Month after month, JUSTICE LEAGUE has been setting the stage of the "New 52" universe for the DC characters. It wasn't so much that the series was dictating the direction of all the other books but because it was set five years ago, it was showing us some of the big heroes' early days.
After the first arc, the series has jumped forward to the present. That doesn't mean that the revelations are over. We are still getting some updates to these characters despite the fact that almost all of them have their own regular series. How they appear and interact here might not be exactly as you would expect them to, especially given the fact that they've been together for five years.
If you've read JUSTICE LEAGUE #7, you may have caught all of these points but let's take a closer look at them to think about what they really mean. We won't spoil everything in the issue but there will be some spoilers below.
== TEASER ==Transportation
During Cyborg's origin,we saw his father analyzing a Mother Box which exploded when he was in the room. He was hit by the blast and bathed in the energies released. He discovered that he could talk to the Mother Boxes and was even able to open and close portals to Apokolips. As speculated, this ability to communicate with the Mother Boxes and the energy he absorbed allows him to open Boom Tubes as well. This gives the team a way to get around rather than rely on some sort of teleportation device.
Alien technology as a form of teleportation might be a stretch but it makes more sense than a human scientist coming up with the technology and only the Justice League being allowed to use it.
The Public (Still) Adores Them
When this series began, superhumans were feared and most likely hated. After Darkseid started attacking and abducting humans, it was up to the Justice League to save the day. This opened their eyes to how much superheroes are needed and should be appreciated. They were truly seen as heroes. They became the new celebrities in the world. No longer would the police chase after them (and shoot at them from helicopters.
It does seem a little odd that they would still be so incredibly excited to see them after five years of them operating as a team. The public usually has fickle tastes. They latch onto something until the next big thing comes along.
Etta Candy
Steve Trevor is still in the picture and has been assigned a new aide. Enter Etta Candy. We've seen a lot of changes since the events of Flashpoint ushered in a "new" universe. There have been lots of changes but somehow when the three timelines were merged together, it changed the race of Etta Candy.
Obviously there is nothing wrong with changing the race. It's just a little confusing how that would actually happen. Pretty much everyone else stayed the same in that regard.
The big question is will we see an actual reason for the change or was it done just to add diversity to the character/universe. Obviously there are certain stories that could be tastefully told concerning race but if the change was made just to make a change...
The Watchtower
Where will the Justice League call home? We've seen the Hall of Justice in the pages of JUSTICE LEAGUE INTERNATIONAL. A team like the Justice League can't and shouldn't necessarily have a public base of operations. That just invites attacks from their enemies.
We don't get to actually see it from the outside but it is mentioned that the Watchtower is "orbiting somewhere above us." This is also a way for the team to stay away from those in the government that are concerned about their status. It also prevents them being constantly hassled to deal with minor problems when they need to focus on large and deadly threats.
Feelings on the Justice League International
Batman seemed on board with the JLI. He encouraged Booster Gold to take the reigns and lead the team. Their first mission didn't go too well and it seems he wasn't exactly thrilled with them. Batman made his thoughts on the team pretty clear. This could possibly open the door to a crossover/clash between the two teams.
There is the possibility that Batman simply wants to give the illusion that the two teams are separate entities. If he continues to support them on the side, it allows him to have some control over them while the government assumes it's the one controlling the team. We'll have to wait and see how an encounter between the two teams plays out.
There was a few other developments here. You'll want to check out the issue to see what else happened.
