JLA: The Nail

JLA: The Nail is a three-issue comic book mini-series published in the United States by DC Comics. It is a self-contained story by Alan Davis which stands outside of the mainstream continuity of the DC Universe.

In this universe, Jonathan and Martha Kent's pickup truck has a tire puncture which is caused by a nail. This prevents them from discovering the spaceship outside of Smallville containing the baby Kal-El, and thus apparently there is no Superman.

The theme of the story is set by its first paragraph:

"For want of a nail the shoe was lost, for want of a shoe the horse was lost, for want of a horse the knight was lost, for want of a knight the battle was lost. So it was a kingdom was lost - all for want of a nail."

Plot
Twenty four years ago, in a parallel universe at Smallville, Kansa, Jonathan and Martha Kent had a flat tire on their truck resulting them miss the arrival of a Kryptonian spacecraft. This leads the couple unable to raise the infant Kal-El as their adoptive son and providing him guidance during his youth that would shape his heroic destiny as their counterparts had done. Regardless of Superman's absence, there is still a Justice League of America, consisting of Batman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, the Flash (Barry Allen), Hawkwoman, the Atom (Ray Palmer), Martian Manhunter and Green Lantern (Hal Jordan). However, there is disunity within its rank, causing the League unable to be completely functioning as a team.

A great degree of xenophobia for the "metahumans," fueled by anti-metahuman propaganda from Perry White, backed by Metropolis mayor Lex Luthor, who gained points for his actions in establishing a high-tech police force for Metropolis in its absence of a superpowered protector, and the bitter rantings of former hero Oliver Queen, now a paraplegic after sustaining injuries in a battle with Amazo (which also resulted in the death of Hawkman (Katar Hol). Queen claims that the JLA and all metahumans are aliens secretly conspiring against humanity, an attitude that is far from helped given that Flash, Wonder Woman and Atom are the only League members who can be 'confirmed' to be human, particularly with Green Lantern's allegiance to an interstellar power and the mystery of Batman's true nature.

One by one, various metahumans are mysteriously eliminated or captured: first, most of the supervillains, then superteams like the Doom Patrol and the Outsiders.

A super-powered Joker liberates the inmates of Arkham Asylum. Using alien gauntlets that generate energy blasts, the Joker traps Batman, then tortures and kills Robin and Batgirl, forcing a horrified Batman to watch as he tears them apart. Unfortunately for the Joker, Catwoman sets Batman free by attacking Joker while he is occupied with his torture of the Dark Knight, breaking his concentration. In a fit of grief-induced madness, Batman damages the Joker's gauntlets before he proceeds to kill his enemy on live television by snapping his neck on the roof of Arkham, and flees for the Batcave with Catwoman as Arkham explodes before collapsing in a trauma-induced catatonia. This murder not only further tarnishes the reputations of metahumans, but also robs Batman of his will to live, as he has sworn never to kill. Eventually Catwoman and Alfred Pennyworth are successful in restoring Batman's sense of purpose by shocking him back into action by having Selina dress in Robin's costume to provoke him

Gradually, the Justice League discovers a greater plot against them; the White House is destroyed by a bomb after Wonder Woman departs it- thus appearing as though she set the explosion-, Metamorpho is brainwashed and forced to kill Perry White and the Thinker, subsequently dying when he attempts to tell J'onn what happened to him, and Hal Jordan discovers a strange force field around Earth that prevents anything leaving the planet, the field having been growing stronger over the last several months (Adam Strange died when the Zeta Beam was blocked by the force field a couple of months prior to these events, but Hal Jordan was able to travel to Oa in that timeframe as the shield was still growing in strength. Tracking a possible mastermind behind these attacks, Flash saves Ra's al Ghul and the League of Assassins from an attack by Amazo and learns that some agency is eliminating supervillains, while Atom learns of the Thinker's death.

Violence escalates into riots and Lex Luthor establishes a totalitarian state. Mysterious platoons of masked robots endowed with flight and incredible strength known as the Liberators become the law. One by one, the members of the Justice League are captured by the Liberators until only Batman, the Flash, the Atom and a reformed Catwoman remain.

Lois Lane, an investigative reporter who has been covering both sides of the anti-metahuman campaign, suspects a cover-up. On a visit to the secret facility where metahumans are held prisoner, Lois meets Dr. Lana Lang. Lana secretly directs Lois to Smallville, where the Kents provide a haven for escaped metahumans. Lois decides to confront Lex Luthor about her discoveries, but is quickly captured by the true person responsible for the Liberators and the discrediting of the Justice League.

The scheme is revealed as the plan of an insane, genetically altered Jimmy Olsen. Following various short-lived attempts at heroism caused by temporary alteration of his DNA, Jimmy became Lex Luthor's aide after becoming disillusioned with classic superheroes. Having discovered Kal-El's empty spaceship and using DNA samples from it to create numerous Bizarro clones, Luthor grafted Kryptonian DNA onto Jimmy, the only such 'graft' that appeared successful, as other subjects either died instantly or mutated before death. While the process granted Jimmy superpowers, it also mentally transformed him into a Kryptonian, determined to replace human life with Kryptonian life. The plan of putting metahumans into prison was to extract their DNA to complete his enhancements, while simultaneously finding the means to convert Earthlings into a new Kryptonian society with him as ruler by using their DNA to create a stable template.

Batman, along with Batwoman (formerly Catwoman), the Atom, and the Flash, free the captive Justice League members — Batman and Batwoman armed with Joker's Kryptonian gauntlets destroy the Liberators. Having no experience dealing with Kryptonian powers, the League is overwhelmed by Olsen and are all swiftly defeated. The fight spills over to an Amish community. As Olsen is about to deliver a killing blow to Batman, who had been attacking him in a last effort with Lantern enhanced strength, he is stopped by a surprisingly strong hand belonging to one of the farmers. As the farmer tries to reason with Jimmy, Olsen promptly attempts to incinerate the man with heat vision.

However, this young man is immune to his heat vision; it is a fully grown Kal-El, who had been picked up as an infant by an Amish couple and taught to ignore worldly affairs in order to walk in righteousness. Olsen attempts to persuade Kal-El to join him, but he refuses, having finally concluded that he can no longer ignore what he has been detecting with his super-senses. Angry at being rejected, Jimmy murders Kal-El's adoptive parents with heat vision, in front of a horrified Kal. Spurred on by an injured Batman, his grief, and his morality, Kal fights Jimmy in an apocalyptic battle. Kal and Olsen appear to be at a draw, with Jimmy's greater experience being countered by Kal's superior natural power, until the stress of the fight causes Olsen's body to become unstable and disintegrate as his flawed graft finally fails.

With Olsen and the Liberators defeated, the Justice League — minus Batman, who resigns from the League even after a trial acquits him of the Joker's murder by ruling it an act of war — eventually regain the confidence of the public with the help of their newest member: Superman.

Another Nail
The story was followed up by a sequel in JLA: Another Nail which ties into the original story and wrapped up several loose ends such as the aftermath of the war between New Genesis, Apokolips and the Green Lantern Corps, as well as Oliver Queen's public betrayal of the Justice League.

Canonicity

 * As with several other Elseworlds titles, JLA: The Nail has been incorporated into the new Multiverse, although as yet, its world's formal alternate Earth numeric designation is unknown.

Collected editions
The three issues have been collected into a trade paperback published in 1999 by DC (ISBN 1563894807) and Titan Books (ISBN 1840230649)

Awards

 * 1999: Nominated for "Best Limited Series" Eisner Award