'Convergence' returns Detroit-based JLA

Fabian Nicieza is eagerly awaiting the call to do a monthly detective comic book featuring Ralph and Sue Dibny.

But until then, fans of the Elongated Man and his wife get to see the characters again in the DC Comics landscape with Convergence: Justice League of America, a two-issue tie-in series to the major timelines-spanning event penned by Nicieza and drawn by ChrisCross that debuts Wednesday.

This Convergence story features the Detroit-based JLA squad from the 1980s of Aquaman, Martian Manhunter, Vixen, Zatanna, Steel, Gypsy, Vibe and Elongated Man doing their thing in Gotham City. They are plucked from the Crisis on Infinite Earths era of DC lore and pitted against the Secret Six from the alternate Tangent Universe, comprised of reimagined versions of folks such as The Atom, Green Lantern, Flash and Superman.

"Our characters have to fight for their lives — and for everyone in their city — against opponents who are doing the same exact thing," Nicieza says. "Big stakes leads to big conflict, and that always makes for fun stories."

What the writer likes most about the Tangent characters is they are their own world's greatest heroes and not really villains, "so there is an inherent nobility to them, which makes both their task and the JLA's harder."

A veteran of runs on Nightwing and Robin for DC — as well as Thunderbolts, X-Men and X-Force for Marvel Comics — Nicieza was one of the first writers brought on for the Convergence side series. The characters he's working with, including Titans and Superboy in their titles, are ones he grew up loving, but there is a special place in his heart for the Justice League Detroit crew.

And it's why he started the first issue with Ralph and Sue, two sights for the sore eyes of fans who haven't seen the happy couple since the tragic events of 2004's Identity Crisis.

"I missed them as much as the readers have," says Nicieza, who was able to "break the mold" of Convergence tie-ins and "allowed to start our story with the dome that inhibits the heroes' powers already down so that we could highlight Ralph with his stretching ability."

What he loved most about Justice League Detroit — maligned by some fans, adored by others — was they knew they couldn't stack up against the Earth's top heroes but that didn't stop them from trying their hardest to be the best.

"I've always rooted for the underdog," Nicieza says, "and to me, not liking the JL Detroit team is like rooting for Apollo Creed to beat Rocky!"