Who are the essential members of the JSA?

[Riv86672]

Correction: the big three of the Goeff Johns JSA run.

No, just the big three.
Like Jim Kelly pointed out...:

Alan, Jay and Ted got to be considered as the core of the original Justice Society in the 1999 JSA book by attrition, because by then DC had slaughtered every other original from the 1940s, so those three were the only ones left standing.

But Flash and GL were not on active duty during the war years (because they had their own books), they only came back to active service just before VE Day and Ted Grant was barely in the Justice Society in the orginal run. It was only by the 1960s, that Wildcat had become a full-fledged member--JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA 46 (August 1966) to be exact.

So, that’s two decades and counting.
Everything has to start somewhere, and that’s where this (Scott, Jay, and Ted being the JSA’s big three) started.

The Supes/Bats/WW combo had to start somewhere, too...:
https://www.sideshow.com/blog/the-or...of-dcs-trinity

The three characters first appeared together on the cover of All-Star Comics #36, along with the JSA.
The trio then featured again in The Brave and the Bold #30, after the Justice League was introduced in new form. As DC Comics continued on, the team’s roster was rearranged and Wonder Woman left the team for a time. Eventually she rejoined, and the characters once more featured in the Super Friends Saturday morning cartoon.

And so did Marvel’s big three of Cap, Thor, and Iron Man...:
https://www.cbr.com/avengers-captain...irst-time/amp/

You guys pointing out when and how the JSA’s big three started doesn’t mean they aren’t the JSA’s big three. It just means you know when and how it happened.

-shrug-

[NeathBlue]

I’d say they all belong, though Green Lantern, Flash and Hawkman would be their trinity.
Be nice as well to see Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman making occasional appearances.
Power Girl and Huntress also belong to the JSA, but not until later in their existence.

[Sutekh]

Power Girl and Huntress also belong to the JSA, but not until later in their existence.

I was wondering if Power Girl counted as a Justice Society person, or an All-Star Squaddie, because she's actually the one I think of as a JSA-era female member, not Black Canary or Wonder Woman (whom I tend to think of as more JLA regulars).

[NeathBlue]

I was wondering if Power Girl counted as a Justice Society person, or an All-Star Squaddie, because she's actually the one I think of as a JSA-era female member, not Black Canary or Wonder Woman (whom I tend to think of as more JLA regulars).

Power Girl’s first appearance was All-Star Comics 58, where she was part of the Super Squad, which was her, Star-Spangled Kid and Robin... they were in the comic alongside the JSA.
So Power Girl, as well as Huntress, had nothing to do with the All-Star Squadron, as that was strictly a WW2 era team.
I never did get the Super Squad thing which lasted 7 issues before being dropped.

[Jim Kelly]

I think Super Squad, All-Star Squadron and Infinity, Inc. all are the result of DC lacking faith in the name Justice Society of America. Maybe they thought the JSA name was too old-fasioned or too confusing for readers used to the Justice League of America. But it always seems like they're trying to find a new way to repackage the Justice Society as something else.

Alan, Jay and Ted now being the core of the JSA is bittersweet for me, because everyone else got killed off or dropped from continuity. DC has been too quick to axe most of the JSA. Even Alan and Jay are in a tenuous position on account of being the orignal Green Lantern and Flash--and DC is apt to ignore them in favour of other characters with the same codenames.

[Riv86672]

^^^you nailed it on lack of faith.
The JSA, as a team, is DC’s Captain America, it (the team) should be in continuity and frikkin’ revered in universe.
DC Comics has such deep ties to WWII, and its f’ing sad they seem to want to forget that.

[dr-brainwave]

No, just the big three.

Nope, the Geoff Johns era big three!
If being the surviving original members is the only reason Jay, Ted and Alan were called the Trinity, then you are most certainly not talking about the classic and iconic JSA, you are referring to an incarnation of the team that existed between 1999 and 2011.
Before that run, the JSA has never been about three characters it was about the sum of its members.

[Zero Hunter]

Was Ted really that well know before the more modern times? I have alot of old JSA stuff and Ted was never as big a factor as say Hawkman, Starman, or Hourman.

[Riv86672]

Nope, the Geoff Johns era big three!
If being the surviving original members is the only reason Jay, Ted and Alan were called the Trinity, then you are most certainly not talking about the classic and iconic JSA, you are referring to an incarnation of the team that existed between 1999 and 2011.
Before that run, the JSA has never been about three characters it was about the sum of its members.

Hopefully you read the rest of my post you quoted part of, because i’m not going to repeat myself.
I’m okay w. disagreeing, not so much w. circular arguments.

Anyhow, I cast my votes and that’s pretty much that, really.

[DrNewGod]

Was Ted really that well know before the more modern times? I have alot of old JSA stuff and Ted was never as big a factor as say Hawkman, Starman, or Hourman.

IMO, Wildcat became something of a thing for two reasons:

1. He had no counterpart in the 1970s and so stood out
2. He fit with the Die Hard era of the 1980s like a glove

Everything else built from those.

[Jim Kelly]

Murray Boltinoff and Bob Haney must have had an affection for Wildcat, because he was paired with Batman five different times in THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD. However, just which Earth this Ted Grant belonged to was never very clear. Boltinoff never let continuity get in the way of a good story. Fans put those team-ups on Earth-B. Nevertheless, those stories probably built up Wildcat for the readers--such that he was considered a member of the extended Batman family. And when Jim Aparo drew Batman and Wildcat in one adventure together, it was a thing of beauty.

[Sandy Hausler]

I'd say Flash, Green Lantern, Hawkman and Wildcat are the essentials, but pretty much any other members work well with them.

[Sandy Hausler]

Was Ted really that well know before the more modern times? I have alot of old JSA stuff and Ted was never as big a factor as say Hawkman, Starman, or Hourman.

He wasn't a big character in the GA JSA, but since the 1970s . . . well, I can't imagine the JSA without him.

[CaptCleghorn]

He wasn't a big character in the GA JSA, but since the 1970s . . . well, I can't imagine the JSA without him.

Yeah, Wildcat's been ret-conned into a bigger role because he fits with newer comic ideas as others have said. He provides a different viewpoint and an alternate (and interesting) opinion. The differences of opinion was important for the JSA. As Roy Thomas said in his forward in the Seven Soldiers Archives, "The original JSA never argued, never."

[jetengine]

Yeah, Wildcat's been ret-conned into a bigger role because he fits with newer comic ideas as others have said. He provides a different viewpoint and an alternate (and interesting) opinion. The differences of opinion was important for the JSA. As Roy Thomas said in his forward in the Seven Soldiers Archives, "The original JSA never argued, never."

Which is weird considering Hawmans schtick tends to be "Angry conservative barbarian" so you'd expect him to be a bit more "gung ho" and disagree with intricate plans. Then again whilst not as uniformly nice as the Silver Age everyone was fairly chummy in the Golden Age