Justice Society of America #5 spoilers/discussion

[sifighter]

I'm sorry, but what do you mean about Geoff Johns having written about Yolanda and Beth "for years"?
Can you name twelve issues where Johns wrote about those two?

I meant more the JSA is what he’s written for years. The characters I just kind of named to show they preexisted this run, admittedly I could have made that clearer in my sentences so sorry about that.

But all I really mean is there’s not really much to reintroduce as a whole. We’ve seen the JSA since their return and the team hasn’t really changed all that much. I mean these are all past JSA members or related characters who have been hanging around.

Now maybe it could have been handled better for new readers, that part is true that it’s not really new ready friendly. Also more Beth and Yolanda stuff now they are back would be cool.

[CaptCleghorn]

I think that they were retroactively never gone after Rebirth. Similar to the original Teen Titans and the original Wally West/Kid Flash. Of course more recently DC gave us the "Everything happened" retcon so I guess it really doesn't matter. I'm just glad they're back and hope that the schedule can get on track sometime soon so it will be more enjoyable.

I agree. It seems a "JSA never vanished" setup making a return story unnecessary was the goal, intentional or otherwise.

And instead of that we get another attempt at bringing Helena Wayne back to the main universe.

What were the other attempts? There was the Earth 2 nu 52 book, but that wasn't quite one, was it?

[sifighter]

I agree. It seems a "JSA never vanished" setup making a return story unnecessary was the goal, intentional or otherwise.



What were the other attempts? There was the Earth 2 nu 52 book, but that wasn't quite one, was it?

There was one in that Black Label Batman/Catwoman book Tom King wrote. Except Helena’s part was regulated to just being set in the future with older Selina after Bruce died from natural causes or cancer (I forget which).

[Frontier]

I meant more the JSA is what he’s written for years. The characters I just kind of named to show they preexisted this run, admittedly I could have made that clearer in my sentences so sorry about that.

But all I really mean is there’s not really much to reintroduce as a whole. We’ve seen the JSA since their return and the team hasn’t really changed all that much. I mean these are all past JSA members or related characters who have been hanging around.

Now maybe it could have been handled better for new readers, that part is true that it’s not really new ready friendly. Also more Beth and Yolanda stuff now they are back would be cool.

In bits and pieces and short term guest roles, I'm not sure if that's enough to mean we've gotten a good reintroduction or set up for them compared to other characters/teams.

[MajorHoy]

I meant more the JSA is what he’s written for years. The characters I just kind of named to show they preexisted this run, admittedly I could have made that clearer in my sentences so sorry about that.

But all I really mean is there’s not really much to reintroduce as a whole. We’ve seen the JSA since their return and the team hasn’t really changed all that much. I mean these are all past JSA members or related characters who have been hanging around.

Now maybe it could have been handled better for new readers, that part is true that it’s not really new ready friendly. Also more Beth and Yolanda stuff now they are back would be cool.

It's not even old-reader friendly.

The last issue of Justice Society of America Geoff Johns wrote came out in April of 2009. The last issue of that series was #54 of August 2011.

The JSA finally "returned" as part of a two-page spread in Doomsday Clock #12 at the end of 2019. That was a long time away, and there's been no explanation of what happened during that eight year gap, nor have we had any explanation of what changes have occurred to their past(s), such as how & when Beth and Yolanda ever became members (they were members of Infinity Inc. but not part of the JSA), nor whether things like Scott Snyder's usage of the JSA in Justice League is canon

nor how many other changes over the years have stayed or not.
(Wonder Woman is a big one: was she now always Diana? Was she Hippolyta? Did Miss America ever replace either in the line up?)

There's so much that needs to be redefined so that EVERYBODY is on the same page (at least for that month), but nobody seems to be willing to touch all that. Johns just plows ahead with his new toys and seems to ignore the characters readers really wanted to see.

Like the man said,

. . . you'd think that in the first 5 issues of their grand return after over a decade of being in comic-book Limbo, we'd at least touch on some of these...

