Put together a JLU book/team!

[Deniz Camp]

So, JLU is - at least as far we now know - in a little bit of a limbo right now. No set creative team, no set creative direction, part of a franchise which already has 3 JL books, each with a specific mandate (Future Justice League, Universe-tied Justice League, Continuity-Lite Justice League). All the big characters are, more or less, taken (in fact, taken twice).

So, while we wait for the new team to be announced, let's make our own.

You have free reign to put together any configuration of a team you'd like. You can choose your characters, your mandate (cosmic justice league, street-level Justice League, etc), your artist and, if you like, a writer. Or you can write it yourself.

Only rule is that you have to use, say, one character from the Lemire run, for the sake of consistency. Any one will do.

Go forth!

[Sirzechs]

Cosmic JLU - MM, Stargirl , Dawnstar , Carol Ferris , Captain Comet , The Stranges , Tyroc
Street level JLU - Green Arrow , Timberwolf , Vibe , Animal Man, Steel, Doctor Light II , Equinox

I'd keep the team relatively the same just expand and split it into two teams with reserve members i'd like the Lost team to remain in the present and be apart of it.

[Claude]

Martian Manhunter, Stargirl, Equinox, Kyle Rayner, Dick Grayson, Jaime Reyes, Starfire.

Cosmically focussed, in a "first defence/diplomacy" kind of role - J'onn and Dick Currently Of Spyral handling the Intelligence side of such a thing, and the others a cosmically-aware mindset. The team is either blasted off to alien planets, or dealing with characters and creatures who've been blasted off to ours.

[Deniz Camp]

Nice ones, gents. For whatever reason I had forgotten that Martian Manhunter, with his less central role in the origin of the Justice League, would certainly be up for grabs still.

[Dispenser Of Truth]

Immediate first step: Al Ewing. I've wanted to see that guy at DC for a long time, and this seems like a perfect place. And since at Marvel he's doing a street-level Avengers (at least, insomuch as street-level can ever apply to the Avengers), here it's big cosmic adventures, the Justice League of the Universe, on call for any major alien threats their allies note. Art by Phil Jimenez.

The team:
Superman. The new team leader after J'onn leaves because of...I don't know, I just want Ewing writing Superman (though maybe J'onn leaves Superman with a secret mission, to fill the requisite drama).
Supergirl. Chafing a bit under her cousin, was getting used to being the powerhouse.
Zatanna. How's Earth-based magic do in space?
Vixen. I thought about bringing back Animal Man, but he seems like he'd only do the hero thing part-time these days, and she works at least as well.
Stargirl. Fits for cosmic jaunts.
Green Lantern Simon Baz. His first big introduction to the 'cosmic cop' side of Green Lanterning, rather than the 'living through Geoff Johns crossovers' part.
Dick Grayson. The 'ordinary' guy, the social conscience Ewing's work demands. I was going to go with Ollie, but Claude inspired me.

[Sirzechs]

Yeah that's one of the things I hate about Simon Baz's situation, I like the guy he's pretty interesting but being created in the a crossover he essentially turned into a crossover baby he don't see him unless its crossover (First Lantern/Trinity War/Godhead)

[GoingPostal]

let's see :

Martian Manhunter, Adam Strange, Star Girl, Animal Man, Green Arrow, Blue Beetle, Zatanna, a Robin and maybe a lantern too.

I would buy that. Well, i already was buying that awesome book but that would make me extra happy.

[Lee Stone]

I would do it more as a cross of the Satellite era JLA and JLUnlimited. Or All-Star Squadron.
It would be virtually everyone that's ever been a Leaguer with a core team of five:
Martian Manhunter, Gypsy, Red Tornado, Zatanna and Booster Gold.

[Zero Hunter]

Martian Mahnuter
Green Lantern (Simon Baz)
Vibe
Supergirl
Blue Beetle
Firehawk (the Nu52 version repowered)
Captain Atom (back in his pre Nu52 form and not that horrible mess they made of him now)
Stargirl

Guys like Animal Man and Green Arrow really have no place on a team that is supposed to deal with cosmic threats. Characters like Cap, Firehawk, Vibe , and Blue Beetle could really shine in a cosmic type setting .

