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For the animated television series based on this comic book, see Justice League (TV series) or Justice League Unlimited.

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, 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, and Justice League Elite.

History

Origin of the Justice League of America

In 1962's Justice League of America #9 Earth was infiltrated by 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 by the other six, along with Robin, who did not join the League because of his age. Green Lantern also participated in the adventure primarily as Hal Jordan, though he appeared as Green Lantern when the group finally formalized their agreement, news of which they suppressed because of anti-Martian hysteria. 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 of the same. While most subsequent accounts of the League have made little mention of this first adventure (as well as the first major change in continuity), it has not officially been removed from League history, though 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. Additionally, 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.

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. As of July 2006, this is the only information that is given about the Justice League of America's new history.

Silver and Bronze Age versions

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 series' first five years of the series. Justice League of America initially was amongst the most popular of DC Comics' publications, but by the end of the 1960s, it was overshadowed in sales and quality by Marvel Comics' superteam the Avengers.

The team operated from a secret cave outside of the small town of Happy Harbor. Teenager Snapper Carr tagged along on missions, and was the team's mascot. Snapper, noted for speaking in beatnik dialect, 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
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 was explained as a "no duplication of powers" policy, but was conceded to simply have been a policy about numbers when the League formally removed the limitation and admitted Hawkwoman. Indeed, through this period, several League members challenged and joked about the notion that they shared skills and talents (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 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 characters that most fans didn't particularly care for. Even the return of Batman to the League 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

The 1987 company-wide crossover "Legends" features the formation of a new Justice League. The new team is dubbed "Justice League International" (JLI) and is given a mandate with less of an American focus. A new series called Justice League (later Justice League International) was written by Keith Giffen and J.M. DeMatteis with art by Kevin Maguire added quirky humor to the team's stories. In this incarnation the membership consists largely of heroes from Earths that, prior to their merging in the Crisis on Infinite Earths, were separate. These characters include Blue Beetle, Captain Marvel, Doctor Light, Mister Miracle, Guy Gardner, and Booster Gold, the first post-Crisis superhero character. The series' humorous funny tone was very popular for the first few years, but the humor and silliness ultimately drove readers away. New writers changed the tone to a more serious storyline. 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

A Justice League of America formed in the September 1996 limited series JLA: 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. Added to this core roster was the character Plastic Man, as well as a new headquarters for the team, 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. In 2005, a story arc by Geoff Johns and Alan Heinberg called "Crisis of Conscience" (JLA #115-119) depicts the disolution of the Justice League of America as the breakdown of trust shown in the 2004 limited series Identity Crisis reaches its zenith. Later, Earth-Prime Superboy 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.

DC has announced that in Summer 2006, it will release a new Justice League of America series by Brad Meltzer and Ed Benes.

Related series

"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" (which parodies the Super Friends). A follow up limited series, entitled I Can't Believe It's Not the Justice League, soon began to be prepared, though it was delayed due to the events shown in the Identity Crisis limited series, but was eventually released as the second arc in Classified.

The Super Buddies consisted of Blue Beetle, Booster Gold, Captain Atom, Fire, Mary Marvel, the Elongated Man with his wife, Sue Dibny, and Maxwell Lord. In itself a humorous series, it presented continuity errors in relation to DC's Infinite Crisis miniseries that was ongoing at the time of its release. The second story arc of JLA: Classified focused on the Super Buddies once again in a humorous themed story arc that also featured Power Girl, Guy Gardner, and Dr. Fate, that again brought up continuity conflicts between it and the Infinite Crisis series.

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.

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. The first arc featured Morrison teamed with artist Ed McGuiness depicting Batman's efforts to stop Gorilla Grodd's subjugation of humanity while the rest of the core JLA pursued a mission inside a cubical "proto-universe," as a lead-in to Morrison's Seven Soldiers maxi-series. Keith Giffen, Warren Ellis and Gail Simone wrote the following stories.

Justice

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 though, 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. 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 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 the newest version of the Titans.
  • The Super Buddies were the remainder of the Justice League International that regrouped to be a team accessible to the common man. With most of the heavy hitters from the group already in the Justice League or Justice Society, the team was fairly incompetent and is not looked upon very well by the League. They were disbanded by the events in Infinite Crisis.

Awards

The original Justice League of America series has won:

