The Brad Meltzer Justice League

Here’s the image, courtesy of Newsarama (click on it for a larger view):

And here’s the money quote from the DCU panel and Meltzer:

“He went on that he ‘hated the league when there were lower members that didn’t belong.’ He praised Geoff Johns’ use of the JSA’s history and hopes to embrace the JLA’s history in a similar fashion, while still finding something new.

Meltzer final tease was, again referring to the image, that viewers can pick ten members who will be on it, adding that there is one character who will be on the team that is not in the collection of heroes, ‘So you can all go through your Who's Who and figure out who's missing.’"

I don’t generally engage in too much of the type of idle speculation this kind of thing drags out (and when I do I’m generally wrong), but the JLA is near and dear to my heart, so I’m going to take a stab at this.

There will be 10 members, nine of which are in this picture. The tenth is the mystery member. Meltzer clearly loves the silver age JLA so expect a huge tilt in that direction.

Okay, first off, there’s got to be a Flash. Period, end of conversation. We don’t know who the new Flash is going to be, but he’s in, red costume and all. And you know there will a Green Lantern. There are four in this picture, only one gets the nod. I’m making Hal Jordan the odds on favorite, although John Stewart may get the call as sort of a hat tip to Justice League Unlimited. There’s two.

I figure one of the Hawks gets in – probably Hawkgirl to reinforce her own title. She also fills that impetuous, act-without-thinking role that’s so important to good team storytelling. Taking Hawkgirl also leaves Hawkman for the JSA. (I’m operating under the assumption that there will only be one universe after INFINITE CRISIS plays out.)

Superman and Batman are kind of obvious and I don’t see DC launching this thing anew without their big guns in it. However, I won’t be surprised if Wonder Woman is the odd big gun out – remember how she sat out for a long stint back in the late seventies? I think Meltzer may be channeling that roster, so I’m putting her on the bubble for now, leaving us with five Leaguers and five to go.

There are eight other characters in this picture with pre-crisis JLA ties: Green Arrow, Black Canary, Aquaman, Zatanna, Red Tornado, Firestorm, Elongated Man and Phantom Stranger. The Aquaman of old seems to be on ice while Kurt Busiek plays around with the sword thing; Phantom Stranger is slated for a role in Shadowpact; Firestorm is a different character altogether and seems an unlikely choice; Zatanna’s an intriguing character but she’s a living plot hammer (“ekam dab syug esol!”) and probably isn’t in too big a hurry for an encore mindwipe performance; we haven’t heard from Red Tornado or Elongated Man in a while and I’m thinking one of these two will be back, but not both, so I’m choosing Reddy, cause I like him better; and we know Green Arrow will be busy as Star City’s mayor – too busy for the JLA? I think so, but not Black Canary, who I’m predicting makes the cut. So Black Canary and Red Tornado make seven.

Two slots from the picture to go. A couple of interesting characters jump out at me: The Question, Dr. Mid-Nite and Cyborg, none of whom -- to the best of my knowledge -- have actually been JLA members in the past, although The Question has appeared on JLU. Dr. Mid-Nite is tied pretty closely to the JSA, so I’m ruling him out. Cyborg is interesting. His profile has been raised a bit by the TEEN TITANS cartoon and an appearance on SMALLVILLE and he’s probably ready to grow up a bit, but from the sounds of things he’s still a Titan for a while, which leaves The Question. I don't think of The Question as much of a team player, but he’s an exceptionally cool character and I think DC has been chomping at the bit to find a place for him. It might very well be here -- every team needs an outsider and he fits the bill -- although I have seen nothing to set this up.

I’m kind of assuming the JLI/JLE rosters will be largely ignored, but we can’t automatically eliminate everyone who was in some version of the League during those various incarnations so let’s pick one. Hmmm…if it were up to me it would be Captain Atom -- the League needs one more powerhouse and he provides somewhat of a military/tactical point of view -- I’m just not sure if his little WildStorm excursion will wrap up in time. Hey wait, is that Donna Troy next to The Question? The group needs another female and it seems likely she’ll be the next Wonder Woman – so there you go. I don’t believe she was ever in the League before either, so that might explain her presence here (unless that’s not her – feel free to straighten me out on that). Donna Troy, ladies and gentlemen.

