Preferred Justice League Formation Story

[Ascended]

Voted for Starro, though now that folks point it out I suppose it's not an origin story at all. And I've never read 144 but it sounds real damn interesting. Well, between Appelexians and Darkseid, I'd pick the element aliens over the Fourth World. That's not a fight the heroes should engage in so early in their careers; Darkseid is something you build up to over time.

Picked Starro largely just for the concept. It's not a 'supervillain' so much as a natural disaster, like locusts. Requires a different kind of response than a typical space invasion by Mongul or somebody. Got a great "Aliens meets zombies" vibe. And you can get some great hero v hero fights out of it as people get fish faced.

[NathanS]

I mean... that's not what the original Starro story even was? he made a bunch of Starfish into versions of himself to act as his generals and sent them out for classic superhero action for most of it.

[Stanlos]

Year One's probably my favorite story out of these, and I definitely have the most nostalgia for it, but I can't really think of it as the official JL origin without Wonder Woman.

It's probably gotta be JLA #144 for me. The team forming to protect Martian Manhunter from alien xenophobia was really heartwarming

I was thinking about this the other day. Do we want to think of the JSA as the original mystery men in a merged timeline with the League being the modern version of that same effort?

[Stanlos]

Voted for Starro, though now that folks point it out I suppose it's not an origin story at all. And I've never read 144 but it sounds real damn interesting. Well, between Appelexians and Darkseid, I'd pick the element aliens over the Fourth World. That's not a fight the heroes should engage in so early in their careers; Darkseid is something you build up to over time.

Picked Starro largely just for the concept. It's not a 'supervillain' so much as a natural disaster, like locusts. Requires a different kind of response than a typical space invasion by Mongul or somebody. Got a great "Aliens meets zombies" vibe. And you can get some great hero v hero fights out of it as people get fish faced.

I prefer the superheroes not engage Darkseid until LEGENDS. But obviously, cosmic organizations patrolling sectors of space would know of him as would major mystical or scrying powers

[j9ac9k]

Do have to love Old Englehart going full fanboy needing to make the out of universe and in universe dates match up!

Honestly, that just got in the way for me - constantly needing to reference things just to explain how they fit in the timeline. And Rip Hunter and Adam Strange get shoe-horned in for no reason as well. It was a weird JLA story with so many other characters involved (even Hal as a civilian) and the only reason the founding members got together is because those were the ones that happened to be there to encounter J'onn and the Martians. Xenophobia being such a big part of the story was fine as a theme, but as the JLA's "origin" it's a downer that it had to be some secret they kept - even to the other heroes involved. It was ironic though that Flash's attempt to calm the almost hysterical crowd afraid of aliens was to call Superman. (who is of course an alien, but for some reason they never mention it despite how relevant it is to a story about xenophobia)

I did like seeing Hal and Superman just hanging out playing poker on the satellite. It's nice to be reminded of their friendship.

[caj]

I read an interview with Englehart where he said he specifically included Blackhawk in issue #144 for artist Dick Dillin, who drew the book for many years before and after it became a part of DC Comics.

[Triniking1234]

The White Martians were around pre-Crisis? I only knew about the Starro and Appelaxian stories.

I also don't like the New 52 version since Darkseid being the 1st JL villain seems silly. Gotta work your way up the food chain.

[Nomads1]

JLA Year One is still one of my favorite stories ever, so there's not any other way I can vote.

Peace

[j9ac9k]

JLA Year One is still one of my favorite stories ever, so there's not any other way I can vote.

I love that maxi, although similar to the Starro option, it shouldn't really be in the poll as it wasn't about the team actually forming. That said, it's insane now to think they created a 12-issue JLA series without the Trinity as members. That would never, ever, ever happen today. I mean, there wouldn't even be a JLanything without them, let alone a year one story.

If I were to retcon/retell a new JLA origin, I would just make Starro the reason they formed. Nothing wrong with the Appellaxan origin other than the fact that they fell into obscurity as a presence in the DCU and whenever we think of the JLA's first appearance, we think of them fighting Starro, so might as well make that their origin.

[MajorHoy]

Honestly, that just got in the way for me - constantly needing to reference things just to explain how they fit in the timeline. And Rip Hunter and Adam Strange get shoe-horned in for no reason as well.

