The Massive, Extravagant, Over-the-top Golden Age JSA Re-read

Replies

- Dave Elyea > Philip Portelli April 8, 2026 at 5:54pm
  
  Especially if they mixed things up, and made Hawkman GL's back feature, and put Dr. Mid-Nite in All Flash, which I guess would make it Mostly Flash Comics.
Jeff of Earth-J April 8, 2026 at 1:59pm

Hardcover and softcover collections of "JSA: Year One" (JSA Vol. 3: Year One) have now been solicited for August 11 release.
Captain Comics April 9, 2026 at 12:41pm

Which I guess would make it Mostly Flash Comics.

This made me laugh.

And reminds me of a couple of my hobby horses. I think I've said on this thread before that I would have named the Scarlet Speedster's solo book The Flash. After all, DC wasn't publishing All-Superman and All-Batman. The Flash fits in better with Superman, Batman, Green Lantern and Wonder Woman than "All-Flash," which fits in better with All-Star Comics and All-American Comics, both of which are anthologies. I'm sure they were worried that kids would mix up Flash Comics and The Flash, but that's really underestimating kids.

The other hobby horse concerns Silver Age numbering. When the Crimson Comet was revived in his own title in 1959, DC picked up the numbering from Flash Comics -- an anthology. They really should have picked up the numbering of Flash's solo book (All-Flash, which ended with issue #32), but didn't. So, OK, maybe they just wanted the bigger number.

However, having set that precedent, shouldn't Green Lantern have launched with the numbering from All-American Comics? If that was considered already in use (as AAC did continue as All-American Western, and eventually All-American Men of War), then they should have picked up the numbering of Green Lantern volume 1 (which ended with issue #38). Instead they started over with issue #1. There seemed to be no pattern or SOP whatsoever.

It leaves me chagrined.
- Constantine Sarolas > Captain Comics April 9, 2026 at 1:22pm
  
  It's possible that Flash started with 105 because of the short lived Captain Flash series. Maybe DC felt they needed to trademark the Flash name before anyone else used it. And the high issue number would prove longer use of the name. I don't know how trademarks work. This was not needed for Green Lantern.
- Eric L. Sofer > Captain Comics April 10, 2026 at 10:06am
  
  In my readings, I recall tht DC Comics didn't want to start a new book - Flash Comics in this case - they didn't want to number it 1 because, for some strange reason, they thougnt that kids wouldn't take a chance on a new comic, but they'd be okay with an existing run - thus Flash #105, not #1. (And the story goes that they wanted the higher number as not to confuse kids with "All-Flash." Like the kids were stupid and couldn't discern beteen it and "Flash.") Then, they realized that the real source of new super heroes - Showcase and Brave and the Bold - had already started and weren't number ones. So they took the chance with Green Lantern by starting it with #1 - and it succeeded wildly.
  
  That's the story as I heard it from a couple sources.
Captain Comics April 9, 2026 at 1:09pm

JSA #18
June 2026
Cover by Dave Johnson: This is the one I've been alluding to since I first saw it in the solicitations. It shows 12 characters (13, if you count Thunderbolt as separate from Johnny). But there were only eight founding members of the Justice Society in 1940. The question in my mind has always been: How much would this reboot change the JSA's original lineup? Turns out to be not a lot, as we shall see.

Last issue ended with the Starco building exploding, while 10 characters were inside. Fortunately, Green Lantern saves them all in a ring bubble, and Thunderbolt takes care of falling debris. But there are still the bombs in the subway tunnel to deal with, and the villains to capture. They split into three teams: Flash (with Hourman, Johnny Thunder and Thunderbolt trailing) goes west into the tunnel, Green Lantern and the Hawks go after Ultra, and a third group (Atom, Will Everett, Wonder Woman, Sandman) go east in the tunnel.

