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scans_dailyWhat is the Justice League, really?
Is it just whatever group of characters happen to call themselves that, or is there something more to it?
Some of the League’s villains almost don’t seem to care who’s in the League. The classic League, the Detroit League, and the international League had few members in common. But Despero and the Ivo robots considered any “Leaguers” worthy of their ire, regardless of whether they’d ever met them before (Mister Miracle v2 #7, Justice League Europe #34).
Would they beat themselves unconscious if they were given League membership? It’s worth a try! (Justice League Task Force #0, JLA v1 #27)
Even outside of comics and before the movie, the general public understood the “Justice League” as the Superman-Wonder Woman-Batman team. The official and unofficial DC websites use definitions like “an organization comprised of the world's greatest superheroes” and “the DC Universe's most powerful and premier superhero team,” and “the earth's first line of defense against threats too large for humanity to face alone.”
For brief periods in the comics, the League has yielded that “premier super-team” title to the Titans…
But since its inception, it’s held the top spot far more often than not.
Defining the League in terms of its membership has often been tricky, and not just during the Detroit and International eras. The New 52 era saw a “Justice League” distinct from the “Justice League of America.”
And since the JLA and JLE ripped off the Band-Aid, there have been other “Justice League Specifier” groups distinct from “that one with Superman, Wonder Woman, and Batman in it.” Justice League Task Force. Justice League Dark. Maybe somebody'll get the guts to title an actual comic "Justice League Queer" at some point.
Edited to add: I missed a LOT of "Justice League Specifier" examples; seebeyondthefringe's comment for a near-complete(?) listing.
Still, in the International era, there was a tension between the traditional definition of the Justice League, whose most prominent members were the “Big Three,” and the new League, whose most prominent members were the second stupidest Green Lantern and a nerdy class clown. Giffen and DeMatteis, as you might expect, addressed this tension with a running joke (Justice League International #19, Justice League America #32 and #59).
You get the picture. One character appeals to the “Justice League” name as if it carries an unspoken, ineffable authority. The second character mocks that very idea, as if the first character had said, “We’re sure to triumph, for we are the UZBEKISTAN SKI TEAM!” It all hinges on a single phrase, “Justice League,” which, for a brief interval, held two incompatible definitions. “The best and the brightest” vs. “oh, THOSE goofballs.”
In the short term, the gag poked at the reader expectation that the League “should” be about perfect heroes doing perfect-hero things: “Where’s Superman? And who are these weird-haired women, dammit?” Not only were Giffen and DeMatteis inoculating themselves against that kind of criticism, it only seemed to encourage them (Justice League America Annual #4).
In the longer run, though, those self-deprecating jokes may not have been good for their legacy. This retrospective has shown that JLI stories could vary a lot, but gags like those tended to make it look like everything this version of the League did was dumb or embarrassing. The Giffen League could also beat its chest now and then (JLI #24)…
…but as subversive writers, Giffen and DeMatteis seemed uncomfortable with their characters taking too much pride in themselves (#19).
Like most earmarks of the Giffen and DeMatteis days, this double meaning did not long outlast their departure. In Justice League Quarterly #9 (1993, script by Mark Waid), Extreme Justice #0 (1994, Waid again) and JLA #7 (1997, Grant Morrison), invoking the “Justice League” name was once again a badge of honor.
And in today’s comics, it still is. Likewise in the larger culture. Everyone once again associates “Justice League" (any “Justice League") with high achievement.
Unless you’re talking box office.
Thursday: The smartest crook of all isn't the one who designs vicious deathtraps or challenges superheroes with a riddle. The smartest crook is the one who slips past attention, beyond suspicion…the one you never even knew was there.
This guy’s like that, only not smart.
Is it just whatever group of characters happen to call themselves that, or is there something more to it?
Some of the League’s villains almost don’t seem to care who’s in the League. The classic League, the Detroit League, and the international League had few members in common. But Despero and the Ivo robots considered any “Leaguers” worthy of their ire, regardless of whether they’d ever met them before (Mister Miracle v2 #7, Justice League Europe #34).
Would they beat themselves unconscious if they were given League membership? It’s worth a try! (Justice League Task Force #0, JLA v1 #27)
Even outside of comics and before the movie, the general public understood the “Justice League” as the Superman-Wonder Woman-Batman team. The official and unofficial DC websites use definitions like “an organization comprised of the world's greatest superheroes” and “the DC Universe's most powerful and premier superhero team,” and “the earth's first line of defense against threats too large for humanity to face alone.”
For brief periods in the comics, the League has yielded that “premier super-team” title to the Titans…
But since its inception, it’s held the top spot far more often than not.
