Deviation Actions
Description
CONTEXT
Okay… This isn't really a team in the formal sense. The way I like to think of them is like the Justice League's equivalent to the Legion of Substitute Heroes. While they're not intended to be a joke team, they are supposed to be reservist members of the Justice League who serve as replacements whenever members of the main seven are absent. Still, this particular group does hang out with one another and they go on occasional missions.
SUPERGIRL
During the fall of Krypton, Kara Zor-El fled her doomed planet in an escape pod with a mission to protect her younger cousin Kal-El. Her journey was derailed, spending years stuck in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter, but recent space travel dislodged her ship and she arrived on Earth in a brilliant meteor shower.
Her ship was discovered by American authorities, which led to a heated battle between the Maid of Might and armed authorities. She was taken down using Lexcorp technology and was spirited away into A.R.G.U.S.'s custody. With another Kryptonian on Earth, Superman made it his business to rescue the young girl. The Justice League stormed A.R.G.U.S.'s facility, fought against Amanda Waller's Suicide Squad and successfully saved Kara from their clutches.
Upon realizing the truth about Kara's origins, Superman helped her to establish a life on Earth away from the prying eyes of A.R.G.U.S. He called upon his ex-girlfriend Lana Lang, who he knew he could trust with Kara's secret. Taking on the identity of Linda Lang, Kara was re-introduced as Lana's niece and started a life for herself in San Francisco.
Now living a double-life as Supergirl and Linda Lang, Kara serves as a reserve member of the Justice League when Superman proves unavailable and is a respected heroine in her own right.
Design-wise, Supergirl's costume is largely an homage to the iconic valley girl look from the '90s Superman cartoon. It's a more modern and modest take, which is meant to highlight her youth and optimism.
STAR SAPPHIRE
Former pilot and current businesswoman Carol Ferris inherited her father's aviation company after his death. Along with his company, she inherited his mounting debt and a staff of rowdy pilots. Chief troublemaker Hal Jordan proved to be a nuisance for Carol early on, but this soon blossomed into a heated romance. As time wore on, she managed to pull Ferris Aircraft out of the red and came to believe that she and Hal would soon marry. Unfortunately, he was keeping a rather big secret - namely that he was the superhero Green Lantern.
During a war against the nefarious Sinestro and his army of Yellow Lanterns, Hal convinced Carol to take up the fight alongside him as part of a new Corps known as the Star Sapphires. Chosen for her bravery and great capacity for love, Carol became a fierce warrior and played a pivotal role in forcing Sinestro to retreat.
Though her trust in Hal has waned and their relationship seems to have plateaued, Carol continues a working relationship with him and was even elected to be his replacement in the Justice League should he be unavailable for duty.
Star Sapphire's redesign is very much in line with what's been done with her in the New 52. It's a basic black bodysuit with pink armour.
MERA
Mera is the middle child of the royal family of Xebel, an Atlantean colony near the British Isles. She was sent to infiltrate the court of Atlantis proper and was tasked with assassinating the half-blood King Arthur Curry. Though she was initially unwavering in her mission, Mera fell in love with Arthur and rebelled against her father. This created a rift between the two colonies, one which has seen the rise in rebel attacks at the hands of Mera's elder sister Siren.
While Mera is happy to play the role of diplomat, she's also a force to be reckoned with. During Arthur's absence from court, she rules Atlantis with great fairness and protects them on the battlefield when wars break out. She's also been a crucial force in attempting to create a peace treaty between Atlanteans and Amazons, as both have been at war with one another for centuries.
Additionally, Mera serves as Arthur's replacement within the Justice League.
For Mera's redesign, I wanted to keep her within the same aesthetic as her husband and her adopted son (Aqualad). This meant giving her a wetsuit look in her classic green, with some gold details. I've also given her what I'm referring to as the Sceptre of Amphitrite. It is the partner weapon to Aquaman's Trident of Poseidon and is given to the Queen of Atlantis during her coronation. It enhances her natural abilities and makes her hydrokinesis that much stronger.
BIG BARDA
Barda was groomed from a very young age to be Darkseid's Queen on Apokolips. She was the greatest warrior in his all-female assassin squad, the Furies, and Granny Goodness came to believe she'd be the ideal mate for giving Darkseid a capable heir. While Barda was initially obedient and receptive to the idea, she fell in love with a prince from the planet of New Genesis named Scott Free. She fled Apokolips and eloped with Scott on his homeplanet, becoming the Princess of this apparently peaceful world.
