The Justice League, or Justice League of America (JLA), is a group of superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The team first appeared in The Brave and the Bold #28. Writer Gardner Fox conceived the team as a revival of the Justice Society of America, a similar team from DC Comics from the 1940s which had been pulled out of print due to a decline in sales. The Justice League is an all-star ensemble cast of established superhero characters from DC Comics' portfolio. Diegetically, these superheroes usually operate independently but occasionally assemble as a team to tackle especially formidable villains. This is in contrast to certain other superhero teams such as the X-Men, whose characters were created specifically to be part of the team, with the team being central to their identity. The cast of the Justice League usually features a few highly popular characters who have their own solo books, such as Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman, alongside several lesser-known characters who benefit from exposure.
Cassandra Cain is a superheroine appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, commonly in association with the superhero Batman. Created by Kelley Puckett and Damion Scott, Cassandra Cain first appeared in Batman #567. The character is one of several who have assumed the role of Batgirl. Over the years, she has also assumed the names of Black Bat and Orphan.
Manchester Black is a fictional character in American comic books published by DC Comics, in particular those featuring Superman. He was created by Joe Kelly and Doug Mahnke in Action Comics #775. Introduced as an antihero, the character later becomes a supervillain.
Queen Bee is the name of six different characters appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics.
Gail Simone is an American writer best known for her work in comics on DC's Birds of Prey, Batgirl, Dynamite Entertainment's Red Sonja, and for being the longest running female writer on Wonder Woman to date. Other notable works include Clean Room, Secret Six, Welcome to Tranquility, The All-New Atom, and Deadpool.
Justice League Europe (JLE) is a comic book series published by DC Comics that was a spin-off of the comic book Justice League America.
JLA: The Nail is a three-issue comic book mini-series published by DC Comics in 1998 under its Elseworlds imprint. The story, written and drawn by Alan Davis, is set in a parallel universe where Jonathan and Martha Kent's truck experiences a flat tire caused by a nail, which stops them from discovering a Kryptonian spaceship outside Smallville containing the baby Kal-El, negating Superman. It was later followed by a sequel, JLA: Another Nail, a three-issue mini-series published in 2004 which wrapped up several loose ends from the original mini-series, such as the war between the New Gods and the Green Lantern Corps and Oliver Queen's public betrayal of the Justice League.
Joseph Kelly is an American comic book writer, penciler and editor who has written such titles as Deadpool, Uncanny X-Men, Action Comics, and JLA, as well as award-winning work on The Amazing Spider-Man and Superman. As part of the comics creator group Man of Action Studios, Kelly is one of the creators of the animated series Ben 10.
Sigrid Nansen is a superhero in American comic books published by DC Comics, first appearing in Super Friends #9. Originally the first character to use the name Icemaiden, they replaced the hero known as Ice for a time. They are among the few ice-theme superheroes in the DC Universe. The character is eventually re-introduced during "Infinite Frontier" where she adopts the new identity of Glacier and identifies as non-binary.
Manitou Raven, also known as simply Raven or The Manitou, is a fictional superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Joe Kelly and Doug Mahnke, he first appeared in JLA #66.
Manitou Dawn, known as simple Dawn or The Manitou, is a fictional superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. She would first debut in JLA #75. The character is a recurring Native American superhero within the DC Universe and the wife of Manitou Raven. Similar to Raven, she hails from the tribe that serves as the ancestor to the Apache people. Despite their initial encounter being marked by turbulence, the two characters developed a deep affection for one another and eventually married. Following her husband's departure from the League of Ancients to join the Justice League and Justice League Elite, she would accompany him and provide assistance during ritualistic endeavors. After Raven's death, she is selected by his spirit to become the next Manitou, carrying on the legacy with her husband as her mentor and spiritual guide. Following DC Rebirth, the character is also revealed to have become a caretaker and is a member of the Sisterhood of the Sleight Hand, a mystic society dedicated to helping female practitioners practice magic under guidance and safety.
Natasha Irons is a fictional superhero in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by Louise Simonson and Chris Bastista, first appearing in Steel #1. Since the character's creation, Natasha has since become a reoccurring supporting character of both Superman the original version of Steel within their respective comic book series, notably sharing the codename Steel after the original becomes injured.
The Elite is a team of fictional super-powered antiheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, in particular those featuring Superman and The Justice League. They are DC's response to Wildstorm's The Authority. The Elite made their first appearance in the story "What's So Funny About Truth, Justice & the American Way?", published in Action Comics #775. The story, which was voted number 1 in Wizard magazine's "Top Ten Comics of the Decade", was written by Joe Kelly, inked by Tom Nguyen and penciled by Doug Mahnke and Lee Bermejo. They appeared as antagonists before some of the characters merged with members of the Justice League to form the Justice League Elite.
"What's So Funny About Truth, Justice & the American Way?" is a story that appeared in Action Comics #775 as published by DC Comics in March 2001. Written by Joe Kelly, pencilled by Doug Mahnke and Lee Bermejo, and inked by Tom Nguyen, Dexter Vines, Jim Royal, Jose Marzan, Wade Von Grawbadger and Wayne Faucher. The comic features a moral struggle between Superman and the values of a newer, more violent team of heroes called The Elite. The clash mirrored a real-life debate among the comics community in light of the success of comics such as The Authority which featured more explicit sex and violence. This issue was well-received by critics and has been reprinted several times.
"For Tomorrow" is a 2004–2005 American comic book story arc published in Superman #204–215 by DC Comics. Written by Brian Azzarello and penciled by Jim Lee, with inks by Scott Williams, the story begins a year after a million people mysteriously vanish from the face of the earth. As the Man of Steel tries to solve the puzzle while dealing with his personal loss - as well as guilt over failing to prevent the disaster - a parallel story line concerns a priest questioning his faith and serving as Superman's confessor. This eventually gives way to a plot in which a megalomaniac bent on interplanetary conquest begins his attempt to capture his targets, and fighting through a heavy heart, Superman must stop him.
Amazons Attack! is a six-issue comic book limited series that was published by DC Comics. Written by Will Pfeifer and pencilled by Pete Woods, the first issue was released on April 25, 2007. A series with the same name written by Josie Campbell as part of the Dawn of DC initiative ran for six issues between 2023 and 2024.
JLA was a monthly comic book published by DC Comics from January 1997 to April 2006 featuring the Justice League of America. The series restarted DC's approach to the Justice League, which had initially featured most of the company's top-tier superheroes but shifted in the 1980s to featuring a rotating cast of established characters alongside newer ones and also saw that franchise expand to several spin-off series, diluting the prestige of the name brand. When relaunched by writer Grant Morrison, the team again focused on the most recognizable, powerful, and long-lasting heroes in DC's library.
Since her debut in All Star Comics #8, Diana Prince/Wonder Woman has appeared in a number of formats besides comic books. Genres include animated television shows, direct-to-DVD animated films, video games, the 1970s live action television series, Wonder Woman, The Lego Movie and The Lego Batman Movie, and the live-action DCEU films Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016), Wonder Woman (2017), Justice League (2017), Wonder Woman 1984 (2020), Zack Snyder's Justice League (2021), Shazam! Fury of the Gods (2023), and The Flash (2023).
