Eight months into the "New 52" and we're still discovering new facts about the characters. The idea wasn't necessarily to completely wipe the entire past histories of all the characters and start anew but as the stories have been moving along, we're continuing to discover changes to what we knew about them before. Some of the changes or revelations have been new ideas and others have been clarifications as to when certain events took place and how they went down.

In the pages of the JUSTICE LEAGUE, we've seen a little more of the characters' past history because the series started five years ago in this new DC Universe when the team first formed. After the first arc, the series jumped forward to the present day but it turns out there is still plenty for us to discover with each issue.

Be sure to read JUSTICE LEAGUE #8. While we will point out some of the major revelations, we won't be pointing them all out. You'll want to see what else the issue contained (and let's not forget the Shazam back-up feature). This is your final warning, there will be spoilers below for issue #8.

The League has never expanded their membership

When issue #7 began and we saw the Justice League in the present, it did seem a little odd that it was the same exact roster. One would imagine in a five year period, other members would come and go. If you think back to past stories of Justice League, they have had many different incarnations. It's not possible for these same members to always be available. They've never been an exclusive club. It's been about having the right combination of firepower to take on any threats.

This sort of becomes a theme of the issue and it makes you wonder what the real story behind this is. Before the League formed, super powered individuals weren't really celebrated. They were feared and some were even hunted by the authorities.

Saving the world from the threat of Darkseid opened the world's eyes and made most people fans. Being part of the League would add credibility to other heroes and the League could always use another member. If you want to be prepared to face any evil threat, it would seem that the more firepower you have, the easier it would be to successfully handle those threats.

Steve Trevor was part of Team 7

These first two revelations actually occur within the first three panels of the very first page. Steve Trevor was part of Team 7?!? This is pretty nuts. This potentially completely changes who Trevor is.

The idea of Team 7 in the Wildstorm universe was they were a military special ops unit. The members of the unit were exposed to a substance called the Gen-Factor and they gained psionic abilities. In the Wildstorm universe, some of the members include Cole Cash (Grifter), Michael Cray (Deathblow, who would be absolutely great to see pop up in any comic), Marc Slayton (Backlash), Alexander Fairchild (father of Caitlin Fairchild) as well as others.

Does this mean Trevor was also exposed to the Gen-Factor? Does he have some sort of special abilities and powers that we don't know about? Or did he play a similar role with them as he currently does with the Justice League? That wouldn't really make sense, especially if Team 7 was a classified unit.

Trevor hasn't appeared in the pages of WONDER WOMAN so far but we'll definitely need to keep an eye on him to see if there are any further developments with this.

Cyborg's having problems teleporting

The inclusion of Mother Box technology to Cyborg's arsenal was a great one. It makes sense that the League would use Boom Tubes to get around rather than somehow have a teleporting machine on their Watchtower. If the League had the technology to have a teleporting device in their headquarters, you'd have to wonder why teleportation wasn't used by others, especially to try to help with any sort of gas crisis or military use.

With Cyborg having technology from Apokolips integrated into his armor, it gives a plausible solution to this problem. What we're seeing though is the tech isn't perfect. There's also most likely the fact that he (and the scientists at STAR Labs) aren't necessarily the absolute experts in maintaining and servicing it. The League now runs the risk of having a little detour when they rely on Cyborg to teleport them to a needed location. It's the risk they take in getting there faster. But when lives are at risk, this is something they really need to look into rectifying.

Aquaman and Green Arrow have some history

It's a little odd to think of these two having an untold story. From pre-New 52, we know that Green Arrow and Green Lantern had their share of adventures.

In JUSTICE LEAGUE #1, we saw that Hal and Barry already knew each other. But with Ollie being a bit younger than before, it may no longer be the case that there's been team ups in the past. Hal is familiar with him and makes it clear how little he thinks of him.

Then there's Aquaman. To say he wasn't happy to see Green Arrow constantly show up would be an understatement. There is some serious bad blood between the two. We're still discovering who Aquaman is and what happened in his past in the pages of his own comic but now we know that something went down between these two.

Whatever it is, the others aren't aware of the full story, except for Hal.

In another encounter, there's more on the past history between the two. Aquaman mentions they don't need Green Arrow's help when dealing with the Court of Owls. Green Arrow retorts that he didn't need Aquaman's help getting off "that island."

