Line #75 ComicBook/TheNail


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/jla_the_nail_textless.jpg]]
2	[[caption-width-right:350:A world without a Superman.]]
3	->''For want of a nail the shoe was lost\
4	For want of a shoe the horse was lost\
5	For want of a horse the knight was lost\
6	For want of a knight the battle was lost\
7	So it was a kingdom was lost\
8	All for want of a nail''
9
10	''JLA: The Nail'' is a Creator/DCComics story published under the ''Creator/{{Elseworlds}}'' imprint. The three-issue is a self-contained story by Creator/AlanDavis which [[{{Elseworld}} stands outside of the mainstream continuity of]] Franchise/TheDCU.
11
12	In this universe, Martha and Jonathan Kent's truck has a tire puncture caused by a nail. This prevents them from discovering the spaceship containing the baby Kal-El, and so, there's no ComicBook/{{Superman}}. There is, however, still a ComicBook/JusticeLeagueOfAmerica, consisting of ComicBook/{{Batman}}, ComicBook/WonderWoman, ComicBook/{{Aquaman}}, ComicBook/TheFlash (Barry Allen), [[ComicBook/{{Hawkman}} Hawkwoman]], ComicBook/TheAtom (Ray Palmer), ComicBook/MartianManhunter, and ComicBook/GreenLantern (Hal Jordan). There's also a great degree of xenophobia for the "metahumans", fueled by anti-metahuman propaganda from Perry White and backed by Metropolis mayor ComicBook/LexLuthor; slowly metahumans begin to disappear as other issues arise requiring the attention of the publicly disliked JLA.
13
14	The story was later followed up by a sequel in ''JLA: Another Nail'' which ties into the original story and wraps up several loose ends.
15
16	The same general plotline was used for ''ComicBook/{{Flashpoint\|DCComics}}'' as well. See also ''ComicBook/BulletPoints'' for this series' Franchise/MarvelUniverse counterpart.
17
18	Creator/DarkHorseComics also has an unrelated short series called ''The Nail'', about a wrestler nicknamed The Nail protecting his family from demons.
19	----
20	[[foldercontrol]]
21	[[folder:The Nail]]
22	!!This work contains examples of the following tropes:
23	* AdaptationalJobChange: Due to Commissioner Gordon's death, Harvey Bullock succeeded him as commissioner.
24	* AdaptationalNiceGuy: Sort of. Harvey Bullock usually doesn't get along with Batman, but here, he becomes a supporter and refuses to condemn Batman for supposedly killing the staff and inmates of Arkham. Still doesn't make him any less rude.
25	-->''"[[ClusterBleepBomb BLEEPBLEEP you BLEEEP vultures. I'm only interested in BLEEEEP facts.]]"''
26	* AdaptationalVillainy: A relatively minor example in the case of Perry White, who is just reporting the available facts due to metahumans lacking a clear positive 'role model' such as Superman, but taken to greater extremes in the form of [[spoiler:Jimmy Olsen -- no, '''really''' -- whose augmentation with Kryptonian DNA has driven him insane as he sets out to rebuild Krypton on Earth.]]
27	* AintTooProudToBeg: Being forced on his knees, Batman pleads for the Joker to spare Robin and Batgirl. But it did him (nor his partners) no good.
28	* AllWomenAreLustful: Invoked by Martha Kent. After the Kents' truck gets a flat tire (thus missing Kal-El), Martha says she doesn't mind, saying she's in the mood to stay home while acting flirtatious toward Jonathan.
29	-->'''Jonathan:''' ''(smirking)'' Martha Kent, you're shameless.
30	* AlternateContinuity: While the story acts as a WhatIf tale, this universe is very different compared with DC's main Earth. This Earth is depicted as a mish-mash between Earth-One and the Post-Crisis Universe, with the more notable elements from the latter being the JSA as the JLA's predecessors and the John Byrne version of Krypton. Noticeable Silver Age elements include:
31	** The Kents' car gets a flat tire because of a stray nail, they don't find Kal-El, Superman as we know him doesn't come into existence, and the world is much worse off without him.
32	** The Hawkman and Hawkgirl who joined the Justice League are Thanagarian couple Katar and Shayera Hol, instead of Carter and Shiera who were retconned in their place. Oddly enough, Carter and Shiera weren't shown in the old JSA photograph, and Katar (as Carter) is explicitly stated to have cofounded the Midway City Museum.
