[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/rsz_trinitywarpromo_9816.jpg]]
''Trinity War'' is a BatFamilyCrossover between the ''[[ComicBook/JusticeLeague2011 Justice League]]'', ''[[ComicBook/JusticeLeagueOfAmerica2013 Justice League of America]]'', and ''ComicBook/JusticeLeagueDark'' titles in the ''ComicBook/{{New 52}}''. It is written by Creator/GeoffJohns and Jeff Lemire. The event ran in six issues over the three titles in July and August 2013. It also has tie-ins from ''[[ComicBook/{{Hellblazer}} Constantine]]'', ''ComicBook/ThePhantomStranger'', and ''ComicBook/TrinityOfSinPandora''.

The three Leagues enter into a combustible situation when a hero's death causes hostile sparks to fly among the three teams. The Trinity of Sin: [[ComicBook/TrinityOfSinPandora Pandora]], ComicBook/ThePhantomStranger, and ComicBook/TheQuestion, play important roles for each of the three Justice League squads.
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!!Trinity War provides examples of:
* AdaptationalVillainy: The identity of the man who would be cursed into becoming the Question is not revealed in the comics, but the Council of Eternity says he is one of the greatest transgressors humanity has ever known, and he himself proudly claims to be someone who rose to power and whose name is feared by the entire world. According to [[WordOfGod Geoff Johns]], he intended for the mysterious man to be [[spoiler:Narcissus, a hunter from Greek mythology who had no such reputation and is best known for tragically falling in love with his own reflection]].
* AmplifierArtifact: Inverted in part 5, when [[spoiler:Shazam]] gets a hold of PandorasBox. [[spoiler:His magic reacts to the Box's,]] spreading its corrupting capabilities to everyone around him.
* ArtifactOfDoom: PandorasBox, which contained the SevenDeadlySins of Man and can imprison them again. It can only be opened by those with the [[PureIsNotGood strongest or darkest heart]]. Those that don't fit this criteria are either corrupted by it (in the case of Superman and the other heroes) or emotionally scarred (in the case of ComicBook/VandalSavage, who has a breakdown and admits to having a certain degree of conscience). No one, not even the Greek gods, knows where it came from, until the finale reveals [[spoiler:that it's a piece of technology from Earth 3, the birthplace of evil. Only someone from Earth 3 can open it and the Outsider is such a person]].
* TheBadGuyWins: [[spoiler:The Outsider successfully tricks the Leagues into delivering Pandora's Box to him, enabling him to summon the Crime Syndicate]]. This paves the way for ''ComicBook/ForeverEvil2013''.
* BodyHorror: In the finale, [[spoiler:Cyborg's cybernetic parts are taken over by the Grid, a sentient computer virus. His implants tear themselves away from what's left of his human body; leaving him dying and immobile]].
* BrainwashedAndCrazy: If PandorasBox doesn't simply reject those not worthy of opening it, it will possess its holder; signified by a third eye on their forehead. The possessed become greedy and will fight to keep the Box for themselves. [[spoiler:Superman was briefly possessed by it in part 1. The end of part 4 has Wonder Woman come under its thrall. In part 5, Shazam grabs it and uses his magic to spread the box's corruption to everyone present]].
* BroadStrokes: The opening of the finale reveals that the despite the New 52's changes to continuity, the basic stories of the League's Silver Age adventures are intact -- save for [[spoiler: their encounters with the Crime Syndicate.]]
* TheButlerDidIt: [[spoiler:Literally: the Secret Society's leader is the Earth-Three incarnation of Alfred Pennyworth. He invokes the trope word for word during TheReveal.]]
* ChekhovsGun: Amanda Waller asks Firestorm if he can make kryptonite in case they need to subdue Superman. He succeeds and later uses this knowledge to [[spoiler:sense that Superman's illness is kryptonite poisoning when his condition gets worse]].
* TheChessmaster: The one behind the Trinity War is [[spoiler:the Secret Society's leader, the Outsider. He had the Atom manipulate Superman into killing Doctor Light]] which causes the Justice League and the JLA to come to blows. He knew they would go after PandorasBox and bring it to him. His plan has been going on for years and when he finally gets the box, [[spoiler:he opens it and allows the Crime Syndicate to come to Prime Earth/Earth-0]].
* ChessMotif: While rummaging through the Justice League's Watchtower, the Atom finds a chess set with the League's members for pieces. [[spoiler:The Superman piece has been replaced with a Martian Manhunter piece]].
* ClarkesThirdLaw: Pandora's Box has been taken to be a mystical artifact, even capable of hijacking mystical powers like Shazam's, by everyone including the Gods of Olympus, seemingly ex nihilo for centuries. It's revealed here that it's actually technology from [[spoiler:Earth 3]]. It's been equated by [[spoiler:The Outsider]] to Mother Box technology.
