Legion World Forums LEGION COMPANION Dr. Gym'll's Cultural Rarities JLA : Need More Girls

I'm so tired of the poor Wonder Woman.
She has all the female role in this League.
Where is Fire, IceMaiden, Dr Light?
Black Canary can join the team too.
A what about a new and feral Crimson Fox (maybe a twin's cousin)
In the current series only see Wonder Woman, Huntress, Big Barda, Oracle and the horrible Faith.
Gypsy has new changeling powers in the Martian Manhunter series.
Vixen, I see her in Wonder Woman?
What super-heroine you want in The JLA?

The men in JLA are so bloody poweful and established that it's difficult to see any women making too much of a difference....

That said Firehawk (if she's still around - I ain't been following Firestorm ) or Mary Marvel would be great, both had definite personalities and decent powers. Fire and Ice should deffo reappear too....

Maxima would have been a great addition to the JLA see could have been the oppisite of WW just as powerful but not so nice and arrogant kinda like a female version of Namor. i don't recall what her fate was after that aweful O.W.A.W crossover but i would have like to have seen the likes of her, Dr.light, or Vixen in the group.

Black Canary, first of all.
Ice (the dead one)
Mary Marvel
Firebird (I think that's her name. Orange skin and white hair, New Bloods character I think.)
Shayera Thal Hawkwoman
Supergirl
Zatanna (of course)
Dr. Light?

I don't know, I can't think of that many powerful ones

i liked the personality conflicts with Huntress and Barda on the team ... they added an edge to the JLA

Starfire would be great in the JLA -- she's the Alien Warrior Princess icon (kinda like a fierce solar-powered Barbarella)

Vixen, Katana and Power Girl could be big players in the DCU if done well

seeing someone develop to icon status over time in the JLA would be cool too -- the closest i've seen to that is what's going on with Major Disaster (though he's clearly not a woman and probably gonna disappear into comic limbo when JLE is over)... i think they introduced characters like Moon Maiden, Maya, Gypsy and Faith in the hopes that they would grow into something besides a footnote

Let's face it... the current JLA has gotten TOO cosmic for the likes of Black Canary, Huntress and Vixen-- all of whom I love and if you aren't reading BIRDS OF PREY, well:


But BARDA, ZATANNA, MAXIMA, MARY MARVEL, SUPERGIRL, FIREHAWK and LADY QUARK are another story...

(POWER GIRL leaves the JSA over my fit-tossing body!!)

Isn't Lady Quark still you know, dead?

Easily enough retconned out by ZERO HOUR.

Did they ever resolve that plotline in L.E.G.I.O.N. with the creature that took over Quark's form? Is it still out there?

The JLA *definitely* needs more women! But as Sonnie said, the men on the team cover so many bases its hard to find any female characters that are powerful enough (or strong enough as characters) to match them. That said this is my list of heroines that more than make the grade and need to join (or re-join) ASAP.

* Black Canary : she's great in BoP but a character this good needs more than one comic! I never liked her in JSA (that was her mother's team) so what better place than the team she founded (post-Crisis anyway)!

* Zatanna : one of DC's best characters, criminally under-used and fills a 'power' slot missing on the team.

* Mera : LOVE this character! Totally sick of her being neglected by all of Aquaman's writers and since he's such an infrequent member of this team anyway why not give his spot to her? She has a great power too! Interestingly, way back when, when Zatanna won the fan poll to be the JLA's new member, Mera was second or third. I wonder how different this character would be if she had joined the team during that "classic" period?

* Vixen : from rather inauspicious beginnings this character has skyrocketed up to become one of DC's hottest unused properties IMO. Gail Simone reminded us all how good she is in BoP recently but she needs a more permanent home. She's a powerhouse too and has a rich history with this team.

* Dr Light : great power, great history with the team and, like Vixen, adds racial diversity to the team.

Mary Marvel for the JLA!

(And Cap for the JSA, and Jr. for the Titans...)

I believe that issue was settled in the last issues of L.E.G.I.O.N. before it converted to R.E.B.E.L.S.

I think this is a great point. 'Icon' status is hard to nail down or define, isn't it? I like the Barbarella comparison... and it fits. Starfire would be an interesting addition to the League... though I don't really want to see the Titans strip-mined further.

What other DC heroines could approach icon status and really carve out an enduring niche as a League presence?

Zatanna and Black Canary already have, IMO... it's just TPTB that don't seem to want them in Justice League stories for some reason. Zatanna can certainly 'hang' with the cosmic stories... and if Batman can too, I don't see why BC shouldn't. I don't know why Vixen hasn't been made a major League player, either. Model-turned-animal powered badass could approach iconic.

Some DC women who've never been Leaguers...

HAWKWOMAN, Shayera Thal, would embody the 'alien cop' with a hard edge... and, of course, she dovetails with the cartoon JLA while simultaneously providing a link to the League's past (though she herself was never a member, right?). Not sure if she's truly 'iconic' yet. (I'd LOVE to see her join, though).

What about BLACK ORCHID? Noir-ish mystery girl, plant-related powers... she could make a few Phantom Strangerish appearances to see if she'd have a place with the team. Her original costume is a must... I'd downplay the Vertigo version without ignoring it.

Here's a long shot-- the GA HARLEQUIN! Another 'youthening' (to 40-50ish?) to keep up with hubby... a bit more 'juice' in the illusion-casting department... and a reason to rejoin the hero gig. She could provide a light-hearted, fun element to the League, and fill the 'bad-girl-gone-good- role.

I'm thinking that characters with some history of their own would have a presence that might lead to endurance... something lacked by Tomorrow Woman, Moon Maiden, Faith and Maya.

