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SEQUENTIAL CULTURE #21 5 Feb 04 |
The DC Canon, Part 4: The
Justice League |
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JULIAN DARIUS |
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THE DC CANON Read Part 1: Batman. Read Part 2: Superman. Read Part 3: Kingdom Come. You are reading Part 4: The Justice League. Read Part 5: Superman: Red Son. Read Part 6: Alan Moore’s Swamp
Thing. Read Part 7: Neil Gaiman’s The
Sandman. Read Part 8: Vertigo, Part 1. Read Part 9: Vertigo, Part 2. Read Part 10: Vertigo, Part
3. |
DC Comics’ super-heroes star in a plethora
of ongoing series, mini-series, specials, original graphic novels of various
sizes, and collections every month.
Characters like Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman are more iconic
than any other super-heroes around.
Yet for all of their sales, some have not explored the best that these
icons have to offer. This, then, acts as a guide for those new
to DC’s characters, for those who may be missing a classic of one of them,
and for those who simply wish to argue what merits such concern. Lists of such a nature are always a matter
of some debate and always involve some subjectivity. They are, nonetheless, not without their
purposes of stirring thought, guiding future reading, and solidifying the
canon. Take this one as you will. The Justice League The previous Sequential Culture
introduced the Justice League and examined Kingdom Come, positioning
that work as the greatest Justice League story. Here, then, is the rest of the list. |
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COMING IN SECOND is JLA: Earth 2, 1999’s original graphic novel
written by Grant Morrison with art by Frank Quitely. The story plays with the notion of
multiple dimensions with alternate histories, a staple of the DC Universe
prior to its reconstitution in 1985-1986’s Crisis of Infinite Earths,
in which the DC Universe’s Silver Age characters lived on Earth-1 while the
Golden Age characters lived on Earth-2.
One parallel Earth featured villainous versions of the Justice League. |
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Earth 2
reintroduces this villainous Justice League in new, more clever forms. The evil Justice League’s outer space
headquarters is even called the Panopticon, a reference to 19th-Century
prison theory revitalized by the French postmodern theorist Michel Foucault. |
Earth 2 reintroduces this villainous Justice League in new, more
clever forms. The evil Superman
watches every move on the planet, vaporizing dissidents with his heat vision
and playing tricks on the populace like dropping fake dollar bills. The evil Justice League’s outer space
headquarters is even called the Panopticon, a reference to 19th-Century
prison theory revitalized by the French postmodern theorist Michel
Foucault. The evil Batman obsessively
battles the rebel Jim Gordon and secretly expresses sexual affection for the
evil Wonder Woman while the two dread the evil Superman’s watching eyes. The story gets moving as Lex Luthor, the
leading opponent of the evil Justice League, crosses the dimensional bridge
and requests the Justice League’s help to topple the tyranny of their evil
counterparts. Rather than rushing in
simplistic fashion, a debate over the morality and practicality of such an
action follows. As a contingent from
the Justice League travels to the alternate dimension, a contingent from the
evil Justice League arrives on the normal DC universe, leading to chaos on
both Earths. |
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Ultimately, both sets of characters realize that their universe
intrinsically prefers, as if a physical law, the victory of good or evil. |
Ultimately, both sets of characters
realize that their universe intrinsically prefers, as if a physical law, the
victory of good or evil. Just as the
Justice League always wins in the end, their evil counterparts do as well,
and there is no more sense fighting this than fighting gravity. The villains of our familiar world are
doomed to failure after failure, no matter their apparent but temporary
successes, and the heroes of the alternate world are equally doomed. Perhaps most interestingly, this dovetails
nicely with Grant Morrison’s theories as expressed in his The Invisibles,
in which our own universe may be the interconnection of two other universes
or elements, one ordered and one chaotic.
In other words, the universe in which costumed super-heroes are always
victorious expresses a principle at plays in the universe of the reader, at
war with the opposite principle that preserves the sort of vicious tyrannies
of the evil Justice League. |
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What is examined is nothing less than the rules of the super-hero
genre itself and perhaps the notion of reality itself and the rules that
govern it. |
Cleverly, the pre-Crisis
superiority of designating the more familiar world as Earth-1 is overturned
as our familiar DC universe is marginalized by being designated the titular
Earth-2. Whereas the reader expects
the title to refer to and the story to be about the evil alternate Earth, the
title and its story surprisingly reflects back upon our own characters and
their universe. What is examined is
nothing less than the rules of the super-hero genre itself and perhaps the
notion of reality itself and the rules that govern it. Morrison played with some of these same
ideas in his ongoing run on JLA, which was wrapping up at the time of Earth
2’s original publication in hardcover.
