Forget CoIE, Flashpoint, and whatever...
Don't do any continuity-researched math either. Go with your impressions and imagination.
Go around the table...
All-Star_Comics_Vol_1_3.jpg
...how old were these guys?
Forget CoIE, Flashpoint, and whatever...
Don't do any continuity-researched math either. Go with your impressions and imagination.
Go around the table...
All-Star_Comics_Vol_1_3.jpg
...how old were these guys?
Nice idea!
These guys all seem youthful
Jay Garrick- 28
Wesley Dodds-26
Carter Hall- 30
Al Pratt-25
These guys I think a little older because they have companies to run.
Alan Scott- 35
Rex Tyler- 34
No guess on the magicians
AKA FlashFreak
Favorite Characters:
DC: The Flash (Jay & Wally), Starman- Jack Knight, Stargirl, & Shazam!.
MARVEL: Daredevil, Spider-Man (Peter Parker), & Doctor Strange.
Current Pulls: Not a thing!
I already stated how old I think they were on July 7th, 1947--Johnny Thunder's birthday when he turned 30--over on Preferred JSA ages - 50s or 70s.
So using those ages, let's backdate to November 22nd, 1940--this is the date that ALL-STAR COMICS No. 3 (Winter 1940) went on sale. Roy Thomas has even referred to this date in ALTER-EGO and there could be no bigger fan of the JSA.
Since it's an established fact that Johnny Thunder was born on July 7th, 1917, he had to be 23.
Jay Garrick is at Midwestern University in FLASH COMICS No. 1--that went on sale November 10th, 1939, but I assume his origin is a flashback to a few months earlier and he finished college by the summer of 1939, given that in the subsequent issues of FLASH Jay has moved to Keystone and begun fighting crime there. As well, in ALL-STAR COMICS 50 (on sale October 10th, 1949), the JSA go back to Midwestern and Jay honours a ten year commitment to reunite with some of his classmates. So I assume that Jay was 22 or so when he finished at Midwestern and more than a year later he's about 23 at the first JSA meeting.
The rest of the ages are guesses, but I've favoured younger ages, for the most part, to allow them the greatest amount of years to be super-heroes:
Atom 17
Hawkman 24
Spectre 23
Green Lantern 25
Sandman 21
Dr. Fate 17
Hourman 18
Batman 22
Superman 22
Using the same date, this is how old the other JSAers would have been when the first meeting happened:
Dr. Mid-Nite 25
Starman 24
The real Diana Prince 20--but not Wonder Woman
Wildcat 19
Mr. Terrific 17
Black Canary 14
E2 Batman was canonically born in 1915, making him 25 when the JSA was formed in 1940. E2 Superman is also roughly around the same age, give or take a year or two.
In general, I guess all of them were in their early to mid 20's.
Al Pratt was probably 19 as he was a college sophomore at the time. Judging by this, I'd guess the others were all older that. Johnny's age is set based on his birthday (7/7/17)
"It's too bad she won't live! But then again, who does? - Gaff Blade Runner
"In a short time, this will be a long time ago." - Werner Slow West
"One of the biggest problems in the industry is apathy right now." - Dan Didio Co-Publisher of I Wonder Why That Is Comics
I made Al Pratt younger, because he was at Calvin College for such a long time.
I'll just go with a general +/-late 20s - early 30s for most of them except The Atom, who I'd put at around +/-20 years old since he was an undergraduate student in college.
Doctor Fate / Kent Nelson is a bit trickier because I believe his origin story had him basically removed from actual aging normally at one point while training under Nabu.
Didn't Dr. Fate fight in World War I?
That would make him 32-35 in 1939 or at least the Kent Nelson version.
I know that canonically they'd be in their early to mid 20's. But honestly, looking at them, I get the feel they're in their early 30's!
I think a lot of it just comes down to changing conceptions of adulthood and maturity. A 21 year old in 1940 was supposed to be a fully-mature adult. Today, 21 year olds are practically in a kind of extended adolescence.
Also, I guess I'm just condition to think of the JSA as the ''older'' generation of heroes, so its hard to think of them as young 20-somethings just starting out.
On a lighter note, I was a bit shocked when I read Robinson's New 52 Earth 2 series, where, during a scene of Jay and Joan breaking up, Joan refers to them having ''breakup sex''
Jay was 22 when he became Flash so I'd say 23 at the earliest, 25 ideal since that's the age SuperBat starts usually, and I want to slam all of them to one age for simplicity
Except Johnny Thunder since he seems younger. He's 21 at the oldest. 18-20's more like it to me.
The Spectre, The Sandman and Hawkman are the ones that feel older for me, just by appearance. They're 30-33
Jay, Alan, and Johnny were all in their early to mid 20s.
Carter & Rex would probably be a little older, but not much. Maybe mid to late 20s to 30.
Kent & Jim could have easily been anywhere from their mid to late 30s to 40s.
Al was a college sophomore, so he was about 19.