It's hard to imagine that nearly everyone involved in the original Justice League of America 200 is gone now. Writer Gerry Conway passed away at age 73, April 26th, 2026. Artist George Perez passed away at age 67, May 6th, 2022. Len Wein, gone at 69, September 10th, 2017. Aparo, Giordano, Infantino, Kane, Kubert... talented individuals all. Their "dash" full and complete. The anniversary issue of Justice League of America is what they've left behind.
One remembers when the issue was first unleashed. Awesome then. Just as enjoyable now, forty-four years later, as it was, first in 1982. Re-released in July 2026 as a Treasury Edition Facsimile Reprint, Perez's art is just as eye-popping. Conway's script is respectful, opening with a recap of the original origin story before diving headlong into this sequel. Brilliant including different art teams for the different chapters. Aparo for Aquaman, Kane for Green Lantern, Infantino for The Flash, Giordano for Wonder Woman. Conway's story nicely and smoothly draws in The Phantom Stranger, Snapper Carr, Green Arrow and J'onn J'onzz. In 1982 it was not hard to understand that J'onn had left the team and was gone for a number of years. Snapper Carr had betrayed the team once, before moving on to other things. Oliver Queen had just quit. Revisiting things in 2026, minor details can be overlooked.
The larger size gives the art more space to be enjoyed. The double splash page of the satellite headquarters; Kane's splash of The Atom slugging Green Lantern; the team racing from the cave headquarters for a final confrontation with the aliens are just a few standouts. The layout and design are just incredible. The wraparound cover, with an added border is more than just nice. The attention to detail shows a deep respect for everything and everyone involved.
It is a shame that J'onn was shuffled off, while Ollie decided to make a comeback. Later, J'onn would return to his rightful place as a core member of the team. However, no one knew it back then.
The facsimile reprint of Justice League of America 200 is like opening a time capsule and seeing what talented individuals would leave behind. It earns five stars enduring the test of time.
Access and the Legion of Super-Heroes have somehow crossed over into the X-Men's dystopian future "Days of Future Past", where the Sentinels have captured and imprisoned all mutants. Magneto and the X-Men wear inhibitor collars to keep them from using their mutant abilities. Wolverine has managed to remain free and runs supplies to the captives. Brainiac 5 manages to "McGuyver" an inhibitor disrupter. With that, the two teams are able to overpower a pair of Sentinels. Magneto agrees with Access that the Legionnaires must return to their own place and time period. As the leave Ferro Lad and Colossus take down a Sentinel. Another destroys the inhibitor disrupter! Magneto is paralyzed. Fleeing, Wolverine remembers one thing - the inhibitor collars can be disrupted!
Access bounces Classic Daredevil to Gotham City where Axel is almost run over by the Batmobile. Returning Daredevil to New York, Axel then tumbles through one time period after another witnessing different pairings and team-ups. Notable among these is the Justice Society and The Invaders! He then encounters Morty, the homeless man from the alley. Turns out, "Morty" is really Axel!
Morty provides an "info dump" telling Axel that he can't stay in one place very long in order to keep the Marvel and DC universes separate! Morty flees just as a Boom Tube opens dumping Darkseid's horde from Apokalips. The Avengers arrive to turn back the horde. They are joined by the Justice League, who arrive to rescue Axel. Just when the combined forces seem to be working, Amazing Grace turns the teams against one another, with Access caught in the middle!
Pat Olliffe and Al Williamson really carry Kesel's amazing story. So many characters, so many different places and timelines. Olliffe is such eye-candy. His take on the different teams is really enjoyable.
"Let's Do the Time Warp Again" Unlimited Access 2 earns five stars.
Wow. That cover. A horrified Access can only gape in abject terror as the X-Men battle the Justice League! It's a return match between Storm and Wonder Woman! That expression on Access' face is just... Wow.
Access is referee when the teams collide. Superman demands that the X-Men let The Batman go. It's all a tense standstill, until Batman reignites things with Bishop. Then it all cuts loose. Team versus team. Access and Dr. Strange in the middle. Access blinks to keep Ming out of harm's way.
Then it all comes out. Strange has been taken over by Dr. Strangefate who wants to bring back the Amalgam Universe! He has banished the real Strange, bouncing him from one place to another to keep him from being discovered and rescued. Strangefate manages to Amalgamate the X-Men and Justice League! Access must find a way to return Stephen Strange and restore the separate universes!
It turns out to be a tricky process. Tricky, but successful.
In the end, Axel ends up with Caitlin Fitzgerald.
DC/Marvel All Access 4, "Savior" wraps it all up for three stars.
