DC has done many things in the past few years that has caused fans to scratch their heads in confusion, but this might take the cake. In an interview with The Star, writer Jeff Lemire (Sweet Tooth, Animal Man) revealed that come spring 2014, the current Justice League of America title will be rebranded as Justice League Canada and will feature a new team of heroes.
“This is like my ultimate dream job,” said Lemire. “It sounds like a joke and something like this would never happen, but it is actually happening, and I couldn’t be happier. I do want to create a cool, rural Northern Ontario headquarters for Justice League Canada, and I don’t want to spoil it yet. And it’s not a hockey rink, I promise. Although, of course, it did cross my mind.”
The thought of a Canadian superhero team will no doubt draw comparisons to Marvel’s Alpha Flight, but Lemire says that it is quite different.
“It’s not really like Alpha Flight, as we’re not creating a bunch of very Canadian characters,” Lemire says. “Like those characters are all almost clichéd Canadian archetypes. This is still very much set in the regular Justice League universe and the team will still have some of the bigger named superheroes, but they will actually be located in Canada now, and there will be a couple of new members who are Canadian. So obviously as a Canadian, and as a Canadian storyteller, it’s something I’m very proud of.”
Though Lemire didn’t reveal the full line up for the team, which currently includes Hawkman, Green Lantern, Catwoman, and Stargirl, among others, he did describe it as a “dream team” of A-list DC characters as well as some of his favorite obscure heroes. He also teased that he will be reviving the Silve Age hero Adam Strange and also creating a brand new character for the team.
“I’m trying to make a character that reflects a real part of our cultural identity, who could be a real Canadian teenager. That’s what I’m really after with that.”
Lemire revealed that the series will spin out of the current DC event “Trinity War” and that most of the action in the series will take place in Toronto and Northern Ontario. Mike McKone will serve as the artist when the series debuts.
Will you be picking up Justice League Canada next spring?
