I hope not, I like the originals don’t get me wrong, but I want Stargirl, Cyclone, Jakeem, Damage, Rick Tyler, Jesse Quick/Libery Belle, and etc. If we bring the JSA back I want the line-up we got in Doomsday Clock, if not that then we might as well have left the past versions in the present after Doom War.
"It's fun and it's cool, so that's all that matters. It's what comics are for, Duh."
Words to live by.
The majority of retcons are cheap and contradictory. They can work occasionally, but most of the time they conflict with what was previously established about that character.
I would probably be supportive of this change the trope of retroactively altering elements of the past wasn't so common place, but that's not the world we live in. Building on the past instead of focusing on the present is cliche, convoluted and lazy, but unfortunately it's the go to route for writers such as Geoff Johns and Scott Snyder.
I can't help but think the sexuality aspect is why Tynion ended up writing it, at least in part.
I don't know if that's still happening with 5G being kaput. Especially with how popular some of the JSA legacies are.
(And I say this as someone who would read a classic JSA book).
I mean, I wouldn't feel any more cheated then if they retroactively added more women to the roster, but that's just me.
As long as Jade and Obsidian still exist, I’m totally fine with Alan being gay. I’ll be honest: it makes me way more interested in him than I was before, because it adds a whole different kind of wrinkle to him operating in the 1940s-1950s.
Yes, I was a bit disappointed when Alan was first gay but it only as a part of the larger reinvention of the JSA characters that brought them to the modern world. I think provides a lot of interesting story possibilities for the more classic version especially if Jade and Obsidian are still in his future.
Alan's always been my favorite GL since I read JSA but my appreciation of this reveal is contingent on Jade and Todd sticking around.
The reveal of him being a closeted gay man works with little heavy lifting needed. It works. You can tell some interesting stories with him given his past. Some characters can make sense with this sort of retcon and Alan works well enough.
I was somewhat against it just because I don't like changing characters too much and I was worried we'd lose Todd, but still, Alan works. I don't recall him ever being much of a lady's man despite the marriages.
Just keep his kids.
Basically. He was never particularly interested in sex or romance that I can recall in, what, thirty years? It's not like we had a wealth of stories where Alan was interested in women since, perhaps, some time pre crisis.
Last edited by Robanker; 06-23-2020 at 08:56 PM.
I know that Black Canary was getting retroactively pushed earlier into the JSA's history, but, like you said, who knows what's going to happen now that 5G's been rejiggered into something else. I don't think the plan in terms of the JSA has changed all that much given that they've already published stories featuring Wonder Woman debuting in 1938 inspiring both Jay and Alan.
If the 1940s book is successful, I think you'll quickly see a JSA: Young All-Stars type book featuring Stargirl and the young JSAers, particularly now that the TV show has brought them to the attention of a wider audience. Very curious to see what the rebirthed Beth and Yolanda will be like since they never really got much of a chance in the comics.
That's why I think it's a good retcon. Retcons that contradict what we know and love about the DCU always end up failing anyways. It's the additive retcons that stick. Since Alan's personally life was never a strong selling point for the character, this kind of retcon has the potential to make him more interesting.
I'm still not sure how I feel about that...
I honestly don't see DC publishing two JSA books. The 1940's book would probably be more likely a mini to lead into a modern JSA book ala the Johns run.
I mean, again, since it doesn't change him too much it just feels like a non-issue to me, so I just don't see it mattering in the long-run. I think just him and his kids being around is more pertinent.