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JLA (1997-2006)
JLA: Secret Files & Origins #1
Learn the secret origin of the JLA and experience the first meeting between the team and a very different Superman! Plus, profile and pin-ups by artists including Phil Jimenez, Kelley Jones, John Byrne, Doug Mahnke and more!
54 pages, Kindle Edition
Published August 31, 1997
About the author
Mark Millar
1,687 books2,435 followersMark Millar is the New York Times best-selling writer of Wanted, the Kick-Ass series, The Secret Service, Jupiter’s Legacy, Jupiter’s Circle, Nemesis, Superior, Super Crooks, American Jesus, MPH, Starlight, and Chrononauts. Wanted, Kick-Ass, Kick-Ass 2, and The Secret Service (as Kingsman: The Secret Service) have been adapted into feature films, and Nemesis, Superior, Starlight, War Heroes, Jupiter’s Legacy and Chrononauts are in development at major studios.
His DC Comics work includes the seminal Superman: Red Son, and at Marvel Comics he created The Ultimates – selected by Time magazine as the comic book of the decade, Wolverine: Old Man Logan, and Civil War – the industry’s biggest-selling superhero series in almost two decades.
Mark has been an Executive Producer on all his movie adaptations and is currently creative consultant to Fox Studios on their Marvel slate of movies.
His DC Comics work includes the seminal Superman: Red Son, and at Marvel Comics he created The Ultimates – selected by Time magazine as the comic book of the decade, Wolverine: Old Man Logan, and Civil War – the industry’s biggest-selling superhero series in almost two decades.
Mark has been an Executive Producer on all his movie adaptations and is currently creative consultant to Fox Studios on their Marvel slate of movies.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
July 15, 2019
Score: 2.75 out of 5
Grade: 55% (D) | Bad
The JLA fight a mind-controlling alien species as we’re introduced to the new electric blue Superman and experience a day in the life of Martian Manhunter. Here is my review of JLA: Secret Files and Origins #1:
The Good:
I liked seeing the JLA band together once more to fight a common enemy. The segment where Spectre showed the JLA what would happen if they went in guns-blazing was great. It forced the JLA to rethink their typical beat ‘em up approach. And of course, Morrison uses Batman as the biggest, baddest, rottin' tootin' badass on the JLA.
Although I think the Superman redesign is notoriously bad, I enjoyed the little training montage with the other members of the JLA. It was funny and kind of cool to see his new powers in action. If you thought Superman was overpowered before, he’s like God on steroids now! He’s even better at doing some of the things his JLA teammates are known for doing.
The Bad:
This has very little of the JLA as a team in it. Only the Flash, Batman and Superman having anything interesting to do. All the other members are pushed off to the side. We also get introduced to Spectre…yeah I’m not too sure who that is either. This character just kind of pops up with very little information on who or what they are.
I also found it annoying that the fastest man alive wasn’t able to stop Batman from evading his way passed him. It’s a plot-hole, especially when the mind-controlled Flash takes down the whole team so easily. I mean, yeah, he’s Batman, but still, the Flash is the fastest man alive! Maybe by showing how Batman dodged the Flash’s attention, it would have fixed this problem.
Electric blue Superman… Yeah I don’t really know what they were thinking either. I guess it was the 90’s, but this change goes beyond just the look. He all of a sudden acquired these new powers too?! So much has changed with Superman that it isn’t even Superman anymore, so...
...to share my displeasure with the new Superman, I welcome you to: The Roast of Electric Blue Superman:
Superman is so blue, he looks like he belongs in the 2009 Avatar movie. BOOM, roasted!
Superman is so blue, he looks like Paul Giamatti from the 2002 movie Big Fat Liar. BOOM, roasted!
Superman is so blue…(how blue is he)… he looks like a blue freezie that’s been left out in the sun too long. BOOM, roasted!
Superman is so blue, he looks like these neon blue USB’s. BOOM, roasted!
Thank you, thank you. You're too kind. I’m here all week!
We also get an amazing little segment dedicated to the EVER-exciting life of Martian Manhunter… can you sense the sarcasm? At first, I wanted to give the guy a chance. Maybe he is a very interesting character that I’m just oblivious to. But the way it was written, he was just boring. There were aspects that I thought were interesting but they just didn’t go anywhere.
Conclusion:
For something so short, there really isn’t much room for error. Unfortunately, this was extremely forgettable. The first story was good, but everything after that just highlighted the issues with Morrison’s JLA run – secondary characters being poorly written, random cosmic characters popping up without any explanation, and of course, electric blue Superman.
Grade: 55% (D) | Bad
The JLA fight a mind-controlling alien species as we’re introduced to the new electric blue Superman and experience a day in the life of Martian Manhunter. Here is my review of JLA: Secret Files and Origins #1:
The Good:
I liked seeing the JLA band together once more to fight a common enemy. The segment where Spectre showed the JLA what would happen if they went in guns-blazing was great. It forced the JLA to rethink their typical beat ‘em up approach. And of course, Morrison uses Batman as the biggest, baddest, rottin' tootin' badass on the JLA.
