Justice Society of America
The Justice Society of America is a superhero team that features in DC Comics.
Contents |
History
Origin
The Justice Society of America
In November of 1940, German Chancellor Adolf Hitler acquired a powerful mystic weapon known as the Spear of Destiny. With it, he intended on manipulating its power to dominate all of Europe. A British officer named Smythe learned of Hitler's plans and informed American president, Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Roosevelt, pressured by Congress to maintain an isolationist stance, refused to openly involve the United States in England's war with Germany. Instead, he selected two 'Mystery Men' from a top-secret dossier to use as civilian agents against Hitler's forces – the Flash and the Green Lantern. (All-Star Comics v1 #3) By early 1941, the Justice Society of America had established themselves at a secret hotel room located in Capitol City. Initially, the team was not directly involved in the war against the Axis threat, but they continued to serve the cause by routing out Nazi agents at home, frequently collaborating with the FBI. In one of their first recorded missions, the JSA confounded the efforts of Fritz Klaver, a Nazi collaborator who had led a 5th column organization known as the Grey Shirts. (All-Star Comics v1 #4)
By mid 1941, the JSA roster already began to change and evolve. The Flash stepped down as team chairman, preferring instead an honorary position with the team. (All-Star Comics v1 #6)
At a Justice Society meeting, the team learned of formerly respectable men were creating a nationwide crime-wave, and the team split up to capture the men. The team rounded up the criminals and Green Lantern learned the criminals were turned evil by Calvin Stymes, who exposed them to Koehaha, the Stream of Ruthlessness. Calvin wanted to see the men in jail or dead because they traumatized him in college, so when the JSA brought the criminals to the Stream, Stymes set off an explosion. The JSA survived and a landslide crushed Stymes. The heroes knew the effects of the Koehaha would wear off and offered to testify at the criminals' trials so they would be found innocent by reason of temporary insanity. (All-Star Comics v1 #36)
Brain Wave informed the Justice Society that he was going to cause disasters in Seattle, Washington, Peking, China and Capetown South Africa that would cause a chain reaction that would destroy Earth. They split up, but found themselves unable to deal with the disasters, although youthful heroes Robin, Power Girl and Star-Spangled Kid helped them avert catastrophe. Power Girl suggested that Brain Wave set them up to fail but did not foresee the interference of the new heroes, whom power Girl dubbed the Super Squad. They confronted Brain Wave aboard his space station, and learned that he'd sapped the willpower of the team that they displayed in averting the disasters to return will and youth to Per Degaton. When the JSA had the villains on the ropes, Brain Wave used his mental powers to send Earth on a collision course with the sun, demanding they submit or see the planet die. Power Girl sent Brain Wave's space station toward the sun, overheating it and causing the villain to pass out. The Justice Society decided to take in the Super Squad so they could learn from each other. (All-Star Comics v1 #59)
Vulcan attacked the Justice Society headquarters because he once idolized the heroes but blamed his inhuman condition on his attempts at heroics, and now wanted to kill his former idols. He set their headquarters ablaze and left with Green Lantern as well as Doctor Fate battling Vulcan. Vulcan collapsed a building on Fate and escaped the scene. Power Girl later met Xlk-Jnn, the alien that gave Vulcan his powers, and he informed her that he needed to treat Vulcan because he was now vulnerable to sunlight. The mad Vulcan killed the alien, but Star-Spangled Kid now knew his weakness and used a blast of cosmic rod starlight to destroy Vulcan. Dr. Mid-Nite examined Fate and determined that he was dying. (All-Star Comics v1 #61) The Justice Society later sent Green Lantern and Flash to Egypt to try and find a way to save Dr. Fate's life. The ancient Lemurian Zanadu kidnapped Hawkgirl and was destroying Tokyo, with the superhero team arriving to battle him. (All-Star Comics v1 #62)
In 1951, Per Degaton embarked upon a scheme to shatter the Justice Society once and for all. Operating from behind the scenes, he manipulated several high-ranking members of the Federal government into believing that the JSA had ties to communism. A special inquest convened and the JSA appeared before the House of Un-American Activities Commission (H.U.A.C.). After a lengthy hearing, the committee members demanded that the JSA members reveal their secret identities to the general public. The Spectre (in a showy display of power) vehemently argued on behalf of his colleagues, citing that without their secret identities, they would become targets for enemy agents across the globe. Unwilling to reveal their true faces, the Justice Society instead elected to disband. The public however, never lost faith in their heroes. (Adventure Comics v1 #466)
