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Green Arrow is a fictional character, a superhero that appears in comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Mort Weisinger and George Papp, he first appeared in More Fun Comics #73 in November 1941. His secret identity is Oliver Queen, billionaire and former mayor of fictional Star City.^[2] Dressed like Robin Hood, Green Arrow is an archer who invents trick arrows with various special functions, such as glue arrows, net, explosive, time bomb, grappling, fire extinguishing, flash and tear gas arrows, as well as cryonic arrows, and even a kryptonite arrow. Originally developed as an archery-themed analogue of the very popular Batman character, writers at DC have developed Green Arrow into a voice of left-wing and progressive politics very much distinct in character from Batman, with his own supporting cast.

Throughout his first twenty-five years, Green Arrow was not a significant hero. In the late 1960s, however, writer Denny O'Neil chose to have him lose his fortune, giving him the then-unique role of streetwise crusader for the working class and the disadvantaged. In 1970, he was paired with the more law-and-order-oriented hero Green Lantern in a groundbreaking, socially conscious comic book series. Since then, he has been popular among comic book fans and most writers have taken an urban, gritty approach to the character. The character was killed off in the 1990s and replaced by a new character, Oliver's son Connor Hawke, the second Green Arrow; however, Hawke proved a less popular character, and the original Oliver Queen character was resurrected in the 2001 "Quiver" storyline. In the 2000s, the character has been featured in bigger storylines focusing on Green Arrow and the character Black Canary, such as the DC event The Green Arrow/Black Canary Wedding and the high-profile Justice League: Cry for Justice storyline, the climax of which sees Green Arrow becoming a morally ambiguous anti-hero.^{[citation needed]}

The character was not initially a well-known character outside of comic book fandom; he had appeared in a single episode of the animated series Super Friends in 1973. The character, however, became a prominent feature in the DCAU animated series Justice League Unlimited in the 2000s, reflective of his status in Justice League comic books, as well as the animated series The Batman and several DC Universe Animated Original Movies. From season six of popular live-action series Smallville, in 2006, Green Arrow was played by actor Justin Hartley, who would become a core cast member; he was originally introduced in a guest run as a substitute for the restricted-rights character Batman. As a main character, Smallville prominently featured Green Arrow supporting characters and mythos. David S. Goyer also attempted to get Green Arrow: Escape from Super Max into production as a film in the late 2000s. In fall of 2012 Green Arrow will be portrayed by Stephen Amell in the live action Arrow (TV series) on the CW.

Publication history[link]

Beginnings, 1941–1968[link]

Green Arrow and Speedy first appeared in More Fun Comics #73 (cover-dated November 1941), which was illustrated by artist George Papp. Aside from the obvious allusions to Robin Hood, Mort Weisinger, when developing the character, was also inspired by a movie serial, The Green Archer, based on the novel by Edgar Wallace. He retooled the concept into a superhero archer with obvious Batman influences.^[3] These include Green Arrow's sidekick Speedy, his use of an Arrowcar and Arrowplane, his use of an Arrowcave as headquarters, his alter ego as a billionaire playboy, the use of an Arrow-signal to summon him, and a clown-like arch foe named Bull's Eye, similar to Batman's arch-foe, the Joker.

Another Weisinger-created character called Aquaman also appeared for the first time in that issue, and these two back-up features continued to run concurrently in More Fun Comics until the mid-1940s, and then in Adventure Comics from 1946 until 1960. Green Arrow and Speedy also appeared in various issues of World's Finest Comics until issue #140 (1964). The Green Arrow and Speedy feature was one of five back-up features to be promoted in one of the earliest team-up books, Leading Comics.

Green Arrow was one of the few DC characters to keep going after the Golden Age of Comic Books. The longevity of the character was due to the influence of creator Mort Weisinger, who kept Green Arrow and Aquaman as back-up features to the headlining Superboy feature, first in More Fun Comics and then Adventure Comics. Aside from sharing Adventure Comics with him, issue #258 featured an encounter between a younger Oliver Queen and Superboy. The Green Arrow and Speedy feature during this period included a short run in 1958 written by Dick and Dave Wood and drawn by Jack Kirby. For much of this period, Green Arrow's adventures were written by France Herron, who was the character's primary scripter from 1947–1963.^[4]

Neal Adams and Dennis O'Neil, 1969–1983[link]

In 1969, artist Neal Adams decided to update the character's visual appearance by giving him a Vandyke beard and costume of his own design in The Brave and the Bold #85 (August -September 1969).^[5] Inspired by Adams' redesign, writer Dennis O'Neil followed up on Green Arrow's new appearance by completely remaking the character's attitude in the pages of Justice League of America #75 (cover-dated November 1969), giving his personality a rougher edge. This revision was explained by having Oliver Queen lose his fortune due to fake documents of him engaging in corruption, and then become an outspoken advocate of the underprivileged in society and the political left wing. For instance, he once saved a child's dog playing in a railyard, but instead of feeling satisfaction, he brooded on the larger problem of how the child had nowhere in the city to play safely.

In the early 1970s, he became a co-feature with Green Lantern (Hal Jordan) in the latter's series in an acclaimed, but short-lived series of stories by O'Neil and Adams that dealt with various social and political issues in which Green Arrow spoke for radical change while Green Lantern was an establishment liberal figure, wanting to work within existing institutions of government and law. Where Queen advocated direct action, Hal Jordan wanted to work within the system; where Queen advocated social change, Jordan was more concerned about dealing with criminals. Each would find their beliefs challenged by the other. Queen convinced Jordan to see beyond his strict obedience to the Green Lantern Corps, to help those who were neglected or discriminated against. As O'Neil explained: "He would be a hot-tempered anarchist to contrast with the cerebral, sedate model citizen who was the Green Lantern."^[6] The duo embarked on a quest to find America, witnessing the problems of corruption, racism, pollution, and overpopulation confronting the nation. Writer O'Neil even took on current events, such as the Manson Family cult murders, in issues #78–79 ("A Kind of Loving") where Black Canary falls briefly under the spell of a false prophet who advocates violence.

It was during this period that the most famous Green Arrow story appeared, in Green Lantern (vol. 2) #85–86, when it was revealed that Green Arrow's ward Speedy was addicted to heroin.^[2] In his zeal to save America, Oliver had failed in his personal responsibility to Speedy—who would overcome his addiction with the help of Black Canary, Green Arrow's then-love interest. This story prompted a congratulatory letter from the mayor of New York, John Lindsay. Unfortunately, the series did not match commercial expectations, and Neal Adams had trouble with deadlines, causing issue #88 to be an unscheduled reprint issue; the series was canceled with issue #89 (April/May 1972).

The duo were moved to the back-up feature in The Flash, issues #217 through #219. The socially relevant themes would continue, as the story opens with Oliver killing a criminal (albeit accidentally). Oliver shed himself of the remaining trappings of his super-heroic life (including crashing the Arrowplane into a mountain) and withdrew to an ashram monastery. He would find no peace there, and returned to the outside world at the request of Hal and Dinah. This storyline would prove very important to the character in the 1990s. After this three-part story, Green Lantern continued as a solo back-up in The Flash, while Green Arrow's solo stories began appearing in Action Comics.

In 1976, the Green Lantern title was re-launched starring both Hal Jordan and Ollie Queen, and the Green Arrow/Green Lantern partnership returned to more traditional superhero storylines. Denny O'Neill resumed writing the characters, while Adams-influenced artist Mike Grell drew the feature. After the title moved to solo Green Lantern stories, solo Green Arrow stories began appearing in the World's Finest title. The solo stories were frequently written by Elliot S. Maggin.

