Justice League 3000 is a curious book. There was already a long-running series about a group of superheroes set in the 31st century, after all. By virtue of being in the future, though, the Legion has always been largely set apart from the rest of the DCU, at least since Superboy and Supergirl were retconned out of their history. It makes sense, then, that their replacements (if it’s fair to call them that) would have a more direct tie to the DCU, even if it’s in name only.
If its existence is curious, the book’s presentation is more so. Originally slated to be a reuniting of the classic JLI team of Keith Giffen, J.M. DeMatteis, and Kevin Maguire, the book was eventually resolicited after Maguire was abruptly replaced as artist by another former JLA artist, Howard Porter. The book still feels very much like a classic JLI story, though, and not just because of Giffen and DeMatteis’s writing. There are times – mostly when a character’s facial expressions are exaggerated – where it almost feels like Porter is doing his best Kevin Maguire impression.
So is it good? As I said before, it feels a lot like a classic JLI story. Everyone remembers that book for its humor, but there was also a lot of dramatic stuff going on at the same time, and JL3K #1 is no different. The humor here, as it did back then, comes from the interactions between the team members. Each has a personality that is well-defined almost immediately, and they’re definitely designed to clash. The team has a pair of what could be generously called ‘benefactors,’ a brother and sister pair who also have their own agenda and a lot of entertaining interaction. The dynamic between those two and the League is similar to the one Max Lord had with the JLI, before he went crazy and started murdering them. It worked well back in the late ’80s, and it still works well now.
As for the members of the team, there’s been a mystery around who exactly they are, and I won’t spoil that here, except to say that their identities – particularly those of Superman and Batman – and what the reader knows already about how they became who they are, are really interesting and present a lot of great story potential.
Overall, Justice League 3000 #1 is a very good first issue. It sets up the characters and the world nicely, and there’s a lot of opportunity for growth evident just within the first twenty pages. Hopefully Howard Porter can put more of a distinctive stamp on subsequent issues. This book has the potential to become something special.