Also, like many other a comic, the Justice League would get its fair share of spinoff books. In the early 1990s, the Justice League would not only have a main title, but it would also have several spinoffs: Justice League Europe (which focused on a Justice League team based in France), and Justice League Quarterly (a series published four times a year that focused on short stories starring various Justice League members). In 1993, a third spin-off would debut: Justice League Task Force.
Justice League Task Force was rather unique as it was a team with a very fluid roster. This was due to the team's purpose. You see, because of the variety of missions this group would undertake, the JLTF would call in different heroes for each mission. In fact, only two characters we meet here will be part of the team throughout its run.
The series would last 37 issues, until 1996. The writers would be as fluid as the team's roster, with Mark Waid, Peter David, Denny O'Neil, and Christopher Priest all having penned adventures for the team. The artists were a bit more stable, with Sal Velluto penciling most of the series.
There was also a video game of the same name released in 1995, but it was not based on this comic series. Instead, it used a more classic version of the League. Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, etc. Funny enough, Martian Manhunter was intended to be in the game, but was cut due to the memory limitations of the SNES and Genesis (Mega Drive for all you non-North Americans out there). I think I remember playing this game back in the day. Rented it from a video store.
So with that out of the way, let's take a look at Justice League Task Force #1!
The cover is...interesting. It's a wraparound Sal Velluto piece. We get to see the members of the team and an idea of what they can do. Aquaman swims, Flash runs, and Nightwing flips. Also, we get the heads in the background like...why is Martin looking at me? And who are you talking to, Miss Bowen? What's with the pose the Martian Manhunter is doing? And why is Cindy Reynolds posing like that? The cover is also the first appearance of her second costume. It definitely looks like something Cindy just threw on one day and decided to fight crime in. Also, gotta keep it 90s with the jacket.
"The Tyranny Gun!"
Writer: David Michelinie
Penciler: Sal Velluto
Inker: Jeff Albrecht
Colorist: Glenn Whitmore
Letterer: Bob Pinaha
Editors: Brian Augustyn, Ruben Diaz
Executive Editor: Dick Giordano
The story begins with the Martian Manhunter bursting into a Canadian warehouse like a boss.
The Manhunter had been tracking the men inside this building for nearly a month. The men were part of a terrorist group that wanted to force Quebec to secede from Canada, and this warehouse was a front they used for weapons distribution. A trio of men try to shoot at J'onn with a machine gun mounted on a jeep, but get a forklift for their troubles. The leader has the owners of the warehouse hostage, and forces them to tell J'onn that he already fled. The Martian Manhunter seemingly flies away. The leader thanks them and prepares to shoot them. Can't have any witnesses that can identify him, after all. However, the leader seems to be unaware of something.
J'onn J'onzz has telepathy. He has Martian Vision. He could tell that dude was still there. The owners try to convince J'onn that they were innocent in this whole thing. He believes them, as his investigations of them showed that. He'll stick around and discuss it with the authorities.
The scene then shifts to a little island in the Caribbean known as Sanobel Island. It's a peaceful little island. Nice beaches, friendly people, plenty of places to go to have a good time. We focus on a herd of cows. Plain ol' cows, just grazing, not bothering anybody. You know, being cows. But then a strange noise is heard. It grows louder and stronger until it liquefies the cows and the grass they grazed on. Heck of a way to make a milkshake!
A group of jeeps drive up, accompanied by a flying bargain basement Iron Man. The jeeps contain a group of resistance fighters. The cows were liquefied by a new weapon provided by a man known as Count Jeremy Glass. The resistance fighters are led by a man known as Captain Rafael Sierra. He and his group are fighting a man named Enrique Ramos, who's known for being a brutal dictator.
Rafael is shocked by the destructiveness of the weapon. You see, Captain Sierra is a bit of an idealist. He wants to free his home from Ramos, but fears using this weapon will make him no better than the dictator he's fighting. His younger brother Pablo suggests that all they have to do is threaten to use it, and maybe that will make this whole war end. Rafael hopes so, but Count Glass thinks that Sierra is a dreamer...and he's going to be the wake-up call.
We shift scenes next to the Pentagon in Washington, D.C. We meet Hannibal Martin, a government worker who had big ambitions. What's his ambition? The French ambassadorship. You see, Martin considers himself a bit of a foodie. As such, he dreams of being in a place with a reputation for fine cuisine. So, France. His assistant Mari Bowes reminds him he's on a diet, and warns him not to get his hopes too high about it.
Martin isn't worried, though. After all, the Foreign Office would not be calling him in if he wasn't getting the job he dreamed of for so long. Once he and Bowes arrive, he's filled in on his new assignment. Remember Sierra and his rebels? Well, it turns out that Sanobel Island is a very important ally of the USA. American interests demand that the rebellion against Ramos be crushed. They want to send the Justice League in, but...that could be rather politically awkward. Ramos is not a fan of dissent.
As such, they had another idea. They want to send in a special group of Justice Leaguers to quietly take down the rebels. A Justice League Task Force, if you will. Heh heh, I'm funny. Martin wonders why they're telling him about this. Well, that's simple. He's going to be the man in charge of this project. He's surprised by this, and tries to turn it down. However, the Foreign Office forces him to accept by hinting that turning down this assignment will hurt his chances of getting that French ambassadorship he wants so badly.
