The Justice League (also known as The Justice League of America) are a team of

superhero A superhero or superheroine is a stock character that typically possesses ''superpowers'', abilities beyond those of ordinary people, and fits the role of the hero, typically using his or her powers to help the world become a better place, ...

es appearing in

American comic book An American comic book is a thin periodical originating in the United States, on average 32 pages, containing comics. While the form originated in 1933, American comic books first gained popularity after the 1938 publication of ''Action Comics'' ...

s published by

DC Comics DC Comics, Inc. ( doing business as DC) is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, with the ...

. The team first appeared in ''

The Brave and the Bold ''The Brave and the Bold'' is a comic book series published by DC Comics as an ongoing series from 1955 to 1983. It was followed by two mini-series in 1991 and 1999, and was revived as an ongoing title in 2007. The focus of the series has varie ...

'' #28 (March 1960). The team was conceived by writer

Gardner Fox Gardner Francis Cooper Fox (May 20, 1911 – December 24, 1986) was an American writer known best for creating numerous comic book characters for DC Comics. He is estimated to have written more than 4,000 comics stories, including 1,500 for DC ...

as a revival of the

Justice Society of America The Justice Society of America (JSA, or Justice Society (JS)) is a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The team was conceived by editor Sheldon Mayer and writer Gardner Fox during the Golden Age of Comic Boo ...

, a similar team from DC Comics from the 1940s which had been pulled out of print due to a decline in sales. The Justice League is an all-star ensemble cast of established superhero characters from DC Comics' portfolio. Diegetically, these superheroes usually operate independently but occasionally assemble as a team to tackle especially formidable villains. This in contrast to certain other superhero teams such as the

X-Men The X-Men are a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, first appearing in Uncanny X-Men, ''The X-Men'' #1 by artist/co-plotter Jack Kirby and writer/editor Stan Lee in 1963. Although initially cancelled in ...

, whose characters were created specifically to be part of the team, with the team being central to their identity. The cast of the Justice League usually features a few highly popular characters who have their own solo books, such as

Superman Superman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, and debuted in the comic book '' Action Comics'' #1 ( cover-dated June 1938 and pu ...

and

Batman Batman is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on March 30, 1939. I ...

alongside a number of lesser-known characters who benefit from exposure. The Justice League was created to boost the profiles and sales of said characters through cross-promotion and helped develop the DC Universe as a shared universe, as it is through teams like the Justice League that the setting's characters regularly interact with each other. Kaveney (2008), ''Superheroes!'', p. 28: "One of the major driving forces of the creation of these universes was the commercial imperative to create brand loyalty to more titles within a single publishing house's products. Crossovers, in which a character from one comic produced by a house visited the story of another, meant that there was a chance that readers who were not buying the first comic would start to buy it in addition to the second. Team-up comics like the ''Justice League of America'' were even more likely to interest readers in characters they had not previously bothered with." Beyond comic books, the Justice League has been adapted to a number of television shows, movies, and video games.

Fictional overview

Members

The members of the Justice League are heroes who normally operate independently but who occasionally team up to tackle especially formidable villains. This is in contrast to teams such as the X-Men or the Fantastic Four, who normally operate as a team and for whom the team is central to their identity. Most versions of the Justice League feature a select cast of highly popular characters from the DC Comics portfolio, such as Superman and Batman, to attract readers with their star power; and they often co-feature a few lesser-known characters who benefit from exposure, such as Cyborg or Black Canary. DC Comics has in several periods deviated from this formula, most notably in the late 1980s and early 1990s with books such as ''

Justice League International Justice League International (JLI) is a fictional DC comics superhero team that succeeded the original Justice League from the late 1980s to the early 2000s. The team enjoyed several comic books runs, the first being written by Keith Giffen and ...

'', which deliberately featured a cast of lesser-known characters. The advantage of this was that lesser-known characters are not burdened by convoluted continuities, which gives writers more creative flexibility to write character-driven stories. This was done to emulate the model of Marvel Comics'

books, whose stories were more character-driven and which favored more obscure or even new characters. The Justice League is an independent group, although it usually accepts some constraints from the US government or the United Nations so as to receive their sanction. Particularly in the early decades of publication, DC Comics was keen for its superheroes to be perceived as law-abiding because children were the main audience. The cast is rarely more than a dozen people in size so as to give a reasonable and equal time for each character. While sometimes the League is shown to have a designated chairperson or leader, there is otherwise no hierarchy; they are a small band of equals who make major decisions, such as inducting new members, by vote.

