Justice League
Expected: Part One – November 17th 2017. Part Two – June 14th 2019
Character Synopsis: Also known as Justice League of America, or JLA, Justice League is a team of superheroes that has included many characters in its time, but was originally founded by Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Flash, Green Lantern and Martian Manhunter.
Origin: Formerly the Justice Society of America, which debuted in 1940, the team was reintroduced as the all-new Justice League of America in ‘The Brave And The Bold’ #28 in 1960, with its seven superhero line-up. As with most DC titles, Justice League has at least two distinct origin stories. The first – and original – has an alien race named the Appellaxians come to Earth to use it as a battleground to determine a new ruler for their planet. Causing much death and destruction, the aliens are fought by the seven superheroes individually, before they realise they must team up to defeat the menace.
Several variations ensued, including the implication that Martian Manhunter had been rescued from the Appellaxians by the rest of the team. It was in The New 52 re-launch that the team’s entire history was re-written, however. Apart from essentially erasing the involvement Martian Manhunter, the reboot has Batman and Hal Jordan (Green Lantern) battle an extraterrestrial Parademon in Gotham. Outmatched, they head to Metropolis to seek the help of Superman, but he attacks them until The Flash intervenes. More Parademons arrive, and Wonder Woman and Aquaman join the fight. The conflict heralds the arrival of the powerful and evil Darkseid, and the heroes join forces – along with Cyborg – to defeat him.
Powers: Justice League is the most formidable team of superheroes, since its powers are the sum total of that of its members.
Greatest Enemies: Justice League’s roster of enemies is perhaps longer than most, as they have battled their collective foes – such as Per Degaton, The Wizard, the Funhouse Aliens, The Weapons Master and Queen Bee – as well as facing off against enemies of their individual members. Among many others, Lex Luthor, Brainiac and Ultra-Humanite have appeared from Superman; The Joker from Batman; Vandal Savage, Solomon Grundy, Sinestro, Sonar and Hector Hammond from Green Lantern; Circe from Wonder Woman; Gorilla Grodd from The Flash and Qwsp from Aquaman.
Casting: The cast of Justice League is shaping up to be quite something, with Henry Cavill as Superman, Ben Affleck as Batman, Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman, Jason Momoa as Aquaman, Ray Fisher as Cyborg and Ezra Miller now confirmed as The Flash. The casting of Green Lantern has yet to be announced, but one can probably assume that Ryan Reynolds isn’t on that list – having starred in the poorly received 2011 version. In terms of characters involved in the feature film, Martian Manhunter has not been mentioned, which indicates that filmmakers are basing the movie on The New 52 era of stories.
History and future: Historically, beyond the pages of their comic books, Justice League has primarily been depicted in animation. There was a live-action special in 1979 titled Legends Of The Superheroes, but that was not explicitly Justice League. A 1997 CBS TV pilot was made but ultimately failed, though Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman were missing from it. Smallville also touched upon Justice League briefly and intermittently. Adaptations of the team have been headed toward the big screen many times, but each project has been abandoned – including one as recently as 2012. The success of 2013’s Man Of Steel kickstarted DC’s long-range plan, however, and now Justice League are finally on their way.
– Sarah Myles