Warning! Spoilers ahead for Injustice: Year Zero #4
Tom Taylor's Injustice: Year Zero continues to delve deeper into the Injustice Universe and the events that transpired just before Superman broke and decided to rule the world as a fascist. In the fourth issue, the heroics of the Justice Society of America and their actions during WWII are told, though it's revealed that they carry with them a dark past, one that has been closely guarded and remained secret. Until now.
Unfortunately, The Joker learns what happened and the deadly artifact that was used to win the war back in 1945. Joker and Harley Quinn recently liberated the elderly and dying Andre Chavard from Gotham's Blackgate Penitentiary in the first issue of the new series. In exchange for breaking him out, Andre shares with the Clown Prince of Crime his past, specifically his time among the Boy Commandos during WWII, which put him in close proximity to the Justice Society.
Apparently, he learned and saw it all, including the knowledge that in 1942, Hawkman and Hawkgirl found the corpse of Apophis, the Egyptian God of Chaos. Around his neck was a mystic amulet whose power had the ability to corrupt its wearer and those near it. Sadly, their discovery lead to the death of Hawkman, and a Nazi officer named Strasser got his hands of the destructive talisman. With its power, he caused the deaths of thousands over the course of the war on Hitler's behalf, including corrupting allied forces to turn and kill one another.
This bring things to Taylor's Injustice: Year Zero #4, where Chavard shares that Strasser eventually got his hands on Johnny Thunder and his genie in 1945. The JSA were forced to fight him and it sadly led to Thunder's death. While they managed to defeat Strasser, the members of the JSA were incredibly angry, The Spectre most of all. Enraged, the Spirit of Vengeance took the amulet and flew straight to Berlin.
According to Chavard, Hitler did shoot himself as the history books say at the end of the war, but it wasn't Hitler's choice. The Spectre made it for him using the power of the amulet. Overcome with guilt, the Spectre gave the amulet to Alan Scott, the original Green Lantern, asking him to hide it were it could never be found again. Scott complies, taking the amulet and placing it at the bottom of one of the deepest part of the ocean, with only himself and Dr. Mid-Nite serving as the only two people to know its location...or so they thought. Young Andre was awake in the hospital room they were talking in and heard the whole thing, meaning that the Joker now know where the amulet is and is planning to take a dive to claim the amulet's power for himself.
Fans know that Joker getting his hands on the amulet won't be good at all. Those who have read the other Injustice books and played the games know that the amulet will serve a big part in his plan where he controls Superman, causing untold destruction as well as the deaths of Lois Land and their child. That entire event is what sets Superman on the path to taking over the world, and it all began in 1942.
Will Superman learn about their secret? How will he react? Fans will know more soon as Tom Taylor's Injustice: Year Zero continues in the coming months.