The Rise of Starro

Title Card's Issue Homage

**The Rise of Starro** is the twenty-fifth episode in the first season of "The Justice League Show", introducing Mera respectively.

## Synopsis

Upon arriving at the S.T.A.R. Labs, where all of the JSA’s fractals are hidden, Lex Luthor sneaks in and steals the fractals back, leaving the S.T.A.R. Labs burning to the ground. In response to this distress call, the Justice League springs into action to stop Luthor from awakening Starro, but a chase ensues in the process. After shaking the Justice League off, the Legion of Doom finally succeeds on awakening Starro, much to Superman's surprise and outrage.

## Plot

While flying through the night sky on his chopper (en route to S.T.A.R. Labs), Lex Luthor laments to his lackeys, Sinestro and Black Manta, about how he had a lead on most of the Starro Fractals secure by the Justice League, only to be ambushed by Hawkman and Brainiac 5. This unintentional battle causes the attention of Mera, who intervenes in an effort to drive Luthor and his henchmen away before warning Hawkman and B5 that he is going after the fractals secured in S.T.A.R. Labs.

While Brainiac 5 spreads the word to the rest of the Justice League at the Hall of Justice, Hawkman returns to S.T.A.R. Labs to prevent Luthor and his gang from stealing the fractals, but it was too late; Sinestro stores the fractals into Luthor's bag and all three villains take off, but not before Black Manta throws a petrol bomb onto the floor, which starts to burn down S.T.A.R. Labs. Although Hawkman manages to escape the fire, the Lab soon explodes, causing him to lose flight control.

The Justice League manage to save Hawkman using an air-mattress, but Luthor, now with all the Fractals back in his possession, mocks them for their failure. Though Luthor realizes that his chopper won't make it back to Slaughter Swamp before the League catches up, but Black Manta assures his boss that arrangements have been made; specifically, Luthor and his lackeys commandeered a tour bus and force its driver to take them back to the Hall of Doom.

Batman summons his Batmobile to pursue the bus, prompting Luthor to alert his minions to prepare for a fight; Sinestro shoots the League with a turret, but when the turret was disabled, Luthor decides to accelerate. The driver protests that any more effort will cause the engine to explode, getting himself thrown out the door for his troubles as Luthor pushes the bus to its limit. Despite the speed boost, the League manage to leap onto the back of the bus, and start battling their way towards the front. Black Manta personally confronts Superman to stop him along the way, but the League manages to kick him off the bus, allowing him to leap inside to fight Luthor for the fractals.

Meanwhile, the overworked bus crashes into the Great Wall, and Luthor takes the Fractals over to the Hall of Doom, where he plans to awaken Starro; he puts the pieces back together correctly, and with the fractals in place, they begin to light up. The newly-arrived Superman is angered by what Luthor has done, claiming that he is unleashing forces he cannot control. Luthor retorts that Starro will punish the League for organizing against his invasion after he came to Earth, but Superman reveals that Starro will consume anything in sight when angered, especially the Legion of Doom.

Unconvinced, Luthor continues to observe the ritual, declaring that he now controls Starro because he awakened him. Soon, the fractals begin to merge and cracks begin to fade as Starro slowly comes to life, uttering the words, "I am back!".

### Script

A script must be written on this free page here.

## Trivia/References

* The scene where Luthor awakens Starro from his shattered state should be a reference from a scene from the 1981 action-adventure film, "Raiders of the Lost Ark", where main antagonist Dr. René Belloq performs a ceremonial opening of the Ark (invoking a standard Sabbath prayer).