HIGH SOCIETY II: THE JUSTICE SOCIETY'S NEW BLOOD

[MattBrady]

by Troy Brownfield, with expert four-color commentary by Geoff Johns

The new Justice Society of America launches December 6th, and as with any new or reconfigured team book, one of the primary questions is, of course, “Who’s on the team?” Summer convention-goers and students of comic sites know part of the answer; there’s that Alex Ross piece that’s been out in the world for months, featuring seventeen characters. That picture actually comes with one caveat: think bigger. According to series writer Geoff Johns (who is working on the book with artist Dale Eaglesham and cover artist Alex Ross), that team shot is only the tip of a much larger iceberg.

For completion’s sake, the characters in the Ross piece, are, beginning with Damage in the upper left hand corner: Damage (standing), Flash, Cyclone (standing), Hawkman, Obsidian (see those floating eyes?), Wildcat (standing), Dr. Mid-Nite III, Green Lantern, Hourman II, Liberty Belle II, Commander Steel II, Stargirl, Starman (pick a number), Power Girl, Jakeem Thunder, Sand, and Mr. Terrific II. With a team this large, and a number of readers who might be interested in the title but aren’t familiar with some of the cast, we thought that this was an opportune time to follow up our earlier examination of the team’s importance and discuss a few members of the roster. Who are they? What do they do? Why are they here? And what does Mr. Johns have to say about them (when he’s not being secretive)?

First and foremost, you must consider the fact that the JSA is a legacy team. Whereas the Justice League has always been about gathering the most powerful heroes, the Justice Society is about carrying on a heroic tradition. While some of the members of the present team are founders (or near-founders, in the case of Wildcat), most of the cast carry on in the name or likeness of a hero or heroine that has come before.

According to Johns, we’ll see a hint of team-building in 52 as “[Green Lantern] Alan and [The Flash] Jay (dragging [Wildcat] Ted along with them)” take steps that start toward the framework of the larger team. Johns emphasizes the word “society”, indicating that the next level for this storied assemblage will be about training, and protecting, the legacy.

Here are a few of the characters that you can expect to receive some prominent treatment in the pages of the new title.

Damage
Name: Grant Emerson
First Appearance: Damage #1 (1994)
Power: Well, he explodes
Legacy: Grant is the son of Al Pratt, the original Atom of the JSA
Key Story: While the search for his origin in his own book is crucial, Infinite Crisis #1 begins his new journey.

The larger fellow in the upper left of the Ross image is not, as some might believe, Atom-Smasher, but Damage. You may recall Grant Emerson from his mid’90s solo series or his late ‘90s stint with The Titans. If you’re a newer reader of the DCU, then your largest exposure to the combustible hero was likely the opening pages of Infinite Crisis #1, wherein he and fellow members of the Freedom Fighters took a beating at the hands of a rather different Society. As to why Damage now occupies the large, wrestling-masked slot on the team, that’s probably a question that due to be answered by Atom-Smasher’s present role in 52.

Of Grant, Johns explains that he’s always liked the character. Elaborating on how Damage functions differently that Atom-Smasher, he says, “It’s a different kind of character. He’s the opposite of Albert (Atom-Smasher), who always wanted to carry on [the legacy] and lost his way. Damage starts at the lowest point possible. That said, he’s going to have some problems with a few of the members right away.”

Liberty Belle
Name: Jesse Chambers (or is it Jesse Chambers-Tyler?)
First Appearance: Justice Society of America #1 (1992)
Powers: Formerly a speedster; may now have enhanced strength, stamina and speed like her mother
Legacy: Jesse is the daughter of Liberty Belle and the late Johnny Quick, both of whom first teamed with the Justice Society via the All-Star Squadron
Key Story: The Flash story-arc Terminal Velocity, which depicts a huge advancement in Jesse’s heroic evolution.

Hourman II
Name: Rick Tyler
First Appearance: Infinity Inc. #20 (1985)
Powers: Precognitive ability that allows him to see one hour into the future; Miraclo allows him super-strength and enhanced speed, agility, and stamina for one hour
Legacy: Rick is the son of early JSA member Rex Tyler, aka Hourman I
Key Story: JSA #65 and 66, wherein a severely injured Rick and his doomed father Rex are both saved with a huge hand from the android Hourman III

Some were surprised when the previews of the new first issue indicated that Rick and Jesse married during the gap between the end of Infinite Crisis and the post-“One Year Later” timeframe of the new series. However, the seeds of the pair’s growing attraction were quite clearly laid down in the previous JSA book and the short-lived Justice Society of America series from the ‘90s.

