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Justice Society of America

Encyclopedia : J : JU : JUS : Justice Society of America

The Justice Society of America, or JSA, is a DC Comics superhero group, the first team of superheroes in comic book history. Conceived by editor Sheldon Mayer and writer Gardner Fox, the JSA first appeared in All-Star Comics #3 (Winter 1940).

Unlike subsequent "all-star" teams, the JSA was limited to heroes not already featured in their own titles because the publisher wanted to expose their lesser known characters. Hence Superman and Batman were only honorary members and Flash, Green Lantern and Wonder Woman’s early tenures were brief. However, a 1944 change in policy allowed the above three back into the group. Other popular members were Hawkman, The Spectre, Hourman, Doctor Fate and The Atom.

The team was popular throughout the 1940s, but after superheroes fell out of favor, its series All-Star Comics became All-Star Western in 1951, ceasing the team’s adventures. During the Silver Age, DC reinvented several popular Justice Society members and banded many of them together in the Justice League of America. However, instead of considering the JSA replaced, DC revealed that the team existed on Earth-Two and the Justice League on Earth-One. This allowed for annual, cross-dimensional team-ups of the teams, lasting from 1963 until 1985. It also allowed for new series, such as All-Star Squadron, Infinity, Inc. and a new All-Star Comics, which featured the JSA, their children and their heirs. These series explored the issues of aging, generational differences and contrasts between the Golden Age and subsequent eras.

In 1985, DC rewrote its continuity in the Crisis on Infinite Earths maxi-series. The series merged all of the company's various realities into one, placing the JSA as World War II-era predecessors to the company's modern characters. A few unsuccessful and often controversial revivals were attempted, until a new series, titled JSA, was launched in 1999, continuing until present day.

Contents

History

The Golden Age

The JSA first appeared in All-American Comics' All Star Comics #3 (Winter 1940/41), during the Golden age of comic books. It initially included National Comics' Doctor Fate, Hour-Man (as it was then spelled), the Spectre, and the Sandman, and All-American's Atom, the Flash, Green Lantern, and Hawkman. An in-house rule (explicity laid out on the last page of All-Star #5, reprinted on p. 206 of All-Star Comics Archive Vol.1, p. 206) required that whenever a member received his or her own title, he or she would leave All-Star Comics, becoming an "honorary member" of the JSA. Thus, the Flash was replaced by Johnny Thunder after #6; Green Lantern left shortly thereafter for the same reason. This also explains why Superman and Batman were established as already being "honorary" members prior to the All-Star #3; how these two heroes helped found the JSA before becoming honorary members was not explained until DC Special #29 in 1977.

All Star Comics is also notable for featuring the first appearance of Wonder Woman, in #8 (Dec. 1941). Unlike the other characters who had their own titles, she was allowed to appear in the book, but only as the JSA's secretary, and did not actively take part in most adventures until much later in the series (a fact sometimes seen as chauvinistic today) although she was excluded from the title due to the rules that had excluded Flash, Green Lantern, Superman and Batman from the title.

The early JSA adventures were written by Gardner F. Fox and illustrated by a legion of artists including E. E. Hibbard, Jack Burnley, Jack Kirby and Joe Kubert. The first JSA story featured the team's first meeting, a framing sequence for each member telling a story of an individual exploit. In the next issue, the team worked together on a common case, but each story from there on still featured the members individually on a mission involving part of the case, and then banding together in the end to wrap things up.

By All Star Comics #24, a real-world schism between Detective Comics, Inc. and All-American Publications — a nominally independent company run by Charlie Gaines and Jack Liebowitz — had occurred, which resulted in the Detective Comics, Inc heroes being removed from the title. As a result, Flash and Green Lantern returned to the book. Eight months later, Detective Comics bought out Charlie Gaines' share of All-American and the two companies merged to form National Comics. However, the JSA roster remained mostly the same for the rest of the series.

