Justice League Parodies

Allied Supermen of America (Awesome Entertainment)

The most elaborate JLA parody was created by none other than Alan Moore's in his run on Supreme (#41-52). Like the title character, the Allied Supermen of America were a study in archetypes. The group bears definite similarities to both the JSA and JLA, and the book parodied lots of classic DC covers as well (see right).

Whereas in the DC universe, the JSA and JLA were pretty distinct teams from different eras, the Allied Supermen began around 1941, retired in 1950, then reactivated with fewer members again in 1960 as simply "The Allies."

STORY: In 1925, young Ethan Crane was transformed into a powerhouse by a strange meteorite in Littlehaven. As a boy, he became Kid Supreme. In one of Kid Supreme's adventures, he met and joined the League of Infinity (Legion of Super-Heroes). They came not just from the future, but from across all time periods. Their base of operations was the Time Tower, which resided in the 25th century, and from which they could look up or down through time along a sort of spiral staircase. Members included Achilles, Aladdin, young Bill Hickok, Future Girl (Zayla Zarn, Saturn Girl) Giganthro and Witch Wench. Sometimes they were accompanied by Supreme's pal, Billy Friday (the occasional Elaborate Lad, Elastic Lad). (#42)

Ethan dropped the "Kid" at the onset of World War II and as Supreme, helped found the Allied Supermen of America.

A few of these Allies were created before Alan Moore came along. Three were created by Rob Leifeld himself:

• Supreme (Superman/Captain Marvel): Supreme is Superman archetype in every respect. 1ST APP: Youngblood #3 (1992)
• The Die-Hard. This character is pretty non-descript, but his history dates back to wartime. Die Hard was the first cyborg created by the U.S. military. 1ST APP: Youngblood #1 (1992)
• Glory (Wonder Woman): this heroine is even part Amazon. 1ST APP: Youngblood Strikefile #1 (1993)

Two were created by Erik Larsen's for his Savage Dragon universe, and were borrowed for this series while Leifeld was still at Image Comics:

• Mighty Man (Captain Marvel): an entity that takes on human hosts. 1ST APP: Savage Dragon v.1 #3 (1993)
• SuperPatriot (Captain America): during the Golden Age, a patriotic hero, later turned cyborg. 1ST APP: Savage Dragon v.1 #1 (1993)

The rest of the Allies were Alan Moore creations and first appeared in Supreme #43.

• Alley Cat (Catwoman/Black Canary): with a whip and fishnets
• Black Hand (Green Lantern): an absurd hero who projects lights so that he could make shadows with his hand
• Doc Rocket (Flash/Bulletman): runs/flies? (didn't really see)
• Jack O'Lantern (the Spectre): another cosmic entity that takes on human hosts. He was known to conjure things like giant lawnmowers to dispatch his foes.
• Professor Night (Taylor Kendall) and his sidekick, Twilight (Linda) (Batman/Dr. Mid-Nite and Robin):
• Roy Roman, Mer-Master (Sub-Mariner/Aquaman): Roman spelled backwards is...
• Storybook Smith (Johnny Thunder): Smith used a book to call forth helpers from literature, not unlike the way Johnny Thunder summoned his Thunderbolt. He was even "promoted" from mascot to full membership.
• Waxman, Waxy Doyle (Sandman): complete with a mask and gun.

After the war, the team stayed together until December 31, 1949 when they completed a demoralizing case against the Mayhe-Maniacs. After seeing visions of the '50s, many of the members despaired that their powers would be useless to combat the oncoming Cold War. Within six months, the Allies disbanded and most retired. (#44) In 1958, the team reunited to play a practical joke on Supreme during a historical broadcast from his Citadel. (#43) Later, Dr. Rocket and Alley Cat married. Waxman went on to found a business in furtniture polish. The Black Hand suffered a stroke and Smith lost his special book in 1958. (#44)

Ten years later, in 1970, they reformed as the Allies, adding the Spaceman (Martian Manhunter) and the Fisherman (Bryce Bristow, Green Arrow) as new members. In one adventure, they teamed with the Allies from the 1940s, who'd traveled through time. No others joined the Allied before 1969, when Supreme left for a decades-long stint space. The Allies did not continue much beyond that. (#48) During his travels in space, Supreme encountered the spirit, Jack of Lanterns, who now existed without a host. (#49)

When Supreme finally returned to Earth, his memories were spotty. He went to visit his old best friend, Prof. Night, and found that he and Twilight had been comatose for 30 years. This trail led to an old foe, Hulver Ramik, the Slaver of Souls, and Supreme recalled all the remaining Allies in to help fight him. (#47) The heroes donned special helmets and entered a sort of astral plane where they found the captive souls of Prof. Night and scores of other heroes. (#48) They discovered that Ramik had been working for another Supreme foe, Optilux. They trapped Optilux inside his own prison and returned all the heroes' souls to their bodies. (#49) NOTE: Other captives included the Stormbirds (Blackhawks), Polyman (Plastic Man).

