Hall of Justice (comics)
The Hall of Justice, or simply the Hall, is a fictional headquarters[1][2] appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The Hall of Justice serves as a headquarters for the Justice League.
It was first introduced in the Super Friends animated series on September 8, 1973, and it eventually appeared in comic book titles related to the Justice League, as well as video games and other media. The show was produced by Hanna-Barbera, a division of Cincinnati-based Taft Broadcasting. One of the animators, Al Gmuer, likely visited Cincinnati Union Terminal while attending meetings and confirmed that he was inspired by the terminal in designing the superhero headquarters.[3][4][5]
Union Terminal was also featured in the 1996 DC comic book series Terminal City.[6] The Six Flags Magic Mountain: Justice League: Battle for Metropolis ride is a replica of the Hall of Justice,[7] and the building initially housing the Hall of Heroes Superhero Museum in Elkhart, Indiana, was modeled after the Hall of Justice, though on a smaller scale.[8]
Design history
In 1973, the American Broadcasting Company (ABC) acquired rights to the DC Comics characters and partnered with animation company Hanna-Barbera to adapt the Justice League of America comic book for television, changing the name to the Super Friends, and adapting various elements of the comics to be more family-friendly.[9] The producers of the series "wanted a grand headquarters for their heroes".[3] The task was assigned to Al Gmuer, background supervisor for Hanna-Barbera for more than 30 years, with a knowledge of architecture.[3]
Gmuer apparently modeled the fortress after the
Fictional history
Super Friends
The Hall appeared in the very first episode of the
By the mid-1980s, The Hall of Justice had a major remodel, larger and more dome-like, with a general pentagon shape, although the entrance resembled the earlier version; at the same time the Super Friends changed their superhero team moniker to the Super Powers Team. However, the building remained the headquarters of the superhero team throughout several renames of the show.[16]: 324
In the episode "Universe of Evil", the evil Super Enemies from a parallel universe meet in a "Hall of Evil".[1] It was identical in appearance to the Hall of Justice, with the addition of demon's head above the front entrance.[citation needed]
In the comics
The Hall of Justice originating in the TV series was eventually introduced into the printed comic books.[9] Originally, pre-Crisis On Infinite Earths, the Hall of Justice was located in Gotham City in the Super Friends comic book series (confirmed in issue #11), outside of then-DC continuity, although they did try to tie-in the Super Friends comic series to Earth-One on several occasions, as witnessed by several later instances in other mainstream DC books, such as Justice League of America (1960-1986 series, Vol. 1) and an issue of DC Comics Presents, featuring the Global Guardians.[17] Post-Crisis, the "Hall of Justice" has been the name of the JLA's meeting chamber in the Watchtower during the JLA's run.[18]
Following the events of the
Several storylines show villains being imprisoned in caverns or chambers beneath the Hall of Justice. Superman/Batman #2, in 2003, has Batman constructing a prison, unbeknownst to the rest of the Justice League but figured out by Superman; while in the 2018 series of Justice League Dark #15, Wonder Woman is shown to have collected artifacts, and imprisoned a powerful demon, in a cavern beneath the Hall of Justice.[21] In September 2011, The New 52 rebooted DC's continuity. In this new timeline, The Hall of Justice is appropriated by the United Nations as the headquarters for the new Justice League International. This causes public outrage, with many citizens taking offense to the idea of superheroes from foreign countries using an American landmark as their base of operations. Two of the outraged protesters later blow up the Hall.[22]
During the DC Universe event, the Justice League set up a new Hall of Justice beginning in the 2018 Justice League comic book series that began publication in August,[23] following the destruction of the Watchtower at the end of the previous volume. The first issue proposed a new origin for the design of the building, indicating that it was designed by Martian Manhunter, incorporating an ancient Martian symbol for justice.[24]
In other media
The Hall of Justice has appeared or been referenced in a variety of other DC Comics media. Although not named as such, the Hall of Justice is shown in the animated series Justice League Unlimited. In video games, the Hall of Justice is a playable stage in Injustice: Gods Among Us,[25] and a main location in Lego Batman 3: Beyond Gotham.[26] In the TV series Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman, the term "Hall of Justice" was regularly used to refer to the city's police headquarters.[10] The building appeared, as the focus of a criminal plot, in the fourth-season episode, "Lethal Weapon". As the criminal, Mr. Gadget, attempted to level the building using a sonic weapon, the name "Hall of Justice" clearly appeared on its façade. It bore little resemblance to the Super Friends Hall of Justice, but rather was of the faux Greco-Roman design typical of many pre-World War II United States public buildings.
