| Injustice League | |
|---|---|
The first Injustice League. |
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| Publication information | |
| Publisher | DC Comics |
| First appearance | Silver Age: Showcase #1 (July 2000) Historical: Justice League International #23 (Jan. 1989) |
| Created by | Scott Beatty Historical: Keith Giffen J.M. DeMatteis |
| In-story information | |
| Base(s) | Hall of Doom |
The Injustice League is the name of two fictional teams of supervillains in the DC Comics Universe.
Contents |
The original (retconned) Injustice League was the brainchild of the interplanetary conqueror Agamemno. Bored of his dominion, he set out to conquer Earth and their champions, the Justice League. Aided by the alien former dictator Kanjar Ro, Agamemno contacted Lex Luthor and they recruited other villains to their cause.
Agamemno then engineered a switch wherein the villains' minds switched with those of the JLA. In the true JLA's absence, other Silver Age heroes came to clash with the now seemingly evil heroes. Eventually, Green Lantern used the power of Oa's Central Power Battery and a Thanagarian weapon called "Absorbascon" to reverse the mind swap.
Having spent time in their enemies' bodies, the villains knew their heroic counterparts inside-out. To regain the edge, the JLA used the power of Robby Reed's alien H-Dial to transform themselves into totally different heroes. Then, using his power ring through the Absorbascon, Green Lantern removed all knowledge of the heroes' secret identities from the villains' minds.
The second Injustice League (the first in publishing history) was created by artist Keith Giffen during his run on the Justice League International comic book. It was composed of Cluemaster, Major Disaster, Clock King, Big Sir, Multi-Man, and the Mighty Bruce. The team would be used, in line with the humoristic tone of the series, as a highly unsuccessful villain team. All the actions of the team would end with humoristic failures. During an Annual of the comic book, Maxwell Lord sent them, along with the incompetent Green Lantern G'nort and his nemesis the Scarlet Skier, to Antarctica to become the Justice League Antarctica. It was done so in order to get rid of them, but the team would have their headquarters destroyed by mutant penguins.
After Giffen's run in the series, the team volunteered to join the Suicide Squad. On their first mission, Big Sir was killed; Multi-Man was shot through the head (but survived thanks to his powers); and the Clock King and Cluemaster were seriously injured.
Lex Luthor, Joker, and Cheetah (widely regarded as the archenemies of the JLA's three primary members Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman) recently formed an "Injustice League Unlimited", as first seen in the Justice League of America Wedding Special. While it seems the membership is much greater in the promotional image of Justice League of America vol. 2, #13, the core members of the team shown by Wizard magazine are a select group of various arch-nemeses.
The team was created by Dwayne McDuffie, a writer from the animated series Justice League Unlimited, which featured a similar expanded Legion. Lex Luthor has the idea to bring the villains together, claiming it was a protection racket at first, but with the ultimate aim of dominating the world. During the storyline, the Injustice League splits up and manages to capture the Justice League members in small groups. However, the JLA is freed by Firestorm and battles the Injustice League at its swamp headquarters. In the ensuing melee, many of the villains flee (later to attack Black Canary and Green Arrow's wedding), but most are taken captive by the League. It is revealed at this time that Lex Luthor actually had a secret goal in forming the League. He refuses to reveal details, but mentions that he planned for his capture. The remaining villains are then taken away by Amanda Waller and the Suicide Squad, who plan to ship them away to a distant planet, as seen in DC's Salvation Run storyline.
It is notable that the alternative covers of the second issue of the arc (Justice League of America vol. 2, #13) feature many more villains than were actually in the League, including Amazo, Bizarro, Black Adam, Sinestro, and the Rogues (Heat Wave, Captain Cold, Weather Wizard, Abra Kadabra, and Mirror Master).
Though the covers featured a large number of villains, membership differed in the actual story. Membership included:
This section lists those that only appear on the covers.