The New Justice League of America
Even though Justice League: International crashed and burned, DC Comics is going to try again with a brand new Justice League of America team. Apparently it’s going to run concurrent with the Justice League series that already exists. Because as the Marvel marketing department will tell you, why bother coming up with an original superhero team name when you can just re-use a name that is already a proven seller?
Behold the new team lineup!
At the very least, this new team is spinning out of the ongoing story in Justice League. When Superman, Wonder Woman, Batman, Flash, Aquaman and the rest banded together into a team in the New 52, they did so on their own, with no government oversight or control. And there has been an ongoing story about how the U.S. government is a little skittish about the fact that this supremely powerful team of superheroes isn’t beholden to anyone.
So it looks like the government is putting together their own version of the Justice League.
The new line-up: Martian Manhunter, Catwoman, Green Arrow, Katana, Hawkman, Vibe, Steve Trevor, Stargirl and Baz, the new Arab-American Green Lantern.
Here’s what writer Geoff Johns had to say about the team:
The idea of why the JLA forms, and what it is, and what it’s in reaction to… It kind of spins out of Justice League #12; what happens in that, and then subsequent issues, because JLA comes out next year some time. But the book itself is a group of heroes that aren’t necessarily coming together because they want to be together… They’ve been selected specifically. They all want, or need something that Steve Trevor, and the other person behind the scenes that’s in charge of this team can provide.
The first arc is going to deal with something they learn is called The Secret Society of Super-Villains. It’s specific because its run by A.R.G.U.S. They have a team they feel they can now control. Whether or not that ends up being the case is up for debate.
You can read the full interview at Mtv Geek. Because when I think of geek culture, I think Mtv.
As for my personal opinion…I dunno. I think it’s too soon to be doing something like this. We’re barely more than a year into the New 52 reboot, and the Justice League title has barely had any time to settle itself. It’s a good enough comic, but I don’t think it’s as strong as it could be. Adding something like this for it to contend with is too much too soon. It’s like DC doesn’t think they have any time to let anything grow. They did this big reboot of their universe, and now they still have the modern day mentality that they’ve got to just push and push and push more stuff out the door to keep fans happy. They won’t let anything settle or simmer.
So I dunno. Maybe it’ll work, maybe it won’t. Justice League Dark is still selling. But Justice League International got cancelled. So we’ll see what happens when this new book comes out next year some time.
At the very least, the name is a little dumb. The names ‘Justice League’ and ‘Justice League of America’ are synonymous in the minds of the fans. Applying them to two different teams is going to get a little confusing.
Posted on August 26, 2012, in Comics, DC and tagged Green Arrow, Green Lantern, Justice League, Justice League of America, Martian Manhunter, Vibe. Bookmark the permalink. 8 Comments.
I think it makes some sense, I always wondered why they were called the JLA if they go and save the entire world/galaxy/universe and they weren’t backed by the United states government, although I agree it may be somewhat confusing for some people.
I agree that it’s nice they came up with a justification for the ‘America’ in their name.
should have to be an american citizen to take part. that hawkman and martian and prob some other foreigners need green cards!!
Maybe I’m alone on an island on this one, but I’ve always thought that the Justice League should be an all-star team. The biggest heroes and villains in the company, the characters with the biggest name recognition and the ones selling the most comics should make up the membership of the team. Heck, that’s the reason that I’ve been begging DC for a Cyborg solo ongoing for some time now. He’s the only member of the current Justice League team without one, and with most of said membership having books in the top ten to fifteen of DC’s monthly sales every month, he sticks out like a sore thumb all the more.
But this team, no, it’s not working for me. Too many characters plucked from other team books, or books that aren’t selling well (or just plain aren’t very good to begin with). This is the Justice League B-Team at best, and that’s not really going to convince me to pick it up.
I definitely agree with you on the all-star team aspect. That works great for the Justice League. And you’re definitely right about the B-list squad. Seems like DC is going to put everybody on a Justice League! I’m surprised they went ahead with the name ‘Teen Titans’ instead of just ‘Young Justice’.
I kinda like this idea. This is exactly what Marvel did hundreds of years ago when they created X-Factor. They were the X-Men but under Government control. And look how great that turned out. I’m personally hoping that Vibe becomes the new Multiple Man. Though like X-Factor, JLA has too many team members. 9 is Firefly numbers and it is too much for comic bookery.
Also, is there a new 52 Doom Patrol yet? I feel like that may be fertile grounds for something awesome.
No Doom Patrol yet. But something awesome? Tell that to every single attempt at the Doom Patrol after Grant Morrison’s run.
Pingback: Vibe Gets a Comic! Katana Gets a Comic! You Get a Comic! « Henchman-4-Hire