Flash encounters Spectre holding up the tunnel. I don't know how Spectre came to be there. The last we saw of him (and Dr. Fate) back in issue #16, Corrigan was freaking out and Fate was suggesting he join the team. I suppose he eventually agreed, and when they arrived, Spectre being Spectre knew about the bombs, then decided to help. Anyway, Flash races off to defuse the bombs

Green Lantern and the Hawks chase after Ultra's plane, but Cyclotron is firing out the door, delaying Hawkman. He is joined by Dr. Fate, and Hawkman recognizes Kent Nelson's voice. They reach the plane, where Hawkman takes out Cyclotron. Hawkgirl and Green Lantern got there first, and GL is incapacitated by a mental attack. It's from Ultra, now in the body of a giant, white gorilla.

Atom's group is fired upon by Nazis, whom they immediately take out. The tunnel is collapsed ahead, but Will (not quite Amazing Man yet, despite being in costume on the cover) punches a hole big enough for Atom to wiggle through. (I'd think Hippolyta could make a bigger one, but maybe that would collapse the tunnel.)

Hourman, Johnny Thunder and Thunderbolt catch up to where Flash met Spectre, and the Ghostly Guardian is still holding up the tunnel. Thunderbolt shores it up, relieving Spectre of hs burden. They are fired upon by Sportsmaster and two Nazis, but Spectre shows them the error of their ways (by terrifying them in a way we cannot see). Then he turns back into Corrigan, frreaked out and saying that he can't do the Spectre thing any more. But Flash -- who has returned with all the defused bombs -- says he can, with their help.

Meanwhile, Hourman confirms with Sandman (via the radio we saw Hourman give him earlier) that their tunnel is fine. Atom has all the defused bombs. Ultra's plane explodes, and he attacks Green Lantern mentally again as they land on the ground. Ultra calls him a "degenerate," and we know why. But all 11 others arrive and attack Ultra together. Once GL is free of the mental attack, he takes down Ultra and gives a little anti-Hitler speech.

All that's left is for the team to form, as we knew it must. There are some nice character bits. Not enough, but I'll take it. Wonder Woman has to go home for a while (nobody knows where that is, or why she has to go), but she is expected to return. Will Everett has some healing to do, so he doesn't join. Hawkgirl declines, as she doesn't want to be the only "lady" in a "boys' club," but she'll revisit the question when Hippolyta returns.

Johnny Thunder and Thunderbolt seem to be included, at least as "one of the gang," but since he's taking the picture (as established in The New Golden Age), he's not on the cover of All-Star Comics #3. That picture is taken in New York City on Nov. 22, 1940.

It's mentioned that Wesley Dodds donated his New York penthouse for the team meetings. I'm not really sure where that was originally established, possibly in the All-Star Squadron preview. If it's in All-Star Comics, we haven't hit that point yet, as their HQs, when depicted, seem somewhat random.

Continuity Changes

Originally in summer 1940, DC's superhero contingent consisted of The Atom, Batman & Robin, Crimson Avenger, Dr. Fate, Dr. Occult, The Flash, Green Lantern, Hawkman, Hourman, Johnny Thunder & Thunderbolt, The King (maybe), Red Tornado, Sandman, Superman, The Spectre, The Whip and Zatara. This list changes, per "Year One."

Johnny Thunder was born on July 7, 1917 -- the seventh day of the seventh month at 7 a.m. (Flash Comics #1, January 1940). So he turns 23 in summer 1940. Originally he wasn't aware that had a personal genie, and when he did become aware, didn't know how to activate it. He stumbled onto the magic words in Flash Comics #20 (August 1941). Up to that point, it was unclear if anyone else could see the Thunderbolt -- at times, it seemed as if Johnny couldn't either. As the strip progressed, the Thunderbolt became more of a visible presence.

