The Justice League formed for the first time in 1960, and in the last 65 years, they have broken up several times for different reasons. The first teaming of the Justice League occurred in The Brave and the Bold #28 when Earth needed powerful heroes to team up to battle an alien threat known as Starro. After two more appearances in that series, DC gave the team its own title. This original lineup included Flash, Martian Manhunter, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, Batman, Aquaman, and Superman, and these heroes became the backbone of the Justice League throughout its run. However, countless DC heroes joined the team in the next six-plus decades.
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The Justice League broke up when they stopped getting along. The team split up when different members believed in going in different directions. They also broke up during times of peace when they wanted a break, and even when they fell in terrible defeat and felt they no longer made a difference. However, some of the Justice League breakups are better written than others.
8) Justice League America #113 (1996)
After Superman showed up and took back control of the Justice League from Maxwell Lord, things didn’t go well. There were several spinoff groups, including Justice League Europe, Justice League Task Force, and Extreme Justice, none of which was what the JLA was supposed to represent. This was the 90s, when more extreme comics were becoming popular, but for a team like the Justice League, it just didn’t work. In Justice League America #113, it all finally came to an end.
When this issue started, the main Justice League team was off-planet and in great danger from the alien villain, Flicker. By this time, the team featured mostly B-level members like Blue Devil, Fire, Nuklon, Power Girl, and Metamorpho. They did have Wonder Woman on the team, but she was the only original member remaining. However, the reasons for the team breaking up after this were personal. After this long battle, they decided they needed to take time off to deal with their personal lives. However, this was done behind the scenes so DC Comics could bring back the team with the A-list members after almost a decade of lesser names serving the League.
7) Justice League of America Annual #2 (1984)
The first time the Justice League ever broke up occurred in Justice League of America Annual #2 in 1984. Impressively, this was 24 years after the team formed, and, before this, it was just members leaving and new ones joining. By this point, Aquaman was the only original member left. The team had just suffered a great loss during a war between Earth and Mars, and the Justice League’s headquarters suffered tremendous damage. By this time, Aquaman felt the team was no longer effective in its current form.
Not everyone was happy, and Firestorm was especially angry that Aquaman was firing everybody. Aquaman made a great point. He said the Justice League has to be a team that gives 100% or it can’t exist, and even Firestorm’s other half made him realize they couldn’t promise that. However, that is where this Justice League breakup falls short: it lasted for less than two pages.
Zatanna and Elongated Man (along with his wife, Sue Dibny) agreed to give 100% to the new team, and when Martian Manhunter showed up and asked to join, the new Justice League was formed. Thanks to Steel (Henry “Hank” Heywood III) offering them a base in Detroit, they became known as Justice League Detroit, with Vixen, Vibe, and Gypsy as new members. Sadly, this was one of the most disappointing versions of the Justice League, so this breakup didn’t lead to anything positive.
6) Justice League of America #261 (1987)
In 1987, the Justice League Detroit team came to an end. Unlike the previous Justice League breakup, which was caused by Aquaman feeling the heroes weren’t giving their 100%, this breakup happened for a more dire reason. The public had begun turning on superheroes and no longer trusted even the Justice League. This was the Legends event series, where Darkseid bet the Phantom Stranger that he could turn humanity against its heroes.
What led to this specific breakup was even more tragic. Professor Ivo showed up and targeted the team, and his androids killed Vibe and Steel. There was no public announcement this time. Instead, Martian Manhunter declared the League dead and went after the people responsible, seeking revenge. By the end, Vixen also quit, and Manhunter decided the League needed to continue, but in a different manner, without him. This would lead to Justice League International, one of the team’s most popular lineups.
5) Justice League of America #31 (2009)
This Justice League breakup came thanks to tragedy: Martian Manhunter died. Then, during Identity Crisis, Batman died (more accurately, he was time-displaced, but the League thought he was dead.) Black Canary became the leader, but no one had faith in her, not even her husband, Green Arrow. As a result, Green Lantern (Hal) started his own splinter team and ignored Canary when she forbade him to do so.
After this, Black Canary saw her team falling apart. Roy Harper (Arsenal) quit the team. Green Arrow wanted nothing to do with being on it. Flash left, saying he needed to dedicate more time to his family and the Titans. Wonder Woman and Superman both quit due to other obligations. All Dinah had left was a team with only John Stewart and Zatanna as the A-list members, so she did what she felt was best. She broke up the Justice League.