In his solo series, Oliver would land a job as a newspaper columnist, which allowed him to articulate his political beliefs in a more public field. In World's Finest #255 (1979), Queen ran for Mayor of Star City and lost in a close vote. Although there was reason to believe that the election had been fixed against him, Black Canary chose for him not to contest the results legally, effectively ceding the race to his opponent.

In May through August 1983, Green Arrow appeared for the first time in his own comic book, a four issue limited series^[7] of murder and betrayal that established potential for a full series. It was in this miniseries that Green Arrow would gain a running rivalry with the super villain Count Vertigo.

In 1985, a Green Arrow died in the Crisis on Infinite Earths, wearing red boots and gloves, suggesting this was a leftover Earth-2 character being disposed of, especially considering no resurrection was later acknowledged before his further appearances.

Longbow Hunters/Mike Grell Ongoing[link]

In 1987, DC Comics launched the character into a new ongoing title as part of their mature audience comic line. Written and illustrated by Mike Grell, the revamp was launched with Green Arrow: The Longbow Hunters mini-series.^[8] In this three-issue prestige format limited series, a routine adventure against a group of drug runners led to tragedy as Black Canary was captured and brutally tortured. In response, Green Arrow murders his girlfriend's attackers. The mini-series would also introduce the enigmatic female Japanese archer, Shado, whose family suffered in a World War II internment camp.

Under Grell, Green Arrow would abandon the use of his trademark gadget arrows and relocate from Star City to Seattle, Washington. As the series was part of DC Comics' mature audience line, it took on a more gritty, violent, and urban tone, with Green Arrow often using deadly force against his enemies. Grell wrote the series for the first 80 issues, downplaying the super-hero aspects of the characters; Oliver abandoned his mask and was never actually referred to as "Green Arrow", and Black Canary was never shown using her sonic scream power (sometimes explained as having lost it due to the events of The Longbow Hunters, though this was not consistent with her appearances in other titles published during this period). While crossover specials were conceived to allow other writers (most notably Denny O'Neil, who wrote Batman and the mature audience comic The Question) to use Green Arrow, Grell wrote him as largely isolated from the rest of the DC Universe; when other DC characters like longtime friend Hal Jordan (a.k.a. Green Lantern) appeared, they did so in street clothes and used only their civilian names.^[9]

In place of the super-hero community, Grell created his own supporting cast. In addition to Shado, Grell introduced Seattle police Lieutenant Jim Cameron, who was disgusted with Green Arrow's vigilante actions (including killing criminals); renegade CIA agent Greg Osborne, who began to monitor Queen's activities; and mercenary Eddie Fyers, initially introduced as Queen's adversary, but later to become a companion of necessity when Green Arrow was forced to leave Seattle after false accusations of aiding terrorists. Grell's run ended with Green Arrow #80, shortly after Dinah dumped Oliver.

During this period, the writer also redefined the character's origin in the four-part 1992 limited series, Green Arrow: The Wonder Year. Grell portrayed Oliver Queen as a thrill-seeker who inherits his family business at a very young age. Changed by his sojourn on the island, Oliver decided to take up crime fighting as a means of rebelling against his responsibilities. During his first adventure in Star City, Oliver Queen meets an old flame, Brianna Stone, a former college radical who warns him if he continued to carry his bow, he would one day have to use it for real. Grell's limited series also established Queen's attraction toward dangerous women.

Post-Grell[link]

Once Grell left the series, DC almost immediately began restoring Green Arrow to the mainstream DC Universe. His ongoing series (mostly written by Kelley Puckett and drawn by artist Jim Aparo) was removed from the "Mature Audience" line (which had evolved into "Vertigo") with #63, prior to Grell's departure, and Green Arrow began appearing in various super-hero titles as a guest, most notably Green Lantern #47, which had Oliver aiding Green Lantern in rescuing his longtime girlfriend Carol Ferris and her family from one of Hal's enemies, and the 1994 DC Comics mini-series Zero Hour. In Zero Hour, Queen is forced to shoot his old friend at a pivotal moment. Now tightly integrated in the DC Universe, the character Connor Hawke was introduced and revealed as Oliver Queen's son.

In Green Arrow #100–101, Oliver would infiltrate a group of eco-terrorists known as the Eden Corps and sacrifice his life in order to prevent the group from detonating a bomb that would destroy the city of Metropolis,^[2] the resulting explosion completely atomising Queen's body so that his identity could only be confirmed by Superman witnessing his death. This allowed the writers to shake up the status quo by making Connor Hawke a replacement Green Arrow. The series, now written by Chuck Dixon, would continue, with Hawke as the main focus until issue #137, when the series was canceled.

Smith, Hester and Parks/Meltzer 2000–2004[link]

In 2000, Oliver Queen is revived in a new series, Green Arrow (vol. 3), in the story arc "Quiver", written by Kevin Smith and illustrated by Phil Hester and Ande Parks. Picking up the thread from "The Final Night", Smith reveals that Hal's resurrection of Oliver was a flawed one, in that Hal opted to resurrect Oliver in the form of a soulless body that had no memory of the events of The Longbow Hunters mini-series or of the subsequent events that followed, up until his death; having spoken with Oliver's soul in the afterlife, Hal and Oliver had agreed to bring back a version of Oliver to make for Hal's absence in the events that led to his death while still leaving Oliver in Heaven. His resurrection is used by the grandfather of Stanley Dover in an attempt to gain power over the monster that Dover accidentally bound to his grandson, Dover intending to take Oliver's body and use his access to the JLA's resources to find the monster. At the climax of the story, Oliver's soul returns from heaven (his earthly duplicate not possessing a soul), and helps his son Connor Hawke fight a horde of demons. Dover is defeated and actually consumed by the Beast, who then leaves of his own accord. Oliver also finds himself independently wealthy again, as Dover had transferred all his financial assets to Oliver in anticipation of taking over his body. He also picked up a new sidekick, Mia Dearden, who would become the new Speedy, under Oliver's tutoring.^[10]

After the resurrection storyline, Smith wrote a second and shorter arc involving a super-powered serial killer named Onomatopoeia that sought to claim Connor Hawke as his latest victim. Smith then left the title, and Brad Meltzer took over as writer. Meltzer went on to write the mini-series Identity Crisis, which heavily featured Green Arrow as one of the story's main characters.

Meltzer's single storyline for Green Arrow featured Oliver and former sidekick Roy Harper reuniting and going on a cross-country road trip to pick up old possessions of Oliver's, most notably a spare Green Lantern power ring entrusted to him by Hal Jordan many years earlier. The story also revealed that Oliver knew all along that Connor Hawke was his son and was even present at his birth, but that Oliver ultimately abandoned Connor and his mother, because of his fear of the responsibilities of fatherhood. Meltzer's storyline would continue into the mini-series Green Lantern: Rebirth, which featured Oliver's attempts to use the ring.

During this time, the character also appeared in a number of other titles, such as the Justice League and Justice League Elite. This series is notable for showing a brief affair with Dawn, the wife of the team's magical expert Manitou Raven.

Judd Winick, 2004–2008[link]

Judd Winick took over as Green Arrow writer and made many changes. Mia Dearden, the new Speedy, was revealed to be HIV positive, and attempts were made to expand Green Arrow's Rogues Gallery with Merlyn the archer, Constantine Drakon, and Danny Brickwell (the Brick) joining the cast of existing Green Arrow villains such as the illusion-casting Count Vertigo and the enigmatic Onomatopoeia (himself a relatively recent addition). Other DC villains, such as the Riddler, made guest appearances throughout his run.