Defining the League in terms of its membership has often been tricky, and not just during the Detroit and International eras. The New 52 era saw a “Justice League” distinct from the “Justice League of America.”
And since the JLA and JLE ripped off the Band-Aid, there have been other “Justice League Specifier” groups distinct from “that one with Superman, Wonder Woman, and Batman in it.” Justice League Task Force. Justice League Dark. Maybe somebody'll get the guts to title an actual comic "Justice League Queer" at some point.
Edited to add: I missed a LOT of "Justice League Specifier" examples; see
beyondthefringe's comment for a near-complete(?) listing.Still, in the International era, there was a tension between the traditional definition of the Justice League, whose most prominent members were the “Big Three,” and the new League, whose most prominent members were the second stupidest Green Lantern and a nerdy class clown. Giffen and DeMatteis, as you might expect, addressed this tension with a running joke (Justice League International #19, Justice League America #32 and #59).
You get the picture. One character appeals to the “Justice League” name as if it carries an unspoken, ineffable authority. The second character mocks that very idea, as if the first character had said, “We’re sure to triumph, for we are the UZBEKISTAN SKI TEAM!” It all hinges on a single phrase, “Justice League,” which, for a brief interval, held two incompatible definitions. “The best and the brightest” vs. “oh, THOSE goofballs.”
In the short term, the gag poked at the reader expectation that the League “should” be about perfect heroes doing perfect-hero things: “Where’s Superman? And who are these weird-haired women, dammit?” Not only were Giffen and DeMatteis inoculating themselves against that kind of criticism, it only seemed to encourage them (Justice League America Annual #4).
In the longer run, though, those self-deprecating jokes may not have been good for their legacy. This retrospective has shown that JLI stories could vary a lot, but gags like those tended to make it look like everything this version of the League did was dumb or embarrassing. The Giffen League could also beat its chest now and then (JLI #24)…
…but as subversive writers, Giffen and DeMatteis seemed uncomfortable with their characters taking too much pride in themselves (#19).
Like most earmarks of the Giffen and DeMatteis days, this double meaning did not long outlast their departure. In Justice League Quarterly #9 (1993, script by Mark Waid), Extreme Justice #0 (1994, Waid again) and JLA #7 (1997, Grant Morrison), invoking the “Justice League” name was once again a badge of honor.
And in today’s comics, it still is. Likewise in the larger culture. Everyone once again associates “Justice League" (any “Justice League") with high achievement.
Unless you’re talking box office.
Thursday: The smartest crook of all isn't the one who designs vicious deathtraps or challenges superheroes with a riddle. The smartest crook is the one who slips past attention, beyond suspicion…the one you never even knew was there.
This guy’s like that, only not smart.
no subject
Date: 2026-02-16 05:15 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2026-02-16 06:39 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2026-02-16 05:29 pm (UTC)There's a great JLA: Incarnations series with an issue set in the Detroit era as Steel argues he should be in charge as "it's my family's bunker" and J'onn gets in his face with "we leave, this place is an empty bunker. We take over a room, it's the headquarters of the Justice League of America." That should be the mood, the JLA is still respected.
no subject
Date: 2026-02-16 06:55 pm (UTC)We've had Justice League Dark, Red, Extreme, Young, Unlimited. International, Europe, and Antarctica. Elite, Arcana, and China. Task Force, Incarnate, Odyssey and 3000. Sure, some of these are less serious or less official than others but that's a whole lot of teams which have bought themselves a franchise.
(Mind you, the Justice Society might have a case that as the FIRST Justice team, they have a trademark. And let us never forget JUSTICE EXPERIENCE, the best team of all time.)
And now almost literally every hero on Earth is a member.
This is a brand which is heavily, perhaps fatally diluted. "I'm Buckeye, the hero of Harrisburg, and I'm a member of the Justice League!" "I'm Lex Luthor and I've joined the Justice League multiple times. Where's the prestige now? At first it was "a bunch of heroes who showed up to fight aliens" and then "the world's premiere team" and then "whoever we got lying around including this breakdancer" and eventually back to "the best of the best of the best" and the cycle has continued ever since.
no subject
Date: 2026-02-17 12:20 am (UTC)So it's not going great.
no subject
Date: 2026-02-16 09:14 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2026-02-16 09:53 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2026-02-17 01:00 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2026-02-17 12:10 am (UTC)What's funny to me about this is that I think my only knowledge of Justice League Task Force was the fighting game... which starred Superman, Wonder Woman, and Batman.
no subject
Date: 2026-02-17 12:24 am (UTC)