History of the Justice Society: Part 1

In late 1940, All-American Comics (a temporary spin-off of National Comics that was later reabsorbed into the parent firm) launched an anthology comic book series called All-Star Comics. The editorial staff included M. C. Gaines, managing editor and publisher; Sheldon Mayer, editor; and writer Gardner Fox. (At this time, "DC Comics" was technically two companies, National Comics and All-American.)

All-Star included several stories, each featuring a different popular costumed character of the time such as Flash, Hawkman and Green Lantern. With its third issue (Winter 1940), All-Star's format changed. Writer Gardner Fox combined all the companies' primary characters in a single story. They didn't stop a crime spree or save the world. No, these heroes met for dinner. This was the humble beginning of comics' first super-hero team.

» SEE ALSO: "A Swell Bunch of Guys"

The concept of All-Star was to promote the company's second tier characters. Any character who starred in their own series was deemed ineligible (i.e., in danger of overexposure) for inclusion. For this reason, Batman and Superman were considered honorary members. They appeared only in All-Star #7 and #24. Likewise, when Flash and Green Lantern were given their own comic books, they "left" the JSA to become reserve members. The opposite was also true: if a character lost his feature in another series, he also lost his membership in the JSA. Hourman's "leave of absence" marked the end of his strip in Adventure Comics.

After the Justice Society's members—indeed most costumed heroes—disappeared by the early 1950s, they languished in limbo until 1961. During DC's Silver Age, heroes such as Flash, Green Lantern, Hawkman, and the Atom were dramatically updated for modern readers. Instead of having both old and new heroes live on the same Earth, DC created the concept of "parallel Earths." The Justice Society's Earth was was essentially moved onto a separate Earth called "Earth Two," while DC's modern day heroes lived on Earth One. Earth Two was one of an infinite number of parallel universes.

Since the introduction of parallel Earths, or multiverse, the DC Universe has gone through some dramatic changes. Two company-wide events changed JSA continuity in extremely significant ways. First, 1985's Crisis on Infinite Earths collapsed all parallel Earths into only one universe and continuity. As a result, the Justice Society became the preeminent wartime heroes in the DCU, but Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman were entirely removed from that Golden Age. Over the next couple decades, writers would struggle to retrofit Golden Age tales in a coherent way, without these iconic heroes.

Then in 2011, DC again wiped the to create the "New 52." This universe began fresh with most characters reinvented from scratch. The New 52 contained 52 parallel Earths (a concept introduced by the 2005 Infinite Crisis, which had semi-restored DC's original multiverse). Earth 2 in the New 52 was also the home of the Justice Society. This time around, all of the characters were of a similar age to the mainstream DC Universe; they were not of World War II. And again, Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman were removed from the board—all killed in an epic battle with Darkseid's forces. After their passing, familiar new heroes (or "wonders") began to appear.

The Golden Age (1940–1951)

Those in attendance at the first meeting of the Justice Society included eight costumed heroes: The Flash (Jay Garrick), the Green Lantern (Alan Scott), Hourman (Rex Tyler), the Atom (Al Pratt), the Sandman (Wesley Dodds), Hawkman (Carter Hall), Dr. Fate (Kent Nelson), and the Spectre (Jim Corrigan).

Two others crashed this dinner party: Johnny Thunder and the original Red Tornado. Johnny was allowed to stay as the official JSA "mascot"; the Red Tornado remained only briefly, as an embarrassing tear in her costume necessitated a hasty retreat. (All-Star Comics #3)

The Flash served as the JSA's first chairperson. (#3–6) He resigned when his duties in Keystone City became too great (in actuality, he'd been awarded his own solo comic book series [All-Flash] and so the editors removed him from this anthology). Johnny Thunder took his place as a full member, and Green Lantern became the second chairperson. (#7)

Green Lantern served an even shorter term as chair and soon left as well. He was replaced by Hawkman as chairperson, who retained the post for many decades. (The Golden Age Hawkman starred regularly in Flash Comics, but was never awarded his own series.) GL's place in the JSA was filled by Dr. Mid-Nite (the blind Charles McNider). Hourman also took a leave of absence (later revealed as a foray with the new Freedom Fighters [All-Star Squadron #31]) and was replaced by the original Starman (Ted Knight). (#8)

The team's first female member, Wonder Woman, actually made her first appearance in All-Star Comics #8 and joined the team in issue #12—ostensibly as their secretary! She was the Amazon princess, Diana, daughter of Queen Hippolyta. Wonder Woman's place in JSA continuity was negated by the Crisis on Infinite Earths, which removed her from the Golden Age. (Superman and Batman were also removed but their participation in the JSA was very limited by comparison.) To fill the void, writer/artist John Byrne crafted a tale in which Hippolyta traveled back to 1942 from the future with the Flash (Jay Garrick). (Wonder Woman vol. 2 #130) After they completed their mission, Jay returned to the future, but Hippolyta elected to remain with the JSA —serving as Wonder Woman—until the early 1950s. (#133) Having trained for millennia in the arts of war, but used them only in practice, Hippolyta was more than ready stand and fight for America in the war.