In "Year One," the Thunderbolt is present and visible from the time Jay Garrick meets Johnny Thunder in JSA #13, taking place in summer 1940. Johnny is also aware of the magic words. He also appears to be younger than 23 -- Jay treats him dismissively as a youngster, and Garrick himself, per All-Star Comics #50, has just graduated college (and therefore presumably 21-22 years old). This suggests that Johnny isn't stupid, so much as very young. It further suggests why he wasn't a charter member: He might not have been at the age of majority.

And he doesn't appear to be a charter member, even in this retcon. It's never officially stated what Johnny's status is, but the photo (and early JSA roll calls) indicate he was just "one of the gang" instead of a formal member. The official story, as I read it, is that he was just hanging around in All-Star Comics #3-5 (which he did) and considered himself deserving of an invite to the first official meeting (as he implies at the beginning of All-Star Comics #3) on friendship terms, rather than membership. Then they made it official in All-Star Comics #6, perhaps when he turned 18. (That was the age required to voluntarily enlist in the military in 1940, with draft enrollment required at 21. The draft was dropped to 18 in 1942.) That's speculation on my part, all in support of Johnny being young instead of stupid. (Although they're not mutually exclusive.)

Johnny is not included in the photo that became the famous cover of All-Star Comics #3, as he was taking the picture (per The New Golden Age #1). The status quo is preserved.

Wonder Woman famously first appeared in the All-Star Comics #8 preview (December 1941-January 1942), and arrived in man's world in Sensation Comics #1 (January 1942). She didn't join the JSA until All-Star Comics #11 (June-July 1942). Her history has been in flux since her Golden Age was erased by Crisis, but given her importance in All-Star Comics, substitutes have generally been found (Fury, Miss America), rather than complete erasure. Then John Byrne came up with the idea of using Hippolyta as a Wonder Woman sub, which at least gives her the right outfit (although he had modern Polly travel through time, which I thought was an unnecessary complication).

Lemire introduces her early in summer 1940, but wisely doesn't establish her as an official founding member, as she has to return to an unnamed "home" for a while (which skirts around the time-travel question). It's said she's expected back, and I would expect that return to coincide with All-Star Comics #11, when she joined in the Golden Age. Let's call her "one of the gang" until then.

Hawkgirl first appeared in All-Star Comics #5 (April 1941) as a one-off, appeared as "Hawkman" at a costume party in Flash Comics #24 (December 1941), and appeared (without explanation) as Hawkman's partner beginning in Flash Comics #25 (January 1942). Lemire pushes her advent back more than a year, as Hawkman and Hawkgirl are already long-established partners when they are introduced in summer 1940. This creates a lot of room for untold Hawkman/Hawkgirl stories prior to her original debut, plus re-writes of pre-1942 stories to insert Hawkgirl in place of a plainclothes Shiera.

She is also not a charter member, rejecting the idea of being the only female on a "boys' club," at least until Hippolyta returns. The status quo is once again preserved.

Amazing Man first appeared in All-Star Squadron #23, in a story set between All-Star Comics #11 (June-July 1942) and All-Star Comics #12 (August-September 1942). He was based on John Aman, a white character who appeared in Centaur's Amazing Man Comics #5-26 and Stars and Stripes Comics #2-6. He's in public domain, and has appeared in both Dynamite's Project Superpowers and Marvel's Iron Fist (as the Prince of Orphans). Lemire has pushed his origin back to summer 1940, but retained a few of the elements Roy Thomas used in the first origin, including Ultra-Humanite and Cyclotron. I can assume that when spring 1942 rolls around, he will return for his All-Star Squadron adventure to establish his outfit (with the rest of his Thomas origin erased).

Ultra-Humanite first appeared as a crippled, bald scientist in Action Comics #13 (June 1939), and advanced his subway-tunnel scheme in the next issue. He transferred his brain to actress Dolores Winters in Action Comics #20 (January 1940). In Justice League of America #195 (October 1983), it was revealed that he transferred his brain into a giant, white ape from Gorilla City sometime after the 1950s.