Although I think the Superman redesign is notoriously bad, I enjoyed the little training montage with the other members of the JLA. It was funny and kind of cool to see his new powers in action. If you thought Superman was overpowered before, he’s like God on steroids now! He’s even better at doing some of the things his JLA teammates are known for doing.
The Bad:
This has very little of the JLA as a team in it. Only the Flash, Batman and Superman having anything interesting to do. All the other members are pushed off to the side. We also get introduced to Spectre…yeah I’m not too sure who that is either. This character just kind of pops up with very little information on who or what they are.
I also found it annoying that the fastest man alive wasn’t able to stop Batman from evading his way passed him. It’s a plot-hole, especially when the mind-controlled Flash takes down the whole team so easily. I mean, yeah, he’s Batman, but still, the Flash is the fastest man alive! Maybe by showing how Batman dodged the Flash’s attention, it would have fixed this problem.
Electric blue Superman… Yeah I don’t really know what they were thinking either. I guess it was the 90’s, but this change goes beyond just the look. He all of a sudden acquired these new powers too?! So much has changed with Superman that it isn’t even Superman anymore, so...
...to share my displeasure with the new Superman, I welcome you to: The Roast of Electric Blue Superman:
Superman is so blue, he looks like he belongs in the 2009 Avatar movie. BOOM, roasted!
Superman is so blue, he looks like Paul Giamatti from the 2002 movie Big Fat Liar. BOOM, roasted!
Superman is so blue…(how blue is he)… he looks like a blue freezie that’s been left out in the sun too long. BOOM, roasted!
Superman is so blue, he looks like these neon blue USB’s. BOOM, roasted!
Thank you, thank you. You're too kind. I’m here all week!
We also get an amazing little segment dedicated to the EVER-exciting life of Martian Manhunter… can you sense the sarcasm? At first, I wanted to give the guy a chance. Maybe he is a very interesting character that I’m just oblivious to. But the way it was written, he was just boring. There were aspects that I thought were interesting but they just didn’t go anywhere.
Conclusion:
For something so short, there really isn’t much room for error. Unfortunately, this was extremely forgettable. The first story was good, but everything after that just highlighted the issues with Morrison’s JLA run – secondary characters being poorly written, random cosmic characters popping up without any explanation, and of course, electric blue Superman.
February 1, 2024
If you haven’t already guessed, I’m currently reading through Grant Morrison’s run on JLA. The only reason I read this was for the “Star-Seed” story featured at the beginning. It was, let’s just say, passable. It wasn’t great. It wasn’t horrible. It was well, passable.
So here’s the synopsis. The JLA must find a way to combat Starro the Conqueror. The Spectre warns them that they are destined to fail, and any interference with Starro’s plans would actually enable the alien to conquer the universe. The JLA ask the Spectre to remove their powers to prevent Starro from taking advantage of them, and they succeed in preventing the alien’s takeover of the planet. Satisfied that the future is safe in the hands of the new Justice League, Spectre returns their powers.
Other highlights (?) include a story about how Superman Blue meets the JLA for the first time. He insists on undergoing the trials to join the JLA since he has a new power set. He naturally passes with flying colors. Sorry, should have put in a spoiler alert. You may not have seen that coming.
We also are treated to a day in the life of the Martian Manhunter as he spends his day off solving problems around the world and working as private detective John Jones. It’s just as boring as it sounds. There’s also a bonus interview with the lovable Martian himself where he expounds on his role with the JLA. Rounding off this issue is a timeline of the JLA and a roll call of all the superheroes and villains.
This isn’t a must-read. I would recommend it only if, like me, you just want to read all of Morrison’s JLA run.
So here’s the synopsis. The JLA must find a way to combat Starro the Conqueror. The Spectre warns them that they are destined to fail, and any interference with Starro’s plans would actually enable the alien to conquer the universe. The JLA ask the Spectre to remove their powers to prevent Starro from taking advantage of them, and they succeed in preventing the alien’s takeover of the planet. Satisfied that the future is safe in the hands of the new Justice League, Spectre returns their powers.
Other highlights (?) include a story about how Superman Blue meets the JLA for the first time. He insists on undergoing the trials to join the JLA since he has a new power set. He naturally passes with flying colors. Sorry, should have put in a spoiler alert. You may not have seen that coming.
We also are treated to a day in the life of the Martian Manhunter as he spends his day off solving problems around the world and working as private detective John Jones. It’s just as boring as it sounds. There’s also a bonus interview with the lovable Martian himself where he expounds on his role with the JLA. Rounding off this issue is a timeline of the JLA and a roll call of all the superheroes and villains.
This isn’t a must-read. I would recommend it only if, like me, you just want to read all of Morrison’s JLA run.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews