Justice League International: Difference between revisions
Impulse725 (talk | contribs) m →Current continuity: - clarity, his could have refered to lord OR superman |
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*In ''[[Identity Crisis (comics)|Identity Crisis]]'', Sue Dibny was murdered by an unstable [[Jean Loring]] as part of her plot to win back her ex-husband [[Ray Palmer (comics)|Ray Palmer]]. It is subsequently revealed that the villain [[Doctor Light (Arthur Light)|Doctor Light]] had raped her. |
*In ''[[Identity Crisis (comics)|Identity Crisis]]'', Sue Dibny was murdered by an unstable [[Jean Loring]] as part of her plot to win back her ex-husband [[Ray Palmer (comics)|Ray Palmer]]. It is subsequently revealed that the villain [[Doctor Light (Arthur Light)|Doctor Light]] had raped her. |
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[[Image:Beatlemax.png|Maxwell Lord shoots Blue Beetle. Art by [[Phil Jimenez]].|thumb]] |
[[Image:Beatlemax.png|Maxwell Lord shoots Blue Beetle. Art by [[Phil Jimenez]].|thumb]] |
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*As part of the [[Countdown to Infinite Crisis|lead-in]] to the ''[[Infinite Crisis]]'' crossover, Maxwell Lord is revealed to have taken over the JLI to make them as ineffectual as possible, as part of his plan to rid the world of metahumans. When Blue Beetle discovers this and refuses to join Lord, Lord executes him with a gunshot to the head. Later, he brainwashes Superman into attacking Batman, and Wonder Woman is forced to snap |
*As part of the [[Countdown to Infinite Crisis|lead-in]] to the ''[[Infinite Crisis]]'' crossover, Maxwell Lord is revealed to have taken over the JLI to make them as ineffectual as possible, as part of his plan to rid the world of metahumans. When Blue Beetle discovers this and refuses to join Lord, Lord executes him with a gunshot to the head. Later, he brainwashes Superman into attacking Batman, and Wonder Woman is forced to snap Lord's neck. |
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*In the weekly series ''[[52 (comic book series)|52]]'', Booster Gold becomes a "superhero for hire" again, using Skeets's knowledge of the future to stop crimes from happening, and advertising for several corporations. When it's revealed that he hired an actor to pretend to be a villain and participate in a staged incident in which Booster 'saves' a group of people from said villain, his reputation is ruined. To restore his reputation, Booster attempts to take a nuclear submarine away from the city before it explodes, but in the process is killed in the explosion. |
*In the weekly series ''[[52 (comic book series)|52]]'', Booster Gold becomes a "superhero for hire" again, using Skeets's knowledge of the future to stop crimes from happening, and advertising for several corporations. When it's revealed that he hired an actor to pretend to be a villain and participate in a staged incident in which Booster 'saves' a group of people from said villain, his reputation is ruined. To restore his reputation, Booster attempts to take a nuclear submarine away from the city before it explodes, but in the process is killed in the explosion. |
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[[image:Ralph52.PNG|An unstable Ralph Dibny cradling his wife's effigy. Art by [[Todd Nauck]].|thumb]] |
[[image:Ralph52.PNG|An unstable Ralph Dibny cradling his wife's effigy. Art by [[Todd Nauck]].|thumb]] |
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Revision as of 13:13, 14 September 2006
| Justice League International | |
|---|---|
| File:JL1987.jpg Cover to Justice League #1. Art by Kevin Maguire | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | DC Comics |
| Schedule | monthly |
| Format | ongoing series |
| Publication date | Issue #1 May 1987 |
| Creative team | |
| Written by | Keith Giffen J.M. DeMatteis |
| Artist(s) | Kevin Maguire |
Built in the 1987 company-wide crossover limited series, Legends, this new Justice League was given a less America-centric mandate than before, and was dubbed the Justice League International (or "JLI" for short). The new comic was written by Keith Giffen and J.M. DeMatteis, with art by Kevin Maguire. This new series added a quirky sense of tongue-in-cheek humor to the stories.
Team history
During this period of time the membership of the Justice League consisted primarily of lesser known heroes such as Blue Beetle, Booster Gold, Mister Miracle II and Guy Gardner. Because of the humorous nature of the series, these characters are still primarily known for being comical in nature, but are extremely identifiable and have a loyal fanbase to the present day. Many of the characters made popular during this era of the Justice League have also regained prominence, particularly Maxwell Lord and Blue Beetle, because of their role in the limited series Infinite Crisis.
The funny tone of this series was very popular, but eventually the "Breakdowns" story arc (see below) led to new writers and changed the tone to a more serious storyline.
In 1989, the first seven issues of this series were collected in a graphic novel called Justice League: A New Beginning.
