Martian Manhunter vs. Red Tornado by Gene Colan
Aquaman vs. Firestorm by Keith Giffen
Wonder Woman vs. Hawkman & Hawkgirl by Jerry Ordway
The Flash vs. The Atom by Steve Ditko
Green Lantern vs. Green Arrow & Black Canary by Mike Grell
Batman vs. Elongated Man by Marshall Rogers
Superman vs. Zatanna by José Luis García-López

Of course, the kicker was that the Appelaxians hadn’t taken the JLA’s honorary members, who formed a search team for interstitial and final chapters by Jim Starlin featuring Adam Strange, Deadman, Sargon, Captain Comet, & the Phantom Stranger. This world’s coda was a bit more somber than celebratory though, as Bernie Wrightson illustrated the memorial service for Snapper Carr and Golden Eagle.

The other reason I came back to comment was that I previously missed Rob claiming that there was no iconic artist available for Wonder Woman’s chapter. Jose Delbo had done the book for much of the ’70s, while guys like Ed Hannigan and JLGL(PBHN) had been doing memorable covers contemporaneously, all of which would have fit better than Dick Giordano (who was most associated with the mod Diana Prince period.) However, the obvious choice for a project like this was Ross Andru, the defining WW artist of the Silver Age.

Out of all the DC anniversary issues of the era I’d put “JLA” #200 at number 1, followed by:
2. Action Comics #500
3. The Flash #300
4. Detective Comics #500
5. Batman #400

Not sure if it’s my favorite comic book of all-time (that title probably belongs to “Crisis On Infinite Earths”) but it’s definitely the best JLA story ever.

I don’t think the League ever needed any other members other than those shown here (except for Hawkwoman). Firestorm is where MY ideal JLA ends, unlike Alex Ross, who excludes Ol’ Flamehead from his roster.

Gerry Conway’s narration was icing on the birthday cake. Shades of Power Records! The only thing missing was the little beep to tell you to turn the page.

It was great to hear so many familiar names in one show. I was surprised that Count Drunkula wasn’t delighted by Brian Bolland on the GA/BC/B chapter – it’s Brian Bleeding Bolland, far better than Neal Adams, even back then. It was great to see a Justice League America celebration had room for a Brit.

As for who else besides Hawkman could’ve taken on Superman, there was another occasional JLA guest star who was amply qualified – Supergirl.

Thanks everybody for being a part of this, and here’s to even more super greatness in the future…!

Fan the Flame and Ride the Wave!

* It would have been PERFECT if Hawkwoman had appeared in some way.

I don’t know what else I can add other than to publically thank Rob and Shag for asking me to join them on the show, both this time and previously. And to give major props and a huge thumbs up to all of the other guest stars as well, thank you for making this episode as fun as it was. And finally, to thank Rob and Shag once again for making this show and making it so freaking good, out of such a bizarre, inane concept as pairing off Aquaman and Firestorm.

Congratulations for reaching 100 episodes, and here’s to a hundred more! Fan The Flame and Ride Wave!

(Aside: @Frank, I have handled a mace before, but I unfortunately do not own one. I should probably rectify that.)

And oops – I called it your 200th episode in my earlier post. Knew that would happen due to the 200th issue of JLA being discussed!

I found your steadfast refusal to let Cindy’s bouts of logic ruin this comic for you to be quite admirable…

This is still one of my favorite comics, regardless…

Best,
Xum