This resulted in Hal leading his splinter team, which was a lot more violent. There was also a smaller team trying to keep it together, with Zatanna, John Stewart, Vixen, Doctor Light, and Firestorm. They chose to serve without a chairperson and just work as a team, although they didn’t make it very long.
4) Justice League America #60 (1992)
One of the best iterations of the Justice League in history ran from 1987 to 1992 with Justice League International. This era was so popular that it is what James Gunn is reportedly basing his Justice Gang after in the new DCU. The main lineup made this a little more comedic. While Martian Manhunter was the leader, it included misfit members like Guy Gardner, Blue Beetle, and Booster Gold. Created by Keith Giffen and JM DeMatteis, it all finally ended in 1992 when the team chose to split up.
This breakup came thanks to several dominoes falling into place. The team’s benefactor, Maxwell Lord, disappeared after he was possessed by Dreamslayer and caused the team to become villains for a short time. The Silver Sorceress sacrificed herself to defeat Dreamslayer, and the damage was done. The United Nations withdrew its support of the team, and Martian Manhunter took a leave of absence. Without Manhunter, the rest of the team fell apart.
By the end of the team’s run, Maxwell Lord returned and said he would restart the Justice League in a new form. However, this was a time of turmoil with rival Justice League groups. Superman refused to allow Maxwell Lord to run the team and started his own version. Booster Gold, Guy Gardner, and Blue Beetle all joined Superman’s team, as did a newcomer called Bloodwynd (Martian Manhunter). Other Justice League spinoff teams arrived, but DC canceled those comics after oversaturating the market with the team name.
3) Justice League of America #60 (2011)
This Justice League breakup happened right before the company-wide reboot with the New 52. The team had several roster changes from 2009 to 2011, all ending in Justice League of America #60. The membership here was a mishmash of heroes, with Dick Grayson’s Batman leading the team. As with many Justice League breakups, it all started with some members deciding they wanted something different.
Supergirl announced her departure, and then Donna Troy also said she planned to leave. Jessie Quick was pregnant and said she had to leave, and then Jade also announced her departure. Finally, Batman said he was leaving too, and finally, everyone announced they were out, ending the Justice League just in time for the New 52 to reboot everything. What was perfect was that it was the most peaceful and understanding breakup in Justice League history.
2) Justice League #75 (2022)
The last time the Justice League broke up, it was in a story titled “Death of the Justice League” in 2022. This Justice League formed starting in the New 52 and didn’t break up again until this moment, where they fought the Dark Army before the Dark Crisis event. The entire Justice League, other than Black Adam, were seemingly killed by Pariah in this issue, and the team didn’t reunite when the event was over and the heroes were back.
Instead, this event led to a new team of main heroes in the DC Universe, with the Titans replacing the Justice League as Earth’s greatest heroes. This included Nightwing, Jon Kent, Wally West’s Flash, and more. There was a form of the Justice League that fought in Dark Crisis, but when the event ended, Batman said that there would no longer be a need for that team in the world.
This is one instance where a massive defeat is what ended DC’s greatest team of heroes. It is also the start of something new in DC. While the Titans are still the comic book line’s main hero team, this new era of DC involves team-ups only when they are needed, but no need for an actual Justice League anymore.
1) JLA #120 (2005)
In 2005, Aquaman broke up the Justice League for the second time. However, this time he wasn’t the only veteran because Batman, Green Lantern, Black Canary, Green Arrow, and more were there for this splintering. That said, the breakup was caused by a lack of trust between the team’s members, which all broke down originally with Identity Crisis when Batman learned his teammates had wiped his mind to cover up a dark secret.
Batman trusted no one and admitted that this much power on one team could corrupt everyone. In the end, no one trusted Batman either. Green Arrow even accused Batman of destroying the Watchtower to break up the Justice League. By the time the meeting ended, everyone laid out their distrust, and the Justice League broke up with no one on the same page anymore.
What resulted was Aquaman and John Stewart starting a new covert Justice League in its place to watch each other’s backs and keep an eye on Batman. At the same time, Batman made it clear he was going to watch the League members as well, and this started a rough patch where none of DC’s heroes really trusted each other.
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