There's a team of DC superheroes in writer/director James Gunn's Superman movie - but they're not the Justice League. Instead, they're the Justice Gang, a group of heroes for hire organized and bankrolled by Sean Gunn's Maxwell Lord.
Consisting of Green Lantern Guy Gardner (Nathan Fillion), Hawkgirl (Isabela Merced), and Mister Terrific (Edi Gathegi), the Justice Gang does bear a strong resemblance to certain eras of the Justice League in comics. But there's no comic book team called the Justice Gang. Instead, the team in the film seems to take its inspiration from two different comic book sources - and one of them is actually a team of villains.
The Injustice Gang
In comics, there may not be a 'Justice Gang', but there is an Injustice Gang, a team of supervillains that has taken multiple forms over the years. The original version, known as the Injustice Gang of the World, first appeared way back in 1974's Justice League of America #111 by writer Len Wein and artist Dick Dillin.
Led by the enigmatic Libra, the first Injustice Gang included villains such as the Atom's foe Chronos; member of the Flash Rogues Mirror Master; Batman villains Poison Ivy and the Scarecrow; Hawkman enemy Shadow Thief; and Green Lantern villain the Tattooed Man. They remained ongoing antagonists of the Justice League for several years.
It's the second Injustice Gang that may have some relevance to the new Superman film though, as that version of the villain team, created by writer Grant Morrison and artist Oscar Jimenez 1997's Justice League #9, was created and led by Lex Luthor.
That's also the version of the Injustice Gang that would likely be more recognizable to fans, as it includes most of the main Justice League members' arch enemies. Alongside Lex Luthor, there's the Joker, Mirror Master again, Wonder Woman's sorcerous foe Circe, Aquaman's evil brother Ocean Master, and the sadistic Doctor Light.
Like the original team, the second Injustice Gang stuck around for several years before eventually being replaced by a massive new team known as the Injustice League, also led by Luthor, with dozens of villains involved. Luthor's most recent villain group was known as the Legion of Doom, taking its name from the villain team from the classic Super Friends cartoon of the '70s.
The Super Buddies
In terms of the team that most resembles Superman's Justice Gang in concept, it's gotta be the somewhat tongue-in-cheek-named Super Buddies. Just like the Justice Gang, the Super Buddies (whose informal name comes from an inability to call the team the B-list team the 'Justice League') are organized and bankrolled by Maxwell Lord.
The so-called Super Buddies actually once were the Justice League way back in the '80s, in the era in which the team, then also under the purview of Max Lord, grew into the Justice League International. Decades later, members of the JLI reunited as a team of essentially heroes for hire - hence the actual Justice League not wanting to share the name.
The reunion of the Super Buddies was short-lived in comics, as it came just before the revelation that Maxwell Lord was in fact a mind-controlling villain whose conspiracy for world domination resulted in the death of Blue Beetle, a mainstay of the JLI and the Super Buddies, at Lord's hand, and Lord's death, in turn, at the hands of Wonder Woman to stop him from mind-controlling Superman.
Though the legacy of the Super Buddies ended in tragedy, the roster of the JLI, especially Booster Gold, Guy Gardner, Captain Atom, Rocket Red, Fire, and Ice have reunited several other times in subsequent years, with their version of the Justice League remaining one of the most beloved and influential eras of the team's history.
The Justice Gang
Superman's Justice Gang is a small team, at least at first. Bankrolled by Maxwell Lord, the roster includes Hawkgirl, Green Lantern Guy Gardner, and Mister Terrific - though we know they're recruiting thanks to the trailer for Peacemaker season 2, in which the eponymous anti-hero has an apparently unsuccessful interview to join the team.
We also know they'll have a conflicted relationship with Superman, as trailers for the film have shown them both at odds with each other, and working together, seemingly thanks to the influence of Lex Luthor.
What's unclear is exactly where the Justice Gang's future lies. It's easy to assume they might become the Justice League at some point, growing beyond Lord's influence. But James Gunn has surprised us before with his interpretations of the classic relationships between comic book characters, so it's not impossible they won't be the League at all.
It may or may not be likely, but there's the potential that the Justice Gang could wind up operating alongside a more formal Justice League, kind of how the Super Buddies did in the early '00s, maybe even creating some friction between the two teams a la the MCU's Avengers and New Avengers.
We'll learn more when Superman hits theaters on July 11. In the meantime, check out our guide to all the upcoming DC movies and shows for everything else the DCU has on the way.
