The The of the Justice League aren't strangers to the concept of alien invasions. But these weren’t the typical alien threats the League was used to facing.
After all, despite going up against their fair share of otherworldly opponents, angels and spirits aren’t the Justice League’s usual foes. But in the early days of Grant Morrison and Howard Porter’s seminal JLA run, the team had to be ready for anything. And when a rogue angel led a heavenly armada against the Earth itself, the Justice League didn’t hesitate to clip his wings.
When the malevolent Asmodel invades the Earth in search of fellow angel and future Justice Leaguer Zauriel in issues #6 and #7 of JLA, he brings the forces of Heaven with him. As Martian Manhunter occupies the villain, despite his flaming gaze, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, and the others hold off the angelic forces to prevent them from destroying all of San Francisco. Meanwhile, Superman uses his newfound electromagnetic abilities to literally pull the Moon back into place after it’s disrupted by the demon Neron. The Man of Steel then heads to San Francisco and wrestles Asmodel - one of Heaven’s strongest warriors - to a standstill. The League eventually manages to send the invaders back to their realm, but not before pulling off some pretty incredible feats.
Both within continuity and in various adaptations, the JLA is frequently portrayed as a pantheon of modern gods, and this battle essentially proves that claim. Aside from Superman pulling the Moon and wrestling an incredibly powerful angel, Wonder Woman almost single-handedly dismantles Asmodel’s giant chariot before then-rookie Green Lantern Kyle Rayner and the Flash combine their powers to drive the angels away. No other team would have survived such an onslaught, and even Kyle himself is blown away and remarks “Man, doesn’t it ever hit you how awesome all this is?”
In beating back the forces of Heaven, the JLA cemented their stake as the world’s primary protectors of the Earth. In so doing, they metaphorically ascended to the role of the higher power - a notion that both Grant Morrison would revisit years later in their DC work, as would Zack Snyder in the films of the DCEU. Whether the team knew it or not at the time, they were fighting for the title of Earth’s chosen pantheon, and they won it without question.
Asmodel’s invasion may not be the most well-known threat that the Justice League has ever faced, but it’s certainly one of the most important. Though every member of the team is all too human, regardless of their planet of origin, this cemented their status as modern-day gods of DC Comics. Ultimately, this conflict made one thing abundantly clear: should anyone stand in the way of the Justice League’s mission, not even Heaven will be able to help them.
