This Justice League Run Is the Secret to James Gunn’s DC Universe

Even though his rebooted DC Universe is only about a year old, James Gunn has already proven himself to be the best maker of superhero movies. He earns that title not just for his skills as a filmmaker, but also for his deep love of the weirder parts of superhero comics.

Anyone familiar with DC Comics of the 1980s can clearly see Gunn’s affinity for John Ostrander’s run on Suicide Squad. Not only was his first DC project an adaptation of that book, but that series developed Amanda Waller and introduced John Economos, mainstays of the new DCU. Gunn even cast Ostrander as a scientist for one scene of The Suicide Squad.

But the inclusion of Guy Gardner and Metamorpho in Superman underscores the importance of another superhero team from the same era as Suicide Squad, a team that also seems like a point of influence for Gunn: Justice League International by Keith Giffen, J.M. DeMatteis, and Kevin Maguire.

An Unusual League

When most people think of the Justice League, they think of the Big Seven: Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, Flash, and Martian Manhunter. Sure, everyone has their favorite side members, characters like Adam Strange or Vixen, but the Big Seven are the starting point for anyone working on DC’s premier superhero team.

That was certainly true of Keith Giffen and J.M. DeMatteis, two journeymen writers who were tasked with introducing a new Justice League during the Legends crossover event of 1986, a follow-up to Crisis on Infinite Earths. Yet, as they started pitching their prospective lineup, Giffen and DeMatteis learned that many of their first choices were off limits. No Superman, no Wonder Woman, no Flash.

Furthermore, DC was eager to integrate into the prime universe characters they acquired from other companies or who largely existed in tangential worlds. Thus, editorial pushed to add Captain Marvel (a.k.a. Shazam a.k.a. the Captain), Blue Beetle, and Mister Miracle of the New Gods to the roster. The publisher also wanted a home for Doctor Light, the female scientist Kimiyo Hoshi introduced in Crisis, and DeMatteis brought along Doctor Fate, a character he had previously written in a solo series. Rounding out the team was Black Canary, a character who had been in DC’s bullpen since the Golden Age, but had lately been relegated to girlfriend status next to Green Arrow.

In short, Giffen and DeMatteis had a high-profile comic filled with editorially-mandated characters, a bunch of cast offs, a few personal favorites, and Batman. And what did they do with them? Make comic book history. Their series (which went through several titles—including Justice League and Justice League America—but is usually just referred to as Justice League International or JLI) set a standard that no one but Gunn has been able to match.

Wanna Make Something Of It?

The first issue of the team’s ongoing declared its intentions right away. The now oft-homaged cover of Justice League #1 (1987) features all of the members crowded together and looking up at the viewer with defiance. Penciler Kevin Maguire, a master of body language and facial expressions, captures the mood of the off-beat team, already acknowledging and challenging readers’ complaints about the line-up. “Wanna make something of it?” sneers Guy Gardner.

The image captures the tone and strengths of Giffen, DeMattis, and Maguire’s series. The wordy, witty Giffen proved to be the perfect partner for the erudite DeMatteis. Together, they filled JLI with not just the big superhero battles one would expect from DC’s flagship team, but also with humor and character development.

These qualities are on full display in one of the most oft-memed scenes of the series, found in 1987’s Justice League #5. Tired of Guy Gardner’s constant yammering, Batman decides to show the Green Lantern who’s boss. Before Guy can even land a hit, Batman knocks him out with one punch. The one-punch scene is hilarious, a perfect take down of the blustering Gardner, paired with great dialogue, including Black Canary venting that she missed the entire thing (“Oh, God, I’m depressed,” she mutters to herself”).

Good as the joke is, it all comes from a place of character. Batman resents that he’s stuck on a team with goofballs and can’t take any more of Gardner’s bluster. Right before the punch, Captain Marvel chided Batman for sinking to Guy’s level, but Batman brushed him off in the most condescending way possible, inviting the reader to laugh at both the Captain and at Batman.

Even better, Maguire’s pencils sell the build-up, the punch, and the fall out. He gives each of the characters distinctive facial expressions, whether its the sour expression on Captain Marvel as he sulks away, Martian Manhunter allowing himself a satisfied smirk when he sees what’s happened, or Blue Beetle quietly tossing aside Guy’s ring in the background.

They feel like real people in silly costumes, which is always the appeal of this run on the League. The team certainly faced off against notable baddies, including the alien warlord Despero, the mind-controlling Grey Man, and even a group of Avengers homages. But their stories remained rooted in character first.

Doing the Comics Justice

Midway through Superman, Lex Luthor sends a distraction to Metropolis to distract the Man of Steel: a kaiju that threatens the town square. Superman gets help, in a way, to contain the beast in the form of the Justice Gang, a three-hero team sponsored by Maxwell Lord.

Even though neither Hawkgirl nor Mister Terrific were ever members of the JLI or any of its spin-offs, the Justice Gang is pure Giffen/DeMatteis/Maguire. Sure, they deal with a giant monster, but they’re almost more concerned with squabbling with one another. They possess amazing powers and they’re very good at what they do, but they doesn’t make them any less human.

It’s that bit of relatability found in Giffen, DeMatteis, and Maguire’s JLI that seems to have had the greatest influence on Gunn’s work. He deals with heroes, yes. But he deals with flawed heroes, heroes who make mistakes, heroes who still have a lot to learn. In those classic Justice League comics and in Gunn’s DC Universe, those flaws turn out to be the heroes’ greatest strengths.