I’m getting very curious about the upcoming lineup for the JLA. The current team has been decimated by current events in the DCU. And upcoming covers have shown some interesting stuff. One shows Mon-El, Batman (Grayson), and Donna Troy. I’ve long been a fan of the Titans, but am unsure how I feel about them joining the JLA.
Robinson, who is writing "JL: Cry for Justice", is coming on board as the new writer. Word is he is likely to bring a number of the cast from that book to the main title. That team is comprised of Green Lantern (Hal), Green Arrow, Atom (Ray), Shazam (Freddy), Supergirl, Starman (alien), Congorilla, and supposedly Batwoman.
At this point, it seems every hero of at least a certain age has been or could be a member of the team. So who knows. But lets take a stab at it. Who do you want in the JLA. The Satellite era had an official membership cap of 12 members. Not that they kept to it, but it gives us a place to start. 12 members. You pick them. Tell us who you want on the team. I’ll add my picks later. Some inspiration …
Yeah, keeping the list to only 12 will be tough for me too.
Let’s go with:
* Wonder Woman
* SuperGirl
* Bat Woman or Batman (Dick)
* Flash
* Green Lantern
* Green Arrow
* Atom
* Plastic Man
* Vixen
* Black Canary
* Huntress
* Booster Gold
I guess what bugs me about the Titans in the JLA is that there are only so many slots in the JLA. If I leave them in the Titans, I can read about them there and read about other heroes in the JLA. If we put the Titans into the JLA, I am afraid they will keep other heroes out.
my picks batman dick and wonder woman for at least have two of the trinity. green latern Hal or who ever is avaible at the time. green arrow . and flash for have at least four founders. and have to have a mystic for magic threats. my pick the demon etrigan. for the challenge of kepping him in line and oracle for she is cool on a team plus would keep cogrilla just for the absurbity. plus would add cyborg . super girl and finish off the team with red tornado and the Riddler
My picks:
Superman
Wonder Woman
Flash – Wally West
Batman – Dick Grayson
Zatanna
Green Lantern – John Stewart
Hawkgirl – Kendra Saunders
Oracle
Red Tornado
Plastic Man
Steel *Reserve Member
The Atom – Ray Palmer *Reserve Member
just curious, why would they not all be full members?
For me, I think it’s best to keep things moving forward. Sure, Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman are the Trinity – but one of things I find the most exciting in comics is how the character can evolve. Dick Grayson evolved from Robin to Nightwing, Wally West from Kid Flash to Flash, Roy Harper from Speedy to Arsenal to Red Arrow…new characters, new life, and if there’s good writing behind their characters then naturally great stories.
For the JLA, I’d really like to see an evolved group. Graduate characters and see what will happen…Unlike the Detroit League, or even the Redux Satellite League, (Nuklon, Obsidian, Warrior), the next League should be:
Captain Marvel (Freddy)
Batman (Dick Grayson)
Supergirl
Donna Troy
Miss Martian
Blue Beetle (Jaime)
Red Arrow
Golden Eagle
Cyborg
Jakeem Thunder and The Thunderbolt
Green Lantern (Hal Jordan)
The Atom (Ray Palmer)
Good mix – I think…plus a new group dymamic that can take on potentially any threat. My two cents…
I’d Choose these guys
Green Lantern(Hal Jordan)- My Favorite DC character, plus an essential leauger
Connor Hawke- Be cool to put him on the team now that he’s not GA anymore just have fun with his new healing abilities and his hand-to-hand skills
Flash(Barry Allen)- Flash is also essential in my opinion, and Barry’s my favorite version
Atom(Ray Palmer)- every team needs a science guy, and Atom’s great for that role
Black Canary- Always been a fan of her on the team
Hawkgirl(Kendra)- I feel one of the Hawks should be on the team at most times, and I went with Hawk girl for some more diversity
Elongated Man
Booster Gold & Blue Beetle(I’d like Ted, though Jaime would work well too)- I like the the light side these 2 bring to the team
Mary Marvel- I think she’s a great addition to the team from the 2 Giffen mini- series
Batman(Grayson)-I think 1 of the big 3 needs to be present, and I like Dick as Batman
Black Lightning- One of the best additions of the Meltzer run, I also think he might make for a good team chairman
I find this team would have a nice mix of classic and modern choices. Though most would most likely choose Ollie instead of Connor, I think Connor would make for a nice representation of the modern characetrs.