In 2006 Andy Diggle and Jock's Green Arrow: Year One^[11] presented the most recent official version of his origin. Using concepts from previous iterations, Oliver Queen is a rich, thrill-seeking activist who is attacked, thrown overboard, and washes up on a island where he learns of a smuggling operation. Upon witnessing the inhabitants' slave-like living conditions, he begins to take down the smugglers' operation. He eventually returns to civilization changed by his experiences. In the final part of the story, Oliver claims that a mutiny or the actions of a group of heroin dealers could be used as a cover story for what transpired, referencing the original Green Arrow origin story, as well as Mike Grell's version.

That year also saw the title (along with other DC comics titles) jump "One Year Later" after the events in Infinite Crisis,. Oliver, having once again amassed a large personal fortune, is the newly elected mayor of Star City. He continues his fight for justice both on the streets and within the political system. He also has a new costume, which appears to be a combination of the classic Neal Adams costume and the Mike Grell Longbow Hunters costume. In flashbacks, it is revealed that Oliver survived a near-fatal attack during the events of Infinite Crisis, and used his recuperation time to retrain.

He works with several expert instructors including a sensei known as Natas, who also trained Deathstroke. The current Green Arrow (vol. 3) series ended with issue #75 in June 2007, concluding with the character, having resigned as mayor after a scandal, proposing to Dinah (Black Canary).

Green Arrow/Black Canary[link]

After the end of the ongoing series, DC Comics published a four-part bi-monthly Black Canary miniseries in which Green Arrow teamed up with Black Canary to help get Sin into school and establish a new life. This series concluded with Black Canary accepting his proposal. This resulted in DC Comics publishing three interconnected specials revolving around the Green Arrow/Black Canary wedding that tied into that month's "Countdown" stories. These were The Black Canary Wedding Planner, JLA Wedding Special, and The Green Arrow/Black Canary Wedding Special. The wedding special worked as a lead-in for a new Green Arrow/Black Canary series. At the conclusion of the wedding special, Black Canary is forced to kill Green Arrow after he appears to go mad and attacks her.

The new ongoing series picked up on this, quickly revealing that Green Arrow was alive (the dead Green Arrow being an impostor) and being held hostage by "Athena". Black Canary, Connor and Mia launch a rescue mission to save Green Arrow. As the team is united, and on their way to safety, Connor is struck by a bullet meant for Oliver, and is left in a vegetative state. While Connor rests, Oliver and Dinah go out and officially become married (since they never actually were married in the Wedding Special) but come home to find Connor has been kidnapped.

This storyline led directly into the second arc that followed the rescue of Connor Hawke from a mysterious foe. Connor is eventually found, now having recovered thanks to manipulation by Doctor Sivana. With issue #15, Andrew Kreisberg took over as the series writer.

Cry for Justice/Blackest Night[link]

During the Blackest Night series, Oliver is transformed into a Black Lantern Corps member and attacks his former allies. During a battle with his son Connor, Connor says he never really forgave his father.^[12]

Villain Prometheus destroys Star City and is eventually killed by Green Arrow, who murders him in secret.^[13] It is then revealed that Green Arrow obsessively hunts super-villains,^[14] including Prometheus' former allies who were involved in the bombing. He realizes he has crossed a line and turns himself in, and Black Canary returns her wedding ring and declares their marriage over. Oliver is found not guilty as most of the jury sympathise with his motives, but is exiled from Star City's remains.^[15]

Brightest Day[link]

When the white ring brought Deadman to the ruins of Star City, a vast green forest instantly grew in the presence of the white light.^[16]

Having been banished from Star City for murdering Prometheus, Green Arrow lives within the new forest, trying his best to protect a city still reeling from the death and destruction of the bomb attacks. With the law breaking down and numerous public figures being murdered, a new owner of Queen Industries, as a result of a hostile takeover, arrives to enforce peace and rebuild the city.^[17] This self-proclaimed 'Queen' has a connection to Green Arrow's father and claims to be upholding the Queen family legacy where Oliver failed.^[18]

The New 52[link]

In DC's 2011 launch of the New 52, Green Arrow was given his own ongoing series.^[19] Ollie Queen is Green Arrow and he balances his own breaking of laws with his efforts to bring outlaws to justice across the globe.

Roy's memories in Red Hood and the Outlaws bring to the surface that when Ollie cut their partnership ties, he publicly took all of Roy's stocks in his company and left Roy to his own devices leading Roy to an attempted assisted suicide by the hands of Killer Croc. Roy also comments how he steals from Ollie's company to get the arrows for his adventures.^[20]

Other versions[link]

Many alternative versions of the character have appeared in DC Comics publications. The original version of the character became established as the Earth-Two version of Green Arrow who was a member of the Seven Soldiers of Victory and All-Star Squadron in the 1940s, along with his sidekick Speedy. Aside from their origin, which states the two were trained together on a mesa top, their history nearly parallels the history of the Earth-One version, up until the point when Green Arrow and Speedy, along with their teammates, were thrown into various periods of time during a battle with the Nebula Man. He was killed during the Crisis on Infinite Earths. A retcon was made, in Crisis on Infinite Earths, that the Earth-Two Green Arrow had brown hair, as opposed to Earth-One's Green Arrow being blond. Similarly, the Earth-Two Speedy has blond hair, as opposed to Earth-One's Speedy having red.

The character appears in Frank Miller's Batman: The Dark Knight Returns and the sequel Batman: The Dark Knight Strikes Again. Despite missing an arm (implied to be because of Superman), Oliver still proves to be an effective archer (he grasps the nocks of his arrows in his teeth). The Emerald Archer later acquires a cybernetic replacement for his lost arm from Batman in the sequel. The death scene in Green Arrow #100–101 pays tribute to Miller's story. Superman's only course of action to rescue Green Arrow is by removing his arm, but Queen refuses to let him—admitting later in Quiver that he refused due to both his own issues at this point in his life and the more practical issue that he would be useless as an archer with one arm—thus bringing about his apparent death. In The Dark Knight Returns, Queen is portrayed as an anarchist, while in The Dark Knight Strikes Again he is explicitly described as a "billionaire turned Communist."

An older, balding Green Arrow would appear in Mark Waid and Alex Ross' futuristic vision Kingdom Come, where Oliver has joined forces with Batman to oppose Superman's army. He married his long time love Dinah Lance and they have a daughter, Olivia Queen.

Green Arrow appears in League of Justice, a The Lord of the Rings–inspired fantasy where the character is renamed "Longbow Greenarrow", a mysterious wizard resembling Gandalf; JLA: Age of Wonder shows Green Arrow as a defender of the poor and an enemy of oppression.

In JLA: The Nail and its sequel, Oliver is a featured as a crippled ex-hero, having lost an arm, an eye, and the use of his legs in a fight with Amazo, the same battle resulting in the death of Katar Hol. Bitter and furious, he is now wheelchair bound, and spreads fear on Perry White's talk show about the JLA being aliens and claims that they are planning to conquer the world; his former teammates speculate that this is his method of coping. In the sequel, Oliver's brain is transplanted into Amazo's body—the Flash having removed Amazo's computerized brain in an earlier fight—restoring his sanity, allowing him to defeat the creature threatening the universe at the cost of his own life, after mending fences with his former teammates.

