JUSTICE SOCIETY OF AMERICA
Post-Crisis Chronology
Part 1: Prewar (–1937)
| Sequence of Events | Issue (Date) |
|---|---|
| 14,000 BCE: In battle against the Nebula Man, the Star-Spangled Kid is thrown back in time to the era of Cavemen. He is rescued by the Justice League and Justice Society. | Justice League of America #100-102 (Aug.–Oct. 1972); Stars & S.T.R.I.P.E. #9 (Apr. 2000) |
| "JSA B.C." c.
1260 B.C. Ancient Egypt, 19th Dynasty, reign of the Ramses II |
|
| c. 1260 BCE: Nabu becomes adviser and court magician to the pharaoh Ramses. He is humbled in battle with the Spectre, who kills Ramses for his crimes against the Hebrews. Despite Nabu's warnings, the pharaoh's son, Ramses II, continues the persecution of the Hebrews. In retaliation, the Spectre slays the first-born sons of Egypt and then protects the Hebrews by parting the Red Sea as they flee the pharaoh's troops. Some time after these events, Nabu the Wise, realizing that his mortal form is weakening, places himself in suspended animation in a tomb in the Valley of Ur to await a new mortal host. NOTE: The murder of the Egyptian first-born is described in Exodus 12:29, the parting of the Red Sea in Exodus 14:21-31. | The Spectre vol. 3 #14 (Jan. 1994) |
| The aging wizard Shazam chooses Teth-Adam as his champion, granting him the powers of seven Egyptian gods: Shu, Heu, Amon, Zehuti, Aton and Mehen. NOTE: Adam's first appereance was The Marvel Family #1 (Dec. 1945) and these events took place circa 3000 B.C. In post-Crisis continuity, both Shazam and Black Adam first appeared in the Power of Shazam Graphic Novel and Teth-Adam is a contemporary of Prince Khufu (Hawkman). | Power of Shazam! #10 (Dec. 1995) |
| In battle against the Nebula Man, Stripesy is thrown back in time to ancient Egypt, where he is made a slave. He is rescued by the Justice League and Justice Society, and aided by the young Prince Khufu. | Justice League of America #100-102 (Aug.–Oct. 1972); Stars & S.T.R.I.P.E. #9 (Apr. 2000) |
| A Thanagarian starship crashes in Egypt and is recovered by Khufu, his advisor Nabu the Wise, and Teth-Adam. The dying pilot warns them of evil from Thanagar. Nabu recovers a portion of the anti-gravity metal that powers the ship, called "Nth metal" by a dying Thanagarian. | JSA #22 (May 2001) |
| After defeating Johnny Sorrow by stranding him in the Speed Force, Jay Garrick is thrown back in time to ancient Egypt, where he encounters Prince Khufu (who will one day be reincarnated as Hawkman I). | JSA #20 (Mar. 2001) |
| Still stranded in ancient Egypt, Jay Garrick discovers the wreckage of the crashed Thanagarian starship, more than 3000 years before the first known contact between Earth and Thanagar. | JSA #21 (Apr. 2001) |
| Nabu and Teth-Adam use a portion of the Thanagarian Nth metal to forge a war gauntlet called the Claw of Horus, which they say will be instrumental in a battle to be fought thousands of years in the future. Jay Garrick returns to his own time. | JSA #22 (May 2001) |
| The priest called Ahk-ton discovers a meteor, from which he fashions the Orb of Ra. He attempts to use this power to overthrow the pharoah, Ramses. He is captured, but before he can be executed, he is transformed by the meteor into the Metamorph. NOTE:This is messed up; the Outsiders tale never depicted Ahk-ton as the Metamorph, and placed the event in the time of Ramses VII. Heiroglyphs in Metamorpho vol. 2 claimed that Ahk-ton was a Pharoah, which is not possible during the reign of the Ramses. | Batman & Outsiders #17-18 (Jan.–Feb. 1985), Metamorpho vol. 2 #1 (Aug. 1993) |
| Ahk-ton slays Teth-Adam's family: sons Gon and Hurut and wife Shiruta. | JSA #44 (Mar. 2003) |
| Via Black Barax's Time Cube, Mister Terrific, Hawkgirl and Captain Marvel travel back in time. They are greeted by Vandal Savage, who weilds the Orb of Ra and controls the Metamorph. NOTE: This is the only issue which correctly states the time period: Ramses II, 19th Dynasty. | JSA #42 (Jan. 2003) |
| The 20th Century JSAers prepare to do battle with Savage alongside their ancient counterparts. Hawkgirl meets... herself (as Chay-ara)! | JSA #43 (Feb. 2003) |