Headquarters

The Justice League operates out of a headquarters. In the 1960s, their headquarters was secretly in a hollowed-out mountain outside the fictional town of Happy Harbor in

Rhode Island Rhode Island (, like ''road'') is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is the List of U.S. states by area, smallest U.S. state by area and the List of states and territories of the United States ...

. In ''Justice League of America'' #78 (1970), they moved to a satellite. In the ''

Super Friends ''Super Friends'' is an American animated television series about a team of superheroes, which ran from 1973 to 1985 on ABC as part of its Saturday-morning cartoon lineup. It was produced by Hanna-Barbera and was based on the Justice League of ...

'' cartoons which ran from 1973 to 1985, they operated out of the "Hall of Justice" located in Washington, DC. During the brief "Justice League Detroit" era, they were headquartered in a repurposed bomb shelter in Detroit. In the ''JLA'' comic book which ran from 1997 to 2006, their headquarters was on the Moon and called "the Watchtower". The centerpiece of the headquarters is a conference table around which the Justice League discusses menaces to deal with. The satellite and moon base headquarters are equipped with teleporters for those members who cannot fly to it.

Villains

The

Legion of Doom The Legion of Doom is a group of supervillains who originated in '' Challenge of the Super Friends'', an animated series from Hanna-Barbera based on DC Comics' Justice League. The Legion of Doom has since been incorporated into the main DC Univer ...

was created for the '' Challenge of the Super Friends'' animated TV series as a villainous counterpart to the Justice League. In that original incarnation, it consisted of established villains associated with each of the Justice League's members, e.g.

Lex Luthor Alexander Joseph "Lex" Luthor () is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. Lex Luthor originally appeared in ''Action Comics'' #23 (cover dated: April ...

for Superman, Gorilla Grodd for the Flash, and

Cheetah The cheetah (''Acinonyx jubatus'') is a large cat native to Africa and central Iran. It is the fastest land animal, estimated to be capable of running at with the fastest reliably recorded speeds being , and as such has evolved specialized ...

for Wonder Woman. The Legion of Doom, or some variant of it, has since appeared in other TV shows and comic books.

Comic books

Since 1960, the Justice League has appeared in comic books published by

(periodicals and graphic novels). These comic books constitute the bulk of Justice League fiction.

Silver Age and Bronze Age (1960–1984)

In its inception, the Justice League was a revival of the

, created by editor Sheldon Mayer and writer

in 1940. After World War 2, superheroes fell out of popularity, which led to the cancellation of many characters, including the Justice Society, which last appeared in ''All-Star Comics'' #57 (1951). A few years later, sales rose again, and DC Comics revived some of these retired characters, reinventing a few of them in the process. Editor

Julius Schwartz Julius "Julie" Schwartz (; June 19, 1915 – February 8, 2004) was a comic book editor, and a science fiction agent and prominent fan. He was born in The Bronx, New York. He is best known as a longtime editor at DC Comics, where at various tim ...

asked writer

to reintroduce the

. Schwartz decided to rename it the "Justice League of America" because he felt "League" would appeal better to young readers, evoking sports organizations such as the

National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team s ...

. The Justice League of America debuted in ''The Brave and the Bold'' #28 (March 1960), and after two further appearances in that title, got its own series, which quickly became one of the company's best-selling titles. This led DC Comics to create a bunch of other superhero teams, such as the

Teen Titans The Teen Titans are a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, frequently in eponymous monthly series. As the group's name indicates, the members are teenage superheroes, many of whom have acted as sidekicks to ...

Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is an American comic book publisher and the flagship property of Marvel Entertainment, a divsion of The Walt Disney Company since September 1, 2009. Evolving from Timely Comics in 1939, ''Magazine Management/Atlas Comics'' in ...

, a rival comic book publisher, noticed the Justice League's success and created the Avengers and the

Fantastic Four The Fantastic Four is a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The team debuted in ''The Fantastic Four'' #1 (cover dated Nov. 1961), helping usher in a new level of realism in the medium. It was the first s ...

. The initial Justice League lineup included seven of DC Comics' superheroes who were regularly published at that time:

Aquaman Aquaman is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Paul Norris and Mort Weisinger, the character debuted in '' More Fun Comics'' #73 (November 1941). The character is a pastiche of Namor. Initially a ...

, Flash,

Green Lantern Green Lantern is the name of several superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. They fight evil with the aid of rings that grant them a variety of extraordinary powers, all of which come from imagination, fearlessness, ...

Martian Manhunter The Martian Manhunter (J'onn J'onzz) is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by writer Joseph Samachson and designed by artist Joe Certa, the character first appeared in the story "The Manhunter from Mars" ...