In Batman: Holy Terror, Oliver Queen is mentioned as having been executed, found guilty of supporting underground Jewish "pornographers"; and he has a cameo as Bruce Wayne's society friend in Dean Motter's Batman: Nine Lives. Green Arrow has also appeared in the Justice League Unlimited spin-off comic book. Oliver Queen also appears in Mike Mignola’s Batman: The Doom That Came to Gotham, where he is portrayed as a latter-day Templar equipped with magic arrows dipped in the blood of Saint Sebastian. He is killed in issue #2 by Poison Ivy.

DC's weekly series 52 established a new 52-Earth Multiverse. On Earth-3, an evil equivalent of the Green Arrow is a member of the supervillain co-op called the Crime Society of America. In Tangent Comics (Earth-9), Green Arrow is a type of soda with the slogan: "Hits the Spot". On Earth-15, Roy Harper has replaced Oliver as the Green Arrow.^[21] The Kingdom Come (Earth-22) and Dark Knight Returns (Earth-31) stories and their variations of Oliver were later amalgamated into the 52-Earth Multiverse. In the gender-reversed world of Earth-11, Oliver is now Olivia Queen, and that world's version of Black Canary closely resembles him in appearance.^[22]

In the alternate timeline of the Flashpoint event, Oliver Queen is the head of Green Arrow Industries, a major military contracting company, and leads a ex-military band of Green Arrows. Even though Oliver is an inventive genius, he steals advanced gadgets from super-villains for military use. In one day, Oliver discovers his Green Arrows were killed by a female raider. Taking his weapons and gadgets to hunt down the woman in battle, Oliver shockingly learns that the woman reveals to him that she is a daughter of Vixen, Oliver's former lover, and the reason she attacked him was because of his industries build factories which specialize in testing super-villain weapons in American towns that inadvertently became targets for the super-villains looking to gain their weapons back. Shocked by her revelation, Oliver had only been stalling before his daughter is killed by his reserve teams he earlier called.^[23]

Green Arrow and Warlord[link]

Mike Grell's Warlord character, Travis Morgan, bears a striking resemblance to Oliver Queen. During Grell's run on Green Arrow, Travis Morgan shows up in Seattle in issue #27. After being attacked on sight by half of the Seattle underworld population (all of whom mistake him for Green Arrow), Morgan shows up at Queen's house and declares, "Whatever you've been doing to piss these people off... cut it out!!" Finally appearing on-panel together, Grell illustrates that while there is an uncanny resemblance, Travis Morgan is significantly taller than Oliver, and seemingly several years older. In Aquaman (vol. 5) #71, Aquaman accidentally passes through a dimensional portal that leads to Skartaris, the world of Warlord. When he meets Travis Morgan, he mistakes him for Oliver back from the dead (this was after Oliver had been killed by a terrorist's bomb, and before he was resurrected by Hal Jordan).^[2] During Kevin Smith's Green Arrow run, during the "Quiver" story arc, Deadman pokes fun at the resemblance as well.^[24]

In other media[link]

Collected editions[link]

The trade paperback edition of The Archer's Quest (#16–21) was released as Volume 4 in the series after Straight Shooter (#26–31) was released as Volume 3. The hardcover editions of Quiver, The Sounds of Violence, and The Archer's Quest were never numbered.

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Green Arrow (comics)

• Green Arrow at the DC Database Project
• Green Arrow's secret origin at DC Comics.com
• Earth-1 Green Arrow Index
• Earth-2 Green Arrow Index
• Index of the Earth-One adventures of Green Arrow
• Green Arrow at Don Markstein's Toonopedia
• The Green Arrow on the DC Animated Universe Wiki, an external wiki

This article may require copy editing for grammar, style, cohesion, tone, or spelling. You can assist by editing it. (March 2012)

The Justice League, also called the Justice League of America or JLA, is a fictional superhero team that appears in comic books published by DC Comics.

First appearing in The Brave and the Bold #28 (February/March 1960), the Justice League originally appeared with the line-up of Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Flash (Barry Allen), Green Lantern (Hal Jordan), Aquaman, and the Martian Manhunter. The team roster has been rotated throughout the years with characters such as Green Arrow, Captain Marvel, Black Canary, the Atom, Hawkman, Hawkgirl, Plastic Man, Red Tornado, Firestorm, Zatanna, other Green Lanterns, and dozens of others. The team received its own comic book title in October 1960, when the first issue was published, and would continue to #261 in April 1987, which was the final issue. Throughout the years, various incarnations or subsections of the team have operated as Justice League America, Justice League Europe, Justice League International, Justice League Task Force, Justice League Elite, and Extreme Justice.

Various comic book series featuring the Justice League have remained generally popular with fans since inception and in most incarnations, its roster includes DC's most popular characters. The Justice League concept has also been adapted into various other entertainment media, including the classic Saturday morning Super Friends animated series (1973–1986), an unproduced Justice League of America live-action series, and most recently the animated series Justice League (2001–2004) and Justice League Unlimited (2004–2006). A live-action film was in the works in 2008 before being shelved.

Publication history[link]

[edit] Silver and Bronze Age / Justice League of America

Having successfully reintroduced a number of their Golden Age superhero characters (Flash, Green Lantern, etc.) during the late 1950s, editor Julius Schwartz asked writer Gardner Fox to reintroduce the Justice Society of America. Schwartz, influenced by the popularity of Major League Baseball's National League and American League, decided to change the name of the team from Justice Society to Justice League.^[1] The Justice League of America debuted in The Brave and the Bold #28 (February–March 1960),^[2] and after two further appearances in that title, got their own series which quickly became one of the company's best-selling titles. Fox and artist Mike Sekowsky were the creative team for the title's first eight years. Sekowsky's last issue was #63 (June 1968) and Fox departed with #65 (September 1968). Schwartz was the new title's editor and would oversee it until 1979.^[3]

The initial Justice League lineup included seven of the DC superheroes being published regularly at that time:Superman, Batman, Aquaman, Flash, Green Lantern, Martian Manhunter, and Wonder Woman. Superman and Batman barely featured in most of the stories, not even appearing on the cover most of the time. Three of DC's other surviving or revived characters, Green Arrow,^[4] the Atom,^[5] and Hawkman^[6] were added to the roster over the next four years. The title's early success was indirectly responsible for the creation of the Fantastic Four. In his autobiography Stan Lee relates how, during a round of golf, DC publisher Jack Liebowitz mentioned to Marvel-Timely owner Martin Goodman how well DC's new book (Justice League) was selling. Later that day Goodman told Lee to come up with a team of superheroes for Marvel; Lee and Jack Kirby produced the Fantastic Four.^[7][8]

The Justice League operated from a secret cave outside of the small town of Happy Harbor, Rhode Island. A teenager named Lucas "Snapper" Carr tagged along on missions, and he became both the team's mascot and an official member. Snapper, noted for speaking in beatnik dialect and snapping his fingers, helped the group defeat the giant space starfish Starro the Conqueror in the team's first appearance. The supervillain Doctor Light first battle the team in issue #12 (June 1962).^[9] Justice League of America #21 and #22 (August–September 1963) saw the first team-up of the Justice League and the Justice Society of America as well as the first use of the term "Crisis" in reference to a crossover between characters.^[10] The folowing year's team-up with the Justice Society introduced the threat of the Crime Syndicate of America of Earth-Three.^[11] The character Metamorpho was offered membership in the Justice League but declined.^[12] Following the departures of Gardner Fox and Mike Sekowsky, writer Denny O'Neil and artist Dick Dillin became the new creative team. Dillin would draw the title from issue #64 (August 1968) through #183 (October 1980)^[13]

O'Neil reshaped the Justice League's membership by removing Wonder Woman in issue #69 and the Martian Manhunter in issue #71.^[14] Following the JLA-JSA team-up in issues #73-74 and the death of her husband, the Black Canary decides to move to Earth-One to make a fresh start, where she joins the Justice League.^[15] The following issue saw the character develop the superpower known as her "canary cry".^[16] In issue #77 (December 1969), Snapper Carr is tricked into betraying the cave headquarters' secret location to the Joker, resulting in his resignation from the team as well.^[17]

Satellite years[link]

In need of a new secure headquarters, the Justice League moved into an orbiting satellite headquarters in Justice League of America #78 (February 1970).^[18] The Elongated Man,^[19] the Red Tornado,^[20] Hawkwoman,^[21] Zatanna,^[22] and Firestorm^[23] joined the team during this period, and Wonder Woman returned.