After the bombing of Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941, President Roosevelt called upon all America's costumed adventurers to form an All-Star Squadron in service of their country. The members of the JSA joined the Squadron, but they were soon drafted into a higher service. On 9 December 1941, they formally disbanded so that all members could join the armed forces. (#11) They then formed a special task force called the Justice Battalion. (#12)

During the war, only a handful of others joined the JSA. Among them were Mr. Terrific (Terry Sloane) and Wildcat (Ted Grant). (#24) They actually appeared in only that single issue of All-Star, but later stories established them as more active members. A much more regular cast member was the Black Canary (Dinah Drake [#38]). And although she was never officially inducted as a member during the Golden Age, Hawkgirl (Shiera Sanders) assisted the team on several missions. (#5, 8, 15)

To readers in 1951, the Justice Society simply disappeared with no explanation. With issue #58, All-Star Comics was retitled All-Star Western and DC shelved their former bread-and-butter heroes. In later decades, writers explained the disappearance (in terms of DC continuity) as the product of McCarthyism. During this paranoid time in American politics, the JSA refused to reveal their secret identities to the U.S. Government. Instead they chose to disband. Many of the team members settled down and started families during this time. Some of their children would also become super-heroes and later form Infinity, Inc. 

The Justice Society faced some of their most relentless enemies during this time, including: Brain Wave (#15, 17, 30), the Psycho Pirate (#23, 32), Solomon Grundy (#33), the Wizard (#34), Per Degaton. (#35) Most were also a part of the Injustice Society, a super-villain team that would return in many forms over the years. (#37, 41)

Series and prominent appearances from this period:

• All-Star Comics #3–57 (1940–51) The original Golden Age tales of the Justice Society.

The Silver Age and Beyond (1956–1980)

The "Silver Age" of DC Comics, was marked by the revival of key Golden Age heroes, beginning with a new Flash, Barry Allen in Showcase #4 (Oct. 1956) and Green Lantern, Hal Jordan in Showcase #22 (Oct. 1959). They became founding members of the Justice League of America (The Brave and the Bold #28, 1960). Clearly, this team was inspired by the JSA — because the comic's editor, Julius Schwartz and writer, Gardner Fox were behind the All-Star Comics tales as well.

In an interview from The Amazing World of DC Comics #14 (Mar. 1977), Schwartz recalled:

"As I worked on the Justice Society in the '40s, I wasn't too happy with the word 'Society' because it didn't seem to me to conjure up a picture to the young reader that it was a team of super-heroes. To me, 'Society' meant something you found on Park Avenue. I felt that 'League' was a stronger word, one that the readers could identify with because of baseball leagues, I decided to use it in the revival."

Other Golden Age character revivals followed: the Atom (Ray Palmer in Showcase #34, Oct. 1961) and Hawkman (Katar Hol in The Brave and the Bold #34, Feb./Mar. 1961). These characters also joined the Justice League.

Then, in The Flash #123 (Sept. 1961), Schwartz and Fox were inspired to show the Justice Society in flashback. The flood gates were opened. Schwartz said, "It was a logical step to team the groups."

In the Flashes' second meeting, (The Flash #129, 1962) the entire Justice Society showed up and decided to come out of retirement. The membership was then comprised of the Atom, Dr. Mid-Nite, the Flash, Green Lantern, Hawkman, Johnny Thunder, and Wonder Woman.

The first meeting of the Justice Society and the Justice League took place just a few months later in Justice League of America #21–22 (1963). This occasion proved so popular that it sparked an annual tradition. Schwartz:

"When we did it the first time, we had no inkling that there'd be a sequel. But when the sales figures came in, we realized there was a reader-demand so we dreamed up another crisis for the two teams. When that also did well, we decided to make it an annual affair."

The JSA guest-starred in Justice League of America crossovers every year for 23 years. » SEE ALSO: List of Justice League/Justice Society crossovers

To explain the existence of two Flashes, et al, DC invented the idea that these heroes lived on parallel Earths. Earth-One was the home of the Earth-Two was the world of the Justice Society and other Golden Age characters. (Eventually DC Comics acquired characters from former rivals, Quality Comics and Fawcett Comics, home of Captain Marvel. Those heroes' adventures were assigned to Earth-X and Earth-S respectively.