Which leaves us with the one member not pictured. There are two very notable Leaguers not shown. Did you spot their absence? J’onn J’onzz is one and the other is, drumroll please…the Atom. My logic here is that since it was Meltzer who sent him away, he’ll be the one to bring him back.

So the list I came up with is Superman, Batman, Flash, Green Lantern (Hal Jordan), Black Canary, Hawkgirl, Wonder Woman (Donna Troy), Red Tornado, The Question and the Atom.   

I’ll be amazed if I get more than seven of these right but surprised if it’s less than six. I could easily see Green Arrow in and Batman out (but always around somehow) or the Elongated Man back simply to create that awkwardness between he and Ray Palmer. I could even see Meltzer throwing curve and putting in two Green Lanterns. Red Tornado doesn’t excite me much either, but there’s always a plot or two to be found with an android and with the Martian Manhunter gone someone has to fill the detached, analytical role.

Whatever the cast may be, my only real hope is that the stories are better than the last year or so of the latest run. In retrospect, it wouldn’t take much to achieve that.

Comments

[Randy]

Hmm...I love all the picks but the last three: Red Tornado, The Question and the Atom. I can see the Atom having a chance, so I'll leave that one alone.
Now, I have heard rumors of Booster Gold having a big push in the New DC world that is fast approaching. I would not be surprised to see him become a member, even though Brad has said he did not like the B-leaguers. The use of Booster may be an "upper-level-push".
Someone who is not being mentioned also is Captain Marvel. Now, I am not positive on his current status, but to have him locked up in Wizards Rock is just plain silly. He would be such a welcome addition to the JLA just with his attitude alone.
I do like the Captain Atom plug too, though. He'd be interesting.
I just don't think the Question would be a good fit for the roster. And I don't care for Red Tornado- that may be the oly reason why I don't see him being a member- yet.

[The League]

There was an announcement that Gail Simone is working on a series called "The All New Atom", which leads me to believe Ray Palmer won't be seen for a while, even if an Atom is on the team.

My big question is: Why isn't DC doing the JLU treatment for Justice League? If all the Supervillains can join a Society, why can't every single person in that picture be a Justice Leaguer or at least a reserve member? I'd buy that book just to check out the various teams they'd throw together.

I'm looking forward to the relaunch, as I never felt as excited picking up JLA after Morrison's run ended (but I also really liked his run on JLA). I DID enjoy the Infinite Crisis/ Identity Crisis tie-in by Geoff Johns and Heinberg, though, so I half expected them to return to the book.

I have no guesses as to a line-up. They've got a good pool to pick from based on that image (even if including the Karate Kid from Legion would have given me migraines).

I just have a hard time believing Meltzer won't go back to using Green Arrow and Elongated Man as focal characters, but maybe that's just me.

[Cove West]

I'm kind of excited about Meltzer's JLA. As long as he stays away from the overwrought "adult" ideas and nonsensical "mystery" of IDENTITY CRISIS, it should be good. His IC JLA was handled pretty well, mindwipes notwithstanding. If he taps back into that genuine nostalgia he brought to GREEN ARROW, I'm stoked.

I really liked your lineup, Kurt. Especially Red Tornado, who hasn't had much exposure in the past decade or so except his babysitting skills with Young Justice. The team's got some major players (Atom, Donna, Canary, Question) that aren't so overly iconic that they choke the drama--a problem everyone has had with the Big 7 (except Morrison, who can chuck drama in favor of wonder)--but aren't so blank-slate that no one cares. But I have a sneaking suspicion that the 10th member is Cassandra Cain dressed as a male ninja.

[Kurt]

But I have a sneaking suspicion that the 10th member is Cassandra Cain dressed as a male ninja.

First comment in a while that’s made me laugh out loud. And then I cried when I realized Cove was probably right.

Randy – I almost included Booster in place of Red Tornado. I’ve read there’s a bunch of stuff in the next issue or two of IC involving him, so we’ll see if he transforms into a more viable hero for a Silver Age type of League. Great point about Captain Marvel’s attitude but I think he might be too analogous to Superman and I’ve read somewhere there are plans to do something with the whole Marvel Family. So the big red cheese should come out of the rock soon.

