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Justice League of America #1 (2006):
As its been said not too much to spoil.

Just a montage of moments between Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman from the past present and future.

Many of the moments may contain hints about the current state of DCU continuity.
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Such as the Flash discovering the existence of something in the future and the revelation that Clark had a secret tunnel from the floor of his room out into the farm when he was a boy in Smallville.
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I read Meltzer's interview at Newsarama, he mentioned both Polar Boy and the Legion Espionage Squad in the Q&A. Sounds like he's a fan of the 70s and 80s LSH. So Karate Kid's appearance on one half of the cover of #1 is likely his doing.

Okay, I guess there are *some* things to spoil. Most of the comic book is a set of flashbacks to meetings in the past between the big three as they discussed the Justice League and other things. It's good character stuff.

The spoilerriffic stuff is the flashforwards to events that are allegedly going to happen in the future. Things like:
- Hal Jordan's marriage to someone we can't see
- the death of Pa Kent (that hasn't happened yet, right?)
- the existence of a parallel Earth
- a fight between the big three and a guy who looks suspiciously like Luthor, who is screaming, "He was my son!" and knocking a bunch of Batman's teeth out
- the death, or apparent death, or disappearance of Batman
- the marriage of Wonder Woman to someone whose name isn't mentioned; apparently she'd have to give up immortality to do this

I don't mind if any or all of these things happen, but I do want to say that I don't think DC should feel obligated to have any of them happen if they don't want to.

The Meltzer Q-and-A session wasn't bad. Not much in the way of hard information, but it does seem like he has a feel for the League (and I am speaking as someone who didn't read Identity Crisis). As far as I'm concerned, the best question went something like this:

Q. Does anybody object to the unilateral way the Big Three are appointing members to the team? If so, who? Aquaman?

A. YES. Martian Manhunter? YES. Oliver Queen? DOES A FROG BUMP HIS ASS A-HOPPING?

Looking forward to the first issue.

I liked it. It was cool. So Wonder Woman is back in continuity. By that I mean it appears she's an original member of the JLA. I liked the Meltzer approach to the big three. Best I've seen in a while.

As for the future stuff? cool. Regarding Batman dead....that appears to be Dark Knight Returns. I think.

As for members I can make out? Supes, Bats, Wondy, GL Hal Jordan, Red Tornado, Hawkman(!), Green Arrow. From what Matthew said it appears Aquaman as well and Martian Manhuter. On the cover I am not sure about the females. Vixen appears to be one...the other with the long pony tail? Black Canary is my guess.

I am excited about this title.

I just hope we don't see any more Identity Crisis-esque retcons, like Sue's rape and the Leaguers mind-wiping. Those changes just never sat well with me, kinda like a special time in my youth had been violated (I loved the satellite era League as a kid).

What I got from that was not that they'd be in the League, but that they'd be ticked off at how the League was chosen.

For that matter, I don't see how Green Arrow (original version) can be in the League either; being mayor takes up a lot of one's time. It'd make more sense for it to be Arsenal or Green Arrow (extra crispy). But we'll see.

I'm pretty excited about this. I didn't realize I liked the Justice League this much.

I rather see Tempest and Connor Hawke in the JLA. But Arsenal isn't on the Outsiders anymore so he'd be cool as well.

On the cover for #2 Martian Manhunter certainly doesn't appear to be an option.

I enjoyed it, as well. The art and layout really contributed to the mood of the piece. I didn't even mind the overlapping dialogue bubbles, too much.

The Vixen development was surprising. I wonder if it'll be a long-term change? If so, does that open the door for Animal Man guest-starring, or even joining, perhaps?

Just when I'd gotten used to the idea that heroes weren't as buddy-buddy as they were in the silver age, they retcon it back to them all being on first name bases practically from the get-go.

I don't know if I like how the Big3 are becoming *SO* important to the DCU. Weren't these guys part-time members back in the day? (Superman and Batman at least) You'd think the League was all their idea the way they carry on. I guess this invalidates practically all of "JLA: Year One" (maybe JLA: Incarnations, but I didn't read it).

From the Hal Jordan wedding scene it appears that all the other Leaguers are married (Hal being "the last one") - they alluded to Batman having a relationship, but married?

It's a mish-mash of things past, present & future for the JLA, but nowhere does #0 really dwell on who would be members. As mentioned, it's more how the Big 3 and the League have been "relating" to each other. I like how the flash-forwards seem to give away hints to future elements, not solely of the League but of what becomes of the Big 3.

As Matthew mentioned, DC shouldn't feel beholden to the events portended by the flash-forwards, kinda like how the "adult Legion" stories were possibilities that may or may not happen.

Drake, I really like your observations about the Big 3 versus everyone else. I too have always been partial to the "lesser" heroes being the driving force behind teams. Probably why I ALWAYS loved the JSA.

On the other hand, I appreciate that DC has finally realized they can't neglect the Big 3. That they have to get the Big 3's characterization right, with great stories, top creators, etc. And, if they are going to be the Big 3, they might as well have been the driving force behind the JLA. Plus, it sets up a great future story (a perennial evergreen), probably after Meltzer's run, about disgruntlement from the other guys.

BTW, it's worth mentioning the significance of a Big 3. If you look back, Wonder Woman really didn't have THAT big a role in the past. What changed it? Kingdom Come? I'm not complaining--the character more than deserves such status.

