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All week long: Revisit the highlights and lowlights of 1987 with Popverse's Made in 87 week.

When you think of the Justice League, you might think of infallible heroes who are larger than life. Characters you'd install statues of in public places. The Justice League is made up of the type of beings whose presence would inspire an entire room full of people to sit up straight in their chairs, just by walking into the room. 

But that hasn't always been the case. In fact, in 1987, DC debuted an all-new edition of the team made up of B-list and C-list characters alongside classic stalwarts like Batman and Martian Manhunter. This team would later be known to fans as the Justice League International. The release of Justice League #1 marked the beginning of an era where DC's marquee superhero team became much more irreverent, relatable, and, dare I say, human. If you don't believe me, know that Blue Beetle has a moment in the Bug (his insect-themed ship) where he wonders, "Cheez -- you'd think I'd get something a little more challenging to do! I've got this swell costume... some great moves... I should be out there punching and hitting -- striking terror into the hearts of evildoers! At the very least, I should be leaping over tall buildings in a single bound!" 

The creative minds behind the 1987 Justice League relaunch were co-writers Keith Giffen and J.M. DeMatteis, plus a young artist named Kevin Maguire. Together, this team would prove to be one of DC's most legendary, as Giffen and DeMatteis wrote plenty of moments of slapstick humor that Maguire executed to perfection on the page, thanks to his ability to draw hilarious facial expressions. 

In 1987, the iconic Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles cartoon debuted - and all our lives were changed. Watch this reunion of the original voice actors:

For the members of the Justice League International, being on the team wasn't so much an abstract experience, fit for the pages of a comic book, so much as it was a job to clock in and out of every day. Characters squabbled over who had to do "monitor duty," or sit at the computer in case any world-ending threats came through. Justice League #1 from 1987 debuted the billionaire businessman character, Maxwell Lord, who was the financial brains behind the whole operation, to everyone else's chagrin. Despite each character's powers (or resources, or outlandish alien backstory from beyond the bounds of time and space), they were all, well, equal employees of the Justice League International. 

And if you were expecting to see a buff-looking Justice League, look elsewhere. Thanks to characters like Blue Beetle, Booster Gold, and Mister Miracle, the men of the Justice League weren't shredded so much as they were nerds sitting at the big boys' table for the first time. Let's also not forget that the team featured a literal child - Captain Marvel - as well.

Or perhaps it's wrong of me to refer to the JL as a "boys' table" to begin with, as the team welcomed Black Canary, Doctor Light, and Big Barda into its ranks. But, because this was 1987, a crucial time when a record number of women joined the workforce, these strong female characters weren't protected from male chauvinism supplied in full by the team's resident Green Lantern and Ronald Reagan supporter, Guy Gardner. As it turns out, being a superhero as a woman doesn't stop some knuckleheads with a stupid haircut from trying to throw their weight around. 

To put things into perspective on why the Justice League International matters now, simply look at the direction of the nascent DC Universe from DC Studios. While we have major characters like Superman flying around, James Gunn and Peter Safran's universe is taking its time and is investing in lesser-known, quirky characters like Metamorpho and, of course, Guy Gardner, all without trying to make them look "cool" to mainstream audiences. Resident Cool Guy of the DC Universe, Mister Terrific, called Metamorpho a "squiggle man" after all. The realm of DC Comics is a deeply weird place, and in my opinion, it gets a lot more fun when we get to laugh with the characters.  

Get your wide-shoulder blouses and your Members-Only jackets, and go back in time with Popverse's Made in 87. Highlights include:

• How Bart Simpson was quietly toned down from being "so mean" before The Simpsons' first episode, as revealed by his long-time voice actor Nancy Cartwright
• Marvel Comics killed the X-Men in 1987 to reset the franchise - but it didn’t stick
• Why the Princess Bride’s iconic duel is an even better swordfight than you remember
• How The Golden Girls became a staple at gay bars in the 80s
• Inside Spider-Man’s chaotic 1987 bachelor party that Marvel turned into a real-life spectacle