Why do you think Zatanna, Vixen and Black Canary haven't been included in the League for such a long time? Is it just the 'Big 7' focus?

Todd

BLACK ORCHID is a wonderful suggestion.

She's certainly powerful enough.

I agree totally about these three, especially Dr. Light, a fave of mine. I'd like to see all three on the team with Diana at the same time.

And Black Orchid is just wicked cool!

What about having Jade as the Green Lantern on the team?

JADE definitely qualifies, but she's currently a hit in OUTSIDERS.

... and I'd hate to lose John Stewart now that we've finally found a home for him somewhere!

I like Black Orchid but she's just not as developed as most of the other suggested characters here and the last thing I want is another Moon Maiden or Tomorrow Woman on this team (ie some nobody character who comes out of nowhere and is suddenly given a spot on the team while great characters like the ones we've been suggesting languish in limbo)... not that I'm suggesting she's anywhere near as horrid as either of those two were.

Also, isn't most of her charm the fact that we really don't know anything about her - her name, her powers, her origin, etc - ? We'd probably lose most of that if she were to join a team as high-profile as the JLA.

Let's see her get a regular gig somewhere like BoP or Outsiders first.

Preserving Black Orchid's aura of mystery is exactly why I thought she should have a 'Phantom Stranger' type membership-- showing up unexpectedly for missions here and there.

Remember I said I *wanted* Vixen, Black Canary, etc. as members. Why not a recurring dollop of violet mystery, too?

I liked your suggestion of Mera, too, Blacula-- but *only* if Arthur and/or Garth are *not* on the team. Same for Jade.

The only objection I have to Dr. Light is the current Identity Crisis usage of the first Dr. Once that's settled, and we see how DLII fits in, I'd be all for her. Uptight lady scientist is a pretty narrow iconic niche, though.

Todd

How does one define an ICON for DC Comics anyway?

IMO, if they had a MEGO DOLL made in their image, they're an icon.

So the DC chick icons are:


WONDER WOMAN

SUPERGIRL

BATGIRL (Babs)

CATWOMAN

ISIS

This also means Flash and Green Lantern are NOT icons.

I think the whole "ICON" thing is a little too restricting. In my opinion, Justice League members should be the cream of the crop in whatever they do. And to me, all the Leaguers in the satellite era fit that bill.

I would love to see Zatanna, Black Canary and Hawkwoman back in the League, as well as Firestorm, Elongated Man, Red Tornado, etc.

If Icon represents recognizable, well, any non-comics reader who has never watched the JL cartoon is going to be hard pressed to recognize Martian Manhunter, let alone Manitou Raven.

don't you mean Apache Chief? (Manitou Raven being Joe's attempt at bringing the Super Friend into comic life -- yes, i winced too)

Black Orchid would make a great mystery character, especially if she's brought in by Wonder Woman or Martian Manhunter rather than Batman -- it would be fun to see Batman know everything about everyone except her and his frustration at the easy trust WW or J'onn (both being strangers in a strange land and understanding her weird roots) ... unfortunately, Black Orchid got trapped in-between DCU & Vertigo, an apparently untraversable limbo (until some brave brilliant creator realizes 'there is no such thing as a Black Orchid' and takes another swipe at her)

and i enjoyed Katana's simple, effective use in both BOP and Superman/Batman

Dr. Light II has lost appeal in her 20 years of limited exposure & development - born in that weird 1980's 'color me in' DC reboot (Dr. Midnite, Wildcat II, JLA, etc.) and never even choosing another code name (I thought for sure she'd take up her countryman's code name when he fell in the Crisis, but no such luck) OR any solid background (she's been both a medical doctor and a highly respected physicist specializing in astronomy & light); she's further tainted by the blight on her name from Identity Crisis

a reformed cybernetic Luthor's Daughter (i don't remember her name) might be cool -- talk about instant icon-status, and she has good reason to hide her name

or what about the dangling DCU plot threads of Vicki Grant with her meta-forms ('repenting sinner' being the icon), Pravda (the Russian telepath who fought the Suicide Squad and representing the new world of globalization in the League), Onyx (who made a re-entry in Detective Comics), Menagerie (who is powerful, has a great visual, and is currently in Justice League Elite - which i don't pick up), and the black Wonder Woman Nubia (who was re-introduced as some Amazon who went into myth to keep an evil god from Earth, i think)

I hate that whole "only icons in the League" argument more than anyone! Its completely limiting and means we'll only ever have the same boring "Big 7" on the team forever. Where did that idea come from anyway? Grant Morrison?

What the team should be though is THE BEST OF THE BEST of DC's heroes. Established, well developed characters that all have the adequate power or personality to make a mark on the team and believably be able to be considered a member of a team dubbed "Earth's Greatest Heroes". As Princess Crujectra says, the Satellite era squad completely fits this bill. Each was a popular established character before joining the team and each had a unique power or ability that made them invaluable members. The team's never been as good since IMO.

Characters that I think could be considered for membership today include -

* anyone from the Satellite era
* the other ladies I mentioned in my earlier post
* any of the original Teen Titans
* Black Lightning
* Steel
* Animal Man
* Starfire (though after Outsiders, I'm sick of losing all the good members of this team)
* Black Orchid (you've won me over with your Phantom Stranger comparison Todd)
* Geo Force
* Captain Atom
* Fire
* Captain Comet
* Adam Strange
* Metamorpho
* Katana

What's Black Orchid's status? I remember the Vertigo mini-series where, I believe, she was "killed" and came back as something of a plant/human hybrid? (So I don't recall the mini that well...)

Is she still around the DCU currently?