The One-Man War

In 2013, The Helmet of Nabu, which had been tossed into space by that time's Captain Marvel, finally returned to Earth. Unfortunately, without Nabu's intelligence guiding it, it was unable to judge which host could appropriately use the power. Because of this, it fell into the hands of fugitive serial killer Marv Samson. The sudden rush of power went to Marv's head, exascerbating his insanity. He embarked on a one-man war against the superheroic community. In his mind, he was making the world a better place for criminal kind.

After a series of covert assaults on various superheroes, the Justice League finally tracked down Samson, now calling himself Fate. The first battle, however, ended in the JLA losing, and shook the resolve of many, who saw Fate's power as "unbeatable". The JLAers who were left and willing to fight tracked down and engaged Fate once more, only to be beaten again by his force. With many dead, and others left scarred physically and mentally, the task of bringing this monster down was left to The Captain (an alias Captain Marvel JR. took as an adult), Wonder Woman, Batman, Booster Gold, Blue Beetle, and Green Lantern Hal Jordan. They entered the fray, and were beaten.

Just as it seemed all hope was lost, a small group of unlikely heroes appeared on the scene. John Constantine, Ion, the Phantom Stranger, and the Shadowpact had felt the magic Fate had been giving off, and had chosen to step in and "fight fire with fire", as it were. After a pitched battle, the group succeeded in their goal and destroyed the Helmet. This victory, however, was not without it's sacrifices. When the Helmet was destroyed, it unleashed a huge explosion of magical energy, in which Ion and Samson both disappeared. After the explosion, Constantine found himself de-aged back to being thirty, and the others found that their wounds from battle had healed. Constantine, the Stranger, and the Shadowpact gave their goodbyes and walked off into the sunset.

Clark Kent, at the time a state senator, would not let their bravery go ignored, however. On the site of the battle, he commissioned a park be built, and in the center of this park a memorial erected. It consists of three smaller statues of John Constantine, Phantom Stranger, and the collected group of the Shadowpact around a larger statue of Ion. It's inscription; "To the heroes oft forgotten, know that your bravery and sacrifice shall cease to go unnoticed."