The Justice League is DC Comics’ premier super team, uniting its biggest names in one spot. And… well, some of its smallest names too. Although the JL (also known as the Justice League of America and Justice League International at times) should be an assemblage of DC’s elite, there were times when, for various reasons Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman and the others weren’t available, so writers had to bring in new recruits. Recruits like… Manitou Raven, Ambush Bug, Tasmanian Devil or Blue Jay. Or they would just make up their own new characters like General Glory, Faith, Maya or Bloodwynd. And while everyone knows that five Green Lanterns, four Flashes and three Wonder Women have been members, did you realize that there had been TWO Ice Maidens?
Get acquainted with nearly every member of the Justice League ever* in this sweet new compilation video, featuring original comic art and presenting the heroes in chronological order of the time in which they joined. It’s pretty amazing!
First one minor quibble– Superman and Batman are presented first because they’re the biggest names but they actually weren’t founders. They weren’t there when Aquaman, The Flash, Green Lantern, Martian Manhunter and Wonder Woman first united to battle Starro in their first outing. But they were added almost immediately once the team was given its own book, so I guess that’s okay.
*The one larger quibble I have is, well what constitutes JL membership? At this point, there have been so many groups to bear the name, it gets complicated. The creator(s) of the video count the 90s ‘Extreme Justice’ team, a gritty offshoot of Justice League International, but NOT Justice League Antarctica a comedic offshoot of the same team. They count the New 52 ‘Justice League of America’ with Catwoman and Simon Baz (among others), but NOT the New 52 ‘Justice League International’ with Godiva and August General In Iron. Also snubbed were ‘Justice League Dark,’ a New 52 collection of magical characters (although I don’t think they’ve ever referred to themselves with the Justice League title) and the 90s ‘Justice League Task Force’ which brought in non-JL members to assist on specific missions as well as ‘Justice League Elite’ a dark group that spun out of the ‘Superman’ titles featuring all-new characters that came, went and were forgotten in no time.
But then again, that’s kinda okay because let’s face it. Some of the characters they did include were real losers. So just image the ones that got left in the reject pile. Quick! We have an emergency! Anyone know where we can find Mark Antaeus? Or Mystek? What about Moon Maiden? No? Guess we’ll have to let lame ol’ Superman, Green Lantern and Wonder Woman take a crack… like those guys can do anything useful.
Did you notice any glaring omissions? Who are your favorites? Comment below!
Source: Comic Book Resources
