When DC’s universe-wide crossover Forever Evil ends in five months, DC promises that its universe will not be the same. The earliest evidence of that came with the announcement of the JLA’s rebranding as Justice League Canada. Orchestrated by prominent Canadian writer Jeff Lemire, of Sweet Tooth and Green Arrow fame, the JLA team will move north of the border next year. Little was known about the reasoning or story behind the move until yesterday, when Lemire revealed details about a new superheroine set to join the squad.
Lemire’s new hero will be a teenaged Canadian girl with First Nations heritage that will join with the JLC during their first mission in Canada. According to Lemire, the character will have ties to the Cree tribe and is somewhat based on the activist Shannen Koostachin, the fifteen year-old girl that campaigned for a new school on her Attawapiskat reserve in Canada. Koostachin, who successfully brought a school to her hometown, was a hero before her tragic death in 2010 and will now be the inspiration for a hero in the pages of a comic book.
Here’s a look at the promotional art for the upcoming Justice League Canada.
Lemire said that he hopes to “capture some of that heart and some of that essence in this character.” Based on this, we can assume that this new hero will likely be a driven, passionate and unique character. It is Lemire’s belief that through bringing the team to Canada and introducing this new hero will help to shed light on the many aspects of Canadian culture that outsiders are not familiar with.
“I knew if I was moving the team here, I wanted to really reflect the country and not just have, you know, stereotypes and cliches of what people think of Canada,” the author said. ” I think our First Nations are an aspect of our identity that are often overlooked. If this can shine more light on their culture and their way of life, I think it’s a great opportunity.”
As for how the character will be introduced, CBR has reported that both Hawkman and Green Arrow will, along with previously confirmed Adam Strange, be a part of this JLC that will investigate an alien fort in the James Bay area of Canada. It is there that the team will meet the Koostachin-inspired teen with connections to a legacy of Cree heroes. While her powers have yet to be decided, it can be inferred that they are some sort of generational powerset passed down through the Cree tribe. Lemire stated that her powers will be voted on by students in Northern Ontario in the coming weeks.
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Source: CBR