Most people probably wouldn’t care for this line up, but I think it would work
Big three first. Superman, Batman and Wonderwoman have to be in the League or it doesn’t have a big-time feel. Not sure where the events of Blackest Night will leave those three characters.
Grayson as Batman in the League I have no problem with. Nice to have another Titan graduate to the League, and he’s led them before through the Obsidian age.
Donna Troy standing in for Wonder Woman I also have no problem with, for the same reason as Grayson being there. Prefer it if they tweaked the costume to be more like Wonder Woman’s.
The Superman slot is a tough one. Mon-el in that spot is interesting. Supergirl would be a good back-up choice; preferable to Superboy, who is back from the dead, though unknown for how long. The other interesting thing would be to bring back Supernova, though not with Booster in the costume.
The other big guns:
Green Lantern – should be Hal and John Stewart. It seems like Hal is going to have a big role in the new series but I’ve never been a big fan, and always preferred Kyle or John in the role. I’m guessing Kyle isn’t really available since he’s taken quite a prominent role in the GL corps, but I’d still prefer John over Hal.
Flash – Wally. Don’t know how long Barry is supposed to stay alive for but if we have Dick and Donna we have to have Wally too.
Red Arrow – I thought he was great in the recent Meltzer run. And for the Titans connection as well.
The Atom – This could be either Ray or Choi. I have no problem which but I don’t think the Ryan Choi Atom has been very popular.
The other five spots:
Faith – with no Martian Manhunter, there needs to be a telepathic link, plus with her Black Ops background I’d say she’d be a good tactical second to Dick.
Tempest – natural replacement for Aquaman, and he did recently take the throne in Blackest Night, though he also became a zombie too, so here’s hoping he comes back.
Firestorm – I’m a big fan of the Satellite era, so for me we need a Firestorm. I’m not a big fan of the Jason Firestorm but he seems to have been ok in recent issues of JLA.
Red Tornado – For a lot of the same reasons I’d have the Jason Firestorm.
Captain Marvel – With the Superman slot being filled by a relatively lesser known quantity, I have to say that the need for someone who both knows magic and has that same power level as Superman is nicely filled by Captain Marvel.
It’s interesting, but looking back over my list there’s actually quite a few Titans on the team. I guess with Red Arrow in the Meltzer run I just liked the idea of the Titans finally graduating into their mentor’s roles. My list isn’t the only one with a lot of Titans on it, so I think there’s an appeal to have classic roles but a new generation of heroes.
Some characters who didn’t make the cut on my list but I’d also like to have around:
Plastic Man – written right, i.e. the way Grant Morrison did, Plastic Man is a great character who plays really well as almost like a sidekick to Batman. It would be interesting to see how that dynamic would work between Dick and Plas, but he might be a better fit for the Outsiders at this point.
Cyborg – another Titans mainstay whose technical expertise would have made him great for the League and in terms of filling a leadership/tactical role he’d be a great choice as well. Unfortunately, with the Atom around, there’s not much call for his technical expertise and with all the founding members of the Titans in my JLA roster someone needs to keep the Titans traditions alive too.
The Ray – I’m sorry, the Ray was teamed up with Firestorm for a few panels by Morrison during the DC 1 million event, and ever since, I’ve loved that combo of flame and light. I’m sure they probably teamed in some JL Taskforce issue or something, and Ray’s probably best left in the Freedom Fighters, but I just like the dynamic. Certainly a lot better than I like it with the present Dr Light/Firestorm combo.
