Mutiversity's Justice League Incarnate Is Overdue For A DC Ongoing Series

Grant Morrison's Justice League Incarnate combines heroes from across the multiverse into one DC Comics team that desperately needs an ongoing.

In 2013's The Multiversity, Grant Morrison introduced DC Comics readers to their latest creation, the Justice League Incarnate. Rather than form a new team of Prime Earth's greatest heroes, Morrison followed the novel concept of having the team consist of heroes from across the multiverse. However, despite the solid idea, this team of inter-dimensional superheroes has been used sparingly. It's time for them to get the ongoing they deserve.

The Justice League Incarnate is an eclectic team of DC heroes plucked from the many worlds of the DC multiverse. Led by Calvin Ellis, a Barack Obama-inspired take on Superman, the team somewhat mirrors regular incarnations of the Justice League, but with some major differences. The inclusion of heroes like the funny animal hero Captain Carrot showcases the more whimsical approach to the League that makes perfect sense in a multiversal context. After all, one universe's whimsy is another universe's norm. Since DC embraced Elseworlds tales in the 1990s, they haven't just told some great stories, they've also left readers wanting more. By themselves, it would be difficult for entire swaths of the multiverse to carry their own comics. However, with the entire multiverse united under the banner of the Justice League Incarnate, their own ongoing series would be perfect.

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In the pages of 2013's The Multiversity, Grant Morrison introduced the then-Multiversity, later renamed the Justice League Incarnate, as a way to explore the multiverse beyond the New 52. The idea itself had been in the works for several years and various incarnations when Morrison and DC ultimately settled on the multiversal concept. The team debuted in their own mini-event, which included a short miniseries and a slew of one-shots introducing readers to some of the characters. Since then, the Justice League Incarnate has gone on to play a key role in the DCU, most notably as the first heroes who faced the Great Darkness before Dark Crisis On Infinite Earths (Joshua Williamson & Daniel Sampere). Consisting of Calvin Ellis, Flashpoint Batman, Aquawoman, Captain Carrot, and Thunderer, among others, the team brought something truly fresh to DC.

The Justice League Incarnate travel the multiverse in the Ultima Thule, a ship once used by the Monitors of the Multiverse to explore the worlds. Made of frozen music, the Ultima Thule can reach new universes by vibrating at the correct frequency, allowing its passengers to pass beyond the Bleed between universes into new worlds. This brought the team, and readers, to worlds like the Marvel Comics pastiche Earth-8 and Calvin Ellis' own more diverse Earth. It even landed Ellis in the same world as his readers, scoring him a meeting with DC Comics editorial. For fans of meta-storytelling, there's obvious potential here. Not only this, but it could even give DC the ability to salvage infamous storylines, like Superman: At Earth's End, by casting them in a new light.

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One of the biggest critiques readers have of modern comics is how the frequent use of the multiverse has lowered the stakes. Whether it's random plot MacGuffins, deus ex machina characters, or convenient character resurrections, the idea of the multiverse playing a role in a story leaves many fans weary. However, this needn't be the case, and the Justice League Incarnate proves it. For Calvin Ellis and his friends, the multiverse is their backyard, and their exploration and salvation of other worlds defines their story. With places like the Dark Multiverse in existence, fans could see Ellis and his team land in the heart of core DC events struggling to save entire realities from destruction or corruption. Likewise, it could bring to life continuities from alternate media, including shows like Batman '66 and incomplete films, like Superman Lives.

In the Ultima Thule, the heroes also have a compelling and believable way of reaching new universes that feels earned. The idea of Barry Allen visiting any universe by running on his Cosmic Treadmill was interesting, but it wound up making the multiverse feel a little too accessible. A visit from the Freedom Fighters or an attack by the Crime Syndicate shouldn't feel casual or easy. Rather, these crossovers should signal something big that allowed or spurred this dimension jump to begin with. Being able to tone down the multiversal adventures of the main Justice League by reserving them for the Justice League Incarnate would be a healthy exchange. As powerful as the JLA is, at their core, they're the protectors of Prime Earth.

Some DC stories have toyed with the idea of a more cosmic Justice League, such as Justice League: Odyssey and Justice League: Last Ride. However, these books were ultimately constrained by both having to operate within the confines of main continuity and being more limited in scope and length. Neither issue applies for the Justice League Incarnate and a strong creative team would arguably have more creative freedom to break and mend its status quo than in any existing series. Through its Black Label and multiple miniseries, DC has created a slew of new worlds in the multiverse. From Aquaman dealing with cosmic horror to a dinosaur version of the Justice League, the possibilities for the JLI are nearly endless.

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A team like the Justice League Incarnate could let DC explore the oversized team dynamic that worked well for Justice League International. Rather than just focusing on a fixed team of seven heroes, an expanded team that unites obscure and A-list characters alike has huge potential. Given that the JLI usually includes at least one Prime Earth hero, it could spotlight some of the DCU's best underutilized heroes. The likes of Hawkman, Black Lightning, and Booster Gold could round out the JLI instead of being reduced to background heroes in main continuity. This is one of the best strengths a title like JLI brings to the table for regular DC fans.

It's also worth remembering all of the worlds the DC multiverse's fans want to see explored but don't necessarily want to be easily accessible to the regular Justice League. The worlds of Alan Moore's Watchmen, the fascist Earth-X, and Frank Miller's Dark Knight Returns (Earth-31) are all places fans enjoy exploring but they don't want to see them integrated into DC's Prime Earth. While fans enjoy seeing Rorschach, they don't necessarily want Watchmen's continuity spilling over into the core DCU again. Rather than bringing the multiverse to the heroes, the Justice League Incarnate brings heroes to the multiverse.

The Justice League Incarnate itself is full of unique and interesting takes on DC heroes, as well as some original characters. Characters like Doctor Multiverse, Dino-Cop, and Thunderer allowed a combination of homages to non-DC heroes and reimaginings of Justice Leaguers to flourish together. In fact, the team is secretly one of the biggest powerhouses in DC history, and there's an argument that, at full strength, they could defeat any version of the regular Justice League. These strengths are best put to use in the wide, sprawling multiverse, where cosmic threats roam can roam unchecked. Written correctly, the team could even become the go-to choice for DC crossovers with other companies, subtly implying that every crossover is secretly canon.

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To say that readers are tired of the multiverse would be a misunderstanding of where fans' frustrations come from. It isn't so much that comic fans suddenly grew tired of Elseworlds books or alternate takes on their favorite heroes. Rather, the way the multiverse started to slowly blend with Prime Earth, creating a sense that exploring alternate dimensions was easy took the fun out of cross-dimensional stories. Barry Allen's first adventure on Jay Garrick's Earth-2 in 1961 was a complete fluke, a result of him still not fully understanding his powers. As the years have progressed, readers have taken the view that, although they enjoy multiversal clashes, they shouldn't be commonplace. However, as the multiverse has grown, it's intruded into every corner of DC Comics.

In the Justice League Incarnate, readers have a completely plausible way of heroes exploring the multiverse that doesn't take anything away from the events on Prime Earth. In fact, the two should be completely separate, so the stories on Prime Earth are almost never tied to the JLI. This is actually the charm of a multiversal Justice League. Even in a hard universe reboot or in the midst of an event, the JLI can retain its own continuity. This makes it the perfect second Justice League title to run alongside the main book, so long as it's protected from big editorial changes. In a way, the Justice League Incarnate could be the ultimate vehicle for delivering fan service without sacrificing the integrity of Prime Earth's canon.