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The Justice League, also called the Justice League of America or JLA, is a fictional DC Comics superhero team.
First appearing in The Brave and the Bold #28 (1960), the League originally appeared with a line-up that included Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Flash, Green Lantern, Aquaman and the Martian Manhunter. However, the team roster has been rotated throughout the years with the recognizable characters Green Arrow, Atom (Ray Palmer), Hawkman, Black Canary, Captain Marvel, Plastic Man and dozens of others.
Discussion
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Quotations
Flash:
After teleporting through dimensions Ding! Fifth floor, hardware, sporting goods, evil sorceresses!
Joker:
In minutes, you will all be turned crazy by Ace's mind waves... and the best thing is, I'm immune to all of this because I'm ALREADY crazy.
Mongul:
You don't understand. He was the only obstacle in my way. The rest of you... are already dead.
Music Master:
Badaba to the fat lady - may she keep on singing!
Question:
The plastic tips at the ends of shoelaces are called aglets. Their true purpose is sinister!
Shade:
Luthor stumbles, clutching his heart Maybe we should get paid now...
Encyclopedia
The Justice League, also called the Justice League of America or JLA, is a fictional DC Comics superhero team.
First appearing in The Brave and the Bold #28 (1960), the League originally appeared with a line-up that included Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Flash, Green Lantern, Aquaman and the Martian Manhunter. However, the team roster has been rotated throughout the years with the recognizable characters Green Arrow, Atom (Ray Palmer), Hawkman, Black Canary, Captain Marvel, Plastic Man and dozens of others. Throughout the years, various incarnations or subsections of the team have also operated as Justice League America, Justice League Europe, Justice League International, Justice League Task Force, Justice League Elite, and Extreme Justice.
Various comic book series featuring the League have remained generally popular with fans since inception and in most incarnations, its roster includes DC's most popular characters. The League concept has also been adapted into various other entertainment media, including the classic Saturday morning Super Friends animated series (1973-1986), a lesser known live action television movie, and most recently the successful animated series Justice League (2001-2004) and Justice League Unlimited (2004-2006). A live-action film was in the works in 2008 before being shelved.
Publication history
Silver and Bronze Age / Justice League of America
Having successfully re-introduced a number of their Golden Age superhero characters (Flash, Green Lantern, etc.) during the late 1950s, DC Comics asked writer Gardner Fox to re-introduce the Justice Society of America. Fox, influenced by the popularity of the National Football League and Major League Baseball, decided to change the name of the team from Justice Society to Justice League. The Justice League of America debuted in The Brave and the Bold #28 (1960), and quickly became one of the company's best-selling titles. Fox wrote virtually all of the League's adventures during the 1960s, and artist Mike Sekowsky pencilled the first five years.
As with the Justice Society, the concept of the Justice League was simple: to include all of DC's most popular characters in one book (hence the original lineup included Superman, Batman, Aquaman, Flash, Green Lantern, Martian Manhunter and Wonder Woman). Three of DC's other surviving or revived characters, Green Arrow, Atom, and Hawkman were quickly added to the roster, the latter two having been re-introduced by Gardner Fox himself. JLA's early success was indirectly responsible for the creation of the Fantastic Four. In his autobiography Stan Lee relates how, during a round of golf, DC publisher Jack Liebowitz mentioned to Marvel-Timely owner Martin Goodman how well DC's new book (Justice League) was selling. Later that day Goodman told Lee to come up with a team of superheroes for Marvel; Lee and Jack Kirby produced the Fantastic Four.
The Justice League operated from a secret cave outside of the small town of Happy Harbor, Rhode Island. Teenager Snapper Carr tagged along on missions, and was both the team's mascot and an official member. Snapper, noted for speaking in beatnik dialect and snapping his fingers, helped the League to defeat giant space starfish Starro the Conqueror in the team's first appearance. In Justice League of America #77 (December 1969), Snapper was tricked into betraying the cave headquarters' secret location to the Joker, resulting in his resignation from the team. His resignation followed the resignations of two of the league's original members, Wonder Woman (in Justice League of America #69) and J'onn J'onzz (in Justice League of America #71).
Satellite years
In need of a new secure headquarters, the Justice League moved into an orbiting satellite headquarters in Justice League of America #78 (February 1970). Through this period, the membership was limited to the remaining founders along with Green Arrow, Atom, and Hawkman, who were joined by Black Canary, Phantom Stranger, Elongated Man, Red Tornado and, eventually, the return of Wonder Woman. The League's twelve-member limit (sometimes explained as a "no duplication of powers" policy) was conceded (in Justice League of America #161) to have been simply a charter provision about numbers, once the League had formally removed the limitation and admitted Hawkwoman and hoped to admit more members (indeed, through this period, several League members challenged and joked about the notion that they shared skills and talents, for example, with speed races between Superman and Flash, and Hawkman's use of archery in combat). The policy change allowed Zatanna and Firestorm to be admitted as well.
