Geoff Johns' Top 10 DC Rebirths

[caj]

I loved the first 15 issues of JSA. But when Jack, Hipollyta, and the android Hourman left, it wasn't the same book anymore.

Johns is a good writer, but I just didn't care for the characters he wanted to write for. Alan, Jay, and Ted kept being pushed further in the background. And I never understood why Black Adam and Shazam were brought into the JSA.

[Jekyll]

I loved the first 15 issues of JSA. But when Jack, Hipollyta, and the android Hourman left, it wasn't the same book anymore.

Johns is a good writer, but I just didn't care for the characters he wanted to write for. Alan, Jay, and Ted kept being pushed further in the background. And I never understood why Black Adam and Shazam were brought into the JSA.

Dang! Black Adam and Shazam were fantastic additions for me as I am also a huge Shazam fan.

[Shadowcat]

True. Hell, I count his Wally Flash run and his Barry Flash run as separate revamps.


On the other hand though. I’d never let him on Batman or Wonder Woman.

As much as I loved his Wally run, let’s be real. He revamped the Rogues more than anyone else in that run.

[Will Evans]

As much as I loved his Wally run, let’s be real. He revamped the Rogues more than anyone else in that run.

And restored Wally’s secret identity.


And by proxy, post-humously restored Barry’s secret identity as well.

[Shadowcat]

And restored Wally’s secret identity.


And by proxy, post-humously restored Barry’s secret identity as well.

True, and while he did those things, what he did with the Rogues was far more impressive than Wally & Barry’s secret ID’s.

[caj]

Dang! Black Adam and Shazam were fantastic additions for me as I am also a huge Shazam fan.

I have nothing against the characters but I just didn't know why they were in JSA. Maybe there was a history with the group that I was unaware of.

[Will Evans]

I have nothing against the characters but I just didn't know why they were in JSA. Maybe there was a history with the group that I was unaware of.

Black Adam brought a lot of chemistry and tension to the team that other books like Justice League were lacking at the time.
It provided a lot of storylines. Shazam joining temporarily was a part of that.

It’s like when Vegeta officially joined the cast of Dragonball.

[phantom1592]

I have nothing against the characters but I just didn't know why they were in JSA. Maybe there was a history with the group that I was unaware of.

It kind of got to the point that anyone with 'Golden Age roots' got tossed together into the 'JSA appropriate' group. For myself... I felt that was the biggest issue with Johns JSA. It felt more All Star Squadron than it did Justice Society. For me personally, THIS is what the JSA is all about....





Not This....



Characters like Power Girl, Star spangled girl, Mr. Terrific, Steel... I never even a read an adventure with them IN the JSA... so having their legacies take over means nothing to me. For me, it's all about the old timers fighting the good fight. If they can't share any strategies or techniques or memories they have 'from the good old days'... .then it's not REALLY the JSA. If it's the kids and namesakes... then that's the All Star Squadron, which i know also has a lot of fans... but it's not really the same thing.

Captain Marvel and Black Adam are kind of weird cases... I love them both... but trying to make Black Adam a good guy is redundant and stupid. We have ENOUGH 'superman level' heroes running around.... But having a great Superman leveled BAD guy who was not just 'Evil Superman', and who was a legitimate threat to anyone? He was pretty unique in his role. I hated him trying to 'change'. Captain Marvel? I honestly DID like him there... it was just nice to see a place where he was being used, and the weird romance with the young girl that everyone questioned was actually pretty fun.

[Will Evans]

It kind of got to the point that anyone with 'Golden Age roots' got tossed together into the 'JSA appropriate' group. For myself... I felt that was the biggest issue with Johns JSA. It felt more All Star Squadron than it did Justice Society. For me personally, THIS is what the JSA is all about....





Not This....



Characters like Power Girl, Star spangled girl, Mr. Terrific, Steel... I never even a read an adventure with them IN the JSA... so having their legacies take over means nothing to me. For me, it's all about the old timers fighting the good fight. If they can't share any strategies or techniques or memories they have 'from the good old days'... .then it's not REALLY the JSA. If it's the kids and namesakes... then that's the All Star Squadron, which i know also has a lot of fans... but it's not really the same thing.

Captain Marvel and Black Adam are kind of weird cases... I love them both... but trying to make Black Adam a good guy is redundant and stupid. We have ENOUGH 'superman level' heroes running around.... But having a great Superman leveled BAD guy who was not just 'Evil Superman', and who was a legitimate threat to anyone? He was pretty unique in his role. I hated him trying to 'change'. Captain Marvel? I honestly DID like him there... it was just nice to see a place where he was being used, and the weird romance with the young girl that everyone questioned was actually pretty fun.

The original JSA is just too archaic to have a run today. Despite their amazing accomplishments, they’re too Caucasian and male oriented with no branching out to be an ongoing today. Even with their ages, it’s too limiting.

The 1999 series worked because they integrated more of their offspring and Infinity Incorporated and used more females, more PoC, and different age groups that span over three generations of heroes.

But even back in the 70s they recognized this. That’s why they started to add Powergirl, Star Spangled Kid and Huntress.

Heck. Even in your example, had the 1992 series continued, it would have added Jessie Quick, Johnny Quick and Liberty Bell to the roster. While retiring out Sandman, Dr Mid-nite and Starman.

[achilles]

Deciding to expand and change somewhat the JSA roster was high on Johns' list of accomplishments. Granted, he went a bit overboard later, with basically all of DC's characters active members of the JSA...okay, slight exaggeration, but you get the meaning. Now...the decreased emphasis on Alan, Jay, and Ted, not to mention all the business with Dr. Fate, well I wasn't fond of that. Making Power Girl a crying useless whiner again not so much a fan. But he did understand that the JSA needed to change...and stay the same all at once, which he managed fairly well.

[Zero Hunter]

I have to agree when the cast got so bloated it was hard to even remember who some of those characters were like Mister America, Judomaster, King Chimera, Red Beetle, and others. It just became way to much.

[Will Evans]

Sometimes the roster had to be to account for the stories he was telling.

Like Black Adam has Atom Smasher, Eclipso, Nemesis, Northwind, Brainiac and Nabu-controlled Dr Fate vs the JSA felt like a real war.

Or later on when the some splintered off to follow Gog: Hawkman, Magog, Judomaster, Damage, Amazing Man, Citizen Steel, and Tomcat. And then they went against the regular JSA.

This is not touching the fact that sometimes the roster was taken from him at any given moment: Black Canary, Hippolyta, Hawkgirl, Hawkman, Dr Fate, Android Hourman.

[achilles]

I have to agree when the cast got so bloated it was hard to even remember who some of those characters were like Mister America, Judomaster, King Chimera, Red Beetle, and others. It just became way to much.

Yeah, I thought there were some character who were so marginal that they really didn't belong on the team...or even a spin-off. But overall, I approve. Especially for those characters who could reasonably be spun off to something like an Infinity Inc sort of thing.

[caj]

Yeah, I thought there were some character who were so marginal that they really didn't belong on the team...or even a spin-off. But overall, I approve. Especially for those characters who could reasonably be spun off to something like an Infinity Inc sort of thing.

I think a new and updated Infinity Inc would've been a great idea while leaving the legacy characters in JSA.