Editing Justice League (section)

===Detroit era (1984–1986)===
From the Justice League's inception in 1960 up until 1984, the team's roster always included a number of A-list characters to draw in readers, such as [[Wonder Woman]] and [[Superman]]. But in ''Justice League of America Annual'' #2 (October 1984), the Justice League was revised to entirely comprise more obscure characters such as [[Vixen (comics)|Vixen]], [[Vibe (comics)|Vibe]], and the [[Martian Manhunter]]. The original A-list members would not be brought back into the cast until 1996. The motives behind this change were to dispense with the convoluted [[Continuity (fiction)|continuities]] of the classic characters by using lesser-known and new characters, thus giving the writers more flexibility to write character-driven stories; and to give the team a more youthful, hipper feel similar to that of the [[Teen Titans]] and the [[X-Men]], which were selling better.<ref>{{cite web |date= December 4, 2018 |title=Chuck Patton talks Justice League Detroit |website=DC in the 80s |url=http://www.dcinthe80s.com/2018/12/chuck-patton-talks-justice-league.html}}: "I think it was Len Wein who ultimately decided that it was time for a change in the JLA, especially when all of the other major DC books started to crack under the weight of each other's differing storylines and changes in continuity. [...] Gerry [Conway] strongly felt that a new 'JLA' needed a younger, hipper roster to reflect the times, but most important, have little to no connection with the then-current DC roster and more freedom. I enthusiastically agreed with him, wanting to capture the same youthful spirit that made hits of X-Men and Teen Titans."</ref> The cast was multicultural: [[Gypsy (comics)|Gypsy]] was [[Romani people|Romani]],{{efn|This was later retconned in 2013}} [[Vibe (comics)|Vibe]] was Latino, [[Vixen (comics)|Vixen]] was Black. However, the writing of [[Vibe (comics)|Vibe]] and [[Gypsy (comics)|Gypsy]] was criticized for using clichés of their ethnic groups, symptomatic of writers who were well-meaning but out of touch, something for which said writers ([[Gerry Conway]] and [[Chuck Patton]]) later expressed regret.<ref>{{cite web |author=Bug Norman |date=May 27, 2021 |title=Where The X-Men Thrived, The Justice League Died |website=ScreenRant |url=https://screenrant.com/justice-league-detroit-xmen-failure-vibe-gypsy-stereotypes/}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |date= December 4, 2018 |title=Chuck Patton talks Justice League Detroit |website=DC in the 80s |url=http://www.dcinthe80s.com/2018/12/chuck-patton-talks-justice-league.html}}: "However I really really wished we had avoided a lot of the gimmickry or played them a lot less clichéd from the jump. I do share responsibility in my part of that, but I always felt uncomfortable with Vibe's accent. It was meant to be a blind, something he hid behind to keep people from knowing he wasn't that "streetwise", but it was handled clumsily and we took our lumps for it."</ref><ref>{{cite web |date=April 25, 2021 |title=JLI Podcast – Meanwhile… Gerry Conway Interview on Justice League Detroit |website=The Fire and Water Podcast Network |url=http://fireandwaterpodcast.com/podcast/jli-37z/}}</ref> This era of the Justice League, which lasted about two years, is popularly known as "Justice League Detroit" because they were headquartered in [[Detroit]].