Justice League: No Justice May Be Eliminating DC's Superteams

The four-issue event series Justice League: No Justice is expected to relaunch the titular team as DC Comics biggest franchise. This will lead to multiple new Justice League series written by some of the industry's top talent, but what does it mean for the DCU's other superhero teams?

Well, it may mean they're all going away.

DC Comics seems to be in a holding pattern in the month of May while it waits for No Justice to tell its tale and Brian Michael Bendis to take over the Superman titles. As a result, DC's solicitations for the month are missing several key books. Justice League and Justice League of America are gone, like we knew would happen. Superman and Action Comics are off the board as well, having been replaced by a pair of oversized specials. Supergirl is completely missing, and almost every team book the publisher is currently publishing is M.I.A. as well.

Titans and Teen Titans are among the missing series, and while It's possible these two titles are taking a break for No Justice before returning in June, given the fact that both books complete storylines in April, the writing seems to be on the wall. Titans has even been dealing with the team being disbanded by the Justice League, so it's not like things are going well for them even before all of this upheaval. The fact that none of their members will be included in the four teams of No Justice also speak volumes as to their potential fate.

The most recent solicits have also revealed that Batgirl and the Birds of Prey has been cancelled with issue #22, and Super Sons is going away too at #16. Considering Trinity is already coming to an end in April, and even the team in Detective Comics is breaking up, the publisher's only remaining Rebirth-era team books will be the newly rebranded New Super-Man and the Justice League of China and Suicide Squad. What does this mean for the future of the DC Universe?

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DC will be publishing several new Justice League-branded books starting in June, but we don't yet know what those books will be called, or who will star in them. It would be easy to suggest that Justice League and Justice League of America simply relaunch with new #1s, joined by several other League titles like Justice League International, Justice League Dark, Justice League Task Force, etc. However, with the loss of nearly every other team book, could DC be planning to relaunch these titles under the Justice League brand?

Consider the fact that the Justice League has engaged in activity they aren't normally accustomed to. They recently interfered with the Titans in order to monitor the team and ensure they can be effective. They have faced public scrutiny that has caused them to oust Batman as their leader in favor of a new voice in Cyborg. They will also be forced to team up with other heroes and their villains in No Justice. This is all pointing to a dramatic shift toward a globalized view on crimefighting.

After the debacle of Dark Nights: Metal, where the heroes of the DCU were caught completely unprepared and were almost wiped out, the Justice League now realizes the kind of threats that are out there and understands that sometimes superhero team-ups are simply not enough. Instead of reacting to the next crisis, the Justice League may be at a place where they want to establish a system that can effectively handle what comes next. That means change, unification... and recruitment.

Justice League Goes Unlimited

Instead of having a single Justice League team sitting on high and handing down orders that may or may not be followed by the rest of the superhero community, what if every superhero was on the same team? This would mean DC's May solicitations are no coincidence -- are we about to get a Justice League-sponsored Teen Titans, a Justice League-sponsored Birds of Prey, and a Justice League-sponsored Titans book?

It would make sense if this is the direction that the heroes of the DCU would go in post-Metal. Scott Snyder clearly has plans beyond his event series, and James Tynion IV's Detective run showed superheroes at their absolute most efficient when all resources are dispatched to the correct locations. The players and creators are in place to transform the Justice League into something more.

In short, DC could be eliminating every team because moving forward, because there will only be one: The Justice League. If this sounds something like Justice League Unlimited, don't worry, it's probably on purpose. Snyder has already stated that he's been influenced by the show's unique approach to superheroing when it comes to No Justice and what comes after.

A bunch of titles may be coming to an end in the months ahead, but it's clear that there are new plans waiting to be announced. Imagine a world where teams are aggregated based directly on the mission at hand, deploying the best operatives possible to get the job done right. This will create a more efficient superhero community and would prepare them for the next major crisis that comes their way.

Does anyone else hear a (Doomsday) clock ticking...?