Quote Originally Posted by Ascended View Post
As far as narrative structure goes, I agree with you. I actually think that's the best way to build a team title and I miss the days when the League was like this.

But the League has become something else, and I feel like putting secondary heroes on the team just hasn't worked out right. Not since, I dunno, McDuffie maybe? Maybe not even then? I feel like the big names always end up overshadowing the other guys at best, and at worst the secondary heroes kinda get sh*t on (look at how poor Vic was treated).

I think it's a problem with balance. With your Avengers example, you had the big three names of Stark, Rogers, and Thor, but the majority of the roster were secondary guys. They had numbers on their side yknow? With the League it's been the opposite; all big solo names with one or two secondary heroes. People buy JLA to see the big names interact, that's the prime hook, and that leaves limited page time for anyone else. Especially when the roster is 75-80% Big 7.
I think Bendis is mostly on the right track by putting Green Arrow in charge of the League and putting Black Adam and Naomi on the roster (how you feel about his execution is another matter though).

McDuffie's roster (which was also Meltzer's roster) is probably the best in terms of long term characters, secondary characters and new to the League characters but he was besieged by editorial interference and the fanbase at the time. All the Big guns being occupied by events in their own titles should have been a golden opportunity to develop characters like Vixen, Geo Force, John Stewart, Dr Light (Kimiyo Hoshi) into legit heavy hitters of the DCU but alas it wasn't meant to be.

I don't see anyone outside of the Big 7 as secondary characters. Red Tornado, Green Arrow, Black Canary, Hawkman, Hawkgirl, Elongated Man, Atom and Zatanna all have long enough tenures that a strong argument could be made that they should be JL mainstays. Then you have characters like Vixen, Black Lightning, Big Barda, Scott Free, Steel who feel like they *should* be on the League.

If anything, it should be the Big 5; Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Flash and Green Lantern since everyone besides those are in a rotating spot. The JL by it's nature either requires multiple titles to sustain all the characters or a massive roster like on JLU or YJ or a core set of characters with a rotating supporting cast.

Flash and GL can roles can always be rotated since there are multiple Flashes and GL's. The remaining roster can be filled out by characters like Vixen, Black Lightning, Zatanna, Elongated Man or someone unexpected like Supergirl, Bumblee or Herald.