All Star Comics and the Golden Age adventures of the JSA ended with #57, the title becoming All-Star Western, with no superheroes. While Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman continued to have their own adventures, most of the characters lay dormant for several years during the slump in superhero comic books in the early to mid-1950s.

The explanation for the teams disappearance and the inactivity of most of its roster after the early 1950s was first given in Adventure Comics (vol. 1) #466 ("The Defeat of the Justice Society!"; December, 1979) by writer Paul Levitz, which explained that most of the Society chose to disband and retire rather than appear in front of the real House Un-American Activities Committee which demanded that they unmask themselves. (This was later ret-conned into the fictional Joint Un-American Activities Committee.)

The chairmanship of the Justice Society mostly resided with Hawkman, although initially the Flash and later Green Lantern took their turns at leading the team. For a brief period in 1942 they were known as the Justice Batallion, as they became an extension of the armed forces of the United States of America during World War II. It was later revealed that the reason the JSA didn't invade Europe and end the war was due to the influence of the Spear of Destiny which caused the JSA's most powerful members to fall under the control of its wielder, Adolf Hitler. It was also revealed in the 1980s that the JSA had a loose affiliation with the All-Star Squadron, a new team of the time, who's adventures were set in the past, of which each of its members were a part, as both teams were the brainchild of American president Franklin D. Roosevelt.

The headquarters for the JSA was initially a hotel suite in New York City, and after the war the team settled on a brownstone building in Civic City and later in Gotham City. For a very brief period, the JSA was provided a satellite headquarters, much like their later day counterparts the JLA; however this turned out to be a deathtrap orchestrated by a crooked senator's henchman from Eliminations, Inc. The Gotham City brownstone remained unoccupied until years later, when the team was active again.

Golden Age Members

In order of appearance, and including issues of All-Star Comics in which each member appeared.
The Golden Age roster of the Justice Society of America.Art by Alex Ross.
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The Golden Age roster of the Justice Society of America.
Art by Alex Ross.

The Red Tornado (# 3) - although sometimes depicted as a member, was never granted official membership. Hawkgirl and Sandy in the Golden Age stories chronicled in recent years have been shown as associates (if not members, per se) of the team.

The Silver Age

Many of the characters were revived in different forms during the 1950s and early 1960s. Then, in Flash #123 (September 1961), the Silver Age Flash met his Golden Age counterpart. The rationale for this was that the two existed on parallel worlds in what came to be known as the Multiverse. The Silver Age Flash and his team, the Justice League of America, lived on "Earth-One", while the JSA lived on "Earth-Two" (this despite the fact that superheroes arose on Earth Two twenty years before they did on Earth One). Earth One was so named because the Flash from its world crossed into the second world, discovering it. Later, the Golden Age Flash informed his counterpart that the inhabitants of his Earth do not refer to their own planet as "Earth-Two" except when discussing it with the JLA.

Finally, in Justice League of America #21 (August 1963), the Justice Society emerged fully to team up with the Justice League to combat a team of villains from both worlds. This marked the beginning of annual summer team-ups by the two supergroups, which endured until 1985, and which included a number of notable events in JSA history, such as Black Canary leaving to join the Justice League, the return of a Golden Age group of heroes dubbed the Seven Soldiers of Victory, and the creation of a team called the Freedom Fighters composed of several one-time Quality Comics heroes.

At the time, the JSA also occupied a unique position in comics in that they had aged since their early appearances, now being middle-aged — and often wiser — versions of their younger, contemporary counterparts.

Notable Silver Age Appearances

New Silver Age Members

The Modern Age

The JSA's popularity gradually grew until they regained their own title. All-Star Comics #58 (January–February 1976) saw the group return as mentors to a younger set of heroes (briefly called the "Super Squad", until they were integrated into the JSA proper). This run only lasted until #74, with a brief run thereafter in Adventure Comics #461–466, but it had three significant developments: It introduced the popular character Power Girl (All-Star Comics #58); it chronicled the death of the Golden Age Batman (Adventure Comics #461–462); and, after nearly 40 years, it finally provided the JSA with an origin story in DC Special #29. This run was mainly written by Gerry Conway and Paul Levitz, and artists included Wally Wood, Joe Staton, Keith Giffen and Bob Layton.