League – Hadn’t heard the Simone announcement – it would certainly put a damper on the Ray Palmer Atom returning. Even if he’s not part of this first roster I’d bet he returns at some point during Meltzer’s run. GA and/or Elongated Man could be back but I’d be surprised if we get an entire roster that looks like the JLA circa 1978. I think there will have to be more than one token surprise. But maybe that’s handled with this “new” Flash and a Donna Troy Wonder Woman.

[Jeff R.]

Cyborg was in the Super Friends, which is almost sorta kinda like having a league connection, at least to those of a certain age...

[eNiGmA]

Although Meltzer has tons of choices for his JLA, we must consider the changes in the DCU (ie. 52, Seven Soldiers, OYL titles, etc). So thus, characters under those stories should not take part, aside from heroes that can reinforce their titles (ie. the Flash, Wonder Woman, etc). I like the bit with Superman, Batman, Green Lantern (Hal Jordan needs redemption), the Flash (hopefully Bart Allen), Wonder Woman (Donna Troy), Red Tornado, and Hawkgirl. I can take Black Canary, considering her resignation from the Birds of Prey (Jade Canary aka. Lady Shiva replaced her). For the last two, I'm a bit shaky. Since his re-entry in the DCU after a stint in Vertigo, B-list hero Animal Man could use another shot, considering his communication with animals and the absence of Aquaman. Which leaves me with one left. Although he's not present in the photo, I could picture Connor Hawke's Green Arrow in the mix and might be the 10th member wild card. With his father as mayor in Star City, the JLA needs an emissary for the anti-establishment goat. So my lineup would consist of: Superman, Batman, Donna Troy's Wonder Woman, Bart Allen's Flash, Hal Jordan's Green Lantern, Connor Hawke's Green Arrow, Hawkgirl, Animal Man, Black Canary, and Red Tornado.

[Martin]

I don't know about using Hawkgirl - Kendra has a lot of plot and character interaction back in Hawkgirl and definitely in JSA (or did around vol. 6-9, anyway), and putting her in the JLA would sort of axe her JSA business.

[Kurt]

eNiGmA (can I call you Edward?) - I like the idea of Conner Hawke's Green Arrow. That kind of tie's in with Kingdom Come, doesn't it? I'm not sure about Bart Allen as Flash - but why not? I think a lot of people are hoping it's Barry.

Martin - I thought the JSA stories with Kendra we're among the best, but it's been a while since she's made an appearance there. I don't think anything would prevent her from joining the JLA, nor would that invalidate her prior JSA affiliation.

[eNiGmA]

Kurt - Call me whatever u want. But to comment on the whole Barry/Bart bit, as much as I luv Barry Allen's Flash, varies sources like Newsarama say otherwise. Besides, the recent Flash pics suggest it's Bart. The yellow eyes were a dead giveaway. And thanx for Connor Hawke comment. He's one of my personal favs. All I can say is wait for #0 and #1 in the upcoming months.

[Alejandro Ruiz]

Interesting choices. There will be 10 members and apparently plenty of guest stars, I see more of a balance between the male female ratio and nods to nearly all of the incarnations of the League.I think Meltzer mentioned he wasn't keen on Aquaman nor the Martian Manhunter.

(1) Superman
(2) Batman
(3) Wonder Woman
(4) Green Latern -- Hal Jordan
(5) Black Canary
(6) Zantana
(7) Vixen (don't know why but I like her)
(8) Hawkgirl
(9) Red Tornado
(10) Creeper, Belphagor, Sliver Sorceress, or Ice (I know the last two are dead).

For some reason I don't see the Flash joining nor Atom (he standing on Elongated Man's shoulder). Although I would certainly add 3-5 more members to bring it 13-15 total. Hell make it 20 total. The JLA is the biggest and best superhero team. Regardless there are supposed to be numerous guest and reserve members in the series.

What I would like to see is the return of the Queen Bee (a la JLE), she was a subtle character who caused plenty of problems for the JLE without direct confrontation. I also wouldn't mind seeing a new Global Guardians (I liked how the JLE developed Jack-o-Lantern and Owlwoman)that the writers have actually put some thought into the characters rather then portraying American stereotypes of europeans. The Crimson Fox was a good start but they killed her and her twin, but who needs to see a bullfighter with a sword from Spain or a Beef-Eater guardsmen from Britain. They don't have to be wearing the flag of the country nor so iconic.

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