With Superman out of the picture, Green Lantern is the superhero who confronts Ultra about the subway scheme. Although white, male and bald, this first Ultra isn't crippled, and is Starco CEO Walter Baze instead of an unnamed scientist. He transfers his mind into a giant, white ape in JSA #18, apparently skipping over the Dolores Winters era. I hope that returns in some form, because as the Stargirl TV series showed, it could be super-creepy.

Sandman was introduced in New York World's Finest Comics [#1] (April 1939) with his blue-and-gold gas mask, which he wore until changing into Underoos in Adventure Comics #69 (December 1941). But this series shows him with the World War I-era gas mask he sported in Sandman Mystery Theatre, and deciding to switch to the blue-and-gold number on Nov. 22, 1940. I have no issue with this, because I'm delighted to see Sandman Mystery Theatre become canon, no matter how obliquely.

The Justice Society had two official origins prior to this one in DC Special #29 (1977) and Secret Origins #31 (1988), and several other takes in books like Wesley Dodds: Sandman and Alan Scott: The Green Lantern (2023). Obviously, those versions are superceded by this one. Whether the JSA ever stopped the invasion of England or fought valkyries over the Atlantic Ocean is up for debate.

Green Lantern gives the team its name. Superman did it in DC Special #29, and Spectre did it in Secret Origins #31. Let's hope this one sticks. (Although I think Jay Garrick would be the natural one to come up with an upbeat reference of this sort.)

Takeaways

This turned out pretty much as I had predicted. As Bob indicated in another thread, it's pretty underwhelming. I'd hoped for some surprises! But I'm good with it, as it keeps to the broad strokes of the Golden Age stories. The JSA needs an origin story that stands the test of time, one that editors can enforce. The pick-your-own-adventure approach of the Sandman, Flash and Green Lantern miniseries was painful.

Sportsmaster is defeated in the tunnel and Cyclotron is shown captured. But I don't think we were shown what happened to Satanna, who was last seen in issue #17 boarding the airplane we saw blow up this issue. Not a good sign. But maybe she got off when Sportsmaster did, whenever that was, because he also boarded the plane last issue. (I think.)

The Spectre indicates he's having trouble holding up the tunnel. The Spectre should not have trouble holding up a tunnel. I'm going to write that off to "learning curve." But later, he's insecure about joining the JSA team photo. "I -- I wasn't sure if I should." There are many things you can call The Spectre, but insecure isn't one of them. Corrigan, maybe, but not The Spectre. Ah, well. Learning curve.

Also, when the team splits up, The Atom mentions how even Flash couldn't cover both ends of the tunnel fast enough. So why not send Flash one way, and Thunderbolt the other way? The writer went out of his way earlier in the story to show that Thunderbolt could move from one place to the other faster than Flash. As it is, I don't see how Atom managed to get a bunch of bombs before they were set off ... since a "chain reaction" was triggered in the previous issue. Let's call it delayed fuses, and move on. It's pretty obvious Lemire was trying to avoid having 4/5 of the team just standing around while Flash and Thunderbolt saved the day.

We see the same scene of the team meeting FDR that we saw in The New History of the DC Universe #1. At last, some consistency.

Green Lantern tells Hourman that Doiby Dickles made his costume. Taxi driver, two-fisted sidekick, fireworks expert, tailor -- he can do it all! At least Alan Scott didn't have to sew his own, like The Spectre (which still makes me laugh).

"The Search for The Spectre: Prelude Part Two"
By Jeff Lemire and Joey Vazquez (4 pages)

Flash, Green Lantern, Jade and Obsidian are joined by Atom-Smasher and Stargirl to discuss the future of the Justice Society. They decide that their purpose should be to train the next generation of superheroes. Mention is made of Stargirl, Jakeem Thunder and Kid Eternity (the new one). Then we see nine of the Lost Children on screens: The Boom, Cherry Bomb, John Henry Jr., Ladybug, Molly Pitcher and Betsy Ross, Quiz Kid, Salem the Witch Girl and Tick Tock. Alan Scott and Jay Garrick are to be the headmasters. Scott suddenly realizes they don't know what's happened to Kid Eternity.

