The Justice League of America (JLA) made its first appearance in The Brave and the Bold #28 (March 1960), battling a giant starfish named Starro. The original team consisted of Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, The Flash, Green Lantern, Aquaman and the Martian Manhunter.
The JLA Secret Sanctuary was a cave in the side of a mountain in Happy Harbor, Rhode Island. Used throughout the Silver Age, the League abandoned it when they moved to the Justice League Satellite. It has since been used by the android Hourman, Young Justice, Doom Patrol and Justice Society of America.
In Justice League of America #42 (Feb. 1966), Metamorpho teams up with the JLA to stop an alien menace known as the Unimaginable. When the team offers him membership, he declines, although he later agrees to be a "standby" member.
Lucas "Snapper" Carr tagged along on early missions, becoming both the team's mascot and an official member. Snapper, noted for speaking in beatnik dialect and snapping his fingers, resigned in Justice League of America #77 after compromising the location of the team's headquarters.
Hal Jordan was given the power ring and battery (lantern) by a dying alien named Abin Sur, whose spaceship had crashed on Earth.
Batman does NOT carry reading glasses in his utility belt. (He's probably had lasik.) He DOES carry shark repellent (Batman #117), a crayon (Batman #149), and a backup costume (Batman #71).
While Marvel's Avengers inducted the Black Panther in 1968, the JLA lagged way behind, not inducting its first black member until 1984 when writer Gerry Conway introduced Vixen, a female super-hero from Zambesi who adopts the abilities of animals. Using her Tantu Totem, she channels the powers of the animal kingdom by tapping into the morphogenetic field.
After a universe spanning battle in Justice League of America #74, Larry Lance sacrifices himself to save his wife from a blast of cosmic energy directed at her by the cosmic-powered villain Aquarius. After his funeral, Black Canary decides to migrate from Earth-Two to Earth-One with the former world reminding her too much of her lost husband.
The Martian Manhunter can become malleable, altering the size and length of limbs or his entire appearance. He often takes the human disguise of Detective John Jones. He has been known to grow an extra pair of arms in battle. He can also alter his density to move through objects or allow attacks to fly harmlessly through him.
SHARE THIS PAGE!