The Justice League, also called the Justice League of America or JLA, is a fictional superhero team that appears in comic books published by DC Comics.
First appearing in The Brave and the Bold #28 (February/March 1960), the Justice League originally appeared with the line-up of Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Flash (Barry Allen), Green Lantern (Hal Jordan),Aquaman, and the Martian Manhunter. The team roster has been rotated throughout the years with characters such as Green Arrow, Captain Marvel, Black Canary, the Atom, Hawkman, Elongated Man, Red Tornado, Firestorm, Zatanna, other Green Lanterns, and dozens of others. The team received its own comic book title in October 1960, when the first issue was published. It would continue to #261 in April 1987, which was the final issue. Throughout the years, various incarnations or subsections of the team have 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 Justice League have remained generally popular with fans since inception and in most incarnations, its roster includes DC's most popular characters. The Justice League concept has also been adapted into various other entertainment media, including the classic Saturday morning Super Friends animated series (1973–1986), an unproduced Justice League of America live-action series, and most recently the 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. On June 6, 2012 Warner Bros. announced a new live action Justice League film was in development with Will Beall hired as screenwriter.[1]
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, which reunited the "Original Seven" of the League for the first time since Crisis on Infinite Earths. In 1997, DC Comics launched a new Justice League series titled JLA, written by Grant Morrison with art byHoward Porter and inker John Dell.[47]
This series, in an attempt at a "back-to-basics" approach, used as its core the team's original 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. JLA quickly became DC's best-selling title,[48] a position it enjoyed off and on for several years.[49]
Morrison introduced the idea of the JLA allegorically representing a pantheon of gods, with their different powers and personalities, incorporating such characters as Zauriel, Big Barda, Orion, Huntress, Barbara Gordon (Oracle), Steel (John Henry Irons), and Plastic Man. He also had temporaries as Aztek, Tomorrow Woman, and Green Arrow (Connor Hawke).
Under Morrison, the series pitted the League against a variety of enemies. These included White Martians, renegade angels, a new incarnation of the Injustice Gang led by Lex Luthor, and the Key. Other foes were the new villain Prometheus, the existing JLA villain Starro the Conqueror, "The Ultra-Marines", and a futuristicDarkseid. Morrison's run culminated in an arc title "World War III" which involves the New Gods preparing the Earth for battle against a creature known as "Maggedon", a super-sentient weapon of mass destruction.
Morrison departed with issue #41, after which the book saw runs by Mark Waid and Joe Kelly. Subsequent to this, the series switched to a series of rotating writers with issue #91 while Kelly (via JLA #100) was given a the mini-series Justice League Elite, which featured Green Arrow, Flash, and several other characters. The new format saw stories by John Byrne, Chuck Austen, and Kurt Busiek. Geoff Johns and Allan Heinbergwould take over the book with #115, which saw a multi-part storyline that dealt with the aftermath of Identity Crisis, and served as a lead-in to the events of "Infinite Crisis", as Superboy-Prime destroyed the Watchtower at the end of issue #119. Bob Harras would ultimately write the book's final storyline (JLA #120-125) as Green Arrow struggled in vain to keep the League afloat.
n September 2011, following the conclusion of the Flashpoint miniseries, all DC titles were canceled and relaunched from issue #1, with DC continuity being rebooted again. Justice League of America was relaunched as Justice League, written by Geoff Johns and drawn by Jim Lee, and was the first of the new titles released, coming out the same day as the final issue of Flashpoint.[57] The first six issues-storyline is set five years in the past and features a new origin for the team.[58] The series then shifted to the present day beginning with issue #7.[59] After the first 12 issues, Jim Lee will be succeeded as artist by Ivan Reis.[60]
The initial roster of the team consists of Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern (Hal Jordan), Aquaman, the Flash (Barry Allen), and Cyborg,[61][62] while the Atom (Ryan Choi), Hawkman (Carter Hall),Firestorm (Ronnie Raymond), Green Arrow (Oliver Queen), Aquaman's wife Mera, Deadman, recently created character Element Woman,[63] and Lady Luck, a revamp of the Golden Age character, are set to join as additional members in the future.[64]
In addition to this series, two other Justice League-related titles were launched during the same month: a new Justice League International; written by Dan Jurgens and drawn by Aaron Lopresti;[65] featuring an initial roster of Batman, Booster Gold, Rocket Red (Gavril Ivanovich), Vixen, Green Lantern (Guy Gardner), Fire,Ice, August General in Iron,[66] and Godiva,[citation needed] and Justice League Dark; written by Peter Milliganand drawn by Mikel Janin; featuring an initial roster consisting of John Constantine, Shade, the Changing Man, Madame Xanadu, Deadman, Zatanna, and new character Mindwarp.[67] In May 2012, DC announced the cancellation of Justice League International with issue 12 and an annual.[68]
The cancellation of Justice League International will lead into the launch of a new Justice League of Americatitle. The new Justice League of America will consist of Steve Trevor, Martian Manhunter, Green Arrow,Hawkman, Catwoman, the new Green Lantern (Simon Baz), Stargirl, Katana and Vibe.[69]
In a story told in flashback in Justice League of America #9 (February 1962), Earth was infiltrated by theAppelaxians.[70] 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.
In Justice League of America #144 (July 1977), Green Arrow uncovered inconsistencies in the team's records[71] 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. Because the heroes 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 Justice League as well.
Secret Origins (vol. 2) #32 (November 1988) 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 JLA: Year One limited series, by Mark Waid,Brian Augustyn, and Barry Kitson, further expanded upon the Secret Origins depiction.[72]
In Justice League Task Force #16 (Sept. 1994), during Zero Hour, an unknown superhuman named Triumph appeared. Triumph was revealed to have been a founding member of the Justice League and was their leader. On his first mission with the Justice League, Triumph seemingly "saved the world" but was teleported into a dimensional limbo that also affected the timestream, erasing all memory of him.
In Infinite Crisis #7 (June 2006), the formation of "New Earth" (the new name for the post-Crisis Earth) restored Wonder Woman as a founding member of the Justice League. In Brad Meltzer's Justice League of America (vol. 2) #0 (September 2006), it was revealed that Superman and Batman were again founding members as well. 52 #51 (June 2007) confirmed that the 1989 Secret Origins and JLA: Year One origins were still in continuity at that time, with Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman joining the team with founding members' status shortly after the group's formation with Aquaman, Black Canary, Flash, Green Lantern, and Martian Manhunter.[73] In Justice League of America #12 (October 2007), the founding members of the Justice League were shown to be Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern (Hal Jordan), Flash (Barry Allen), Aquaman, and the Martian Manhunter.
With DC's history rewritten due to the Flashpoint limited series, an entirely new origin for the Justice League was introduced in the subsequent Justice League series which debuted with an October 2011 cover date as part of the company-wide event, "The New 52". Issue #1 portrayed the first meeting between Batman and Hal Jordan, with the two encountering each other during a battle against a Parademon in Gotham City. After realizing the creature isextraterrestrial in origin, the two heroes head to Metropolis to seek out Superman and are attacked by him.[74] Later, after a brief fight in which the Flash arrives and Batman convinces Superman they are on the same side, they move to an abandoned building to work on analyzing a mysterious alien box, when it suddenly activates and more Parademons arrive.[75] While fighting the Parademons, Aquaman and Wonder Woman appear and join forces with the other heroes.[76] The mysterious box leads to Darkseid's arrival on Earth, and the heroes come together, along with the newcomer Cyborg, to defeat him. The public are enamoured with the heroes, and a writer dubs the group the 'Justice League', following the Flash's suggestion of 'Super Seven'.[77]
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