With this, DC decided to relaunch the Justice League title, and editor Andy Helfer, in response to Keith Giffen's numerous pleas, put him on the book alongside J.M. DeMatteis, and a hotshot young artist named Kevin Maguire. It was a risky combination, but it would pay off. The 1987 Justice League relaunch would be the genesis of one of the most beloved incarnations of the superteam through its now-50-year history: The Justice League International.
So, how did this incarnation come about? Let's find out!
The cover has become rather iconic, parodied and homaged by other artists and companies over the years. Interestingly, these days, this League is thought of as a group of "B-List" heroes, but back in 1987, this roster was a big deal. Keep in mind, Crisis was still rather recent, and some of these characters were originally from other worlds. Dr. Fate came from Earth-2. Captain Marvel came from Earth-S. Blue Beetle was from Earth-4 (The Charlton Heroes). Dr. Light was created during Crisis. This team was meant to show the variety of heroes from various worlds were now all together. This was a big deal, and the cover was a great symbol of that unification of the five worlds that survived Crisis. Well, most of them, anyway.
"Born Again"
Writers: Keith Giffen (Plot/Breakdowns), J.M. DeMatteis (Script)
Pencils: Kevin Maguire
Inker: Terry Austin
Colorist: Gene D'Angelo
Letter: Bob Lappan
Editor: Andy Helfer
The issue begins with Guy Gardner, who had become a Green Lantern again during Crisis on Infinite Earths, sitting alone in a room, mentally practicing his declaration of intent to lead the new Justice League.
Guy notices someone is teleporting in. And it's Black Canary, wearing a...rather goofy outfit.
She and Gardner share some banter, Canary showing her disdain for Gardner's arrogance, and the teleporter activates again, revealing more new arrivals.
It's the Scott Free Mister Miracle and his manager Oberon! Oberon is thrilled with the idea of Miracle joining the League, as it will increase Mister Miracle's profile. Oberon tries to introduce himself to Guy, but GL just makes a joke about him being one of the Seven Dwarves. Canary remarks that out of the entire Green Lantern Corps, they get stuck with "Rambo with a Ring".
Captain Marvel arrives, and remarks that there is a crowd of reporters outside. Mister Miracle remarks that it's not unexpected. A new Justice League team forming would be big news.
We next meet the Ted Kord Blue Beetle and Martian Manhunter. J'onn J'onzz is rather cynical about the press, viewing them as wolves. Ted thinks that J'onn is being a bit overly grim, but J'onn remarks that he does not know him or what he has endured.
J'onn sadly looks at images of four members of the previous Detroit-era League: The Hank Heywood Steel, Gypsy, Vixen, and Vibe. During an attack by Professor Ivo, Vibe and Steel were killed, and during the Legends miniseries, Gypsy, Vixen, and Elongated Man quit, which effectively disbanded the League. These four heroes are shown on the screens for another reason: They were essentially young heroes, introduced at a time when the League was revamped to take advantage of the popularity of superhero teams that focused on heroes in their late teens/early 20s, like Marvel's X-Men, and DC's own New Teen Titans. J'onn led this version of the League after Aquaman quit, so it makes sense that he would be hurting after all of that.
Guy Gardner calls the team to order. In Washington DC, we are introduced to a certain successful businessman: Maxwell Lord IV. He's watching a bunch of televisions...how is he able to focus on one of them? He is scribbling the Justice League's name on a legal pad, and he scratches out "America". Lord seems to be inspired by what he's watching.
Back with the League, Canary and Guy are having a...bit of a disagreement. Canary is disgusted with Guy's lack of respect for the League's rules and traditions, and Guy is furious that Canary refuses to acknowledge that he's in charge. Can't really blame her on this one, Guy put himself in charge.
Oberon tells Guy to apologize to Canary, but Guy uses a construct of a brush to literally brush him off. J'onn tries to break it up. Guy's not having it, and uses his ring on him. Captain Marvel tries to get Guy to calm down and try to work in harmony with the others, but Guy mocks him. Oberon tries to tackle Guy, but Guy tosses him into Mr. Miracle.
Batman and Dr. Fate arrive. It's revealed that Dr. Fate suggested that the League be regrouped, but he is surprised that Bats is also there. They hear a crash.
Yup, a big ol' brawl broke out! It's Guy Gardner vs. The Justice League! Who will take home the DCW World Championship?! Place your bets, folks! Place your bets! Sadly, Dr. Fate and Batman are not fight fans. Fate offers to break it up with his magic, but Batman insists on handling it himself.
I love the panel layout here. The detail is really good, too. The League getting out of the way as Batman walks across the room. Kevin McGuire's expressive character work really shines here with Batman's growl and Guy instantly submitting to his order. With Guy quieted down, Batman calls the meeting to order.
