What, like a bunch of....super friends?

"More like a Justice League"

My collecting tends to focus around certain characters - Batman, Superman, Spawn, Clonetroopers, etc. I try not to collect everything tangentially related to Star Wars, nor every figure in a Spawn or DC wave, for one reason I can't afford it, and for another, not everything interests me. But somethings do tempt me enough that I sometimes get things outside of my primary focus.

Hence, I've decided that I need (yes, I meant need, not want) to have the entire Justice League, not just Batman and Superman. I don't need all variations of each member, but I want to have a couple representative versions of each, corresponding to what I think of as the Justice League. This means, I need an animated version of the 7 or 8 characters from the Animated Series Justice League (the two Justice League Unlimited seasons don't count yet, because I haven't seen them), and the 7 or 8 members from the few JLA comics I have.

I'm not allowing myself to collect the animated figures yet (because there are hundreds (it seems), and because there are plenty of comic style figures I want first, and they tend to get more expensive on eBay). But for the sake of this list I'm going to list the characters I want, though I haven't yet decided which version of each character I want to get. The members, per Justice League, Season 1: Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, Martian Manhunter, Flash, Green Lantern (John Stewart), Hawkgirl, and (kinda) Aquaman.

In the comics the membership of the Justice League has fluctuated several times, for various reasons, both in-universe, and out. The comics I'm familiar with have the same members as the animated series, minus Hawkgirl, and with a different Green Lantern - Kyle Rayner, though I know that both Guy Gardener and Hal Jordan have also been members, but I like Kyle. In the interest of consistency I'll keep Hawkgirl in the comic versions, and I'm leaning towards Kyle as the Green Lantern, but I'm not entirely decided. I'm sure what will happen in the end is I'll have several comic-style Justice Leagues, so at least the three GLs I like will be included. Two good examples of this is acquiring the Justice League in a couple specific artist styles - Alex Ross - I plan to get the Kingdom Come figures eventually, and possibly the Justice versions as well, and Ed McGuinness' style, from the Superman/Batman series.

The point of this post is to publish the list of figures I plan to get for each member, along with pics - mostly for my benefit, so I as I hunt them down I am sure to get the right figure, and mark them off as I do so. I'll be listing the first choice figure, and a second choice figure for each member.

Batman

Batman, of course, is the best super hero, in my opinion. So I have lots of choices for him, and actually haven't decided on which one I want for the Justice League display.

Identity Crisis Batman is a great figure, I absolutely love how Michael Turner depicted Batman on the cover of this series, and while this figure isn't an exact match - particularly in the face - it's an excellent figure, and I'm very pleased with it.

Michael Turner also illustrated the Superman/Batman: Supergirl storyline, and DC Direct also released a figure for that line. I happen to have on, I haven't opened it yet, but from what I can tell, it's the mostly same as the Identity Crisis Batman, with a new head and hands.

But, since I already own the above figures, I needed another choice for Batman (so I have something to buy ) and as it turns out, there's an upcoming Batman figure that I think looks really great. Coincidentally, it's from DC Direct's Justice League of America line, and is due out at the end of March.

Superman

What can be said about Superman, that hasn't already been said? He can be a very interesting character, or a rather boring on, depending the writing. I rather like him, though perhaps my favorite Superman moment comes from an episode Superman: The Animated Series, where he had to pretend (under Robin's guidance) to be Batman.

DC Direct has done countless Superman figures, but most are in styles that I'm not incredibly fond of, or won't blend well with the other figures I want for this display.

This figure, from Superman/Batman series 2, again based on Michael Turner's art, I think best fits the look I'm going for. As with Batman, there seems to be something a little off in the face (compared to Turner's art) but overall it looks like a good figure.

The runner-up figure is from the 2003 JLA series, and while it looks really good, it's a little more realistic than I would prefer for this display. Still, several other figures from this series appear on this list, so it seems kinda natural to get this one too.

Wonder Woman

The best Wonder Woman figure that I know of, is the newly released figure from the new DC Direct Wonder Woman line. I really like it, and look forward to getting it soon.

My second choice for Wonder Woman is again from the 2003 JLA series.

