| Justice League Europe | |
|---|---|
 Cover toJustice League Europe #1 (April 1989), art byBart Sears | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | DC Comics |
| Schedule | Monthly |
| Format | Ongoing series |
| Genre | |
| Publication date | List
|
| No. of issues | List
|
| Creative team | |
| Created by | Keith Giffen J. M. DeMatteis |
| Written by | List
|
| Penciller | List
|
| Inker | List
|
| Colorist | List
|
Justice League Europe (JLE) is acomic book series published byDC Comics that was aspin-off of the comic bookJustice League America (which was then namedJustice League International (vol. 1) for issues #7 to #25).[1]
Justice League Europe was published for 68 issues (plus fiveAnnuals) from 1989 to 1994. Starting with issue #51 the title was renamedJustice League International (vol. 2). LikeJustice League America, the series featuredtongue-in-cheek humor but was a much more action-centric series thanJustice League America.
The action-themed nature of the series was most overt with the story arc "The Extremists". The arc featured theJustice League Europe fighting theExtremists, a cadre of villains patterned afterMarvel Comics villainsDoctor Doom,Magneto,Doctor Octopus,Sabretooth, andDormammu.[2]
The team was originally headquartered inParis,France but later moved to an abandoned castle in Great Britain.
After the membership of the Justice League had grown to an unwieldy number of characters, DC split it into two teams. The original Justice League Europe consists of:
Later members of the original team include:
"Breakdowns" was a 15-issue crossover between theJustice League America andJustice League Europe titles, revising the organization.
Maxwell Lord is initially in a coma from a failed assassination attempt. He is later possessed by JLE foe Dreamslayer of the Extremists and loses his mental abilities.
Queen Bee, ruler of the countryBialya, is killed in a coup led by Sumaan Harjavti, the twin brother of the original ruler, Rumaan.
Despero awakens and escapesManga Khan's starship to wreak havoc on New York City, seeking vengeance against the League.L-Ron, Khan's robot servant, subdues Despero by using a control collar to swap their bodies.
Dreamslayer later possesses Maxwell Lord's body and moves to Kooey Kooey Kooey, an island whereBlue Beetle andBooster Gold previously attempted to open a resort called "Club JLI". He lures the League to the island and mind-controls them, making them the "new Extremists".
TheSilver Sorceress, one of the formerChampions of Angor and Justice League member, is killed in battle with Dreamslayer and buried on Kooey Kooey Kooey.
TheUnited Nations withdraws its support from the Justice League and it disbands.Martian Manhunter seemingly takes a leave of absence, but re-emerges asBloodwynd.
Also, the Breakdowns storyline reorganized the JLE. The team relocated to London and several characters left or were replaced. The new lineup starting in issue #37, led byGreen Lantern (Hal Jordan) consisted of:
The release ofJustice League Spectacular launched the revised Justice League titles with new writers and artists.[3] TheJustice League titles expanded to four by June 1993:Justice League America (formerlyJustice League International),Justice League Europe (retitled as the second volume ofJustice League International),Justice League Quarterly, andJustice League Task Force. In late 1994Justice League International andJustice League Quarterly were cancelled and replaced by a new monthly title in January 1995,Extreme Justice.
With new writers and artists in the various titles coming and going, there was little consistency in continuity and quality. The more powerful and recognizable characters such as Superman, Green Lantern (Hal Jordan), and Batman came and went out of the various Justice League titles, replaced by new or lesser known characters such asBloodwynd,Maya,Maxima,Nuklon,Obsidian,Tasmanian Devil andTriumph. Longtime JLI-era characters such asCaptain Atom,Martian Manhunter andPower Girl were revised and revamped repeatedly, with mixed reviews by the readers.
In the summer of 1996, with sales fading, all three remaining monthly series were cancelled and replaced byJLA.
InDoomsday Clock, a French version of Justice League Europe is founded, consisting of Crimson Fox, Fleur-de-Lis, Hunchback, Musketeer,Nightrunner, and Thief of Arts.[4]
Some time after the cancellation of the series, it was revealed in an issue ofStarman that Justice League Europe was being reformed (as La Fraternité de Justice et Liberté). The new team consisted ofCrimson Fox,Amazing-Man,Blue Devil,Firestorm, andIcemaiden. Icemaiden turned out to be Nash, daughter ofMist who killed Crimson Fox, Blue Devil, and Amazing Man (Blue Devil was later restored to life bySebastian Faust). It was revealed that Mist covertly contacted Icemaiden and informed her of a supposed threat facing her homeland of Norway, and she must defeat the threat without informing anyone until afterwards. Icemaiden left during the middle of the night, and Mist replaced her within the JLE by the next morning. The JLE did not know that Mist replaced Icemaiden until Mist began her attacks against them. Mist informed Crimson Fox that the threat she informed Icemaiden about was not real, and that she had sent Icemaiden on a fruitless search so that she could disguise herself as Icemaiden and replace her on the team.
In 1999,Greg Weisman wrote a story forDC Comics'JLA Showcase #1, cover-dated February 2000. The one-shot consists of various Justice League stories; Weisman's was set during the time of the Justice League Europe and titled "Flashback Of Notre Dame". The story has Captain Atom, the JLE andPlastique meeting a group ofgargoyles atNotre Dame Cathedral. After the usual misunderstanding/battle, the JLE help the gargoyles return to their home island ofBrigadoon.
Several members of this incarnation of the Justice League later formed the Super Buddies, who were featured in themini-seriesFormerly Known as the Justice League and later again in the titleJLA: Classified with a story calledI Can't Believe It's Not the Justice League.
| Title | Material collected | Published date | ISBN |
|---|---|---|---|
| Justice League International Volume 5 | Justice League Europe #1–6 andJustice League International Annual #2–3, | January 2011 | 978-1401230104 |
| Justice League International Volume 6 | Justice League Europe #7–11 andJustice League America #31–35 | May 2011 | 978-1401231194 |
| Justice League International Omnibus Vol. 1 | Justice League Europe #1-6 andJustice League (vol. 1) #1-6, Annual #1,Justice League International (vol. 1) #7-25, Annual #2-3,Justice League America #26-30,Suicide Squad #13 | October 2017 | 978-1401273866 |
| Justice League International Omnibus Vol. 2 | Justice League Europe #7-25, Annual #1 andJustice League America #31-50,Justice League America Annual #4,Justice League Quarterly #1,Justice League International Special #1 | November 2020 | 978-1779502964 |
Spinning out of the pages ofJustice League International, an offshoot of the Justice League set up camp in Paris. Written by Keith Giffen and J. M. DeMatteis with art by Bart Sears.