In the
In animation, the Hall of Justice appears in Young Justice and Justice League Action. The former version is a public decoy facility intended to help hide the existence of the Watchtower.[1] It is later destroyed in the episode "Cornered", forcing the heroes to use a warehouse as their headquarters.[30] In the latter series, the Hall of Justice is located in Metropolis and eventually destroyed by the Djinn Uthool.[31]
A number of notable
References
- ^ a b c d e f g Couto, Anthony (June 30, 2017). "Discover the Strange History of DC's Hall of Justice". CBR.
- ^ "Hall of Justice". actionfigureinsider.com.
- ^ Gannett Company. Archivedfrom the original on 2019-07-17. Retrieved July 8, 2019.
- Wired. Condé Nast. Archived from the originalon 2014-10-31. Retrieved July 8, 2019.
- ^ Motsinger, Carol (December 5, 2016). "Justice League calls Cincinnati's Union Terminal home". The Cincinnati Enquirer. Retrieved January 30, 2020.
- ^ Kaufman, Gil (January 22, 2018). "Meanwhile at The Hall of Justice..." Cincinnati Experience. Retrieved April 24, 2020.
- ^ "Hall of Justice arrives at Six Flags' Gotham City", The Washington Times (June 9, 2007), p. C09.
- ^ Terdiman, Daniel (July 18, 2013). "With Superhero museum, who needs Comic-Con?". CNET.
- ^ a b Jared Bahir Browsh, Hanna-Barbera: A History (2021), p. 104.
- ^ a b c d Robert Greenberger, Justice League: 100 Greatest Moments (2018), p. 82-83.
- ^ Lauren Bishop, "Super heroes, super night", The Cincinnati Enquirer (October 26, 2011), Metromix 14.
- ^ Lyons, Michael (September 22, 2023). "And "Justice" For All: The 50th anniversary of "Super Friends"". cartoonresearch.com.
- ^ Jason Sacks, Keith Dallas, Dave Dykema, American Comic Book Chronicles: The 1970s (2014), p. 117.
- ^ Vincent Terrace, Encyclopedia of Television Series, Pilots and Special, (1985), 452.
- ^ "The largest produced piece in the Super Powers Collection, the Hall of Justice featured jail cells with hidden trap doors, working elevator and security doors, "revitalization chambers" (figure storage compartments), computer command center, and vehicle landing pad". Archived from the original on August 5, 2007.
- ^ a b Gina Misiroglu, The Superhero Book: The Ultimate Encyclopedia of Comic-book Icons and Hollywood Heroes (2012).
- ^ Super Friends (DC Comics 1976-81).
- ^ Scott Beatty, JLA: The Essential Guide to the Justice League of America (2002).
- ^ Justice League of America (vol. 3, 2006 series) #7.
- ^ All-Star Squadron (DC Comics 1981-87).
- ^ Johnston, Rich (September 25, 2019). "Can Superheroes Stop Building Dungeons Underneath The Hall Of Justice? (Justice League Dark+Batman/Superman Spoilers)". Bleeding Cool.
- ^ Justice League International (vol. 3) #1.
- ^ Justice League (vol. 4) #1.
- ^ Morrison, Matt (June 6, 2018). "The Secret Origin of DC's Hall of Justice Revealed". ScreenRant.
- ^ "INJUSTICE GODS AMONG US Videos Reveal DC Easter Eggs". Newsarama.com.
- ^ LEGO Batman 3: Beyond Gotham - Hall Of Justice Free Roam Gameplay (13 November 2014). Retrieved 9 April 2015.
- ^ "The ArrowVerse Invasion: Superfun or Superdud?", SciFiNow, Iss. 128 (2017), p. 71.
- ^ Sava, Oliver (December 2, 2016). "Legends Of Tomorrow concludes an impressive, ambitious superhero crossover". The A.V. Club. Retrieved August 26, 2022.
- ^ Shoemaker, Allison (January 15, 2020). "Crisis On Infinite Earths comes to an emotional, practical, adorably fuzzy end". The A.V. Club. Retrieved August 26, 2022.
- ^ Collura, Scott (January 14, 2013). "Young Justice: "Cornered" Review". IGN.
- ^ Heath Corson (writer); Doug Murphy (director) (December 16, 2016). "Abate and Switch". Justice League Action. Season 1, Episode 3. Cartoon Network.
- ^ "Hall of Justice – Mego Museum Galleries". www.megomuseum.com. Retrieved August 22, 2022.
- ^ a b Steven H. Kimball, Greenberg's Guide to Super Hero Toys (1988), p. 97-100.