The Justice League is an organization made up of the greatest heroes on Earth.
Leadership is determined by election and is rotated for regular terms. All other members are considered equals. Batman was the leader in 2010.[1] In late 2015, Captain Atom became the leader,[2] until July 4, 2016, when Black Canary took over.[3][4] By 2018, the leaders were Kaldur'ahm, the second Aquaman, and Wonder Woman, acting as co-chairs and representatives for the League on Earth and in space, respectively.[5] On February 24 2019, Black Lightning was elected to leadership.[6]
The League is permitted to operate by means of a U.N. Charter. League members have no jurisdiction within the borders of nations that have not signed the U.N. Charter, such as Bialya.[7]The League also has a relationship with the U.S. government.[3] Under Lex Luthor's tenure as U.N. Secretary General, the League's diplomatic reach has been curtailed considerably.[8]
They were initially based in the Secret Sanctuary, a cave hollowed out in Mount Justice by Superman and Green Lantern.[12]They did not go public with their alliance at first.[10]
In 2004,[13] the League had expanded to ten members—Green Arrow, Hawkman and Hawkwoman had joined. Two years later,[14] the Joker discovered the location of the Sanctuary, and attacked Snapper Carr and the League inside.[15][16]The League went public shortly after.[10]
In 2008, six new members joined the group.[13] A new hideout was chosen: the orbiting Watchtower satellite, although they also used the Hall of Justice as a front for tourists and the media.[17]
With the foundation of the Team, the League focused on the bigger issues, and stole the limelight so their former sidekicks could operate on the sly.[18]
After Green Arrow and Black Canary encountered Amazo in rural Connecticut, half the League, including the powerhouses Superman and Captain Atom, responded. Their presence nearly proved disastrous as Amazo was able to copy all their powers. Eventually, the android was dismantled.[19]
With the Injustice League's plant creatures sprouting up all over the world, Batman made sure the entire Justice League fought them to draw attention away from the Team as they went for the Injustice League's headquarters in the Louisiana bayou. They eventually made their way there too to force them to surrender.[20]
The Team created an antidote and vaccine, and after a pitched battle, liberated the entire League from Savage's control. The League was under mind control for a little over a day. While most of that time was accounted for, six members (Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Martian Manhunter, John Stewart and Hawkwoman) were missing for sixteen hours.[23] In that time, they attacked the planet Rimbor, boldly declaring who they were and that they should be feared.[11]
2011-2015
After the incident on Rimbor with six mind-controlled Leaguers,[24] the entire Justice League was declared unwelcome in the sector surrounding Rann. Not having figured out what happened during the sixteen hours unaccounted for during their enslavement, the Justice League was initially unaware of this ban.[25]
The League and the Team discussed an alien attack on the UN. From Adam Strange, they learned Kroloteans were behind Zeta-Beam thefts on Rann, and that the Leaguers were unwelcome there—six were even wanted criminals. The Team sent a squad to Rann, while the League and the Team set up strike groups to target Kroloteans on Earth.[25]
After Mal Duncan alerted everyone that the main Krolotean hideout was found by Gamma Squad, all twenty-one active members of the League rushed to New Orleans. When they arrived, they saw Robin, Blue Beetle and Lagoon Boy had already freed the hostages, and the base was destroyed.[25]
After Miss Martian discovered what the League had done in the missing sixteen hours, Captain Atom and John Stewart discussed what to do. John convened with the Guardians of the Universe, and they thought it best that the six Leaguers traveled to Rimbor to defend themselves. Hawkman accompanied his spouse, and Icon joined because he had experience with intergalactic tribunal law.[11]
The general populace was not made aware that eight powerful members of the League were off-planet. The League and the Team set up a ruse, and Miss Martian and Superboy at times impersonated Martian Manhunter and Superman to keep up the impression that they were still at full strength.[27]
The Hall of Justice was invaded by the alien gladiator Despero, who sought to best Earth's mightiest champions in single combat. Though the warrior was eventually defeated, the Hall was destroyed in the process. When the Reachambassador arrived to "help" by removing the force field Despero had placed around the Hall, he casually let slip the existence of the Watchtower before the news cameras.[28]
Superman testified before the High Court of Rimbor, explaining, not for the first time, how the League was compelled to attack the planet. The trial remained ongoing as the League refused to bribe their way to freedom.[29]
The arrival of the Warworld in Earth orbit caused worldwide disasters due to the gravitational effects of the massive vessel. Justice League members deployed to help.[29]
While most of the League continued to deal with the problems the Warworld created on Earth,[30] Captain Atom, Captain Marvel, Doctor Fate and Rocket defended Earth from Mongul's attacks and launched a counter-assault on the Warworld's surface. Meanwhile, the Team infiltrated the satellite and disbaled it.[29]
Following the capture of most of the Team, and the loss of the Warworld's crystal key, the League began a full-time vigil over the key chamber. Rocket and Captain Marvel held the first watch.[31]
After Miss Martian, Superboy and Adam Strange presented new evidence—a video recording of the Light admitting their subjugation of the League—and convinced the Tribune of the future profitability of a fair verdict in the case, the accused Leaguers were found innocent and released.[4]
A group of forty heroes, including all the Leaguers on Earth, gathered for a briefing on the plan to stop the Magnetic Field Disruptors planted by the Reach to destroy Earth. The heroes paired off and attacked the MFDs simultaneously. Within thirty minutes, the twenty MFDs were disabled.[4]
Captain Atom turned over chairmanship of the League to Black Canary. Later, Batman, Canary and the Team's mentors gathered to tell the Team that they would now operate from the Watchtower beside the League.[4]
Feeling the League could not escape the Light's spin, Batman and Green Arrow staged a walkout, taking several associated with them from the League and the Team.[5] Unbeknownst to the other Leaguers, co-chairs Aquaman and Wonder Woman were aware of this plan and agreed with it. Batman formed his own team to operate without U.N. scrutiny.[34]Black Lightning resigned on his own accord, after accidentally killing a child on an earlier mission weighed down his conscience.[5]
Batman and Nightwing set up an all-hands meeting for the League, the Team, the Outsiders and their own operatives. They came clean about their secret involvement in the Outsiders; they had orchestrated most of their successes to create a team that could better the public image of heroes and combat the Light in ways the League and Team couldn't.
For their complicity in the plot, Aquaman and Wonder Woman stepped down as leaders, as did Miss Martian for the Team. The recently rejoined Black Lightning, who had proven himself a moral compass in recent months, was unanimously elected new leader. Under his terms, the League would no longer scheme in the shadows, and Batman and his operatives folded back into the League and Team.[6]
The Team: acts as the League's covert ops unit for secret missions.[18]
Outsiders: acts as group of young heroes in the limelight, not publicly affiliated with the Justice League, but still covertly answers to the Team.[52]
Each member of the Justice League has a membership number, which is read out when they enter restricted areas of the Hall of Justice.[17]With the exception of the seven founders, who have designations 01 to 07, these designations indicate the order of the members' induction into the League.[10]For the founders, their designations indicate the order in which they had arrived to battle the Appellaxians, before the League was formed.[53]