Justice League parodies/references

  • ''In Tiny Toon Adventures the short of Just-Us League
  • The Guardians of the Globe in Invincible references of the Justice League.
  • Squadron Supreme as a whole was created as an homage/parody of DC Comics's superhero team Justice League Of America.
  • Knights of Justice and Round Table of America (RTA) by Big Bang Comics published by Image Comics, recreate the golden age and silver age of comics.
  • Smallville (TV series): At the end of episode 4-05, "Run", Bart Allen (Flash) expresses his desire to create "a club or a league or something" for young people with superpowers. At the end of the episode 5-04, "Aqua", Arthur Curry (Aquaman) asks Clark Kent to join him in a Junior Lifeguard Association. Clark replies that he "isn't ready for the JLA yet".
  • The Allies, from Image Comics.
  • Honor Guard from Astro City.
  • Apollo's and Midnighter's original Stormwatch team was an homage to the Justice League.
  • Planetary's first issue contained an homage to the Justice League. and Planetary/Authority: Ruling the world featured a JLA as though created by HP Lovecraft
  • The Justice Friends in Dexter's Laboratory (Although the characters who made up the Justice Friends more closely resembled Captain America (Major Glory), The Hulk (Crunk), Thor (Valhallen) and other members of the Avengers)
  • The Planetary Brigade by Keith Giffen and J.M. DeMatteis is a League parody. The cover of #1 parodies the traditional first issue covers from their time on the real League.
  • In the Futurama episode Less Than Hero, after Fry and Leela receive powers from Dr. Flim Flam's Miracle Cream, along with Bender, they form the New Justice Team; whose enemy is the Zoo-Keeper (also the same name of a DC villain). The first battle between the New Justice Team and the Zoo-Keeper is an obvious parody of the 1960's Batman television series.
  • The Justice Ducks team in the comedic Disney cartoon Darkwing Duck is a team of super heroes (not all of them ducks though..) that along with Darkwing Duck protect the city of St. Canard.
  • In episode 504 of South Park, the Super Best Friends, a team formed of religious figures Jesus, Mohammad, Buddah, Josepf Smith, Krishna, Lao Tsu, Moses (in the same form he appears as in epsiode 309 "Jewbilee"), and a parody of Aquaman known as "Sea Man", save the world from magician David Blaine.
  • The Freedom League, in the Freedom City campaign setting for the Mutants and Masterminds role-playing game, is an homage to the Justice League.

Other media

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

  • The first television appearance of the League was as a segment in the 1960s animated series The Superman/Aquaman Adventure Hour.

  • The longest-running television version of the Justice League was a loosely adapted animated series called Super Friends, which ran in various incarnations from 1972 to 1985. The series started out with Superman, Batman, Robin, Wonder Woman, and Aquaman, along with their trainees Wendy, Marvin and Marvin's dog Wonder Dog. Flash (Barry Allen), Green Arrow Cyborg from Teen Titans and Plastic Man made guest appearances.

Challenge of the Super Friends followed, featuring a Justice League of America that boasted 11 heroes against the infamous Legion of Doom that had 13 villains. The Justice League consisted of Superman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern (Hal Jordan), Flash (Barry Allen), Hawkman, Batman, Robin, and Aquaman, plus the made for animation heroes Apache Chief, Black Vulcan (based on Black Lightning) and Samurai. The Legion of Doom consisted of Lex Luthor, Brainiac, Solomon Grundy, Toyman, Riddler, Scarecrow, Bizarro, Sinestro, Giganta, Cheetah, Black Manta, Grodd, and Captain Cold. Later, the Super Friends reverted back to Superman, Wonder Woman, Batman and Robin, and Aquaman, with Zan and Jayna (the Wonder Twins), and their pet monkey Gleek.

In subsequent seasons, additional heroes were seen in various supporting roles again, including the Atom (Ray Palmer), Flash (Barry Allen), Green Arrow, Green Lantern (Hal Jordan), Hawkgirl, Hawkman, and Rima the Jungle Girl, as well as the made for animation heroes Apache Chief, Black Vulcan, and Samurai.

In later seasons (Super Powers: Galactic Guardians) both Cyborg and Firestorm joined the team. The mid-eighties seasons are also notable for the introduction of settings and characters from Jack Kirby's Fourth World, such as Darkseid. The villains were predominantly from DC Comics consisting of Darkseid, The Penguin, The Joker, Felix Faust, and the Royal Flush Gang. A very few villains were independently created by Hanna-Barbera.

  • A live action television series pilot in the mid-1990s that was produced failed to sell, possibly a result of the series using less well-known characters to avoid dealing with licensing issues surrounding Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman. This pilot featured Martian Manhunter, Green Lantern, Fire, Ice, Flash, the Atom, and the Weather Wizard as the featured villain.

  • Recently, presented by the WB Television Network featured appearances of members of the Justice League in two episodes. The first episode is Run (season 4, episode 5) where you see Bart Allen, and the second is Aqua (season 5, episode 4) where Clark Kent meets Aquaman. In Run the young Flash finishes the episode by telling Clark he is going to search for others like them, setting the table for an eventual Justice League.
  • On Smallville (TV series), there are many jokes about Justice League. On Aqua (season 5, episode 4),Aquaman said to Clark Kent: "What if we form the Junior Lifeguard Association?" and Clark answers: "I don't think I'm ready for JLA".

Bibliography

  • JLA #1-125 (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

See also

Official links

Unofficial links

DC Comics superhero teams | DC Comics titles | Justice League

Justice League of America | Liga de la Justicia | Ligue de Justice d'Amérique | ליגת הצדק | ジャスティス・リーグ | Liga da Justiça | Oikeuden Puolustajat | Justice League of America

 

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the "Justice League".

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