With the shocking announcement that DC plans to kill its most iconic team in April with Justice League #75, one obvious question comes to mind - Who will replace them? Although the series itself is canceled after this landmark issue, with a new Justice League series taking its place three months later, the fact remains that the DC Universe will be without both its biggest team and its biggest heroes for the foreseeable future. Even when a new League forms, there's no guarantee that the members who are about to die will return. So which heroes will step up and become the new champions of the DCU?
When it comes to an effective replacement to the Justice League team itself, the Titans feel like the safest bet. They've already been training the next generation of heroes lately with their Teen Titans Academy. However, they haven't exactly been doing a good job on that front. Having taken on too much responsibility to the point that they may cause the literal apocalypse, suddenly becoming the new Justice League may not be a good idea. Right now, they seem unprepared for that level of responsibility. Other smaller teams like The Outsiders or the Authority could attempt to fill the gap but they might not be enough.
It seems that the best course of action is to build a new Justice League out of the individuals that will replace the previous members. The Justice League is a powerhouse team, so it seems only right that its newest members should be on that same level. Therefore, those who replace Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, and all the rest must be worthy of being on this new team. So who is the next generation going to be?
Let's start with the World's Finest. Superman's replacement is the easiest to determine. The man of steel's son, Jonathan Kent, has already replaced him as the new Superman of Earth, with Clark Kent currently on his suicidal Warworld mission. Therefore, the Son of Kal-El is a sure bet to take his father's place in the League. As for Batman, there are a few possibilities. As Jace Fox has finally taken on the role of Batman and moved to New York to build a legacy as his own Dark Knight, joining the Justice League seems like a logical next step. However, the likes of Nightwing, Batwoman, or even Damian Wayne could claim that spot. Nightwing now has the money to fill in for Batman and Green Arrow plus he's led the League before, so he could do so again.
Wonder Woman, like Superman, already found a replacement recently in the form of her own mother, Hippolyta. Although she took Diana's place on the team in the current Justice League run, the troubles on Themyscira and the upcoming "Trial of the Amazons" event look set to shake things up in a big way. It could be that Yara Flor will soon step into the role of Wonder Woman, as she did in Future State.
Though Flash won't be going on this ill-fated mission, Barry Allen has also already found a replacement recently in Wally West. Wally's friend Roy could take his mentor, Green Arrow's place, and perhaps even Black Canary's. As well as that, John Stewart's Green Lantern could easily find a replacement on the team in the form of one of the other human members of the Corps. Aquaman too could have his spot filled by his protege Jackson Hyde, who's already been proving that he's ready to take on the mantle of Aquaman.
It looks like DC has been setting up many of the Justice League's replacements for some time now, with a number of heroes already ready to take over when the current team disappears. Though some heroes like Martian Manhunter, Zatanna, and Hawkgirl don't have anyone to inherit their mantle's directly, that doesn't mean there isn't anyone worthy to take their place. Cyborg and Dr. Fate could fill in for at least the first two in some capacity.
However, with everything that's been set up so far, across all of DC's titles, it seems more than likely that the next Justice League will come from the next generation. As Jon Kent, Jace Fox, and Yara Flor all have been on the Future State version of the team, DC could form a slightly different version of that team to take the place of the current one. Whatever the case may be, it seems certain that the Death of the Justice League will further DC's transition towards a new generation of heroes.