Justice League International (New Earth)

Justice League International is an incarnation of the Justice League established to represent a more global presence. Under the leadership of Maxwell Lord they gained United Nations sponsorship, allowing them greater resources in exchange for regulation.

History

Origins

Justice League Detroit disbanded after a gruesome battle with Professor Ivo, leaving the world without a Justice League.^[1] During Legends, Darkseid used evangelist G. Gordon Godfrey to discredit the world's heroes and turn their public against them. Despite these efforts, a team of heroes stepped up to defeat him at the Lincoln Memorial. This would inspire Doctor Fate to assemble them again, realizing that the world would always need a Justice League.^[2]

A New Beginning

 Main article: Justice League: A New Beginning

This new team includes Batman, Black Canary, Blue Beetle, Captain Marvel, Doctor Fate, Doctor Light, Guy Gardner, Martian Manhunter, Mister Miracle and Oberon. Their first mission is a hostage situation at the U.N. Building, led by a terrorist named John Charles Collins. They diffuse the situation, but Collins kills himself.^[3]

They fight the Champions of Angor, alien super-heroes intent on destroying all nuclear weapons. Bialya's dictator Rumaan Harjavti takes advantage of the Champions to eliminate his rivals.^[4] In Russia the League fights the Rocket Red Brigade, until Gorbachev allows them to help. Wandjina sacrifices himself to stop a nuclear meltdown, and the League are sent home by international law.^[5] Millionaire entrepreneur Maxwell Lord takes an interest in the team, breaching their security and suggesting Booster Gold as a new member.

Booster proves himself in combat against the Royal Flush Gang, and Lord declares himself their press liaison.^[6] Manhunter saves the world when they battle against a conscious psychic plague and he consumes it.^[7] Gardner challenges Batman to a fight over leadership, but Batman knocks him out in one punch. Doctor Fate is captured by the Gray Man, a rogue servant to the Lords of Order.^[8] Teaming up with the Creeper, they release Fate and stop Gray Man from taking over the world.^[9]

Earth is attacked by a mysterious satellite, and the League travels into space. Miracle recognizes it as a modified New Genesis Device, and neutralizes it. They return home as heroes. Maxwell Lord introduces a proposal to get United Nations funding, and they are given sponsorship in exchange for government regulation. This plan allows them to act as an independent city-state with worldwide embassies. Captain Atom and Rocket Red #7 are added to the team by the United States and Russia respectively. Captain Marvel and Doctor Fate quit the team for personal reasons; Batman steps down as leader, appointing Martian Manhunter to replace him. They are reintroduced to the world as Justice League International.^[10] Despite a series of embarrassing accidents, they successfully move in to embassies around the world. This includes Moscow, New York City and Paris.^[11]

Millennium

 Main article: Millennium

Herupa Hando Hu and Nadia Safir enlist the League to help protect Earth's next "chosen" immortals against the Manhunters.^[12] Rocket Red #7 is revealed as a member of the secret Manhunter Cult, then dies destroying their ship in a suicide attack. Maxwell Lord is shot by another Manhunter, his secretary Ms. Wootenhoffer.^[13] They protect Celia Windward from attacks.^[14] When the Manhunter base on Earth is destroyed, they decide to attack their homeworld Orinda.^[15] This League strike-force teams up with G'nort to fight the robot Highmaster and destroy their planet.^[16] In pursuit, the Highmaster escapes and Doctor Fate takes them to another dimension.^[17] Their final battle to wipe out the Manhunters in their underground volcano base on Earth is victorious.^[18] The chosen receive their powers, and the League leaves them to their destiny.^[19]

Who is Maxwell Lord?

Rocket Red #4 replaces his predecessor. The League battles the Construct when it takes over Max Lord's building.^[20] They are confronted by its master Metron, who detects an unusual sentience in the machine. It is revealed that Max Lord has been controlled by an evil computer, causing him to manipulate the League's creation. He breaks free and destroys it, having learned to sincerely care about the team. Martian Manhunter finally begins to trust Max, and gives him a signal device.^[21]

Collision Course

Nemesis is captured by the Soviet Union and sentenced to execution. Rick Flag takes the Suicide Squad in on a rogue mission to save him. President Bush sends the Justice League after them to prevent an international incident.^[22] They have a brutal fight involving Red Star and the People's Heroes. Flag and Manhunter conclude that Nemesis is innocent, and work together to free him using their connections. Batman angrily calls the team incompetent and quits.^[23]

The Joker teams up with Harjavti to attack the League in their civilian identities. He steals a tank from the 1000 to interrupt their barbecue. They drive him so crazy that he begs Batman to take him back to Arkham.^[24]

The Cluster

Earth is visited by the Cluster, an intergalactic shopping network that harvests planets for scrap. Lord Manga Khan is their leader, using his robot servant L-Ron to find suitable worlds. Green Flame and Icemaiden of the Global Guardians join the team.^[25] G'nort helps the team fight them back in space while reinforcements arrive. Despite their victory, Mister Miracle is kidnapped in the Cluster's ship.^[26]

