JSA on Prime Earth: The aging problem

[dr-brainwave]

Every time the JSA returns, its faced with the same problem. The team is closely associated with WWII but a lot of the members are still young and active in the present.

Since there's no way DC will completely move on from the originals, I created a list to understand which characters could conceivably still be active and which characters could use a revamp to better explain their status.

Note: I tried to ignore most of the more convoluted explanations. The idea is to figure out how the JSA could still be around and yet be more accessible.

Originals who can still be alive due to powers or other established circunstances.

• Alan Scott (Starheart reduces aging)
• Doctor Fate - Kent (magic reduces aging)
• Hawkman - reincarnated
• Hawkwoman/Hawkgirl - reincarnated
• Jay Garrick (speed force reduces aging)
• Johnny Thunder (merged with Thunderbolt)
• S.T.R.I.P.E. (time traveller from the 50s)
• Sandman II (powers reduce aging)
• Wildcat (granted 9 lives by Zatara)

Characters who should be dead or retired due to old age:

• Atom (Al Pratt)
• Black Canary I (Dinah Drake Lance)
• Doctor Mid-Nite (Charles McNider)
• Hour Man (Rex Tyler)
• Johnny Quick
• Liberty Belle (Libby Lawrence)
• Red Tornado (Ma Hunkel)
• Starman (Ted Knight)
• Sandman (Wesley Dodds)

Children of originals who should be older:

• Black Canary II (Dinah Laurel Lance)
• Damage (son of Al Pratt)
• Hour Man (Rick Tyler)
• Jack Knight (retired from superheroics)
• Jesse Quick (Jesse Chambers)

Children or grandchildren of originals who could still be young:

• Cyclone: Hunkel's granddaughter
• Jade and Obsidian: parents nearly immortals (thank Bendis for Thorn LOL)
• Tomcat: Ted Grant still active

Legacies not related by blood (less affected by the WWII connection)

• Android Hour Man (Matthew Tyler)
• Atom Smasher (Albert Rothstein)
• Doctor Fate (Khalid Nassour)
• Doctor Mid-Nite (Pieter Cross)
• Doctor Midnight (Beth Chapel)
• Jakeem Thunder
• Mr Terrific (Michael Holt)
• Stargirl (Courtney)
• Wildcat II (Yolanda Montez)

-----

I have to admit I was really surprised at how many originals can still be active simply due to their powers.
The biggest problems seem to be the following characters:

- Black Canary II (she can't be the daughter of the original and still be in her 30s).
- Jesse Quick and Hour Man II would both be a lot older.
- Jack Knight (but he is already retired, so maybe his age doesn't matter anymore)
- Damage (could become Al Pratt's grandkid instead of son).

Also, I find it funny how Bendis inadvertedly fixed Jade and Obsidian's problems by making Rose/Thorn immortal

Thanks for this thread, since we don't know much about the post Doomsday clock JSA i will assume that you're talking about the pre-Flashpoint JSA but i would like to make a few corrections if you don't mind:

- Thought to have been killed at the hands of Extant, Rex Tyler/Hourman spent years trapped in timepoint and when he returned he seemed more powerful than ever, he didn't retire due to old age, he retired because he wanted to spend some time with his wife Wendy and repair the android Hourman. So he definitely belong in the first list.

- Wonder woman/Queen Hyppolyta was retconned as the JSA Wonder woman, she should be in the first list too.

- Spectre is an ageless ghost he could return at any time.

- Sandman II is really Dr. Garrett Sanford and has no relation to the JSA.

- Hawkgirl, STRIPE, Johnny Quick and Liberty Belle have never been members of the original JSA.

- You forgot to mention Red Tornado II who spent years with the JSA (during the Silver Age) before joining the JLA, the Silver Scarab (Hawkman's son) Fury (WW's daughter), Northwind (Hawkman's godson) and Brainwave Jr (Syl Pemberton's nephew).

[The no face guy]

Personally IÂ’d love it if both Khalid and Kent made it into a new JSA series. If we canÂ’t bring in the first Dr. Fate and the new Dr. Fate who is his family member I donÂ’t know who else would be in it.

Personally after Doomsday Clock IÂ’d like to see the main team to be the following
Alan Scott
Jay Garrick
Wildcat/Ted Grant
Kent Nelson
Powergirl
Mr. Terrific
Liberty Belle
Hourman(Rick)
Stargirl
Jakeem Thunder
Cyclone
Jade
Obsidian
Doctor Midnight(Beth)
Dr. Fate(Khalid)
Damage(Grant)
Judo master
Wildcat(Yolanda and Tommy)
King Chimera
Citizen Steel
Sandman

ItÂ’s a large line-up but the JSA have always been kind of large, especially in Geoff Johns run.

