by Kieran McKeown, Ultraman introduces his origin story as the comic flashes back to the 1960s. After his introduction, we are brought forward to the present day where Ultraman rules Metropolis and Alexander Luthor is the hero. Check out the preview pages below:
The first preview sees Ultraman narrating nostalgically as if something great were about to happen. This sort of narration is usually associated with a hero flashing back to their first heroic act, but instead, the trope is flipped on its head. November 22, 1963, is known to us as the day that President John F. Kennedy was assassinated. It plays out very differently as the evil Superman takes his first steps into becoming Ultraman when he kills the President with his heat vision. A young Ultraman floats in the sky as his eyes rage with fiery anger. Kieran McKeown's artwork draws parallels to the recent James Gunn film Brightburn, which posed a similar question of "what happened if Superman turned evil?"
Flashing forward, Metropolis' citizens are introduced at a newspaper stand where the Daily Planet's latest issue has just arrived. Two men chatter about the new rumors of Central City's killer speedster, "the owl of Gotham," and more. Readers are teased about the Crime Syndicate to come, but at this point, none of them have met. As they read the provocative headline, Ultraman storms in, destroying a man's paper into fiery ashes. He then proceeds to pick up a truck and hurl it through the Daily Planet's windows. The sudden impact startles Ms. Grant and her colleagues, but she isn't phased by his threatening presence as "Metropolis is nothing because of you, Clark." The six-issue Crime Syndicate series featuring DC's evil Justice League from Earth-3 will begin on March 2.