Warning! Spoilers ahead for Future State: Justice League #2 from Joshua Williamson and Robson Rocha
While the Avengers eating shawarma at the end of their first MCU film as a team was a pretty hilarious scene, DC Comics just pointed out an interesting deeper meaning behind it with the Justice League. In DC’s Future State event, the next generation of heroes have risen to become the new Justice League. However, they don’t quite measure up to the caliber of the present-day team at the beginning of the series, and that’s largely the fault of the original team themselves. It’s only when the new League decides to break the rules and mandates of their predecessors that they’re able to coalesce and be truly united, and a big part of this new direction comes from spending time with one another when they’re not saving the world.
The Justice League of the future is comprised of Jon Kent’s Superman, Yara Flor’s Wonder Woman, and Tim Fox as the Next Batman. They’re also joined by Green Lantern Jo Mullein, as well as the the new Aquawoman, and a new Flash who’s from another Earth. While this seems like they would be an effective team, the new Justice League is quickly defeated by White Martians known as the Hyper Clan. Additionally, the reason for their smaller team size is due to the Justice League Charter, a set of rules from the days of the original League meant to protect future iterations. Some of its rules include the limitation of only 6 members and forbidding the team’s heroes from knowing the personal details of their teammates’ lives, emphasizing next to no fraternization outside of missions.
However, the new League quickly learns that in order to save the world and defeat the Hyper Clan, they have to trust one another on a deeper level in order to get back to their own realm after being banished by the White Martians. Likewise, once they save the day they also come to the conclusion that they need to create their own rules, choosing to learn from the old League mistakes rather than being restricted by them. This also includes getting dinner together after the battle, as well as ordering takeout a few months later when they decide to open up their ranks and recruit more heroes to the League.
It’s a pretty fun and optimistic way to end the Future State: Justice League arc from writer Joshua Williamson and artist Robson Rocha, and it also brings to mind the scene from Marvel Studios’ Avengers, where Earth’s Mightiest Heroes enjoyed some Middle Eastern cuisine after the first time they saved the world together as a team. While it was a payoff of a joke made by Iron Man earlier in the film about wanting the try shawarma, the fact that they actually went and got some communicates that they to understand at some level what the future Justice League of DC Comics has: the team that eats together is stronger together in more ways than one.
Whether it be the Avengers or the Justice League, it makes sense that grabbing some food would help as a form of unification, bonding, and team-building. While the original League was betrayed after their team got too big and personal, the new League can be better and learn from those mistakes. They can be more intentional about who they recruit, making sure that the trust they’ll share with new members is earned. That being said, what better way to learn about one another and build trust than by grabbing a bite to eat together?