* CliffHanger: The finale ends with [[spoiler:the Justice Leagues severely weakened with several members in critical condition, and the Crime Syndicate coming to Earth-0 ready to take over]], directly leading into ''ComicBook/ForeverEvil2013''.
* DoingInTheWizard: The skull-shaped Pandora's box has been treated as a magical artifact for the entirety of the crossover, such as by the magic-heavy Justice League Dark and Wonder Woman, who thought it to be a mythic relic from the Greek Gods. It turns out, however, [[spoiler:that the box is not built on magic, but on '''science''', as the Alfred-Outsider explains in the last parts.]]
* DoubleReverseQuadrupleAgent: [[spoiler: The Atom. She pretends to be a Justice League rookie in order to spy on the group for Amanda Waller, as we've known for some time; but she actually ''pretends'' to follow Waller's orders in order to spy on ''both'' the Justice League and the JLA for her true organization: the Crime Syndicate.]]
* DueToTheDead: Shazam decides to spread [[spoiler: Black Adam]]'s ashes in Kahndaq because he feels that even bad guys deserve to be buried.
* EvilCostumeSwitch: Those that are corrupted by Pandora's Box gain a ThirdEye and sometimes a darker color scheme. [[spoiler:When Shazam holds it, his red outfit is changed to black; like his evil counterpart Black Adam]].
* EyeScream: In the ''Trinity of Sin: Pandora'' tie-in, Pandora takes down [[AttackOfTheFiftyFootWhatever Giganta]] with an exploding machete to the eye. She also gives Vandal Savage a MoeGreeneSpecial, but it [[ImplacableMan doesn't slow him down and he eventually regenerates it]].
* FleetingDemographicRule: The title, TarotMotifs, criminal conspiracy that is connected to or directly involves manipulating Superman, Wonder Woman and Batman and the inclusion of the Crime Syndicate are reminiscent of the Trinity story arc.
* {{Foreshadowing}}: Trinity War was teased back in 2012 in a Free Comic Book Day issue. It has also been alluded to in several other comics.
** The Atom's ability to enter the virtual world. [[spoiler:She used it in order to infect Cyborg with a virus that gives the Secret Society access to his system.]]
** Naturally the TarotMotifs Madame Xanadu reveals establish character roles and plot points. Some don't come true until Forever Evil.
* GondorCallsForAid: To solve the mystery of PandorasBox, Wonder Woman goes to the Justice League Dark for help.
* GoodVersusGood: The Justice League and the JLA know that they are all good guys and try to talk things out, but [[spoiler:Doctor Light's death]] causes the two Leagues to fight each other. However, the fight is short-lived and they stop once Superman asks to turn himself in for what he did. As things turn out to be not what they seem, they work together to find out what's going on.
* HatePlague: In part 5 and the finale, the corrupting powers of Pandora's Box get amplified when [[spoiler:Shazam grabs it and his magic reacts to it]]. It causes infighting between the Leagues; with everyone wanting the Box for themselves. [[spoiler:After the Secret Society's leader opens the Box, everyone returns to normal, but are weak from fighting]].
* HopeSpot: [[spoiler:In the Phantom Stranger tie-in, the Phantom Stranger takes Batman, Deadman, and Katana to heaven's basement to retrieve Doctor Light's soul so that they can clear Superman's name for allegedly killing him. When they find him, angels intervene and banish them back to Earth without Doctor Light. Except for the Phantom Stranger, who is sent to oblivion for disobeying their orders]].
* AHouseDivided: Wonder Woman, Batman, and Superman have different ideas on how to figure out what really happened. Instead of arguing, they split up and are joined by any member of the JL, JLA, or JLD that agrees with one of them.
** Wonder Woman wants to find Pandora and is joined by Aquaman, Stargirl, Black Orchid, Hawkman, Deadman (who later switches to Batman's group), Frankenstein, and Zatanna.
** Batman is assisted by the Phantom Stranger to find [[spoiler:Doctor Light's soul]] and is joined by Catwoman, Katana, the Flash, Green Lantern Simon Baz, Vibe, and Steve Trevor.
** Superman is assisted by the Question to find [[spoiler:Dr. Psycho]] and is joined by Cyborg, Martian Manhunter, Green Arrow, Element Woman, Firestorm, and the Atom.
* ImplacableWoman: Pandora is a cursed, undead, immortal woman that has been around since hunter-gatherer times. In her tie-in issue, she is pummeled by Giganta and all her injuries quickly heal.
