Justice League of America - Issue 14
Featuring the twin menaces of Mr Memory and ten pin bowling
The Justice League (aka the Justice League of America, aka the JLA, aka Justice League International, aka Zack Snyder’s Justice League (2021)) is a collection of the DC Universe's greatest heroes (and also Green Arrow).
I talked about why I love the JLA in this piece here. Now I’m breaking down each and every issue of the comic book, from their very first appearance, with Atom-sized summaries. Enjoy!
For no immediately obvious reason, the Justice League are electing a new member, and have unanimously chosen The Atom - yet another mediocre, forgettable white man. How forgettable? So forgettable that not a single member of the team can remember who he is! Eventually, once this amnesia spreads to one another, the team deduce that it must be the work of thrilling new villainous mastermind (and former The 39 Steps character), Mr Memory! Or, as it turns out, Batman! Or, as it more accurately turns out, Amos Fortune from issue six! Look, it’s all a bit of a muddled mess, but the point is that the Atom gets to join the team, and is given an adorable and not in any way degrading tiny chair in which to sit.
Fun With Comics!
MVP
It’s The Atom! Yes, he’s a canonically forgettable character, with the kind of power set that only Paul Rudd can really make work, and even then, barely. But he did get placed into an explosive clear bowling ball and get thrown at the rest of the team who were stacked like bowling pins for some reason. That’s more than most heroes have ever done.
Top Panel
Is Batman so paranoid and uber-prepared that he’d go out of his way to concoct nefarious schemes that would effortlessly defeat his friends and allies in the JLA? No. Of course not. (Well, not in the 1960s, anyway. But give him a few decades…)
Villain Cryptic Crossword Clue
This villain’s data storage is unusual: Meet my ROM, sir! (6,6)
Next Issue: STONE GIANTS!