In a final page, we see what's happened to her: She's found herself in an eerie, abandoned JSA HQ, where she is possessed by The Spectre, who is wrapped in chains. He says he's been "trapped for a very, very long time" and Kid Eternity is his ticket out.

I don't know what this means yet, as Spectre returned with the rest of the JSA in Doomsday Clock #10 (2019) and has appeared since in Dark Nights: Death Metal (2020). But it could be that The New 52 was an unnatural aberration in the timeline (caused by Dr. Manhattan) such that we should jump from 2011 to 2019. I don't remember what The Spectre was doing back in 2011, but I think Crispus Allen was still its host. My point is, Spectre could have been imprisoned since 2011, and we readers might not have been aware of it. He certainly didn't appear in The New Golden Age books, or the current JSA (until "Year One," a flashback). So at the very least he's been MIA for six years. Unless there's something I've forgotten.

Or I guess it's possible that Lemire is positing a second Spectre, the one in the Golden Age that was more human and less powerful, who. has been trapped in the past due to his connetion to the JSA. And the all-powerful one we've seen since the Silver Age is a different one. I guess we'll find out.

Takeaway: This is just set-up for the next storyline, for which we already have a title: "The Search for The Spectre." Adios, Golden Age! It was fun being here for a while!

As we've discussed earlier, many of the Lost Children aren't that interesting. I'd like to see Flash and The Boom adventure together (or see flashbacks of them doing so in the '60s). My next choices would be Cherry Bomb (a troubled powerhouse) and Salem (an irritating mystery). After that, maybe some John Henry and Tick Tock. Then my interest drops off a cliff.
- The Baron > Captain Comics April 9, 2026 at 4:03pm
  
  I still like the DC Special #29 origin best.
Philip Portelli April 9, 2026 at 6:37pm

If Sandman stays with his gasmask, does Doctor Fate keep his full helmet?

Without delving into what time period Hippolyta belongs in, having Wonder Woman, any Wonder Woman around for the JSA's beginning and not simply revise their complete history makes you wonder why she's there in the first place? They could have just pasted in Miss America!
And Amazing Man taking part in their first adventure then leaving to heal as they have another origin story is patronizing and insulting! Even more so because they did the same thing with CYBORG and the Justice League, first battling Darkseid then going into suspended animation so Martian Manhunter can have his origin with the team and they can still have the New Teen Titans!
They've been shoehorning Hawkgirl into the JSA for over forty years. No point fighting it now but can they have it make sense? Have her run a JSA support team with the other girlfriends, sidekicks and comic relief!

Johnny Thunder is not younger than the others, just less educated, naive and possibly with a learning disability.

The Ultra-Humanite calling Green Lantern a "degenerate" is a hoot, considering he transplants his brain into other bodies!

One point of contest: when Ultra switched to the giant white gorilla body, he was on Earth-Two thus it's not from Gorilla City. And if it was, Solovar and perhaps even Grodd would be hunting him down!
- Captain Comics > Philip Portelli April 10, 2026 at 10:09am
  
  If Sandman stays with his gasmask, does Doctor Fate keep his full helmet?
  
  I don't see why he would. The half-helmet, and the reasons for it, are imbedded in the Fate mythology. And his switch took place a year after Sandman's mask change, and is unrelated. But it was important to the character's history. Sandman switching masks isn't really a big deal ... except for the suggestion that Sandman Mystery Theatre is now canon. And that, to me, IS a big deal!
  
  Without delving into what time period Hippolyta belongs in, having Wonder Woman, any Wonder Woman around for the JSA's beginning and not simply revise their complete history makes you wonder why she's there in the first place? They could have just pasted in Miss America!
  
