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.
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!
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.
Last edited by Flash Gordon; 05-27-2020 at 01:50 PM.
We'll be seeing some flashbacks with the JSA in September's Hawkman.
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.
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.