Bialya Mission

Rumaan Harjavti holds a gathering in Bialya to reveal his new super-weapon. Batman goes undercover with the League to investigate. This weapon is revealed to be a brain-damaged Wandjina. Queen Bee has Wandjina kill Harjavti so she can take his position.^[27] The League is captured, but Batman breaks them out of prison and Captain Atom defeats Wandjina. Queen Bee allows them to leave so she can avoid an international incident.^[28]

Apokolips Now

Manga Khan decides to sell Mister Miracle to Apokolips, and Martian Manhunter leads a rescue team with Big Barda. Khan puts a contract on them and they fight the bounty hunter Lobo. Barda teleports Lobo back to the Embassy, where he accidentally hits Gardner in the head and reverts his personality.^[29] Gardner fights Lobo until they're both subdued. Oberon decides to hold a membership drive after Black Canary quits. Batman recruits Hawkman and Hawkwoman.^[30] On Apokolips, Manga Khan tries to sell Miracle to Granny Goodness and Virman Vundabar. Barda teams up with the Armagetto resistance. When they're attacked by Parademons, she teleports the entire League to Apokolips.^[31] In the resulting battle, Darkseid intervenes to send everyone home. He releases Mister Miracle and Manga Khan, who then calls off Lobo. They finally return to Earth with the entire team safe.^[32]

Invasion!

 Main article: Invasion!

Australia is taken over by invaders when a massive Alien Alliance targets Earth.^[33] The League fights a bloody campaign against the Khunds in Fiji. Oberon protects the Embassy from mini-soldiers.^[34] Gardner and Rocket Red help Wonder Woman rescue Etta Candy behind enemy lines.^[35] Maxwell Lord assembles a super-hero summit with Amanda Waller, Captain Atom and Wade Eiling. They successfully drive back the assault, and Atom delivers a victory speech at the U.N..^[36] In the aftermath they battle they're attacked by the incompetent Injustice League using stolen alien technology.^[37] The Dominators detonate a Gene Bomb that incapacitates the world's metahumans. Manhunter and Gardner insist a team of heroes including the Omega Men sent to Dominion homeworld. They discover a cure and destroy the Starlag, ending the alien threat.^[38]

Expansion

Max Lord learns that he is a metahuman with telepathic powers. Hawkman calls the team ridiculous and quits. In the invasion's aftermath, they organize a massive recruitment. Lord establishes two separate teams, Justice League America in New York City and Justice League Europe in Paris.^[39] Blue Beetle and Booster Gold take a repossesion job that leads them to the vampire Caitiff.^[40]

Breakdowns

 Main article: Justice League: Breakdowns

The League was formally dissolved during Breakdowns, after a number of tragedies. Maxwell Lord is shot in an assassination attempt, then later possessed by Dreamslayer. Dreamslayer uses this influence to briefly take control of the entire team on Kooey Kooey Kooey. Silver Sorceress dies defeating him. Despero wreaks havoc on New York City, forcing L-Ron to take permanent control of his body. Bialya experiences a coup after Sumaan Harjavti kills Queen Bee. Eventually the U.N. withdraws their support from the team, and they officially disband. Martian Manhunter takes a leave of absence from superhero duty.

Formerly Known as the Justice League

 Main article: Super Buddies

Years after their dissolution, Maxwell Lord and L-Ron attempted to put together a new team called the Super Buddies. This team featured Blue Beetle, Booster Gold, Captain Atom, Elongated Man, Fire, Mary Marvel and Sue Dibny.^[41] They were very short-lived due to their hilarious incompetence.

The OMAC Project

 Main article: The OMAC Project

It would later be revealed that Maxwell Lord had turned evil, and begun plotting against the superhero community as leader of Checkmate. Blue Beetle discovered his plans and revealed them to the world, although Lord executed him in cold blood.^[42] To avenge Beetle's death, the team members briefly reunited in battle against Checkmate's OMAC soldiers.^[43] Wonder Woman eventually killed Lord to remove his telepathic hold on Superman.^[44]

Generation Lost

 Main article: Justice League: Generation Lost

Following Maxwell Lord's resurrection at the end of Blackest Night, Booster Gold reassembled the team to hunt him down. Due to a powerful telepathic manipulation, they were the only people on Earth who remembered his existence during this time.^[45]

Notes

• Justice League International was intended to be the Justice League's reboot following Crisis on Infinite Earths. Keith Giffen originally intended to do a "big seven" League, bringing back the original members. This was impossible because many of those characters were experiencing reboots of their own that made them off-limits. Giffen and editor Andy Helfer realized they would need a concept that would work no matter which characters they were given. This led to them taking a less serious tone with the characters, that would evolve into showing their humanity through humor.

See Also

• 401 Appearances of Justice League International (New Earth)
• 94 Images that include Justice League International (New Earth)
• Team Gallery: Justice League International (New Earth)
  
  

Recommended Reading

• Justice League (Volume 1)
• Justice League America (Volume 1)
• Justice League Europe (Volume 1)
• Justice League International (Volume 1)
• Justice League International (Volume 2)

Links and References

• Justice League International at Wikipedia.org

Footnotes