The Justice League did possibly try to recruit another hero

The big theme here has been about the League keeping their roster intact. As much as it could help, they are standing firm that they do not need any new members added to the team. They may be a group of the most powerful and skilled superheroes but it doesn't make sense they would keep their number limited.

What we see towards the end is they did let someone else into their club. Or at least they tried to. As cool as a revelation this is, it opens a new can of worms (and mystery). This is one character many have been wondering about in terms of the Justice League's history. It's great to see it addressed, even if it's just a tease for now. This is clearly something we need to see more of and also something I will not reveal here. Go buy the book to find out.

What is going to happen next? Are there any more revelations besides this untold encounter at the end? Chances are we'll be discovering even more new facts in the next issue.

Ten bucks says they attempted to let Shazam into the group and he went psycho or something.

Awesome issue

Strain on teleportation with more people isn't a new theme. Makes sense it would pop up with Cyborg.

@Illuminatus said:

Ten bucks says they attempted to let Shazam into the group and he went psycho or something.

Actually, I wonder if maybe this hints at a reason Martian Manhunter is on Stormwatch, instead of the League?

@Illuminatus said:

Ten bucks says they attempted to let Shazam into the group and he went psycho or something.

Actually, I wonder if maybe this hints at a reason Martian Manhunter is on Stormwatch, instead of the League?

Some of these changes... I don't know about. They eliminate some of the things I loved in past JLA comics, to say they never expanded their roster, so no other heroes ever were JLA members? Does that also elminate most past stories? Even the most recent where Nightwing was Batman and was on the JLA with Starman and the Gorilla guy? So many stories are eliminated? I understand that things have been changed and that some great stories will come from it, but some of the changes are eliminating things I liked.

For example,

Also the one character they might have recruited, he was such an important member and now he never was a member? I don't know about that either.

Wizard Magazine once had a little history thing, This character had been a member of every incarnation of the JLA from the beginning. And now he suddenly never was. I haven't read any of the new 52 stuff with him, but this seems like its taking this character further from being a main character and sidelining him even further than he was, to say not only is he now is this comic that puts him with characters that aren't regular DC characters and that he never was part of the JLA... I don't know. I'll still read, give it a chance. Maybe I am wrong.

The problem with SHAZAM is that the stories in the backs of the issues are too short. I feel like it should have its own title.

Steve is hiding something, the League has trust issues probably that happen in the 5 year gap. Hopefully it will be explained soon. I want to know who this someone else is. Shazam, Hawkman, Captain Atom, Villain pretending to be hero then abush Justice League in space, nutcase, Condiment Man (I HOPE TO GOD NOT THAT GUY. HE IS THE BIGGEST IDIOT I EVER SEEN IN COMICS), Red Tornado protoytpe, or an Amazo that was built for good that had a screw loose?

I was wondering what Aquaman & Green Arrow history is since the preview. I was hoping it be explained but by the looks of it, its not. Maybe it can be explained in Aquaman's or possibly Green Arrow's book. Maybe Queen Industries did some waste dumping in the sea. That's my guess. Seriously, they never expanded their roster? That's odd. Although it seems they tried but didn't work out. Before The New 52, did the original Justice League wanted Green Arrow to be thier first recruit or what?

@Illuminatus: no they were referring to martian manhunter.

@Illuminatus: no they were referring to martian manhunter.

They actually showed Martain Manhunter but the image seemed like a physical encounter between the league and him.

The changes to Martian Manhunter (especially his not being in the League) are one of my biggest problems with the otherwise excellent New 52. He was defined as being the League's most consistent member, so this and the fact that Guy Gardener didn't know him do bug me a bit. It leaves me wondering what else they've changed about him.

LOL, it gets worse and worse each passing month! No wonder sales have gone down from over 350k(#1) to about 130k already! DC just retells old stories now in a new awful way!

@Deep_shock said:

LOL, it gets worse and worse each passing month! No wonder sales have gone down from over 350k(#1) to about 130k already! DC just retells old stories now in a new awful way!

It's still the biggest non-event related comic.

@Roldan said:

@Deep_shock said:

LOL, it gets worse and worse each passing month! No wonder sales have gone down from over 350k(#1) to about 130k already! DC just retells old stories now in a new awful way!