33	** Catwoman's psychiatric files contain photos of her in previous costumes, including one from the Golden Age.
34	** Jimmy Olsen gaining various superpowered alter-egos as a cub reporter, including Turtle Boy. He considers them embarrassing, [[spoiler:which contributes to his descent into villainy.]]
35	** In ''Another Nail'', it is stated that Shadow Thief got his suit from Xarapion. In Post-Crisis canon, it was given to him by Byth.
36	** ''Another Nail'' even reveals that this world exists in a Multiverse very similar to Pre-Crisis canon.
37	* AnyoneCanDie: It's an {{Elseworld}}, so there's no harm done to the Post-Crisis continuity.
38	* BadassNormal: Batman and Catwoman. The latter is especially noteworthy as she manages to take down a bunch of other Batman villains single-handed when the Joker pits them all against each-other.
39	* BadassPacifist: [[spoiler:The Kents, in this universe. They become the Team Parents for the metahumans, with the help of Dr. Lana Lang.]]
40	* BattleCouple: Batman and Catwoman again.
41	* BewareTheSuperman: Ironically, it's a result of there being ''no'' "Superman".
42	* BittersweetEnding: [[spoiler:Kal becomes Superman and manages to turn the world's view of metahumans around. But not without losing the parents who raised him and having to renounce his peaceful life afterwards.]]
43	** [[spoiler:Batman actually retiring from the JLA, despite being acquitted from having killed the Joker.]]
44	** For worse/better/whatever, it's not over: see ''Another Nail''.
45	* BodyHorror: Happens when [[spoiler:Jimmy Olsen]]'s body starts to reject its new Kryptonian DNA during his climactic fight with Superman.
46	* BrokenPedestal: Jimmy Olsen has this in spades concerning super-heroes. [[spoiler:Come TheReveal, we see just how bad it really is.]]
47	* TheCommissionerGordon: Harvey Bullock is the new commissioner of the Gotham City Police Department.
48	* ConspiracyTheorist: This world's version of [[spoiler:ComicBook/GreenArrow, on top of him being crippled and bitter after the incident that left him like that and killed Hawkman.]]
49	* DatingCatwoman: Aside from the Trope Namer, Green Lantern and Star Sapphire's relationship [[FoeRomanceSubtext has shades of this]].
50	* DeathGlare: Batman gives one to Robin when he's about to complain about being forced to stay outside the barrier surrounding Arkham.
51	* DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything: The whole metahuman witch hunt thing.
52	* DrivenToMadness: [[spoiler:Jimmy Olsen, courtesy of being exposed to Kryptonian DNA.]]
53	* {{Elseworld}}
54	* EliteMooks: Played straight with the Liberators initially, but ultimately subverted when they're revealed to be {{Glass Cannon}}s.
55	* EvilAllAlong: [[spoiler:Jimmy Olsen]]
56	* FacelessGoons: The Liberators, save one moment where Hal unmasks one and exposes them as [[spoiler:Bizarro-type clones of Kal-El.]]
57	* FantasticRacism: In a world with no Superman, the general populace is more distrustful of superheroes in general and aliens in particular.
58	* FatBastard: This version of Lex Luthor seems to have put on a few pounds.
59	* ForcedToWatch: The Joker uses his newly bestowed energy powers to capture Robin and Batgirl, and then make ComicBook/{{Batman}} watch while he [[spoiler:rips them apart.]]
60	* {{Foreshadowing}}: While Lois is driving to the Kent farm, an Amish carriage passes by. [[spoiler:We later discover that Kal-El was raised in an Amish village.]]
61	* GetAHoldOfYourselfMan: [[spoiler:Alfred and Selina have to team-up to give an effective one to Batman.]]
62	* GlassCannon: The Liberators/[[spoiler:Bizarros]]; they're powerful when they have superior numbers and surprise on their side, but take away those advantages and they fall fairly quickly once they sustain clear damage.
63	* AGodAmI: [[spoiler:Jimmy Olsen when beating the crap out of Batman specifically calls himself one and demands that Batman do the same.]]
64	* AGodIAmNot: Batman implies this is the case with [[spoiler:Kal-El. The man had every bit as much power as Olsen did, yet chose to live among the Amish. That unlike Jimmy who desperately sought power, Kal-El would give up all his in an instant if it would bring his parents back to life.]]