After besting Two-Face, Jubilee and Robin (Tim Drake) are confronted by The Scorpion! Batman arrives and puts the beatdown on the Spider-villain.
Using a bit of deductive reasoning, Access feels that answers to the mysterious Crossings may lie with Dr. Strange. It takes some doing, however, he manages to convince The Batman to accompany him to New York and Strange's Sanctum Sanctorum.
There, Access and The Batman engage in accusations and finger-pointing. Jubilee returns with the X-Men. Not a Classic line-up, mind you, Cyclops, Iceman, Jean Grey, Bishop and Cannonball. They fight with Batman. As The Dark Knight collects himself, Access himself returns with the Justice League!
Guice and Rubinstein are back at it on Ron Marz's story. Lee Loughridge on colors; Digital Chameleon on separations. It's a pretty standard issue where hero's face a misunderstanding and end up arguing and fighting until they reach a lightbulb moment of clarity.
That moment may come in the next issue!
What is enjoyable is the diversity and somewhat unpredictability. The Batman and Dr. Strange? X-Men versus Justice League? The Batman spies The Black Cat?
The story opens with a prologue featuring Krona searching the multiverse for answers. Krona inadvertently created the multiverse trying to see its origin and beginnings. The viewer he used exploded shattering the universe into a multiverse. As punishment, the Guardians of the Universe on OA transformed him into pure energy and cast him out. He has returned, and in his wake Polechamus and Qward are destroyed along with the realities surrounding them. Ultimately, Krona faces The Grandmaster.
Later, Terminus shows up in Metropolis. After a pitched battle, the Justice League manage to defeat him. The Spectre (Hal Jordan) whisks the beaten Terminus from their reality. Meanwhile, in New York, The Avengers are battling Starro. She-Hulk, Yellow Jacket, Triathlon, Quicksilver and Thor are among those taken over by Starro's "face hugger" offspring. Carol Danvers manages to free Pietro Maximoff from a face hugger. He provides the breakthrough the team needs. Vision puts a face hugger on Scarlet Witch and through it, she unleashes chaos magic that forces Starro to flee screaming in agony.
Back at their moonbase Watchtower, the Justice League are confronted by The Watcher and The Grandmaster. En Dwi Gast tells the League that they must gather talisman to ward off Krona and save their reality. Wally West uses the Speed Force to send the team to The Avengers reality where they are able to collect the Ultimate Nullifier! Following their encounter with The Avengers, Earth's Mightiest Heroes - with The Atom eavesdropping - encounter Metron, who lists the same talisman that they must gather to save their reality!
The Avengers travel to the Justice League reality, for a return encounter. The Atom follows Metron to where he confers with The Grandmaster...
It almost goes without saying that George Perez's art is spectacular and fabulous. He is legendary from the pages of both teams, having developed his trademark "Patented Perez Rubble". That's how detailed his art is. down to the very rubble. He is aided and abetted by Tom Smith on Colors & Separations, with Comicraft handling lettering. That's amazing as each character has their own lettering voice.
Busiek's story is EPIC! It's COSMIC! It's GRAND and SPRAWLING! It's not just a Justice League or Avengers story. It's not just bringing these two teams together - in conflict, then, possibly in harmony - it spans both the DC and Marvel Multiverses. Before the teams appear, we get to see Arkon and Thundra as well as the Weaponers of Qward and the Crime Syndicate. While Krona is the major bad guy of the story, it also involves The Grandmaster, Metron and The Watcher. There's so much to this story, so much detail, so much thrown in, there's bound to be a kitchen sink somewhere as well. This isn't a light, disposable, forgettable story. This. One. Plays. For. KEEPS!
One the one hand, that's awesome! It's a spectacle of a story. On the other hand, it's hype to the hilt, and possibly teetering on the edge of being bloated and overblown. It's starts with both Superman and Thor chomping, spouting and just plain yelling. It's possible that there's some minor mind-control there, or maybe just a negative reaction to the opposite realities.
This is no small adventure.
Perez's art is awesome as ever. Busiek's story is huge. It borders on the, "it's not the size of the fish that counts..." it's how you tell this story.
Years pass in "The Age of Wonder". Ambition grows. Barry Allen and Ted Knight, now joined by Ray Palmer as The Atom and the enigmatic Plastic Man investigate the explosion at a munitions warehouse that killed Oliver Queen, The Green Arrow. Diana, Princess of the Amazons of Themyscira, was seen escaping the blast. Urban legend The Batman advises that the League should have paid closer attention to an eyewitness. He tells them to find the woman.