Len Wein wrote issues #100–114 wherein he and Dillin re-introduced the Seven Soldiers of Victory in issues #100-102^[24] and the Freedom Fighters in issues #107-108.^[25] In the fall of 1972, Wein and writers Gerry Conway and Steve Englehart crafted a metafictional unofficial crossover spanning titles from both major comics companies. Each comic featured Englehart, Conway, and Wein, as well as Wein's first wife Glynis, interacting with Marvel or DC characters at the Rutland Halloween Parade in Rutland, Vermont. Beginning in Amazing Adventures #16 (by Englehart with art by Bob Brown and Frank McLaughlin), the story continued in Justice League of America #103 (by Wein, Dillin and Dick Giordano), and concluded in Thor #207 (by Conway and penciler John Buscema). As Englehart explained in 2010, "It certainly seemed like a radical concept and we knew that we had to be subtle (laughs) and each story had to stand on its own, but we really worked it out. It's really worthwhile to read those stories back to back to back — it didn't matter to us that one was at DC and two were at Marvel — I think it was us being creative, thinking what would be really cool to do."^[26][27][28] Libra, a supervillain created by Wein and Dillin in Justice League of America #111 (May–June 1974),^[29] would play a leading role in Grant Morrison's Final Crisis storyline in 2008.

Writers Cary Bates and Elliot S. Maggin wrote themselves into the 1975 JLA-JSA crossover in issues #123 and 124 with Bates becoming a supervillain.^[30][31]

Wonder Woman rejoined the team following a major two-year story arc largely written by Martin Pasko. To prove her worthiness to rejoin the JLA, Wonder Woman voluntarily underwent twelve trials analogous to the labors of Hercules, each of which was monitored in secret by a member of the JLA.^[32] After the conclusion of the storyline in Wonder Woman #222, the character's return to the JLA occurred in a two-part story in Justice League of America #128-129 (March–April 1976).^[33]

Steve Englehart wrote the series beginning with issue #139 and provided another unofficial crossover with Marvel Comics in issue #142 by reworking his character Mantis into the DC Universe as a character named "Willow".^[34] Englehart left the title with issue #150.

Writer Gerry Conway had a lengthy association with the title as well. His first JLA story appeared in issue #125 (December 1975) and he became the series' regular writer with issue #151 (February 1978). With a few exceptions, Conway would write the team's adventures until issue #255 (October 1986).^[35] Julius Schwartz, who had edited the title since the first issue, left the series as of issue #165 (April 1979).^[3] The 1979 crossover with the Justice Society in issues #171 and 172 saw the death of the original Mister Terrific.^[36] After Dick Dillin's death, George Pérez, Don Heck, and Rich Buckler would rotate as artist on the title. The double-sized anniversary issue #200 (March 1982) was a "jam" featuring a story written by Conway, a framing sequence drawn by Pérez, and chapters drawn by Pat Broderick, Jim Aparo, Dick Giordano, Gil Kane, Carmine Infantino, Brian Bolland, and Joe Kubert. Bolland's chapter gave the artist his "first stab at drawing Batman."^[37] Pérez would leave the title as of issue #200^[38] to concentrate on The New Teen Titans although he would contribute covers to the JLA through issue #220 (November 1983). The 1982 team-up with the Justice Society in issues #207-209 crossed over with All-Star Squadron #14-15.^[39][40]

Detroit[link]

Seeking to capitalize on the popularity of their other team books, which focused upon heroes in their late teens/early 20s, Gerry Conway and artist Chuck Patton revamped the Justice League series. After most of the original heroes failed to arrive in order to help the team fend off an invasion of Martians, Aquaman dissolved the League and reformatted its charter to only allow heroes who would devote their full time to the roster.^[41] The new team initially consisted of Aquaman, Zatanna, Martian Manhunter, Elongated Man, the Vixen, and a trio of teenage heroes Gypsy, Steel, and Vibe.^[42] Aquaman would leave the team after a year and was replaced as leader by the Martian Manhunter. Because of his own edict of only wanting full-time heroes in the League, Aquaman's estranged wife Mera gave him an ultimatum to stay with either the group or with her to salvage their marriage.

Fan response to the series' new direction was largely negative and even the return of Batman to the team in Justice League of America #250 could not halt the decline of the series. Reader sentiment regarding this incarnation of the Justice League has since been metatextually reflected in the comics themselves. In volume 2 issue #31 (May 2009), Zatanna says, "With our current line-up we couldn't beat Justice League Detroit!" to which Dr. Light responds, "Don't be ridiculous. Everybody can beat Detroit!" The final storyline for the original Justice League of America series (#258-261) by writer J. M. DeMatteis and artist Luke McDonnell,^[43] culminated a story-arc involving long-time Justice League enemy Professor Ivo's murders of Vibe and Steel and the resignations of Vixen, Gypsy, and the Elongated Man during the events of DC's Legends mini-series, which saw the team disband.

Modern incarnations[link]

[edit] Justice League International

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 new series, written by Keith Giffen and J. M. DeMatteis with art by Kevin Maguire^[44] (and later Adam Hughes), added quirky humor to the team's stories. In this incarnation, the membership consisted partly of heroes from Earths that, prior to their merging in the Crisis on Infinite Earths, were separate. The initial team included Batman, Black Canary, Blue Beetle, Captain Marvel, Doctor Light (a new Japanese female character, emerging from the Crisis of Infinite Earths, not the supervillain who had appeared previously), Doctor Fate, Martian Manhunter, Mister Miracle, and Guy Gardner; and soon after inception, added Booster Gold, Captain Atom, Fire (then known as the Global Guardians' Green Flame), Ice (then known as the Global Guardians' Icemaiden), and two Rocket Reds (one was a Manhunter spy, and one was Dimitri Pushkin). The Giffen/DeMatteis team worked on Justice League for five years and closed out their run with the "Breakdowns" storyline in 1991 and 1992.^[45] The series' humorous tone and high level of characterization proved very popular.

After Giffen and DeMatteis' departure, new writers gave the storylines a more serious tone. Though initially showing enough promise that DC created numerous spin-off titles, in the long run these incarnations of the League proved much less popular than the Giffen/DeMatteis era had. In 1996, the series was canceled, along with spinoffs Justice League Europe, Extreme Justice, and Justice League Task Force.