65	* GoryDiscretionShot: Poor, ''poor'' [[spoiler:Robin and Batgirl.]]
66	* HeelFaceTurn: Selina Kyle, upon her transition from Catwoman to Batwoman.
67	* HeroicBSOD: Batman has truly massive one after [[spoiler:the Joker kills Batgirl and Robin]] and even worse when he [[spoiler:utterly snaps and kills the Joker right then and there.]]
68	** [[spoiler:Amish!Kal-El has another when his parents are brutally murdered by Jimmy.]]
69	* HeroicBystander: [[spoiler:Kal-El's Amish parents raise him to ignore world affairs. However, no matter how much they beg him to, he just can't deny his calling any longer.]]
70	* AHouseDivided: The Justice League suffers from this a little bit since Superman is (initially) not there to be the even head that guides them.
71	* HumansAreBastards:
72	-->'''[[spoiler:Jimmy]]:''' Did you not see how easily I turned mankind against you? They really are not worth saving.
73	* HumbleHero: [[spoiler:Superman was raised Amish. It doesn't get more humble than that.]]
74	* IJustWantToBeSpecial: Jimmy Olsen
75	* IntrepidReporter: Lois Lane as always.
76	* InvoluntaryBattleToTheDeath: Joker forces the Arkham inmates to fight each other to the death. Clayface (Preston Payne) and Killer Croc are shown to be dead.
77	* IronicLastWords: Superman finally fights the BigBad, who currently has Kryptonian DNA melded into his body. However, the stress of the fight causes the DNA to begin breaking down, killing him. His last words ("We should have been friends") are [[DramaticIrony painfully ironic]] in light of TheReveal: [[spoiler:the Big Bad was this universe's version of Jimmy Olsen, who had gone insane thanks to the continual experimentation on him and the lack of Superman's presence as a hero.]]
78	* JokerImmunity: [[spoiler:Averted, as the Joker ends up [[NeckSnap having his neck snapped]] by Batman going into full PapaWolf mode. ''On live television''.]]
79	* LeeroyJenkins: Robin and Batgirl. [[spoiler:It gets them killed.]]
80	* LoveRedeems: [[spoiler:Selina goes straight specifically to be with Bruce.]]
81	* TheManBehindTheMan: Lex Luthor (believed by the Justice League to be the BigBad) is implied to be manipulated by [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Starro Starro]] until it's revealed that [[spoiler:"[[RedHerring Starro]]" is actually a [[TheGrotesque mutated]] [[ComicBook/KryptoTheSuperdog Krypto]].]] The ''real'' BigBad is none other than… [[spoiler:Jimmy Olsen.]]
82	* MyGreatestFailure:
83	-->'''Wonder Woman:''' My mission was to promote justice and freedom for all. I have failed.
84	* MythologyGag:
85	** Selina's Batwoman costume is identical to Kathy Kane. It's never revealed if Kathy exists in this universe too.
86	** [[spoiler:After Joker murders Robin and Batgirl in a particularly gruesome manner, he makes a reference to Francis Bacon]], calling to mind the art museum scene in ''Film/Batman1989'', where one of Bacon's paintings is spared due to the Joker's personal liking of it.
87	** The Outsiders discover a hidden base with its doorway on a cliff resembling the Silver Age Fortress of Solitude.
88	* NotHelpingYourCase: [[spoiler:Batman seen killing the Joker on live television only added further xenophobia and mistrust towards metahumans and vigilantes.]]
89	* NotSoStoic: The Spectre
90	-->'''Spectre:''' …mankind has always been destined to spread out amongst the stars.\
91	'''Doctor Fate:''' ''If'' they survive.\
92	'''Spectre:''' ''(worried)'' If!
93	* PapaWolf: Batman. [[spoiler:This is one of the few universes in which he breaks his ThouShallNotKill oath, and he does so after the Joker brutally murders Batgirl and Robin.]]
94	* PersonOfMassDestruction: [[spoiler:Jimmy Olsen and Kal-El.]] Their fight is even described as apocalyptic by other characters.
95	* RedHerring: Much of the early evidence could suggest that Kal-El is the villain, having been found by some less benevolent parents than the Kents, such as the Joker's use of Kryptonian technology and an unknown party in an Antarctic fortress withstanding a joint attack from the likes of Black Canary and Black Lightning. [[spoiler:The real villain is the augmented Jimmy Olsen, and the Outsiders were defeated by Jimmy's "guard dog" Krypto]].