| With the help of the sun-god, Ra, Vandal Savage is reduced to infancy. Teth-Adam slays Ahk-ton. The JSA members are placed in suspended animation, to be revived thousands of years hence. | JSA #44 (Mar. 2003) |
| In Egypt, Prince Khufu Maat Kha-Tar and his beloved Chay-Ara are murdered by the mad priest Hath-Set. The lovers are fated to be born again forever (they later become the original Hawkman and Hawkgirl). NOTE: The date of these events, not stated in the original version of the story, was said to be 1567 B.C. (Secret Origins #11). Some accounts incorrectly cite the 15th Dynasty (Hawkman vol. 4 #9, JSA #43). | Flash Comics vol. 1 #1 (Jan. 1940), Secret Origins #11 (Feb. 1987) |
| Teth-Adam serves Egypt for hundreds of years. His zeal eventually drives him to be overly protective of his homeland, Kahndaq, and he attracts the attention of Shazam. Shazam believes that Adam has been bewitched by Shazam's daughter, Blaze and he withdraws Adam's power into a scarab. Adam and the scarab are entombed for millennia. | Power of Shazam! #10 (Dec. 1995), JSA #44 (Mar. 2003) |
| 1,000 BCE, Greece: In battle against the Nebula Man, Stuff the Chinatown Kid is thrown back in time to the era ancient Greece. He is rescued by the Justice League and Justice Society. | Justice League of America #100-102 (Aug.–Oct. 1972); Stars & S.T.R.I.P.E. #9 (Apr. 2000) |
| 12th-13th Century CE, Aztec Mexico: In battle against the Nebula Man, the Crimson Avenger is thrown back in time to the era Aztec Mexico. He is rescued by the Justice League and Justice Society. | Justice League of America #100-102 (Aug.–Oct. 1972); Stars & S.T.R.I.P.E. #9 (Apr. 2000) |
| 13th Century CE, China: In battle against the Nebula Man, the Shining Knight is thrown back in time to the era of Genghis Khan. He is rescued by the Justice League and Justice Society. | Justice League of America #100-102 (Aug.–Oct. 1972); Stars & S.T.R.I.P.E. #9 (Apr. 2000) |
| 1765-1811: In the time of King George III, a Lord fathers a bastard son, James, by a woman named Nell (who was also once a Lady but fell into poverty). After Nell died, Jim fell into a life of thievery. One night, he met a band of ghosts who inspired him to become Gentleman Jim Craddock, the greatest highwayman. After he was hanged, he returned as the Gentleman Ghost. NOTE: The Gentleman Ghost's history was altered by the Crisis. He is now a hold-over who remembers his time on Earth-Two, and has a grudge against the Earth-2 Wonder Woman. His first appereance was Flash Comics #88 (Oct. 1947). | JSA #83-87 (May–Sept. 2006) |
| 1894: Cyrus Gold is murdered in Slaughter Swamp near Gotham City. His corpse later is reanimated as the failed elemental called Solomon Grundy. | All-American #61 (Oct. 1944) |
| For more early events, see the Chronology of the Pre-20th Century DCU. | |
| The 20th Century | |
| 3 January 1900: Jim Corrigan (the Spectre) is born. Note: Year from Spectre vol. 3 #46, day is from the Super DC Calendar 1976. |
The Spectre vol. 3 #46 (Oct. 1996) |
| 15 April 1912: The White Star liner Titanic hits an iceberg in the Atlantic Ocean and sinks, killing over 1500 passengers and crew, including a girl named Patty Connors, but not her sister, Maxine. In 1940, Jim Corrigan dates Maxine and travels back to witness this tragedy. Chronos II and Rip Hunter also watch on. NOTE:This Spectre could not have been Jim Corrigan. | Legends of the DC Universe 80-Page Giant #1 (Sept. 1998) |
| Summer 1912: The young Henry King discovers his ability to create three dimensional images of people. | All-Star Comics #15 (Feb./Mar. 1943) |
| 31 October 1912: Janos Prohaska (Blackhawk) is born in Krakow, Poland. Note: Date in Secret Origins differs from the Super DC Calendar 1976, which lists it as Oct. 28 (no year specified). | Secret Origins vol. 2 #45 (Oct. 1989) |
| 5 November 1912: Rex Tyler (Hourman I) is born. Note: Date from the Super DC Calendar 1976. In the summer of 1919, boy Rex was 6 years old and met Hourman III (per All-Star vol. 2 #1). | All-Star Comics vol. 2 #1 (May 1999) |