[edit] JLA

This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (March 2010)

The low sales of the various Justice League spinoff books prompted DC to revamp the League as a single team (all the various branch teams were disbanded) on a single title. A Justice League of America formed in the September 1996 limited series Justice League: A Midsummer's Nightmare by Mark Waid and Fabian Nicieza, which reunited the "Original Seven" of the League for the first time since Crisis on Infinite Earths. In 1997, DC Comics launched a new Justice League series titled JLA, written by Grant Morrison with art by Howard Porter and inker John Dell.^[46]

This series, in an attempt at a "back-to-basics" approach, used as its core the team's original seven members (or their successors): Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Flash (Wally West), Green Lantern (Kyle Rayner), and the Martian Manhunter. Additionally, the team received a new headquarters, the "Watchtower", based on the Moon. JLA quickly became DC's best-selling title,^[47] a position it enjoyed off and on for several years. ^[48]

Morrison introduced the idea of the JLA allegorically representing a pantheon of gods, with their different powers and personalities, incorporating such characters as Zauriel, Big Barda, Orion, Huntress, Barbara Gordon (Oracle), Steel (John Henry Irons), and Plastic Man. He also had temporaries as Aztek, Tomorrow Woman, and Green Arrow (Connor Hawke).

Under Morrison, the series pitted the League against a variety of enemies. These included White Martians, renegade angels, a new incarnation of the Injustice Gang led by Lex Luthor, and the Key. Other foes were the new villain Prometheus, the existing JLA villain Starro the Conqueror, "The Ultra-Marines", and a futuristic Darkseid. Morrison's run culminated in an arc title "World War III" which involves the New Gods preparing the Earth for battle against a creature known as "Maggedon", a super-sentient weapon of mass destruction.

Morrison departed with issue #41, after which the book saw runs by Mark Waid and Joe Kelly. Subsequent to this, the series switched to a series of rotating writers with issue #91 while Kelly (via JLA #100) was given a the mini-series Justice League Elite, which featured Green Arrow, Flash, and several other characters. The new format saw stories by John Byrne, Chuck Austen, and Kurt Busiek. Geoff Johns and Allan Heinberg would take over the book with #115, which saw a multi-part storyline that dealt with the aftermath of Identity Crisis, and served as a lead-in to the events of "Infinite Crisis", as Superboy-Prime destroyed the Watchtower at the end of issue #119. Bob Harras would ultimately write the book's final storyline (JLA #120-125) as Green Arrow struggled in vain to keep the League afloat.

[edit] 52

In 52 Week 24, Firestorm recruits a group to reform the Justice League. It consists of Firehawk, Super-Chief, Bulleteer, and Ambush Bug. They fight a deranged Skeets who takes Super-Chief's powers and kills him as well as numerous people given powers by Lex Luthor's Everyman Project. Afterward, Firestorm breaks up the team.

Also in the series, Luthor's new Infinity, Inc. was informally referred to as a "Justice League" in solicitations and on covers.

[edit] Justice League of America (vol. 2)

One year after the events of Infinite Crisis, Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman reunite in the Batcave to re-form the League in Justice League of America #0, the kick-off for a new series by Brad Meltzer and Ed Benes.^[49] The series featured a roster which included Green Lantern (Hal Jordan), Black Canary, Red Arrow (Green Arrow's former sidekick), Red Tornado, Vixen, Black Lightning, and Hawkgirl. The first arc of the series focused upon Red Tornado and pitted the team against a new intelligent incarnation of Solomon Grundy and the rebuilt Amazo. The new incarnation of the team has two main headquarters, linked by a transporter. The first site is The Hall, which in mainstream DC Universe is a refurnished version of the Justice Society of America and the All-Star Squadron's former headquarters located in Washington, D.C. Black Canary is elected as the first official Chairperson after the fight against Amazo and Solomon Grundy, and led both the Justice League and Justice Society in a complex quest to reunite time-lost members of the pre-Crisis Legion of Super-Heroes, who had been sent back in time to free both Bart Allen and Flash from the other dimensional realm of the Speed Force. Meltzer left the series at the end of issue #12, with one of his subplots (Per Degaton, a pre-nuclear fire mutation version of Despero, and a circa 1948 version of the Ultra-Humanite gathering for an unknown plot) resolved in the pages of Booster Gold.

Dwayne McDuffie took over the writing job with the Justice League Anniversary Special and the main book with issue #13. Due to DC Comics seeking to launch a spin-off Justice League book led by Hal Jordan, the character was removed from the main League series and replaced by John Stewart. Firestorm also joined the roster, with the series entering into a series of tie-in storylines towards Countdown to Final Crisis, with the arrest of a large number of supervillains (gathered by Lex Luthor and Deathstroke to attack the League on the eve of the wedding of Black Canary and Green Arrow) setting up the Salvation Run tie-in miniseries. Also, roster members Red Tornado and Geo-Force were written out. McDuffie's initial issues received mixed reviews and experienced minor conroversy due to fan favorite Hal Jordan's removal in favor of Stewart. Jordan ended up being restored to the roster by issue #19 of the series, only to be removed once again by issue #31 once Justice League: Cry for Justice was completed and ready to be shipped.

Issue #21 saw the return of Libra and the Human Flame, setting up their appearances in Final Crisis. Later issues would resolve issues involving Vixen's power level increase and see the integration of the Milestone Comics characters the Shadow Cabinet and Icon, who fought the Justice League over the remains of the villainous Doctor Light. The group suffered greater losses during Final Crisis with the deaths of Martian Manhunter and Batman, as well as the resignations of Superman and Wonder Woman, who could no longer devote themselves full-time to the League due to the events of the New Krypton and Rise of the Olympian storylines in their respective titles. Hal Jordan would also resign as well, clearing the way for John Stewart's return to the team. Black Canary found herself declaring the League no more, though the group would continue with Canary taking a secondary role in the group. Her last act as leader would be assigning John Stewart and Firestorm the task of hunting down the Human Flame, for his part in the murder of Martian Manhunter, as seen in the Final Crisis Aftermath: Run! miniseries.

Vixen would take over the team, with Plastic Man rejoining the group. Len Wein wrote a three-part fill-in story for Justice League of America^[50] that ran from #35 to #37. McDuffie was fired from the title before he could return, after discussion postings to the DC Comics message board, detailing behind-the-scenes creative decisions on his run, were republished in the rumor column "Lying In The Gutter".^[51] James Robinson was announced as the new Justice League of America writer.^[52]

Wein's fill-in run would be published as Justice League: Cry For Justice neared its conclusion, as Vixen and Black Canary's group (sans John Stewart) would confront Hal Jordan and Green Arrow's makeshift Justice League group, which had stumbled upon a plot by the villain Prometheus that had resulted in much death and carnage. During the confrontation over Jordan's group using torture to extract information from the villains being blackmailed into carrying out Prometheus' plan, both Roy Harper and Supergirl would discover that one of Jordan's heroes, Captain Marvel Jr., was really Prometheus in disguise. In the ensuing battle, the League would suffer horrible losses: Roy Harper was maimed and his daughter Lian and hundreds of thousands of people in Star City would be killed by a doomsday device Prometheus activated. Vixen would have her leg broken and Plastic Man would have his powers permanently scrambled, making him a slowly disintegrating puddle creature. To save other cities from being destroyed like Star City, the League reluctantly allowed Prometheus to go free. Green Arrow (with help from the Shade) would track down and kill Prometheus.

Following the events of "Blackest Night", Hal Jordan and Donna Troy begin the task of rebuilding the League, with Green Arrow, the Atom, Batman, Mon-El, Donna, Cyborg, Doctor Light, Starfire, Congorilla, and the Guardian.