Those involved in producing the Justice League of America comic during the 1970s include writers Gerry Conway, Cary Bates, E. Nelson Bridwell, and Steve Englehart, while Dick Dillin primarily handled the art chores. Justice League of America had a brief spike in popularity in 1982 when artist George Pérez stepped in following Dillin's death, but the commercial success was short-lived.
Detroit
In 1984, in an attempt to emulate the success of DC's most popular comic at that time, The New Teen Titans, DC editorial had most of the regular members replaced by newer, younger characters. DC also moved the team from its satellite headquarters into a base in Detroit, Michigan. This move was highly unpopular with readers, who dubbed this period of time the "Justice League Detroit" era. The major criticism was that this Justice League was filled with second-rate heroes. Created by Conway and artist Chuck Patton, the team was initially led by Aquaman and featured Justice League veterans Zatanna, Martian Manhunter and the Elongated Man, but the majority of the stories focused on newly recruited heroes Vixen, Gypsy, Steel and Vibe. Aquaman left the new team after only a few issues, and was replaced as leader by the Martian Manhunter. Even the return of Batman to the team in Justice League of America #250 could not halt the decline of the series. The final issue of the original Justice League of America series, issue #261 by Writer J. M. DeMatteis and artist Luke McDonnell, culminated a story arc involving long-time Justice League enemy Professor Ivo's murders of Vibe and Steel at the onset of DC's Legends miniseries.
Modern incarnations
Justice League International
The 1986 company-wide crossover Legends featured the formation of a new Justice League. The new team was dubbed "Justice League" then "Justice League International" (JLI) and was given a mandate with less of an American focus. The new series, written by Keith Giffen and J.M. DeMatteis with art by Kevin Maguire (and later Adam Hughes), added quirky humor to the team's stories. In this incarnation, the membership consisted partly of heroes from Earths that, prior to their merging in the Crisis on Infinite Earths, were separate. The initial team included Batman, Black Canary, Blue Beetle, Captain Marvel, Doctor Light (a new Japanese female character, emerging from the Crisis of Infinite Earths, not the supervillain who had appeared previously), Doctor Fate, Martian Manhunter, Mister Miracle, and Guy Gardner; and soon after inception, added Booster Gold, Captain Atom, Fire (formerly known as the Global Guardians' Green Flame), Ice (formerly known as the Global Guardians' Ice Maiden), and two Rocket Reds (one was a Manhunter spy, and one was Dimitri Pushkin). The series' humorous tone and high level of characterization proved very popular initially, but writers following Giffen and DeMatteis were unable to maintain the same balance of humor and heroics, resulting in the decline of the series' popularity. New writers gave the storylines a more serious tone. By the mid- to late-1990s, with the series' commercial success fading, it was eventually cancelled, along with spinoffs Justice League Europe, Extreme Justice, and Justice League Task Force.
JLA
The low sales of the various Justice League spinoff books prompted DC to revamp the League as a single team (all the various branch teams were disbanded) on a single title. A Justice League of America formed in the September 1996 limited series Justice League: A Midsummer's Nightmare by Mark Waid and Fabian Nicieza. In 1997, DC Comics launched a new Justice League series titled JLA, written by Grant Morrison with art by Howard Porter and inker John Dell.
This series, in an attempt at a "back-to-basics" approach, used as its core the team's original and most famous seven members (or their successors): Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Flash (Wally West), Green Lantern (Kyle Rayner), and the Martian Manhunter. Additionally, the team received a new headquarters, the "Watchtower", based on the Moon. Morrison introduced the idea of the JLA allegorically representing a pantheon of gods, with their different powers and personalities, incorporating such characters as Barbara Gordon (Oracle), John Henry Irons (Steel), and Plastic Man.
Since this new league included most of DC's most powerful heroes, the focus of the stories changed. The League now dealt only with Earth-shattering, highest-priority threats which could challenge their tremendous combined power. Enemies faced by this new JLA included an invading army of aliens, a malfunctioning war machine from the future, a horde of renegade angels, a newly reformed coalition of villains as a counter-league, mercenaries armed with individualized take-down strategies for each superhero, various cosmic threats, and the enraged spirit of the Earth itself. In addition, because almost all of the members had their own comics, the stories were almost always self-contained, with all chapters occurring within JLA itself and very rarely affecting events outside of that series. Developments from a hero's own title (such as the new costume temporarily adopted by Superman) were reflected in the League's comic book, however.
The new approach worked, and JLA quickly became DC's best-selling title, a position it enjoyed off and on for several years. Despite this, DC did not create continuing spinoff series as it had done before. Instead, a large number of miniseries and one-shots featuring the team were released. One spin-off team, the Justice League Elite was created following the events of JLA #100, but their series was limited to 12 issues, and the team appeared only once after the title ended its allotted run. JLA's popularity was also able to launch the critically acclaimed JSA series, which was relaunched as Justice Society of America to coincide with the new Justice League of America book.