It's still the biggest non-event related comic.

"Still" and "non-event" are the key-words this month. A month ago it was "no.1 book", two months ago it was "sales jaugernaut", 5 months ago it was "among the decade's best-sellers"! See how quickly the key-words change?

@Illuminatus said:

Ten bucks says they attempted to let Shazam into the group and he went psycho or something.

Did you read the issue yet? It was Martian Manhunter that went all psycho. I had a huge smile on my face as soon as I saw him.

@ArtisticNeedham said:

Some of these changes... I don't know about. They eliminate some of the things I loved in past JLA comics, to say they never expanded their roster, so no other heroes ever were JLA members? Does that also elminate most past stories? Even the most recent where Nightwing was Batman and was on the JLA with Starman and the Gorilla guy? So many stories are eliminated? I understand that things have been changed and that some great stories will come from it, but some of the changes are eliminating things I liked.

For example,

Also the one character they might have recruited, he was such an important member and now he never was a member? I don't know about that either.

Wizard Magazine once had a little history thing, This character had been a member of every incarnation of the JLA from the beginning. And now he suddenly never was. I haven't read any of the new 52 stuff with him, but this seems like its taking this character further from being a main character and sidelining him even further than he was, to say not only is he now is this comic that puts him with characters that aren't regular DC characters and that he never was part of the JLA... I don't know. I'll still read, give it a chance. Maybe I am wrong.

The problem with SHAZAM is that the stories in the backs of the issues are too short. I feel like it should have its own title.

I see how some of these changes are problematic to long-time fans. I've tried to get into DC comics for years and tended to drop most of them, except the ones published under the Vertigo line. I'm finally able to see a different DC and one that has made it easier to become a new fan of these characters. I think the weight of continuity can become overwhelming at times for superhero titles. What is the true value of past stories that are so lost in the thousands of pages of canon that few people know about them and even fewer think they are relevant? Older fans can go back and read stories they enjoyed, but creators need to have the freedom to jettison them so new stories and new character personalities can be enjoyed. And some fan-based complaints about costumes and little points in these characters histories seem more a result of nostalgia.The 52 is a good example for the benefits of retconning and rebooting iconic characters to me because these characters simply feel younger and more vital than they have in a long time. I think there is a need for fictional superhero characters to reinvent themselves in order to stay relevant, and if that means getting rid of invisible airplanes, purple rays, re-imagining minor characters and tweaking origins, I'm all for it.

YES! Team 7! I'm digging the Justice League.

@sethysquare: But that's the thing, Seth. The whole idea of the "New 52" was to increase sales by "modernizing" their characters, and it's failing all over the place. Lots of the long-time DC readers left last year, most of the books have been lackluster, and some are being cancelled for books that some fans are already in an uproar about. Look at the seething vitriol people have over Power Girl's costume change. The reason DC dropped the message boards wasn't so they could relocate to Facebook, it was because the voice of distention there was drowning out the voices of the people who're enjoying the new stuff. And it seems DC doesn't want to acknowledge the fact that there are still lots of people who HATE the New 52.

The only JL revelation I really care to see now is the one that says this group exists on a separate Earth from every other book to explain why this book is populated by people with the same names, but different personalities.

Well this hacks me off. If they never expanded their roster, then pretty much every Justice League story up to this point is rendered invalid. Lame. I'm beginning to hope for a reboot reboot.

I think it's pretty cool that DC is saying there was a superteam that specifically did not have any new members for around 5 years. For comic books, that's really different. I'm not sure, but I think the Fantastic Four is the only team to have done that.

If it wasn't J'onn or SHAZAM! that tried to be a member, I betcha it was Triumph, or Moon Maiden, or Tomorrow Woman, or G'nort. One of those four.

Is Aquaman and Green Arrow having a 'history' of some sort going to be "Smallville" poking it's nose where it doesn't belong? I really hope not.

@Joe_Amazing said:

@sethysquare: But that's the thing, Seth. The whole idea of the "New 52" was to increase sales by "modernizing" their characters, and it's failing all over the place. Lots of the long-time DC readers left last year, most of the books have been lackluster, and some are being cancelled for books that some fans are already in an uproar about. Look at the seething vitriol people have over Power Girl's costume change. The reason DC dropped the message boards wasn't so they could relocate to Facebook, it was because the voice of distention there was drowning out the voices of the people who're enjoying the new stuff. And it seems DC doesn't want to acknowledge the fact that there are still lots of people who HATE the New 52.