Martian Manhunter

There don't seem to be many good Martian Manhunter figures. The best I can find is from the Alex Ross Justice Series.

Flash

Flash is another character whom I don't have much to say about. Figure-wise I'm leaning towards the Identity Crisis figure, and yet again, the 2003 JLA series.

I was considering the Alex Ross Justice series figure, until just now when I looked it up on eBay and found 2 - one loose for $80, the other an AFA graded boxed figure for the ridiculous price of $150 shipped! So forget that figure.

Green Lantern

Now we come to one of my favorite characters, Green Lantern. I mean, what's cooler than a magic ring that can do or create anything you can imagine? As I said earlier, the JLA comics I've read feature Kyle Rayner in this capacity, and I rather like the character.

I already have the only two comic style figures of Kyle, in two different outfits. He goes through a few costumes in the comics, but I've always kinda favored his first, and the JLA comics I own have him in that costume.

The other outfit isn't bad either though, and since its from the JLA series, I assume he sported this costume sometime during his time as a Justice League member.

What troubles me is since I've already got both of these figures, whichever I choose to use in the Justice League display, I'll have to acquire a additional figure of, so I can still have one in the Green Lantern display. Shh, don't tell me wife.

Should I decide to go with a Hal Jordan figure my favorite is from the Green Lantern Series, but since I already own it, and it goes in the GL display, I'd have to get a second for the JL display.

My second choice for Hal would be the Alex Ross Justice figure, which like most figures from that line tend to be slightly pricey on eBay. It has been re-released in a box set with Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman, but since I don't favor the Alex Ross style for those figures (not that it's bad at all, I just think other styles are better) I don't really want to get it.

Hawkgirl

Everything I know about Hawkgirl I learned from the Animated Series. Unfortunately, I've also forgotten most, if not all of it. Still, I recall her being a cool character, so I figured I might as well have a comic style figure of her.

My first choice for her is from the JSA series of early last year, and it just so happens I purchased said figure on eBay a couple of days ago. I expect it to arrive sometime this week.

Though it's kinda pointless at this point to consider a second choice for this character, my backup figure for her will be released in March in the Justice League of America series (along with an aforementioned Batman figure). I rather like it, if not as much as the one I just ordered, so I may get it anyway.

Aquaman

And finally we come to Aquaman. Aquaman has two fairly distinct looks, the classic orange, scaled shirt with green, finned tights, and the long haired, bearded, bare-chested, hooked hand version .

I prefer the the hook version, but can only find one comic style figure of that, and it's from a box set that is in short supply (plus, the other figures aren't very good compared to others listed here).

For the non-hooked version, once again the 2003 JLA series figure looks pretty good.

And the Alex Ross Justice series figure also looks okay. Both figures come with a cool trident.

So, in conclusion, the checklist.

Batman
Identity Crisis Series 2
Superman/Batman Series 2
Justice League of America Series 2

Superman
Superman/Batman Series 2
JLA Series 1

Wonder Woman
Wonder Woman Series 1
JLA Series 1

Martian Manhunter
Alex Ross Justice Series 5

Flash
Identity Crisis Series 2
JLA Series 1

Green Lantern
Kyle, Green Lantern Corps
Kyle, JLA Series 1
Hal, Green Lantern Series 1
Hal, Alex Ross Justice Series 3

Hawkgirl
JSA Series 1
Justice League of America Series 2

Aquaman
JLA Series 1 Hooked Variant
JLA Series 1
Alex Ross Justice Series 2

Updates

Jan 19: I found a Justice League Original Members Collection of Animated figures at TRU, only $25 for the 7 main members, so I grabbed it. I still need Aquaman and most of the Justice Lords versions, but that's for another post.

Jan 20: I won an auction today for the JLA Hook Hand Aquaman for a very reasonable $11, so it's on it's way. That's probably all for this month, unless I sell some more stuff.

Feb 1: The Martian Manhunter I won on eBay for cheap arrived today.

Feb 7: My set of Series 1 Wonder Woman figures arrived, so take Wonder Woman off my list.

Mar 31: Sometime in the last week or two I received the Return of Supergirl Superman, so I guess I'd better take him off the list.