In 2007, a story arc by Geoff Johns and Alan Heinberg called "Crisis of Conscience" (JLA #115-119) depicts the dissolution of the Justice League of America as the breakdown of trust shown in the 2004 limited series Identity Crisis reaches its zenith. At the end of the arc, Superboy-Prime destroys the Justice League Watchtower. JLA, one of several titles to be cancelled at the conclusion of the Infinite Crisis storyline, ended with issue #125.
As depicted in the Villains United Infinite Crisis Special and the final issue of Infinite Crisis itself, preparations for the defense of Metropolis against an army of organized super-villains required a brief and temporary expansion of the Justice League to its largest roster to date. The main defensive teams of the JLA, JSA, Teen Titans and Outsiders already being occupied elsewhere by the Crisis, it fell on Oracle and the Martian Manhunter to contact and deputize seemingly every active or once active hero in the DC Universe as effective Justice League members to form a last line of defense for the city.
52
In 52 Week 24, Firestorm recruits a group to reform the Justice League. It consists of Firehawk, Super-Chief, Bulleteer and Ambush Bug. They fight a deranged Skeets who takes Super-Chief's powers and kills him as well as numerous persons given powers by Lex Luthor's Everyman Project. Afterwards, Firestorm breaks up the team.
Also in the series, Luthor's new Infinity, Inc. was informally referred to as a "Justice League" in solicitations and on covers.
Justice League of America (vol. 2)
One year after the events of Infinite Crisis, Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman reunite in the Batcave to re-form the League in Justice League of America #0, the kick-off for a new series by Brad Meltzer and Ed Benes. They select a number of heroes including Captain Marvel, Power Girl and Cyborg, but eventually wind up with Green Lantern (Hal Jordan), Black Canary, Red Arrow (Green Arrow's former sidekick), Red Tornado, Vixen, Black Lightning, and Hawkgirl after a large team-up and fight against Solomon Grundy and Amazo, and decide to stick with the lineup fate has provided rather than the one they chose (an idea similar to the formation of the Marvel Comics team the New Avengers). The three founders built a new headquarters for the team, consisting of two buildings linked by a transporter. The first site is The Hall, located in Washington D.C. at the location of the Justice Society of America and the All-Star Squadron's former headquarters, paid for by Batman and designed by Wonder Woman and John Stewart, who is later elected to join the team alongside Hal Jordan.
The Hall, functioning as the League's embassy on Earth, features an extensive collection of rare historical items of significance to the League and its fore bearers, including several pieces of deactivated weaponry and technology from former heroes and villains. The transporter leads both to the Batcave and to the League's new orbiting satellite headquarters in space: the new Watchtower. Black Canary is elected as the first official Chairperson. In issue #10, the Flash (Wally West) is brought back from another dimension, and then inducted into the Justice League. Dwayne McDuffie took over the writing job with #13. At the end of issue #15, Firestorm is "invited" to join the League so that someone with his powers, but lack of experience will not be "unsupervised". After the Injustice Gang story arc, Amanda Waller had taken those villains in custody and transported them to Hell Planet without any regard or without anyone's consent. Recently the Key, among other villains, broke into the headquarters of the Justice League.
They surrendered themselves to the League, as a method of seeking safe haven from Waller. They were transported to individual cells on the JLA satellite, where their powers were nullified. Batman has been secretly communicating with J'onn J'onzz, finding out that Waller has been sending villains to this distant planet. Upon notifying the League, they quickly went to the planet to check on the villains. Telepathically communicating with the League in space, J'onn asked for help. Little did the League know, it was Kanjar Ro impersonating J'onn, who then tried to capture the League and extract their DNA. The Justice League quickly disposed of Kanjar Ro and have since stated that they will find out where the villains have been transported to and also to rescue J'onn.
Recently, Flash has been ignoring his calls from the League for help, including a recent fight with the Injustice League. Wonder Woman makes an effort to see why Flash has been ignoring the calls. Wally has been too busy with his children and defending Keystone City. As Wonder Woman and Flash talk, they confront Queen Bee, who has invaded Earth. Once they prevent that invasion, Flash vows that he will now take all emergency calls from the JLA and even go on Monitor Duty.
Most recently, Libra, an old villain making his return, assembles a brand new Secret Society, claiming that if villains join his society he will fulfill all their wishes. During a routine bank heist, the Human Flame gets confronted by Red Arrow and Hawkgirl. After suffering yet another defeat by vigilantes, Libra promises the Human Flame retribuation against the heroes. An old battle between the Martian Manhunter and Human Flame has forever angered him against the alien from Mars. Fulfilling his wildest dream, Libra boom tubes J'onn to their headquarters and not showing and compassion, only promised dreams, Libra stabs J'onn with a flaming staff, thus killing him and gaining a new ally in the Human Flame and proving to the other villains that he is serious about his powers.
