Is Anyone Nostalgic for the Detroit-Era League?

**Typo Lad** · 03-15-2005, 06:17 AM

I was just wondering if anyone out there has fond memories of this run.

**Viking Bastard** · 03-15-2005, 07:35 AM

Is this the 'X-Men Wannabes' league? The one before the Giffen league?
Or something else? I'm trying to build a picture in my head of what period
exactly that is.

**Matches Malone** · 03-15-2005, 07:39 AM

I'll always have a soft spot for JLDetroit. (Viking, this was the group with Vibe, Gypsy, etc.) Not really dying to see that era revisited, though - the appeal is, as you note, nostalgic.

**Ned Leeds** · 03-15-2005, 07:52 AM

Not I. I quit reading JL during the "Detroit" issues. Started up again when Giffen and crew took over.

**blast_front** · 03-15-2005, 08:56 AM

I reread those issues a month or so back. The art and writing were pretty uneven but not without their charms. Gypsy was interesting, if underused, and I prefer the Hank Heywood III Steel to the subsequent characters who used the name. The only two arcs that really stood out in the JL Detroit run were the one with Despero and the End of the JLA.

All in all, it was pretty much the epitome of "interesting failure". I hated it as a 12 year old fanboy, but now I can at least see where DC was trying to take the book after a lot of classic Leaguers had moved on. (GL quitting, Flash's trial, Atom going native, etc)

**Shellhead** · 03-15-2005, 01:09 PM

It was obvious to me that they were trying to get a huge New X-Men boost in sales, without really grasping why the New X-Men were so cool back then.

**blast_front** · 03-15-2005, 01:39 PM

Originally Posted by Shellhead

It was obvious to me that they were trying to get a huge New X-Men boost in sales, without really grasping why the New X-Men were so cool back then.

It was also a precursor to the "de-powering" phase DC went through post-Crisis with Flash and Superman, which I have no problems with per se. It's the execution that went haywire.

An example can be found Vibe's characterization over the first half-dozen issues. Conway laid the ethnic stereotyping on thick and heavy at the start, and then backpedaled with vigor. It didn't/doesn't give the impression that the book's shift in direction was planned out that well from the start.

**Rocket13** · 03-20-2005, 02:27 AM

Although I bought and read all the Detroit era JLA issues I really didn't enjoy most of them very much. So I am not really nostalgic for that era and don't even remember it as being part of the JLA history until someone brings it up.

**marshal99** · 03-20-2005, 04:54 AM

Nooo , they are a disgrace to the Justice League name. Story and art all went down a notch and this league was rightfully terminated and disbanded. Only good thing that came out during this era was the Despero makeover and the fact it brought the martian manhunter back to the JLA fold which he has since remained pretty much through all the different incarnations of the JLA till the present era.

**SUPERECWFAN1** · 03-20-2005, 08:22 AM

I'm getting some back Issues In this run of the Justice League. It was a grand expirament to see If newer heroes could carry the Justice League of America and It failed .

I have the final Issues where Vibe & Steel get killed. And the other 2 quit. Its just sad that DC never kept Steel alive. With the right writer and costume they may have been able to make that charactor decent enough to stick.

**Blueferret** · 03-20-2005, 09:19 AM

I agree with the sentiments about Steel. With the resurgance of the JSA in the past few years, he would have been a good addition to the team. Also, I want Dale Gunn to come back in some capacity.

**SUPERECWFAN1** · 03-20-2005, 10:41 AM

Originally Posted by Blueferret

I agree with the sentiments about Steel. With the resurgance of the JSA in the past few years, he would have been a good addition to the team. Also, I want Dale Gunn to come back in some capacity.

Who Is Dale Gunn ? I really haven't heard of his name at all.

I'd love to see the 2nd Manhunter..the one who became the Star Tsar return and plauge the JLA some. I have the Secret Origins of him and I'd love to see him come back In some form and battle the JLA.

**Blueferret** · 03-20-2005, 07:12 PM

Dale Gunn was the man who ran the JLA's Detroit bunker. He had a lot of potential. IIRC, Max Lord tried to get him onboard for JLI at one point.

**JoshuaB** · 03-20-2005, 07:23 PM

I always miss a run after it's over. I enjoyed the Detroit era a lot, have most of the issues back collected. One other era I miss (but I'm not sure if anyone else does) is the Breakdowns and Spectacular era. That made me fall in love with the League when I was a kid.

**barbgrayson** · 03-22-2005, 06:22 PM

they sort of remind me of the superfriends but i liked the way it ended with the death of steel and vibe

Thread: Is Anyone Nostalgic for the Detroit-Era League?

Thread Tools

Display

Is Anyone Nostalgic for the Detroit-Era League?

Bookmarks

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions