Should the original JSA return

[andersonh1]

Calling it a "reimagining" is like slitting a guys throat and calling it "a minor scratch".

That's great!

[The Doctor]

I think the problem some people here are having with that is that it makes Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman into simple heroes, instead of the progenitors of the superhero community. I know it was like that Post-Crisis, and I never really minded it really, but if DC wants to make Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman into the "Holy Trinity" of the superhero world (along with the rest of the Justice League) in the DC Universe, the concept is kind of watered down if there were other superheroes running around before them.

I like it the way it is in my head. You have Flash Garrick, Alan Lantern, Sandman, Hourman, etc. these guys were the first of the superhero community. Wonder Woman has been around a while so I'd have her in there early on too. Eventually Batman gets involved and a young Superman jumps in towards the end. The "trinity" end up becoming extremely close and leave to form a team with the younger generation of heroes coming out.

[Agent Z]

And Superman was the first actual historical superhero who provided the template for all the others, so why should we have to accept all these other characters as having come before him?



Uh, no, he isn't. There's nothing "technical" entering the situation. He's a hero of myth. How is he a superhero?

EDIT: The more I think about it, the less sense it makes. He's not exactly active in the public eye or the modern world. How does that affect the League?

He was active in the public eye 3000 or so years ago. We know he exists because of WW and the Amazons hence why I said he might count.

[The Darknight Detective]

I like it the way it is in my head. You have Flash Garrick, Alan Lantern, Sandman, Hourman, etc. these guys were the first of the superhero community. Wonder Woman has been around a while so I'd have her in there early on too. Eventually Batman gets involved and a young Superman jumps in towards the end. The "trinity" end up becoming extremely close and leave to form a team with the younger generation of heroes coming out.

That's why I prefer the JSA of the Bronze Age the best, because it allowed the JLA to be the first on Earth-1, while having the old guys mentoring the younger legacy superheroes on Earth-2. Best of both worlds, IMO.

[victorsage]

I like it the way it is in my head. You have Flash Garrick, Alan Lantern, Sandman, Hourman, etc. these guys were the first of the superhero community. Wonder Woman has been around a while so I'd have her in there early on too. Eventually Batman gets involved and a young Superman jumps in towards the end. The "trinity" end up becoming extremely close and leave to form a team with the younger generation of heroes coming out.

I agree. Basically how it was during the post crisis world, it was a great way to keep those Golden Age stories and the Golden Age style alive and well. I always liked the idea of pastiches of the Golden Age Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman in the Society as well but DC has never been able to get that right.

[C_Miller]

I vastly prefer them on one Earth. No question there. I like seeing all of these heroes together on the regular and it adds depth to the universe, which is why I tend to gravitate towards DC more than Marvel. I love the legacy aspect that seems lost with the New 52. And it's not just Barry into Wally or Hal into Kyle or Ray into Ryan. It's Jay into Barry into Wally into Bart, Alan into Hal into Kyle, Al into Ray into Ryan. It creates a nice history and as someone who gravitates towards historical things, that really appeals to me as a reader.

Sure, it makes Superman less naturally important, but the key word is naturally. It doesn't prevent him still from being the most important superhero in the universe, but writers have to create a better reason for that than just "He was the first." To me, I can write an essay on what makes Superman an inspiration, but none of the character based reasons stem from the fact that he was the first. While all of the JSAers are mystery (wo)men who fight crime and Nazis, they're all humans. Superman on the other hand is a messiah on an almost biblical level (quite literally if you really look at his origin story...). And he doesn't need to be THE FIRST to have that aspect to his character.

I'd love to see a return of the classic JSA in the main universe, but that's not to say I'm not a fan of the JSA on Earth-2. All-Star Squadron and the first 20 issues or so of Infinity Inc. are some of my favorite comics ever. They're probably "better" than any comics written with the JSA on the main Earth, but I don't think it's due to the concept for me. I still would much rather see them on the main Earth.

[thetrellan]

That's why I prefer the JSA of the Bronze Age the best, because it allowed the JLA to be the first on Earth-1, while having the old guys mentoring the younger legacy superheroes on Earth-2. Best of both worlds, IMO.

But they didn't mentor in the Bronze Age. They just continued to gather even in retirement, like always, and even that was mostly a response to the revelation of the JLA universe. If anything, the JLA influenced them out of retirement. Even Infinity Inc. went unmentored. Beyond having been raised by their parents, that is.

The whole "JSA as mentors of a new generation" concept is a product of the monoverse, post CIE situation.

Frankly, I would prefer the JSA and JLA belong to different worlds also, though. Or, failing that, and Earth with one Superman who belongs to both Earths. Have him come back, Kingdom Come style, just before Barry Allen gets his powers. In fact, make Superman indirectly responsible for the lightning bolt incident, or its effect. This Superman would be different because his usual support network- the Daily Planet staff- would be long dead. It would make things interesting. If this were done, I would also like to see a connection made between Hal Jordan's and Alan Scott's power sources, as a magical Green Lantern appearing in a universe which has been patrolled by the super-scientifically-powered Green Lantern Corps. makes no sense to me. In the absence of such a connection, the two heroes belong in separate universes.

All this, and I'm sure more than I've thought of here, needs to be addressed in order for both teams to fit the same world. And for that to be any good, I can only see starting from scratch. A true reboot. And I'm sure that is more trouble than it's worth, so let's not and say we did.

Oh wow, I just flashed back to 2011.

[Starchild]

JSA can be the first heroes on their own world, why cram them on the same earth as the JLA. They NEVER were on the same earth until Crisis. People being vocal about restoring things, well the league and society were on different earths for years before they were on the same one. The two can team-up once every year like they did before COIE.

The League and the Society should not be on the same earth, they should be the top dogs of their respective earths.

This! A JSA wouldn't be necessary on the main earth. They would just be another team.

[The Darknight Detective]

But they didn't mentor in the Bronze Age.

Sure they did. Maybe not as much as you would have liked, but they definitely did.

[thetrellan]

Sure they did. Maybe not as much as you would have liked, but they definitely did.

Actually I care not one whit. I mean that mentoring was not their mission statement.

But I know what you mean, now I think of it. Seems like one of the first things Jay Garrick did when he met Barry Allen was impart advice. Of course that was a long time ago, actually nearly a good ten years before I began collecting, so my knowledge of that period is spotty at best.

[MajorHoy]

Actually I care not one whit. I mean that mentoring was not their mission statement.

But I know what you mean, now I think of it. Seems like one of the first things Jay Garrick did when he met Barry Allen was impart advice. Of course that was a long time agp. actually nearly a good ten years before I began collecting, so my knowledge of that period is spotty at best.

It was less a training, hands-on mentoring and more of advice / sharing experiences type of mentoring.

[Lee Stone]

I think it would do well as a pulp-style series.

I always thought it was silly that DC would always wait until they could get a license for The Shadow, Doc Savage or The Spirit to do a pulp type team book when they already have some of the better known Golden Age characters around.
Why bother trying to fit them into the New52?
Just put them in their own little line or title, with their own pulp continuity.
Get creators that are pros at the style, such as Brubaker or Wagner writing and Francesco Francavilla on art. Pow.

And current readers are okay with different versions of characters floating around, so a Golden Age Black Canary, Atom, Hawkman, etc. isn't going to deter them.
As long as there's quality story and art, it'll sell.

[The Darknight Detective]

It was less a training, hands-on mentoring and more of advice / sharing experiences type of mentoring.

Exactly, MH. At any rate, there was no reason the former type of mentoring couldn't have also existed within the original Multiverse system. A single Earth was not required for that or for the inclusion of legacy characters.