Eventually at Lord's suggestion, the JLI was split into two teams. Justice League America led by J'onn J'onzz in New York City, included Guy Gardner, Beetle, Booster, Fire, Ice, and Mr. Miracle.

The JLA added Dr. Fate III, Huntress, Kilowog, New Gods Orion and Lightray, General Glory I, and Mr. Miracle II to their ranks.

The JLI, and its splinter teams, never quite lived up to the reputation set by the original JLA. Although a bit unconventional, this League had its share of successes. The JLA overcame threats from the Queen Bee, Mr. Nebula, an even more powerful Despero [getting bigger and badder! --Greg], the Uberbot and some slightly less serious threats such as Wally Tortolini, who, in a poker game, won super-weapons from various super-villains.

The two teams frequently combined their forces to battle foes such as Professor Ivo, and a new Crime Syndicate from Qward. They also had to deal with a rival super-team called the Conglomerate which, for a time, featured former Leaguers Booster Gold and Gypsy. Perhaps the most embarrassing occurrence the JLI had to deal with was when Max set up a base on the "living" island of Kooeykooeykooey in the Ocean. After Booster and Beetle turned it into a casino resort, the island picked up and moved, and the JLI abandoned the base.

However, when Maxwell Lord was shot and almost killed, the UN attempted to seize control of the JLI. Members such as Captain Atom, Blue Beetle, Ice and Elongated Man were expelled, while new members Dr. Light II and Tasmanian Devil were placed on the team. The Queen Bee, who had been manipulating members of the UN, caused all of these troubles. The team fought against the Global Guardians, who were finally freed from the Queen Bee's control. Eventually, after a long and harrowing series of battles against the likes of Lobo, Despero, the Extremists (in which Silver Sorceress was killed), Monarch and Circe, the JLI lost its UN support. Both teams were forced to disband and move out of the embassies. The team tried to hold together in the old Secret Sanctuary but soon disbanded.

Superman then recruited many of Earth's heroes to repel an invasion by Brainiac and Warworld, quelling panic in the sky. Some of Earth's more experienced heroes realized the need for a Justice League still existed, with or without governmental support. When the Royal Flush Gang resurfaced, a handful of heroes responded to the threat and the League was reformed under the groundwork laid out by Superman, Green Lantern Hal Jordan, and Aquaman.

The JLA team at this point consisted of Superman, Blue Beetle, Booster Gold, Guy Gardner, Fire, and Ice. Soon after, they were joined by the enigmatic Bloodwynd and the alien monarch Maxima.

The JLA returned to their mountain base, the Secret Sanctuary, while the JLE moved to London to secure a second base. After some manipulation, Maxwell Lord was able to regain UN support and the America team moved into a fantastic new headquarters in the shadow of the UN. This new headquarters featured state-of-the-art security systems designed by Kilowog, a meeting room that overlooked the East River, living quarters, an armory, labs, library, kitchen and laundry services, gymnasium, and more. JLI moved into a castle in London.

This new version of the League was starting to attain some measure of success. JLA defeated the Weapons Master, Starbreaker and aliens who claimed they owned the Earth

The team was once again struck by tragedy when the JLA fought the alien monster Doomsday. Superman was seemingly killed, Blue Beetle was knocked into a coma, Fire's power had temporarily burned themselves out, Booster's armor was destroyed and Ice returned to her home in the mountains of Norway. But, with Max's help the League survived. Maxima, Bloodwynd and Guy were joined by new members Ray II, Black Condor II, and Agent Liberty as well as old member Wonder Woman, who became the new leader. After one adventure Bloodwynd was revealed to be the Martian Manhunter in disguise. The real Bloodwynd joined the team and Agent Liberty and Black Condor left. The Golden Age Flash Jay Garrick even showed up to offer the League some guidance. When Captain Atom rejoined JLA this caused a lot of friction between him and Wonder Woman, whose style of leadership differed from his.

Eventually Superman came back to life and Blue Beetle came out of his coma. The JLI teams helped the Earth heroes fight the alien parasites and even worked with the New Blood heroes like Lionheart, Krag, Slingshot, Joe Public, Geist, Loose Cannon, and Shadowstryke.

Then, all three Leagues were involved in a battle with the alien Overmaster and his Cadre. The League called in its reserves and even got help from Osiris and Seneca, former henchmen of the Overmaster, the new Amazing Man, and L-Ron, who had returned from outer space in the body of former JLA foe Despero. The various JL teams argued among themselves and disagreed on how to handle the situation. They also disobeyed an order by the UN to remain inactive while the UN debated the situation. The JL's NY City HQ at the UN was destroyed by the Cadre, including the team's teleportation equipment. The UN even sent a team of super-agents called the League-Busters to stop the League. Although the JL teams were finally able to defeat the Overmaster, JLA member Ice was killed in battle.

The UN broke off all ties with the various League teams. For the next several days, the League teams were in disarray. Morale was low, and the team was without any base of operations. Meanwhile Power Girl was pregnant, various members were undergoing physical and mental changes that they did not know how to deal with and a mysterious hero named Triumph appeared out of nowhere claiming to be a member of the League. The heroes were able to set aside their differences and their problems to help in the Crisis in Time code-named Zero Hour. The fact that they were battling their former teammate Green Lantern Hal Jordan, who had gone insane, did not help the moral of the team. The Justice League was, for all intents and purposes, disbanded.