Shortly after returning to active service, the JSA discovered that several more of their old adversaries had come out of retirement as well, notably Brain Wave and Per Degaton. Brain Wave, harboring a new body, was the architect of a series of geological disasters that threatened to destroy the entire world. The JSA responded to the crisis, but found assistance in the form of three younger heroes: Robin, the Star-Spangled Kid and a new hero named Power Girl. At Power Girl's suggestion, these heroes became an auxiliary detachment of the JSA called the Super Squad. (All-Star Comics v1 #58)
At one point, the team came to the conclusion that they were becoming redundant and past their time and so Hawkman called the group together for a unanimous decision to disband. However, just as they were about to finalize the decision, the Spectre appeared unto them and revealed that his mystical powers have been tapped into by Adolf Hitler in 1945, who used the ancient Spear of Destiny to link the fate of the Nordic gods' Ragnarok with that of the universe itself. Doctor Fate then transported the team to 1945 and then to Asgard where the Justice Society members were merged with the Nordic gods and thus changed the course of the Ragnarok. Unfortunately, just as the Justice Society prevailed, they found themselves locked in a perpetually-repeating battle from which they cannot escape, that they must repeat the battle to ensure the safety of the universe. Dr. Fate transported Power Girl and Star-Spangled Kid out of Asgard and back to the present time, then he himself was transported back to the present by the Spectre. (Last Days of the Justice Society Special v1 #1)
Post-Crisis
Following the Crisis on Infinite Earths, a new version of reality was created with a different history of events. The Justice Society of America were a team of superheroes that were gathered in the 1940s. U.S. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt had gathered dossier of known 'mystery men' that operated in the country. Around this time, German Chancellor Adolf Hitler acquired a powerful mystic weapon known as the Spear of Destiny. With it, he intended on manipulating its power to dominate all of Europe. A British officer named Smythe learned of Hitler's plans and informed American president, Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Roosevelt, pressured by Congress to maintain an isolationist stance, refused to openly involve the United States in England's war with Germany. Instead, he selected two 'Mystery Men' from a top-secret dossier to use as civilian agents against Hitler's forces – the Flash and the Green Lantern. (Secret Origins v2 #31)
The Justice Society pursued Spirit King in Flash's body to Stonehenge, where he emerged, and jumped from one hero to the next to defeat them, ultimately taking Dr. Fate as his host, and allowing Flash to flee, and putting the idea in his head to seek Spectre's aid. Spirit King brought the heroes to Fate's Tower to punish them with hellish torments, and he animated Mr. Terrific's rotting corpse for his own amusement. Flash arrived with Spectre, and Spirit King revealed that his whole plan was to draw in the Spectre, his prize. His master was Shaitan, and he opened up a portal to Hell to consume the Spectre. Mr. Terrific's spirit arrived, and helped Spectre send Spirit King to Hell, closing the gate. Terrific said he always felt outclassed by his teammates, but he knew he was the hero that day, and the JSA said he made upo for his lack of powers with heart and guts. (Spectre v3 #54)
The sorcerer known as Mordru coveted supreme power, and engaged upon a bloody crusade to destroy the agents of order. On his journey, he slew several mystical agents, including Jared Stevens and Kid Eternity. He confronted Wesley Dodds on Mt. Kalaish in western Tibet, and attempted to wrest the knowledge of the child's whereabouts from him. Throwing himself from the peak of the mountain, Dodds never gave up the identity of the Fate child. (JSA Secret Files and Origins v1 #1)
The JSA scoured the globe in search of the child, and even worked alongside Golden Age adventurers such as the Scarab, Speed Saunders and the ghost of Kent Nelson, the original Doctor Fate. Mordru summoned the undead Sons of Anubis to fight the heroes, but he could not prevent the Fate child, Hector Hall, from being born. Hector Hall, late of Infinity, Inc., had died and been trapped in the other-dimensional world known as the Dreaming. His spirit reincarnated itself into an infant body, whereupon he mystically aged himself to adulthood so that he could wield the powers of Doctor Fate. After a dramatic battle with Mordru, Doctor Fate trapped the sorcerer inside the Amulet of Anubis. (JSA v1 #4)
