Warning: Spoilers for JSA #1TheJustice Society of Americajust kicked off their daring new era, asJSA#1 revitalizes the classic team by doing the unthinkable and dividing them. DC’s team books tend to focus more on otherworldly threats than personal, relationship issues, but this engaging debut puts the focus back on the characters by pitting them against each other. The Justice Society is at its lowest, and as a result, they’ve never been better.
As part ofDC’s ambitious All In initiative,JSA#1 by Jeff Lemire, Diego Olortegui, Luis Guerrero, and Steve Wands has finally hit shelves after months of anticipation. This first issue picks up where the Justice Society was left off after the catastrophicevents ofAbsolute Power. In a surprising turn, the original members of the team are off the grid, and so their younger allies must fend for themselves. Drama rears its head as the very fabric of the JSA is torn at the seams, and the conflicts they endure are exactly what they’ve needed to recapture their former glory.
JSA#1 does justice to DC’s original team of heroes byrestoring their emotional corein a grounded story anchored by Lemire’s character-focused script and Olortegui’s sleek style that shepherds this old-school team into the modern age.
JSA#1 Does True Justice to DC’s Classic Superhero Team - by Dividing Them After a Critical Loss
The Justice Society’s Remaining Heroes Face a Civil War
At the start ofJSA#1, the Justice Society is in dire straits. The old generation -the Flash, Green Lantern, Wildcat, and more - have vanished under mysterious circumstances, leaving the younger heroes of the team to carry the torch in their absence. This slow-burn issue focuses on picking up the pieces instead of the usual high-octane fight scenes. Rather than dwelling on the action of the opening battle against Kobra’s men - which is stunningly depicted with dynamic art by Olortegui -Lemire steps back and makes the primary fight of this issue a battle of wills between different characters.
10 Greatest Justice Society of America Stories, Ranked
First united in 1941, the JSA is the most storied team in comics. Naturally, they have a long history of fantastic adventures for readers to enjoy.
Green Lantern’s children, Jade and Obsidian,create a rift in the team as they butt heads. Jade, as the new chair of the JSA, aims to uphold the team’s traditional values in honor of those who came before. Obsidian, on the other hand, wants revenge against Kobra and views her reservation as submission. While heroes like Wildcat and Jesse Quick agree with Obsidian’s extremes, others like Doctor Mid-Nite align more with Jade.
This debate simmers throughout the issue, showing howthese younger heroes struggle on their own.Their disagreements give them complexity, and Lemire delivers discord in spades as the remaining members of the JSA divide into separate factions.
JSA#1 Restores the Team’s Roots as a Dysfunctional Family
The Justice Society Is a Family First, But They Don’t Always Get Along
Since their debut in 1940’sAll Star Comics#3 by Gardner Fox and Everett E. Hibbard, the Justice Society of America has been a staple of the DC Universe. They were the team that started it all and thus laid the groundwork for every other team that succeeded them -from the Justice League to the Titans. TheJustice Society stands out from its peers due to the team’s status as a family firstand a team second. Furthermore, like any family, they don’t always get along. The best takes on the team keep this foundation in mind, though some neglect the JSA’s roots in lieu of big-picture storytelling.
Breaking the JSA down is the only way to build it up anew.
In recent years, the Justice Society has strayed further from its familial structure, with multiverse-spanning narratives that pull its characters in multiple directions. As thrilling as these epic sagas can be, they have the caveat of becoming convoluted over time. The team can get so overstuffed with characters that none are given the space to be fleshed-out beyond the powers they contribute, thereby depriving the narrative of the emotional weight that makes it matter.Breaking the JSA down is the only way to build it up anew, and that’s the task Lemire and Olortegui set out to accomplish in this first issue.
The Justice Society’s Extended Team History Leaves Plenty of Room for Great Emotional Drama
Like Watching a Soap Opera…
The team that’s stood together since the dawn of DC Comics is torn apart here, and it’sa bold yet necessary choice to breathe life back into the Justice Society.Where other superhero narratives stray from the ordinary in favor of the extraordinary, it’s a testament toJSA#1’s creative teamthat this one finds the extraordinary within the ordinary. Conflicting ideals aren’t the only obstacles the Justice Society faces in this reboot, as some problems run far deeper. Jade and Sandman have unresolved tension that she shuts down to focus on pressing matters, and they aren’t the only romantic pair at odds with each other.
Even prior to the launch of the new team series, the JSA was no stranger to heartwrenching melodrama, especially in the pages ofAlan Scott: The Green Lanternby Tim Sheridan and Cian Tormey, available now from DC Comics.
Jesse Quick and Hourman deal with a martial dispute as they take opposing sides in Jade and Obsidian’s “war.” The struggle they face is realistic, as Jesse icily compares who Hourman’s become to the man she first fell in love with. It’s a gutting moment that anyone who’s been in a long-term relationship can relate to, and thus drives home the result of Lemire and Olortegui’s grounded approach to superhero storytelling.Jesse and Rick’s relationship facing turbulence immediately fuels reader investmentin them as characters and allows readers to see themselves in them, proving that soap opera drama and cape comics are a perfect pair.
Like the X-Men,JSA#1 Grounds the Superhero Team in Soap Opera Drama
JSA#1 Variant Cover by Travis Mercer
JSA#1 takes a page out of the X-Men’s book with its approach to weaving a strong team narrative.Marvel’s X-Men teammay be full of mighty mutants, yetwhat draws readers to them is the interpersonal conflicts that complicate their dynamics. When characters don’t disagree with one another and are always on pleasant terms, they become vehicles to move a story along rather than individuals with rich inner worlds, so X-Men stories keep things interesting with messy love triangles.
Lemire reinvents the JSA with a similar writing philosophy,making the superhuman more human by sowing seeds of discord between characters.Readers flock to comics for heroics and fast-paced battles, but they ultimately stay for the characters, and the JSA’s characters make this story work.
JSA#1 Passes the Baton to DC’s Next Generation of Heroes (But Can They Work Together?)
Their Greatest Battle Approaches with the Injustice Society’s Return
The original line-up of the JSA is out of commission for the time being, so the DC Universe’s fate lies with the next generation. Jade’s leadership could be what unites her superhero teammates - or what shatters them permanently. Dark forces await the team, with therise of the Injustice Societybeing teased at the end of this first issue.
The JSA Is Officially DC’s Most Important Team, Dethroning The Justice League
The Justice Society of America is confirmed to have contributed more to the DC Universe than any other team, including the Justice League.
The remaining heroes will need to work through their differences and come together if they want to protect the team’s legacy now that they’re what’s left of it. Epic battles lie ahead for theJustice Society of America, and Lemire and Olortegui’s emotionally-centered debut promises a bright future for DC’s classic team.
JSA#1is available now from DC Comics.
Justice Society of America
The Justice Society of America is a DC Comics superhero team initially conceived during the 1940s and featured a mix of various heroes throughout DC Comics' continuity. Throughout the decades and via modern relaunches of the JSA, new members have been cycled in and out of the team, with heroes such as Stargirl, Cyclone, Wildcat, and Atom Smasher joining the ranks.
