The Justice League is DC’s greatest team. Consisting of the greatest heroes on Earth and beyond, the Justice League has been saving the Multiverse for years. Whether it be fighting the most dangerous villains or solving cosmic calamities, the Justice League is the cream of the crop and has been entertaining fans for decades.
However, that doesn’t mean that the fans have always been happy with the Justice League and the things that creators have chosen to do with them. In fact, plenty of fans have had a lot of problems with the team over the years. Not all of those problems with the team are popular but that doesn’t make them any less valid.
10 The Team’s Best Days Are Behind Them
The Justice League has been around for a long time and some may believe that the team’s best days are long behind them. That doesn’t mean the Justice League or its books are bad but when it comes right down to it, the Justice League doesn’t feel important anymore. The League reached its pinnacle in the Satellite League days and besides some bright spots, has never reached those peaks again.
For a group that boasts the greatest heroes in the DC Universe, the team should be the pinnacle but it’s not. The books are still good but the team just isn’t what it used to be. The concept of the team feels dated and other kinds of stories seem to be much more popular with modern DC audiences.
9 Most Of The Team’s Villains Aren’t That Interesting
The Justice League has faced down some of the most terrifying villains in the Multiverse but that doesn’t mean that all of the Justice League’s foes are great. Everyone loves Darkseid and the Anti-Monitor, but what about Professor Ivo? What about T.O. Morrow? In fact, there’s a cavalcade of Justice League villains that just aren’t that great.
Grant Morrison made great use of them but not everyone was able to do them justice. The Justice League is great but their villains take a lot of work to make interesting and not every writer is up to the task.
8 Superman Isn’t A Good Leader And Shouldn’t Be One
Superman is a great role model but he’s not a great leader. While Superman isn’t always the leader of the team, when he is it barely seems like he is the leader. Superman feels a bit more like a mascot and yet a lot of writers of the book make him the team’s leader as he is a well-known character and a good face for the team.
Superman isn’t a good leader. He’s a great inspiration, sure. He’s wonderful to pull the team’s fat out of the fire. However, making him the leader of the team is always a mistake because he’s not very good at it. There are way better options for team leaders than Superman. Wonder Woman is right there.
7 The Big Seven League Shouldn’t Be The Default
One of the great things about the best super teams are the roster changes. It brings new blood into the teams and gives different characters a chance to shine. Right now, the Justice League has some old stalwarts but it also has new members- Black Adam and Naomi- and old favorites who have returned- Green Arrow, Black Canary, and Hippolyta.
However, for too long, the core of the team has been the Big Seven League- Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, a Green Lantern, a Flash, Aquaman, and Cyborg or Martian Manhunter. While this is a great team it’s also way overpowered and the lack of team diversity can make it seem kind of boring. There’s has to be a balance between the classics and the new.
6 The Second String Leaguers Are The Best
Staying with the Big Seven, one of the best parts about the Satellite League was that it mixed with the Big Seven with lots of other heroes and made the team way more exciting. The League’s second-string heroes are some of the best around, their mix of power and skill bringing so much extra to the League.
The main League is great for the fights but most of them have their own books, so there’s not much drama they can get into. The second string Leaguers need the book and they’re the ones that get all of the juicy character development that make comics so much fun. Plus, seeing them play off the big guns is great.
5 Scott Snyder’s Justice League Run Doesn’t Hold Up Very Well
Scott Snyder’s time on Justice League was a big deal because it was the engine that was driving the rest of the DC Universe. It built towards Death Metal and spearheaded the Year of the Villain publishing initiative. It had big name artists like Jim Cheung and Jorge Jimenez. It had all the trappings of a great Justice League book and story.
However, looking back on it, it kind of felt like a lot of wheel spinning. It’s good but so much of it got invalidated the minute the Batman Who Laughs was added to the mix as the big bad. There are some great stories, like the The Sixth Dimension, but taken as a whole it doesn’t all hold up.
4 The Justice Society Is Better
The Justice League took its inspiration from the Justice Society. It was the same basic premise- the most powerful and popular teamed up to fight evil. Throughout the Silver Age, the Justice Society kept growing in importance, even if it was on its own Earth, finally getting its own books again. The focus started to change, as the older members became mentors for the new generation.
After Crisis On Infinite Earth, DC struggled with what to do with the team but at the turn of the millennium utilized the team as a legacy organization again- original members teamed up with younger legacy characters. This approach did wonders and made them a more interesting team, even if they weren’t in the big leagues anymore.
3 The Snyder Cut Of Justice League Is A Legitimately Good Film
In a lot of ways, comparison between Marvel and DC films has made it harder for the DCEU. The movies were constantly compared to the MCU’s movies and because of this, they haven’t been able to exist as their own stories. DC isn’t Marvel. The films are going to be different. Though the original cut of the film was not earth-shattering, the Snyder cut was a legitimately good film.
The Snyder Cut is one man’s vision for a universe and it works brilliantly. It irons out all of the problems of the original cut and makes it into a great movie, making viewers realize that if the movie’s original release plan had been followed, things would have been very different for the DCEU.
2 The Justice League International Years Were The Best The League Ever Was
There are numerous must-read Justice League stories and some of the best are from J.M. DeMatteis, Keith Giffen, and Kevin Maguire’s run. This mid-’80s Justice League series saw the team go in an entirely new direction, introducing new faces to the Justice League and took things in a more comedic direction.
It was a unique blend of comedy, character, and action that has never been matched. It’s a truly unique take on the League that changed the way that people looked at the Justice League and it still holds up all these years later. The League has rarely if ever been able to match just how great it was.
1 The Team Doesn’t Need Batman
Batman is one of the most popular characters in comics. It’s hard to deny that Batman sells books and he’s often been a part of the Justice League. However, when it comes right down to it, the super-rich human being doesn’t belong in the Justice League. He’s not an inspiring hero and barely a team player- he has plans to kill every member of the team.
Batman is a great character but the League goes up against these massive threats that the gadget-powered Batman shouldn’t be able to defeat. One might even wonder if the mortal hero holds the superpowered team back.
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