Martin is understandably furious. He's not really a fan of the superhero scene, but he's got to do this if he wants his dream job. So, he's going to give them exactly what they want. And if the superheroes in his Justice League Task Force have a problem with it, well...Martin is in no mood to be sympathetic towards them.
Back on Sanobel Island, Count Glass explains the weapon's workings to Rafael Sierra.
Sierra is worried about the weapons' effects. It could kill innocent bystanders if there's no way to narrow the death beam and make it more precise. Glass sneers at this, saying that you can't make an omelet without breaking eggs. This is war, and innocents are going to die, whether Sierra likes it or not. A man rides up to him on a motorbike, announcing government soldiers were on their way.
The government forces and soldiers engage fire. But Count Glass has another weapon: His bargain basement Iron Man named Blitz. The armored man flies up and drives away the government forces with his armor's weaponry. Blitz is feeling pretty proud of himself, but Glass reminds him that without that armor, he's just some dumb lug.
The Martian Manhunter heads home to upstate New York. Martin comes by to visit him. The wannabe-ambassador is putting together a Justice League Task Force, and he wants the Manhunter to help put this team together. Millions of lives are at stake. The scene then shifts to London two nights later. The Battersea Power Station is rocked by an explosion. Who can find the perpetrators?
Why, Justice League Europe! Green Lantern (Hal Jordan)! Power Girl! Flash (Wally West)! Dr. Light (Kimiyo Hoshi)! Elongated Man! Aquaman! and Crimson Fox (Constance and Vivian D'Aramis, likely Vivian as she tended to like the superhero life more)! They battle a rat monster, and easily dispatch it. They return to their castle headquarters, and get contacted by Martin. He tells them about the task force, and recruits Aquaman and the Flash. Wally is suspicious, but Orin convinces him that they have to go where they're needed.
The next day, we go to Manhattan's East Side. There, one Cynthia "Cindy" Reynolds, aka the illusion-casting metahuman known as Gypsy, is walking down a street in her original vagabond costume. Her outfit is getting some jeers from passersby. She sees an outfit in a clothing store, and decides that maybe it's time for a new look.
Problem is, our dear vagabond doesn't exactly have a lot of cash at the moment. But that's never stopped her. Shortly, she decides to have a little fun by posing as a mannequin. And for some reason, she uses her powers to give herself green skin. The mannequin next to her has blue skin, which is also odd. Anyway, one of the store-goers turns out to be a disguised J'onn J'onnz. She and the Martian Manhunter are old friends, as they were in the Justice League together during its Detroit days. He wants her for this special League mission.
Reynolds is reluctant, as her stint with the League ended in tragedy. You see, the Detroit Era of the Justice League ended with a villain named Professor Ivo killing two of that group's members. She was able to escape and return home, but then another supervillain, Despero, killed her parents. She would then join a group of heroes known as the Conglomerate, but it didn't work out. J'onn sympathizes, and he's offering her a way to make a living...and maybe a bit of stability. Reynolds admits he has a point...and then asks if there's a signing bonus.
Later, we go to the United Nations building. The four heroes are gathered. Martin tried to contact Batman, but the Dark Knight basically ignored his Bat-Phone. He thought it was a robocaller. He hates robocallers. But someone else has arrived in his place.
Na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na! Night-wiiiiiiing!
He heard that this group needed someone with his particular set of skills. Thank Alfred for that. Martin is not so sure. Aquaman protests, as Nightwing isn't a League member. In fact, he's a Titan. This has Aquaman unsure about Nightwing's loyalties. Flash tries to defend him, which makes sense. This Flash is Wally West. He and Dick are old friends, and have worked together a lot in the past. J'onn does admit he does have a rep for grandstanding. It's a bit odd. I imagined Dick Grayson would be rather respected by many other superheroes, considering how long he's done it.
Despite this, Martin wants him on board anyway. If he can't have the Bat, he'll take the next best thing. His next announcement is going to shock the heroes: The mission Martin is sending them on is going to be protecting the dictator of Sanobel Island. They have to help him crush the rebels that re fighting to free their country from him. You can bet that'll go over well with the heroes.
This issue was not that bad, in my opinion. As a first issue, it does its job. It sets up the new team and their purpose. It also sets up a storyline that has the potential to be rather intriguing in my opinion. This is a mission that is going to force the heroes to go against something that's in their nature. How would they adapt to this? I also have to admit, I was rather amused by Martin in a bizarre way. He comes off as your typical ambitious bureaucrat, so he would make a potentially good antagonist for our heroes.
I do have a couple complaints. One is this. You see, on occasion, the comic has arranged the panels to make the reader read across two pages instead of one. It throws me off. The second is how Cindy was colored through some of the comic. I showed it in one of the panels. Why is she pink?! I mean, the cover of the comic gave her a more realistic skin tone, so why is she pink in the actual story?! Also, the idea of recruiting colorful powerhouse superheroes to do a reverse Bay of Pigs invasion is rather silly.
The art here is perfectly fine. There's worse out there. Could afford to go a bit easier on the cross-hatching, though. For the 90s, it's decent.
If you want to read this yourself, I recommend hunting down the 2018 trade paperback Justice League Task Force Vol. 1: The Purification Plague. Thanks for reading this blog entry! If you liked it, spread it around! And if you want to give this blog some extra support, please drop a tip in my Digital Tip Jar! See you next time, when the Secret Wars rage on...
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