, and

Wonder Woman Wonder Woman is a superhero created by the American psychologist and writer William Moulton Marston (pen name: Charles Moulton), and artist Harry G. Peter. Marston's wife, Elizabeth, and their life partner, Olive Byrne, are credited as bein ...

. Fox also created a new, non-superhero character called Snapper Carr that was intended to represent DC's teenaged readership and joined the League as an Honorary member in their debut story. While

and

were include in the Justice League's initially lineup, they were largely absent from the League's early stories playing only minor roles as the pair were already starring together in DC's

World's Finest Comics ''World's Finest Comics'' was an American comic book series published by DC Comics from 1941 to 1986. The series was initially titled ''World's Best Comics'' for its first issue; issue #2 (Summer 1941) switched to the more familiar name. Michael ...

and Fox was worried the two more famous heroes would detract attention from their less popular teammates. As the series went on however,

and

became more and more present as readers increasingly demanded to see more of them in the League's stories. The team roster would quickly expand with

Green Arrow Green Arrow is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Mort Weisinger and designed by George Papp, he first appeared in '' More Fun Comics'' #73 in November 1941. His real name is Oliver Jonas Quee ...

, the

Atom Every atom is composed of a nucleus and one or more electrons bound to the nucleus. The nucleus is made of one or more protons and a number of neutrons. Only the most common variety of hydrogen has no neutrons. Every solid, liquid, gas, a ...

and

Hawkman Hawkman is the name of several superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by writer Gardner Fox and artist Dennis Neville, the original Hawkman first appeared in ''Flash Comics'' #1, published by All-American ...

being added to the team over the next four years. In the Justice Society stories from the 1940s (in '' All-Star Comics''), the Justice Society was used more as a framing device for its members' solo adventures. The stories tended to have the following structure: the Justice Society meets to discuss some new menace, they split up to undertake individual missions that somehow connect to said menace, and finally regroup for the showdown with the main villain. In the 1940s, most comic books were anthologies, and ''All-Star Comics'' was in practice not a major deviation from that. By contrast, the Justice League worked together more closely in their stories, thereby having a stronger identity as a team. In another change from the Justice Society stories of the 1940s, Batman and Superman were regular members of the cast, not mere "honorary members" who made occasional cameos. ''Justice League of America'' #21 (1963) featured the first crossover story in which the Justice League meets and teams up with the

. In doing so, DC Comics brought back a number of legacy characters such as Doctor Fate and Black Canary. The issue was a hit with readers and such crossovers became a recurring event.

Detroit era (1984–1986)

From the Justice League's inception in 1960 up until 1984, the team's roster always included a number of A-list characters to draw in readers, such as

and

. But in ''Justice League of America Annual'' #2 (1984), the Justice League was revised to entirely comprise more obscure characters, such as

Vixen Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush''). Twelve sp ...

, Vibe, and

. The original A-list members would not be brought back into the cast until 1996. The motives behind this change were to dispense with the convoluted continuities of the classic characters by using lesser-known and new characters, thus giving the writers more flexibility to write character-driven stories; and to give the team a more youthful, hipper feel similar to that of the

and the

, which were selling better. The cast was multicultural: Gypsy was

Romani Romani may refer to: Ethnicities * Romani people, an ethnic group of Northern Indian origin, living dispersed in Europe, the Americas and Asia ** Romani genocide, under Nazi rule * Romani language, any of several Indo-Aryan languages of the Roma ...

, Vibe was Latino,

was Black. However, the writing of Vibe and Gypsy was criticized for using clichés of their ethnic groups, symptomatic of writers who were well-meaning but out of touch with certain specifics of minorities, something for which said writers (

Gerry Conway Gerard Francis ConwayThomas, Roy. "Roy's Rostrum" ("Bullpen Bulletins") in '' Marvel Super-Heroes'' #43 and other Marvel Comics cover-dated May 1974. (born September 10, 1952) is an American comic book writer, comic book editor, screenwriter, te ...

and Chuck Patton) later expressed regret. This era of the Justice League, which lasted about two years, is popularly known as "Justice League Detroit" because they were headquartered in

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at t ...

''Justice League International'' and its spin-offs (1986–1996)

The 1986 company-wide crossover " Legends" concluded with the formation of a new Justice League. The new team was dubbed "Justice League," then "Justice League International" (JLI) and was given a mandate with less of an American focus. The Justice League International was recognized by the United Nations as a political entity and established "embassies" all over the world. The new series was character-driven and had a quirky, humorous tone which proved popular with readers. Numerous spin-off teams such as ''

Justice League Europe ''Justice League Europe'' (''JLE'') is a comic book series published by DC Comics that was a spin-off of the comic book ''Justice League America'' (which was then named '' Justice League International'' (vol. 1) for issues #7 to #25). ''Justice ...

