Justifiers


The Justifiers are fictional foot soldiers in the DC Comics universe.

Publication history

The Justifiers first appeared in Forever People #3 and were created by Jack Kirby.

Fictional character biography

The Justifiers are warriors sometimes used as militaristic forces in the legions of Apokolips, powered by nothing supposedly but the Anti-Life Equation itself. They are brainwashed people who were given Apokoliptian armor and weaponry. The brainwashing is usually accomplished by Glorious Godfrey. In their first appearance, the Justifiers were used to help Darkseid track down the Forever People.
During the Final Crisis storyline, the Justifiers appear as foot soldiers of Boss Dark Side. Some were even seen with Libra when he formed the Secret Society of Super Villains. The Human Flame was also turned into one by having a Justifier helmet - which constantly repeats the Anti-Life Equation through a speaker inside it - forced on his head. When Lex Luthor attempted to overthrow Libra, the Justifiers surrounded him as Libra makes his final offer to Lex: swear an oath to Darkseid or be turned into a Justifier. Killer Croc, Black Lightning, someone that looks like Captain Cold, Donna Troy, Gorilla Grodd, Green Arrow, Ice, Man-Bat, Silver Swan, Starfire, and Typhoon are among the several high-ranked metahuman heroes and villains that have been turned into Justifiers. They are later said to be literally at the door of the compound hiding the President of the United States.
As it turns out, the updated Justifier helmets are a blend between Apokoliptian technology and the Mad Hatter's mind control devices. Hatter's technology proves to be Libra's undoing: after being forced to watch his daughter be exposed to the Equation, Doctor Sivana teams up with Lex Luthor and gives him control of the Justifiers by activating a device that transmits his voice as Darkseid's, stating Hatter's devices are archaic in comparison to his own technologies. Luthor then uses the Justifiers to attack the Female Furies. The heroes were freed from the Equation's thrall when Wonder Woman wrapped her lasso around Darkseid's corpse, disrupting the control. Those that were turned into Justifiers are now free.

Powers and abilities

The Justifiers have no powers of their own, but they use weapons that are powered by the Anti-Life Equation.