As the JSA returns, how should DC handle the fact that they basically failed?

[DrNewGod]

I, myself, hope that it's not held up to a microscope.
That could easily take a comic I may like and turn it into yet another dreary deconstruction that would just bore me to tears.

If people want realism, just launch a Minutemen series.
It would probably sell better than the JSA to the current market, anyway.

Fair point. The right writer could do it well, but there's certainly room for it to be exactly what you describe.

[CaptCleghorn]

The America vs the JSA series has been mentioned, but I'd like to add the "Times Past" issues of the Starman series by James Robinson. While not outright dragging the JSA down, those stories did add shades of gray to their adventures. It's tough for this kind of a re-examination for the JSA as their adventures were heavily Golden Age and Comic Code Silver and Bronze Age cleaned.

[Jekyll]

Originally Posted by DrNewGod View Post
I do not. My point is that almost every institution seen as a glorious symbols of The American Way have lost some of their sheen under much needed scrutiny in the last 20-30 years. The JSA has not.

Is that something writers should look at in what is now a much less optimistic America?

Absolutely not! I have yearned for the return of my favorite DC team and I would drop the book so quick if it was about that garbage.

I, myself, hope that it's not held up to a microscope.
That could easily take a comic I may like and turn it into yet another dreary deconstruction that would just bore me to tears.

If people want realism, just launch a Minutemen series.
It would probably sell better than the JSA to the current market, anyway.

Fully agree!

[achilles]

If the focus is on the big three, you've gone from a JSA team that's firmly identified as a JSA team to a team of mostly legacies. Now how much original a reader wants varies, but for me, too many young characters in theri prime takes away from the JSA concept as it's been for the past nearly 60 years. The legacies are great, but with only a token original presence, the team loses a lot of its distinction.

Well, you're going to basically the Johns JSA.

[Flash Gordon]

The America vs the JSA series has been mentioned, but I'd like to add the "Times Past" issues of the Starman series by James Robinson. While not outright dragging the JSA down, those stories did add shades of gray to their adventures. It's tough for this kind of a re-examination for the JSA as their adventures were heavily Golden Age and Comic Code Silver and Bronze Age cleaned.

That's the perfect way to go about it. Robinson's Times Past issues were poignant and introspective without examining the JSA under some huge microscope. Morrison's Black Glove retrofitting Silver Age Batman stories was also really well done.

Giving a little more context to the outlandish adventures of yesterday, and shedding a new light.

[Holt]

We'll be seeing some flashbacks with the JSA in September's Hawkman.

[Frontier]

We'll be seeing some flashbacks with the JSA in September's Hawkman.

It's kind of funny that Kendra has vanished off the face of the Earth and now Shayera is starring in stories you would've expected Kendra too.

[Timber Wolf-By-Night]

It's kind of funny that Kendra has vanished off the face of the Earth and now Shayera is starring in stories you would've expected Kendra too.

Since when was Kendra a member of the Golden Age version of the JSA?

[Will Evans]

Since when was Kendra a member of the Golden Age version of the JSA?

Technically, she was. She’s the reincarnation of Shiera Saunders.

[Bored at 3:00AM]

Technically, she was. She’s the reincarnation of Shiera Saunders.

And, thanks to the time shenanigans, so is Shayera. It's a win-win. DC gets to have both Hawkgirl and Hawkwoman coexist while still having the same starting point.

Not sure how sustainable that is long-term, but it works for now.

[krazijoe]

And, thanks to the time shenanigans, so is Shayera. It's a win-win. DC gets to have both Hawkgirl and Hawkwoman coexist while still having the same starting point.

Not sure how sustainable that is long-term, but it works for now.

Pre or Post Metal?

[Valentonis]

I don't know if it's that they failed, or more so that they did all that they can as superheroes. Ultimately superheroes, or at least the way dc portrays them, can't do a whole lot against systemic evils. When the bad guys have a name and a face that can be punched out there's no one better, but when the problems are more complex systems of oppression that fester just beneath the surface of society, it's hard for superheroes to do much. It's their greatest strength and weakness, they are defenders of the status quo, but many times the status quo hurts people in ways much less obvious than a Joker scheme or an Apokolips invasion that get overlooked.

[Bored at 3:00AM]

Pre or Post Metal?

Post Metal. Apparently, Perpetua was the one responsible for nuking Hawk continuity from orbit in order to prevent Hawkgirl from interfering with her plans.

Nice bit of retconning...

[Sutekh]

And, thanks to the time shenanigans, so is Shayera. It's a win-win. DC gets to have both Hawkgirl and Hawkwoman coexist while still having the same starting point.

Not sure how sustainable that is long-term, but it works for now.

I'd totally read a JSA title with *both* Hawk-ladies, and zero Hawk-dudes, so long as their personalities were distinctive enough that I could tell them apart.

[CaptCleghorn]

I'd totally read a JSA title with *both* Hawk-ladies, and zero Hawk-dudes, so long as their personalities were distinctive enough that I could tell them apart.

This should be a must for characters with similar names/powers. The GLs do a good job of this with Guy, Hal, John, Kyle, the Professor, and Mary Ann all having different personalities.

But the presence of a Hawkgirl back alongside the the Golden Age JSA was always there. She even appeared in an All-Star story, although not an actual member. With all the revamping and rewriting of DC history, making her a member wouldn't be that big of a deal as the JSAers were already extremely progressive in having two women members at the same time when other teams waited years before having two women on the same teams even in the Silver Age.