'', ''

Extreme Justice Extreme Justice is a monthly Justice League spin-off title in the DC Comics universe. It replaced the cancelled ''Justice League International'' (formerly ''Justice League Europe'') and ran for nineteen issues from 1994 to 1996. Overview Several ...

'', and '' Justice League Task Force'' were created. In 1996, these series were cancelled due to low sales. The Justice League International featured characters that had previously not been part of the

DC Universe The DC Universe (DCU) is the fictional shared universe where most stories in American comic book titles published by DC Comics take place. Superheroes such as Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Robin, Martian Manhunter, The Flash, Green L ...

, which had been absorbed from the portfolios of other publishers that DC Comics had purchased. These included

Captain Atom Captain Atom is a superhero appearing in American comic books, first in the 1960s by Charlton Comics before being acquired in the 1980s by DC Comics. Captain Atom has existed in three basic incarnations. Publication history Captain Atom was crea ...

and

Blue Beetle Blue Beetle is the name of three fictional superheroes who appear in a number of American comic books published by a variety of companies since 1939. The most recent of the companies to own rights to Blue Beetle is DC Comics, which bought the ri ...

, which were created for

Charlton Comics Charlton Comics was an American comic book publishing company that existed from 1945 to 1986, having begun under a different name: T.W.O. Charles Company, in 1940. It was based in Derby, Connecticut. The comic-book line was a division of Charlton ...

in the 1960s. In 1983, DC Comics purchased Charlton Comics and, a few years later, integrated Blue Beetle and Captain Atom into the DC Universe. Captain Marvel, originally from the

Fawcett Comics Fawcett Comics, a division of Fawcett Publications, was one of several successful comic book publishers during the Golden Age of Comic Books in the 1940s. Its most popular character was Captain Marvel (DC Comics), Captain Marvel, the alter ego of ...

universe, was similarly integrated.

''JLA'' (1996–2006)

The cancellation of the aforementioned spin-off books prompted DC to revamp the League as a single team in a single title. A new Justice League of America was launched in September 1996

limited series Limited series may refer to: *Limited series, individual storylines within an anthology series *Limited series, a particular run of collectables, usually individually numbered *Limited series (comics), a comics series with a predetermined number of ...

''Justice League: A Midsummer's Nightmare'' by

Mark Waid Mark Waid (; born March 21, 1962) is an American comic book writer best known for his work on DC Comics titles ''The Flash'', '' Kingdom Come'' and '' Superman: Birthright'' as well as his work on ''Captain America'', '' Fantastic Four'' and ''Da ...

and

Fabian Nicieza Fabian Nicieza (born December 31, 1961) is an Argentine-American comic book writer and editor who is best known for his work on Marvel titles such as ''X-Men'', '' X-Force'', ''New Warriors'', ''Nomad'', '' Cable'', ''Deadpool'' and ''Thunderbo ...

, which returned to the classic cast. In 1997, DC Comics launched a new book titled '' JLA''.

Grant Morrison Grant Morrison, MBE (born 31 January 1960) is a Scottish comic book writer, screenwriter, and producer. Their work is known for its nonlinear narratives, humanist philosophy and countercultural leanings. Morrison has written extensively for th ...

wrote '' JLA'' for the first four years, and they gave the book an epic feel by making the Justice League an allegory for a pantheon of gods, and in their stories they regularly fought villains who threatened the entire world or even the entire cosmos. '' JLA'' was cancelled in 2006.

Modern Age (2006–present)

The Justice League books more or less continued the trend set by the JLA era: world-shaking threats with epic stakes, with a focus on plot over character development, and strong tie-ins to all the company's crossover events. In

The New 52 The New 52 is the 2011 revamp and relaunch by DC Comics of its entire line of ongoing monthly superhero comic books. Following the conclusion of the " Flashpoint" crossover storyline, DC canceled all its existing titles and debuted 52 new serie ...

era, the continuity was changed to make

Cyborg A cyborg ()—a portmanteau of ''cybernetic'' and ''organism''—is a being with both organic and biomechatronic body parts. The term was coined in 1960 by Manfred Clynes and Nathan S. Kline.