| 11 March 1913: Lee Travis (the Crimson Avenger) is born. Note: Date from the Super DC Calendar 1976; year from Infinity Inc. #11. Secret Origins #5 (Aug. 1986) asserts that Travis was 25 when he became the Crimson in October 1938. The story from The Golden Age Secret Files (2001) contradicts this date in a way that is incompatible with the weight of continuity. | Infinity Inc. #11 (Feb. 1985) |
| 3–4 August 1914: World War I begins with declarations of war between Germany and the alliance of Britain and France. | |
World War I: The spirit of America merges with another man to become the second Uncle Sam. NOTE: This is the first mention of an earlier part of Uncle Sam's history. |
The Spectre vol. 3 #38 (Feb. 1996) |
| c. 1916: Kal-L (Superman I) is born on Krypton to Jor-L and Lora. Not long afterwards, Kara (Power Girl) is born to Jor-L's brother Zor-L and his wife Allura in Kandor. Krypton explodes and Kal-L is rocketed to Earth, where he is found and adopted by John and Mary Kent. They name him Clark Kent. Zor-L and Allura, also launch their daughter Kara, but her journey is longer; she does not arrive for many years. NOTE: Secret Origins does not indicate the year of his birth, only that it was during World War I. Power Girl’s trip to Earth took 60 years; using her debut in 1976 makes her birth year 1916. This event is included because of this Superman's role in Infinite Crisis. | Secret Origins #1 (Apr. 1986), Showcase #97-98 (Feb.–Mar. 1978) |
| 10 June 1916: In England, occultist Roderick Burgess imprisons Dream of the Endless, Lord of the Dreaming. As the universe attempts to compensate for Dream's absence, a young Wesley Dodds begins to have strange, prophetic dreams. | The Sandman vol. 2 #1 (Jan. 1989) |
| 1917: Pinkerton Detective James Wright and his lady love, Sheila Carr (reincarnations of Khufu and Chay-Ara), die at the hands of Big Louie Moretti. They had no memories of their past lives. Note: Presumably, Carter Hall and Sheira Sanders were born very soon after this. | Hawkman vol. 4 #27 (June 2004) |
| 1 June 1917: Carter Hall is born. Note: Date from the Super DC Calendar 1976. | * |
| 7 July 1917: In the Bronx, New York, Johnny Thunder is born at 7 a.m. of the seventh day of the seventh month. Unbeknownst to his parents, Simon and Mildred Thunder, Johnny's birth fulfills an ancient Bahdnisian prophecy. | Flash Comics vol. 1 #1 (Jan. 1940) |
| 21 Aug. 1917: Shiera Sanders is born. Note: Date from the Super DC Calendar 1976. | * |
| 21 October 1917: In France, troops from the American Expeditionary Forces enter the trenches in the Lunéville sector, the first major U.S. combat operations of the First World War. | |
| Young Jim Corrigan fights in World War I after lying about his age to enlist in the American expeditionary forces. | The Spectre vol. 3 #52 (Apr. 1997) |
| Although still underage, Lee Travis enlists in the army and fights in the trenches of Europe, witnessing the horrors of war and the use of poison gas. NOTES: The first recorded use of poison gas in modern warfare was at the second battle of Ypres in April 1915, although the United States did not enter the war until 1917. | Golden Age Secret Files #1 (Feb. 2001) |
| 3 April 1918: Jay Garrick (Flash I)
is born. Note: Date from the Super DC Calendar 1976. Age suggested by Secret Origins #9, which says Jay was 21 when he became the Flash in 1939. |
Secret Origins vol. 2 #9 (Dec. 1986) |
| August 1918: Johnny Thunder is kidnapped from his home, by men from Bahdnisia. These people believe that because of his "numerically significant" birth, he is destined to be the master of their magical genie. Johnny is raised in Bahdnisia, where the high priest declares that he will gain the power to rule the world on his 7th birthday. Legend tells that before that birthday, the neighboring company of Agolea declared war on Bahdnisia and kidnapped Johnny, who is lost at sea and eventually returned to his parents. Johnny, however, later secretly admits that he accidentally set himself adrift at sea; he was not kidnapped. | Flash Comics vol. 1 #1 (Jan. 1940), JSA: Strange Adventures #2 (Nov. 2004) |
| 11 November 1918: Germany signs an armistice with the Allies, ending the first world war. | |