That information was basically there for the benefit of older readers. Newer readers didn't have to worry about it, or they could then go and try to find out about characters they weren't familiar with if they wanted to.
As for "Rip Hunter and Adam Strange get shoe-horned in for no reason as well", well Adam Strange was a well-known DC character who first appeared in Showcase #17 (November-December 1958) and Rip Hunter (... Time Master) first appeared in Showcase #20 (May-June 1959). They were the two features introduced in that title prior to Hal Jordan's Green Lantern in Showcase #22 (September-October 1959).

It was a weird JLA story with so many other characters involved (even Hal as a civilian) and the only reason the founding members got together is because those were the ones that happened to be there to encounter J'onn and the Martians. Xenophobia being such a big part of the story was fine as a theme, but as the JLA's "origin" it's a downer that it had to be some secret they kept - even to the other heroes involved. It was ironic though that Flash's attempt to calm the almost hysterical crowd afraid of aliens was to call Superman. (who is of course an alien, but for some reason they never mention it despite how relevant it is to a story about xenophobia)

One of the biggest differences between Superman and Martian Manhunter is that Superman doesn't look like a space alien; in his civilian identity of Clark Kent, nobody thinks of him as anything but a man who originally was born in Kansas.

[The Darknight Detective]

That information was basically there for the benefit of older readers. Newer readers didn't have to worry about it, or they could then go and try to find out about characters they weren't familiar with if they wanted to.
As for "Rip Hunter and Adam Strange get shoe-horned in for no reason as well", well Adam Strange was a well-known DC character who first appeared in Showcase #17 (November-December 1958) and Rip Hunter (... Time Master) first appeared in Showcase #20 (May-June 1959). They were the two features introduced in that title prior to Hal Jordan'ss Green Lantern in Showcase #22 (September-October 1959).

Yeah, everyone in the issue were part of DC's stable during the '50s (or would be later on when DC got the rights for a few characters), so the origin story was also a love letter to that era.

[Jim Kelly]

I recall not long after the story in 144 came out some fans poked holes in the timeline for certain characters that appeared. This might have been in a fanzine like THE COMIC READER. Of course, Englehart like most writers wasn't trying to be completely accurate. There are a few comic writers who get very fussy about the details (Sigmund Freud would have a word for them), but this isn't the norm.

[j9ac9k]

That information was basically there for the benefit of older readers. Newer readers didn't have to worry about it, or they could then go and try to find out about characters they weren't familiar with if they wanted to.
As for "Rip Hunter and Adam Strange get shoe-horned in for no reason as well", well Adam Strange was a well-known DC character who first appeared in Showcase #17 (November-December 1958) and Rip Hunter (... Time Master) first appeared in Showcase #20 (May-June 1959). They were the two features introduced in that title prior to Hal Jordan's Green Lantern in Showcase #22 (September-October 1959).

One of the biggest differences between Superman and Martian Manhunter is that Superman doesn't look like a space alien; in his civilian identity of Clark Kent, nobody thinks of him as anything but a man who originally was born in Kansas.

Thanks for the background - I figured it was something like that. But it just demonstrates what I was saying - they were thrown in there for reasons other than story. It's fine if it were a random JLA issue, but as any kind of "origin" story, it's dead weight. Also, I prefer a JLA origin story to be timeless, whereas this is firmly planted during the "Red Scare" era of the cold war.

And of course that's one big difference between Clark and J'onn. The other being that J'onn had a life on Mars before coming to earth. Still, the story didn't think it worth mentioning their similarities as aliens living on earth which seemed a glaring missed opportunity, that's all.

[Ascended]

I mean... that's not what the original Starro story even was? he made a bunch of Starfish into versions of himself to act as his generals and sent them out for classic superhero action for most of it.

\

Which is why I said 'conceptually.' Starro is my favorite JLA origin, but it's the idea of it more than the specific Silver Age story.

I prefer the superheroes not engage Darkseid until LEGENDS. But obviously, cosmic organizations patrolling sectors of space would know of him as would major mystical or scrying powers

Don't know if I ever read that actually. But in any case I agree, the New Gods should be a slow build up and a quiet burn. Some folks have heard of them, but that just makes the suspense better if people like Raven and Hal and Diana have heard whispers, but the threat is so distant and beyond their reach nobody's actually encountered it.

[MajorHoy]

Thanks for the background - I figured it was something like that. But it just demonstrates what I was saying - they were thrown in there for reasons other than story.

They were "thrown in there" to give a fuller picture to what the DC universe was like back when the story took place.