JSA / Justice Society of America Appreciation Thread 2022 version

[Dataweaver]

I'm not so sure about that. Between PG in the seventies and the Superman at the funeral, this could very well be the "New" new Earth 2. I haven't read anything else connected to it so maybe I'm wrong but just reading this one issue, that's the impression I get.

It kinda sorta is “the New new Earth 2”, in that nearly all of Earth 2's history has been integrated into the timeline in one way or another; even the seemingly contradictory parts. But technically, it's still Earth 0; not a separate Earth.

[CaptCleghorn]

The view or mourners at Bruce Wayne's funeral was JSA heavy. If this is all whatever DC's calling their main Earth this week, then the story I'm inferring is that Bats joined (will join) the JSA in the future leading Huntress to talk about being in the JSA like her father. The main Earth Batman's funeral attendees would easily dwarf the JSA contingent. But both this and the Robinless 1976 scene indicate something is up with the publication history and the floating timeline results.

Johns is obviously trying to get interest in this story by throwing a lot out there to get our interest.

[Dataweaver]

It's working.

Personally, I think that Robin could be patched into 1976 without much trouble: just say that in Helena's future timeline, Dick and Barbara get married and have a son; name him after his father, have him develop a fascination with Robin and eventually take on the Robin identity, and then throw him into the past to land in 1976 where he serves as the Golden Age Robin.

[sifighter]

The view or mourners at Bruce Wayne's funeral was JSA heavy. If this is all whatever DC's calling their main Earth this week, then the story I'm inferring is that Bats joined (will join) the JSA in the future leading Huntress to talk about being in the JSA like her father. The main Earth Batman's funeral attendees would easily dwarf the JSA contingent. But both this and the Robinless 1976 scene indicate something is up with the publication history and the floating timeline results.

Johns is obviously trying to get interest in this story by throwing a lot out there to get our interest.

I think legit just supposed to be a reference to Earth-2 Batman’s funeral pre-crisis. Let’s just hope it doesn’t lead to another Degaton story, America vs Justice Society.

[Dataweaver]

I think legit just supposed to be a reference to Earth-2 Batman’s funeral pre-crisis. Let’s just hope it doesn’t lead to another Degaton story, America vs Justice Society.

It was intended to invoke the pre-Crisis Earth 2 Batman's funeral, yes. But it's still set in (a future of) Earth 0, which is why some of the elements are different (such as a grown up Courtney Whitmore replacing Starman).

As I see it, this story is basically replacing America vs. the Justice Society: it takes place after Batman's death, features Per Degaton as the villain, and is essentially going to end up reviewing the overall history of the JSA. It's just doing so with a different framing device instead of Batman's diary accusing the JSA of treason.

[D.Z]

Nice to have more old Earth 2 stuff inserted back in history, even if some of the moments are in different places in time this time around.

[Dataweaver]

To be fair, I don't know how much of this is stuff being inserted back into history, and how much of it is stuff that's (at least in theory) always been there ever since the Crisis, but it's only just now being explored.

[D.Z]

The 1976 part used to be on the sliding timescale post crisis, but now it's moved to the real time year.

[InfamousBG]

I am happy with the new issue. Wanted to see a bit more of todays JSA and where have they been but I believe this is setting all of that up.

[Dataweaver]

Yeah. I expect that issue #2 will deal with the 1940 JSA, #3 will deal with the 1976 JSA, and finally #4 will bring us to the modern JSA. Unless Johns has a surprise or two in store… (Still holding out hope/trepidation for a 1990s JSA: on the one hand, it would be cool; on the other hand, it would make a royal mess of the timeline).

As for the composition of the “26 years from now” JSA: I like how it's a reflection of Huntress' surprisingly optimistic side. As revealed in her talk with her mother, it's basically a “second chances” team: people who most everyone had already given up on and declared irredeemable villains, but in whom Helena found a spark of good.

[Factor]

It's working.

Personally, I think that Robin could be patched into 1976 without much trouble: just say that in Helena's future timeline, Dick and Barbara get married and have a son; name him after his father, have him develop a fascination with Robin and eventually take on the Robin identity, and then throw him into the past to land in 1976 where he serves as the Golden Age Robin.

But… why? Do we gain anything of value by having a Dick Grayson duplicate around decades before the original? It’s just confusing as hell.
I don’t think absolutely everything needs to be addressed just so that we can pretend the original 70s stories still happened somehow when they’re already being fundamentally changed by removing them from Earth-2.
Sometimes it’s better to just let some concepts die.

[Cat]

It was intended to invoke the pre-Crisis Earth 2 Batman's funeral, yes. But it's still set in (a future of) Earth 0, which is why some of the elements are different (such as a grown up Courtney Whitmore replacing Starman).

As I see it, this story is basically replacing America vs. the Justice Society: it takes place after Batman's death, features Per Degaton as the villain, and is essentially going to end up reviewing the overall history of the JSA. It's just doing so with a different framing device instead of Batman's diary accusing the JSA of treason.

If Courtney's replaced Ted, what does that mean for him? Does he still exist? I hope so, he's one of my top 2 favourite characters, along with Hourman. I'd hate to lose him, he belongs with the GA JSA.

[MajorHoy]

But… why? Do we gain anything of value by having a Dick Grayson duplicate around decades before the original? It’s just confusing as hell.
I don’t think absolutely everything needs to be addressed just so that we can pretend the original 70s stories still happened somehow when they’re already being fundamentally changed by removing them from Earth-2.
Sometimes it’s better to just let some concepts die.

Even better would be to shift those concepts back to a separate Earth, but . . .

[Digifiend]

If Courtney's replaced Ted, what does that mean for him? Does he still exist? I hope so, he's one of my top 2 favourite characters, along with Hourman. I'd hate to lose him, he belongs with the GA JSA.

Ted Knight would've still existed, but by that point is no longer Starman, having been replaced by Jack and then Courtney. As such, it's quite possible he's there as a civilian.

[Dataweaver]

If Courtney's replaced Ted, what does that mean for him? Does he still exist? I hope so, he's one of my top 2 favourite characters, along with Hourman. I'd hate to lose him, he belongs with the GA JSA.

This scene doesn't feature the GA JSA, even though it looks so much like it. The Hourman you see there? That's not Rex Tyler; that's Rick Tyler. Doctor Mid-Nite is Pieter Cross; that's Sand standing next to Courtney, not Wesley Dodd; and Doctor Fate is Khalid.

Courtney replaces Ted because the scene happens “18 years from now” on Earth 0, when Courtney has grown up. This isn't the JSA of the 1940s or of the 1970s; it isn't even the JSA of “X years ago” (the brief revival of the team that was published in the early 90s before Zero Hour devastated them) or the more recent one that Jack Knight helped found (published 1999–2011). All of those JSAs happened, and all of them happened before the “18 years from now” scene in question.

You don't see Ted Knight in this scene because he sacrificed himself at the end of the Grand Guignol to stop his nemesis, the original Mist, as detailed in the pages of Jack Knight's Starman series. All of that happened, and all of it happened before the funeral of Batman scene, which is still 18 years in the future.