Red Tornado's soul was once again being transferred into a new robotic shell with the help of Zatanna, Batman and others such as Will Magnus. During the transfer, Amazo's mind has once again re-surfaced and found its way into the new robotic body and is once again wreaking havoc on the League.
When Zatanna and Red Tornado finally resolve the crisis, Vixen goes to seek Animal Man, since he's been affected by similar power fluctuations, and left unable to tap into the powers of Earth-born animals. There, they're both sucked into the Tantu Totem, where, like in Zatanna's vision, they're entrapped in Anansi's net. Anansi, the Trickster God of African folklore, reveals his powers, possibly related to the former hypertime, and how being the king of the stories, he changed Buddy and Mari's personal histories and sources of powers to test them.
In an attempt to keep them contained, Anansi restores them their connection to the Red, but alters the personal histories of the Leaguers, to prevent them from ever founding the JLA. Vixen however escapes, and seeks the new Leaguers to fight Anansi at their side.
After reality is repaired and Vixen regains her powers, the team comes into conflict with a mysterious group called the Shadow Cabinet, when said group attempts to steal the mortal remains of Doctor Light. The Shadow Cabinet is led into battle by an alien named Icon (comics), who is a member of a race known as the Cooperative, which has some sort of diplomatic immunity regarding the justice dispensed by the Green Lantern Corps. During the scuffle, it is revealed that Icon and Superman are actually aware of the true reason behind the Shadow Cabinet's intrusion into the Watchtower. As the melee continues, Hawkman enters and warns both the Justice League and the Shadow Cabinet of the impending threat posed on the world by Shadow Thief.
Various origins of the Justice League
In a story told in flashback in 1962's Justice League of America #9, Earth was infiltrated by the Appelaxians. Competing alien warriors were sent to see who could conquer Earth first to determine who will become the new ruler of their home planet. The aliens' attacks drew the attentions of Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Flash (Barry Allen), Green Lantern (Hal Jordan), Aquaman, and Martian Manhunter. While the superheroes individually defeated most of the invaders, the heroes fell prey to a single competitor's attack; only by working together were they able to defeat the competitor. For many years, the heroes heralded this adventure as the event that prompted them to agree to pool resources when confronted with similar menaces.
Years later, however (as revealed in Justice League of America #144), Green Arrow uncovered inconsistencies in League records and extracted admissions from his colleagues that the seven founders had actually formed the League after the Martian Manhunter was rescued from Martian forces by the other six founders, along with several other heroes including Robin, Robotman, Congo Bill/Congorilla, Rex the Wonder Dog, and even Lois Lane. Green Lantern participated in this first adventure solely as Hal Jordan, due to the fact that he had yet to become the costumed hero at that time (the biggest inconsistency Arrow found, as they celebrated the earlier incident's date, while recounting only the later one's events). When the group formalized their agreement, they suppressed news of it because of anti-Martian hysteria (mirroring the real-world backdrop of Martian scares and anti-communist hysteria of the 1950s). Because the League members had not revealed their identities to each other at the time, they did not realize that Jordan and Green Lantern were one and the same when he turned up in costume during the event described in #9. While most subsequent accounts of the League have made little mention of this first adventure, the animated Justice League series adapted this tale as the origin of the League as well.
1989's Secret Origins #32 updated Justice League of America #9's origin for Post-Crisis continuity. Differences included the inclusion of the original Black Canary as a founding member and the absence of Batman, Wonder Woman and Superman (the 1960s time frame was retained, but the post-Crisis versions of DC's three biggest stars were young and early in their careers in the late 1980s). Additionally, while the confident and good-looking Hal Jordan served as the public face of the Justice League, this iteration of the League's origin cast the Flash as the team's unofficial leader, since it was the methodical Allen who usually came up with the plans that best utilized everyone's powers. 1998's JLA: Year One limited series, by Mark Waid, Brian Augustyn and Barry Kitson, further expanded upon the Secret Origins depiction.
In 1994's Justice League Task Force #16, during Zero Hour, an unknown superhuman named Triumph appeared. It was revealed that, in a plotline never explored before, Triumph was revealed to have been a founding member of the Justice League, serving as their leader. On his first mission with the fledgling Justice League, Triumph seemingly "saved the world", but was teleported into a dimensional limbo that also affected the timestream, resulting in no one having any memory of him. This was to explain how all the heroes ended up in Washington for their first meeting.
JLA: Incarnations, in 2001, retconned Hawkman Katar Hol as the Golden Age Hawkman, Carter Hall, a founding member of the Justice Society of America who joins the Justice League of America as a mentor. This fact was later confirmed in Brad Meltzer's Identity Crisis and 52 - Week 21.
