7 Justice League Stories We Don’t Talk About Enough

The Justice League has been defending the DC Multiverse for decades, bringing together the greatest heroes in the history of the comic industry. They’re one of the most well-known superteams ever, and have starred in some of the greatest stories of all-time. If you like big event crossovers, they had their genesis in Justice League of America (Vol. 1)’s multiversal crossovers. Even Marvel Comics owes its return to superheroes to the Justice League and its succes. Their comics pushed forward what a superhero group could be several times over the decades, and there are some stories that are constantly talked about. These are the greatest of them, but they are only the tip of an amazing iceberg.

What is above the tide line is wonderful, but there are so many stories under it that only diehard fans even know about. These stories never get talked about when we talk about the greatest League stories, but they deserve the attention. These seven Justice League stories don’t get talked about enough, and it’s about time to change that.

7) Forever Evil

The New 52 isn’t exactly beloved, especially its Justice League comics. Justice League was positioned as a flagship book of the line, but it’s not remembered extremely fondly for numerous reasons. However, there was an amazing Justice League story from this time, and it starred the most unique League ever: Forever Evil, by Geoff Johns and David Finch. This story took place in the aftermath of Earth-3’s Crime Syndicate defeating the heroes of the Earth, with Lex Luthor, Black Adam, Sinestro, Catwoman, Black Manta, Captain Cold, Deathstoke, a new version of Bizarro, and (because it’s DC Comics) Batman coming together to beat them. It’s not a traditional League story, and it’s so great seeing the greatest villains of DC in the roles of their enemies fighting a greater evil.

6) “The Lightning Saga”

The Legion of Superheroes is returning again, but it’s far from the first time that DC has tried to bring the team back to prominence. In the mid ’00s, they tried and they did it with an old school crossover between the Justice League of America and Justice Society of America in “The Lightning Saga”, by Brad Meltzer, Geoff Johns, Dale Eaglesham, Ed Benes, Shane Davis, and Fernando Pasarin. This story saw the two teams hunting down clues from “The Tornado’s Path” and “The Golden Age”, the opening story arcs of both teams’ books, and it’s amazing. It was meant to call back to the old JLA/JSA crossovers, and showed that they could still work in the modern day. This 19-year old story is spectacular, and more fans need to talk about it.

5) “The Totality”

DC Rebirth was successful for numerous books, but Justice League (Vol. 3) didn’t really catch on. DC decided to ensure the book’s success and brought superstar writer Scott Snyder to the book. His run kicked off with the fantastic story, “The Totality”, with artists Jim Cheung, Jorge Jimenez, Doug Mahnke, and James Tynion IV writing an issue. This story saw the League and Legion of Doom in a race to get their hands on the Totality, an object of ultimate power, and it went hard. This story captured the widescreen action of Morrison’s JLA, and kicked off an all-new epic for the team. It’s exactly the kind of story that makes the group sing and it doesn’t get the praise it should.

4) Justice League: A Midsummer’s Nightmare

Grant Morrison and Howard Porter’s JLA is one of the greatest team runs ever, and it made the Justice League popular again the ’90s. However, there was a story that built into it that no one ever talks about anymore: Justice League: A Midsummer’s Nightmare, by Mark Waid, Fabian Nizieza, Jeff Johnson, and Darick Robertson. This story brought back the Big Seven version of the team – Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, the Flash, Green Lantern, Aquaman, and Martian Manhunter – for the first time in years and pit them against Doctor Destiny, one of their most dangerous villains. It’s a classic that most fans don’t even know exists, but it’s integral to the history of the team and their success in the last 30 years.

3) “Crisis on Conscience”

Identity Crisis is maligned nowadays, but it was a key part of DC in the mid ’00s. It introduced the Justice League mindwipes, and those would be dealt with in JLA with “Crisis of Conscience”, by Geoff Johns, Allan Heinberg, and Chris Batista. The story deals with the Secret Society of Supervillains, victims of League mindwipes, learning the truth thanks to a mysterious enemy, attacking the group and leading to Batman learning what was done to him. It’s an action-packed story packed with drama and tension that hooks you from the first word. It’s connection to Identity Crisis doesn’t help it in the eyes of fans, but it’s better than it gets credit for.

2) Justice League Elite

Joe Kelly and Doug Mahnke’s run on JLA doesn’t get a lot of attention in general (go and read “The Obsidian Age” and tell me that isn’t peak), and Justice League Elite was their best work together. It spun out of Action Comics #775 and JLA #100, bringing back the Elite under new leader Vera Black. They ended up melding with the Justice League, becoming a black ops superhero team. This 12-issue series was outstanding, taking familiar characters like Wally West and Oliver Queen and putting them in situations unlike any other, leading to showdown that no one could have expected. This is one of the most unique League stories ever, and it should definitely get more love.

1) Justice

Justice, by Alex Ross, Jim Krueger, and Doug Braithwaite, is a throwback in the best possible way. The story kicks off with the members of the League and the Legion of Doom having apocalyptic dreams, leading both groups trying to figure out what is going on. The villains unleash a plan that sees the world fall in love with them, and the League has to figure out what their real scheme is and how to beat them. It’s basically a SuperFriends movie in the modern age, starring a classic version of both teams that is amazing. This is a best of all-time Justice League story, and it deserves its flowers.

What’s your favorite underrated Justice League story? Leave a comment in the comment section below and join the conversation on the ComicBook Forums!

The 10 Best Justice League Stories In DC Comics History