, one of DC's premiere African-American heroes, a founding member of the team. DC Comics also released a sister title called ''Justice League Dark'', which is an ensemble team of prominent magic users of the DC Universe, such as

John Constantine John Constantine () is a fictional character who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. Constantine first appeared in ''Swamp Thing'' #37 (June 1985), and was created by Alan Moore, Stephen R. Bissette, Rick Veitch, and John To ...

and

Zatanna Zatanna Zatara () is a superheroine appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by Gardner Fox and Murphy Anderson, and first appeared in ''Hawkman'' #4 (November 1964). Zatanna is a stage magician with actu ...

Inter-company crossovers

The Justice League has on a few occasions appeared in crossover stories with superhero characters from rival publishers such as

and

Dark Horse Comics Dark Horse Comics is an American comic book, graphic novel, and manga publisher founded in Milwaukie, Oregon by Mike Richardson in 1986. The company was created using funds earned from Richardson's chain of Portland, Oregon comic book shops know ...

. In general, such inter-company crossovers are rare because a lot of resources must be spent in sorting out the legal issues and corporate politics of the two companies, and due to licensing issues, they can't create spin-off merchandise and media, which all reduce the profitability of such projects. The last crossover between

and

was '' JLA/Avengers'', which they jointly published in 2003. Now that Marvel Comics and DC Comics are part of major multimedia corporations (Disney and Warner Brothers respectively), those aforementioned hurdles are even more complicated, which makes another project like ''JLA/Avengers'' much less likely. In 2017,

Dan Didio Dan DiDio (; born October 13, 1959) is an American writer, editor, and publisher who has worked in the television and comic book industries. From February 2010 until February 2020, he was the co-publisher of DC Comics, along with Jim Lee. '' Wizar ...

remarked that DC Comics and Marvel are very competitive towards each other and only did crossovers when their sales were low.
"Dan Didio, DC's Co-Publisher, squashed the idea of any crossover with Marvel during the 2017 San Diego Comic-Con stating that the best way for DC to succeed is to compete with Marvel. He linked that the past Marvel/DC crossovers were a temporary measure due to the comic market reaching all-time lows." However, DC Comics did go on to feature the Justice League in crossovers with smaller companies such as

, such as a crossover with '' Black Hammer'' in 2019.

In other media

Animated movies

*The Justice League appears in '' Justice League: The New Frontier'' (2008), an adaptation of Darwyn Cooke's graphic novel '' DC: The New Frontier''. *The team appears in '' Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths'' (2010). The movie was based on an unused script for a never-made movie that was to bridge the TV shows ''Justice League'' and ''

Justice League Unlimited ''Justice League Unlimited'' (''JLU'') is a 2004–2006 American superhero animated television series that was produced by Warner Bros. Animation and aired on Cartoon Network. Featuring a wide array of superheroes from the DC Comics univers ...

''. *An alternate version of the Justice League appears in '' Justice League: Gods and Monsters'' (2015). In this movie, Superman is the son of

General Zod General Zod is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, commonly known as an adversary of the superhero Superman. The character, who first appeared in ''Adventure Comics'' #283 (April 1961), was created by Rob ...

, Wonder Woman is the New God

Bekka Bekka is a superheroine appearing in American comic book published by DC Comics. The character has been featured primarily in stories set in Jack Kirby's Fourth World and DC's main shared universe, known as the DC Universe. As a New God of New ...

, and Batman is essentially the Man-Bat. This Justice League, while ultimately heroic, is more ruthless than the traditional Justice League. Along with the film, a three-part animated series entitled '' Justice League: Gods and Monsters Chronicles'' was released before the film on

Machinima Machinima, originally machinema () is the use of real-time computer graphics engines to create a cinematic production. Most often, video games are used to generate the computer animation. The word "machinima" is a portmanteau of the words ''m ...

. *They appear in '' Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox'', an animated adaptation of the ''Flashpoint'' graphic novel. *The team are prominently featured in following movies set in the DC Animated Movie Universe: **'' Justice League: War'' (2014) **'' Justice League: Throne of Atlantis'' (2015) **''

Justice League vs. Teen Titans ''Justice League vs. Teen Titans'' is a 2016 American animated superhero film directed by Sam Liu from a screenplay by Alan Burnett and Bryan Q. Miller. It is the 25th film of the DC Universe Animated Original Movies and the seventh film in the ...

'' (2016) **''

Justice League Dark The Justice League Dark, or JLD, is a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The team would make their debut appearance in ''Justice League Dark'' #1 (September 2011). The Justice League Dark team features some ...

'' (2017) **'' The Death of Superman'' (2018) **'' Reign of the Supermen'' (2019) **'' Justice League Dark: Apokolips War'' (2020) *The Justice League appears in the

computer-animated Computer animation is the process used for digitally generating animations. The more general term computer-generated imagery (CGI) encompasses both static scenes (still images) and dynamic images (moving images), while computer animation refer ...

film ''

DC League of Super-Pets ''DC League of Super-Pets'' is a 2022 American 3D computer-animated superhero comedy film based on the DC Comics superhero team Legion of Super-Pets. Produced by Warner Animation Group and DC Entertainment and distributed by Warner Bros. P ...

