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For the animated television series, see Justice League (TV series) or Justice League Unlimited. For the live action television movie, see Justice League of America (1997 film).
Justice League
File:JLA Cv12.PNGPromotional art for Justice League of America #12.
Art by Alex Ross.
Publication information
PublisherDC Comics
First appearanceThe Brave and the Bold # 28 (February-March 1960)
Created byGardner Fox
In-story information
Base(s)The Hall and the satellite
Watchtower
The Refuge
JLI Embassies
Detroit Bunker
Satellite
Secret Sanctuary
Member(s)Batman
Black Canary
Black Lightning
Geo-Force
Green Lantern
Hawkgirl
Red Arrow
Red Tornado
Superman
Vixen
Wonder Woman
Roster
See: List of Justice League members

The Justice League, sometimes called the Justice League of America or JLA for short, is a fictional DC Universe superhero team. In most incarnations, its roster includes DC's most popular characters. The original line-up is Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Flash, Green Lantern, Aquaman and the Martian Manhunter. The team has also included Green Arrow, Atom, Hawkman, Black Canary, Captain Marvel, Plastic Man and dozens of others.

The team first appears in The Brave and the Bold #28 (1960). Although series featuring the League occasionally have garnered low sales, the team has been fairly popular with comic book fans since inception. The Justice League concept was loosely adapted into the Super Friends animated series (1972-1985) and more directly into the series Justice League (2001-2004) and Justice League Unlimited (2004-2006).

Throughout the years, the team, or segments of it, are called Justice League America, Justice League Europe, Justice League International, Justice League Task Force, and Justice League Elite.

Publication history

Silver and Bronze Age / Justice League of America

The Brave and the Bold #28: Debut of the Justice League. Art by Mike Sekowsky and Murphy Anderson.
Justice League of America
File:JLofA-1.jpgCover to Justice League of America #1.
Art by Mike Sekowsky.
Publication information
PublisherDC Comics
ScheduleMonthly
FormatOngoing
Publication dateOctober 1961 - 1986
No. of issues261
Creative team
Created byGardner Fox
Mike Sekowsky
Written byvarious
Artist(s)various

The Justice League of America first appeared in The Brave and The Bold #28 (1960) as a revival of the Justice Society of America (JSA) and gained its own title that same year. Creator Gardner Fox, influenced by the National Football League and Major League Baseball, decided to use the more contemporary word "league", rather than "society". Mike Sekowsky was the artist for the first five years of the series. Justice League of America was amongst the most popular of DC Comics' publications at the time.

The concept was fairly simple: to include all of DC Comic's most popular characters in one title, hence the original line-up's inclusion of Superman, Batman, Aquaman, the Flash, Green Lantern and Wonder Woman. JLA's early success was indirectly responsible for the creation of the Fantastic Four. In his autobiography Stan Lee relates how, during a game of golf, DC publisher Jack Liebowitz mentioned to Marvel owner Martin Goodman how well DC's new book was selling. Later that day Goodman ordered Lee to create Marvel's own version, but instead of creating a straight copy, Lee and Jack Kirby created the Fantastic Four.

The team operated from a secret cave outside of the small town of Happy Harbor. 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.

Satellite years

Main article: Justice League Satellite

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 seven founders along with Green Arrow, Atom, Hawkman, Black Canary, Phantom Stranger, Elongated Man, and Red Tornado. 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

File:JLofA238.jpg
The Detroit based team. Cover to Justice League of America #238 by Paris Cullins.

In 1984, in an attempt to emulate the success of DC's most successful 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 is initially led by Aquaman and features Justice League veterans Zatanna, the Martian Manhunter and the Elongated Man, but the majority of the stories focus on newly recruited heroes Vixen, Gypsy, Steel and Vibe. Zatanna, Aquaman and the Elongated Man soon left the series, leaving behind minor characters. Even the return of Batman to the team in Justice League of America # 250 couldn't 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 with 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

File:JL1987.jpg
Cover to Justice League #1. Art by Kevin Maguire.
Main articles: Justice League International and Justice League Europe

The 1987 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 largely 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, Doctor Fate, Martian Manhunter, Mister Miracle, and Guy Gardner; and soon after inception, added Booster Gold, Captain Atom, Fire, Ice, and two Rocket Reds (one was a Manhunter spy). The series' humorous tone was very popular for the first few years, but writers following Giffen and DeMatteis were unable to capture 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 spin-offs Justice League Europe, Extreme Justice, and Justice League Task Force.