You know, some people like to blame Grant Morrison for the whole "Bat-God" thing, but I think that this comic shows that it was not exactly new. To be fair, in this case, I think it was played more for laughs. And it is genuinely funny here.
Batman reads the charter, and then he suggest that since this League incarnation is rather new and filled with people who never really worked together before, the team maintains a low profile before they go public. This way, the team would have an opportunity to get to know each other and learn to work together better.
Canary grumbles about being put on monitor duty, but Batman tells her they need someone on that at all times. Evidently, Canary drew the short stick on that. Guy grumbles about Batman, but Mister Miracle comments that he is Mother Teresa compared to Guy. Guy tells him he'll beat Miracle like a government mule for that (BAH GAWD ALMIGHTY, KING), but Bats catches him.
In the United Nations building in New York City, Kimiyo Hoshi, aka the Japanese scientist/doctor/superheroine known as Doctor Light, is fiddling with a signal device in the ladies' room, trying to get it to stop beeping.
Ahh, late-80s technology. Nowadays, the Justice League would have a special app for that. It's also kind of funny to see the normally proud and arrogant Dr. Light actually pleading with the gizmo to shut off. Frustrated with the device's unwillingness to shut off, she shoves it in her purse in an attempt to muffle it. A flashback reveals that a mysterious person found her and offered her membership in the new Justice League.
Hoshi then encounters a group of terrorists, who drag her into the main assembly area and sit her down, but not before she was able to secretly activate the signal device. The League get the signal, and Guy is all to eager to leap into action.
Batman, however, has a plan. Because of course he does. This was well before Morrison-era JLA, folks. He orders Captain Marvel and Dr. Fate to fly ahead, but stay out of sight. The others will be following in Ted Kord's Bug. A news broadcast reveals that the lead terrorist has a special bomb grafted to his chest. If his heart stops beating, it goes off. Miracle believes it may go off.
The group makes a plan. Batman tells Guy Gardner to use his ring to seal off the building, much to his chagrin. In the UN, the lead terrorist is ranting about speaking for the forgotten ad how there is so much pain and misery on the planet, my God, this guy should write monologues for Final Fantasy villains. Doctor Light sits and thinks about what the man is saying, but determines he needs to be stopped. Problem is, she can't really do anything with risking lives, much to her frustration.
Captain Marvel, Martian Manhunter, and Black Canary are taking out the terrorists, while Beetle is using the Bug's systems to hack into their walkie-talkies and keep up the illusion that everything is fine.
J'onn, ever the Swiss Army Knife of superheroes, uses his power to turn invisible to find Doctor Light, and whispers some instructions to her. Batman swings down and gives the lead terrorist a bit of a fright.
Heh heh, I like Batman saying "Boo". I know everyone likes to portray him as this super-serious paranoid lunatic ultra-awesome buttkicking machine, but I do like to think that there's still this part of him that has some fun scaring criminals.
Upon J'onn's command, Doctor Light creates a MASSIVE flash of light, which allows Guy Gardner to swing in and give the terrorists a good bricking.
Doctor Light dispatches her captor with an elbow to the gut. The lead terrorist yells and rants at Batman, who just orders everyone to evacuate the room will staring at the man. Guy is furious, wanting to rip his lungs out (At the time, Green Lantern power rings did not allow lethal force), but Batman tells him to shut up and follow the orders of the Bat-God.
Batman just stares at the terrorist, causing him to rant and scream that he's there to test his faith. The lead terrorist grabs his gun...
He then shoots himself in the head, but the bomb does not go off. The news covers this, revealing that the terrorists were members of various radical groups. The leader was a drifter and former mental patient named John Charles Collins, who was not connected to any such radical groups.
Maxwell Lord watches this, and remarks it was a real shame that Collins shot himself, and that his bomb went off.
Too bad Mr. Collins didn't have the firing pin. Yeah, I think I can get exactly why they ended up retconning Maxwell Lord as a real villain around Infinite Crisis. I mean, look what he did here. He took advantage of a mentally ill man and a bunch of radicals, and nearly got people killed. Maxwell Lord is a royal jerk.
This was a great issue. It set up the interpersonal relationship, an had lots of funny moments. Some may take a dislike of Kevin Maguire's art, and I can see why. Everyone's faces are full of lines, and at times, for some reson, I can't help but think that everyone looks like they're made of clay. However, I don't mind it so much, as his art is very expressive. This issue was a fun one, and if you find it, as well as the rest of the JLI era in back issues or trade form, pick it up.
Next time, in honor of his Netflix series dropping, we'll take a look at the origins of one of Marvel's premier martial artists, the man who punches with the power of a dragon. Yup, we'll take a look back at the chi-powered-punching origin of the Immortal Iron Fist!
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