Who's really the 7th Member of the JLA's "Big Seven"

[Psy-lock]

It's J'onn, though he's always been the odd one out.

[Riv86672]

... and if it's based on sales clout back then, then it would be (cue Gilligan's Island music) Superman.. the Batman, too... the demi-goddess and the Flash... the test pilot... and the rest are the founders of the JLA!

EDIT: for the second version of the song, "and the rest" becomes "the aqua king and the Martian man"

^^^haha, upvote!

It's J'onn, though he's always been the odd one out.

^^^True.
Maybe that’s why I’ve always liked him.

[Jim Kelly]

... and if it's based on sales clout back then...

Not to ruin the tune, "little buddy," but I'll take this as a challenge to figure who had the sales clout. I'll agree that Superman was by far the biggest selling character. But since there were a lot of updates of the established characters going on, that might mean sales had started to dip, even for the Man of Tomorrow.

Batman seems to be well behind, only helped by the fact that he gets to share adventures with Superman in WORLD'S FINEST. Superboy (Superman as a boy) might have been ahead of Batman in sales, as he held his own book and was the star of ADVENTURE COMICS. Aquaman was in that title, so he might have had some high sales as a benefit from the Boy of Steel.

Wonder Woman is a hard one to figure out since she was artificially kept in publication to sustain the rights to the character. So was she really in third place? Barry Allen had finally won his own title in 1958 and his book came out as many times in the year as Diana's--and there was no legal situation keeping him in print. Which means he won his sales the old fashioned way--he earned it.

John Jones, Manhunter from Mars, was the feature in DETECTIVE COMICS, helmed by Batman and Robin. If sales for Batman were lower than Superman and possibly Superboy, that would mean that Jones was circling around the waters that Aquaman was swimming in. And Aquaman would win his own title in 1962, J'Onn never did (although he would migrate to HOUSE OF MYSTERY).

Green Lantern and the Justice League of America had each held their own titles for about the same amount of time, when JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA 9 published the origin story. So I would say that Hal was still unproven as a character and had no clout. He hadn't lasted as long as any of the other six. He was in the book because Julie Schwartz was his editor.

Calculating all the variables, multiply by 7, divide by 4, carry the 1, add the 2--my estimate would be the sales clouters fall in this order: 1st Superman, 2nd Batman, 3rd Flash, 4th Wonder Woman, 5th Aquaman, 6th Martian Manhunter, 7th Green Lantern.

[The Darknight Detective]

Calculating all the variables, multiply by 7, divide by 4, carry the 1, add the 2--my estimate would be the sales clouters fall in this order: 1st Superman, 2nd Batman, 3rd Flash, 4th Wonder Woman, 5th Aquaman, 6th Martian Manhunter, 7th Green Lantern.

The first two are easy (Superman is numero uno comfortably, but nobody else is close to Batman as the star of two magazines and sharing another one).

Agree about Flash, but my song wouldn't have flowed as well. Besides, Diana sold a lot more issues than Barry up to that point, so she gets credit there.

Still go with the other three the way I had it, but I can appreciate your take.

[batnbreakfast]

Zack Snyder.
Ba dump bump. Thanks, i ll be here all week

[Stanlos]

Because of the wonderfully rich historythe brilliance of the DiDidiocy saw fit to flush down the toilet in favor of pooh ripped right out of Wizardworld I picked Jonn.

If we are starting fresh and the prior continuity was audi why even keep the big 7? You are starting from zero, so go for it.

[Stanlos]

I'd actually bump Aquaman and make Ollie and Dinah the 6th and 7th members.

You prefer Orin as a specialist or guest star?

[Jon Clark]

You prefer Orin as a specialist or guest star?

Not sure. I think to an extent the old SuperFriends bit is true in that it is hard to create a role for Aquaman that doesn't revolve around bodies of water. Sure he has those muscles built for the depths but that just makes him a generic brick. I'd have no problem with him joining in the second round (Atom, Hawkman, Aquaman, Zatanna) but only if there are real stories where Aquaman has a vital role (like any member of the team should). Otherwise make him a specialist called in only when his skill set is needed.