Although Earth 2 does not require knowledge of this run, one is
free, if one likes, to consider this entire run as a whole in Earth 2’s
place on this list. Yes, this makes
for a particularly long entry, but Morrison’s run is really a whole story
with numerous story arcs within larger story arcs: hints dropped in the beginning pay off in the middle, and hints
dropped in the middle pay off in the end and along the way. Beginning in late 1996 and concluding in
early 2000, Morrison wrote the JLA issues numbered 1-17, 22-23,
1000000, 24-26, 28-31, 34, and 36-41 (in that order) -- usually with art by
Howard Porter and John Dell. The
issue-length main story in JLA Secret Files #1, the one-shot entitled Prometheus
(Villains) #1, the four-issue mini-series entitled DC One Million,
two short stories in DC One Million 80-Page Giant #1000000, and the
prestige format one-shot entitled JLA / WildC.A.T.s -- as well as JLA: Earth 2 -- should all be considered a
part of this run. All are available
in trade paperbacks. JLA #1-4 (collected in JLA:
New World Order) is often thought the best of Morrison’s run and
featured the Hyperclan, a super-powered team of heroes who gains the world’s
trust only to be revealed as villains.
JLA #5-9 (collected in JLA:
American Dreams) contained three stories, the last of which had
the Key essentially realize that the heroes always win (revealed to be a kind
of physical law in Earth 2) and thus defeat the JLA by placing the
team’s members in virtual reality programs where they could win. The main story in JLA Secret Files
#1 told a story taking place before JLA #1. JLA / WildC.A.T.s teamed the JLA with Wildstorm’s
super-hero team. |
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Morrison’s best work on the title, however, was probably the
sprawling “Rock of Ages” storyline, including a confrontation with Darkseid
on a future Earth in which he rules absolutely. How this almost unstoppable dictator is taken down without
diminishing his threatening might can only be classified an act of genius. |
Morrison’s best work on the title,
however, was probably the “Rock of Ages” storyline (collected in the trade
paperback of the same title) running from #10-15 and terminating in an
extra-long issue. The sprawling
storyline begins with the team battling a newly formed team of major DC
villains, including a walk through the Joker’s physically insane mind. Some of the team, however, is sent through
space and time, having some truly bizarre encounters. Most memorably, however, was the
confrontation of these characters with Darkseid on a future Earth in which he
rules absolutely. How this almost
unstoppable dictator is taken down without diminishing his threatening might
can only be classified an act of genius.
In another play off the idea that the JLA always wins, we learn that
defeating the villains in the present will ultimately lead to Darkseid’s
despotic future. The JLA succeeds in
the end but, in a surprise move, disbands. Prometheus (Villains) #1 introduces Prometheus, a sort of evil
version of Batman: his parents killed
by lawmen, this ingenious boy dedicates himself to crime rather than fighting
crime and invents devices to aid him -- including one that allows him to play
through various scenarios in advance of his making moves, effectively
rendering him unstoppable. JLA
#16-17 feature the newly-reformed JLA battling this new villain, barely
stopping him. After this, Morrison
took a four-issue break from the title, returning in #22-23 with a story
(really a sequel to the main story in JLA Secret Files #1) that
featured Neil Gaiman’s Sandman.
(Gaiman had used the Justice League in his earliest issues of The
Sandman, and Morrison returned the favor.) All of this material, and more, is collected in JLA: Strength in Numbers. The four-issue mini-series DC One
Million and JLA #1000000 was published weekly over the following
month, September 1998. The storyline
featured a Justice League in the far future, including a future Hourman
briefly introduced in “Rock of Ages.”
Quite enjoyable, including a nuclear holocaust in the present and
Superman’s fate in the far future, DC One Million remains somewhat
tarnished by its rushed ending. All
of this material, and more, is collected in JLA: DC One Million (originally entitled simply DC One
Million). Morrison also wrote two
short stories (totaling 18 pages) for 1999’s DC One Million 80-Page Giant
#1000000. JLA #24-26 and #28-31 told two stories, separated and followed
by fill-in issues -- all of which is collected in JLA: Justice for All. Morrison’s final storyline, “World War
III,” ran from #36-41, with #34 serving as a prologue, and is collected in
the trade paperback of the same title.
