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Monday, June 27, 2011

The New Justice League: At A Glance

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By Shrine Correspondent Joe Slab

Well there you have it! This striking image of the new Justice League broke all around the Internet Sunday morning after being posted on 'Toon Tumblers Facebook page where it is listed as a SDCC '11 exclusive item. Composed by the artistic half of Justice League's creative team, this Jim Lee image is the first to clearly show the re-designed "Big Seven" in their updated uniforms with stylistically team-unifying collars and belts.

sgIt's also the first image to detail eight additional DCU heroes who, if we are assuming correctly, will also be a part of the League's Roll Call. The newly included are Deadman, the Atom, Element Woman (a Flashpoint survivor!), Firestorm, Green Arrow, Hawkman (the savage version) and two others...below Hawkman we see an a female whose identify is unlear. Please check our favorite blog that knows every DCU heroine, DC Women Kicking Ass, for clues to to her possible identity. Black Canary? Power Girl? We just aren't sure...

Finally, and most exciting for Aqua-fans, is the addition of Mera to the team that her husband helped to form so many years ago (but just five in the new DCU)! Mera's inclusion is the fulfillment of a promise made by League writer Geoff Johns when he announced over two years ago that he planned to shine a spotlight on the Sea Queen and show fans why he thinks she is one of its most powerful & resilient heroines in the DCU.
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Looking at the image, what immediately jumps out is that Mera's crown has been significantly re-designed by Mr. Lee and looks very similar to the one her sister Siren was depicted wearing in Brightest Day. One wonders if there is some significance to this, perhaps denoting the sisters' Xebelian royal heritage? Or maybe it is instead the headgear of a warrior, assuming Mera is no longer the official queen of Xebel or Atlantis.
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And of course there is the Sea King himself, majestically rendered by Lee, definitely looking more youthful in his modified but still iconic garb. Needless to say, we at the Aquaman Shrine are looking forward to seeing Aquaman as a part of the newest incarnation of the Justice League and how he and Mera will interact with each other as well as the membership as a whole should be very interesting. Jim Lee has drawn Aquaman only minimally but as you can see below, he does so beautifully when given the opportunity.

What say you members of F.O.A.M. as well as comic book fans everywhere? Are you excited about the upcoming John/Lee era of the Justice League? A recent tweet from Johns teased that they "will eventually have a large team like Justice League Unlimited in a way" indicating even more members may be included as the series progresses.

So don't be shy, and let us know what you think in the comments! Oh and for more Justice League awesomeness, hit up the Aquaman Shrine's Twitpic for hi-res download-able image!


Update: In response to a barrage of tweets from anxious and excited fans, late last evening Geoff Johns did confirm via Twitter that the image in question is indeed the full membership of the new Justice League. He also added that "no one" has named all 15 members correctly...that crafty Mr. Johns!

15 comments:

Orin's dad said...

I'm in! Aquaman and Mera both in multiple comic series'? Wow...what a year! Awesome news Joe! Thanks for posting!

Dennis Doucette said...

This book is going to be all kinds of Amazing! I get to read TWO monthly books with both Aquaman AND Mera! Hopefully we'll get Aqualad in teen Titans

Wings1295 said...

I am so excited for these books! Aquaman and the new Justice League look awesome and are so much of what I (and other Aqua-fans) have been hoping for that it almost seems to good to be true! And Mera on the team, to boot! Icing on the cake.

I think the blonde female is Black Canary, but that's just my opinion.

David J. Cutler said...

@Caffeinated Joe--Johns said on Twitter she's not actually blonde, and probably not Canary. My money's on Wildstorm's Zealot.

Mera's inclusion is very cool, but outside of the Teen Titans, I'm not sure who's suffered more from this wave of redesigns. She looked so perfect in her recent appearances, too.

Count Drunkula said...

When you enlarge the image, it looks like Aquaman's got big ol' sideburns.

@David: Yeah, I thought of Zealot instantly when I saw it. Those sites who were claiming it to be Power Girl or Black Canary don't know what they're talking about.

I'm excited to see Mera on the team, as well as the others from Brightest Day (except, notably, the Manhunter from Mars). For the first time in so many years this feels like an All-Star roster headlining the League.

And yes, again I agree, Jim Lee should have stopped redesigning characters in 1995.

Shellhead said...

Arthur needs a haircut but otherwise looks fine.

I, Warren said...

I do not like the art. I am not nostalgic for the 90's. While I'm glad Aquaman & Mera are given greater prominence in the DCU the artwork drives me away from the title(s)

Steve said...

Superman....in armor. Really??

Trinity Electric Lady said...

NEATO!

Diabolu Frank said...

Big 6 + 1, sir. I was willing to let the 1947's Black Canary replace 1941's Wonder Woman as a revised founding member of the JLA, but never will 1955's Martian Manhunter be succeeded by 1980's generically named Cyborg.

As for Aquaman, it seems the Golden Mullet has been replaced by Lambchops of the Sea. Where does Elvis Orin Aquaman operate?
"Way down where the music plays
Way down like a tidal wave
Way down where the fires blaze
Way down, down, way, way on down"

r duncan said...

re: Lee's drawing...

uh, WW and GL have the same crotch?

David J. Cutler said...

@r duncan--Yes, they're all Ken Dolls in the DCU.

Also, Aquaman looks REALLY short here--check out how his feet line up to the Flash's. He's actually closer to us than Barry. But I digress--this is after a few days of staring and nitpicking at it and making it my desktop as I have to admit I'm genuinely curious about all this and I'm there for issue #1 at the very least.

Russell said...

Okay, I have a question. This is a "new" JLA, right? So who says Aquaman and Mera are married yet? Or maybe they are married and Arthur Jr is alive?

rob! said...

Russell--

Its not yet clear how much of a reboot this is. Apparently this Aquaman will be the same one that we've all been following for years, so presumably all that history will be there. Not positive, tho...

Unknown said...

I added JL to my pull list. It wasn't easy but my gut told me to do it.