JLA #5 (May, 1997)

At the Watchtower on the moon, Martian Manhunter and Wonder Woman observed the "IF" entity on the monitor banks as it caused electromagnetic havoc on Earth. The newly electric blue Superman had attended Metamorpho's funeral with very few others, but now joined most of the League for a meeting. To combat accusations of elitism, the Man of Steel confirmed the intent to expand to a permanent roster of twelve to allow for new blood. Manhunter agreed, "...with reservations... We already have a long way to go before our current roster has even begun to function as a team. It's essential that we develop group tactics. Candidates included the then-current incarnations of Artemis, Damage, Steel, Supergirl, Hitman, Warrior, Green Arrow, Plastic Man, Aztek, and Max Mercury. An image of a seated J'Onn with his hands cupped on the meeting room table was statted in as he "considered" each candidate in turn, like the unintentionally destructive Damage, whose trial he had stood as a witness for a short time back. "We'll fix it. Next." Of this killer Tommy Monaghan, he simply requested, "...No smoking."

A final interviewee made a grand entrance, and Tomorrow Woman thoroughly won over the League as she worked tirelessly for days to help minimize the damage caused by IF. Batman eventually determined that IF was from the 32nd Century, having escaped the control of the U.S. military after having been confiscated from the Lord of Time. An especially strong EMP pulse would be required to stop it, and Tomorrow Woman sacrificed herself to deliver it. Unbeknownst to the League, Tomorrow Woman was the creation of Professor Ivo and T.O. Morrow, with the intent that she would win the trust of the team before killing them telepathically. Despite the word "freedom" having been intentionally left out of her vocabulary, her rudimentary android soul had manifested the will to reject her programming and act to the good. Superman saw to her burial, while J'Onn and Diana apprehended the mad scientists.

"Woman of Tomorrow" was by Grant Morrison, Howard Porter, John Dell and Pat Garrahy. It was a cute one-off take on the old Red Tornado / Vision scheme, and despite a solid design, it was honored by keeping future appearances by the heroine to a minimum. I recently bought the DC Direct action figure on sale. Inaction more like, and I have no confidence that it will ever stand under its own power, but the sculpt was decent. The diaphanous skirt was a nice touch.