Saint Walker & JLA

[Michael Heide Heide Finition Find all posts View Profile Close Michael Heide]

I think if he had more classic characters in the group and one or two of his trademark "ecclectic" characters, he might get more than an upturned nose from fans who are passing on his JLA. This roster is bad enough to make me almost miss the Detroit roster.

Amen.

[missferris Senior Corps Member Find all posts View Profile Close missferris]

The problem with Robinson being an idea man is that what (argueably at best) seems like a good idea on paper doesn't turn out well in execution. His work on Starman and Golden Age was amazing, and he'll always hold a place in my fanboy heart for those books, but those books his JLA is NOT.

I think if he had more classic characters in the group and one or two of his trademark "ecclectic" characters, he might get more than an upturned nose from fans who are passing on his JLA. This roster is bad enough to make me almost miss the Detroit roster.

None of this was his idea, though, so ...? I don't get it. He wasn't allowed to use the Big Seven, he was specifically told to use Starman, was specifically told to use an "obscure" character, and the rest he basically picked good heavy hitters/whatever. He probably couldn't even use Wally West.

He's making do with what he had. The lineup could have been great. It's just that he kind of has been terrible at times at writing them and their dialog. He's tried to be a good sport about not getting to do, well, much of anything that he originally planned but it's obviously showing in his disorganized writing.

[Mister.Weirdo Guardian of the Universe Find all posts View Profile Close Mister.Weirdo]

I'm not reading Justice League of america right now, and I doubt added Walker is going to change my mind.

[W.West Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close W.West]

ROBINSON'S JLA pt. 2: 'Epic' ECLIPSO Arc Brings Changes

In this second installment of our two-part interview with Robinson, we talk to him about his new artist, about other changes that are coming to the title's team members and what guest stars might show up in 2011.

Newsarama: James, we finished the last part of our interview by talking about the departure of Mark Bagley. But who's going to be the new ongoing penciler on the title?

James Robinson: The new ongoing artist will be Brett Booth.

Nrama: He's doing the Starman/Congorilla issue. Is that why he's coming over to Justice League?

Robinson: Yes, absolutely. We knew we had to find somebody new, and he did such a fantastic job on Starman/Congorilla and he was so professional getting his pages in, which with a monthly book is a factor that you have to always take into account. And quite honestly it was very exciting to work with him on Congorilla/Starman.

So he's doing this new arc. And at least based on his covers (which is all that’s out there at the moment), I think you're going to be very excited by the look of the book and the feel.

Nrama: Brett starts with the Eclipso storyline that begins in February with Issue #54. We've seen the character of Eclipso go through some changes lately. Are you working within the parameters of those changes?

Robinson: Yes, but by this point he’s back to being linked to Bruce Gordon. We're back to Bruce Gordon as Eclipso’s human vessel, which is the way it should be. But that's just me and my opinion.

Nrama: I'm sure fans are excited to see what you do with the character, because you seem to really know your DC continuity. Are you getting the character back to its core?

Robinson: Well, I’m wary now of saying that I know my continuity, because no matter what I do, there's always someone online that points out where I’ve messed up and then all I hear is James Robinson's a hack, or he's a this or that. He doesn't understand DC comics. And there does always seem to be something...some vague thing that happened, some forgotten appearance of Eclipso or whoever, that I won't have known about, and won't have caught. And so as a result, I’ve learned never to trumpet that I know DC continuity up and down, because I’m sure to fall on my face for saying that a moment later. Things change so quickly that you always have to be reading every book in order to keep up with everything.

But I do love Eclipso, and yes, I do love who the characters is at the very core. I love the kind of the duality of it. It isn't the same as the Hulk's duality. Well, the Hulk isn't evil for one thing, but with the Hulk it’s two sides of one person. And at the very beginning of when Eclipso was first created, there was a bit more of a sense of not quite knowing if Eclipso was the dark side of Bruce Gordon. But now it's definitively been stated that he was the precursor to the Spectre as God's agent of vengeance on Earth, or retribution on Earth. And as a result, he's now this embittered, cast-out son who hated his father for no longer loving him. So he has a lot of that on his shoulders, whilst being unmitigatedly evil. I do like that about him. But I also like the fear.

Nrama: With all this background to Eclipso, how do you introduce him into the story?

Robinson: Issue #54 is where we introduce the character. It's an Eclipso solo story more than anything, leading up to the main storyline beginning properly in #55. We reintroduce him and show some of what he's been doing before we involve the rest of the Justice League. We show that Bruce Gordon is the host that Eclipso enjoys crossing swords with the most. He's the one guy that while being Eclipso’s human vessel — whilst never completely defeating him — actually manages to outthink him, and he isn't just a pawn. And Eclipso finds that exciting and challenging. So I’m trying to sort of reestablish that link between Eclipso and Bruce Gordon and make it interesting and fun and dynamic for people. The yin and yang of them. The good and evil.

Nrama: You mentioned yesterday that Jade's powers will be played up in this arc, particularly when Saint Walker joins. Will we see more definition of Jessie Quick's powers as well?

Robinson: Yes. She has to push her powers really far in the Omega arc, and this will manifest itself within the Eclipso arc as a slight change in her powers, which will make her unique. She'll continue to be a speedster, but it will give her a distinction from the other speedsters, to make her more unique as she begins to interact with them. That's something that will happen in the Eclipso arc.

Nrama: Besides Saint Walker, will we see more changes to the team over the coming months?

Robinson: All I can say at this juncture is that at the start of the Eclipso arc, which begins in February, it will feature the same team. After that, we'll have to see what happens to affect the membership of the Justice League.

