I'm on record as loving the idea of a team made up of 2nd stringers and lower, and I stand by that. Just like any other character, or group of characters, they live or die by the creators. The cast of the last JLI book was fine. The creators were ok at best. Now they're scrapping that team and trying again. Why should this be different? Geoff Johns, that's why. More specifically, Geoff Johns on a team book about lower tier characters. Doing this right is
EXACTLY what put him on the map in the first place. Remember?
There was a time when (in my opinion) the most interesting characters in the entire DC Universe were Stargirl, Atom Smasher, Doctor Fate, Hawkgirl, Hourman, Powergirl, Captain Marvel, Black Adam, Starman, Cyclone, and Alan Scott. And it was due entirely to how Geoff Johns was writing them. JSA proved that when this man gets a chance to sink his teeth into a cast of relative "nobodys", it can be amazing. His JSA was insanely amazing, his JL is really good, why wouldn't I be there with issue one of his JLA?
Speaking of which...
Let's really look at this cast for a minute.
Stargirl = Geoff Johns getting to write this character again is a 100% good thing. This is the character he created in memory of his sister, and he's always done nothing but great things with her. I can't tell you how happy I am to see her in the New 52, and Geoff Johns is the perfect writer to have her.
Hawkman and Green Arrow = Both their solo books suck. But when GA showed up in that one issue of JL, I liked him. He was fun, he was different, and he was a pretty down to earth person when nobody but Steve was watching. I believe Geoff Johns can get good material out of these characters, and maybe bring some redemption to the reputation they've garnered in the New 52.
Martian Manhunter = This looks very plainly like he's leading his own Justice League, and that's awesome. Remember who the writer was, during Blackest Night, that reminded everyone how kickass the Martian Manhunter is, and then proved it? Geoff Johns. No worries here.
Catwoman = Seems kind of random, other than the Bat connection, but I'm interested to see how she plays on a team like this. She's never been a part of any traditional super team that I know of...the only thing that stands out is when she'd pal around with Harley and Ivy, so this is a new environment to put Catwoman into. Could be fun to see what happens.
Vibe = See JSA. I absolutely can not wait to see how Johns plays Vibe.
Katanna = No real idea, actually. I haven't read anything with her in it in the last year, so I'm at a total loss when it comes to her. She's a complete blank slate to me, which just means more potential.
Steve Trevor = Anyone paying attention to Justice League knows this man hates being looked at as second fiddle to the League, hates being talked down to, and had his heart broken by Wonder Woman. This is a soldier with something to prove...to the world, to Wonder Woman, and to himself. He's gonna be interesting to watch. Incidentally, I don't think it's a coincidence that he put together a super team that's primarily made up of people closer to being normal people.
our new Lantern buddy = I didn't expect him to branch out this soon, but it's a welcome surprise. This'll allow him to get more acclimated to the DC Universe, without Geoff Johns having to hand over the reigns to another writer this early on in the character's development.