With a new team assembled and ready for action, the only decisions left to be made were: who was to lead them, and where they would congregate. Sanderson Hawkins, now calling himself Sand, became the first chairman of the reborn Justice Society. One of his first initiatives as chairman was to establish a permanent base of operations. He hired architect John Stewart to refurbish Wesley Dodds's old family mansion in New York City. The JSA used the mansion as not only their new headquarters, but also as a museum commemorating the legacy of the brave men and women who helped to forge the Golden Age of heroes. (JSA v1 #5)
It was also this time that Vandal Savage formed the Fourth Reich to destroy the descendants of the JSA and several Golden Age heroes. Already killed were the descendants of Mister America, Commander Steel, General Glory and Minute-Man. (Justice Society of America v3 #3)
Post-Flashpoint
Following the Flashpoint, a new version of reality was created with a different history of events. The Justice Society of America
During this initial meeting, after introductions and photographs, the team somewhat goaded Doctor Fate into using into using the power granted to him by the Helm of Fate to perform what he considered to be a parlor trick- telling them how many children they were each going to have. He first revealed to the Atom that he'd have at least one child with his crush, Mary, much to the group's amusement. Alan Scott rejected the offer, not wanting to know too much about the future of his own personal life. When Fate attempted to perform this trick on Jay Garrick, he instead had a vision of Per Degaton and the league's many eventual sidekicks and children, lost. Afterwards, they quickly helped Fate remove his helmet to prevent him from being overwhelmed by this vision. (The New Golden Age v1 #1)
Alan Scott, a Green Lantern, had played a major role in the JSA's formation. Dr. Manhattan however interfered with their timeline and caused him to die during a train accident by moving the Green Lantern, that had saved his life originally, away from his reach. This caused the JSA to never exist in the first place. (Doomsday Clock v1 #10)
Overview
Its members were regarded as the mightiest champions of right and justice in the world. (All-Star Comics v1 #3)
Members
- Green Lantern :
- The Flash :
- Doctor Fate :
- Wildcat :
- Hawkman :
- Hourman :
- Doctor Mid-Nite :
- Atom :
- Spectre :
- Power Girl :
- Atom-Smasher :
- Stargirl :
- Cyclone :
- Black Adam :
- Red Beetle :
Notes
- The Justice Society of America was created by Gardner Fox, Everett E. Hibbard and Sheldon Mayer where they made their first appearance in All Star Comics v1 #3 (Winter, 1940–1941).
Alternate Versions
- In Earth 2 v1 #1 (2012), an alternate version of the team known as the Wonders of the World appeared in the rebooted version of Earth-2.
In other media
Television
- In Justice League, though the Justice Society of America did not appear a homage to them appeared in the setting of the animated DC Animated Universe television series in the two-part episode "Legends". This version were the Justice Guild of America who were a golden age team of imaginary superheroes that once existed on an alternate Earth.
- In Batman: The Brave and the Bold, the Justice Society of America appeared in the setting of the animated television series.
- In Young Justice, the Justice Society appeared in the setting of the animated television series.
- In Legends of Tomorrow, the Justice Society of America appeared in the setting of the live-action television series set in the Arrowverse. This version of the team operated during World War II where they were led by Rex Tyler/Hourman and consisted of Henry Heywood/Commander Steel, Todd Rice/Obsidian, Courtney Whitmore/Stargirl, Amaya Jiwe/Vixen, and Charles McNider/Doctor Mid-Nite.
- In Stargirl, the Justice Society of America featured prominently in the setting of the live-action television series set in the DC Universe. A decade prior, the JSA was attacked by the Injustice Society of America (ISA) while deciding how to address Eclipso's Black Diamond. When Pat Dugan arrived, most of the team had been killed and he only had time to evacuate a fatally wounded Starman. Before he died, the latter told the former to find someone worthy of wielding the Cosmic Staff to keep the JSA's legacy alive. By the present day, Courtney Whitmore finds the Cosmic Staff, becomes Stargirl, and rebuilds the JSA with Pat as S.T.R.I.P.E. and her friends Yolanda Montez, Beth Chapel and Rick Tyler as the new Wildcat, Doctor Mid-Nite, and Hourman respectively.
Films
- In Justice League: The New Frontier, the Justice Society of America appeared in the setting of the 2008 animated film.
- In Justice Society: World War II, the Justice Society appeared in the setting of the 2022 animated film.
- In Black Adam, the Justice Society of America appeared in the setting of the live-action film.
Video games
Appearances
- All Star Comics v1: (1940)
- Last Days of the Justice Society Special v1:
- JSA v1:
- Justice Society of America v3:
- Doomsday Clock v1:
- The New Golden Age v1:
External Links
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