JLA

JLA
Cover for JLA #1, by Howard Porter and John Dell.
Publication information
PublisherDC Comics
ScheduleMonthly
FormatOngoing
Publication dateJanuary 1997 - February 2006
No. of issues125
Creative team
Created byGrant Morrison
Howard Porter
John Dell
Written byGrant Morrison, Mark Waid, Joe Kelly, Chuck Austen, Kurt Busiek, Geoff Johns, Alan Heinberg, Bob Harras
Artist(s)various

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 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 for several years. Despite this, DC didn't 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 will be relaunched as Justice Society of America to coincide with the new Justice League of America book.

In 2005, 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.

52

Main article: 52 (comic book)

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 solicitions and covers.

Justice League of America (vol. 2)

Justice League of America (vol. 2)
File:JLA1 turner.jpgVariant Incentive Cover for Justice League of America #1
Art by Michael Turner.
Publication information
PublisherDC Comics
ScheduleMonthly
FormatOngoing
Publication dateAugust 2006 -
No. of issues10 issues (including #0)
Creative team
Created byBrad Meltzer
Ed Benes
Written byBrad Meltzer
Artist(s)Ed Benes


"One Year Later" after the events of Infinite Crisis, Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman reunite in the Batcave and begin planning a new incarnation of the Justice League in Justice League of America #0, the kick-off for a new series by Brad Meltzer and Ed Benes.

In issue #1 (August 2006), Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman begin selecting heroes for invitation into their reformed JLA. At the same time stories are told involving Green Lantern (Hal Jordan), Black Canary, Red Arrow, and Red Tornado all seeking out the latter's abandoned android body, while Vixen chases down super-villains who stole her totem and Black Lightning and Hawkgirl investigate mysterious super-villain activity in the city of St. Roch. Brion Markov, Markovian royalty and the super-hero known as Geo-Force, is also seen escaping his destroyed yacht. This series has seen the debut of new incarnations of Solomon Grundy and Amazo.

In issue #7, it is revealed that Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman built a new headquarters for the Justice League, consisting of two buildings linked by a 'slideways' transporter. The first headquarters 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. 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 forebears, 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—which also features a huge training room dubbed 'The Kitchen', after the quip "If you can't take the heat, stay out of the kitchen". Black Lightning remarked, "That sure is a dangerous room." Black Canary is elected as the first official Chairwoman.

(While issue #7 states the Hall is on the site of the former headquarters of the Justice Society and the All-Star Squadron, this contradicts established DC Universe continuity. The Justice Society's headquarters were first in Gotham City, then in Civic City. The All-Star Squadron met in the Trylon and Perisphere, left over from the 1939 World's Fair, in Flushing Meadows, NY. This may be attributed to as-yet unknown sweeping changes brought on by Infinite Crisis.)

Various origins of the Justice League

In 1962's Justice League of America #9 Earth was infiltrated by the Appelaxians, competing alien warriors 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, the Flash (Barry Allen), Green Lantern (Hal Jordan), Aquaman, and the 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 Robin, who did not join the League because of his age. Green Lantern participated in this first adventure primarily as Hal Jordan, though he finally appeared as Green Lantern when the group formalized their agreement, news of which they mutually suppressed 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. 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. And yet, even though it has not officially been removed from League history, much of it could not have unfolded as originally told because of changes in continuity, which continue to emerge as of this writing.

1989's, Secret Origins #32 updated the Justice League of America's origin for Post-Crisis continuity. Differences included the inclusion of Black Canary as a founding member and the absence of Batman, Wonder Woman and Superman (though Batman and Superman had cameo appearances they did not join the League). 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.

In 1994's Justice League Task Force #15, during Zero Hour, an unknown superhuman named Triumph appeared. Via yet another retcon, 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. Given the current direction of editorial policy, it seems unlikely that this retcon is still valid after the events of Infinite Crisis.