One of the things DC did differently from Marvel was that their characters were all kings of their own castle - they each got their own made-up city. Marvel had a clearer hierarchy because they were all jammed together in NYC and the more realistic approach of Marvel allowed for heroes to be second-rate, have flaws or be outsiders.

One of the reasons Morrison's Uber-Batman annoyed people was that it made the other Big7 seem less than fans were used to seeing them portrayed in their own titles (except for Kyle the newbie who was more impressive in JLA, but he was the "Spidey" character so it made sense that he'd be built up rather than knocked down). I hope the same doesn't happen here.

I find the adding of Wonder Woman to the Superman/Batman team to be rather odd. I always associated her more with Aquaman or J'Onn than the World's Finest team.

I also don't care for the "best friends forever" stuff. As Drake said each character was usually the king of their castles. The good character interaction that went more in-depth was the lesser known characters...aka characters without their own book.

Superman and Batman atleast already are overexposed. Aquaman is a good example. He can't sell a series. Stop giving him one. Tell his story in the JLA and make more important to the team.

EDE, I also don't pair Wonder Woman with Supes and Bats. Always thought she would end up dating Aquaman.

The are a team. They were never a family. Friends yes but a team first. ohwell. Still looking foward to it. I think Meltzer just wants to put some more "soul" into the "team".

Jorge (i can't stop with the quotations)

The way I look at it is that 'Justice League' should be DC's flagship. The JLA is the absolute major league of superhero activity in the DCU; whatever big challenges there are in the way of interstellar menaces or megalomaniacal supervillains, the JLA should be the first, last and greatest line of defense. For this reason you need to have the best of the best in the group. It's arguable as to who exactly constitutes DC's best-of-the-best, but clearly Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman have to be on the list. And if that makes them overexposed, then so be it.

And they've known each other a long time, and been through a lot together. Not just them, but a lot of the other candidates for membership too. It's not only reasonable that they would have formed strong friendships during that time, it's also nice to read about.

I think Kingdom Come certainly played its part in moving WW to "Big 3" status, but IMHO, it was Trinity that sealed the deal.

Just suppose... the alternate Earth is really EARTH-1, and all the "flash-forwards" are what's been going on over there in the last 20 YEARS?

The cover to #1's out -- click to find out who made the lineup!!

http://www.comicbloc.com/forums/showthread.php?t=33184

[I've edited the title of the thread to reflect its status as the "Justice League" thread rather than just for the zero issue]

Wow! I really didn't have high hopes for the line-up, but I love it! One of them I could do w/o, but one I have been clamoring for for a long time! Thanks, Drake. I'd kiss you if you had lips.

I think this is a kick-ass line-up. Not how I would have picked it, but something to still get excited about.

Very glad to see Hal, Dinah, Red Tornado involved. Hawkgirl deserves to be there, and Black Lightning has always been 'just on the fringe' of the greats, so this is cool. Vixen isn't as much a surprise as she could have been a few months ago, but is probably the most welcome addition. Her inclusion gives it a real 'respect all eras of the JLA' feel to it.

Roy is probably the last Titan I thought would ever make it. Interested in where that goes (I love Ollie in the JLA).

Wouldn't be surprised is the line-up was changed by issue #7.

Now I'm looking for bold new stories pulling the League into the future. I need it to be exciting again.

I don't know if this is enough to get me to start buying JLA (I don't on principal--for the same reason I don't read any Superman or Batman titles--I feel DC's second string deserves more support), but I'm glad to see Dinah and Kendra on the roster, so that there is a solid JSA connection.

Not excited about Roy, but looking forward to Dinah, Vixen, Tornado and Hawkgirl. And Black Lightning should be fun

If they were going to add one Titan I'm surprised it wasn't Tempest (unless he's dead currently) simply because he hearkens back to Aquaman while actually having soem useful powers. Although I suppose Zatanna duplicates the magic powers and is generally more powerful than he is in that respect, so...

ot a bad line up at all. If Dinah is leaving BoP permanently because of JLA (which seems likely) I'll be miffed. Same for Kendra with the JSA, but they both deserve a place in the JLA.

Unfortunately since IC was such an pile of unmitigated pish I shan't be getting JLA until at least Meltzer has gotten the boot. No matter how much I like that line-up (and it has a lot of characters that are either favourites or I'm interested in) the writers track record has been so appaling that I don't even want to give it a look.

Not sure what I think of this line up. I'm not a huge Black Lightning fan, but at the same time I don't dislike him. I would have preferred Conner over Roy, but at least Hal is better than Guy. Vixen will depend on how she's written (I loved her in Justice League Unlimited, but didn't care for her in the Detroit JL). I wish Zatanna had made the cut, but at least Black Canary is there. It does seem weird to not have a Flash or Aquaman Family member there, though.

What's going to make or break this series for me is going to be the writer. If he just moves forward with new stories, then fine. However, I don't want to see more Identity Crisis stuff. No more retconned rapes and mindwipes and mutilations. Hopefully the shiny happy DCU will avoid stuff like that. We'll see.

Oh, and I should say that's possibly one of the most hideous covers I've seen from Turner. Wondy and Vixen especially look... well, deformed. Wondy's face is horrible. I'll be interested to see what the other version of the cover looks like.

Glad I'm not the only one who thinks so Bevis. Doesn't Vixen have thumbs anymore? And Hawkgirl's wings: where exactly are they attached? And Superman's shoulder is about as big as his head. This is what makes a #1 cover? I just want to buy the League one of those big 6 ft party sub sandwiches.