Warning: Spoilers for Batman / Superman: World’s Finest #31!DC Comics may have finally opened a door for theJustice Society of Americato finally surpass theJustice League. The JSA actually predates the League by two decades, yet right now,the League is leading the DCU insteadof the Society. It’s even more evident as theJustice League is back in prominence with their new roster, taking charge as DC’s flagship team despite the JSA returning with their own new title.
However, a comeback for the JSA could be on the horizon as the Justice League falls inBatman / Superman: World’s Finest#31 by Mark Waid, Adrián Gutiérrez, Tamra Bonvillain, and Steve Wands. At the end of the issue,it’s not the Justice League who remains Earth’s last line of defense during dire restraints - it’s the Justice Society.
Depending on how the next issue - and, ultimately, this new arc as a whole - turns out, this arc could make or break the JSA in the DCU.It could finally catapult them into one of DC’s top teams- or embarrass them beyond repair.
The Justice Society of America Is Earth’s Last Hope
Not the Justice League
Prior to the events of this issue, the Justice League were able to exorcise Eclipso - better known asDC’s most underrated villain- from the body of his victim, Dr. Bruce Gordon. At least, so they thought. While the spirit of Eclipso was trapped in a black diamond within Gordon’s ring, it was Eclipso who trapped Gordon via a golden twin link. He then used magic to draw Bruce toward his doom, allowing Eclipso to return to the living.Eclipso’s first order of business is to possess the Justice League, putting a majority of the team under his control.
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.
Not every Leaguer is possessed, as Batman, Superman, Elongated Man, and Red Tornado are the few members who don’t fall under Eclipso’s control. However, there is strength in numbers, especially as that strength is pulled from the Flash, Green Lantern, Black Canary, Green Arrow, and the Atom, some of whom rank amongthe most powerful Justice League memberson their own merits. Naturally,the possessed League manhandles and dismantles the remaining Leaguers, particularly the Red Tornado, who has his heart ripped out.
As a result, while Batman and Superman are forced into a power struggle with Eclipso and the Atom knocks out Elongated Man, Red Tornado is forced to retreat into a teleporter on the Watchtower. He lands in Civic City, where the injured anddeceptively B-tier Justice League herowinds up on the doorstep of the JSA. As Jay Garrick carries Red Tornado’s limp body to his teammates (Doctor Mid-Nite, Wildcat, Alan Scott, Hawkman, the Sandman, and Doctor Fate), he declares that this"sounds like a job for the Justice Society."
Why Doesn’t the JSA Have a More Prominent Position in the DCU?
JSA#1 Cover by Diego Olortegui
The Justice Society of America is representative of a bygone era: the Golden Age of comic books. While the Justice League has continued to evolve with the times since their debut, the JSA as a team is too deeply rooted in the fundamentals and morals of the Golden Age of comics to truly change. If they were to drastically change, it would change everything the JSA is about and, thus, the Justice Society of America would cease to truly be the Justice Society of America.
The old school values have prevented the JSA from even being the second-top team in DC.
The closest that the JSA has come to evolving is through the team’s recent Golden Age Initiative, which served asa soft reboot that has updated them for the modern canonwhile sticking to their classic values. Books likeJustice Society of Americaby Geoff Johns and Mikel Janín andAlan Scott: The Green Lanternby Tim Sheridan and Cian Tormey have helped to make an old-school team feel new, but it’s almost too little too late. The old school values have prevented the JSA from even being the second-top team in DC, as the Titans hold that spot now that the JLA has returned.
It’s Never Been a Better Time to Elevate the JSA
With All In, It’s Now or Never
Now, the JSA are in a position to be elevated beyond where they’ve been in recent memory. The ending of this issue presentsthe JSA as the one team capable of doing what the League can’t: defeat Eclipso and save the world. Doing so would instantly elevate them as more than a nostalgia act and into becoming legitimately one of DC’s essential teams. It will make years' worth of the JSA’s slow-going rebrand worth it if those years amount to the team actually evolving into a prominent role for the first time in decades.
The JSA are returning this fall in their own ongoing series as part of the DC All In initiative.JSA#1 by Jeff Lemire and Diego Olortegui - whose main cover is included above - is available November 6th, 2024 from DC Comics.
However, the opposite can be true. This moment could break the JSA as much as it could make them. If they defeat Eclipso, then it’s nothing but upside. On the other hand, if the JSA are beaten - or worse, brutalized - then this whole team rebrand has been for nothing. They’ll at least be back to square one if they’re embarrassed on-panel. For this team to finally become equal to theJustice League, DC needs to treat theJustice Society of America’srole in this arc delicately.
Batman / Superman: World’s Finest#31is 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.