[BatmanJones]

Arguably, of the original seven, there's no foundation for J'Onn being the 7th of 7.

If you go by the original Fox origin story, J'Onn is 1st, encountering the 1st Appellax alien, before going to find the 6th meteorite. 2nd Aquaman, 3rd Wonder Woman, 4th Green Lantern, 5th Flash. Then all 5 defeat the 6th alien from Appellax and go in search of the 7th. Where they find Superman up against the 7th alien, assisted by Batman in the Batplane.

It's a toss-up whether it's Superman or Batman who is the 6th, but I say Superman because he does all the grunt work in defeating the 7th Appellax alien, before Batman disembarks his aircraft and joins the other 6. So by my reckoning Batman is the 7th of 7. He's also the weakest of them, having no powers and having done so little to fight the menace of the Appellax meteors--it's just because he's Superman's pal that they let him in the group.

If it's according to seniority, then it's 1st Superman (1938), 2nd Batman (1939), 3rd Aquaman (1941), 4th Wonder Woman (1941), 5th Manhunter from Mars (1955), 6th Flash (1956), 7th Green Lantern (1959).

Your posts are one of my favorite things about this forum. Thank you.

[HestiasHearth]

I think we can all agree that six of the JLA's "Big Seven" are...

Superman
Batman
Wonder Woman
One of the Flashes
Some Green Lantern
Aquaman

Not "all."
To me, Wonder Woman, Superman, Batman, Zatanna, Aquaman, Vixen, and John Stewart will always be the Big Seven.
Regardless of what the history of comics tells us, those seven characters seem to me a perfect combo for a well balanced, extremely powerful core JL. Martian Manhunter, Hawkwoman, Black Canary, a Flash et al I could take or leave, but for my money, these seven are the key characters I'd have in a JL.

[caj]

J'onn

I have never read Nu52 JLA because the idea of Cyborg or any other hero replacing J'onn as an original member is unacceptable to me.

[j9ac9k]

Not "all."
To me, Wonder Woman, Superman, Batman, Zatanna, Aquaman, Vixen, and John Stewart will always be the Big Seven.
Regardless of what the history of comics tells us, those seven characters seem to me a perfect combo for a well balanced, extremely powerful core JL. Martian Manhunter, Hawkwoman, Black Canary, a Flash et al I could take or leave, but for my money, these seven are the key characters I'd have in a JL.

Nothing wrong with your lineup, but "The Big Seven" is a term frequently used amongst fandom and DC - it's not just "each reader's personal 7 favorites."

[Holt]

Cyborg as a founder never worked for me. Eventually becoming a Leaguer after years with the Titans? Sure.

[Kaijudo]

Within the context of the DCU, I'd say definitely J'onn. Was there from the start in most versions of the origin story and, as his star has risen over the last few decades, it seems like he's the one to truly take the prize. I liked Black Canary as a founder but she supplanted Wonder Woman, not J'onn. And Cyborg...like the idea of Vic on the team, but never as a founder. That was just Johns writing Superfriends fanfic, ultimately...might as well have had Black Vulcan or Apache Chief in there as the seventh member.

But practically, I voted "other" for Green Arrow. In the early days of the League, he made a MUCH greater impact on things than J'onn ever did, to the point where J'onn was essentially shuffled off for years while Ollie remained a mainstay, often times with some kind of other book going on as well, be it a solo project or a backup or a buddy book with Hal. Ollie might've been eighth but he brought a much bigger standout dynamic energy, from his first appearance on the team through the tail of the Satellite Era. I could see Arrow bringing readers to the title...can't really say that about J'onn, at least not back then.

[Sutekh]

Nothing wrong with your lineup, but "The Big Seven" is a term frequently used amongst fandom and DC - it's not just "each reader's personal 7 favorites."

Yeah, if 'My Favorite 7' was the theme, I'd be all Booster Gold, Vixen, Big Barda, Black Canary, Icemaiden, Crimson Fox, Equinox! Just to drive everyone crazy.

I voted for J'onn, even if I'd totally put Vixen or Black Canary or Hawkwoman there in heartbeat.