As Bruce Wayne, he does. Lex Luthor now is President Wilson's secretary of defense. Diana, an emissary from a Paradise Island, is also Luthor's protege. Luthor is manipulating world events toward world war! Hal Jordan advises the British Army against the Kaiser's forces. He discovers Luthor's treason. In attempting to stop Luthor and Diana, Hal is murdered.
What comes next is the unimaginable. The Kaiser unleashes an atomic bomb on London, leaving more than 200,000 dead, the city in ruins and uninhabitable.
The one hope is the dying General Jordan send his ring to find Clark Kent. The Super Man returns and unites the League to crush the Prussians. Batman and Diana defeat Luthor. As Luthor is executed for treason, Clark Kent forms the Justice League of Nations.
Adisakdi Tantimedh's story is truly the darkest before the dawn. Luthor's naked ambition to leave a mark and be remembered as greater than The Super Man brings a hellish world tomorrow. P. Craig Russell, Galen Showman and Dave McCaig ignite the explosive fury of Luthor's devilish machinations. It is tragic that Hal and Diana are casualties of Luthor's madness. The hope is that a brighter day rises like a phoenix from the ashes.
Jonathan and Martha Wayne are in Philadelphia for the 1876 Exposition. Lois Lane is there, interviewing one of Thomas Edison's top men, Lex Luthor. "The Age of Wonder" opens with Clark Kent making his debut as "The Super Man" at the Exhibition. He selflessly and generously offers his services to Edison. While most men work toward advancement for financial gain. Kent is a humanitarian and philanthropist. Persuaded by Lex Luthor, Kent, Nikola Tesla, Barry Allen and Ted Knight decide to branch off from Edison. Knight develops a power rod, becoming The Starman. Following a freak accident, Barry Allen becomes The Human Flash. With Luthor and Thomas Wayne funding, they become The Justice League of Science. When an alien wielding a Green Lantern power ring arrives on Earth and dies, Hal Jordan joins the group as The Green Lantern.
Kent maintains his firm stance as a generous humanitarian, even when the public's greed turns noble efforts to failure. Luthor tires to make his mark with unique and singular discoveries, which bring him into direct conflict with Kent.
Luthor manipulates Jordan to an extreme effort against The Man of Tomorrow.
Adisakdi Tantimedh's story is quite riveting, an ideal Elseworlds "What if..." tale. Unfortunately, the utopian future crumbles under human nature, ambition, avarice and greed.
P. Craig Russell, Galen Showman and Dave McCaig capture the Industrial Revolution quite vividly and enjoyably. Bob Lappan's lettering enhances the period piece.
So, Zach Snyder has been announced as director of a Justice League movie following the upcoming Superman sequel featuring Batman, Wonder Woman and now Cyborg. Henry Cavill will be back as The Man of Steel; Ben Affleck was cast as Batman; Gal Gadot, from the Fast & Furious franchise, has been cast as Wonder Woman and Ray Fisher just signed on as Cyborg. Jesse Eisenberg will portray Lex Luthor with Jeremy Irons as Alfred Pennyworth. The currently untitled Superman sequel was originally due July 17th, 2015, but will be released May 6th, 2016. The Justice League film will follow, sometime after 2018.
I'm a DC fan. I'm a Batman fan. I like a lot of the other DC characters. I grew up with Adam West as Batman. Michael Keaton and Christian Bale have done a pretty decent job as The Dark Knight. Kevin Conroy is probably THE best Batman - ever. With Diedrich Bader a close second. Growing up with Adam West as the live action "Caped Crusader", there was also the late Olan (Alan) Soule who voiced Batman in cartoons from 1968 to 1984. I think he and Conroy may be tied for how long each has voiced Batman in cartoons. Conroy started in 1992 with Batman: The Animated Series, and with a few exceptions has continued to voice the character to the present. Conroy voiced Batman throughout the Justice League animated series.
Although it was not the Classic, original line-up, it was pretty cool, because it was character and story driven. I could live with John Stewart instead of Hal Jordan as Green Lantern; because John was presented as a strong character. It just happened that he was black. The original team was very white-male dominated. That was because ALL of comics were white-male dominated. In a time in America when culture was completely white-male dominated. The comic books just reflected the way the entire country and the entire world was at that time. There was only ONE woman on the team. The animated series swapped out Aquaman with Hawkgirl. Personally, I would have gone with Black Canary instead, as a nod and homage to DC's Golden Age and the previous, legendary Justice Society of America. The animated League was a little alien-heavy for my tastes. A Green Lantern powered by Oa, a Hawkgirl from Thanagar, a Martian Manhunter, a Kryptonian Superman and a Wonder Woman from Themyscira. The only native humans were Bruce Wayne and The Flash, Wally West. The stories were engaging.