[Jekyll]

The JSA desperately needs someone other than Geoff Johns to write them.

[Doctor Kent Nelson]

The JSA desperately needs someone other than Geoff Johns to write them.

That... or going to University and learning how to write a decent ending (he does good build-up) or...



Once David Goyer left the JSA, all his stories became like that. Again, excellent setup, story building and then falls right near the end.

[M@Bowers2014]

That... or going to University and learning how to write a decent ending (he does good build-up) or...



Once David Goyer left the JSA, all his stories became like that. Again, excellent setup, story building and then falls right near the end.

I disagree with our last point. Johns came into his own on JSA after Goyer left the title. His run from that point along with his Hawkman run are some of my favorite comics featuring the JSA characters. Now when he relaunched the JSA and added tons of new legacy characters. That run is different and pretty weak but not his original JSA run. While I don't love everything Johns has done he has lots of great runs under his belt:

Stars & S.T.R.I.P.E.
JSA (original run)
Hawkman
Green Lantern
Flash
Action Comics (specifically the Superman & the Legion arc)
Aquaman
Teen Titans
Booster Gold
Justice League

[MajorHoy]

I disagree with our last point. Johns came into his own on JSA after Goyer left the title. His run from that point along with his Hawkman run are some of my favorite comics featuring the JSA characters. Now when he relaunched the JSA and added tons of new legacy characters. That run is different and pretty weak but not his original JSA run. While I don't love everything Johns has done he has lots of great runs under his belt:

Stars & S.T.R.I.P.E.
JSA (original run)
Hawkman
Green Lantern
Flash
Action Comics (specifically the Superman & the Legion arc)
Aquaman
Teen Titans
Booster Gold
Justice League

I hope when you say "Justice League" for Johns you don't mean the New52 mess.
What little I bothered to buy of that was pretty much glorified garbage.

[M@Bowers2014]

I hope when you say "Justice League" for Johns you don't mean the New52 mess.
What little I bothered to buy of that was pretty much glorified garbage.

I do mean the New52 version mainly because I thought it was fun. It is my least favorites of the runs on my list and I almost left it off. Whatever.

[Digifiend]

Cyborg did some juggling with the New 52 JL, moving it to pre-New Teen Titans. So it, at least the first arc anyway (because that involves Vic's origin), now slots in at some point in the 1970s JLA series. Handily, it also explains the unmarried Superman who flirts with Wonder Woman, as it means it's set long before he married Lois!

[bat39]

Cyborg did some juggling with the New 52 JL, moving it to pre-New Teen Titans. So it, at least the first arc anyway (because that involves Vic's origin), now slots in at some point in the 1970s JLA series. Handily, it also explains the unmarried Superman who flirts with Wonder Woman, as it means it's set long before he married Lois!

Has it been confirmed that John's New 52 JL Origin arc is retroactively set that far back in the DC timeline now?

I kinda assumed the broad strokes of it 'now' happened a few years ago in-universe, and was merely the origin of a 'new' JL lineup.

[Frontier]

Has it been confirmed that John's New 52 JL Origin arc is retroactively set that far back in the DC timeline now?

I kinda assumed the broad strokes of it 'now' happened a few years ago in-universe, and was merely the origin of a 'new' JL lineup.

There've been differing takes on it.

I think, at the current moment, it's when Cyborg debuted but was not the first time the League formed.

[MajorHoy]

There've been differing takes on it.

I think, at the current moment, it's when Cyborg debuted but was not the first time the League formed.

We really, really need a new History of the DC Universe so we know what still did-and-did-not happen, and generally what the order is for everything that happened.

[Digifiend]

There've been differing takes on it.

I think, at the current moment, it's when Cyborg debuted but was not the first time the League formed.

Yeah, the JLA's current origin should be the silver age one. New 52 JL, which has been pushed back to pre-NTT, is now just a new roster forming. Events didn't happen in the originally published order, but still happened.