Justice League: Breakdowns
"Breakdowns" was a 15-issue crossover between the Justice League America and Justice League Europe titles, revising the organization that signalled the change from the humorous tone to the more serious tone. The major events that occurred were the following:
Maxwell Lord is initially in a coma from a failed assassination attempt. He is later possessed by JLE foe Dreamslayer of the Extremists. Following the end of the Breakdowns saga, Maxwell Lord has no more mental powers, apparently drained completely when possessed by Dreamslayer.
The Queen Bee, ruler of the country Bialya, is killed in a coup d'etat led by Sumaan Harjavti, the twin brother of the original dictator ruler, Rumaan.
Despero awakens and escapes Manga Khan's starship to wreak havoc on New York City, seeking vengeance against the Justice League. A force of the Justice League's best (Martian Manhunter, Power Girl, Fire, Rocket Red, Metamorpho, Flash, Guy Gardner, Major Disaster) with the Conglomerate (led by Booster Gold) and Lobo were unable to stop him. Ultimately, it was Kilowog and L-Ron who subdued Despero by transferring L-Ron's consciousness into the cybernetic control collar that remained around his neck.
While possessing Maxwell Lord's body, Dreamslayer kidnaps and later murders Mitch Wacky on the island of KooeyKooeyKooey, where the Blue Beetle and Booster Gold previously attempted to open a resort there called "Club JLI". Using Lord's personna, Dreamslayer lures a large portion of the Justice League to the island and takes mental control of them, making them the "new Extremists".
The Silver Sorceress, one of the former Champions of Angor and Justice League member, dies defeating Dreamslayer. Her gravesite in on the island of KooeyKooeyKooey.
The U.N. withdraws its support from the Justice League and it disbands. The Martian Manhunter seemingly takes a leave of absence, although later re-emerges under the persona of Bloodwynd.
Expansion
The release of Justice League Spectacular launched the revised Justice League titles under new writers and artists. The Justice League titles expanded to a total of four by the early to mid 1990s: Justice League America (formerly Justice League International), Justice League Europe, Justice League Task Force, and Extreme Justice.
Unfortunately, with the influx of new writers and artists in the various Justice League titles coming and going, there was very little consistency in continuity. The more powerful and recognizable characters such as Superman, Green Lantern (Hal Jordan), and Batman came and went out of the various Justice League titles, replaced by lesser known characters such as Bloodwynd, Maya, Maxima, Nuklon, Obsidian, Tasmanian Devil and Triumph. Longtime JLI-era characters such as Captain Atom, Martian Manhunter and Power Girl were revised and revamped repeatedly, with mixed results from fans.
By the mid to late 1990s, with the commercial success of the series fading, each of the titles were eventually cancelled.
Super Buddies
Several members of this incarnation of the Justice League later formed the Super Buddies, whose humorous adventures were featured in the miniseries Formerly Known as the Justice League and I Can't Believe It's Not the Justice League.
Current continuity
Since then, most of the JLI cast have suffered horrible fates, causing many fans to accuse DC (and specifically at Dan Didio) that the company is specifically trying to destroy the "fun" era of the League, or the characters from that era.
- In Identity Crisis, Sue Dibny was murdered by an unstable Jean Loring as part of her plot to win back her ex-husband Ray Palmer. It is subsequently revealed that the villain Doctor Light had raped her.
- As part of the lead-in to the Infinite Crisis crossover, Maxwell Lord is revealed to have taken over the JLI to make them as ineffectual as possible, as part of his plan to rid the world of metahumans. When Blue Beetle discovers this and refuses to join Lord, Lord executes him with a gunshot to the head. Later, he brainwashes Superman into attacking Batman, and Wonder Woman is forced to snap Lord's neck.
- In the weekly series 52, Booster Gold becomes a "superhero for hire" again, using Skeets's knowledge of the future to stop crimes from happening, and advertising for several corporations. When it's revealed that he hired an actor to pretend to be a villain and participate in a staged incident in which Booster 'saves' a group of people from said villain, his reputation is ruined. To restore his reputation, Booster attempts to take a nuclear submarine away from the city before it explodes, but in the process is killed in the explosion.
- Also in 52, Ralph Dibny becomes involved in a resurrection cult that promises to resurrect Sue. When he attends the ritual with some of the other heroes, they convince him the ritual is a farce and attempt to break it up. During the chaos, the effigy that was used to bring back Sue calls out Ralph's name. Realizing it wasn't a hoax, Ralph tries to have the ritual continued but the building explodes. Ralph is later seen under a bridge, cradling Sue's effigy and rambling to himself about "trying again."
- In The Battle for Blüdhaven series when Captain Atom returns to consciousness he dons the armor of the Monarch, a despot from the future.
- In The OMAC Project, Rocket Red sacrificed himself by self destructing his armor and destroying two OMACs in the process.