Tuesday, November 04, 2014

Justice League Apocalypse

After writing about the ideal Justice League lineup, it occurred to me that it might be fun to establish a new League made up only of members who had never before been on the team. (Also, Mike Totman claims my lists are "wrong" and that I should try again, so...) Considering that the various incarnations of the League have included all or most of DC's A, B, C and even D-list characters, that doesn't leave a lot of heroes to work with. I call the team the JLA, or Justice League Apocalypse, because most of the world's heroes have been called to the centre of the galaxy to fight a threat that will keep them conveniently off Earth for, oh, 32 issues (or six months in comic book time).

Prez, First Teen President
In the DC universe Prez Rickard was President of the United States for a single term sometime during the 1970s, presumably displacing Ford or Carter. What if he ran again for a second term in modern times? He doesn't have any super-powers, but hey - he's the President, he RUNS a superpower.

Brother Power, the Geek
A super-powered animated mannequin with ties to the supernatural, described at one point as a failed elemental in the vein of Swamp Thing or Firestorm.

Nightshade
An excellent hand-to-hand fighter and she can teleport, always a useful skill for superhero teams.

Green Lantern (Lana Lang)
There's a long tradition of turning sidekicks into super-heroes in their own right, and Lana's brief career as Insect Queen shows she has the mettle to handle being named Earth's latest Green Lantern.

Firehawk
Lorraine Reilly is a US Senator, which ties in nicely with Prez' presence as leader of the team. She's also an energy-based powerhouse on par with Firestorm.

Pozhar
Basically the Russian version of Firestorm, I figure the idealistic Prez would want Russian representation on the team to further the spirit of international peace and goodwill.

Slam Bradley
One of the original comic-book tough guys, created by Siegel and Shuster before Superman. Adds a dash of pulp fun to the series.

Rex the Wonder Dog
He's a sapient wonder dog! Steadfast, loyal and imbued with all the powers of dogs, but smarter.

A Superman Robot
The Silver Age Superman once built and used Superman robots to cover for him during emergencies. I figure since story reasons prevent him from accepting Prez' invitation to join the team, Superman loans Prez one of his most advanced robot duplicates. Could be darkly amusing to have them get destroyed and replaced every so often.

Vartox
An alien as powerful as Superman but who looks like Sean Connery circa Zardoz, Vartox's arrogance would be a fun foil for the team.

Mera
For whatever reason Aquaman's wife never made the JLA cut, which is weird because she's arguably more powerful and interesting than her husband.

Plastique
French-Canadian, started off as a villain, brings more international cred to the team as well as an interesting background and powerset.

Sinbad
Young Quraci Davood Nasuur appeared in a few issues of Superman in the 90s, and I was sorry he didn't get more exposure - he was well-written and tweaked Lex Luthor's nose by using Luthor's technology to fight crime instead of perpetrating it. Also cool in that he's an immigrant and a teenager with a loving family to protect.

Tempest
A former member of the Doom Patrol with energy-blasting powers. Interesting in that as a member of the Patrol he's pretty much seen it all, and to him the League adventures might seem staid and even routine.

Celsius
Yes, she's another Doom Patrol veteran, but she's also South Asian, a rarity in comics, and she has neat fire-and-ice powers. She's also rather aloof and mysterious.

Tempest and Celsius have both been killed in the comics, but death is never a barrier for long for superheroes. I figure the Chief dumped them both in a Lazarus pit somewhere and after resurrection they left Niles in a fit of pique. (This would be S.O.P. for Doom Patrol characters). 

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