You're taking up things that were bound to happen. Things like cancellation, fanboys groining about new costumes and people hating things. The thing is people were pretty sure when they announced the relaunch that the increased sales would only last 2 to 3 months before Marvel would take over the top 10 again. It's month 8 and it finally took an event for Marvel to finally gain entrance to the top 10. Of course i have my own problem with DC but they are none of those things you pick up. My problem is that they're playing too safe. I, Vampire is good example of the things i want to see more. I want to see more indie creators do things like that.

Leave the New 52 alone, you Marvel Fanatics!

I don't mind who i just want them to expand and screw Aquaman Green Arrow's way better

@ArtisticNeedham said:

Some of these changes... I don't know about. They eliminate some of the things I loved in past JLA comics, to say they never expanded their roster, so no other heroes ever were JLA members? Does that also elminate most past stories? Even the most recent where Nightwing was Batman and was on the JLA with Starman and the Gorilla guy? So many stories are eliminated? I understand that things have been changed and that some great stories will come from it, but some of the changes are eliminating things I liked.

For example,

Also the one character they might have recruited, he was such an important member and now he never was a member? I don't know about that either.

Wizard Magazine once had a little history thing, This character had been a member of every incarnation of the JLA from the beginning. And now he suddenly never was. I haven't read any of the new 52 stuff with him, but this seems like its taking this character further from being a main character and sidelining him even further than he was, to say not only is he now is this comic that puts him with characters that aren't regular DC characters and that he never was part of the JLA... I don't know. I'll still read, give it a chance. Maybe I am wrong.

The problem with SHAZAM is that the stories in the backs of the issues are too short. I feel like it should have its own title.

Maybe......but then again, DC came out with the statement that a lot of those stories, like Identity Crisis, Infinite Crisis, and Blackest Night, still happened. The latter of which was even referenced in Green Lantern #8. And therefore, it wouldn't make sense if the JL doesn't at least open its doors somewhere down the road. So, I'm gonna guess (and this is only my guess) that this book takes place before many of the solo titles. How else can we explain Buddy having met the Flash or the fact that Cliff was trying to get his dad to "try out" for the Justice League?

Anyway, I'm gonna make the prediction that the League will remain insular and exclusive up until the upcoming Trinity War event, I think that during this event the Trinity will come to the realization that they need to expand the League. Then I think the title will fast-forward several years, during which many of the stories that DC said still happened will occur.

@Joe_Amazing , for all that many long-time fans seem to dislike the New 52, the fact that it has been a financial success for DC cannot be argued. The books have consistently shown a stronger presence at or near the top of the sales charts, and several are more than a little good.

I suppose that we who grew up in the Post-Crisis world should take a moment and remember that there were a lot of fans of Pre-Crisis stories who looked upon 1986-2011 as negatively as you do about the New 52.

The 25-year reboot seems to be becoming a DC tradition, which is honestly not a bad thing. It allows for a housecleaning and frees up writers to tell good stories without having to worry about whining fanboys screaming that the main characters' actions are inconsistent with panel 5 of issue #127 from fifteen years before.

In short, if you don't like it, don't read it. All of the stories from before the New 52 are still there for you to read, and I'm sure that the publisher would be more than happy to sell you the various collected editions for your bookshelf.

did you say that aquaman said they didn't need help dealing with the court of owls I thought that plot was strictly gotham only but can you imagine green lantern vs a talon

I need to check when I read this issue

did you say that aquaman said they didn't need help dealing with the court of owls I thought that plot was strictly gotham only but can you imagine green lantern vs a talon

I need to check when I read this issue

While i was happy to see Martian Manhunter in the comic i still dont like him not on the team. I liked watching him engage the whole team though. I wonder if they just over reacted to his ability of

Team 7? Cool!!! Can't wait to see Deathblow in Grifter next month.

Wait does the League fight the Court of Owls in this story?

