JL Task Force
1 year ago - After the battle against Maggeddon the American government contacts their two employees that serve on the Justice League; Jefferson Pierce & Nathan Adam, to recruit & lead a small Justice League team that operates under the purview of the American Government. Lorraine Reilly helps guide the creation of the Task Force through Congress. They refurbish a former covert Checkmate facility under the Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio.
Membership: 44-year-old Jefferson Pierce, 31-year-old Nathan Adam, 29-year-old Lorraine Reilly, 32-year-old Dawn, 46-year-old Ben Turner, 27-year-old Ryan Choi & 36-year-old Daniel Patrick Cassidy
Membership: 44-year-old Jefferson Pierce, 31-year-old Nathan Adam, 29-year-old Lorraine Reilly, 32-year-old Dawn, 46-year-old Ben Turner, 27-year-old Ryan Choi & 36-year-old Daniel Patrick Cassidy
Noteworthy Teams
Founding Members
Our Justice League Task Force is a very different one than the one that appears in the comics, but it actually fufills a very specific need in the world of the Justice League, combining a few different ideas from a few different variant Justice League teams into one entity. The intention is to take the idea of government involvement with the League and give it it's own deliberate place. This grouping of characters actually feels very natural, and we're eager to know what you think about it.
The Task Force's Comic HistoryThere is precedent within DC's history for a team by the name Justice League Task Force. It was published in 1993 on the heels of the book Justice League Europe. That series established that the JLE had a United Nations charter, so when it ended a UN official approached Martian Manhunter and asked him to assembled a Task Force for a specific mission. From then on, the book essentially had a rotating cast of former Justice League members as they came together to acomplish a varitey of goals. Midway through the book's three-year run, the Task Force also essentially became a training ground for young heroes and settled on a a more permanent lineup of Martian Hanhunter, Gypsy, The Ray, Triumph, and the L-Ron-possessed Despero (It was a weird time.)
Meanwhile, there's also precident for the type of team we're attempting to actually build here. After the New 52, in the heart of DC's apparent mandate that everyone needs to be much more edgy, the American government didn't trust the Justice League so they assembled their own team to serve as a counter to the League. They called themselves the Justice League OF AMERICA... taking the original continuity name for the league, allowing for two seperate Justice League comics to be published at once. The lineup of that team has shifted over the years, But the idea of a government-operated counter-team to the League is a fairly common plot point. |
Our Task Force StoryThe intention here is to create a spin-off Justice League team that actually works alongside the American military in an effort to increase the transparency of the various League teams. We deliberately did this during the modern Hall of Justice era of the League, because by opening up their operations to the public they're already making their public persona a concern. After the battle of Maggeddon, with John Henry Irons serving as a liaison between the heroic community and the UN, we wanted to make the prevailing popular opinion on superheroes to be a positive one. The UN already has a superhero team in the Global Guardians and the government has one as well (albeit a covert one) in the DEO-controlled Freedom Fighters, but this isn't meant to be a government operated organization, but rather a branch of the Justice League that deliberately operates within the military's oversight. Rather than serving as a counter to the League, they're meant to supplement it.
Choosing the team line-up was a little tricky. We wanted to include a few classic League members that would operate comfortably under the blanket of the military. Captain Atom was obvious, with Black Lightning a close second; we actually imagine that the two of them worked incredibly well together in the rebuild Justice League and were approached to assemble and lead the Task Force. Some other members might seem like odd choices, but they make a good overall tableau; a group that would come together for a variety of reasons but all work well toward a specific goal. As we move into the future it is possible that there might be some conflict between them, but this story feels like one that is worthy of being told. |