'' (2022).

Animated TV shows

*In 1967, CBS aired three animated shorts titled "Justice League of America" as part of ''

The Superman/Aquaman Hour of Adventure ''The Superman/Aquaman Hour of Adventure'' is a Saturday morning Filmation animated series that aired on CBS from 1967 to 1968. Premiering on September 9, 1967, this 60-minute program included a series of six-minute adventures featuring various DC ...

''. The cast featured Aquaman, the Flash, Superman, the Atom, Green Lantern, and Hawkman. *The team appear in ''

''. ''Super Friends'' is an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

animated television series An animated series is a set of animated works with a common series title, usually related to one another. These episodes should typically share the same main characters, some different secondary characters and a basic theme. Series can have eith ...

about the Justice League, which ran from 1973 to 1986 on ABC as part of its

Saturday morning cartoon "Saturday-morning cartoon" is a colloquial term for the original animated series programming that was typically scheduled on Saturday and Sunday mornings in the United States on the "Big Three" television networks. The genre's popularity had a br ...

lineup. It was produced by

Hanna-Barbera Hanna-Barbera Cartoons, Inc. ( ) was an American animation studio and production company which was active from 1957 to 2001. It was founded on July 7, 1957, by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera following the decision of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer to c ...

and was based on the Justice League of America (JLA) and associated

comic book A comic book, also called comicbook, comic magazine or (in the United Kingdom and Ireland) simply comic, is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are of ...

characters published by

. There were a total of 109 episodes preceded by two backdoor pilot episodes of ''

The New Scooby-Doo Movies ''The New Scooby-Doo Movies'' is an American animated mystery comedy television series produced by Hanna-Barbera for CBS. It is the second animated television series in the studio's '' Scooby-Doo'' franchise, and follows the first incarnation, ' ...

''. *An animated television series titled ''

Justice League The Justice League (also known as The Justice League of America) are a team of superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The team first appeared in ''The Brave and the Bold'' #28 (March 1960). The team was conceived b ...

'' ran from 2001 to 2006 on

Cartoon Network Cartoon Network (often abbreviated as CN) is an American cable television channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. It is a part of The Cartoon Network, Inc., a division that also has the broadcasting and production activities of Boomerang, ...

. It is part of the

DC animated universe The DC Animated Universe (DCAU; also referred to as the Timmverse or Diniverse by fans referring to the creators and producers Bruce Timm and Paul Dini respectively) is a shared universe consisting primarily of superhero-based animated televis ...

. The show was produced by Warner Bros. Animation. It is based on the Justice League of America and associated

characters published by

. After the second season, the series name changed to ''

.'' *Another series titled ''

Justice League Action ''Justice League Action'' is an American superhero animated television series based on the DC Comics superhero team Justice League. The series is produced by Jim Krieg, Butch Lukic, and Alan Burnett. The show debuted on Cartoon Network UK on Nov ...

'' was also released. It is an American

based on the

superhero team of the same name. The series is produced by Jim Krieg,

Butch Lukic DC Comics, Inc. (doing business as DC) is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, with their f ...

, and

Alan Burnett Alan Burnett (; born February 17, 1950) is an American television writer-producer particularly associated with Warner Bros. Animation, Hanna-Barbera Productions, DC Comics, and Walt Disney television animation. He has had a hand in virtually ever ...

. This show debuted on Cartoon Network UK on November 26, 2016, and premiered in the United States on

on December 16, 2016. *The Justice League make minor appearances in the adult animated

web television Streaming television is the digital distribution of television content, such as TV shows, as streaming media delivered over the Internet. Streaming television stands in contrast to dedicated terrestrial television delivered by over-the-air ae ...

series ''

Harley Quinn Harley Quinn is a character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Quinn was created by Paul Dini and Bruce Timm as a comic relief henchwoman for the supervillain Joker in '' Batman: The Animated Series'', and debuted in i ...

''.

Live-action TV

*A proto-Justice League lineup is featured in ''

Smallville ''Smallville'' is an American superhero television series developed by writer-producers Alfred Gough and Miles Millar, based on the DC Comics character Superman created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. The series was produced by Millar/G ...

'', first appearing in the episode "Justice" of the show's sixth season. The group initially consists of

Clark Kent Superman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, and debuted in the comic book '' Action Comics'' #1 ( cover-dated June 1938 and pu ...