  I'm really jazzed about "a" Wonder Woman being present at the beginning of the team, because Wonder Woman is so important to the Golden Age JSA -- one of my "JSA trinity," as I like to say. She was in all but eight issues of All-Star Comics starring the JSA. I'm hoping that with "Year One" DC quietly forgets about all its post-Crisis replacement Wonder Women. As a purist, they always put my nose out of joint.
  
  And Amazing Man taking part in their first adventure then leaving to heal as they have another origin story is patronizing and insulting! Even more so because they did the same thing with CYBORG and the Justice League, first battling Darkseid then going into suspended animation so Martian Manhunter can have his origin with the team and they can still have the New Teen Titans!
  
  Agreed. Roy Thomas did the same thing with Amazing Man in All-Star Squadron: He introduced a Black hero, and then immediately sidelined him. That seems worse to me than not introducing a Black character at all. But then, I'm not Black, so what seems like a "token" to me may seem like a step forward to others. I can't say. But I understand why both Thomas and Lemire did that, as I think most of us do. They wanted a Black character, but they didn't want to re-write 54 issues of All-Star Comics, especially since having a Black man on the team would be a profound change in a profoundly racist culture. It would have to be addressed in every story, and that's just too big a retcon.
  
  And I'm on board with not re-writing 54 issues of All-Star Comics! But I could see some retcons and flashbacks that take place between issues, where Amazing Man was a major player, and I hope we see some of those. And there's more room for that, now that he's established as debuting in 1940 ("Year One"), instead of 1942 (All-Star Squadron). I like having both Amazing Man and Wonder Woman there at the beginning to represent, but in what amounts to an untold story, where we don't have to re-write any of the following events to include them.
  
  They've been shoehorning Hawkgirl into the JSA for over forty years. No point fighting it now but can they have it make sense? Have her run a JSA support team with the other girlfriends, sidekicks and comic relief!
  
  I don't mind Hawkgirl, either. After Flash Comics #24, Hawkman and Hawkgirl were inseparable, and there's no good, in-story reason that she didn't appear with the Winged Wonder in All-Star Comics from issue #8 onward. Saying Hawkgirl was flapping in the background of, say, issue #10, doesn't really change anything, but it does give Hawkman someone to talk to. And I find it appropriate, given how the Hawks were portrayed in Flash Comics.
  
  Johnny Thunder is not younger than the others, just less educated, naive and possibly with a learning disability.
  
  That's doubtless true in the Golden Age stories, where he is profoundly stupid. I think Lemire is trying to retcon that by implying he's a naive teenager. He's obviously retconning the Thunderbolt, who is visible and carries on conversations with Johnny and others from the get-go.
  
  We'll see how much of this sticks in coming issues.
  
  The Ultra-Humanite calling Green Lantern a "degenerate" is a hoot, considering he transplants his brain into other bodies!
  
  I had to laugh, too. I doubt Ultra cares one way or the other who loves whom, but he was certainly playing on Alan Scott's insecurities and self-loathing. But as you say, a guy wearing a gorilla body is surely in no position to judge anyone else.
  
  One point of contest: when Ultra switched to the giant white gorilla body, he was on Earth-Two thus it's not from Gorilla City. And if it was, Solovar and perhaps even Grodd would be hunting him down!
  
  I must have lifted some Ultra history from a post-Crisis site. Although one could easily posit an Earth-Two Gorilla City, since they seemed to have counterparts of everything. And after Crisis, it's moot. But from Justice League of America #194 to Crisis on Infinite Earths, Ultra was probably wearing an oversize but ordinary albino gorilla.
- Eric L. Sofer > Philip Portelli April 10, 2026 at 10:29am
  
  Why couldn't Ultra have transplanted his brain into Earth-2's Solovar? Why no Earth-2 Gorilla City? It could just have escaped Jay Garrick's attention. And Ultra vs Grodd would be great excitement!

of 144