1999's JLA: Year One limited series, by Mark Waid, Brian Augustyn and Barry Kitson, re-tooled and expanded the Secret Origins depiction. In 2006's Infinite Crisis #7, the formation of "New Earth" resulted in several changes in DC continuity, one of which is Wonder Woman's return to status as a founding member of the Justice League. In Brad Meltzer's Justice League of America (vol. 2) #0 (2006), it was retconned back that both Superman and Batman are founding members as well. No official changes in continuity for Hawkman and Hawkgirl's involvement with the team have been confirmed. 52 Week 51 confirmed that the JLA: Year One origin is still canon, with Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman joining the team with founding members' status shortly after the group's formation.

Related series

Formerly Known as the Justice League

Main article: Super Buddies

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

Main article: 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

JLA: Classified
File:Justice league.jpgCover to JLA: Classified #1 by Ed McGuinness.
Publication information
PublisherDC Comics
ScheduleMonthly
FormatOngoing
Publication dateJanuary 2005 -
No. of issues38 (as of May 9)
Creative team
Created byGrant Morrison
Ed McGuinness
Written byvarious
Artist(s)various

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 first arc features Grant Morrison's return to the team with artist Ed McGuiness and a storyline featuring a "proto-universe" that was first seen in Morrison's JLA run as well as his then-upcoming Seven Soldiers limited series. Keith Giffen and J.M. DeMatteis then did the sequel to "Formerly Known as the Justice League" entitled "I Can't Believe It's Not the Justice League". Then Warren Ellis, Gail Simone, and Howard Chaykin wrote the following stories with other writers taking over after that. Dan Jurgens and Dan Slott produced the six part bi-weekly "4th Parallel" storyline which runs through issues #32-36, and introduces a new villain named the Red King. Creators rumored to do upcoming arcs include Tom Mandrake and Garth Ennis. Garth Ennis has stated that his "final Hitman story will be published in JLA Classified.

Justice

Main article: Justice (DC Comics)

In October 2005, DC began publishing Justice with stories by Jim Krueger and Alex Ross and art by Ross and Doug Braithwaite. In this new out-of-continuity maxi-series, it is not a single foe that they face, but rather the combined forces of the most infamous criminal masterminds ever to grace DC's pages, e.g. Lex Luthor, Riddler, Joker, Brainiac, Black Manta, etc. Instead of using their combined strength for destructive ends, the new criminal mega-team is using their unified power to attain humanitarian aid the likes of which the Justice League can only imagine. Whatever their ultimate goal may be though, their efforts have left the League with a tarnished public image.

Related teams

  • The Justice League occasionally has worked with its predecessor, the Justice Society of America. Between 1963 and 1985, a popular annual series of teamups between the two teams to tackle some sort of mutual threat was seen. They often encountered other worlds in the Multiverse, such as Earth-S, home to Captain Marvel or Shazam. 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. Starting in early 2007, a crossover between the two titles began that involved yet another team, the Legion of Super-Heroes.
  • A team originally formed by the teen sidekicks of a few Justice League members (and thus known as a "Junior Justice League" of sorts) is called the Teen Titans. A similar group, called Young Justice, was founded years later. This group eventually became members of the newest version of the Titans along with a few of the older Titans from the run in the 80's, with Nightwing and Arsenal of the previous Titans becoming members of the new Outsiders.

Justice League parodies/references

This article contains a list of miscellaneous information. Please relocate any relevant information into other sections or articles. (June 2007)

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 #42-46, 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

In other media

The Superfriends.
File:Justice League of America (Live Action) 2.JPG
The "League" from the live action television pilot of Justice League of America.
File:Smallville justice.jpg
A "Justice League" as featured in the Smallville Season 6 episode Justice.
Cartoon Network's Justice League

Justice League of America has been adapted for television numerous times.

References

  1. "League was a stronger word, one that the readers could identify with because of baseball leagues"
  2. Lee, Stan and George, Mair (2002) Excelsior! The Amazing Like of Stan Lee. ISBN 0-684-87305-2
  3. "Sales dropped by tens of thousands, very little favorable fan response for the new team"
  4. McClintock, Pamela (2007-02-22). "Justice prevails for Warner Bros". Variety. Retrieved 2007-04-12. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)

See also

Spin-off groups

External links

Justice League
Affiliated teams
Publications
Storylines
Previous series
Limited series
Crossovers
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