In 2006's Infinite Crisis #7, the formation of "New Earth" (the new name for the Post-Crisis Earth) resulted in the retcon that Wonder Woman was a founding member of the Justice League in the early days. In Brad Meltzer's Justice League of America (vol. 2) #0 (2006), it was also revealed that both Superman and Batman were founding members as well. 52 - Week 51 confirmed that the 1989 Secret Origins and JLA: Year One origins are still in canon, with Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman joining the team (consisting of Aquaman, Black Canary, Flash, Green Lantern, and Martian Manhunter) with founding members' status shortly after the group's formation.
Related series
Formerly Known as the Justice League
In 2003, Giffen, DeMatteis, and Maguire returned with a separate limited series called Formerly Known as the Justice League with the same humor as their Justice League run, and featuring some of the same characters in a team called the "Super Buddies" (a parody of the Super Friends). A follow-up limited series, entitled I Can't Believe It's Not the Justice League, soon was prepared, although it was delayed due to the events shown in the Identity Crisis limited series, but was eventually released as the second arc in JLA: Classified. The Super Buddies consisted of Blue Beetle, Booster Gold, Captain Atom, Fire, Mary Marvel, the Elongated Man with his wife, Sue Dibny, Maxwell Lord, and L-Ron. The second story arc of JLA: Classified focuses on the Super Buddies in a humorous story that features Power Girl, Guy Gardner, and Doctor Fate.
JLA/Avengers
In 2004, George Pérez and Kurt Busiek came out with a JLA/Avengers crossover, an idea that had been delayed for 20 years for various reasons. In this limited series, the Justice League and the Avengers were forced to find key artifacts in one another's universe, as well as deal with the threats of villains Krona and the Grandmaster. A key moment in League history occurs in this series, when the Avenger Hawkeye becomes the first Marvel Comics character to be inducted into the Justice League.
JLA: Classified
In 2004, DC began an anthology series titled JLA: Classified, which would feature rotating writers and artists producing self-contained story-arcs starring the JLA. JLA Classified is in official continuity; the stories take place somewhere in the team's past. The series was canceled as of issue #54 (May 2008).
Justice
In October 2005, DC began publishing the 12-issue miniseries Justice by writer Jim Krueger, writer/illustrator Alex Ross, and artist Doug Braithwaite. In the story, which is not set in current DC continuity, the League faces off against the combined forces of their most infamous criminal archenemies, including Lex Luthor, Cheetah, Joker, Brainiac, Black Manta, Poison Ivy, etc. These villains have all shared the same nightmare of the Earth's destruction, and the shared nature of this vision leads them to believe it is a premonition of an actual impending event, one which they believe the Justice League is responsible for. Instead of using their combined strength for destructive ends, the new criminal team provides humanitarian aid in the form of large floating cities in which the impoverished people of Earth can live. They also use the power of rhetoric to criticize the Justice League for not having done enough humanitarian work themselves prior to this. In truth, this is a prelude to a coordinated attack on the Leaguers, which involves learning their secret identities, physically attacking them on multiple fronts, and unleashing microscopic mechanical organisms on a number of them that cause those infected to become murderous psychotics. With help from Doc Magnus and the Metal Men, the Leaguers build special armor to protect them from the mechanical worms. During the climactic battle, John Stewart manages to erase knowledge of the League's secret identities from the villains' minds, and Brainiac, who had taken control of all of Earth's nuclear weapons, in a ploy to restore the glory of his planet Colu on Earth, is defeated.
Justice League
Announced at Wizard World LA 2008; James Robinson and Mauro Cascioli will be starting a new Justice League series known simply as Justice League. According to Robinson, this series will be about "justice and seeking justice, rather than responding to emergencies, letting the problems come to them, and being almost entirely reactive". The team will be brought together by a murder, and Robinson revealed that the series will be tied to Final Crisis.
Robinson explained that "Hal Jordan decides that he wants a pro-active team. This team will go after the equivalent of the FBI's most wanted list, sometimes in different countries, sometimes through time. It's a nice eclectic team of established teams and some oddball characters I've thrown in." He also said that "The difference is, the Justice League of America is all about the League, it's a family. While this is about justice. It's all about bringing in the bad guys."
The team will be consist of Green Lantern Hal Jordan, Green Arrow, Ray Palmer (though not as the Atom), Supergirl, Batwoman, Freddy Freeman "with a new name", Mikaal Tomas, and Congorilla.
Related teams
- The Justice League has occasionally worked with its predecessor, the Justice Society of America. Between 1963 and 1985, a popular annual series of team-ups between the two teams to tackle a mutual threat was published. They often encountered other worlds in the Multiverse, such as Earth-S, home to Captain Marvel and Shazam. In Post-Crisis continuity, now that the teams inhabit the same Earth, the JLA and JSA have Thanksgiving dinner together each year, with the location varying year to year between their respective headquarters. A crossover between the two teams in 2007 also involved the Legion of Super-Heroes.