Ollie, Black Canary and Zatanna – all mainstays of the Satellite era, and Ollie’s been in cry for justice whilst BC and Z have been featured in the Meltzer League. With so many Titans graduates on the team, it no longer felt like it was the right League for these characters. In the case of Ollie and Zatanna, I have picked stand-ins for their roles anyway. I guess if they can’t be in the League, they could always join the Outsiders.
Black Lightning – I think he’s an awesome character and has been great in the League in Meltzer’s run. At the end of the day, for what he brings to the table, be it leadership or that power over electricity, one of the other characters on my list probably had it covered to some extent. I also think he’s too important to the Outsiders to be in the League at this point. Same arguments would really go for a character like Metamorpho.
So, there you have it, my idea for a new League.
My picks:
Batman (Dick Grayson)
Wonder Woman
Supergirl (never thought of going with her over Mon-El or Superman until it was brought up here, but if Clark is out of the picture, why not?)
Green Lantern (John Stewart — since Hal’s center stage over in the GL title and Kyle’s over in GL Corps, why not leave John here?)
Flash (Wally West)
Hawkgirl (Kendra Saunders is the most underrated character at DC and I hope she makes it out of Blackest Night)
Firestorm
Red Tornado
Dr. Light
Zatanna
Vixen
Don’t really have a conclusive pick for the last of the 12 slots, but I wouldn’t mind seeing Plastic Man, Steel, Faith, the Atom (Palmer or Choi), Captain Marvel, or Green Arrow as the last member. Or even better, turn it into a rotating spot and cycle through the lot of them.
Have a good day.
John Cage
I enjoy the whole “Evolution of the hero” feel in JLA. I see the Titans as a bit of a training ground for the JLA. I’m also “Old school so I’d like to see some of the old guard honored. so my choices would be:
*Green Lantern: Hal Jordan (fan favorite, strong leader)
*Supergirl: a Superman representitive (Mon-el would be ok)
*Batman: Dick Grayson (a former sidekick/titan brought up to the majors)
*Red Arrow: see above
*Donna Troi: see above the above
*Flash: see above the aboves
*Booster Gold (One of my faves)
*Red Tornado (cant have JLA without Reddy!)
*Hawkgirl: A great character!!
*Black Lightning: It’s time to make him an iconic mainstay
*Firestorm
*Zatanna: bringin the magic
4 reserve memebers:
*Tempest (he seems to be an untapped potential.)
*Faith
*The Atom: Super scientist and nice “suprise” for the villans
*Steel
I was always partial to the old X-men blue and gold teams so I would go that way with missions. have Green Lantern make the team choices but have differnt “field leaders” for different missions.
Guess I’m just a classic guy at heart:
Green Lantern (don’t really care if its Kyle, Hal, or Jon)
Flash (I grew up with Wally but Barry’s fine as well)
Wonder Woman
Aquaman (the one, true Arthur Curry version)
Martian Manhunter (the soul of the team)
Green Arrow (got to have a smart ass)
Black Canary (founding member according to the current retcon)
Hawkgirl (impressed me with her recent term with the League)
Batman (kind of as a reserve/behind the scenes member)
Steel (got to have a tech guy)
Zatanna (got to have a magic specialist)
Vixen (also enjoyed her recent term with the League)
Yes, I left out Superman. He makes it too easy and tends to dominant when in the League. I’d keep him out most of the time, but have him be a reserve member who could pitch in when the stuff hits the fan.
I suppose I am the odd man out here because I always thought that the Titans would eventually become JLA members. I was pleased when Wally took Barry’s position on the team. And, let’s be frank, how many of the Teen Titans are teenagers these days?
Just because the adult TTs join the JLA doesn’t mean they have to be in ever issue. Why can’t the JLA take the approach of the JLU cartoon and rotate the characters as the story dictates?
