Upcoming Ongoings: Justice League

Justice League is getting "back to the basics" pulling Superman, Wonder Woman, Batman, The Flash, Green Lantern, and Aquaman back into the line-up for the first time in several years.

Now, they haven't exactly SAID which Flash it's going to be, I'm going to have to assume it's Barry Allen. Which means that Wally is STILL nowhere to be found. They've already said that it isn't Wally in the Titans. It's still Bart, which I really don't mind. But apparently (though I never heard this before), Geoff Johns claimed that they would be having a Speed Force ongoing series soon. Which, assuming Barry stays in The Flash, would hopefully star Wally. Yeah, well if they would be announcing it anytime soon, it would probably be later this year. Hopefully it will be an addition next year (or later this year) like the Batman, Inc. series will be next year.

Over the past year (probably even longer), the line-up for the JLA has consisted of a bunch of C-List characters (excluding Dick Grayson, who I would consider B-List). And that would be a compliment. If anything, it's a bunch of characters that DC couldn't fit in anywhere else, but a few random fans might have wanted to see again and so they threw it on a series that should be one of DC's best selling like it was when Meltzer started the series off and when McDuffie first started.

Now, don't think that I haven't given the current line-up a chance; I have! I read the story arc before this current one which was called "Omega." Not only did I read the entire story arc, but I ALSO bought the Starman/Congorilla One-Shot tie-in issue back in January.

Last summer, the JLA/JSA crossover happened again and it included Jesse Quick joining the team. So here is the current membership for the JLA:
1. Batman (Dick Grayson)
2. Donna Troy
3. Jesse Quick (though she's losing her speed powers, so...yeah)
4. Jade
5. Congorilla
6. Starman (not any Starman that people have known for years, some random one that Robinson created in Cry For Justice)
7. Supergirl

For some damn reason, DC and James Robinson thought THIS could be the JLA. Sure, it limits the amount of power on the team so it makes for a more strategic story (which, in my opinion, is great). But, honestly...it's about time the REAL JLA comes back.

Which brings me to September; the return of the Big Seven to the JLA, minus Martian Manhunter.

Meaning that the return of six main members to the line-up:
1. Superman
2. Batman (Bruce Wayne)
3. Wonder Woman
4. Flash (Not sure, yet, assuming Barry Allen)
5. Green Lantern (Hal Jordan)
6. Aquaman (Arthur Curry)

Plus, the addition of Cyborg to the line-up. I thought I heard somewhere (though I may be wrong) that this would be a 16-member line-up. If that's true, I'm just trying to think of who would be the other eight members.

Despite all of the questions about the relaunch that are still out there, a lot of the writers/artists that are on series have agreed to interviews from Newsarama, ComicBookResources, or iFanboy. So there is one way to learn more about the stories.

I am rather excited for September.

Check out Justice League #1 by Geoff Johns & Jim Lee. But we'll see how long that creative team stands. I have a bet for $20 that it will be a year at most. How long do you think?

UPDATE: Apparently this was "accidentally" leaked onto the internet earlier this week/this past weekend. I think it was actually DC's cheap way of throwing it out there without making a whole big announcement. But ANYWAY, that little poster-teaser-thingy up there shows the main line-up for the League, plus eight more characters on either side. Honestly, it's a beautiful piece of artwork. But that's beside the point.

This poster reveals that the line-up will include:
Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, Aquaman, the Flash, Cyborg, Deadman (isn't he in Justice League Dark, already?), the Atom (is that Ryan Choi?), Element Woman (created in Flashpoint), Firestorm (looks like Ronnie), Green Arrow (pretty sure that's Ollie), Hawkman, some random white-haired chick (has been said by Johns that it isn't Power Girl or Black Canary, so keep guessing), and Mera (really? One Aqua-person is enough, thank you).

I actually think most of these people aren't that surprising (Firestorm, Hawkman, Green Arrow, the Atom), but there are some characters that I think "What the fuck were you thinking, Chairman?" (Element Woman, Deadman, Mera). Sound off below!