In the fall of 2011, DC rebooted re-launched it's entire line. At that time, Justice League was rebooted re-launched. Instead of J'onn J'onzz, the Martian Manhunter, former New Teen Titan Victor Stone, Cyborg, was a part of "The Magnificent Seven". The reason was something along the lines that technology has replaced science fiction. With Green Lantern and Superman, J'onn pretty much got crowded out. J'onn's power set, compared to Superman, kinda made him redundant. Still, he was a founding member. It's a real shame that he was swapped out for Cyborg. I have not seen the animated adaptation of that first Justice League origin storyline, Justice League: War. I don't know how soon I will, either. The animated movie further swaps out Captain (Shazam!) Marvel for Aquaman. Which makes no sense, on the surface, because Captain (Shazam!) Marvel is a one off Superman and a male counterpart of Wonder Woman.
Probably the least complicated is the Paul Dini-Alex RossJLA: Secret Origins and JLA: Liberty and Justice oversized trade paperbacks. Both were based in The Bronze Age of comics, which was around the time the League moved from the cave headquarters in Happy Harbor to the satellite that was set in geo-synchronous orbit around the Earth at 23,000 miles.
If there was going to be a live action Justice League film by Warner Bros., I would suggest instead of trying to directly compete with The Avengers versus Thanos with the Justice League facing Darksied, that Warner Bros. adapt Liberty and Justice. It has a The Andromeda Strain angle to it. A small African village is immobilized by an alien virus and the League must find a cure. What is so cool is that each one of the original Magnificent Seven has their "moment" in the story, but probably the character that carries the whole story is J'onn.
A great follow-up to Liberty and Justice, is the twelve-issue Justice by Ross, with Jim Krueger and Doug Braithwaite.
I've re-read the three trade paperback collections a number of times. This is the third time I've brought them with me to Kiev. The story never gets old. It feels like a Justice League story, but it is actually an homage to the '70's Super Friends cartoon! There was a Super Friends tie-in comic book to the series that lasted 47 issues, from 1978 to 1981. Some issues have been collected in two trade paperbacks, and a Showcase "phone book" series collection is due in May.
Justice is such an enjoyable read. It's a little more mature than a Saturday morning cartoon. The references to the Super Friends cartoon are subtle. Ross, Krueger and Braithwaite don't club the reader over the head with the obvious. It is an enjoyable story. Lex Luthor leads the "Legion of Doom" to the betterment of mankind. Part of the plan is to eliminate the Justice League. One by one the League are taken down. The most powerful elements is that Brainiac kidnaps Aquaman and his infant son, Arthur, Jr.; and Sinestro uses a Boom Tube to send Green Lantern into the unknown.
From Absolute Justice by Alex Ross
The final act brings in the entire supporting cast of each of the Justice League. It's nice to see the Teen Titans; although it is a little much to see both the Doom Patrol and Metal Men, their roles in the story make sense.
The reveal is amazing. The inclusion of The Joker is a bit of a shoe-horn, but it all comes together. There's even a cameo by The Legion of Super-Heroes!
Because I enjoy re-reading it again and again, I've brought the three Justice trade paperback collections with me on our third and final trip to Kiev, as creature comforts from home.
After wrapping up Starman, James Robinson moved on to other things. He wrote JSA (Justice Society of America) and Hawkman; he wrote Justice League: Cry For Justice; He wrote Batman and Detective Comics; he wrote the War of the Supermen and New Krypton storylines in Superman. He had a brief run on Justice League before The New 52reboot relaunch in 2011. His League could be described as Justice Titans; it featured Dick (Robin) Grayson as The Batman, Donna (Wonder Girl) Troy as Wonder Woman, Mon-El as Superman, and Supergirl, just to name a few. I picked up a few issues of that, and I enjoyed it. What I would have enjoyed more, is Robinson's take on the original Magnificent Seven. With The New 52 reboot relaunch in 2011, Robinson re-imagined the Golden Age heroes of the Justice Society of America in Earth-2. You may have seen the news that his new Alan Scott was gay.
Robinson left Earth-2 and DC abruptly. He went across the street to the competition, Marvel, where he is now writing and updated The Invaders and Fantastic Four. I still believe that James Robinson has something in common with Roy Thomas. A Golden Age spirit. The Invaders was a World War II team book that Roy Thomas wrote when he was at Marvel in the mid-1970's. Captain America and Bucky, The Human Torch and Toro with Namor, the Sub-Mariner.
