Saturday, September 26, 2015

Elongated Man and The Avengers



I remember fondly the issues of Justice League of America in which "Metamorpho says 'No!'" and Black Lightning calls the JLA "turkeys" when asked to join the ranks.  It was shocking that anyone would not want to be a member and those made for great stories.  Nowadays nobody turns the Avengers or JLA down, and they are bursting at the seams.

15 comments:

AirDave said...

I think nothing stands out more like a sore thumb than the hazing Black Lightning went through when the JLA offered membership. The whole thing just comes off wrong looking back. At least Metamorpho got honorary membership. That's why The Outsiders seemed much cooler. I'm not sure who I would have liked to see join The Outsiders, Ralph or Plastic Man.

Anonymous said...

When their comic first came out, Batman and the Outsiders seemed more like DC's answer to the original Defenders. A sort of "non-team" composed of what could best be termed "super anti-heroes." So, Plastic Man--as a reformed gangster--would probably have been more appropriate as an Outsider.

Whereas, Ralph brought some much needed (and, quite often, tension-breaking) humor to the JLA of the mid-1970's. Equivalent to that provided by Hank "the Beast" McCoy after he was first recruited by the Avengers.

White Octopus said...

I myself always preferred books featuring small, tight-knit teams- trios, four members, five or six at the most. It was easier to keep track of characters and it made for better stories. Ex: The Defenders (Hulk, Submariner, and Dr. Strange)

Bob Greenwade said...

I read something a while back (I think it was a collected-issue volume from one of the JLA's epics) wherein Captain Marvel (as he was still called at the time) was offered a JLA membership and, though deeply honored, turned it down because he had a commitment to the JSA. ("Stupid wisdom of Solomon," he complained after.)

There are numerous possible reasons for turning down membership in the most prestigious team in the world, and that one was my favorite for many reasons.

Unknown said...

Another gem among many. It's put together very well, it gives the impression of having been one cover all along. Ralph in the Avengers is an interesting thought too.

Ross said...

Thank you, Saint!

Sonofjack said...

"Metamorpho Says No" was one of my favorite JLA stories as well, and I thought it made perfect sense that he turned them down given that he saw his powers more as an affliction than a blessing.

I still long for the days when a new hero joining either the Avengers or the JLA was an event, but those days are looooooooonnnnggg gone! I even used to pride myself on the fact that I could name all the members of each group. Today, i don't even recognize half of them!

One last thing . . . . When I was in high school I imagined my own "Defenders" type group for DC (This was years before The Outsiders.) that consisted of The Creeper, Man-Bat, Plastic Man, Mister Miracle, Barda, The Black Orchid and Ragman (the original version) with Deadman as an unofficial eighth member. (My idea was that initially the others wouldn't even know that Deadman was helping them!)

Unknown said...

I like smaller teams. Too many people get lost in a huge team. I have no clue what Avengers cover this was originally, and this is a new version of Ralph's costume for me. What was Hercules thinking with those coveralls?

Unknown said...

The Outsiders comment from sonofjack reminded me, I had my own version of the Outsiders. Creeper, Man-Bat, and Deadman as well as some really obscure characters: Asano Nitobe (Manhunter's ninja teacher) and Deborah Dancer (the vampire sidekick form I Vampire), and maybe Dr. Occult.

I wonder what could be done with an Outsiders team that mixed DC and Marvel outsider characters. Some Marvel possibilities that spring to mind are Moon Knight, Morbius, Red Wolf, and the Prowler.

Simreeve said...

A nice cover... and some verry interesting discussion.
The story in which Captain Marvel turned down JLA membership was 'Obsidian Age' (c.issue #69 or #70 of the late-1990s series): I've just read it.

Sonofjack said: " I even used to pride myself on the fact that I could name all the members of each group. Today, i don't even recognize half of them!".

Man-bat and the original version of Ragman would be on my 'Outsiders' list as well: In fact they're in one version of the line-up included in an alternative 'Multiverse-2' timeline about DC's heroes that I've been working on (just for fun) over the last few months and plan to post online when it's in a more coherent condition: Mind you, that storyline's first major divergence from DC canon is a slightly more successful victory for Earth's heroes in the first 'Crisis' (and a surviving [although smaller than pre-Crisis] multiverse) in which the formation of its 'New Earth' counterpart gave the former Earth-Two priority over Earth-One, so that in the post-Crisis version of history they were originally 'Robin & the Outsiders' having been founded by the Golden Age version of Robin...
^_^

Simreeve said...

Oops! Accidentally left out my reply to Sonofjack's comment: It should have said "Same here." I can remember when both the Avengers and the JLA had only had totals of fifteen members each....

Dylan said...

Looks great and extraordinarily seamless.

More than anything, with teams, I miss the days when a team would actually have a consistent membership for any length of time. There was a period at DC, roughly from just before Blackest Night and going right up until Flashpoint where none of their major teams could keep a consistent membership for any time at all. I seem to recall Mon-El, Starfire, and the Guardian joining the JLA for all of an issue.

Simreeve said...

Dylan said: "There was a period at DC, roughly from just before Blackest Night and going right up until Flashpoint where none of their major teams could keep a consistent membership for any time at all. I seem to recall Mon-El, Starfire, and the Guardian joining the JLA for all of an issue."

And so too, for the same one issue, did both Superboy and Cyborg...

Carycomic said...

Looks like Dibny spiked his gingold with Miraclo!

Anonymous said...

Dibny?! Punching out the Scarlet Witch?! Someone who could use her hex power to do more than turn him into licorice (a la Jean Grey)???

His "Molder" personality must have resurfaced somehow.

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