* LetsYouAndHimFight: Shazam goes to Kahndaq to spread Black Adam's ashes, oblivious to the tense political situation regarding its ongoing military conflict and prohibition of American superhuman intervention. The Justice League go to get him out while the Justice League of America go there to get ''them'' out. Naturally the resulting standoff is a powder keg ignited by Superman's powers going haywire and killing Doctor Light. It's only stopped when Superman punches the ground and demands to be taken in.
* MirrorUniverse: [[spoiler:The true purpose of PandorasBox is to open a portal to Earth-3, the birthplace of evil. Once the Outsider activates it, evil counterparts of the Justice League arrive on the main universe and set out to conquer the planet]].
* TheMole: Part 3 reveals that the Secret Society of Super-Villains has a mole on one of the Justice Leagues which will ensure the Secret Society's victory. It turns out [[spoiler:there were actually two: Atom, who is actually a member of Earth 3's Crime Syndicate; and Grid, a sentient computer virus that had been operating within Cyborg's system]].
* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: Superman says this after [[spoiler:he kills Doctor Light with his heat vision. It's not his fault. The Atom placed a microscopic kryptonite shard in his brain; which triggered his heat vision when she struck a nerve]]. He is so distraught that he turns himself in to A.R.G.U.S..
* NotWhatISignedUpFor: Most of the JLA does not want to fight the Justice League and thinks they should be supporting them.
* {{Qurac}}: The nation of Kahndaq; which is against Americans traveling there. Shazam flies there to spread [[spoiler:Black Adam's]] ashes and gets attacked by the Kahdaq army. Then the Justice League goes there to stop him and the JLA goes after them to escort them out before things escalate. Things don't go as planned.
* RedHerring:
** The Question gets a clue that Dr. Psycho may be behind [[spoiler:Superman's manslaughter of Doctor Light]]. He and Superman's group track him down and have Martian Manhunter probe his mind, but it turns out he wasn't behind it.
** The "trinity" of "Trinity War" [[spoiler:doesn't refer to the three justice leagues, the Trinity of Sin, or even the Superman-Batman-Wonder Woman trinity. It refers to [[MirrorUniverse Earth-3]], whose inhabitants had been manipulating the heroes in order to imvade and conquer the main universe]].
* RescuedFromTheUnderworld: The Phantom Stranger takes Batman, Katana, and Deadman to heaven's basement to rescue the soul of [[spoiler:Doctor Light. They fail, but Light gives them something for his family]].
* RewatchBonus: Some minor details turn out to be nods to ''ComicBook/ForeverEvil2013'', the storyline that followed up on the events of this series.
** Pandora tells Superman that, with his help, she can forever eradicate evil, with the words "forever" and "evil" standing out by being written in bold.
** The tarot cards for Firestorm, Cyborg and the Atom identify them as "The Prison", "The Grid" and "The Gameplayer", respectively. This is because [[spoiler:the Atom is manipulating everyone in order to bring the Crime Syndicate to their universe, with her actions resulting in Cyborg's cybernetics being taken over by a sentient virus called the Grid, while the remaining heroes are imprisoned inside Firestorm's Matrix.]]
** One of the pictures the Question collects while trying to figure out who is behind [[spoiler:Dr. Light's murder]] is the drawing of a skull with the words "Have a Nice Day" above it. It appears to not have any significance at first, but turns out to be [[spoiler:a reference to one of [[TheMole the Crime Syndicate's spies]] within the Justice league: the Grid, who resembles a robotic skull and has "have a nice day" as a VerbalTic]].
* RuleOfThree: ''Trinity War'' has a theme of threes. There are the three Justice Leagues. The Trinity of Sin play a major role. In part 3, Superman, Wonder Woman, and Batman [[note]]Also known as DC's trinity of heroes.[[/note]] follow different leads and are joined by any member of the three Leagues that agree with one of them. [[spoiler:In the finale, the Crime Syndicate of Earth 3 appear]].
* SacrificialLion: The death of [[spoiler:JLA member Doctor Light]] is what sparks the Trinity War.
* SuperpowerMeltdown: When Doctor Light gets too close to Superman, he absorbs so much solar energy from him that he can't contain it all and lets out a stray energy beam. [[spoiler:It hit Wonder Woman, but leads to his death]].
* TarotMotifs: Madame Xanadu forsees those involved in the Trinity War through tarot cards; though they are not your typical tarots.
** Shazam is '''[[OlderAlterEgo The Boy]]'''.
** Superman is '''TheHero'''.
** Wonder Woman is '''The Warrior'''.
** Pandora is '''The Hostage'''.
** Batman is '''[[GreatDetective The Detective]]'''.
** Amanda Waller is '''The Politician'''.
** Steve Trevor is '''The Soldier'''.
** Martian Manhunter is '''The Alien'''.
** The Question is '''[[TheSpook The Unknown]]'''.
** The Phantom Stranger is '''The Betrayer'''.
** Firestorm is '''[[FusionDance The Prison]]'''. [[spoiler:The "Prison" archetype in Xanadu's tarot in explained in ''ComicBook/ForeverEvil2013'': the Crime Syndicate trapped many members of the three Justice Leagues inside the Firestorm Matrix, making it their '''prison'''.]]
