Welcome to Comic-Con week! I’m not in San Diego, so I don’t get to join in on all the festivities. But the great thing about the Internet is that I can talk up a comic book storm and still feel like I’m part of the fun. One of these days I’ll get to go to San Diego Comic-Con. Maybe when I’m rich.

To celebrate the craziest comic book week of the year, I’ve decided to mirror what I did last year and put together my dream team of a superhero roster. Last year it was the Avengers, this year it’s the Justice League!

United!

And I’m talking a New 52 continuity Justice League.

Personally, I like the idea that the Justice League is made up of the top superheroes at DC Comics. Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman and the rest are a solid lineup that holds a lot of weight in the hearts and minds of the fans. But how boring would it be if my list was just the same old seven heroes? So I’ve decided to get a little creative.

If DC Comics hired me to write the Justice League comic, and gave me cart blanche to include whoever I wanted in the roster, these would be the 6 characters on my team. I would love to hear your own dream team lineup in the comments!

6. Wonder Woman

Pew! Pew! Pew!

Who is she: Diana is an Amazon from the ancient island of Themyscira, from Greek myths. In the new continuity, she is the daughter of Zeus and Hippolyta, Queen of the Amazons, so that makes her a demigod like Hercules. She’s tough and gentle in equal measure, with a heart so big she would hug the world, then use a sword and shield to protect the world from stygian wasps.

Why pick her: As much as I would love to put Wonder Woman, Superman and Batman on the team, I wanted to be more creative than that. Still, we need one of them, and I think Wonder Woman is the best choice for team leader. She could stand to be in the spotlight a lot more often, and she would be just as good as those other two heroes in leading the Justice League. She’s tougher than either of them, with an appealing warrior motif. As long as we stick to Brian Azzarello’s Wonder Woman.

5. Batwoman

The lady in red

Who is she: Kate Kane is a tough-as-nails former soldier who was kicked out of the military in the days of Don’t Ask/Don’t Tell. Needing a new direction to help deal with the grief of losing her mother and twin sister, Kate’s father trained her to be a badass warrior, and she adopted the guise of Batwoman to try and compete in Batman’s Gotham City. She’s not affiliated with Batman or Batgirl, but she kicks just as much butt.

Why pick her: If I’m not going to have Batman on my Justice League, I’d still like someone from his extended family tree to fill the dark, mysterious role. Batwoman, like Wonder Woman, could use a bigger spotlight these days. She’s pretty darn cool, and could easily hold her own on the Justice League, without all of the paranoia that Batman brings to the table. Plus the recent Wonder Woman/Batwoman team-up was all manner of awesome. The two of them would make for strong leadership, and possibly even friendship.

4. Flash

Makes for good synergy with The CW

Who is he: Barry Allen is the fastest man alive. Simple as that. He’s fast, he’s friendly and he’s going to have his own TV show this fall. I didn’t care for the pilot, but I’m hoping the show gets better from there.

Why pick him: For the most part, I want a classic feel to my Justice League, and that means keeping around some of the classic members. The Flash is a fun guy with a unique look and power set, so he’s perfect to keep around. Every superhero team needs a goodie two-shoes.

3. The Wonder Twins

Hear me out…

Who are they: Zan and Jayna are aliens from the planet Exor who, when their powers ACTIVATE!, can turn into ice sculptures or animals, respectively. They were stars of the Super Friends cartoon show in the mid-20th century, and exist mostly as a cosmic joke. For a brief period in the 90s, they were brought into the comics for realsies, and it was pretty awesome. You’re reading the blog of a man who owns several issues of Extreme Justice. Heck, when I found them at my local comic shop, the owner just told me I could have them, she cared so little. That was a good day.

Why pick them: I love the Wonder Twins. And not just in an ironic, hipster, nostalgic way. They’re just neat. And if I ever do become a successful comic book writer, I am going to pitch the hell out of the Wonder Twins to DC Comics. Someday, somehow, I hope they will let me write a Wonder Twins comic. And you better believe I’d put them on my Justice League. They’d be the young, hip, newbie superheroes who need some mentoring…kind of like they were in Super Friends.

2. Bizarro

Me am hate being on Justice League!

Who is he: The reverse Superman! You all remember that episode of Seinfeld, right? Bizarro is the twisted, gangly, wickedly powerful clone of Superman. He’s just as strong as the Man of Steel, but all of his powers are backward. Heat vision? How about freeze vision! Ice breath? How about fire breath! Bizarro also talks in a weird, backwards sort of style that is purely his own. He’s just a big, dumb, backwards Superman.

So he’s perfect for the Justice League!

Why pick him: Unintentionally, I seem to have a pretty cool theme going here. We’ve got Wonder Woman as the bedrock of the team, and filling the Batman and Superman roles are Batwoman and Bizarro. I think that works out nicely. Every superhero team needs a bruiser, and I think Bizarro is the perfect wildcard to throw onto the team. In the New 52, Lex Luthor is a member of the Justice League, and Lex created Bizarro. In my story, perhaps Lex has left the team, and decides to also leave behind his replacement: Bizarro! Here’s a big, tough, dangerous sort of character who could easily warm up to the rest of the team with a little tender love and care.

1. Simon Baz

A Forgotten Character if ever there was one

Who is he: Simon Baz is the newest, coolest member of the Green Lantern Corps. Created only a few years ago, Simon is the first new human GL in 20 years, brought to life by now-legendary Green Lantern writer Geoff Johns. Simon is a Muslim-American car thief with a heart of gold, who grew up with a chip on his shoulder because of all the Islam-hate in the Post-9/11 world. He had a pretty amazing origin story in the pages of Green Lantern comics…and then both DC and Johns seemed to forget about him. Oh sure, he was technically a member of the Justice League of America, but he was only ever in the background, and that comic only existed as a prologue to Trinity War and Forever Evil, where Simon was once again shoved into the background.

And when Johns stepped down from writing the Green Lantern comic that made him famous, and new writers took over, Simon was nowhere to be found. I believe the current explanation is that Simon Baz is the Green Lantern of Earth, ordered to stay there and hang out while the rest of the Green Lantern Corps deals with all manner of trouble out in space. But there is no comic for the Green Lantern of Earth. Simon has done nothing but hang out in the background since his debut last year.

That needs to change.

Why pick him: Seriously, I don’t know why DC hasn’t embraced Simon Baz. Every other human Green Lantern has their own individual comic book, except for Simon. Was he not popular enough? Did he not catch on the way Johns and DC hoped? Is he being saved for something special? What’s the answer? Because having a character as new and as cool as Simon Baz disappear for a whole year kind of hits the brakes on any momentum he was building in his debut.

Simon Baz needs to come back in a big way. I don’t know why DC isn’t putting him front and center in their universe. He’s new, he’s fresh, he’s interesting; he could be a star! Heck, the current Justice League team doesn’t even have a Green Lantern, so why not Simon? Like I said, he’s just on Earth, hanging out. He’s perfect as the Justice League’s Green Lantern. He would be front and center on my team.

But then I could go on for hours about all the things the current DC Comics is doing wrong these days…

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That’s my ideal Justice League, what about yours? Who would you pick for your squad? Any bad guys turned good? Any secret traitors? Which Green (or Red) Lantern would you pick for the team? Let me know in the comments!

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