96	* TheReveal: [[spoiler:Jimmy Olsen is the BigBad and has been augmented with Kryptonian powers]].
97	* SanitySlippage: This version of Oliver Queen, who had previously lost an arm, an eye, and the use of his legs to AMAZO.
98	** [[spoiler:Jimmy Olsen is also revealed to have suffered from this a great deal.]]
99	* ScrewThisImOutOfHere: Witnessing the escalating anti-alien feeling against herself and Hawkman, Hawkwoman briefly prepares to leave Earth, to the point of rendezvousing with her old spaceship… [[spoiler:only to fly back to save two children from a fire, with everyone in the surrounding street moving in her defence when the police try to arrest her.]]
100	* SlidingScaleOfIdealismVersusCynicism: Likely as a means of showing how integral Superman is to the DCU, this world (and story) lean just a bit more towards the cynical side of the spectrum than the usual portrayal of the DCU. [[spoiler:That said, the ending is a [[BittersweetEnding (mostly) happy one]].]]
101	* SpeakIllOfTheDead: Subverted with Hawkman. The news reports barely mentioned his death in the hands of Amazo, if at all. Though "alien scum" is written on the plaque of the Hawksuit display.
102	* TechnicalPacifist: [[spoiler:Kal-El, having been raised by an Amish couple, is opposed to violence. This does not stop him from going to town on a Kryptonian Jimmy Olsen.]]
103	* ThatManIsDead: [[spoiler:"The Jimmy Olsen you knew no longer exists."]]
104	* UnstoppableRage: [[spoiler:Batman turns ''utterly murderous'' after Joker kills his sidekicks, which concludes with him breaking his ThouShaltNotKill rule and snapping the Joker's neck.]]
105	* WithGreatPowerComesGreatInsanity: What happens to [[spoiler:Jimmy Olsen]] as a result of his exposure to Kryptonian DNA.
106	* WouldHurtAChild: The Joker shows this to horrific extremes when he [[spoiler:murders Robin and Batgirl.]]
107	[[/folder]]
108	[[folder:Another Nail]]
109	!!Tropes associating with ''Another Nail'':
110	* AdaptationalHeroism: [[spoiler:Star Sapphire]].
111	* AdaptationalVillainy: ComicBook/PowerGirl and ComicBook/BlackOrchid, normally heroes in the DCU, are first seen helping Star Sapphire steal the body of the android Amazo from Will Magnus, fighting the Metal Men in the process. Later they kidnap [[ComicBook/DoomPatrol Niles Caulder]]. [[spoiler:Subverted when it is later revealed that they, along with Black Canary, were securing Amazo's body in a risky bid to transplant Green Arrow's brain into a new healthy body, and that Niles had accompanied them willingly to perform the operation.]]
112	* AllYourPowersCombined: A Green Lantern ring chooses Barda as its new wielder and then merges with her Mother Box, allowing it to project Mister Miracle's consciousness (after he 'downloaded' himself into the Mother Box to escape being tortured by Darkseid), creating a far more adaptive ring than usual.
113	* BadassNormal: Lois can handle Eclipso no problem. Jonathan Kent even gives him a good whack on the head with a shovel.
114	* BattleCouple: In addition to Batman and Catwoman, we now have Mister Miracle and Barda.
115	* BigNo: Batman screams this after waking up from a nightmare [[spoiler:of the Joker killing Robin and Batgirl.]]
116	* TheCameo: ComicBook/HawkAndDove, ComicBook/{{Blackhawk}}, ComicBook/JonahHex, The Inferior Five… if you can name a DC character who showed up in the '60s and '70s, odds are that they'll appear somewhere in this book.
117	** There's a single frame cameo by the ''ComicBook/THUNDERAgents'', the rights for whom were owned by DC at the time this book was published.
118	* CatapultNightmare: Batman, [[spoiler:upon waking up at the moment the Joker forced his eyes open to see him kill Robin and Batgirl]].
119	* ClarkKenting: Lampshaded. When Lois suggests a "less is more" approach to disguising Kal-El so he can go out as a civilian, as opposed to the Kents giving him a thick coat and fake beard, the end result resembles the classic Clark Kent we all know and love. Kal asks Lois, "You really think this will fool anyone?"
120	* EldritchAbomination: The Limbo Cell.
