Justice League of America Moving to Canada

[Fanghawk]

Justice League of America Moving to Canada

Justice League Canada is DC's latest New 52 book, set in the distant, faraway lands of Toronto and Northern Ontario.

When it comes to comic books, Canada really isn't known for its mainstream superheroes. Sure, we have Wolverine, but at the end of the day our heroes are silly, obscure, or both when compared to The Avengers or the Justice League. It's something Canadian comic fans just learn to accept, but within a few short months the status quo could be overturned entirely. At Toronto's Fan Expo convention, DC Comics revealed that the Justice League of America will be uprooted from its home country, renamed, and given new headquarters in the Great White North. Written by Toronto-based Jeff Lemire with art by Mike McKone, Justice League Canada will feature the same cosmic-level threats of previous teams within the unconventional setting of Northern Ontario.

"This is like my ultimate dream job," Lemire said. "It sounds like a joke and something like this would never happen, but it is actually happening, and I couldn't be happier."

Justice League Canada is a rebranding of DC's Justice League of America book, complete with an updated roster and all-new creative team. According to Lemire, the idea was first proposed by publisher Dan Dido as potential fallout from New 52's current Trinity War event. "As a result of [Trinity War], without spoiling any of that story, there will be major changes in the Justice Leagues, and in the spring, the current Justice League of America team goes through a dramatic change and some of the pieces that are left behind will evolve into this new Justice League Canada team."

The Canadian Justice League's full roster hasn't been revealed yet, but Lemire promises it will feature A-list heroes alongside new and lesser-known characters. For example, one confirmed team member is Adam Strange, the archaeologist turned science-fiction hero whose New 52 nationality will be reimagined as Canadian. Most important to Lemire, however, is representing Canada's authentic landscapes and cultural mindset. For that reason, most of JLC's action takes place in Toronto, while the team's headquarters are based in the James Bay and Moosonee area. "I do want to create a cool, rural Northern Ontario headquarters for Justice League Canada, and I don't want to spoil it yet," Lemire adds. "And it's not a hockey rink, I promise. Although, of course, it did cross my mind."

"It really is just trying to make an honest portrayal of the places and the country and people that I know," Lemire explains. "That's why I'm setting it in Toronto and Northern Ontario, because those are the places that I really know well ... I'm just trying to create a genuine backdrop for these stories that are big and cosmic in scope, but are still really grounded in a real place. As long as I keep that focused, I'll probably avoid clichés, but sometime those clichés are clichés because they're true, so I'm sure some of that will slip in there."

Source: <a href=http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/2013/08/23/dc_comics_to_launch_justice_league_canada_in_2014.html>The Star

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[Daaaah Whoosh]

This article gave me a craving for Tim Horton's. Oh, Canada.

 

[Sabrestar]

This is good. Canada deserves a good showing in at least some form of semi-mainstream entertainment.
Wonder if they'll be fans of the Argos.

 

[Skeleon]

Hm, alright. I don't follow comics so I have no idea what that fallout from the Trinity War was (nor what that war entailed) that caused this. Sounds like it's completely in-universe then, though, rather than some external decision-making/politicking affecting the comic universe.
Why not get rid of the nation-based thing entirely, though? We're talking cosmic threats. That should at least warrant a "Justice League of Terra" or "of Sol" or something. Or simply "Global Justice League" or "Terran Justice League". Hell, go the "Perry Rhodan"-route and call it "The Solar Empire"... I mean... "The Solar League". It's kind of silly to have them based in one particular country when they deal with threats to the entire globe.

 

[schrodinger]

This article gave me a craving for Tim Horton's. Oh, Canada.

Damn you, now I want some Tim Hurton's as well. Those chocolate muffins, those chocolate muffins...

Anyways, it's always good to have some diversity in the usual formula in comics because god knows comics needs it from time to time.

 

[TiberiusEsuriens]

"I placed this in Canada because I felt I could make it more authentic. If you are not fond of this change, I am sorry. Truly, very, sorry." - Canadian Writer

 

[Tireseas_v1legacy]

This sounds more like a spin off rather than a rebranding, but I digress...

I can see Northern Ontario being a great place to put a JLAC base. The Canadian wilderness would be a great place to build a secret base or stage an invasion. It's Canada. No one thinks nefarious plot and Canada in the save sentence. Just hearing a plot is coming from Canada makes one skeptical as to how dangerous it is.

Poisoning the world's maple syrup supply? Turns out that had a dramatic effect on global obesity rates as people avoided pancakes and waffles for years (although the Belgian economy collapsed).

 

[Atmos Duality]

Well, I know I'm in for an interesting rant next week.
(when a certain big fan of JLA I know returns to university)

In the interim, please pass the poutine...of justice!

 

[CriticalMiss]

Is that Catwoman I see in the Justice League? That's a new one for sure.

 

[JamesBr]

Hopefully this will be a more successful (and well known) attempt at a Canadian team than Alpha Flight.

 

[elvor0]

Hm, alright. I don't follow comics so I have no idea what that fallout from the Trinity War was (nor what that war entailed) that caused this. Sounds like it's completely in-universe then, though, rather than some external decision-making/politicking affecting the comic universe.
Why not get rid of the nation-based thing entirely, though? We're talking cosmic threats. That should at least warrant a "Justice League of Terra" or "of Sol" or something. Or simply "Global Justice League" or "Terran Justice League". Hell, go the "Perry Rhodan"-route and call it "The Solar Empire"... I mean... "The Solar League". It's kind of silly to have them based in one particular country when they deal with threats to the entire globe.