- The Teen Titans is a team originally formed by the teen sidekicks of a few Justice League members (and thus known as a "Junior Justice League" of sorts).
- Another team of young heroes similar to the Teen Titans was Young Justice, originally composed of Superboy, Impulse and Robin. Later more members were added like Secret (rescuing her was the first case of the original trio), Wonder Girl, Arrowette, The Ray, Empress, Lil'lobo (later Slo-bo). The team was formed by chance, its name was coined by a reporter when Impulse tried to say that they weren't really a team, but "just us" (the reporter mistakenly believed the team was named "Young Justice"). Red Tornado was first a mentor and then liaison for the team to the Justice League after the group was officially adopted as the young branch. The team was disbanded after the events of Titans/Young Justice: Graduation Day and some former members of both the Titans and Young Justice grouped together to form the new Teen Titans.
- In light of the increased UN scrutiny of super-powered teams after the events of Infinite Crisis and 52, Batman has re-formed his own team of Outsiders, who work under his direction, tackling politically sensitive problems that might prove problematic were the Justice League of America to become directly involved.
- In the final issue of 52, a new multiverse was created, containing 52 worlds, some of which have alternate versions of the Justice League. On Earth 11, a world where all the genders are reversed from the characters of New Earth, there is a Justice League led by Superwoman and Batwoman; its members include Kylie Rayner, Olivia Queen, a Blue Beetle who is similar in costume and power to Jaimie Reyes (however dialogue suggests it may be a female version of Ted Kord), a Flash (whose blonde hair suggests she may be a female Barry Allen), Aquawoman (a female Arthur Curry), Atom (whose costume resembles Ryan Choi's), and Plastic Woman. Female versions of Red Tornado and Martian Manhunter are also members as well as a male version of Black Canary. Wonderman was also a member, but was kicked off the team for killing Maxine Lord.
- A team formed by some rejects from the Legion of Super-Heroes that are native to Earth as shown in Action Comics #859. This "Justice League of Earth" has twisted the legacy of Superman to promote their xenophobic agenda. In Superman and the Legion of Super-Heroes, 31st century Earth has become an isolated xenophobic planet. Championing the cause of a "pure" human race is the Justice League of Earth, led by Kirt Niedrigh, formerly known as Absorbancy Boy. Niedrigh adopted the identity of Earth-Man and assembled his team of villains and bitter Legion rejects to stand against the diversity that the Legion promotes. After being dismantled and defeated by Superman and the Legion, Earth-Man and his League were imprisoned. Shortly thereafter, in Final Crisis: Legion of 3 Worlds, they were freed by Superboy-Prime and joined his new Legion of Super-Villains. Members include:
- Earth-Man: Kirt Niedrigh, formerely Absorbency Boy. Has the ability to absorb and duplicate superpowers, albeit temporarily. Leader.
- Spider Girl: Sussa Paka. Has web-like hair and is a former member of the Legion of Super-Villains.
- Tusker: Horace Lafeaugh. Has an unbreakable skeleton.
- Storm Boy: Myke Chypurz. Has weather-making machines implanted in his chest cavity, giving him the ability to generate wind and lightning.
- Golden Boy: Klint Stewirt. Has a midas touch and a solid gold body. Finances the team.
- Eyeful Ethel: Ethel Lynn Niwtyn. Has the ability to grow extra eyes anywhere on her body. Acts as a teacher at the "Earth Cultural Center", telling students about Superman's false hatred of aliens.
- Radiation Roy: Roy Travich. A living radioactive isotope. Must wear a red containment suit as his powers have damaged and hideously deformed his body. He used to have a romantic relationship with Spider-Girl. Former member of the Legion of Super-Villains.
Awards
The original Justice League of America series has won:
Bibliography
Silver Age Justice League of America
This series has been collected in the following:
| # | Title | Material collected |
|---|
| 1 | Justice League of America Archives volume 1 | Brave and the Bold #28–30, Justice League of America #1–6 | | 2 | Justice League of America Archives volume 2 | Justice League of America #7–14 | | 3 | Justice League of America Archives volume 3 | Justice League of America #15–22 | | 4 | Justice League of America Archives volume 4 | Justice League of America #23–30 | | 5 | Justice League of America Archives volume 5 | Justice League of America #31–38, 40* | | 6 | Justice League of America Archives volume 6 | Justice League of America #41–47, 49–50* | | 7 | Justice League of America Archives volume 7 | Justice League of America #51–57, 59–60* | | 8 | Justice League of America Archives volume 8 | Justice League of America #61–66, 68–70* | | 9 | Justice League of America Archives volume 9 | Justice League of America #71–80 |
- omitted issues featured reprints of material from earlier Archives.