I'm sure that it is no co-incidence that Robinson was attracted to The Invaders, having worked on The Golden Age four-issue mini-series for DC; then Starman, which spent a great deal of time in the Golden Age; and finally writing both Justice Society and Earth-2. It is probably no co-incidence either that he is working with two teams that have a Human Torch; Jim Hammond, the original, Golden Age Human Torch, and Johnny Storm, Human Torch with the Fantastic Four.
Robinson's The Invaders is a little different from what I might have anticipated. It is hard to see these characters updated and contemporary from their wartime adventures. The same was true with the re-imagined Earth-2 heroes. The first story-arc puts these veteran heroes in a cosmic setting; which I would see as more suitable to the Fantastic Four. The Fantastic Four is a more cosmic team. They got their powers from a cosmic event. Reed Richards, Mister Fantastic is a cosmic scientist. He discovered the Negative Zone, which is cosmic. I see The Invaders as more of a Batman and The Outsiders team. Somewhat more political in nature. That might not work these days, it being such a small world. I see The Invaders as the original The A-Team. Only super-heroes.
I'm leaning more toward really enjoying his run on Fantastic Four. His Starman was about relationships; father-and-son, brothers, family. I believe that makes him a perfect fit for Marvel's First Family. I enjoyed Mark Waid and Mark Weringo's run on the book and their approach to the team as "Imaginauts". So far, Robinson is a few issues into his run and is deconstructing the team to define and rebuild them. As always, I'm interested to see where he is going with things.
To get ready for his relaunch, I went to the library and I picked up a copy of Essential Fantastic Four, Volume 1. It is a soft cover trade paperback collecting the first twenty issues, plus the first annual. One of the stories is the often reprinted Fantastic Four #5, featuring the first appearance of Doctor Doom.
This was re-imagined by Marc Sumerak and Dax Gordine in the All-Ages, Marvel Age Fantastic Four #5. Doom traps the Fantastic Four in the Baxter Building and takes them captive. He then enlists them to go back in time through his Time Platform to bring back Blackbeard's Treasure Chest. And, wackiness ensues. He holds Sue hostage while Reed, Johnny and Ben make the journey into the past. It is one of the greatest Fantastic Four stories by the original creators Jack Kirby and Stan Lee.
In 1996, around the time Doctor Doom and Reed Richards seemingly died like Sherlock Holmes and Professor Moriarty, Marvel launched a ninety-nine cent comic book line. One of the many titles was Fantastic Four Unplugged. It lasted all of six issues before it was cancelled ended. One of the issues featured Johnny Storm on a date. While on this date he encounters a group of Moloids carrying out an operation for The Mole Man. He is the Fantastic Four's first villain. It is very much a companion piece to the main Fantastic Four book; and, it is also interconnected to other Marvel books. You can't just pick up an issue and jump right into the story without knowing what else is going on in the Marvel Universe. Still, it is a pretty fun story. Except for the stuff that might not make sense unless you already know what's going on.
Marvel and DC have had a long love-hate relationship. Over the years they have produced some great cross-company team-ups; Superman and Spider-Man and Batman and The Incredible Hulk. In 1996, the two companies came up with DC Versus Marvel. It was a contest with fan involvement to see which characters would best each other. During the course of this and future encounters, the DC and Marvel characters were amalgamated, producing new characters from each publisher. Batman and Wolverine became Dark Claw; Iron Man and Green Lantern became Iron Lantern. The Fantastic Four were combined with the Challengers of the Unknown to become the Challengers of the Fantastic. Doctor Doom was combined with the Superman villain Doomsday to become Doctor Doomsday. The Watcher was melded with the Guardians of the Universe to become Uatu, the Guardian. Galactus and Brainiac became Galactiac. The Silver Surfer and The Back Racer became - you guessed it - The Silver Racer. It was all very '60's Silver Age and fun, in an Elseworlds/What If? alternate reality sort of way.
Robinson's Fantastic Four feels grand, epic and serious. At the end of issue #2, Johnny loses his Human Torch powers. The storyline is called "The Fall of the Fantastic Four". It should be interesting to see where Robinson takes the team. The most interesting development is that they are now wearing red uniforms.
Kinda like this...
Since my wife, Cathy, and I are building our family through adoption - we are on our third trip to Kiev, bringing home our daughter, Masha - and Marvel's First Family is the Fantastic Four, I brought along the first two issues of James Robinson's Fantastic Four and a couple of other FF comics as creature comforts from home.
I can wait to get back home to my favorite run of FF comics -
I have the entire 49 issues of Marvel Adventures Fantastic Four. A number of issues were written by Batman '66 writer Jeff Parker. They are all done-in-one stories. They are a lot of fun to re-read! I hope the same is true of Robinson's FF.