Bart Allen Bartholomew Henry "Bart" Allen II is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. A speedster, he first appeared under the alias Impulse and later became the second Kid Flash and the fourth Flash. Created by Mark Waid ...

Arthur Curry Aquaman is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Paul Norris and Mort Weisinger, the character debuted in ''More Fun Comics'' #73 (November 1941). The character is a pastiche of Namor. Initially a b ...

, Victor Stone,

Oliver Queen Green Arrow is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Mort Weisinger and designed by George Papp, he first appeared in ''More Fun Comics'' #73 in November 1941. His secret identity, real name is Olive ...

Chloe Sullivan Chloe Sullivan is a fictional character in the television series ''Smallville'', which is based on the Superman and Superboy comics published by DC Comics. Portrayed by series regular Allison Mack, Chloe was an original character created exclus ...

and

Dinah Lance The Black Canary is the name of two superheroines appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics: Dinah Drake and her daughter Dinah Laurel Lance. The original version was created by the writer-artist team of Robert Kanigher and ...

; in the show's comic book continuation ''Smallvile: Continuity'', an assemblage more familiar to the Justice League in most other media is formed, including

, Stargirl,

Tess Mercer '' Smallville'' is an American television series developed by writer/producers Alfred Gough and Miles Millar, and was initially broadcast by The WB. After its fifth season, the WB and UPN merged to form The CW, which was the second broadcaster f ...

Supergirl Supergirl is the name of several fictional superheroines appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The original, current, and most well known Supergirl is Kara Zor-El, the cousin of superhero Superman. The character made her fir ...

Booster Gold Booster Gold (Michael Jon Carter) is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Dan Jurgens, the character first appeared in '' Booster Gold'' #1 (February 1986) and has been a member of the Justice League. ...

and

. *The Justice League are mentioned in the first season of ''

Titans In Greek mythology, the Titans ( grc, οἱ Τῑτᾶνες, ''hoi Tītânes'', , ''ho Tītân'') were the pre-Olympian gods. According to the ''Theogony'' of Hesiod, they were the twelve children of the primordial parents Uranus (Sky) and Gai ...

'' during a conversation between

Dick Grayson Richard John "Dick" Grayson is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, commonly in association with Batman and Teen Titans. Created by writer Bill Finger and artist Bob Kane, he first appeared in ''Detective Comics ...

and Donna Troy during flashbacks. *At the end of the

Arrowverse The Arrowverse is an American superhero media franchise and a shared universe that is centered on various interconnected television series based on DC Comics superhero characters, primarily airing on The CW as well as web series on CW See ...

crossover ''

Crisis on Infinite Earths "Crisis on Infinite Earths" is a 1985 American comic book crossover storyline published by DC Comics. The series, written by Marv Wolfman and pencilled by George Pérez, was first serialized as a 12-issue limited series from April 1985 to Mar ...

'', the heroes of the newly created

Earth-Prime Earth Prime (or Earth-Prime) is a term sometimes used in works of speculative fiction, most notably in DC Comics, involving parallel universes or a multiverse, and refers either to the universe containing "our" Earth, or to a parallel world wit ...

gather at an abandoned S.T.A.R. Labs building and around a table; forming a team to defend their new world following a memorial for Oliver Queen / Green Arrow, who gave his life to save the multiverse. While never referred to as the Justice League, this group consists of

White Canary The Twelve Brothers in Silk, also known as The Silk Brothers, is a group of fictional comic book villains, a family of killers that have fought the Birds of Prey in the DC Comics Universe. They were created by artist Joe Bennett and writer Gail ...

The Flash The Flash (or simply Flash) is the name of several superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by writer Gardner Fox and artist Harry Lampert, the original Flash first appeared in ''Flash Comics'' #1 (cover date ...

Batwoman Batwoman is a name used by several characters of DC Comics, both in mainstream continuity and Elseworlds. The best known Batwomen are Kathy Kane and Kate Kane. History * The first Batwoman, Kathy Kane, debuted during the Silver Age of Comics ...

Black Lightning Black Lightning (Jefferson Pierce) is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character, created by writer Tony Isabella and artist Trevor Von Eeden, first appeared in ''Black Lightning'' #1 (April 1977), during ...

and

, with an empty seat in honor of Oliver. * The Justice League makes a cameo appearance in the first-season finale of'' Peacemaker'' (2022), set in the DCEU, with the group consisting of Wonder Woman, Flash, Superman and Aquaman.