| 8 March 1918: Giovanni "John" Zatara is born. His mother gives him his first magic set for his 15th birthday (1933). Note: Date from the Super DC Calendar 1976. The Digest story says he cast his first real magical spell about two months after he discovered the copies of Da Vinci’s notebooks in a NYC bookstore, which was in November, three months after his professional debut. Since he was already active as a crimefighter in Action Comics #1, and History of the DC Universe says he debuted in 1938, that would mean he found the notebooks in November 1937, putting his birthdate in 1918. | DC Special Blue Ribbon Digest #5 (Nov./Dec. 1980) |
| Summer 1919: The young Rex Tyler receives the gift of an hourglass from his android "descendant," Hourman III. | All-Star Comics vol. 2 #1 (Early May 1999) |
| 20 January 1920: Germany is forced to sign the Treaty of Versailles, limiting the size of its military and requiring the payment of massive reparations to the Allied powers. Reparations payments eventually lead to the near-bankruptcy of Germany, setting the stage for the rise of National Socialism. | |
| July 1924: The week of Johnny Thunder's seventh birthday is marked by seven days of intense rain, which curiously leaves the Thunder home untouched. | Flash Comics vol. 1 #1 (Jan. 1940) |
| August 1924: Arnold "Arn" Munro, the son of Hugo Danner and Anna Munro, is born in Indian Springs, Colorado. When he hits puberty, Arn develops powers like those of his father: superhuman strength, speed, and invulnerability. | Young All-Stars #29 (Sept. 1989) |
| 26 September 1926: Sandy Hawkins is born. Note: Date from the Super DC Calendar 1976. Year from JSA #69. | JSA #69 (Mar. 2005) |
| 13 December 1926: Sylvester Pemberton (Star-Spangled Kid) is born. Note: Date from the Super DC Calendar 1976. | All-Star Comics #70 (Jan./Feb. 1978) |
| Disillusioned by his wartime experience, Lee Travis travels the world, eventually finding himself in Nanda Parabat, Tibet. There, he meets the goddess Rama Kushna, who shows him a vision of the future, including the death of Superman at the hands of Doomsday. Lee vows to fight to make the world a better place, effectively avenging the death of a man who has not yet been born. When Lee returns to the western world, he finds that 10 years have passed, but he has not aged. NOTES: This story attempts to reconcile the notion of Superman as the primary inspiration for the 20th century's heroic age with a post-Crisis timeline in which Superman does not appear until relatively recently. Rama Kushna first appeared in Strange Adventures #205 (Sept. 1967), the origin of Deadman. | Golden Age Secret Files #1 (Feb. 2001) |
| 17 January 1928: Kent Nelson (Doctor Fate) is born. Note: This differs from the pre-Crisis version (told in in All-Star Squadron #47), which were 20 years earlier. Date from the Super DC Calendar 1976. | Secret Origins #24 (Mar. 1988) |
| 71 Years Ago | |
| A time-traveling Starman VII (Jack Knight) meets Jor-El on Krypton. Jack (through the use of a Mother Box) gives Jor-El the coordinates for Earth. NOTE: The end of Starman #50 revealed this event as 16 years prior to Krypton's destruction (55 Years Ago; Superman Secret Files #1). | Starman vol. 2 #51 (Mar. 1999) |
| 31 July 1930: The Shadow debuts to radio audiences as the mysterious narrator of the Street and Smith radio program "Detective Story Hour." His popularity spawned the first print appearance, The Shadow Magazine (April 1, 1931). His first comic book was Shadow Comics (March 1940). | |
| September 18, 1931: The Japanese occupy Manchuria, the first act of aggression that will lead to war in the Pacific. | |
| In Metropolis's Suicide Slum, young Jim Harper is taken in by Nat Milligan, who teaches him boxing and gymnastics. Harper is unaware that Milligan suffers from multiple-personality disorder. NOTES: In his other personas, "Nat Milligan" later trained Ted Grant (Wildcat) and, as "Joe Morgan," Al Pratt (the Atom). This is his first chronological appearance. | All-Star Squadron Annual #1 (1982) |
| November 8, 1932: Franklin Delano Roosevelt is elected President of the United States. | |
| 1933 | |