While we won’t be certain of how Jesse achieved her new status quo until the new title arrives, Johns has some observations about the couple. He says, “[Rick is] the extrovert, he should be out there, happy and ready to jump into the fray, with Jesse right by his side.” Indeed, dialogue from the preview pages indicates that the team elders know that that scrappy descriptor applies to both husband and wife.

Jessie’s an interesting personality for another reason. When she first adventured alongside the JSA, she was clearly the novitiate. After gaining more experience, she lost her speed powers and worked alongside the team in an operational capacity. Now that she’s back in a costumed identity, it’ll be interesting to see how she interacts with the rest of the team. Will she be comfortable, or will she be in a hurry to prove herself since she knows that powers can leave as easily as they arrive? Johns says, “Jesse is one of the most confident members of the JSA.”

Starman
Name: Nope, he wouldn’t tell me
First Appearance: Considering that the guy could literally be one of a dozen characters, let’s leave that one open, though he does look a lot like Starman from Kingdom Come, doesn’t he?
Powers: There are no American troops in Laos.
Legacy: HA! Here’s one I can answer. The new Starman is the latest in a long line of succession stemming from original JSA member Ted Knight. Aside from Ted, the most well-known Starman was Ted’s son Jack Knight, whose exploits were documented in the superlative 81 issue run of the’90s Starman title.
Key Story: That remains to be seen.

Johns prefers to keep all salient info about the newest iteration of Starman close to the vest. He will reveal that this concept is “something that Alex and I talked about very early on. It’s very different.” When asked if the question of the future/Legion tie-in to the Starman legacy suggested by both the Starman series and Kingdom Come would be addressed, Johns replies, “You’ll find out really soon.” At this point, I think we should just all be glad that it isn’t Robert Hays.

Cyclone
Name: Maxine Hunkel
First Appearance: JSA #1
Powers: Yet to be seen, but you can probably guess
Legacy: Maxine is the granddaughter of original Red Tornado Ma Hunkel, and the daughter of Ma’s son, Huey. (Lots of people believed that her parents would be the Cyclone Kids, Cisty and Dinky; were that the case, her last name would have been Jibbet.)
Key Story: Coming up.

Possibly the character from the Ross piece that surprised the most people is Cyclone. If you notice that she bears a striking resemblance to a young lady who appeared in a few panels in Kingdom Come, it’s not really coincidence. Johns says, “I came up with the character and concept [of Maxine]. When I told Alex, he told me about this character that he’d put into Kingdom Come, and discussed Maxine being the ‘younger’ version of that one.”

Johns explains that Maxine is a nineteen-year-old college freshmen, and that we won’t have to wait long to see how she plays off of teen female teammate Stargirl. Of Stargirl, Johns says, “Her role is made very clear in issue two. She’s the spirit and heart of the team . . .the cheerleader.” Readers will be able to see the balance between Maxine and Stargirl “right away”.

Commander Steel
Name: You do not talk about Fight Club.
First Appearance: You DO NOT TALK ABOUT Fight Club.
Powers: If someone says stop, goes limp, even if he's just faking it, the fight is over.
Legacy: The original “steel-skinned” Commander Steel fought in World War 2 and served alongside the All-Star Squadron; his similarly powered grandson joined the Justice League during the Detroit era and later died after devastating attacks from Professor Ivo’s androids and Despero.
Key Story: If this is your first night at fight club, you have to fight.

As you may have guessed, Mr. Johns decided to sit on all the info related to this rather surprising legacy character. He would allow that this is a completely new guy, though what that means, given this particular family’s habit of being rebuilt and modified, remains to be seen.

In the final estimation, what else can, or will, Geoff Johns say? A brief sampling . . .

On the roster: “There will be more characters [beyond the preview piece] and one extremely important character that joins later on.”

On the role of Alex Ross: “He’s been absolutely fantastic to bounce characters and ideas off of. He and I will be co-plotting a later story arc.”

On the subject of the presumptive length of his run: “I like to keep it open-ended. I like longer runs.”

“We also did something at the very, very end of the book that I think everyone is going to steal from us. I can’t believe it hasn’t been done before. A tip of the hat to my friend Steve Wacker.”

Obviously, when new readers see a book like Justice Society of America, one of their natural questions will be, “Is it accessible?” To that, Johns gives an emphatic yes, indicating that even though the team has a natural history to play with, the book will endeavor to be welcoming to new readers. To that end, the first issue clocks in at a “massive” 40 pages, and Johns heaps enormous praise upon Dale Eaglesham for sterling work. “This,” Johns notes, “is the chance for JSA to be something bigger beyond what it’s been before. Dale is capturing these characters like no one else has. And he’s literally made the book his own instantly.”