Live-action movies

* Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman appear together in '' Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice'' (2016), although not as a formal team. The Flash, Aquaman, and Cyborg make cameo appearances. * The team then formally appears in ''

'' (2017), which was the sequel to ''Batman v Superman''. In 2021, Warner Brothers released a director's cut edition of the movie, which added a cameo by

. The Justice League is referenced in several other movies that are part of the

DC Extended Universe The DC Extended Universe (DCEU) is an American media franchise and shared universe centered on a series of superhero films and television series produced by DC Studios and distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures. It is based on characters that ...

setting, which includes ''Suicide Squad'' and ''Shazam!''.

Cultural impact

Most of the characters that appear in DC Comics' books are set in the same fictional universe, known as the

. They occasionally make guest appearances in each other's solo books, and more regularly in team books such as ''Justice League''. Such crossovers encouraged readers to buy other books in DC Comics' catalogue, and readers became engrossed not just in the individual characters but in their web of relationships across the broader setting, thereby building brand loyalty.

copied this idea by creating a number of superhero teams of its own, the closest analogue being the Avengers, so as to promote and develop the

Marvel Universe The Marvel Universe is a fictional shared universe where the stories in most American comic book titles and other media published by Marvel Comics take place. Super-teams such as the Avengers, the X-Men, the Fantastic Four, the Guardians o ...

. Many readers devoted themselves to just one of these two comic book universes, as they were both large and did not overlap. Thus the superhero fan community developed sub-communities of DC and Marvel devotees.

Collected editions

Silver Age ''Justice League of America''

This series has been collected in the following volumes: * Omitted issues that featured reprints of material from earlier volumes Also collected in ''Omnibus'' volumes:

''Justice League/Justice League International/Justice League America'' (1987–1996)

This series has been collected in the following collections (there are hardcover and trade paperback versions of all volumes):

''JLA'' (1997–2006)

This series has been collected in the following trade paperbacks: This series has also been collected in the following Grant Morrison-centric hardcover collections:

''Deluxe Edition'' trade paperbacks

''Justice League of America'' (vol. 2) (2006–2011)

This series has been collected in the following hardcover collections:

''The New 52''

''DC Rebirth''

''DC Universe Justice League'' (vol. 4) (2018–present)

Miscellaneous reprints

These trades reprint themed issues.

Awards

The original ''Justice League of America'' series won two 1961 Alley Awards in the categories "Best Comic Book" and "Best Adventure-Hero Group." In 1963, the series won "Favorite Novel" ("Crisis on Earth-One/Crisis on Earth-Two" in ''Justice League of America'' #21–22 by

and Mike Sekowsky) and "Strip that Should Be Improved." There also an award specific to the series, "Artist Preferred on ''Justice League of America''," that was won by Murphy Anderson.

Theme park attractions

''Justice League: Alien Invasion 3D''

''Justice League: Alien Invasion'' is an interactive dark ride at Warner Bros. Movie World on the Gold Coast,

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...

. In the ride, guests board vehicles equipped with blasters as they join the Justice League in the fight against Starro, who has mind-controlled the citizens of Metropolis.

Justice League: Battle for Metropolis

''Justice League: Battle for Metropolis'' is an interactive dark ride at seven

Six Flags Six Flags Entertainment Corporation is an American amusement park corporation, headquartered in Arlington, Texas. It has properties in Canada, Mexico, and the United States. Six Flags owns the most theme parks and waterparks combined of any a ...

parks across the United States and Mexico. In the ride, Lex Luthor and the Joker have captured Supergirl, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, and Flash, and it is up to the combined forces of the remaining members of the Justice League and the Justice League Reserve Team to save them from their capture at LexCorp. Guests board motion-enhanced and stun blaster-equipped vehicles designed by A.R.G.U.S. as they ride through Metropolis and join the fight against the henchmen of Lex Luthor and the Joker.

Notes

References

Sources

* *

External links

Justice League
at DC Comics.com

at

Don Markstein's Toonopedia Don Markstein's Toonopedia (subtitled A Vast Repository of Toonological Knowledge) is an online encyclopedia of print cartoons, comic strips and animation, initiated February 13, 2001. Donald D. Markstein, the sole writer and editor of Toonopedi ...

br>WebCitation Archive

* {{Authority control 1960 comics debuts 1997 comics debuts 2006 comics debuts 2011 comics debuts 2016 comics debuts 2018 comics debuts Batman characters Characters created by Gardner Fox Comics by Brad Meltzer Comics by Geoff Johns Comics by Grant Morrison Comics by Keith Giffen Comics by Jim Lee Comics by Steve Englehart DC Comics adapted into films DC Comics superhero teams DC Comics titles Superman characters