One thing i don’t want would have to be any Titans hitting JL status. My personal team:
Green Lantern (Hal Jordan- there is no other that can compare, personally; favorite DC Hero)
Flash (Barry Allen- grey up with and hated Wally, and i love the Hal-Barry team)
Wonder Woman (Diana “Prince”)
Supergirl (Kara Zor-el)
Batwoman (Kathy Kane)
Green Arrow (Ollie Queen)
Black Canary (Dinah Laurel Lance; favorite DCU heroine)
The Atom (Ray Palmer)
Animal Man (Another fan-favorite of mine)
There is something oddly appealing about the Big 3 of DC being a female trio; definitely a way to shake up the other heroes. Not only that, but i’m betting they’d work as a better team, too. With all of the changes going on in the DCU, we need a grounded team with leaders that can tolerate each other.
JEEZ Erik, you got me!
Please let me re-write what I did in your previous blog about the JLA.
“I consider your thoughts about a classic line-up of the JLA, as far as i agree, there are indeed, 5 cornerstones of the DCU, SUPERMAN, BATMAN, WONDER WOMAN (the 1st “TRINITY” as it has been recently stablished by DC COMICS), GREEN LANTERN, and THE FLASH.
Besides i have always thought for the JLA as a “modern myth” KING ARTHUR and his KNIGHTS OF THE ROUND TABLE. the “ROUND TABLE” consisting mainly of TWELVE KNIGHTS.
For me, the JLA CLASSIC, SUPERPOWERS, MODERN or ANY ERA SHOULD BE (somehow) REPRESENTED mainly like artist extraordinaire ALEX ROSS has depicted them in several media.
The King:
1:SUPERMAN/Kal-El
His Knights:
2:BATMAN/Bruce Wayne
3:WONDER WOMAN/Diana Princess of Themiscyra
4:GREEN LANTERN/Hal Jordan
5:FLASH/Barry Allen
6:AQUAMAN/Arthur Curry
7:MARTIAN MANHUNTER/J’onn J’onzz
8:GREEN ARROW/Oliver Queen
9:HAWKMAN/Carter Hall
10:BLACK CANARY/Dinah Lance
11:ATOM/Ray Palmer
12:ELONGATED MAN/Ralph Dibny
now, the rotative roster could always end with up to 15 members
13:FIRESTORM/Ronal Raymond
14:ZATANNA/Zatanna Zatara
15:RED TORNADO.
Now you have a Round Table with 12 to 15 Knights. 3 teams of 5 cornerstones itselves. One solid JUSTICE LEAGUE.
Well, IMO this is the JLA, that forged what we see in today’s comics. An 80’s rennaisance, the old is NEW again!.
The Line-up i wrote, was because, those are DC MAIN GUNS, The HEAVY HITTERS. Now DC has a BIG Superheroes pantheon, which we all love also, and would like to see any other hero in the JLA besides the CLASSICS ones.
I read the “Obsidian age” arc in the JLA a few years ago, and really liked what BATMAN had in mind in case there wouldn’t be any JLA to keep a fight. So he developed a simple “PLAN B”.
IMO, the “Plan B” JLA could be all the other Leaguers that should make a new Knight’s “A” list; like:
1:SUPERGIRL/Kara Zor-El
2:NIGHTWING/Richard Grayson
3:TROIA/Donna Troi
4:GREEN LANTERN/John Stewart or Kyle Rayner
5:FLASH/Wally West
6:SHAZAM/William Bastón
7:STARMAN/Prince Gavyn-Will Payton
8:RED ARROW/Roy Harper
9:HAWKWOMAN/Kendra Saunders
10:VIXEN/Mari J. McCabe
11:BLUE BEETLE/Ted Kord
12:BOOSTER GOLD/Michael Jon Carter
13:PLASTIC MAN/Patrick O’Brian
14:MANITOU RAVEN/Raven
15:METAMORPHO/Rex Mason
And finally CAPTAIN ATOM/Nathaniel Christopher Adam.
