Interview: J.M. DeMatteis Shocks the Future with JUSTICE LEAGUE 3000

The future of the DC Universe is NOW, as the mystery of the Justice League 3000 continues with the seeming death of one of its members at the end of last month’s issue #2! At the helm of the book is veteran Leaguer J.M. DeMatteis, who, along with his colleague-in-arms Keith Giffen, is slowly rolling out just who and what this Justice League of one thousand years to come is. DeMatteis took time out of his busy schedule in advance of tomorrow’s issue to talk a little about how the series is evolving so far, where some of the personalities came from, and the fate of poor, poor Flash.

justiceleague30001bMatt Santori: Thanks for taking the time once again to speak with us about the Justice League, J.M.! Now that you have a few issues under your belt, so to speak, how have you been finding the new dynamic of the 3000 team so far?

J.M. DeMatteis: The fun here is that the dynamic keeps changing.  Our characters aren’t just new to us, they’re new to themselves—their pasts are dim fragments, their future is a mystery, and they’re not really sure who they are, where they stand and what’s expected of them.  This Justice League is a constantly-evolving team, which makes them great fun to write.  Who they are this month isn’t necessarily who they’re going to be a few months down the line…

MSG: The Justice League of the 31st century isn’t exactly what we’ve come to expect from the heroes, and it seems — so far — that they are much more than simply namesakes. How did you go about deciding the defining personalities for each character and what aspect in each that had to go “missing” to produce those differences?

JMD: Keith Giffen and I talked about the characters quite a bit before the book launched…but the real development comes in the storytelling process itself.  I take what Keith has laid down in the plots — and his plots are always rock solid, filled to the brim with character and imagination — and then build from there, get the characters talking to each other.  For me, that’s when I come to understand them.  They really come alive at that stage of the process and they often surprise us.  Keith and I may have an idea of who we want these people to be, but, nine out of ten times, they evolve intro something very different.  And it feels like it all comes from them, not us.

3500831-jl3000_cv4_r1_52a1002de79cc4.19238648MSG: Hal and Barry, more than any of the others, have to date retained the closest relationship in the group, but even they are strained by the presumed memory loss these versions exhibit. Why are these two much more likely in your mind to get along than the World’s Finest team themselves, Batman and Superman?

JMD: I think that Batman—not remembering the trauma of losing his parents—and Superman—divorced from the humanizing influence of the Kents—are vastly different, in fundamental ways, than the people they were in the past.  Despite the gaps in knowledge, there’s an essential nature to Barry and Hal that’s made it through the transition (at least so far) and so they’re a little closer to the originals than the Big Two.  But that doesn’t mean it’s going to stay that way!

MSG: What was your thought process in developing the first antagonist of the series, the Locus, and how do you balance their threat with the threat already growing from the dissension in the Justice League itself?

JMD: Locus came out of Keith’s fevered brain…my challenge was to build her personality.  She’s a very typical, self-obsessed teenager (although she might possibly be hundreds of years old), yet, at the same time, she literally has the power to reshape reality. It’s playing with the tension between those two points that makes her so interesting, at least to me.  Her effect on the League was pretty devastating:  here they are, the mythic legends, the greatest heroes who ever lived…and Locus brings them to their knees without breaking a sweat—murdering the Flash in the process.  Talk about having your ego whittled down—!

justiceleague3000-2-1uhzxrMSG: Of course, Terry and Terri — the newest iteration of the Wonder Twins — have to own quite a bit of the responsibility for the strife running through the team. Do they know the truth behind this Justice League’s creation, and what do you think really drives them to manage this team for Cadmus?

JMD: Yes, they know the truth…and that truth, as we’ll see, is a great burden to them.  What drives them?  Ego, arrogance, immaturity…and a desperate need to prove themselves.  They may be geniuses but, in many ways, they’re still just kids—looked down on by many of the higher ups at Cadmus.  They’re constantly seeking approval, looking for ways to prove themselves…and, if they’re not careful, that could prove to be their undoing.

MSG: You’re no stranger to quite a few Justice Leagues over the years, handling both the 3000 and Dark teams at the moment. In a general sense, how do you go about putting together the mix of personalities that form a super-hero team, and how much do you find is too much — number of characters, amount of conflict, type of powers, etc.

JMD: You’re right.  I wrote the final arc for the Detroit League, did the Justice League, Justice League Europe and the Super Buddies mini-series with Keith, multiple episodes of Justice League Unlimted and now JLD and JL3000.  That’s a lot of League!

justiceleague30005In terms of character dynamics:  I’m not a big fan of overstuffed teams with lots and lots of members (Mainly because I don’t think I’m very good at it.).  I prefer a more intimate group…and both Justice League 3000 and Justice League Dark have a good balance at the moment.  Five or six characters is perfect, I think.  That allows me to really explore the individual characters and spotlight them.  Give them room to grow and play.  When the numbers get too big, it’s easy to lose folks in the crowd.

MSG: When we left the Justice League 3000 at the end of #2, the Flash’s days seemed numbered (and in one of the grossest ways possible, by the way)! That said, I still have to ask: red hair and green eyes on Barry Allen? Something doesn’t seem right there…

JMD: Well, just because you’ve cloned someone doesn’t mean you got every element right, does it?  The process isn’t perfect (as we’ll see in the near future).

MSG: Any special teases or final thoughts for the Comicosity audience?

JMD: As noted, the fun of JL 3000 is that it’s a constantly-evolving book.  As the readers (and the creators) are discovering the characters, they’re discovering themselves.  Whoever these five may be today…you can bet that, six months from now, they’re going to be very different people.  Things in this universe aren’t necessarily what they seem. It’s a whole new League in a whole new future…and we’re having a blast putting it all together.

The next issue of Justice League 3000, #3 written by J.M. DeMatteis and Keith Giffen, arrives in stores and online tomorrow! Preview images of the interior can be seen below, courtesy DC Comics. You can also catch up with DeMatteis on Justice League Dark and Trinity of Sin: Phantom Stranger monthly.

 

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