Several heroes joined the JSA for the first time during this period. The original Robin (Dick Grayson) joined during the crossover in Justice League of America #55. The android Red Tornado was also admitted but soon moved to Earth-One and joined the JLA. (Justice League of America #65)

The still-youthful Star-Spangled Kid was retrieved from being stranded in the prehistoric past and joined along with Superman's cousin, Power Girl (Kara Zor-L, the counterpart to Supergirl). (All-Star Comics #58) And after the death of the Earth-Two Batman, his daughter, Helena, debuted as the Huntress. (All-Star Comics #72)

For what it's worth, All-Star Comics writer Paul Levitz wrote an article for The Amazing World of DC Comics #16 (Dec. 1977) where he mused about the age of some JSAers:

The Golden Age Flash and Green Lantern frequently guest-starred in their counterparts' comic book series. And Wonder Woman returned as the main character in Wonder Woman for a brief time, supplanting her Silver Age duplicate! (This coincided with the "Wonder Woman" TV series.) The original Superman was a regular in Superman Family. Here are more notable comic book appearances from the 1960s and '70s:

Series and prominent appearances from this period:

Other JSA features from this period:

All-Star Squadron, Infinity, Inc. and the Crisis (1981–1991)

The 1980s turned out to be a miserable time for the world's greatest super-team. In 1984, several super-powered children of JSA members crashed a Justice Society meeting, demanding to be admitted as members. These were Jade and Obsidian, the long-lost twin offspring of Green Lantern; Northwind, the sort-of godson of Hawkman; Nuklon, godson of the Atom; Silver Scarab, son of Hawkman and Hawkgirl; and and Fury, daughter of Wonder Woman and Steve Trevor. Their attempt to join the Justice Society was rebuffed. The teens left angrily, joined by the sympathetic Huntress (Batman's daughter) and Power Girl (Superman's cousin). (Infinity Inc. #1) These new heroes actually first appeared in All-Star Squadron #25, a tale which took place after Infinity Inc. #1.

The new heroes were rejected because the majority of JSA members felt they were still too young. The JSA's children subsequently formed their own super-hero team, Infinity, Inc. For their first case, they were joined by Power Girl and the Huntress. But another young JSAer, the Star-Spangled Kid (later known as Skyman) joined them and became their leader.

In 1985, the JSA were tried for treason against the United States, based on evidence obtained from the deceased Batman's diary (left in the care of his friend before Wayne's death). It turned out that the diary's allegations against the JSA were actually part of a complex code created by the Batman to expose a greater injustice. The JSA were exonerated. (America vs. the Justice Society #1-4)

After that farce came the DC's greatest shakeup ever— Crisis on Infinite Earths. In this twelve-part maxi-series, a being known as the Anti-Monitor destroyed nearly all of the infinite universes. Only five Earths were spared: Earths One and Two, along with Earth-S (Fawcett), Earth-X (Quality), and Earth-4 (newly acquired Charlton Comics characters). These five were ultimately merged into one, and the unified history of that Earth was rewritten to include all those characters.

By the end of Crisis, all of the Golden Age heroes who had "exact duplicates" on Earth One were removed from the board. The Earth Two Robin and Huntress died and were laid to rest in a private cemetery on the estate of Hawkman and Hawkgirl. The Golden Age Superman and his wife, Lois Lane, retreated to another dimension, and the Golden Age Wonder Woman and her husband, Steve Trevor, were invited to Olympus to live as gods. History soon forgot all about these great heroes as the universe settled into it's new state of existence.

As a result of the new Earth's history, Power Girl was no longer Superman's cousin, but supposedly the granddaughter of Arion, ancient Lord of Atlantis. Lyta Trveor/Fury, was no longer the daughter of Wonder Woman and Steve Trevor, but instead became the daughter of the Golden Age Fury (created just for this purpose). Since there was no Golden Age Wonder Woman in the new continuity, the JSA's Golden Age secretary was revealed to be Miss America, a Golden Age Quality Comics heroine who was also a member of the Freedom Fighters.

In the post-Crisis zeitgeist, DC's Golden Age characters were considered irrelevant. Eventually what remained of the Justice Society was removed by a different method—they were drawn into an inter-dimensional conflict and forced to fight the great monsters of Norse Mythology for all eternity. Trapped in Limbo were Hawkman, Flash, Green Lantern, Dr. Mid-Nite, Hourman, Starman, Wildcat, Johnny Thunder, Atom, Sandman, Hawkgirl and Sandy the Golden Boy. Only the Spectre, Dr. Fate, Power Girl, and the Star Spangled Kid managed to avoid this fate; there were already plans to use these characters in expanded roles. (Last Days of the JSA)

Series from this period:

Features from this period:

References

SEE ALSO:

• See JSA Publications for a details on the JLA/JSA Team-Ups , so read a list of Golden Age Reprints, and more
• Find JSA Links for more on the web
• The All-Stars section covers wartime characters who were not JSA members
• To read JSA member Profiles, clicking a name in the List of Members or browse the Index of Profiles
• The Comics Archives has very detailed Golden Age histories