Just for a few choices.
IMO.”
Okay, here’s MY version of the Justice League:
-J’Onn J’Onzz
-Blue Beetle (Ted Kord)
-Booster Gold
-Fire
-Ice
-Guy Gardner
-Captain Atom
-Power Girl
-Elongated Man (w/ Sue, of course!)
-Flash (Wally West)
-Mary Marvel
-Mister Miracle
2 teams:
Green Lantern (Hal)
Mon-El
Donna Troy
Batman (Dick)
Mera
Zatanna
Atom
Green Arrow
Black Canary
Supergirl
Shazam (freddy)
Batwoman
Congorilla
Starman
Has anyone been reading Cry For Justice?
The artwork is great, but the writing is just terrible. This is who will be moving over to write the JLA?
I think this is of far greater concern than any proposed linuep…
true, I am so turned off by this story – after issue 3 – that Robinson’s run may be the first I do not collect. And that is since the late 70′s.
I thought about these ones last night.
There must be a new TRINITY to lead them so, i propose:
1:GREEN LANTERN/Hal Jordan
2:The FLASH/Barry Allen
3:HAWKMAN/Carter Hall
and the rest of the Team would be:
4:RED ROBIN/Timothy Drake
5:ROBOTMAN
6:AZTEK
7:SHAZAM/Fred Friedman
8:STEEL/John Henry Irons
9:CATMAN
10:ARTEMIS
11:DOCTOR LIGHT
12:BULLETEER
and maybe CAPTAIN COMET or ADAM STRANGE.
I’ve always wanted to see the original Teen Titans graduate or get a spot in the JLA. if wally and roy can be in the league, why leave out the other titans. although i know dick has led the JLA for a short time. i want him to have a regular spot in the jla preferably as nightwing, but as batman will do. so i guess its time for garth and donna to be part of the JLA as well. i also believe that the original titans (the sidekicks) could do better than their “teachers”. plus now would be a good time to reinvent the league since it current line-up is not doing so well and i think it could make a good storyline for the former titans to be working together this time under the JLA. so they are filling in big shoes and they are back together in a team that they used to dream about. i also saw or read somewhere that the teen titans used to go toe to toe with the x-men in popularity, but right now, in my opinion the titans are left behind. so i think they should be given more chances in the spotlight. so my picks are…
1) Batman (dick) but hopefully as Nightwing
2) Donna Troy is there a way for her to wear a wonder woman costume?
3) Flash (Wally)
4) Red Arrow
5) Garth (the teen titans animated costume could work for him)
actually, im not really fully aware on whats going on in the DCU but i hope kyle GL/Ion can join them to be the JLA’s Green Lantern.
6) GL (kyle)
then i guess we can put in the recent line up in JLA #35…
7) Firestorm (jason)
8) Vixen
9) Red Tornado
10) Dr. Light
11) Plastic Man
12) would be left as a blank slot it could be filled by someone from the superman family (kara, connor, steel, mon-el, etc.), could be filled by the black canary as chairwoman once again after seeing a good line-up, or maybe filled by other recent/current members such as black lightning, hawkgirl or zatanna.
then we can still have hal jordan with his own justice league cry for justice line up in the background or carrying their own title and assisting the JLA whenever needed.
well this is just my list and my opinion.
I agree in principle that when I was younger I always expected the Titans to grow up into JLA members. But that was when the JL membership was 14, already more than the 12 they were restricted to. it seemed like they could add members forever.
Then the satellite league was disabanded. I was shocked. The JLI era gave us two and then three JL books which gave us the chance to see a larger array of characters. Morrison rebuilt the team back around 12 to 14 members. Meltzer did the same.
The problem with have Dick, Donna, Wally, Roy, Garth, and Kyle in the League is that it takes up half the membership. There is not enough room to fit in everyone else I want to see.
