Justice League of America #242
☆ Be the first to review + Add to your collection — Join freeJustice League of America #242 is the middle chapter of the three-part Amazo arc that drove one of the most consequential character exits of the Detroit-era League: Aquaman's reunion with Mera here sets up his resignation from the team in the very next issue, a departure that handed J'Onn J'Onzz the de facto leadership role and reshaped the book's dynamics for its remaining run. The issue also contains a backup feature spotlighting the M.A.S.K. task force — Matt Trakker and company — marking what appears to be the DC Universe's first published meeting point between the JLA's world and that Kenner toy-licensed property. Taken together, the two strips make this a small but pointed document of mid-1980s DC editorial strategy: character-driven 'Detroit League' soap opera running alongside toy-line promotion, both sharing the same cover.
In "Battle Cry," Aquaman finds unexpected reunion with Mera as the Justice League fractures under the weight of Amazo's terrifying return. With the Martian Manhunter and Dale Gunn racing to the Fortress of Solitude for answers, the rest of the team struggles to survive a brutal assault by the reawakened android—leaving their fate hanging in the balance. Written by Gerry Conway and illustrated by George Tuska, with inks by Mike Machlan, colors by Gene D'Angelo, and letters by Helen Vesik, this 1985 issue features a cover by Chuck Patton and Mike Machlan.
In "Battle Cry," Aquaman finds himself reconnected with Mera as the Justice League faces a devastating assault from the revived Amazo. With the team scattered and broken, Martian Manhunter and Dale Gunn race to the Fortress of Solitude seeking answers, while the remnants of the League struggle to regroup.
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We Buy Collections ▸History
Written by Gerry Conway during his landmark eight-year run on the title (#151–255), the issue falls within the Amazo three-parter pencilled by veteran artist George Tuska and inked by Mike Machlan — a fill-in team before Luke McDonnell settled in as the series' regular penciller from #244 onward. The cover was drawn by Chuck Patton, the artist who had co-created the Detroit-era roster. Editor Alan Gold and managing editor Tom Condon oversaw the issue. According to Conway himself in a later interview, his creative autonomy on the title had grown limited by this period, with editorial shaping major plot decisions including the Aquaman departure.
Trivia · 8 facts
- Cover date September 1985; on-sale June 6, 1985 — part two of a three-issue Amazo arc spanning JLA #241–243.
- Written by Gerry Conway (main story), with an additional M.A.S.K. backup story credited to writer Michael Fleisher and artist Mike Chen; cover by Chuck Patton.
- Main story: Amazo systematically ambushes and neutralizes the Detroit-era League members one by one in the Canadian wilderness, sealing several in a pit; the Martian Manhunter and Dale Gunn escape to Superman's Fortress of Solitude seeking a means to defeat the android.
- Subplot: Aquaman and Mera are reunited in the ocean depths — the emotional payoff of a storyline begun in #241 — which leads directly to Aquaman's resignation from the League in #243.
- The backup feature introduces M.A.S.K. characters (Matt Trakker, Scott Trakker, T-Bob, Miles Mayhem, Brad Turner, Sly Rax, Cliff Dagger, Hondo MacLean, Dusty Hayes, Buddie Hawks, Alex Sector, and Bruce Sato) to DC Comics pages, tying into the Kenner M.A.S.K. toy and animation property.
- George Tuska pencilled the Amazo arc; Luke McDonnell, who became the series' definitive Detroit-era penciller, did not take over as regular artist until issue #244.
- The entire run surrounding this issue — JLA #241–261, Annual #3, and related tie-ins — has been reprinted in both the Justice League: The Detroit Era Omnibus and DC Finest: Justice League of America — The Return.
- This issue is part of the broader 'Justice League Detroit' era launched in JLA Annual #2 (1984), in which Conway and Patton deliberately replaced the classic A-list roster with a younger, more diverse team including Vibe, Gypsy, Steel, and Vixen.
Cast · 28 characters
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Reprints
Reprinted in Justice League: The Detroit Era Omnibus #[nn] (2018), DC Finest: Justice League of America: The Return #[nn] (2025)
Key issues in Justice League of America
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