Wow...DC is becoming Image. *Facepalm*

They showed a flashback after saying: "Remember the last time we let someone into the League", showing MM putting the smackdown on all 7 Leaguers. Then it showed MM in the present day. Maybe J'onn will rejoin the team in upcoming issues :)

@Joe_Amazing said:

@sethysquare: But that's the thing, Seth. The whole idea of the "New 52" was to increase sales by "modernizing" their characters, and it's failing all over the place. Lots of the long-time DC readers left last year, most of the books have been lackluster, and some are being cancelled for books that some fans are already in an uproar about. Look at the seething vitriol people have over Power Girl's costume change. The reason DC dropped the message boards wasn't so they could relocate to Facebook, it was because the voice of distention there was drowning out the voices of the people who're enjoying the new stuff. And it seems DC doesn't want to acknowledge the fact that there are still lots of people who HATE the New 52.

Define failing all over the place.

If it really is failing, then why is DC getting so much attention and sales are blossoming?

Also wrong. The purpose of them closing the message boards isn't because there was too much negativity. I've been there and except for a few trolls, everyone was pretty alright. But the point is DC have not been doing a good job on the marketing and integrated media. DCMB are only for hardcore fans who bother to sign up an account, like it or not, majority of the comic reading population do not go to the message boards. If the message boards are such a deterministic factor of the population, why is it that books like Secret Six and OMAC who got lots of fan support online are cancelled? Because they're not selling hard enough. Just like how lots of discontent online about Babs taking the mantle, yet Batgirl turned into a top 20 book, it is still selling fantastic and never in history have batgirl been enjoying such good sales.

Sure there are a good number of people who HATE the new 52, but for the rest of us who LOVE the new 52, we're the majority and sales is the indicator.

"Drop like they're hot..." LMAO! I CANT WITH YOU COMICVINE...I JUST CANT

SHAZAM. He'd be a great addition.

Where is Hawkman? Thats all I wanna Know!!!

If Manhunter WAS a part of the team for a while, it would definitely help explain a few things, continuity wise. I love the character, and if he weren't wrapped up in Stormwatch right now I would freaking LOVE to see him in a solo series, or maybe a limited series.

And I guess in the interest of clearing up continuity they had to make it so that there hasn't been so many incarnations of the league. Plus it separates them from the Avengers, who nowadays are comprised of every single Marvel hero with their own solo series (with the exception of the punisher), not to mention a few X-men and C-listers. Still, I'd like a larger cast, or maybe some more interaction between the league and other heroes.

@Or35ti said:

Wait does the League fight the Court of Owls in this story?

Yes, they fight a few.

Well, as you know, over on Earth-16, The JLA votes to accept new members, and maybe here on DCnU, they haven't gotten to that point yet. My guess would be that at some point, there will be a global crisis where all or most of the heroes in existence will get their own panel in an issue of JLA, and at some point, the core heroes will vote to accept or reject them as part of the League moving forward.

@Joe_Amazing: Aren't we seeing what you're talking about by the cancellation of unpopular titles? Power Girl is only one example. The Batman rule is fully in force.

For the rest of you: The Batman Rule; DC will put Batman into any title wherein sales are lagging, and they don't want to cancel it right away.

Good writing will trump these problems in most cases, however, there are too many writers wherein Sturgeon's Law is the norm. And I believe he was being an optimist.

@SigersonLTDsaid:

Well, as you know, over on Earth-16, The JLA votes to accept new members, and maybe here on DCnU, they haven't gotten to that point yet. My guess would be that at some point, there will be a global crisis where all or most of the heroes in existence will get their own panel in an issue of JLA, and at some point, the core heroes will vote to accept or reject them as part of the League moving forward.

Agreed, Sigerson. The Justice League may be strong with seven heroes, but I could see the League face a menace the seven of them can't defeat alone and they end up needing to expand their roster. Screw the risks, the League can do a better job with more heroes, regardless of Bruce's personal feelings and all that crap.

:

im curious to know Aquaman's relationship with Green Arrow, Aquaman left Ollie in an island or something once...funny lol

@k4tzm4n said:

@Or35ti said:

Wait does the League fight the Court of Owls in this story?

Yes, they fight a few.

That's awesome!!