Justice League of America is different to the Justice League. Essentially, Justice League is your standard affair, Superman, WW, Flash, Batman...etc, that do the cosmic threats and what you'd expect. Justice League of America on the other hand, is a government organization set up to defend against Metahumans and Terror threats. Basically they do government wet work, but their prime function is to handle Superman and Co if they ever go rogue. Think Cadmus if you've ever seen the JLU cartoons.

Is that Catwoman I see in the Justice League? That's a new one for sure.

Yeah they've got some...odd members to be sure. They're supposed to act as counters to relevent members of the Justice League, but aside from Martian Manhunter, Green Arrow and Catwoman they're pretty naff, nevermind the fact that aside from Martain Manhunter they're horrendously underpowered to fight the actual Justice League.

 

[Skeleon]

Justice League of America on the other hand, is a government organization set up to defend against Metahumans and Terror threats. Basically they do government wet work, but their prime function is to handle Superman and Co if they ever go rogue. Think Cadmus if you've ever seen the JLU cartoons.

No, but I think I get your point. That said, if it's a governmental group it's even weirder for them to leave for Canada. If they just called themselves "of America" because they were, you know, located in the USA, that'd be different, but if they were actually connected to the USA's government, then this is a much bigger change than I first thought.

 

[JamesBr]

their greatest weakness is when a villian apologizes....

I don't think I've heard of a Canadian beings stopped by someone ELSE apologizing. We're polite, but not so polite as to apologize for your apologizes. Donuts and coffee would work better ^^

Captcha: Hug Me
Feeling needy, Captcha?

 

[Clankenbeard]

Hopefully this will be a more successful (and well known) attempt at a Canadian team than Alpha Flight.

Sigh. Yes, I bought Alpha flight when it came out in the 80s (I think). It had potential. Drawn by John Byrne, it had some of the Canadian landscapes mentioned here and was okay. In the end, I found the stories to be a bit bland and the heroes unremarkable. Then, John Byrne split and the writig got worse. I bailed, thinking Guardian, Puck, Marina, Snowbird, Aurora and her brother Jean Marc/Paul?, Shaman, and Sasquatch would fall into obscurity. They pretty much did (at least to me).

The only thing of note that I remember about the Alpha Flight stories was that they killed off the character that was Guardian (their leader) and replaced him with his wife. Oh, and that he once used his magnetic powers to render himself at rest with the Earth's magnetic field. This supposedly gave him an instantaneous velocity of about 1000mi/hr and he simply disappeared to the people he was fighting. Not sure how that works. Getting stronger when madder seems much more scientifically accurate.

Well, it looks like somebody besides be remembers them. Still, the X-Men first appearance of Alpha Flight is worth a few bucks, so I guess they have that going for them.

 

[Scarim Coral]

This is an interesting move. Sure Marvel got Wolverine and Alpha Flight (Canada superhero team) but nothing come to my mind when combining the words DC and Canada, that is until now.

 

[JamesBr]

The only thing of note that I remember about the Alpha Flight stories was that they killed off the character that was Guardian (their leader) and replaced him with his wife. Oh, and that he once used his magnetic powers to render himself at rest with the Earth's magnetic field. This supposedly gave him an instantaneous velocity of about 1000mi/hr and he simply disappeared to the people he was fighting. Not sure how that works. Getting stronger when madder seems much more scientifically accurate.

Well, it looks like somebody besides be remembers them. Still, the X-Men first appearance of Alpha Flight is worth a few bucks, so I guess they have that going for them.

Heh, almost the entire team was killed in a single panel before later writers retconned some of the death (comics, amiright?), clearly they weren't very popular; reinforced by the fact that they only had a comic series between '83 and '94 and a couple of special editions since then (that never really took off).

I guess this is what happens when you're originally designed as merely the background to a MUCH more popular character (for those who don't know, Wolverine was part of Alpha Flight before joining the X-Men).

 

[Saulkar]

This article gave me a craving for Tim Horton's. Oh, Canada.

I am drinking my medium doubledouble right now. Whelp got to go to work soon my my local, Canadian Owned, Superstore produce department to show off my rugged physique while piling wild banana boxes and pulling fierce potato pins. All the while my grand beard saves on the power bill by illuminating the facility with its radiant glow, powered by Timbits and Coffee.

 

[Angelous Wang]

Is that Catwoman I see in the Justice League? That's a new one for sure.

I think she's going to be the new Flash, the comic relief of the group.

 

[Okysho]

Canadian jokes aside, this irks me just a tad... It's not that Canada is finally getting some recognition from DC comics (though I think Marvel did it first with the Spider-Man visits Canada mini-series) but the simple fact that DC comics heroes are all American. This may seem really petty, but a lot of Canadians like making the distinction that we're not the USA (yes there's a crapton of evidence that says otherwise and our PM is very much an oil tycoon), but if you ask a Canadian about something... well... Canadian, they'll probably say something like "... unlike the US" or "...and that's different from the US" not necessarily that the US is doing things bad.

Canada doesn't have it's own... Hero... I know that doesn't make too much sense but this is a part of Canada's "identity problem"

The US has Superman/marvel/DC
Great Britain has James Bond (Say what you like, but James Bond is English, created by an English ex-militant writer and everyone knows it)
Japan has... Almost everything else... (Mario/any anime character ever/Cloud/etc)
China even has their own heroes, elevated from real-life Martial arts.
Canada doesn't have anything immediately recognizable in this regard. You could say Captain Canuk or something equally silly, but that's really an imitation of the US comic book heroes. Guess we just have to try harder...

In closing, high-five to DC for the representation, it's just sad that Canada couldn't have done this on their own...

Edit:

Does Scott Pilgrim count? Not the movie, the graphic novel. If he counts (and by "counts" I mean you can show a picture of Scott Pilgrim to someone in say... Italy and they'll know who he is), then totally disregard everything I said.