Yes, having both Kahlid and Kent on the team would probably a good idea for the health of the sales. I really like Kahlid as Dr. Fate, but I feel a magical hero of that stature should be wielded by someone older, so Kent could be around as a mentor, or vice versa, Kahild as an apprentice. I made this post awhile back on favourite superheroes and upon tallying the votes, (even if it was less than 50 respondents) I was really surprised at how many Kent Nelson fans are out there, for me he was always just the powerful magical guy in a mask, but it appears who wields the mask is important fans.

so...I don't know. I personally would like to see Kahild as Dr. Fate, but you have to respect characters who have a big fan base to. As for your list pretty good, but I would trim it down and stick to the classics to start.

[Robanker]

I honestly don't think Joan is such a big factor when it comes to a modern day JSA revival. I actually quite like the idea that they lived a full life together and she will always be Jay's true love.
And as mentioned previously, Jade and Obsidian can still be 20 or 30 if we take into account the current version of their mother is now an immortal who's able to join the Legion a thousand years in the future and that Alan ages slowly due to the Starheart.
I can't think of many characters that would really justify the convoluted Ragnarok explanation. I can't see why the loved ones would ever join the actual heroes to stop a threat of cosmic proportions.

The problem is you're juggling so many retcons to why so many different characters didn't age at that point. I like the one, big blanket "they were in this dimension for x years" because it makes the barrier for entry much, much less convoluted for prospective readers. It's cleaner, which with comics needs to be a mandate at this point.

As for why the loved ones would come with, maybe they just told their families they have to go and may never return and they decided they wanted to stick together as a family and left to help any way they could. Even someone with no training can learn to help in small ways. I admit Joan isn't required, but I like her and Jay essentially being the grandparents of the DCU and losing her would hurt. I imagine Jay would be a broken man after that, even if he smiled through it. I live with an elder who buried her spouse of 50 years and she's never been the same since. A big part of her died with him. I don't want to see that with Jay or Joan.

[OpaqueGiraffe17]

Use the sliding timeline, make them Cold War heroes, and when that wears out use whatever the decades problems are.

[superduperman]

The way I see it, there are only two real solutions to this:

1) The Captain America solution:

They disappear into another dimension for "X" amount of years and re-emerge in the present day un-aged. This would not account for things like spouses and children.

2) Make them immortal:

Dr. Fate or whoever can grant his teammates immortality so they can keep fighting crime forever. This could include things like spouses and you just move up the years they had children.

There is a semi-third option:

3) Put them on another Earth and have it be "X" amount of years behind Earth Prime.

I'm fond of option 2 myself. It solves a lot of problems.

[Lee Stone]

If they would just let things run their course...

They've had two (three maybe) perfect opportunities:

Roy Thomas' Earth-2 with Infinity, Inc.
They had made it into the '80s and were being succeeded by the Infinitors, who would naturally become the JSA at one point. Most likely during some JSA Anniversary.
But DC screwed that up with Crisis.

The Johns JSA that continued on up until Flashpoint.
The JSA was back, and now into the 2000s. The team was changing and advancing. Moving forward at a natural pace.
But DC screwed that up with New52.

The third would've been in the '70s with the Conway All-Star series.
The series didn't last very long, but they did bring in Huntress and Power Girl.
It was set in the '70s on Earth-Two and continued the JSA's history.
Unfortunately, sales didn't support it and it was cancelled.
But at least it wasn't because DC pulled the rug out.

Whoever brings the JSA back now is going to have to do what Thomas and Johns had already done: They're going to have to figure out how to make the JSA work in the present, fit their history in and then try to sell them to a new audience.
It's just a shame that it had already been done twice and both efforts were eventually wasted.

[Jim Kelly]

The age problem only exists if you think it's a problem. There are just a handful of characters in the JSA that are still alive, it's not that hard to accept that these characters didn't age, nor did the few supporting characters. I think it's really only Joan and Molly that stuck around. Doiby went flying off to be with his Space Princeress and with relativity and space science, he doesn't need to get much older. Jay and Alan both have powers that could keep the people around them young. Whatever, comic book logic allows that people don't age if the writers want it to be that way. I always thought the only reason JSAers got old was because a writer wanted them to be old.

[CaptCleghorn]

The age problem only exists if you think it's a problem. There are just a handful of characters in the JSA that are still alive, it's not that hard to accept that these characters didn't age, nor did the few supporting characters. I think it's really only Joan and Molly that stuck around. Doiby went flying off to be with his Space Princeress and with relativity and space science, he doesn't need to get much older. Jay and Alan both have powers that could keep the people around them young. Whatever, comic book logic allows that people don't age if the writers want it to be that way. I always thought the only reason JSAers got old was because a writer wanted them to be old.

That would have been Gardner Fox in JLofA 21 published in 1963.