However, the League bounced back again. Wonder Woman, Captain Atom, and J'onn J'onzz each formed their own separate Justice League team, each independent of the others and none of them connected to any government agency.

And finally, Wonder Woman regrouped Fire, Flash, Metamorpho, Crimson Fox, new member Hawkman III and former members of the Infinity Inc. Nuklon and Obsidian as the Justice League America. They began using an escape pod spaceship they confiscated from the Overmaster as their new base of operations that they christened the Refuge. They battled and defeated several unusual menaces including Scarabus and Judgment. Power Girl also stayed aboard the Refuge until her son, who was aging rapidly escaped. They also gained some new members, Blue Devil and the original Ice Maiden. Artemis, the Amazon who briefly replaced Diana as the new Wonder Woman, attempted to join the team but left when they refused to make her the leader.

The three teams began to get along and met several times, notably at Maxwell Lord's funeral and at the opening of Guy Gardner's restaurant/bar. Warriors.

Wonder Woman's JLA team then opened its spaceship headquarters to the heroes of the Earth and handed out communicators to many heroes around the world. Some heroes, like Captain Atom and Aquaman were uneasy about Wonder Woman's decision. The JLA were assisted by a number of aliens who had been captives of the Overmaster. They served as cooks, technicians, and janitors aboard the Refuge. One alien, a winged reptilian named the Yazz, was instrumental in figuring out much of the ship's systems.

The JLA battled the new Lord Havok, a composite of Maxwell Lord's evil tendencies and the alien computer mind known as the Kilg%re inhabiting the body of one of the Extremists. Members from all three teams worked together to defeat the alien Tormocks, enemies of Guy Gardner's, and the alien Flicker, a battle which brought them into outer space and to Hawkman's home planet Thanagar. Metamorpho and Crimson Fox briefly left the team to bring the other Crimson Fox's murderer to justice. The three Leagues also worked together with other heroes to battle the demonic being Neron and a number of villains whose powers were enhanced by Neron. Arion the Immortal helped Power Girl and the JLA battle his old enemy Scarabus. Power Girl's son grew to adulthood and became the mystic warrior Equinox, who finally defeated Scarabus and disappeared from this plane of reality. The JLA gained a new member, the cat-like Civet, a creation of Scarabus.

Unfortunately, the JLA began falling apart. Power Girl became depressed at the loss of her son. Metamorpho left the team to be with his own son. Crimson Fox left the team and returned to her company in France. Blue Devil's body was altered due to a deal he made with Neron, and his best friend was killed as a result. Wonder Woman, Flash, and Hawkman became involved with their own activities and assisted the League on fewer occasions. Fire, Icemaiden, Nuklon, Obsidian and the Yazz tried to hold the team together, but many of them were dealing with their own emotional crises.

Finally the JLA was involved in a battle with the hero El Diablo, who had been transformed into a demonic creature. During the battle, El Diablo revealed that Blue Devil had been placed in the League by his producer as a spy for the criminal organization known as the Arcana, which was connected to the Royal Flush Gang and Maxwell Lord himself. Wonder Woman, Hawkman, Blue Devil, Fire and El Diablo tracked down Blue Devil's producer only to find out he was killed by the Arcana. Blue Devil, Fire and El Diablo returned to the Refuge, while Wonder Woman and Hawkman tried to contact the other Leagues.

Lord Havok recruited Judgment as his ally and took over the Arcana. He then took control of the JLA Refuge and sent it hurtling into space with Nuklon, Obsidian, Power Girl, Fire, Icemaiden, Blue Devil, Civet, El Diablo, the Yazz and the other aliens trapped on board. Wonder Woman and Flash gathered Extreme Justice, the JL Task Force and Green Lantern Kyle Rayner to try to find the Refuge.

In outer space, the alien Flicker captured the JLA and, reduced to a state of depression, they almost gave up. However, they fought back and defeated Flicker. Yazz and the alien refugees decided to remain in outer space and the heroes returned to Earth and reunited with the other Leagues. After all they had been through, Power Girl, El Diablo, Civet, Blue Devil, Nuklon, Obsidian, and Icemaiden took a leave of absence from the team. Hawkman later disappeared under mysterious circumstances. This left only Wonder Woman, Flash, and Fire active.

The remnants of the various JL teams began working closely together along with former members and other heroes. Batman, Robin, Aquaman, Flash and new Green Lantern Kyle Rayner, with help from J'onn, Gypsy, and Extreme Justice, used experimental "Fractal" technology to thwart the schemes of Darkseid. [Note: I'm not certain whether or not the Total Justice mini-series is considered part of the JLA canon. Cool as heck action figures, though!]

Then Wonder Woman, Black Canary, Martian Manhunter, Superman, Batman, Zatanna, the Elongated Man, Firestorm, Gypsy, Warrior, Blue Beetle, Mr. Miracle, Dr. Light, Booster Gold, Captain Marvel, Captain Atom, Fire, Big Barda, Flash, Huntress, Maxima, Ray, Obsidian, Zan, Jayna and Green Lantern Kyle Rayner were all seen working together during the Final Night Crisis, when Earth's sun went out. Former member Green Lantern Hal Jordan, now known as Parallax, apparently perished restarting the sun.