In the end, the Allies helped Supreme defeat his greatest foe, Darius Dax (Lex Luthor/Ultra-Humanite). Dax had survived through the decades in the body of Supreme's old girlfriend, Judy Jordan. Dax then jumped from Jordan into the body of an android called Magno (Amazo). Darius grabbed the Supremium meteorite that empowered both Supreme and his sister, Suprema, but he overloaded and began falling backwards through time. It turns out, Dax (as the Supremium Man) was the power source behind Suprema, and when he fell even further back through time, he was reduced to the plain meteorite that created Supreme himself. (#52)

» FIRST APPEARANCE: Supreme #43 (1996)

» FEATURED APPEARANCES: Supreme #43-50, 52 (collected in Supreme: The Story of the Year)

Amalgam: Judgment League Avengers + JLX

In 1997, DC and Marvel co-published comics under the banner of Amalgam. In these books, individual characters from both universes are merged into one new character. Two books, JLX and JLX Unleashed! have combined the Justice League with both the Avengers and the X-Men.

In the Amalgam universe, the JLX began a sub-group of the Judgment League Avengers. Headed by Apollo, these mutants members of the JLA began to developed ideological differences from the JLA. Eventually they split to form their own team: the JLX. Soon thereafter they were joined by the mysterious Mr. X, who took over leadership from the increasingly unstable Apollo.

» SEE ALSO: Elseworlds: Amalgam

Authority (Wildstorm Comics)

The Authority, on the other hand, were pretty obviously devised as a "what if the JLA really exerted control" experiment. The Authority sprang from the wreckage of Wildstorm's Stormwatch, and are still kicking ass all over the planet.

» SEE: The Authority: The Continuity Pages  •  The Higher Authority

The Avengers (Marvel Comics)

The Avengers weren't really created as a knock-off of the JLA, but today, the two teams are the parallels between companies.

» SEE: Avengers Assemble!  •  The JLA/Avengers Cross-Over Port

The Guardians of the Globe (Image)

Invincible is a really great superhero comic created by Robert Kirkman. Invincible (Mark Grayson) himself is a young man whose father, Omni-Man, is actually an alien. Mark develops his powers just as he is graduating from high school.

The original Guardians of the Globe mirrored the JLA exactly. They were all killed when Invincible's father, Omni-Man revealed that he was a sleeper agent for his alien race. He removed the Guardians as a threat to their takeover. Ater this, Omni-Man fled and the Immortal was resurrected by aliens.

The Guardians were reformed by the government with new members. This new team is not a parody.

The Guardians also make an appearance on the cover of Invincible #7 (January 2004). Their origin appeared in Invincible #25.

» FIRST APPEARANCE: Originals: Invincible #7 (December 2003). New team formed: Invincible #?

» SEE: Invincible fan site •  Wikipedia Entry

The Round Table of America (Big Bang Comics, Image)

The Round Table of America was unquestionably inspired by the JLA. Big Bang Comics specializes in printing nostalgic comics and many of their characters are based on DC and Golden Age archetypes. The Round Table hailed from Earth A, while their older predecessors, the Knights of Justice (based on the Justice Society), were from Earth B. The RTA's sidekicks also formed the Whiz Kids (based on the Teen Titans). In the future, they visited the Pantheon of Heroes (the Legion, in Big Bang v.2 #12 and 18).

Major characters include Ultiman (Superman), Knight Watchman (Batman), Venus (Wonder Woman), The Blitz (Flash), Atomic Sub (Aquaman), Thunder Girl (Mary Marvel), the Beacon (Green Lantern) and Dr. Weird (the Spectre).

Both teams first appeared in Big Bang Comics v.1 #3 (Caliber Press) and their origin can be found in Big Bang Comics v.2 #4 (Sept. 1996). #24 and 26 are a staggeringly detailed mockery called "History of Big Bang Comics" that tells about these characters' faux publishing histories. The Knights were said to have originally appeared in the Golden Age "World Class Comics."

Big Bang #32 featured a story on the soon-to-be-released "Knights of Justice" television show. Real life models were posed for group pictures as Ultiman, Knight Watchman, Thunder Girl and Masker (Black Canary).

Issue #33 featured a full story on the RTA in an early 1980s style, including newer members like Robo-Hood, Hummingbird and Mr. Martian.

Other features of the group included Big Bang Comics v.2 #6, 12, 14, 24, 32, 33 and 35.

» FIRST APPEARANCE: Big Bang Comics v.1 #3 (Caliber Press, October 1994)

» SEE: Big Bang Comics  •  Wikipedia Entry

The Squadron Supreme (Marvel Comics)

Years ago, Marvel shamelessly unveiled their very own JLofA rip-off group: the Squadron Sinister. These four villains were foes of the Avengers. Later, they took it one step further and created the Earth-S of the Marvel Universe, where lived the good Squadron Supreme. For a more detailed account …

» SEE: Squadron Supreme Profile