Justice League Satellite
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[edit] 1st satellite
When the Justice League of America originally formed, its base of operations was the Secret Sanctuary, made out of a cave in Happy Harbor, Rhode Island. In Justice League of America # 77, honorary member Snapper Carr betrays the location of the Secret Sanctuary to the Joker, causing the League to move its base to a new secure headquarters, an orbiting satellite 22,300 miles above the Earth, in Justice League of America # 78 (February 1970).
Those involved in producing the Justice League of America comic during the 1970s include writers Gerry Conway, Cary Bates, E. Nelson Bridwell, and Steve Englehart, while Dick Dillin primarily handled the art chores. Justice League of America had a brief spike in popularity in 1982 when artist George Pérez stepped in following Dillin's death, but the commercial success was short-lived.
Through this period, the membership was limited to the seven founders along with Green Arrow, Atom, Hawkman, Black Canary, Phantom Stranger, Elongated Man and Red Tornado. It was the largest and most powerful lineup of the League to date, although seldom did all League members assemble. The League's twelve-member limit (sometimes explained as a "no duplication of powers" policy) was conceded (in Justice League of America # 161) to simply have been a charter provision about numbers, once the League had formally removed the limitation and admitted Hawkwoman and hoped to admit more members. (Indeed, through this period, several League members challenged, and joked about, the notion that they shared skills and talents, for example, with speed races between Superman and Flash, and Hawkman's use of archery in combat.) The policy change allowed Zatanna and Firestorm to be admitted as well.
The satellite would be the League's home for the next several years. Members were able to teleport to and from the satellite using teleportation centers located across the planet. League members took turns on watch duty, monitoring Earth from the satellite and dispatching the League as needed. This era of the Justice League (and its roster of heroes), is commonly referred to as the "Satellite League".
It is revealed in Identity Crisis that the satellite base was not quite as secure as the Justice League had hoped, as Sue Dibny was brutally raped by Dr. Light while alone aboard.
The satellite was heavily damaged and rendered effectively inoperable just prior to Aquaman's decision to disband the team in Justice League of America Annual # 2. The League was in a time of transition, not only in its choice of headquarters, but also in its membership. The deepening detachment of members such as Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman caused the three charter Justice League members to resign from active duty with the League. At the same time, the Flash left the team to confront his manslaughter trial and investigate the disappearance of his wife. The death of her mother led Black Canary to leave the team and move to Seattle with Green Arrow. Green Lantern had been temporarily expelled from the Green Lantern Corps and resigned from the League as well to sort out his life.
Aquaman subsequently reformed the Justice League, which now included himself, Martian Manhunter, Zatanna, Elongated Man, Vixen, Gypsy, Vibe, Steel, and later, Batman. Based in Detroit, this era is referred to as "Justice League Detroit".
The satellite met its final and complete destruction during the Crisis On Infinite Earths, when it was destroyed by a self-destructing Red Tornado that had been sabotaged and tampered with by the Anti-Monitor. It was never rebuilt, but the League would return to a spaceborne base of operations in the 1990s when it relocated to the Overmaster's orbiting base known as the Refuge.
[edit] 2nd satellite
Following the gathering of the new team as seen in Justice League of America (vol.2) # 7 (April 2007), a new satellite is presented as headquarters.
Actually the new satellite works together with The Hall, a building located in Washington D.C. paid by Batman and designed by Wonder Woman and John Stewart. Inside the building carrying a teleportation transporter which would lead to the League's new orbiting satellite headquarter 22,300 miles above Earth.
Jim Lee was called to design the new headquarters. Writer Brad Meltzer: "On the satellite, he did six different designs; some that resembled the old League satellite, [or] resembled the JLU satellite. We kind of took a little from Column A and B. I saw in one of his other designs, he also had these drones and I loved those, and I said, 'Can we put those on there as well? I really want to take that!'"
The satellite has a Danger Room-like training room nicknamed The Kitchen because "if you can't stand the heat...". Meltzer also explains that, for the first time, the satellite has defensive and offensive weaponry and two drones that go around it.
[edit] External Links
| Justice League | |
|---|---|
| Creators | Gardner Fox |
| Characters | List of Justice League members |
| Related teams | Justice League Elite | Justice Society of America | Outsiders | Super Buddies | Teen Titans | Young Justice |
| Headquarters | Secret Sanctuary | Justice League Satellite | Justice League Watchtower|The Hall/Satelite Watchtower |
| Ongoing series | Justice League of America (vol. 2) | JLA: Classified | Justice | Justice League Adventures / Justice League Unlimited |
| Previous series | Justice League of America | Justice League International | Justice League Europe | Justice League Quarterly | Justice League Task Force | Extreme Justice | JLA |
| Other media | Cartoons: The Superman/Aquaman Hour of Adventure | Super Friends | Justice League | Justice League Unlimited Live Action: Legends of the Superheroes | 1997 TV Pilot |
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