JLA #1-125 (January 1997 - February 2006)
This series has been collected in the following trade paperbacks:
| # | Title | Material collected |
|---|
| 1 | New World Order | JLA #1-4 | | 2 | American Dreams | JLA #5-9 | | 3 | Rock Of Ages | JLA #10-15 | | 4 | Strength In Numbers | JLA #16-23, JLA Secret Files #2, Prometheus One-shot | | 5 | Justice For All | JLA #24-33 | | 6 | World War Three | JLA #34-41 | | 7 | Tower of Babel | JLA #43-46, JLA Secret Files 3, JLA 80-Page Giant 1 | | 8 | Divided We Fall | JLA #47-54 | | 9 | Terror Incognita | JLA #55-60 | | 10 | Golden Perfect | JLA #61-65 | | 11 | The Obsidian Age (Book 1) | JLA #66-71 | | 12 | The Obsidian Age (Book 2) | JLA #72-76 | | 13 | Rules Of Engagement | JLA #77-82 | | 14 | Trial By Fire | JLA #84-89 | | 15 | The Tenth Circle | JLA #94-99 | | 16 | Pain Of The Gods | JLA #101-106 | | 17 | Syndicate Rules | JLA #107-114 and a story from JLA Secret Files 2004 | | 18 | Crisis Of Conscience | JLA #115-119 | | 19 | World Without A Justice League | JLA #120-125 |
This series has been collected in the following hardcover collections:
| # | Title | Material collected |
|---|
| 1 | JLA: The Deluxe Edition Vol. 1 | JLA #1-9, plus a story included in JLA: Secret Files and Origins #1 |
Justice League of America (vol. 2) #1-onwards (August 2006-onwards)
This series has been collected in the following hardcover collections:
| # | Title | Material collected |
|---|
| 1 | The Tornado's Path | Justice League of America (vol. 2) #1-7 | | 2 | The Lightning Saga | Justice League of America (vol. 2) #0, #8-12, Justice Society of America (vol. 3) #5-6 | | 3 | The Injustice League | Justice League of America (vol. 2) #13-16, JLA Wedding Special #1 | | 4 | Sanctuary | Justice League of America (vol. 2) #17-21 |
Alternate versions
In Action Comics #856 and 857 a variant Justice League team was introduced, based off of the Bizarro character.
In other media
Television
Justice League of America has been adapted for television numerous times.
Animation
- The first animated appearance of the Justice League was in the 1967 television series The Superman/Aquaman Hour of Adventure. The team appeared in only three segments of the run of the show.
- The longest-running version of the Justice League was the loosely adapted series called the Super Friends, which ran in various incarnations from 1973 to 1986.
- The Justice League make their first appearance in the DC Animated Universe in "The Call", a two-parted episode of Batman Beyond. It portrayed a futuristic version of the team, referred to as "Justice League Unlimited", or "JLU" for short. The lineup consisted of an aging Superman, a brand new Green Lantern, Big Barda, plus new characters: Aquagirl (Aquaman's daughter), Micron (similar to Atom), and Warhawk (who is later revealed to be the son of John Stewart and Hawkgirl).
- Cartoon Network's Justice League series debuted in 2001 and lasted for two seasons. Although not the Justice League's first appearance in the DC Animated Universe, it was their first chronological appearance. In July 2004, the series was retitled and revised for its third season as Justice League Unlimited. Both of these were extensions of the DC Animated Universe, continuing the continuity begun by Batman: The Animated Series, Superman: The Animated Series, The New Batman Adventures, Static Shock, and Batman Beyond.
- In the two-part fourth season finale of The Batman, titled "The Joining", Batman allied with Martian Manhunter against aliens known as "the Joining". At the end of the second episode, J'onn contacts Batman and asks him to join his group, prompting Batman to remark that J'onn has formed "quite a league". The members of the "League" featured in this sequence were Green Lantern, Green Arrow, Hawkman, and the Flash. Much of the fifth season revolves around teamups with League members and Batman. Other elements that were put forth included Batman recruiting Superman, and a headquarters combining elements of the Hall of Justice from Super Friends and the Watchtower from Justice League.
Live action
- Legends of the Superheroes was a two-part special that adapted the Justice League that appeared in the 1970s. It featured Adam West, Burt Ward and Frank Gorshin returning to their roles from the 1960s live-action Batman television series: Batman, Robin, and the Riddler respectively. Other heroes portrayed on the show included Black Canary, Captain Marvel, Flash, Green Lantern, Hawkman, Huntress and more.
- Justice League of America was a series pilot produced in 1997, but failed to sell. The pilot used less well-known characters to avoid the licensing issues surrounding Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman. The characters used included the Martian Manhunter, the Guy Gardner Green Lantern, Fire, Ice, the Barry Allen Flash, and the Ray Palmer Atom set against a version of the Weather Wizard.
