By [ad_1]
In the DC Universe, the Justice League is the team supreme. Composed of the greatest heroes on the planet and beyond, the Justice League is always there when things are at their worst. They are the ones who get called in when the most dangerous villains attack and the Multiverse ending shenanigans begin. They’re the leaders in every conflict and fans love them, having followed them for decades through thick and thin.
The Justice League has gone through a lot of changes over the years, morphing to meet the times and changing tides of the DC Universe. However, not all of these changes to the team have been beneficial.
10 For Better: The Team Has Been Used To Build New Legends
Whether the book is called Justice League or Justice League of America, one of the most fun things about it over the years has been the way it has been used to build new characters. While it’s not always successful- Detroit League immediately springs to mind- lots of great characters have come out of the Justice League books.
It’s the perfect place to give a character a bigger spotlight, whether it be a bumbling yet well-meaning one like Booster Gold or a violent anti-hero like Black Adam. Using the team to build up new characters is the way to go.
9 For Worse: The Roster Has Been Kind Of Unadventurous For Years
After the success of Justice League International in the ’80s, DC felt they could do Justice League books without the big-name heroes. They sort of missed the point that JLI worked because the creative team had the right blend of creators and heroes and when those creators left, the whole thing went downhill and almost ended the team as a concept. Only Grant Morrison bringing back the Big Seven was able to save things.
However, for the last twenty-five years, the roster has pretty much just been the Big Seven or the Big Seven and a few others. There are plenty of amazingly powerful Leaguers from the past that don’t aren’t on the team because of how safe the roster is and if they are, they’re relegated to background roles.
8 For Better: The Justice League Dark Was Introduced To Deal With Magical Threats
It’s not controversial to say that DC’s magical characters are the best in comics. Characters like Zatanna, John Constantine, Doctor Fate, and others have been developed for years and deserved a home of their own. So, the Justice League Dark was born. This was a very different team than the main League with very different goals and yet it always made for great stories.
While magical characters often got League memberships, giving them their own team and book allowed creators time to really play up the magical threats and show why the dark corners of the DC Universe deserved some spotlight.
7 For Worse: DC Has Often Overextended The Concept To Disastrous Results
The mainstream comic industry has long been about striking while the iron is hot and releasing multiple similar titles. DC has never indulged in this to the extent that Marvel does but when they do, it’s not a good idea. Take, for example, the New 52 Justice League. When the New 52 started, there were two Justice League books for the first time in ages- Justice League and Justice League Dark.
However, that would soon expand to Justice League of America and Justice League United. More was not the merrier and the whole thing backfired spectacularly. For some reason, the Justice League resists attempts at multiple books- especially when most of them do the exact same thing.
6 For Better: The Book Concentrates On The Biggest Threats
One of the things that started to hurt the Justice League in the post-Crisis DC Universe was the lack of big action. The JLI is amazing and great to read but the crux of the stories was never the conflict but the interplay of the characters. As time went on, too many of the next few creative teams focused on the smaller stakes storytelling until Morrison came in and slammed the whole thing into fourth gear.
Ever since, the Justice League has mostly focused on the big threats, the ones that should be able to beat them every time. This massive spectacle type of storytelling works very well for the Justice League- the best heroes need to face the biggest threats.
5 For Worse: It’s Often Abandoned The Characters Who Don’t Have Solo Books
For some characters, like Cyborg, Hawkgirl, and Martian Manhunter, the Justice League books are their only home. These are the books where they get their spotlight, so it doesn’t help very much when the books focus on the big guns, the ones with their own solo books, too much. In the New 52, Cyborg never got a fair shake because writers were busy with every other character and this continued into Rebirth.
That’s the inherent problem of using the Justice League to build new characters- the big guns take the focus because they’re the stars and everyone wants to use them. The secondary characters, the ones who depend on the book, can get left in the lurch.
4 For Better: Putting Top Creators On The Book Makes For Amazing Storytelling
This seems like it should be something that is a no-brainer but putting the best creative teams on a book makes things better. For years, the Justice League books languished as the creators put on the book weren’t the best fit for it. Since Morrison was put on the book twenty-five years ago, the Justice League has been home to some of the best creators DC has to offer.
This has led to some truly amazing stories and has served to bring the Justice League back to the forefront of the comic industry. Some of the best DC stories of the last twenty-five years have been Justice League ones.
3 For Worse: The Team Can Get Lost In The Event Grind
Making the Justice League the focus of the DC Universe and the linchpin of the company’s publishing output is a good idea- it is, after all, the biggest team with the biggest heroes. However, the problem comes when the book is all about making the next event work. This is a mistake for any book but especially for a book that usually has the most well-known heroes in it.
The Justice League should be the premiere book that gets people into DC- it has all of the heroes that everyone knows in massive adventures. However, using the book just to set up the next event book can bog the whole thing down, scaring off new readers or readers who aren’t particularly into the upcoming event’s premise.
2 For Better: The Justice League Feels Important Again
In the Silver Age, the Justice League was the most important team in the DC Universe, partly because it was one of the only ones. However, as more team books started and got popular, the focus shifted away from the League. As DC put bigger names on the books and made them the focus, though, it made the team feel important again.
The Justice League is full of the biggest and best heroes in the DC Universe. It needs to feel that way, like it’s the most important book going, the one that all of the others look to be like.
1 For Worse: It Keeps Perpetuating The Batgod Myth
Batman is one of the most well-known and important characters in the comic world but in recent years, things have gotten a bit out of hand with him. There is this unshakable idea that Batman can beat anyone he is put up against if given a little bit of time to prep. Unfortunately, a lot of the time the Justice League books have played into this just as much as anything else.
Batman is a great strategist and that should be his role with the team. Seeing him on the frontlines with the League, outsmarting and outfighting everyone he comes across has proven to be a little much, perpetuating a myth that hurts him and other characters.
About The Author
[ad_2]
