''Justice League Elite'' was a twelve-issue comic book
limited series Limited series may refer to:
*Limited series, individual storylines within an anthology series
*Limited series, a particular run of collectables, usually individually numbered
*Limited series (comics), a comics series with a predetermined number of ...
published monthly by
DC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. (doing business as DC) is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery.
DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, with thei ...
in 2004 and 2005. The title was created by writer Joe Kelly and
penciller
A penciller (or penciler) is an artist who works on the creation of comic books, graphic novels, and similar visual art forms, with a focus on the initial pencil illustrations, usually in collaboration with other artists, who provide inks, colors ...
Doug Mahnke
Douglas Mahnke () is an American comic book artist, known for his work and penciling books including ''The Mask'', '' JLA'', ''Batman'', ''Final Crisis'', and '' Green Lantern''.
Career
Mahnke's first prominent work was for ''The Mask'', and he ...
.
The Justice League Elite was formed to attempt black ops that would not be acceptable for the JLA to "sully their hands" with.
"The Justice League Elite are a not-exactly-sanctioned, don't-ask-don't-tell, covert operations unit-- newly formed to hunt and eliminate extra-normal threats to the earth before they go public". (''JLA Secret Files and Origins 2004'')
The team was formed at the end ''JLA'' #100 from most of the second incarnation of The Elite (only missing Hat), members of the JLA and a couple of spies/assassins. They operated out of
Somerset, New Jersey
Somerset is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) located within Franklin Township, in Somerset County, New Jersey, United States.Sister Superior, sister of the Elite's first leader
Manchester Black
Manchester Black is a fictional character in American comic books published by DC Comics, in particular those featuring Superman. He was created by Joe Kelly and Doug Mahnke in ''Action Comics'' #775 (March 2001). Introduced as an antihero, the c ...
, sees the Elite as a means of atoning for her brother's actions.
* Coldcast, the only original member of the Elite in the JLE, and inspired by Superman to fight for right after his earlier actions in the Elite.
* Menagerie, joined with an alien weapon crèche (formerly bonded to her comatose sister) which drove her insane, now in a metahuman prison facility.
*
Manitou Raven
Manitou Raven is a fictional character and superhero from ''DC Comics'', who first appeared in '' JLA'' #66 (July 2002).
Manitou Raven was known to shout "Inukchuk!" when he cast spells. This is a reference by writer Joe Kelly to Apache Chief fro ...
and his wife Dawn (who later becomes
Manitou Dawn
Manitou (), akin to the Iroquois ''orenda'', is the spiritual and fundamental life force among Algonquian groups in the Native American theology. It is omnipresent and manifests everywhere: organisms, the environment, events, etc. ''Aasha ...
after her husband's death), serving as the team's magical expert.
* Green Arrow (Oliver Queen), serving as the team's tactical expert and left-winger, commonly coordinating their battles from the base; has a brief affair with Dawn.
*
Flash
Flash, flashes, or FLASH may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
Fictional aliases
* Flash (DC Comics character), several DC Comics superheroes with super speed:
** Flash (Barry Allen)
** Flash (Jay Garrick)
** Wally West, the first Kid F ...
(
Wally West
Wallace Rudolph "Wally" West is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics as the original Kid Flash and the third Flash (DC Comics character), Flash. His power consists mainly of speedster (fiction), superhuman speed. ...
), working in the Elite after recent events caused him to question the League's policy of only ''reacting'' to threats; he was a member of both teams simultaneously, but used a new, dark costume for his time with the Elite.
*
Major Disaster
Major Disaster is a former DC Comics supervillain and reluctant amoral superhero.
Publication history
Major Disaster debuted in ''Green Lantern'' (volume 2) #43 and was created by Gardner Fox and Gil Kane.
Fictional character biography
Paul Booke ...
, a former supervillain who reformed and went on to join the Justice League.
* Kasumi, supposedly an assassin who killed two hundred men before she was sixteen, but actually an undercover Batgirl ( Cassandra Cain), sent by Batman to monitor the Elite.
* Naif al-Sheikh, an Arab expert in international espionage who was brought in by Vera Black because she believed his dislike of
metahumans
In DC Comics' DC Universe, a metahuman is a human with superpowers. The term is roughly synonymous with both ''mutant'' and ''mutate'' in the Marvel Universe and ''posthuman'' in the Wildstorm and Ultimate Marvel Universes. In DC Comics, the term ...
would keep the team in check.
Collected editions
The group's appearances have been collected in two
trade paperbacks
A paperback (softcover, softback) book is one with a thick paper or paperboard cover, and often held together with adhesive, glue rather than stitch (textile arts), stitches or Staple (fastener), staples. In contrast, hardcover (hardback) book ...
:
* ''Justice League Elite'':
** ''Volume 1'' (collects: ''Action Comics'' #775, ''JLA'' #100, ''JLA Secret Files 2004'', and ''Justice League Elite'' #1–4, 208 pages, 2005, Titan , DC )
** ''Volume 2'' (collects ''Justice League Elite'' #5–12, 192 pages, 2007, Titan , DC )JLE Vol. 2 profile at DC /ref>
Newsarama
Newsarama is an American website that publishes news, interviews, and essays about the American comic book industry. It is owned by Future US. In June 2020, Newsarama was merged with the website GamesRadar+, also owned by FutureUS.
History
...
Comic Book Resources
''Comic Book Resources'', also known by the initialism CBR, is a website dedicated to the coverage of comic book–related news and discussion.
History
Comic Book Resources was founded by Jonah Weiland in 1995 as a development of the Kingdom Co ...