A series taking place in the team's original setting of the wartime 1940s called All-Star Squadron featured the JSA frequently along with several other Golden Age superheroes. This led to a spin-off, contemporary series entitled Infinity, Inc. which starred the children and heirs of the JSA members. Both series were written by noted JSA fan Roy Thomas and featured art by Rich Buckler, Jerry Ordway, Todd McFarlane and others.

Meanwhile, the JSA continued their annual team-ups with the Justice League. Notable events included meeting the Fawcett Comics heroes, including Captain Marvel, the death of Mr. Terrific, and an explanation for why Black Canary hadn't aged much despite debuting in the 1940s. A particularly popular JLA/JSA team-up came in #195–197, in which the two teams had to contend with a reformed Secret Society of Super-Villains, lavishly drawn by George Pérez.

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In 1985, DC retconned many details of the DC Universe in Crisis on Infinite Earths. Among the changes, the Golden Age Superman, Batman, Robin and Wonder Woman ceased to exist, and the Earth-One/Earth-Two dichotomy was resolved by merging the Multiverse into a single universe. This posed a variety of problems for the JSA, whose history — especially in the 1980s comics — was strongly tied up in these four characters. The resulting confusion led to seemingly more time spent trying to resolve the problems than tell good stories, and soon both All-Star Squadron and Infinity, Inc. were cancelled.

The JLA/JSA team-ups ended during the Crisis with Justice League of America #244.

Notable Modern Age, Pre-Crisis Appearances

New Modern Age Members

Post-Crisis

One of JSA's most powerful line-ups as of JSA # 50.Art by Carlos Pacheco.
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One of JSA's most powerful line-ups as of JSA # 50.
Art by Carlos Pacheco.

One of Roy Thomas' efforts to resolve the Crisis-created inconsistencies was to introduce some analogues to Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman, in a sequel to All-Star Squadron entitled The Young All-Stars. The series was dogged by rotating artists and didn't last long.

Meanwhile, DC apparently decided that the time had come to write off the JSA from active continuity. A 1986 one-shot issue called The Last Days of the Justice Society involved the JSA battling the forces of evil while merged with the Norse gods in an ever-repeating Ragnarok (written by Thomas, with art by David Ross and Mike Gustovich). Only Power Girl, the Star-Spangled Kid, the Spectre, and Dr. Fate escaped the cataclysm.

Thomas also revised the JSA's origin for post-Crisis continuity in Secret Origins #31.

Fan interest, however, resulted in DC bringing back the JSA in the early 1990s. An eight-issue Justice Society of America limited series telling an untold JSA story set in the 1950s was published in 1991. In the final issues of the four-issue Armageddon: Inferno limited series, the JSA returned to the modern-day DC Universe when Waverider transported the "daemen" of the interdimensional Abraxis to Asgard as a substitute for the JSA in the Ragnarok cycle, allowing the team to return to Earth.

A subsequent ongoing series was cancelled after ten issues, and most of the team was incapacitated or killed off in a controversial 1994 crossover series called Zero Hour. James Robinson's series Starman, however, brought new attention to the JSA legacy. The JSA was once again revived in 1999 in a critically and popularly acclaimed series which mixed the few remaining original members with younger counterparts. Although slated for cancellation, the series is to be relaunched as Justice Society of America.

As a result of the events of Infinite Crisis, some of the surviving Golden Age characters, such as Wildcat and the Gentleman Ghost, are either aware of the existence of Earth-Two or are starting to remember their history from that universe.

Notable Post-Crisis Appearances

The new roster presented in JSA Secret Files & Origins # 1.
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The new roster presented in JSA Secret Files & Origins # 1.

