Dimensional transport, magic spell gone awry, or simple editorial fiat, I don't care how it happens, let's just imagine it does happen:
Looking at this list I can hear you asking incredulously, "Where's Spider-Man?! Where's WOLVERINE?!?!!1!" They're not on the list for one simple reason -- they'd win. And that would be no fun. So I made the challenge a bit tougher for you.
Discussion to follow!
I like interesting stories. So I tried to come up with characters who would really interact with the zeitgeist of the JLA in an different way with big storytelling upside. So with one-sentence summaries, here's how I see it.
- Ben Grimm: The DCU is so full of hope and bright primary colors and heroes flying high over the gleaming cities, and Ben would crap all over that like a pigeon at a statue convention.
- Captain America: It would be fun who could out-patriot who, Cap or Superman.
- Hellboy: Like Ben Grimm, but with a brimstone flair, Hellboy would help pop the super-inflated, self-congratulatory air of the JLA with his blue-collar cynicism and no-nonsense attitude.
- The Hulk: The same dynamic that occasionally makes Hulk interesting in the Avengers would work here, with the main heroes trying to figure out if he's a bad guy or a good guy.
- Invincible: Having seem glimpses of Invincible in alternate universes before (notably a great one-panel riff on how ridiculous Batman is if you stop and think about the concept for too long), I actually think he'd fit right in to the team without missing a beat.
- Iron Man: Worth the cover price just to see Tony Stark's reaction when told there are neither bars nor hookers on the JLA satellite.
- Jack Staff: I am not sure the character actually works here, but I would LOVE to see creator Paul Grist's approach to drawing this massive super-team book.
- Ms. Marvel: It would be nice to see a tough, no-nonsense, A-list female show Wonder Woman how they rock it in the Marvel Universe.
- Silver Surfer: The Surfer would bring a melancholy "Hamlet" like presence to the group, more woebegotten than Batman's grim ruthlessness.
- Spawn: Let's face it, the JLA needs some cajones, and Spawn's got them -- crispy-fried, yes, but bona fide as well.
- Thor: What super-team wouldn't want a living god?!
For my money, I have to say I think the best story would be Ben Grimm. I mean, there are so many massively distorted freaks in the DCU, and people are so darn friendly about it, I think it'd be a real baby-blue eye-opener for The Thing to see how normally he can be treated in a universe not run by sadists. The rest are mostly interesting for how the JLA would adjust to the character, but in this one the real story is how the character would be changed by the JLA.
How about you, what would you pick?
