The comic-verse is a complicated anthology to keep track of, not helped in the slightest by the vast number of timelines, parallel timelines, resets to those parallel timelines, convoluted resets to those parallel timelines in order to explain changes made solely based off of the preference of the writer, etc. The greatest element of yet also the biggest problem with comics, as has been discussed before, is their continuity. Everything is connected. In the first six issues of the New 52 Justice League run in 2011, Geoff Johns attempts to recreate a more modern origin story for the infamous band of heroes. Dc also attempts to leave the previous origins intact, the reasoning of which won't be explained for almost eight more years with Doomsday Clock. Timeline shenanigans aside, Justice League: Origins succeeds because it is a character-driven story of unwavering commitment to do the right thing.
The characters who head the tale are not the ones readers had become to be associated with. These iterations of Superman, Wonder Woman and the like are younger, more brash and impulsive, and a tad more violent. They act more like vigilantes and less like heroes. This was initially lauded by some critics, but Johns' intentions became clear later on. They needed to learn what it meant to truly be a superhero and fight for good. All too often comics had plopped a costumed character on panel and readers had just assumed they would do the right thing because that's the trope of the superhero. Here, these morals had to be learned. The catalyst of this revelation was also fitting, arguably the League's greatest foe, Darkseid. Starro had become a bit too outdated to serve as the origin for the league. Fighting off an invasion by a conquering threat was a more streamlined and consumable approach to bring a team together, and the decision pays off. Darkseid doesn't have much of a personality here, merely serving as a punching bag for the heroes, but since the story was supposed to be about them and not some complex hero versus villain dynamic, this is excusable; this time.
The characters who head the tale are not the ones readers had become to be associated with. These iterations of Superman, Wonder Woman and the like are younger, more brash and impulsive, and a tad more violent. They act more like vigilantes and less like heroes. This was initially lauded by some critics, but Johns' intentions became clear later on. They needed to learn what it meant to truly be a superhero and fight for good. All too often comics had plopped a costumed character on panel and readers had just assumed they would do the right thing because that's the trope of the superhero. Here, these morals had to be learned. The catalyst of this revelation was also fitting, arguably the League's greatest foe, Darkseid. Starro had become a bit too outdated to serve as the origin for the league. Fighting off an invasion by a conquering threat was a more streamlined and consumable approach to bring a team together, and the decision pays off. Darkseid doesn't have much of a personality here, merely serving as a punching bag for the heroes, but since the story was supposed to be about them and not some complex hero versus villain dynamic, this is excusable; this time.
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