There certainly appear to be some fun times ahead for both the old faithfuls and the recently converted. If you’re brand-new to the JSA and might like to know a little bit about some of their critical stories, stop back by after Thanksgiving and check into the third part of my JSA series, which covers recommended readings. And please, join me in a big hand and thank you for Geoff Johns for taking the time.

[HAL1984]

Really looking forward to this, salivating hmmmmmm

[Kevenn]

Can't. Wait.

[Spaz_Monkey]

Johns? Ross? JSA?


SOLD!!!

can't wait!

[Misrule]

So is this going to be set on the new Earth 2? And is the new member the original Superman - no longer dead?????

[HAL1984]

is there a crosssover after 6 issues? does anyone know?
i think it mite be jla/jsa crossover?

meltzer/johns benes?

[Lex]

I'm very excited about this book.

This was a good article. A fun look at some of the characters. I'm glad that this is "just the tip of the iceberg."

[cncoyle]

Good to hear confirmation of Rick's and Jesse's nuptuals! I'm a big fan of both characters anyway; but as a married old fart, it's cool to see a married superhero couple.

For some reason, Marvel had cornered the market on superhero couples with Wasp & Ant-Man, Vision & Scarlet Witch, Hawkeye & Mockingbird, Cyclops & Jean Grey, etc. Good to see DC have at least one superhero marriage.

[EvilErnie13]

Damage is BACK!!!

[Big Red]

Can't wait.

[HAL1984]

iv never heard of comander steel, i look forward to see what he can do.

im not sure about jay garrick, he's a nice character but he should change his costume , wear a mask like .

[EmeraldGuy32]

Camander steel sure looks a lot like....Steel.

[Beefy McHuge]

I've been hearing nothing but hype about JSA for ages. Time to try it out.

[HAL1984]

john henry iron's? well noted dude

[jdurdan]

You mean outside of Lois and Clark

Originally Posted by cncoyle

Good to hear confirmation of Rick's and Jesse's nuptuals! I'm a big fan of both characters anyway; but as a married old fart, it's cool to see a married superhero couple.

For some reason, Marvel had cornered the market on superhero couples with Wasp & Ant-Man, Vision & Scarlet Witch, Hawkeye & Mockingbird, Cyclops & Jean Grey, etc. Good to see DC have at least one superhero marriage.

[Kolimar]

WOO-HOO!!!

[cncoyle]

Originally Posted by EmeraldGuy32

Camander steel sure looks a lot like....Steel.

Ah, that would be cool, as long as they keep John Henry Irons as an intellectual, too. I wouldn't put it past DC to intentionally color his face wrong...

And I don't recall, but how bad was Damage beaten down in Infinite Crisis? Did the villains give him such a beating that he's permanently scarred?

[cncoyle]

Originally Posted by jdurdan

You mean outside of Lois and Clark

No, Lois isn't a superhero. I'm talking about married couples where BOTH characters are in the spandex.

[HAL1984]

Originally Posted by jdurdan

You mean outside of Lois and Clark

wall west and linda park? (now west) they are mia at the moment

jay garrick and joan?

hal jordan and ........,oh forgot he's a player!?

[cncoyle]

How many issues until Wildcat makes a Texas Twister joke with Cyclone?

[skeletorjr]

I like that Johns is once again looking at a long run on this book, or so it seems.

[GenerallZodd]

They better deliver on Damage because I HATE what they're doing with him so far.

[Kevin T. Brown]

Ah, good ol' Captain Cryptic is back and more cryptic than ever.... Thanks, Geoff.

REALLY looking forward to the first issue though!

[Moonbeam]

Originally Posted by MattBrady

Obviously, when new readers see a book like Justice Society of America, one of their natural questions will be, “Is it accessible?” To that, Johns gives an emphatic yes, indicating that even though the team has a natural history to play with, the book will endeavor to be welcoming to new readers.

As a brand-spanking-new comics reader only three years ago, JSA was always one of the easiest comics for me to pick up and read.

I think that, because these characters are off the radar screen of most fans, the comic always took the approach that readers needed a little bit of an introduction and/or history lesson worked into the story from time to time -- which in turn, always made it newbie friendly and incredibly accessible for me. And it never took away from the stories, which are still among the favorites I've read. I never once felt lost among these characters -- in fact, they quickly started feeling like family and still do.

I can't wait to read about my old favorites and be introduced to this new batch of characters. Yee ha!!

- Vaneta

[cncoyle]

Originally Posted by GenerallZodd

They better deliver on Damage because I HATE what they're doing with him so far.

I'm intrigued by the character, but I hope there's a reason he has that look (or as Troy put it, the "large, wrestling-masked slot"). It looked okay for Atomsmasher, even though they retconned/changed his Nuklon powers (but the mohawk HAD to go, right?). I'm wondering why Damage's logo went from the radiation symbol to a contagion symbol.