@PhoenixoftheTides: I understand and agree the reboot isn't all bad. Don't get me wrong, I am not complaining or saying they are destroying my childhood or anything. I love whats going on in the New 52, the stuff I am reading anyway. But as a long time fan it bothers me, and this may just be nostalgia but maybe not, that some things I loved like the old JLI or Martian Manhunter being the main stay of the JLA don't exist anymore. The new 52 is saying they never happened. I don't mind the costume changes, mostly because what will happen is they will redesign them again and keep what works and loose what didn't. But to undo something that made the character interesting... I don't know. I will still read, see whats going on, but I will miss the idea that the JLA had different members over time, and I'll miss that part of certain characters. Sometimes it was what defined them as a character, being part of a big team like that. It also means that ideas brought up in past issues didn't happen and will never be built on again. The only place to read about them will be in past issues. But I am not complaining, I am still buying New 52 comics. As long as they are good, and they are. More than that, saying Martian Manhunter was never in the JLA and sequestering him in this other title sort of feels, on the surface anyway, like it might take away from the importance and interest of this character. Instead of showing how cool he is. I am interested to see if maybe they bring Martian Manhunter into the team instead of the other title.

@Zeeguy91:

But if Martian Manhunter was never on the team then he wasn't there for many other stories, and I guess neither was Kyle Rayner, and others. was there the White Martian invasion, where they tried to fake being heroes? If they were never part of the team, and neither was Booster Gold or Hawkman, then that changes many stories. That means the old JLI never happened, that means events they say did happen happened differently. It throws a few things into question. I think that the stories being told now in the JLA are present time, after the Darkseid story by Jim Lee I think they are now in the present. So when they say there never was any expansion of the JLA that means that they never once let in a new member. No Captain Marvel, no Martian Manhunter, no Green Arrow, no Black Canary, And if that means no Donna Troy or Starman or the Gorilla guy, or Supergirl, does that mean James Robinson's run never happened? does that mean Nightwing was never in the JLA as Batman? Does that mean Speedy was never Red Arrow on the JLA? Does that mean Hawkgirl was never a member duing that run where Black Lightning and Vixen were also members? Red Tornado? Does that mean that run never happened? Where they fought Solomon Grundy mixed with AMAZO? I am not complaining, really I am not. I am just wondering out loud, it raises questions. I will be interested to find them out as I keep reading.

Was I the only one who read the like 2 page spread where they let MM in the JLA but then ended up fighting the Justice League then saying how they aren't ready... I think he was testing them but never the less it happened

I love the idea of Team 7 being a "Secret Avengers" type team that deals with corporate espionage and rogue states. Green Arrow and a few Wildstorm characters on the roster is cool

@PhoenixoftheTides: blah blah blah. jumping onto any comic book now without getting lost isn't that hard. Sure there are few I'd assume but for the most part all anyone has to do so they can understand a team, hero, or villain is go on Comicvine and look the character(s) up or wiki. It's how I was able to start reading the 20 plus comics I read a month. For the most part all of the books I read are of charaters established well before I was reading. Tites at least. I hate hearing how it's hard to jump onto books. It's not that hard anymore. Plus with digital downloading it's soooooo easy to get back stories. As for revamping a universe, I understand how it is relevent too. I'm not a complete asshole. What I don't like is how they had to destroy something established and full of history when all they had to do was create another universe to coincide with it. Like Marvel did with the Ultimate Universe. Marvel dropped the ball by letting the stories to the Ultimate U get watered down with just ways to introduce characters to the Ult. U and that's their fault, but if you go back and look at numbers, Ult. X-Men was neck and neck in sales with the other X-Men titles, The Ultimates was outselling Avengers before Bendis put Spider-man and Wolverine on the team, and Ult. FF was just befind the 616 FF. The stories were great people loved them, then it all fell to shit. DC didn't need to do what they did. Just create the other world, like they're doing with Earth 2 and Earth 1 to see if it could work. If done right, if can. BTW, I'm pissed Martian Manhunter is not on the team either. I like him on Stormwatch, but he's so much more second fiddle there, and Cyborg, after being in the DC universe over 25 years still feels like a rookie on a team he's been a member of for 5 years.

@Needlebay: So why didn't CV mention that this team used to have member of Wetworks, Youngblood, and Spawn on it. I'm kind of curious as to why DC/Wildstorm was the one that got to own Team 7 and not Image.