(Although JLA: Earth 2
was published around the beginning of this storyline, its chronological
placement was not made clear.) In
this ultimate storyline, the JLA faced Armageddon and watches the world go
mad. What seems like almost every DC
super-hero appears, and -- although the whole cannot compare with “Rock of
Ages” -- the extra-sized conclusion (that ended Morrison’s run) has a
touching moment as the entire population of Earth gains super-powers and puts
them to use, following the model of their heroes. |
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Ranking third is the first twelve issues of Keith Giffen and J.M.
DeMatteis’s run on Justice League -- retitled Justice League
International with #7 -- which tells a complete story. |
RANKING THIRD is the first twelve issues
of Keith Giffen and J.M. DeMatteis’s run on Justice League, retitled Justice
League International with #7 and published from 1987 to 1988. Although explicitly comedic, the first
twelve issues of this run tell a complete story, beginning with the Justice
League’s formation through the machinations of Maxwell Lord and concluding
with the revelation of what was behind those machinations. Along the way, the team experienced
various adventures, various changes in its roster, and the gaining of backing
by the United Nations. As with Morrison’s Earth 2, one can
replace this entry with Giffen and DeMatteis’s entire run on the various
Justice League titles, which featured a large number of artists. Justice League International became
Justice League America with #26, around which time Justice League
Europe was launched. The run
continued, with both titles receiving annuals, joined by Justice League
International Quarterly and a couple specials. Many of these issues were memorable and some classic. Although comedic, brilliant dramatic
moments were included. |
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“The Extremist Vector” (Justice League Europe #15-19)
featured a team of powerful and sadistic villains who, having conquered their
alternate Earth and accidentally killed its last survivor through excessive
torture, come to the familiar DC universe, then hold all of the world’s
nuclear missiles aloft through magnetic powers. |
Perhaps none were more dramatic than “The
Extremist Vector,” running in Justice League Europe #15-19. The story featured a team of powerful and
sadistic villains who, having conquered their alternate Earth and
accidentally killed its last survivor through excessive torture, come to the
familiar DC universe. They hold all
of the world’s nuclear missiles aloft through magnetic powers, threatening to
drop them and thereby preventing almost any resistance against their
rule. The story features a twist
ending, and most later Extremist stories were satisfying as well. The run concluded with a massive 15-issue
storyline, published in 1991-1992, entitled “Breakdowns” and running through
both Justice League America and Justice League Europe. Although the quality of the run as a whole
had diminished at the time, especially hurt by the generally lessening
quality of artists, “Breakdowns” featured nearly every character from the
run. It began with Maxwell Lord being
shot and concluded with the team disbanding. Giffen and DeMatteis returned -- first
with a story story in 1998’s JLA 80-Page Giant #1 and then -- along
with their original Justice League artists, in the second half of 2003 for
the six-issue mini-series entitled Formerly Known as the Justice League. The series, published following a great
resurgence in comics of interest in the comics of the 1980s, proved a
hit. In it, Maxwell Lord forms a new
team, which has humorous adventures, culminating in an intergalactic incident
with Manga Khan, a galactic tyrant from the original run, and the JLA’s
intervention. A sequel is planned. |
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#4 is JLA: Year One,
a twelve-issue mini-series that told of the Justice League’s first year in
which the members came to trust one another. |
TRACKING AT #4 is JLA: Year One, a twelve-issue mini-series
written by Mark Waid and Brian Augustyn with art mostly by Barry Kitson. Published in 1997-1998, after Morrison’s JLA
had proven a stellar hit, the mini-series told of the Justice League’s first
year. It occurs in post-Crisis
continuity, in which Superman and Batman were not original members, but its
stories take place between the original Justice League stories rather
than retelling them. The unthinking
group cohesion of those original stories, however, is shattered here: instead, the team suspects its own
members, who must learn to trust one another. Many other DC heroes appear, and the mini-series concludes with
the team rescuing no less than all of the rest of those heroes, who have been
captured and placed in a detention camp. A success, JLA: Year One was followed by a six-part
mini-series entitled The Brave and the Bold by the same team. That sequel starred Barry Allen as Flash
and Hal Jordan as Green Lantern, and it took place over several years as the two
became friends despite their apparently conflicting personalities. Other stories taking place in the JLA’s
early years also appeared in the wake of JLA: Year One, prominently including 1998’s Legends of the DC
Universe #12-13 and most of 1998’s JLA 80-Page Giant #1. |
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To Be Continued Although this concludes the Justice League
portion, the next installment of “The DC Canon” premieres next week. It’s already written and formatted, so
come back next week for an extended essay on ... well, something you probably
don’t expect. |
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