But you'll see some interesting guest appearances during the Eclipso arc. It will involve every shadow character in the DC universe. So you will see The Shade in the book, and it will tangentially feed into the The Shade maxi-series, which will be launched next year.

Nrama: You hinted that you'd be writing Hawkman sometime in the future. Can you clarify that statement at all?

Robinson: No. No comment on that one.

Nrama: You also mentioned earlier in the interview that Starman plays a role in the Cyborg-Superman issue. So after their one-shot, will Starman and Congorilla be back on the Justice League team for good?

Robinson: Oh yeah. That was just so I could focus on the dynamic between the five versus the Crime Syndicate. Yeah, they'll be back on the team with the Eclipso arc. Starman, with his power source and everything else, will actually be quite a key player in the whole Eclipso storyline.

Nrama: Anything else you can tell us about what's coming up in Justice League of America?

Robinson: Just that, by the end of the Eclipso storyline, I think people will see why this team deserves to be called the Justice League of America. To put it bluntly, they'll prove that they're kick-ass. And the Eclipso arc will affect more than just this team. It's a huge, big, epic thing that will build and build.

[missferris Senior Corps Member Find all posts View Profile Close missferris]

It's so awkward when a writer throws it out there that he's been reading all of the criticism on him -- both valid and completely irrational.

[A_Q Lantern Corpse Trainee Find all posts View Profile Close A_Q Lantern]

I remember reading Saint walker gives jade a power boost. Hope doest affects the Starheart. Jade ver 2.0!

[Guest Close Bat22]

I like having Jade and Walker in the League; however, I agree that what keeps me from this book - apart from being produced by the man behind Cry for Justice - is its saturation of blatant fill-ins. You've got Nightwing filling in for Batman, Troia for Wonder Woman, Supergirl for her cousin, and Jesse Quick and Jade for Flash and GL. It looks more like the Titans playing dress-up and practically begs for the return of the originals. I'd much rather see the more distinct heroes like Cyborg, Dr. Light, Steel, Vixen, or Captain Atom and J'onn J'onzz in action.

[Linterna Azul Major Force's Dinner Date Find all posts View Profile Close Linterna Azul]

I like having Jade and Walker in the League; however, I agree that what keeps me from this book - apart from being produced by the man behind Cry for Justice - is its saturation of blatant fill-ins. You've got Nightwing filling in for Batman, Troia for Wonder Woman, Supergirl for her cousin, and Jesse Quick and Jade for Flash and GL. It looks more like the Titans playing dress-up and practically begs for the return of the originals. I'd much rather see the more distinct heroes like Cyborg, Dr. Light, Steel, Vixen, or Captain Atom and J'onn J'onzz in action.

This is the "Youngling Rookie Justice League of America" except for saint walker
who is the original blue lantern , he should be the "spiritual leader" and not a Jar-Jar-binks character

[AllWillBeWell Fatality's Blacksmith Find all posts View Profile Close AllWillBeWell]

I'd much rather see the more distinct heroes like Cyborg, Dr. Light, Steel, Vixen, or Captain Atom and J'onn J'onzz in action.

I agree completely

[Jeffi.Kaiser Guy's Designated Dr Find all posts View Profile Close Jeffi.Kaiser]

A great line up for the current JLA would be:

Batman (Dick), Supergirl or Mon-El, Cyborg, Captain Atom, Jade, Jessie, Donna and J'onn with the occasional appearance. At least in my opinion.

It has enough of those heroes that are taking up the mantle with some real heavy hitters that could balance it out.

[Mister.Weirdo Guardian of the Universe Find all posts View Profile Close Mister.Weirdo]

That sounds good.

[missferris Senior Corps Member Find all posts View Profile Close missferris]

I do think it was a mistake to have a character each "filling" a role for the Big Seven, but I guess the original lineup got smashed by events and stuff, so Robinson had little to work with. Either way, he would have had to use some obscure characters if he didn't use any of the ones he chose.

Of course, regardless of whether or not I love every character on the lineup (I do! Each and every one), they are being written OOC in my eyes, or at least, the two ones I care about the most, so I can't get too excited about Walker. Unless he starts a romance with Jade or Donna. I'm all over that. He's like a handsome version of Flipper the Dolphin.

[Guest Close Bat22]

I do think it was a mistake to have a character each "filling" a role for the Big Seven, but I guess the original lineup got smashed by events and stuff, so Robinson had little to work with. Either way, he would have had to use some obscure characters if he didn't use any of the ones he chose.

Of course, regardless of whether or not I love every character on the lineup (I do! Each and every one), they are being written OOC in my eyes, or at least, the two ones I care about the most, so I can't get too excited about Walker. Unless he starts a romance with Jade or Donna. I'm all over that. He's like a handsome version of Flipper the Dolphin.

Not necessarily romantic but I think he'd at least strike up a bond with Donna, having also lost his family. Those two and J'onn J'onzz could start a club.

I suppose a plus to this League is the number of prominent female heroes - Kara, Donna, Jesse, Jennie - but, like you say, the cumulative involvement of these particular heroines smacks of substitution/transience.

[W.West Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close W.West]

Every hero in the DCU has lost someone...

[missferris Senior Corps Member Find all posts View Profile Close missferris]

Every hero in the DCU has lost someone...

Of course, but the process of building a family through union and producing offspring, and losing them all, is still a somewhat lesser-experienced loss than losing comrades, a parent, or a sibling. That's pretty much flattening all of the experiences. Jade, for example, hasn't really lost anyone in the sense that Walker and Donna have.