At the end of issue #43, the majority of the new members leave for various reasons. Mon-El and the Guardian leave after Mon-El returns to the future, Black Canary returns to the Birds of Prey, Starfire leaves to join the R.E.B.E.L.S., Green Lantern leaves to locate the other Lantern Corps Entities, and Green Arrow is forced to leave due to his fugitive status. James Robinson revealed this was due having second thoughts about his decision to use so many characters, and revealed that the team would have a different roster in the coming months.^[53] To replace the departed members, Jade and Jesse Quick were added to the team. Cyborg remained with the team in a reduced capacity, and was eventually given his own co-feature storyline for issues 48–50.^[54]

DC announced that Saint Walker of the Blue Lantern Corps would be joining the Justice League during a tie-in to the Reign of Doomsday crossover, but the character did not become a full member due to the cancellation of the title.^[55]

The series ended with issue #60 (October 2011), with the title being one of the numerous DC books cancelled after the Flashpoint crossover. The issue saw Batman disbanding the League due to most of the individual members becoming preoccupied with personal commitments.

The New 52[link]

In September 2011, following the conclusion of the Flashpoint miniseries, all DC titles were canceled and relaunched from issue #1, with DC continuity being rebooted again. Justice League of America was relaunched as Justice League, written by Geoff Johns and drawn by Jim Lee, and was the first of the new titles released, coming out the same day as the final issue of Flashpoint.^[56] The first six issues were set five years in the past and featured a brand new origin for the team,^[57] while issue 7 and beyond will take place in the present day.^[58]

The starting line-up of the team consists of Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern (Hal Jordan), Aquaman, the Flash (Barry Allen), and Cyborg,^[59][60] while the Atom (Ryan Choi), Hawkman (Carter Hall), Firestorm (Ronnie Raymond), Green Arrow (Oliver Queen), Aquaman's wife Mera, Deadman, recently created character Element Woman,^[61] and Lady Luck, a revamp of the Golden Age character, are set to join as additional members in the future.^[62]

In addition to this series, two other Justice League-related titles were launched during the same month: a new Justice League International; written by Dan Jurgens and drawn by Aaron Lopresti;^[63] featuring an initial roster of Batman, Booster Gold, Rocket Red (Gavril Ivanovich), Vixen, Green Lantern (Guy Gardner), Fire, Ice, August General in Iron,^[64] and Godiva, and Justice League Dark; written by Peter Milligan and drawn by Mikel Janin; featuring a roster consisting of John Constantine, Shade, the Changing Man, Madame Xanadu, Deadman, Zatanna, and the new character Mindwarp.^[65]

Various origins of the Justice League[link]

In a story told in flashback in Justice League of America #9 (February 1962), Earth was infiltrated by the Appelaxians.^[66] Competing alien warriors were sent to see who could conquer Earth first to determine who will become the new ruler of their home planet. The aliens' attacks drew the attentions of Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Flash (Barry Allen), Green Lantern (Hal Jordan), Aquaman, and Martian Manhunter. While the superheroes individually defeated most of the invaders, the heroes fell prey to a single competitor's attack; only by working together were they able to defeat the competitor. For many years, the heroes heralded this adventure as the event that prompted them to agree to pool resources when confronted with similar menaces.

In Justice League of America #144 (July 1977), Green Arrow uncovered inconsistencies in the team's records^[67] and extracted admissions from his colleagues that the seven founders had actually formed the League after the Martian Manhunter was rescued from Martian forces by the other six founders, along with several other heroes including Robin, Robotman, Congo Bill/Congorilla, Rex the Wonder Dog, and even Lois Lane. Green Lantern participated in this first adventure solely as Hal Jordan, due to the fact that he had yet to become the costumed hero at that time (the biggest inconsistency Arrow found, as they celebrated the earlier incident's date, while recounting only the later one's events). When the group formalized their agreement, they suppressed news of it because of anti-Martian hysteria. Because the heroes had not revealed their identities to each other at the time, they did not realize that Jordan and Green Lantern were one and the same when he turned up in costume during the event described in #9. While most subsequent accounts of the League have made little mention of this first adventure, the animated Justice League series adapted this tale as the origin of the Justice League as well.

Secret Origins (vol. 2) #32 (November 1988) updated Justice League of America #9's origin for post-Crisis continuity. Differences included the inclusion of the original Black Canary as a founding member and the absence of Batman, Wonder Woman, and Superman. The JLA: Year One limited series, by Mark Waid, Brian Augustyn, and Barry Kitson, further expanded upon the Secret Origins depiction.^[68]

In Justice League Task Force #16 (Sept. 1994), during Zero Hour, an unknown superhuman named Triumph appeared. Triumph was revealed to have been a founding member of the Justice League and was their leader. On his first mission with the fledgling Justice League Triumph seemingly "saved the world" but was teleported into a dimensional limbo that also affected the timestream, resulting in no one having any memory of him.

In Infinite Crisis #7 (June 2006), the formation of "New Earth" (the new name for the post-Crisis Earth) restored Wonder Woman as a founding member of the Justice League. In Brad Meltzer's Justice League of America (vol. 2) #0 (September 2006), it was revealed that Superman and Batman were again founding members as well. 52 #51 (June 2007) confirmed that the 1989 Secret Origins and JLA: Year One origins were still in continuity at that time, with Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman joining the team with founding members' status shortly after the group's formation with Aquaman, Black Canary, Flash, Green Lantern, and Martian Manhunter.^[69] In Justice League of America #12 (October 2007), the founding members of the Justice League were shown to be Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern (Hal Jordan), Flash (Barry Allen), Aquaman, and the Martian Manhunter.

With DC's history rewritten due to the Flashpoint limited series, an entirely new origin for the Justice League was introduced in the subsequent Justice League series which debuted with an October 2011 cover date as part of the company-wide event, The New 52. Issue #1 portrayed the first meeting between Batman and Hal Jordan, with the two encountering each other during a battle against a Parademon in Gotham City. After realizing the creature is extraterrestrial in origin, the two heroes head to Metropolis to seek out Superman and are attacked by him.^[70] Later, after a brief fight in which the Flash arrives and Batman convinces Superman they are on the same side, they move to an abandoned building to work on analyzing a mysterious alien box, when it suddenly activates and more Parademons arrive.^[71] While fighting the Parademons, Aquaman and Wonder Woman appear and join forces with the other heroes.^[72] The mysterious box leads to Darkseid's arrival on Earth, and the heroes come together, along with newcomer Cyborg, to defeat him. The public are enamoured with the heroes, and a writer dubs the group the 'Justice League', following the Flash's suggestion of 'Super Seven'.^[73]

Related series[link]

[edit] Formerly Known as the Justice League

In 2003, Giffen, DeMatteis, and Maguire returned with a separate limited series called Formerly Known as the Justice League^[74] with the same humor as their Justice League run, and featuring some of the same characters in a team called the "Super Buddies" (a parody of the Super Friends). A follow-up limited series, entitled I Can't Believe It's Not the Justice League, soon was prepared, although it was delayed due to the events shown in the Identity Crisis limited series, but was eventually released as the second arc in JLA: Classified. The Super Buddies consisted of Blue Beetle; Booster Gold; Captain Atom, Fire; Mary Marvel; the Elongated Man with his wife, Sue Dibny; Maxwell Lord; and L-Ron. The second story arc of JLA: Classified focuses on the Super Buddies in a humorous story that features Power Girl, Guy Gardner, and Doctor Fate.

[edit] JLA/Avengers

In 2003-2004, George Pérez and Kurt Busiek produced a JLA/Avengers crossover,^[75] an idea that had been delayed for 20 years for various reasons. In this limited series, the Justice League and the Avengers were forced to find key artifacts in one another's universe, as well as deal with the threats of villains Krona and the Grandmaster.

[edit] JLA: Classified

In 2004, DC began an anthology series titled JLA: Classified, which would feature rotating writers and artists producing self-contained story-arcs and aborted mini-series projects that were reappropriated for publication within the pages of the series, starring the JLA. While the bulk of the stories took place within the continuity of the series (circa JLA #76–113) some of the stories take place outside of regular DC Universe canon. The series was canceled as of issue #54 (May 2008).