121	* EmpathicWeapon: Somewhat with a particular Green Lantern ring. Its wielder was killed while trying to save some of the slaves on Apokolips. The ring fled before the killer could take it. It chose Big Barda as the new wielder since she's the only native of Apokolips worthy of such a weapon. It let the Guardians know about this "in a tone and authority that surprised" them. It also merged with a Mother Box and bonded with Mister Miracle, with Highfather's approval.
122	* EvilCounterpart / MirrorUniverse: At one point, Flash and Atom find themselves in the alternate universe home of the Crime Syndicate of America.
123	* ExactlyWhatIAimedAt: After she receives a Green Lantern ring, Barda confronts Darkseid, but when she fires her ring at him she misses by a country mile. Darkseid gloats that living on Earth has made her soft, until it's revealed that her first attack was really a GL construct of Mr. Miracle (whose mind now inhabits Barda's Mother Box), leaving him free to disrupt Darkseid's machinery, causing it to overload and ultimately destroy him.
124	-->"A distraction. The first principle of any clever illusion… or a really sneaky attack. Barda didn't miss you, she was positioning me where I could do the most harm!"
125	* HeroicSacrifice: [[spoiler:Green Arrow, who rescued Superman when his attempt at one failed.]]
126	* ItsAllMyFault: Before [[spoiler:his sacrifice, the now-sane Green Arrow apologises to Hawkwoman as he blames himself for Hawkman's death, believing that his efforts to prove himself equal to more powerful heroes led to Hawkman putting himself in harm's way and taking a fatal blow from Amazo to protect Green Arrow. Hawkwoman in turn assures GA that Hawkman always saw him as a friend and would never have blamed him for what happened]].
127	* KitchenSinkIncluded: One is seen floating during the dimensional disturbances.
128	* MythologyGag:
129	** Superman was seen saving a plane when one of its engines was blown, like in ''Film/SupermanTheMovie''.
130	** Kal and Lois went to see an ''ComicBook/AngelAndTheApe'' movie.
131	* NeutralNoLonger: The Guardians and the Corps don't get involved in the eternal war between New Genesis and Apokolips, until it began to escalate beyond the borders of those worlds.
132	** At first the Corps only act to evacuate planets that are caught in the crossfire. When one Lantern sees some parademons unearthing a component of Darkseid's doomsday weapon and sending it through a boom tube, the Guardians and Highfather inform the Corps of Darkseid's plot and permit them to join forces with New Genesis to take the fight to Apokalips.
133	* PowerPerversionPotential: Early in the story, Mister Miracle wills his body to die and transfers his mind into the Mother Box circuitry incorporated into his wife Big Barda's armor, to escape [=DeSaad=]'s torturing him. Later, it is implied that he enjoys the situation, as while his mind is in her armor he is in constant contact with her body.
134	* RaceLift:
135	** Halo, a blond Caucasian in the main DCU, is an African-American in this story. Though the Aurakle could be inhabiting a different person entirely.
136	** Zatanna appears to be Asian (her eyes look slanted, but it just may be the art).
137	* ResurrectedMurderer: Batman begins to suspect that the Joker, whom he killed in the previous story, has somehow come back to life. At the climax it emerges that the Joker is indeed alive again, as a group of demons who found his soul in hell decided to use him as an agent of chaos on earth. However, the ever-unpredictable Joker proves more trouble than he's worth even to them, as he takes advantage of the fact that his new body is made of magic to shapeshift and manifest various powers, which forces the demons to use so much magic to sustain his form that they lose control of him. And of course, he can't resist going after Batman again, which leads to his downfall.
138	* SexyShirtSwitch: Lois is seen wearing a large shirt and walking barefoot while staying with Kal at the Kent Farm.
139	* SpacetimeEater: The Limbo Cell.
140	* TakingYouWithMe: [[spoiler:To prevent a now-demonic Joker from dragging Selina into Hell with him, Batman is more than prepared to drag Joker into Hell himself, to make sure that he never escapes.]]
141	* ThoseTwoGuys: Flash and Atom, who is always on his shoulder.
142	* YouCantGoHomeAgain: [[spoiler:Superman can never return to the Amish village that's been his home, due to keeping it from further dangers and believing he's no longer welcome there for renouncing their lifestyle by using his powers to help the world.]]
143	* YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness: After donning the armor, Darkseid killed all his followers (except Desaad, who created the armor).
144	[[/folder]]

Context ComicBook / TheNail