Spoilers for Future State: Justice League #2 ahead!

In the backup story in Future State: Justice League #2, Doctor Fate of Justice League Dark offers himself in service of the wizard Merlin in order to save humanity. This is not the first time a character has attempted such a trick, most notably by the wizard Zatara during the first season of the animated show Young Justice, where he pledged his life to Nabu in order to spare his daughter from a similar fate. The comic, written by Ram V with art by Marcio Takara and colors by Marcelo Maiolo, is available in stores now and on all participating digital outlets.

Much like the literary and mythological versions of the character, the Merlin of the DC Universe is a sorcerer of great power, one who has declared war on other magic users in the near future, driving John Constantine, Doctor Fate and others underground and killing many more. The remaining members of the magic community have rallied around Zatanna, Ragman and Etrigan, who is now bonded with Detective Chimp.

Related: The Future Versions of DC's Doctor Fate Explained

As this new version of Justice League Dark engages Merlin and his hordes, readers learn that Jason Blood, Etrigan’s former host, has now allied himself with Merlin, and Blood prepares to kill Etrigan. Just as he is about to strike the death blow, Doctor Fate jumps between them, using a shield to stop Jason Blood’s sword. Doctor Fate then makes a bargain with Merlin: he will join Merlin and be his acolyte, in exchange for sparing Etrigan and humanity. Merlin accepts the offer, and he and Doctor Fate leave at the end, despite the protests of the other Justice League Dark members.

Fans of the animated series Young Justice might recognize this tactic. In the Season One episode “Misplaced,” the ancient sorcerer Nabu has used his magical helmet to take possession of Zatanna, intending to use her magic and his to conquer the world. Her father, Zatara, offers himself and his magic in exchange for his daughter, meaning a lifetime of servitude to Nabu. Zatanna protests, but Zatara goes through with the deal. The Justice League Dark story turns this on its ear by making Doctor Fate, who draws his power from Nabu, give his services to an even more powerful sorcerer—in this case Merlin.

The sacrifices of Doctor Fate and Zatara are great—both of them are now indentured to an evil sorcerer for the rest of their life; in the magic community, they could be in service to their masters even beyond their death. Beyond adding an emotional layer to the story, Doctor Fate’s sacrifice is a nice shout out to one of Young Justice’s most memorable episodes.

Next: DC's Young Justice Team is About to Get Bigger