And then he said, 'Sometimes even an ant can start an avalanche, Tony.' Like he knew what I was thinking. So I look up at the Moon and I know the one thing they'll never really understand is how much we hate them. And how happy we'll be to see them fall. 
- — Red Dart
JLA #34 is an issue of the series JLA (Volume 1) with a cover date of October, 1999.
Synopsis for "The Ant and the Avalanche"
As a riot sweeps Belle Reve prison, the whole JLA is requested. However, Steel and Huntress, who are in the Watchtower, have a problem: someone has entered the Watchtower and is somehow bypassing all the defenses. They must remain to defeat him.
In Belle Reve, Green Lantern (Kyle Rayner) has been attacked by a super-villain prison gang called "the Color Queens", whose powers are based around light and colors. While they are attacking him, a minor super-villain called the Red Dart steals Green Lantern's ring. He has a plan, though - he must take it to a man hiding on the Green Mile, and in ten minutes he will give it back.
Green Lantern is almost unconscious when he is rescued by Aquaman. The Color Queens dismiss him as "the fish guy", but he points out that their abilities mostly depend on being seen, and his eyes can function miles below the surface of the ocean. He smashes the lights and proceeds to beat them up. Rainbow Raider gets away, but is knocked unconscious by Zauriel. Something is happening in the basement, and Zauriel wants to know what.
As Oracle tries to co-ordinate, Batman (Bruce Wayne) is busy in Gotham City and Superman has to save a falling STAR Labs satellite. After saving the crew, he rushes off to deal with the prison riot.
Aquaman tries to get the powerless Green Lantern away from the fight, but he refuses to leave. Two villains try to ambush them, but one of them is Plastic Man in disguise, and he knocks out the other one. He notes, even during a riot, behavior like this is not natural. They decide to follow Zauriel's lead and look in the basement.
In the Asteroid Belt, the General has been left with nothing to do for several months. However, help arrives in the form of a mysterious cone-headed woman with her own spaceship and a voice like a radio. She offers him a ticket to Earth, in exchange for his help.
At the Watchtower, Steel and Huntress are in shock - their intruder has managed to defeat or circumvent all of their traps. Deciding to end this, Steel goes to confront the intruder... but it is Mister Miracle. His JLA identity card was not recognized by the systems, and he dodged the traps purely on instinct. He came to tell them that the evil of the Old Gods has been detected on Earth, and Orion has come to deal with it.
The riot, under the apparent control of Shadow Thief, has spilled into the main yard. However, the prisoners look up, and see the silhouette of the Batman, the one who put most of them in prison. No-one has the guts to shoot him. Superman arrives to calm them down, and 'Batman' steps out of the shadows—he is Plastic Man, using his powers to quell the riot. Superman takes the ring back from the Red Dart, who privately remarks that this is probably the coolest thing he will ever do—to know that he will be partly responsible for the death of Superman.
In the basement, Aquaman, Zauriel and Green Lantern have found Hector Hammond has been taken over by a giant eyeball. They cannot defeat it, but Orion and the New God canine Sturmer arrive to destroy it. Aquaman and Green Lantern move to see to Hector Hammond's well-being, but Zauriel recognized the eye - it is a representative of the force called "the old Dragon", the reason he was sent to Earth. Orion however, can go one better - the creature's name is Mageddon. It is a weapon of the Old Gods, and he was sent here to fortify the Earth against its advance.
As the riot is cleaned up, Oracle notes the it started when the warden personally killed one of the inmates. Batman tells her to keep investigating, and leaves. As he does, Oracle notes that two wars started in the last five minutes.
Red Dart is back in his cell, with nothing to show for his adventure but a picture of him wielding the Green Lantern's ring. He wonders what his employer wanted. His employer, meanwhile, is talking with a businessman in a room full of screens. The Justice League is busy with all the minor threats they've fomented, and Batman is distracted by the Gotham situation. With their 'collaborators' inbound, it looks like the perfect time for them to strike - for they are Lex Luthor and Prometheus, of the New Injustice Gang.
Appearing in "The Ant and the Avalanche"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
Villains:
- The New Injustice Gang
- Belle Reve inmates
- Charaxes
- Charybdis
- The Color Queens
- Deadshot
- Hector Hammond
- Icicle
- Killer Moth (Mentioned only)
- Shadow Thief
- The General
- Mageddon (Behind the scenes)
- Queen Bee
Locations:
- Earth's Moon
- New Earth
- The Asteroid Belt
Items:
Vehicles:
- Queen Bee's spaceship
Notes
- This issue shipped in October, 1999.
- The Flash is not present for this issue. This mystery will not be answered until JLA #40.
See Also