[edit] Justice

In October 2005, DC began publishing the 12-issue miniseries Justice by writer Jim Krueger, writer/illustrator Alex Ross, and artist Doug Braithwaite. The story, which takes place outside regular DC continuity, has Lex Luthor assembling the Legion of Doom after he and several other villains begin to have nightmares about the end of the world and the failures of the Justice League to prevent said apocalypse. As the Legion begins engaging in unprecedented humanitarian deeds throughout the world, they also launch a series of attacks on the Justice League and their families. The threat that the Legion was warned about destroying the Earth turns out to be caused by Brainiac, who seeks to destroy Earth during the chaos.

[edit] Justice League: Cry for Justice

Originally a planned ongoing title, Justice League: Cry For Justice is a mini-series written by James Robinson and drawn by Mauro Cascioli. The mini-series, set after the events of Final Crisis, has Hal Jordan leaving the League following the deaths of Batman and Martian Manhunter, as their deaths have caused Hal to seek out a more proactive manner of dealing with super-villains. Hal, along with Green Arrow and later Supergirl, Captain Marvel Jr., and Batwoman are then recruited by Ray Palmer to investigate a murder of a former colleague carried out on orders from Prometheus. This ties into another string of murders, bringing Starman Mikaal Tomas and Congorilla together as their investigation of the murders of several European super-heroes are also revealed to be the work of Prometheus.

With help from the Hawkman villain I.Q., Prometheus plans on creating the ultimate weapon in mass murder, a massive doomsday device which he plans on using to destroy entire cities, as part of his revenge scheme against the JLA for lobotomizing him. Disguised as Captain Marvel Jr., Prometheus maims Roy Harper and brutally injuring JLA members Dr. Light II, Vixen, and Plastic Man while using the JLA Satellite to activate his doomsday device, which destroys Star City, killing 90,000 innocent civilians, including Roy Harper's young daughter Lian. Prometheus ultimately extorts his freedom from the League in exchange for the codes to shut down his weapon, much to the horror of the JLA members. Green Arrow (with help from reformed villain the Shade), tracks Prometheus down and kills him by firing an arrow into his head.

The mini-series leads directly into the formation of a brand new JLA roster with Green Lantern Hal Jordan, Donna Troy, Dick Grayson as Batman, Doctor Light (Kimiyo Hoshi), Mon-El, Cyborg, Starfire, Congorilla, Guardian, and Mikaal Tomas.

[edit] JLA/The 99

Launching in October 2010, JLA/The 99 was a crossover mini-series featuring the Justice League teaming up with the heroes of Teshkeel Comics' The 99 series. The JLA consisted of Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern (John Stewart), the Flash (Barry Allen), the Atom (Ray Palmer), Doctor Light (Kimiyo Hoshi), Hawkman, and Firestorm (Jason Rusch).

Awards[link]

The original Justice League of America series has won:

• 1961 Alley Awards for Best Comic Book
• 1961 Alley Awards for Best Adventure-Hero Group
• 1963 Alley Awards for Favorite Novel ("Crisis on Earth-One/Crisis on Earth-Two" in Justice League of America #21-22 by Gardner Fox and Mike Sekowsky)
• 1963 Alley Awards for Strip that Should Be Improved
• 1963 Alley Awards for Artist Preferred on Justice League of America (Murphy Anderson)
• 1973 Shazam Awards for Best Inker (Dramatic Division) (Dick Giordano)

Collected editions[link]

[edit] Silver Age Justice League of America

This series has been collected in the following:

*omitted issues featured reprints of material from earlier Archives.

[edit] Justice League/Justice League International/Justice League America (1987–1996)

This series has been collected in the following hardcover collections:

[edit] JLA (January 1997 – February 2006)

This series has been collected in the following trade paperbacks:

This series has been collected in the following hardcover collections:

[edit] Justice League of America (vol. 2) (August 2006 – August 2011)

This series has been collected in the following hardcover collections:

Miscellaneous reprints[link]

These trades don't reprint the series in a coherent fashion, but reprint themed issues.

In other media[link]

See also[link]

Comics portal

• Justice Society of America

Spin-off groups[link]

• Extreme Justice
• Justice Leagues
• Justice League Antarctica
• Justice League Elite
• Justice League Europe
• Justice League International
• Justice League Task Force
• Super Buddies

Theme Park Ride[link]

• Justice League: Alien Invasion 3D

References[link]

External links[link]

• Justice League at DC Comics.com
• Justice League of America at Don Markstein's Toonopedia WebCitation Archive
• The Justice League Library
• Justice League: Mortal at the Internet Movie Database

George Lucas
George Lucas in 2009
Born	George Walton Lucas, Jr. (1944-05-14) May 14, 1944 (age 68) Modesto, California, U.S.
Residence	Marin County, California, U.S.
Nationality	American
Education	Modesto Junior College
Alma mater	University of Southern California (B.A. and B.S.)[1]
Occupation	Chairman & CEO of Lucasfilm
Years active	1965–present
Influenced by	Frank Herbert,[2] Joseph Campbell, Akira Kurosawa, John Ford
Home town	Central Valley, California, U.S.
Net worth	US$3.2 billion (2011)[1]
Spouse	Marcia Lucas (1969–1983)
Partner	Mellody Hobson (2007–present)

George Walton Lucas, Jr. (born May 14, 1944) is an American film producer, screenwriter, director, and entrepreneur. He is the founder, chairman and chief executive of Lucasfilm.^[3] He is best known as the creator of the space opera franchise Star Wars and the archaeologist-adventurer character Indiana Jones. Lucas is one of the American film industry's most financially successful directors/producers, with an estimated net worth of $3.2 billion as of 2011.^[1]

Early life and education[link]

George Lucas was born in Modesto, California, the son of Dorothy Ellinore (née Bomberger) and George Walton Lucas, Sr. (1913–1991), who owned a stationery store.^[4][5]

Lucas grew up in the Central Valley town of Modesto and his early passion for cars and motor racing would eventually serve as inspiration for his USC student film 1:42.08, as well as his Oscar-nominated low-budget phenomenon, American Graffiti. Long before Lucas became obsessed with film making, he wanted to be a race-car driver, and he spent most of his high school years racing on the underground circuit at fairgrounds and hanging out at garages. However, a near-fatal accident in his souped-up Autobianchi Bianchina on June 12, 1962, just days before his high school graduation, quickly changed his mind. Instead of racing, he attended Modesto Junior College and later got accepted into a junior college to study anthropology. While taking liberal arts courses, he developed a passion for cinematography and camera tricks. George Lucas graduated from USC in California.

As a child, Lucas never learned to swim, which became a source of embarrassment and frustration as he became older. Lucas has expressed in several interviews that his inability to swim was "the passion that drove me to succeed in filmmaking... [It] gave me the chip on my shoulder that I think was critical to my later success"^[6]

During this time, an experimental filmmaker named Bruce Baillie tacked up a bedsheet in his backyard in 1960 to screen the work of underground, avant-garde 16 mm filmmakers like Jordan Belson, Stan Brakhage and Bruce Conner. For the next few years, Baillie's series, dubbed Canyon Cinema, toured local coffeehouses. These events became a magnet for the teenage Lucas and his boyhood friend John Plummer. The 19-year-olds began slipping away to San Francisco to hang out in jazz clubs and find news of Canyon Cinema screenings in flyers at the City Lights bookstore. Already a promising photographer, Lucas became infatuated with these abstract films.