- Smallville featured a version of the Justice League in its sixth season episode "Justice". The members of the team were drawn from versions of DC Comics heroes that had previously appeared in the show: "Impulse" from the season four episode "Run"; "Aquaman" from the season five episode "Aqua"; "Cyborg" from the season five episode of the same name, and "Green Arrow" who had been appearing as a regular character through Season Six. The episode had the team temporarily recruiting main characters Clark Kent, who Green Arrow dubs "Boy Scout", and Chloe Sullivan, who acts as the team's advisor through a computer network under the codename "Watchtower". Later, in the Season Seven episode "Siren", the Black Canary joined Oliver's team as well. The League saves Clark in the Season Eight premiere "Odyssey", but after Aquaman and Black Canary have their identities exposed, Oliver makes the call for the team to temporarily disband. In the episode "Bulletproof," it is mentioned that Detective John Jones (The Martian Manhunter) is working with Oliver's team.
Video games
- As well as several video games based on its animated incarnation the Justice League has appeared in two video games titled Justice League Task Force, released in 1995 for the Sega Genesis, and Justice League Heroes, released in 2006 as a cross platform game.
- Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Flash (Barry Allen), Captain Marvel, and Green Lantern (Hal Jordan) appear in Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe
Film
Live-action film
In February 2007, Warner Bros. hired Kieran and Michele Mulroney to write a script for Justice League, which they handed in that June to positive feedback from the studio. George Miller signed to direct in September 2007, while the studio hoped filming would start before the 2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike. In addition, the studio was considering filming Justice League completely in motion capture, similar to Beowulf. Barrie Osbourne will produce, with a $220 million budget.
Filming was supposed to start in February 2008, in Australia, where post-production would also be conducted. Some shooting was to take place at Sydney Heads, while local colleges were scouted. But in January 2008, Warner Bros. announced the film was on indefinite hold, allowing an options lapse for the cast. The studio felt the script needed perfecting, which was impossible because of the writer's strike. As soon as the strike ended, Warners wanted to start filming in mid-April 2008. In February 2008 it was announced that production would go to Canada, despite Miller's wishes to keep production at Fox Studios Australia. The Mulroneys are currently rewriting the script.
Marit Allen was originally hired as costume designer, but she died in November 2007. Weta Workshop took over costume designer, a decision which opens the possibility of their sister company, Weta Digital, doing the visual effects.
While a cast for the film was never officially declared, various news brokers were able to confirm a number of Miller's casting choices, for which he chose predominantly younger actors who he had hoped would "grow into their roles" over the course of a film trilogy. The decision to cast lesser-known actors has received negative feedback from comic book fans on the internet. Brody, Common, Gale and Hammer will have to physically train for their roles.
In October 2007, roughly 40 actors and actresses auditioned for the League, among them; Joseph Cross, Michael Angarano, Max Thieriot, Minka Kelly, Adrianne Palicki and Scott Porter.
Concerning the eponymous Justice League, Adam Brody had been cast as Barry Allen / The Flash, - with D. J. Cotrona as Superman, rapper Common as John Stewart / Green Lantern, Australian supermodel Megan Gale as Diana Prince / Wonder Woman, Armie Hammer was cast as Batman. A number of different actors were fleetingly associated with the project; Jessica Biel had turned down the role of Wonder Woman, while Mary Elizabeth Winstead auditioned. Teresa Palmer and Shannyn Sossamon were also interested, while Christina Milian, a comic book fan, offered her services for the role. Columbus Short turned down the role of Green Lantern, which rapper T.I. was also rumored for.
From February 2007 until April 2008, the much maligned project was subject to rumours before eventually being put on an indefinite hiatus; in a recent interview, producer Joel Silver stated that Justice League "has been tabled." In August 2008 director George Miller was quoted saying "the flick's production, initially planned for Oz, has been moved offshore, with a plan to resume filming next year." However, on August 22, The Wall Street Journal reported that Warner's new plan is to release four individual solo movies within the next three years before doing a multiple character movie, much like rival Marvel is reportedly doing with their Avengers film. While Warner Bros. Pictures Group President Jeff Robinov confirmed that one of those films will be a Superman reboot, it is likely that among the other three, there will be a sequel to the successful Batman movie The Dark Knight as well as two movies introducing fresh DC Comics characters to the big screen.
In December 2008 there were rumors that director Miller was off the project. They were dispelled by a representative of the filmmaker, however, describing the movie's status as "being seriously worked on." Due to the persistent production problems, the film's release has again been pushed back, to 2011.
Direct-to-video
Justice League: The New Frontier is a direct-to-video animated film adaptation of popular DC Comics limited series DC: The New Frontier released on DVD, HD DVD and Blu-ray Disc in the United States on February 26, 2008. The film was written by Justice League writer Stan Berkowitz, with Darwyn Cooke serving as story and visual consultant.
See also
Spin-off groups
External links
- (April 5, 2007), WizardUniverse.com - Writer Brad Meltzer discusses the origins and implications of the JLA's new HQ
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