The Future State incarnation of the Justice League seems to have unanimously decided on a team leader – and the choice is perfect.
WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Future State: Justice League #1 by Joshua Williamson, Robson Rocha, Daniel Henriques, Romulo Fajardo Jr & Tom Napolitano, on sale now
Future State has required the residents of the DC Universe to embrace different ways of thinking in order to survive the major changes that have recently come to pass. But there are still heroes fighting the good fight, even if it’s inheritors to heroic legacies instead of classic figures. This includes a new Justice League, which is led by an already-established new hero — and it’s a perfect fit.
It seems that within the Future State-era, Jo Mullein, aka the Green Lantern of Far Sector, has become the unofficial leader of the Justice League — which is the best possible role for her to take on in the future of the DC Universe.
The Justice League of Future State is a relatively young team of heroes, with inheritors to multiple heroic legacies joining the group instead of directly working with any major veterans of the team. Of the group, Jon Kent likely has the most active experience as a superhero, thanks to his time as Superboy before becoming the new Superman. But he’s also shown sharing his father’s friendly nature instead of taking a more assertive place within the team. The new Flash and Aquawoman have experience working with other heroes but are shown being more than willing to allow other members of the team to take charge. Meanwhile, the new Wonder Woman and Batman seem equally concerned with their own missions and work — leaving Green Lantern as the last member of the team to take on an active leadership role.
Luckily for the Justice League, those are exactly the kind of quality that Jo brings to her work with the team. Jo naturally assumes command of the group, proving that she’s a born leader among superheroes. She does so when the team investigates the murder of the Legion of Doom within the ruins of the Hall of Justice, taking point on investigating the crime and working with local police to figure out what happened. She orders the rest of the team to disperse while she works, leading most of the group to head out without contest — implying that this isn’t the first time she’s done something like this. Her actions during the events of Far Sector likely makes Jo the most experienced member of the new roster — reinforced by her referring to her teammates as rookies despite their presence in the new league.
It’s an exciting prospect for Jo, who has proven herself through Far Sector to be an engaging and unique take on the Green Lantern. It also cements her as the spiritual descendant of someone like John Stewart, who has also led the Justice League at various points. It makes sense that she would take command of the team, especially if the rest of the members really are as inexperienced as she implies. It’s also notable that no one on the team seems to believe she’s wrong about taking that position. Even Superman seems less concerned with being a leader and more focused on building bonds with his teammates, leaving Green Lantern in the perfect position to assume the role of leadership.
While it may go unsaid, it’s an interesting development for Jo to take command of the future Justice League — setting her up to become a far more important figure in the future of the DC Universe going forward.