[colonyofcells]

Supergirl, Adam Strange, Wally West, Kyle Rayner, Martian Manhunter, Jemm, Hawkman, Hawkwoman, Jaime Reyes, Captain Atom, Captain Comet, Lobo, Starfire.

[Starter Set]

Adam Strange, Equinox, Alanna, Martian Manhunter, Animal Man, Green Arrow, Blue Beetle, SuperGirl, Kyle Rayner, the Hawks (both) and Stargirl.

[Deniz Camp]

I'm a little conflicted on the direction myself.

In a lot of ways, the bigger, more mainstream teams are very much 'cosmic' teams; a team with two GLs, Superman, Wonder Woman, the Flash, etc makes sense in this regard. And Johns' team will take on Darkseid and the Anti-Monitor, about as cosmic as it gets. They've even included Mister Miracle, who I would surely have put on my team otherwise, to deal with Darkseid in some essential way. And Hitch's JLA will probably have much in common with that of Waid and Morrison, since he's influenced by that same school (though no doubt with less facility).

That said, a Justice League as a small, street level group feels wrong, somehow. It's a betrayal of the very nature of the Justice League, which was from the outset tied inextricably to scale and popularity. Social-Justice focused groups, covert action teams...these seem more appropriate for extra-franchise properties like the Doom Patrol (heroes as saviors from everyday oppression and boredom), Outsiders (heroes-as-espionage), Wildcats (heroes-as-corporation), even the Teen Titans (pop cultural paramours & paragons) ....the Justice League has always been apolitical; above such concerns. Trying to create group rooted in any of those ideas would be more an exercise in branding than anything else, and I'm all about expanding branding when it's appropriate, not counter, to the established canon (though it's not too terribly important ultimately; labels are just labels)

So if you're putting together a Justice League, and what's more it's "Unlimited" in it's nature and scope and purview, what does that mean? One option, one that I've seen put forth here, is to just make it a huge group of basically every available hero in the DCU; an organizing structure that stitches together, and contains within it, the other Justice League(s) as just one small part of a shifting, vibrant, infinitely adaptive whole. That might be a cool concept in theory, but in practice it leads to limited character work, limited long-term plotting options. You need either to focus on a core group, which makes the overall concept little more than window dressing, abandon the concept of character work (certainly an ideal option for some writers in the business), or abandon the concept completely.

I suppose my option would be the first, to put this concept/conceit in place. Someone, some hero, begins to put together this idea of a more complex, more complete framework by which to respond to threats to Earth and goes about setting this system up. Someone with strong data-processing ability, high intelligence, much experience, fingers in a lot of pie, and the ability to communicate easily and quickly with a wide range of individuals.

The Martian Manhunter.

He weaves together this group of Justice League members, this super structure, but maintains two core groups; one is Johns' JL, the other is a newer, no less effective, group. This group consists of...

Ray Palmer, the Atom
Alanna Strange (as Adam is back on Rann, adventuring)
Jason Blood
Captain Atom
Wally West, the Warpsmith


With room for another, rotating member or two as the situation calls.

[The_Greatest_Username]

I'd like to see them stick with the space approach.

Martian Manhunter - continues leading
Flash - leaves the main League to try something new
Star Sapphire - decides to take power in more mainstream superheroics
Firehawk - repowered
Steel - team genius
Hawkwoman - joins the team to reconnect with Katar
Blue Beetle - joins to discover more about the scarab

[Dr. Poison]

My picks:

Atom
Batgirl
Black Canary
Dr. Kimiyo Light
Green Arrow
Green Lantern(John Stewart)
Hawkman
Martian Manhunter
Midnighter
Plastic Man
Vibe
Vixen
Zatanna

[DangitBobby]

i think its funny how DC has doubled-down on their Big 7 Leaguers but has essentially left the majority of the supporting leaguers out in the cold

I think it would be great to have a rotating cast to cycle through all the leftover B&C list characters of the DCU.

Plus I hate the idea of it being a 'cosmic' team. you've got the Lanterns, Legion (and now even the Omega Men) and the main JL to handle Big space threats.