And, yeah, as I recall, the teleporters were stationed around the country and the only way up to the JLA Satellite was by getting to one of those secure, hidden, phonebooth-sized. teleport stations.  Unlike the teleporter on any newer STAR TREK shows where it was used almost like a super-power and could do all sorts of extra things (instead of being just a money and time-saving story device to get people off the ship and down to the planet surface).

ITEM TANGENT: How did the JLA teleporter work on Superman of Earth-1?

ITEM: I think that various "branches" of teams are okay - but only as another venue for different heroes, not for convenience's sake of travel time. It's a way to avoid the Justice Army of America, or the Avengers Platoon. Kurt Busiek touched on that when Avengers restarted (volume 3, I think). It also requires that the writer stay true to concept of the team. It's fun once in a while to have a JLA story with Snapper Carr, Speedy, the Vigilante, and 'Mazing Man, but the JLA are the World's Greatest Superheroes; the stories deserve that sort of respect.

ITEM: When we start thinking about travel time and convenient branches of heroes, we're overthinking it. Travel time in comic stories is like meals, bathroom breaks, or torn costumes; it doesn't add to the story unless it is specifically the topic of the story (e.g., the Zeta beam in Adam Strange stories.) If the Masters of Evil are robbing a casino in Las Vegas and it will take the Avengers at least three hours to get there... then it's a bad story. Or if there's an Earthquake in Tokyo, and Flash, Superman, and Wonder Woman show up, saying, "Batman and Black Canary and the Atom are on their way!", then it's an awkward focus. (If it had been a Gardner Fox story, Flash, Superman, and WW would be there to address the Earthquake; Batman, BC, and the Atom would be in a separate chapter, tracking Amos Fortune to his headquarters in Ivy Town. That's one way to address travel time...)

If the Legion of Super-Heroes or the Guardians of the Galaxy had any such considerations as realistic travel time, then anything not in their immediate vicinity would never be arrived at; even at light speed, a crisis on Pluto would require maybe 5½ hours to get there, and the Fatal Five attacking a planet in the Proxmia Centauri system would require on the order of four years. I suppose that might be a reductio ad abusurdum argument, but it shouldn't be, because the topic shouldn't be a consideration.

Story elements should be important to the story; otherwise, they're just a waste of the writers' and readers' time. I think Captain America's travel time from New York to Miami is such a waste.

For me, regional teams aren't necessarily about "getting there quickly" but about culture. I did enjoy seeing various Justice League characters in Europe when the JLE book began in the late 80s. A different flavour is good, although nothing should ever be diluted (i.e. who'd want 50 Justice League books a month, one for each state?).

I mean, if they did a Justice League London, I'd find that intriguing, although I accept the novelty would wear off. As a short-lived series, it might be interesting seeing heroes interact with Londoners and battle villains on London soil.

Batman

Blue Beetle

Booster Gold

Captain Marvel

Guy Gardner

Dr Light

Dr Fate

Martian Manhunter

Not exactly the World's Greatest Superheroes

As mentioned, they worked as transmitters and receivers. You need a booth at both ends.  I figure when you joined you got a signal device and a teleporter booth in your home town. 

I never liked the franchising of the JLA and Avengers. I liked teams with their own IDs like the Defenders and the Outsiders.  

If anything, I like regional teams that aren't affiliated as franchises of the Big Two. 

Eric Sofer wrote: Superman of Earth-1 is pretty invulnerable to most anything, although the use of Kryptonian technology does put a different spin on it. Thanks for reminding me.

Never thought of that.