** Cyborg is '''The Grid'''. [[spoiler:Grid is a sentient computer virus that takes over Cyborg's cybernetic body in the finale]].
** The Atom is '''The Gameplayer'''. [[spoiler:Takes on a new meaning. Not only is she playing on the Justice League while really being a spy for the JLA, she's also the mole for the Secret Society. She playing 2 teams at once]].
** Element Woman is '''[[WasOnceHuman The Freak]]'''.
** The Flash is '''[[SuperSpeed The Messenger]]'''.
** Aquaman is '''[[RoyalsWhoActuallyDoSomething The King]]'''.
** Zatanna is '''The Magician'''.
** Green Arrow is '''The Archer'''.
** Catwoman is '''The Thief'''.
** Stargirl is '''[[TheHeart The Spirit]]'''.
** Vibe is '''[[NaiveNewcomer The Misfit]]'''.
** Green Lantern Simon Baz is '''The Miracle Worker'''.
** Hawkman is '''[[BloodKnight The Savage]]'''.
** Katana is '''The Assassin'''.
** Frankenstein is '''[[FrankensteinsMonster The Monster]]'''.
** John Constantine is '''[[ConMan The Conman]]'''.
** [[spoiler:Doctor Light is '''The Sacrifice''']].
** [[spoiler:The Secret Society's leader is '''The Outsider''']].
* TeamMercyVsTeamMurder: Discussed. Superman and Wonder Woman are discussing what to do with Despero (which they fought in the immediately previous arc):
-->'''Wonder Woman:''' There's a reason I don't have a list of villains as long as Bruce's, Barry's or even yours. When I '''deal''' with them, I '''deal''' with them.
-->'''Superman:''' I trust you're not talking about '''killing''' them, Diana.
-->'''Wonder Woman:''' '''Only''' if comes to that.
* TooSpicyForYogSothoth: In the ''Phantom Stranger'' tie-in, Batman's group goes to a place in Heaven called Heaven's Basement; which is filled with souls that feed on the emotions of the living. When they try to feed on the ghostly Deadman, it's like swallowing poison.
* UnholyMatrimony: [[spoiler:Atomika seens to be awfully happy to see Johnny Quick, her lover, come out of the Earth-3 portal, just as he is when he sees her. In her diminute state, she even nuzzles his cheek.]]
* UnusuallyUninterestingSight: Lex Luthor is totally unfazed when Pandora appears out of nowhere. He even lampshades this by saying he's [[ComicBook/{{Superman}} seen a man fly before]].
* UnwittingInstigatorOfDoom: Billy's attempt to return Black Adam's ashes to Khandaq ends up triggering the war of the Leagues and [[spoiler: the arrival of the Crime Syndicate on our Earth.]]
* UnwittingPawn: [[spoiler:Cyborg]] is this for the Secret Society. [[spoiler:The Atom hacked into his system and infected it with a sentient virus known as the Grid, loyal to the Secret Society.]]
* VocalDissonance: In the ''Constantine'' tie-in, John Constantine tricks Shazam into turning back into Billy Baston so they can swap voices; with Billy getting Constantine's baritone and him getting Billy's tween voice. Then he uses Billy's voice to access Shazam's powers so he can fight a demon sent after him. Once Constantine defeats the demon, Billy sees an opening and gets his voice and powers back.
* WhamLine: When Cyborg finds out who TheMole is.
-->'''Cyborg:''' So you're a traitor?
-->'''[[spoiler:The Atom]]:''' Oh Vic, honey. [[spoiler: So are you]].
* WildCard:
** Although he is on the Justice League registry for potential recruits, Shazam is not associated with any of the Justice Leagues.
** Pandora, who started this by [[spoiler:giving her box to Superman; thinking he can open it and re-imprison the SevenDeadlySins]]. She runs off when the results weren't in her favor and Wonder Woman tracks her down.
** Amanda Waller, though it's still not clear if she knows more than she's letting on about the Kahndaq incident.
* WorkingThroughTheCold: After Superman gets taken into A.R.G.U.S., he becomes mysteriously ill; with pale skin, coughing and veins showing. [[{{Determinator}} This doesn't make him any weaker nor does it keep him from getting involved]]. [[spoiler:His illness gets worse and it's revealed that he was poisoned by a microscopic kryptonite shard placed in his brain by the Atom]].
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