However, this would not go over well with Darkseid and Granny Goodness. They launched a full-scale attack on New Genesis and necessitated the intervention of one of the Justice Leagues (the JLA). In the process of this team-up, Barda helped the Leaguer Shazam reunite with his twin sister Mary after he discovered that she was one of Darkseid's brainwashed Furies. The combined might of the JLA and the armies of New Genesis staved of Darkseid's army (just barely). Still, the war saw a shift in the monarchy on New Genesis and this meant that Scott and Barda had to leave due to their perceived recklessness. They joined the JLA on Earth, where the two become reserve members for the Justice League.
My goal with Big Barda's design was to mash together her iconic Kirby look and something more Sci-Fi. This meant giving her the appearance of a soldier or warrior we'd see in Star Wars or something. It's intended to be more streamlined and amoured. I also did away with the weird Egyptian-looking headdress. However, her head piece does transform into a helmet that covers her face in order to allow her to travel in space.
MARY MARVEL
When she was an infant, Mary Batson’s parents were murdered by the intergalactic orphan maker known as Granny Goodness. While her twin brother was left behind, Mary was spirited away to the hellish planet Apokolips where she was trained to be part of an elite squad of assassins called the Furies. For a time, Mary was one of their premiere members and was one of their key players during the New Genesis-Apokolips War.
However, she was made aware of her brainwashing during the conflict and turned against her one-time allies. This was a crucial moment in turning the tides in battle, as this realization led to the manifestation of her powers. With Mary's added divine gifts, the battle shifted in favour of New Genesis.
Once the battle was over, Mary returned to Earth with her twin brother and took up a career as a superhero. Like Supergirl, she's largely a solo heroine but she does often help the Justice League from time to time.
Many of you should remember this design, as it was one of the earliest ones I'd done as part of my head canon project. Basically, it's Mary Marvel meets She-Ra. It was done specifically as an allusion to that iconic '80s character because I wanted Mary and Billy to be the Adora and Adam of the DC Universe.
RELATIONSHIPS
Supergirl is a bridge character. She's kind of like the kid sister of the Justice League and is frequently seen with them, due to her closeness with Superman. Her interactions with the Justice League have also led to a friendship with Batgirl, Batman's occasional partner. Kara and Barbara are the best of friends, to the point where they're a frequent duo in crimefighting. Kara also maintains a friendship with Stargirl and Mary Marvel.
Star Sapphire and Mera may seem like supporting characters at first, but they're so much more than that. They play active roles in the stories of both Green Lantern and Aquaman, to the point where they seem more like partners than love interests. This is furthered by the fact that both clock in a lot of time on Justice League missions. This means that they've been able to bond with the Leaguers. Carol and the Flash are particularly close, while Mera and Wonder Woman are close girlfriends. In fact, it's through Mera's interventions that Diana has become more interested in peace talks between Themyscira and Atlantis. Out of costume, Carol also has ties to Bruce Wayne as he has become an investor in her company.
Big Barda and Mary Marvel are like sisters. When they were in the Furies, Barda was very protective over Mary and acted as her guardian. This enabled her to shield Mary from much of the abuse and suffering that Granny Goodness would otherwise inflict upon the Furies. Of course, Barda is able to do this due to her superior strength and being just about the only person Granny Goodness fears (yep, that's right). On Earth, their relationship has remained the same and Mary even lives with Scott and Barda in the 'burbs of New Jersey. However, Mary is also developing a kinship with her brother Billy and spends quite a bit of time hanging out with the Justice League splinter group he's part of. As pointed out above, Mary is friends with Supergirl, Batgirl and Stargirl. Barda, meanwhile, is buddies with Wonder Woman. Those two are thick as thieves. Barda's always sneaking off to Themyscira to hang out with Di and the Amazons whenever the husband acts like a nag.
SHOUT-OUTS
The main trio of this group, which is Star Sapphire, Mera and Big Barda, were all characters you voted for in a series of polls I conducted. As such, I wanted to personally give shout-outs to all of you who voted for these ladies. So, I'd specifically like to say a big thank you to Notadrugdealer, kingziggy, nagao, NSM-superherofan, Celestialhost, DanFalcon, The-Mind-Controller, K-Jounin, TristanDavis, Leumasy, Historyman14, Andster11, RazKurdt, Steelpoodle, amethystangel228, MASTER-OF-SUPRISE, Jyger85, Jose-Ramiro, AppokalipsSurvivor, Calenator, Weighrightthere and Godzilla713. I hope you guys like how they came out!
As always, please feel free to drop a comment below to let me know what you think of the art and of these characters!
Enjoy! 
