In a league of their own

[arbre_rieur]

Here we have JLAX #1, by Mark Waid, Gerard Jones, and Howard Porter...



As the issue reveals, the JLX are a splinter group from the JLA (Judgment League Avengers). They're basically all the JLA's mutant members, who've recently decided to go their own way. The event that caused the splintering was the incarceration of the mutant Mariner (an Aquaman/Namor mash-up). The JLA thinks it's the justice systems place to determine his guilt or innocence. The JLX thinks bigotry against mutants will prevent him from getting a fair trial, so they busted him loose.

Waid and Jones take an interesting tack to combining characters. The JLAvengers' DC halves are all the big Justice League characters, the Big Seven and those of similar popularity. The JLX's DC halves, on the other hand, in keeping with the underdog/outsider spirit of the X-titles, are all pulled from less popular incarnations of the League, like JLA Detroit and JLA Task Force.



That's Marco Xavier, the JLX's mysterious benefactor. Big time DC Comics trivia buffs will know who his DC half is just from his name.

Angelhawk of the JLA, who's secretly allied with Mr. X, fakes a back injury to let the JLX escape:



The JLX are searching for the underwater city of Atlantis, the ancestral home of mutants. They're hoping it can serve as a haven for their kind, where they can finally be free from persecution.

Out of the various Amalgam titles, this one does one of the better jobs of genuinely feeling like the latest issue of an ongoing series. It drops us right in the middle of a bunch of running sub-plots:







They arrive at Atlantis, only to find that it's been deserted. The only person present's their very own arch-nemesis:



The femme-bot is named Jocasta. First line of dialogue: "You will not hurt my precious Doc!"



So there's a bunch of fighting...



So what's Marco Xavier's deal?



The issue ends with the team making it their mission to find out where the people of Atlantis have departed to.

creator: howard porter, creator: mark waid, creator: gerard jones, publisher: amalgam