J
L
A
The key players
1. Superman
2. Batman
3. Green Lantern
4. Flash
5. Aquaman
6. Wonder Woman
characters I’d like to see:
7. Plastic Man
8. Black Lightning
9. Steel
10. Vixen
11. Firestorm
12. Dr. Light
Since people are using dead / retired characters, here’s one of the more unique lists you’re gonna see…
1. Green Lantern (Hal Jordan)
2. Flash (Barry Allen)
3. The Atom (Ray Palmer)
– These three are the “old guard” and the anchor for my team -
4. Captain Atom
5. Captain Marvel (Billy Batson)
– These two fill the Superman-level of power the JLA needs to back it-
6. Animal Man
– Who DOESN’T want Animal Man on the team?
7. Dr. Fate (Kent/Inza nelson)
8. Resurrection Man
9. Blue Devil
– This is my “mystic trinity” to help balance the team out-
10. Aztek
11. Blue Beetle (Dan Garrett)
12. Aquaman
– And just three characters that I think would be fun to see again-
With the following as “active reservists”
Plastic Man
Steel
Geo-Force
Firestorm
Hawkman
Moon Maiden
Yep. Even without the TRINITY, I think my team is unstoppable
Sorry about my lack of knowledge, but who’s MOON MAIDEN?
BLUE BEETLE/Dan Garret is a cool choice. better than Ted or Jaime
and ANIMAL MAN shuld be a JSA, not JLA imo.
is that STEEL or COMMANDER STEEL?
which FIRESTORM? (Ronnie is the BEST!)
i don’t know why the DC Editors don’t like him.
1. Black Canary
2. Green Lantern (Hal Jordan)
3. Hawkman
4. Atom (Ray Palmer) – you need a scientist & the first four bridge the past to the present
5. Batman (Dick Grayson)
6. Vixen
7. Firestorm
8. Enchantress (from Shadowpact)
9. Donna Troy (does she have a current superhero name?)
10. Ultra Boy – a powerhouse, but not as invincible as Mon-El or Superman
11. Tellus – an alien is needed to introduce scifi elements.
12. Black Lightning
1. Superman
2. Batman
3. Wonder Woman
4. Green Lantern
5. The Flash
6. Mera
7. Vixen
8. Cyborg
9. Blue Devil
10. Red Arrow
11. Black Lightning
12. Dr. Light
-Seth!
Of the new team, we know Dick-Batman, Donna Troy, Mon-El, GL Hal, and GA Ollie and Congorilla have pretty much been confirmed. One of the figures is speculated to be Starfire or possibly Fire, but money is on Kory.
I’ve heard 8-12 member team-? but don’t know rest.
My picks (*plus alternate)
Superman (*Mon-El)
Batman (*Booster Gold/Skeets – you heard me!)
Wonder Woman (*Hippolyta)
GL Hal (*John)
Black Canary (*Huntress)
Flash (Barry? *Wally)
J’onn J’onnz (*Starman – Payton)
Aquaman – Orin/Arthur (*Red Tornado)
Zatanna (*Blue Devil)
Zauriel – toga! and don’t care if Carter/Katar comes back!
Plastic Man
Oracle
Atom (Ray Palmer reserve/tech support)
John Henry Irons (reserve/tech support)
so sue me, it borrows heavily from Morrison, but he had a good idea and I like Zauriel.
My Ultimate Titans team:
Nightwing
Donna Troy
Flash (Wally)
Tempest
Arsenal
GL Kyle
Cyborg
Changeling
Raven
Firestorm
Damage
Ray
Dove II
(sorry, no Kory for me.)
My team would mostly consist of the Satellite Era. I know the argument: there has been tons of great incarnations, why do I (and others) go back to the Satellite Era…but my answer is simple: I love the line-up, and it’s one I wouldn’t change much. Anyway, my 12:
Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern (Jordan), Flash (West), Hawkgirl, Aquaman, Martian Manhunter, Zatanna, Firestorm, Green Arrow, Black Canary.