New Post-Crisis Members

Most of these members are from the current JSA series. A few heroes have been retconned after the Crisis as having been members (e.g., Miss America as a replacement for Wonder Woman — though it is not clear if this particular retcon is still valid — see below). Others were honorary members at some point but it is not clear whether they became full members (e.g., Johnny Quick or Hawkgirl Shiera Sanders), and they haven't been listed as members in this article.
Until recently the JSA official line-up. Cover to JSA Secret Files & Origins # 2.
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Until recently the JSA official line-up. Cover to JSA Secret Files & Origins # 2.

2006 series

Newsarama.com reported in an undated, mid-2006 article [link] that the 1999 series JSA will end with issue #87 (July 2006), to be replaced in October with Justice Society of America written by Geoff Johns and pencilled by Dale Eaglesham, with covers by Alex Ross, who also has what he calls the "honorary" title of "creative advisor". The story reported that the series will include a new Starman, whose costume resembles that of the Starman from Ross's Kingdom Come miniseries, and will include Power Girl, Hourman (Rick Tyler) and Damage.

Other versions

Justice Guild Of America

A Justice League two-part episode called Legends pays homage to the Justice Society with a team of imaginary comic book superheroes in a perfect world. The team was called the Justice Guild of America.

Appearances in other media

Many members of the current incarnation of the JSA have been featured in Justice League Unlimited, including Atom Smasher, Stargirl (with STRIPE), Sand, Mr. Terrific, Dr. Mid-Nite, Wildcat and the second Hourman. Stargirl and Mr. Terrific were the two with the most exposure; Stargirl had a speaking part in at least two episodes, while Mr. Terrific took over Martian Manhunter's job of manning the Watchtower. Wildcat had one episode, "Cat and the Canary" in which he was prominently featured. A version of Power Girl appeared as Galatea, and Jay Garrick appeared in an issue of the (non-continuity) JLU comic (his helmet can be seen in the episode "Flash and Substance").

Bibliography

JSA (1999 - Current) series has been collected in the following trade paperbacks:

# Title Writers/Pencillers Pages ISBN#
1 Justice Be Done James Robinson, David S. Goyer, Steve Sadowski 160 ISBN 1563896206
2 Darkness Fall David S. Goyer, Geoff Johns, Steve Sadowski 232 ISBN 1563897393
3 Return Of Hawkman David S. Goyer, Geoff Johns, Steve Sadowski 256 ISBN 1563899124
4 Fair Play Geoff Johns 176 ISBN 1563899590
5 Stealing Thunder Geoff Johns, David S. Goyer, Leonard Kirk 176 ISBN 1563899949
6 Savage Times Geoff Johns, David S. Goyer 168 ISBN 1401202535
7 Princes Of Darkness Geoff Johns, David S. Goyer 256 ISBN 1401204694
8 Black Reign Geoff Johns 144 ISBN 1401204805
9 Lost Geoff Johns 208 ISBN 1401207227
10 Mixed Signals Geoff Johns 208 ISBN 140120967X

Other JSA mini-series, Elseworlds (non-canon) graphic novels, silver age collections and one-shots have been collected in the following trade paperbacks:

# Title Writers/Pencillers Pages ISBN#
1 Justice Society: Volume 1 Gerry Conway, Paul Levitz 224 ISBN 140120970X
2 JSA: The Liberty Files (Elseworlds) Dan Jolley, Tony Harris 264 ISBN 1401202039
3 JSA: The Golden Age (Elseworlds) James Robinson 200 ISBN 1401207111
4 JSA: All Stars Various Artists 208 ISBN 1401202195
5 Justice Society Returns David S. Goyer, James Robinson, Chuck Dixon, Geoff Johns, Ron Marz 256 ISBN 1401200907

Awards

The JSA received a 1965 Alley Award for Strip or Book Most Desired for Revival.

Trivia

References

See also

External links

 

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