| Mad scientist Anton Arcane incites World War II through manipulation of his pawns, Adolf Hitler and the other Axis tyrants. | Swamp Thing #82-83 (Jan.–Feb. 1989) |
| March 1933: Pulp publisher Street and Smith Publications prints Lester Dent's The Man of Bronze—the first appearance of Doc Savage. His mix of fantastic skills is surely the inspiration for many non-powered Golden Age heroes His first comic book appearance was Shadow Comics #1 (1940). | |
| January 30, 1933: Adolf Hitler becomes chancellor of Germany with the reluctant approval of President Hindenberg. | |
| March 23, 1933: The Enabling Act gives Adolf Hitler dictatorial powers. | |
| October 13, 1933: Germany withdraws from the League of Nations. | |
| 1934 | |
| In an Indian prison, Isaac Bowin encounters a mysterious fakir who teaches him the art of using music for hypnosis, a power he will later use as the Fiddler. NOTE: The Fiddler's origin is retold in Hawkworld Annual #1. | All-Flash Comics #32 (Jan./Feb. 1948), Hawkworld Annual #1 (1991) |
| The Chinese lantern carved from the Starheart finds its way to Arkham Asylum, outside Gotham City, where an inmate named Billings fashions it into a modern railway lantern. The lantern flames green a second time, fulfilling the second part of its mysterious prophecy by restoring the man's sanity and allowing him to return to normal life. NOTES: According to Secret Origins #18, the lantern was brought to America by three adventurers; the art makes it clear that they were Pat Ryan, Terry Lee, and Connie of Milt Caniff's classic newspaper adventure strip Terry and the Pirates, which began in 1934. | All-American Comics #16 (July 1940), Secret Origins #18 (Sept. 1987) |
| The Golden Age of DC Comics | |
| 1935 | |
| Doctor Occult becomes a detective, specializing the supernatural. | New Fun Comics #6 (Oct. 1935) |
| 1936 | |
| March 7, 1936: Germany occupies the Rhineland. | |
| June 18, 1936: Civil war breaks out in Spain between republican Loyalist forces and the fascist armies of General Francisco Franco. Polish aviator Janos Prohaska later fights on the Loyalist side. | Secret Origins #45 (Oct. 1989) |
| August 1936: American athlete Will Everett (Amazing Man) distinguishes himself at the Olympic games in Berlin, but racism at home limits his job prospects, forcing him to become a janitor for Doctor Terry Curtis (Cyclotron). Ted Grant also participates in these Olympics (although J.S. #7 incorrectly gives the year and city as Munich, 1939). | All-Star Squadron #23 (July 1983), Justice Society of America vol. 2 #7 (Feb. 1993) |
| Doctor Occult briefly adopts a red costume with a cape, reminiscent of that later worn by Superman. NOTE: Because of this story, Doctor Occult is often considered DC's first costumed superhero. | More Fun Comics #14 (Oct. 1936) |
| Wesley Dodds returns to America after many years abroad. | Sandman Mystery Theatre #1 (Apr. 1993) |
| October 27, 1936: Hitler and Mussolini sign the Rome-Berlin Axis. | |
| November 3, 1936: Franklin Roosevelt is reelected to a second term as President. | |
| November 25, 1936: Germany and Japan sign the Anti-Comintern Pact. | |
| 1937 | |
| January 1937: Lee Travis enlists in the Abraham Lincoln Battalion, a group of Americans volunteers aiding the Spanish Republican forces against General Franco. Travis is injured on the journey to Europe and sent back without seeing action, leaving him frustrated. | Secret Origins #5 (Aug. 1986) |
| July 9, 1937: The Japanese-Chinese War begins with the Japanese invasion of Peking. | |
| November 1937: John Zatara finds the notebooks of Da Vinci in a bookstore in New York City, about two months after his professional debut and two months before his first real spell. NOTE: The post-Crisis version appeared in Secret Origins #27 (June 1988). | DC Special Blue Ribbon Digest #5 (Nov./Dec. 1980) |
| Max Mercury becomes the costumed hero Quicksilver. NOTE: Quicksilver originally was part of the Quality Comics line. | National Comics #5 (Nov. 1940), Flash Secret Files #1 (Nov. 1997) |
| December 1937: The "Rape of Nanking": More than 200,000 Chinese civilians are massacred as the Japanese army invades mainland China. | |