Justice League's 'Silly' Era Tackled Heavy Topics So DC Could Evolve
One of finest iterations of the Justice League in DC Comics is the Justice League International. The original team was comprised of Batman, Martian Manhunter, Doctor Fate, Captain Marvel (Shazam), Black Canary, Oberon, Doctor Light, Green Lantern (Guy Gardner), Blue Beetle, and Mister Miracle, later expanding to welcome heroes like Fire, Ice, Booster Gold, Big Barda, Kilowog, Captain Atom, Rocket Red, and many more. And while Justice League International has a reputation of being DC's «joke team,» due to the humorous tone of their series, the JLI handled pertinent topics of the 1980s such as workplace sexism and gender roles in an upfront manner.
The Justice League International first debuted in 1987 in Legends #6 by John Ostrander, Len Wein, John Byrne, Karl Kesel, and Dennis Janke, where they established themselves as DC's new Justice League at the end of the issue. Beginning with Justice League #1 by Keith Giffen, J.M. DeMatteis, Kevin Maguire, and Terry Austin, the team was composed of lesser-known DC characters whose strong personalities weren't always in harmony with each other. The original Justice League miniseries and eventual Justice League International series was marked by snappy dialogue that envisioned the books as workplace comedies starring superheroes.
Related: Justice League International is the Team DC Comics Needs Right Now
It is perhaps this comedic element of JLI that makes its depiction of casual sexism all the more revolutionary for DC Comics as a whole. While topics such as sexism, ableism, and racism had long been areas of discussion in DC Comics, JLI showed that not even the very pinnacle of heroism in comics, the Justice League, was free from these prejudices. In fact, JLI made it a point to
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