A sketch by Darwyn Cooke, who briefly referenced the JSA in his DC: The New Frontier (2004).
This section covers JSA-related series which are (intentionally
or not) "out of continuity." Listed alphabetically by title. Since
the Infinite Crisis, some Elseworlds tales were later assigned to an Earth in the multiverse. If so, this is noted.
Dr. Fate restores the youth of the Justice Society one last time. From Convergence: Justice Society of America #1 (June 2015); by Jerry Ordway and Ben Caldwell. The former members of Infinity, Inc. From Convergence: Infinity Inc. #1 (June 2015); by Jerry Ordway and Ben Caldwell.
"Convergence" was a 2015 event that was meant to celebrate the continued existence of characters and timelines from across DC's histories. Instead, it's inconsistent execution led to confusion as to its purpose. A "meta" version of Brainiac had supposedly been collecting cities from every dying timeline and he planted them on an alien planet called Telos. The cities were overseen by a being of the same name.
In each Convergence scenario, the cities of Telos were issued an opportunity and a challenge: one city would be given the chance to return to "reality." The price: Its people would have to battle another city's, to the death.
Convergence: Justice Society of America
2-issue limited series (2015)
By Dan Abnett and Tom Derenick
During the Crisis on Infinite Earths, Brainiac stole away the city of Metropolis from Earth-Two and with it, the members of Infinity, Inc. and the Justice Society. In their new, domed existence, nobody had super-powers.
By their second year of captivity, the Justice Society were doing what they could to help the citizens of Metropolis, but losing their powers brought back the full effects of their old age. Green Lantern was able to return to broadcasting, while Dr. Fate slipped into a coma. They conceded that any hopes of heroic salvation lay with their children, Infinity Inc.
When Telos lifted their restrictions and issued his challenges, Dr. Fate woke up and magically restored the vigor of the JSA members. (Convergence: Justice Society of America #1)
Metropolis was instantly beseiged by a weapon made by the Weaponers of Qward, from the antimatter universe. Hawkman, Flash, Green Lantern and Dr. Fate were able to stop it, and then reverted to their properly-aged selves. (#2)
Convergence: Infinity Inc.
2-issue limited series (2015)
By Jerry Ordway and Ben Caldwell
In the same city, the scientifically-inclined members of Infinity, Inc. (Silver Scarab and Star-Spangled Kid) tried in vain to find a way to breach their dome. Jade pursued her acting career. Fury joined the police force. Nuklon became a mechanic. Northwind retained his native ability to fly. Brainwave Jr. suffered from debilitating migraines when his powers were shut off.
When the dome came down, the Infinitors were pitted against a city containing Jonah Hex and his friends; they were from a post-apocalyptic period in the 21st century. (Convergence: Infinity, Inc. #1)
Both groups of heroes ultimately accepted their potential destruction and agreed to a stalemate. They could not bring themselves to kill their opponents. Dr. Fate came to them and called them back to Metropolis, where the aged members of the Justice Society had convened. They had likewise fought beings from another city but now decided to retire. They asked the Infinitors to become the new Justice Society. Star proposes the name "JSA-Infinity." (#2)
Convergence: Plastic Man and the Freedom Fighters
2-issue limited series (2015)
By Simon Oliver and John McCrea
From Earth-X before the Crisis on Infinite Earths, Plastic Man had been bottled up' with the Freedom Fighters in New York City. He, Uncle Sam, Doll Man, the Human Bomb, the Ray, Phantom Lady and the Black Condor were fighting the Silver Ghost when their city was encased. Plastic Man was betrayed by his friend, Woozy Winks, and the heroes were rounded up. (#1)
When the dome came down, they were pitted against the cyborg Justice League from "Future's End." (#2)
Note: In pre-Crisis continuity, Plastic Man was shown once in relation to residing on Earth-X: All-Star Squadron #50 (Oct. 1985). He never appeared in the Freedom Fighters series from 1976. There were, however, versions of Plastic Man associated with both Earth-One and Earth-Two.
Convergence: Worlds' Finest
2-issue limited series (2015)
By Paul Levitz and Jim Fern
This story is told from the perspective of Mortimer "Scribbly" Jibbett, the boy cartoonist who was friends of the original Red Tornado. Note: The "Scribbly" strip ran from All-American Comics #1-59 (Apr. 1939–July 1944).
In adulthood, Scribbly became a newspaper reporter and illustrator for an editor named "Mort." He was covering the Seven Soldiers of Victory when the Crisis on Infinite Earths struck. Speedy died in an earthquake, and Stripesy died of pneumonia because of a lack of medicine. (#1)
The Shining Knight's magical youth had faded away, buot was restored when the cities of Telos were ultimately freed. He led the charge against the Weaponers from Qward. The Crimson Avenger and Vigilante also fought them, and died. (#2)
The Golden Age trade paperback (1995); art by Paul Smith.
The Golden Age
4-issue limited series (1993)
After successfully transferring his brain into the body of Mister
America in 1945, the Ultra-Humanite rises in political power and
develops a way to create a "superman." He transplants the brain
of Adolf Hitler into Dan Dunbar, creating a new American hero, Dynaman. "Tex
Thompson" is
betrayed by his wife, Miss America, who finds his journals and gives them
to her old All-Star friends. The story references January 1950, when Alan
Scott is summoned to the HUAC hearings.
Although this was an "Elseworlds" series,
it's themes were powerful enough to make it into mainstream comics as well.
The most prominent of these is James Robinson's continued development
of Starman, which began here in The Golden Age. Other things introduced
include the potential evil in Captain Triumph (1st post-Crisis appearance)
and the fall of the Tigress. It features first-time DC appearances
by some Quality heroes—Joe
Hercules, "Stormy" Foster,
Wildfire, Madame Fatal, Doll Girl; plus Red Torpedo, Neon, the Spider,
Firebrand and the Red Bee; and and other obscure
"All-Stars" such as Captain X.
For more deatils on James Robinson's intent for this series, read my interview in The Quality Companion!
2-Issue Limited Series, Prestige format (Feb.-March 2000)
By Dan Jolley and Tony Harris From JSA: The Liberty File #2 (2000); art by Tony Harris.
When narrated, the Liberty File stories are told by the Bat. You can read
both series collected in
one
trade paperback.
JSA: The Liberty File #1 (2000); art by Tony HarrisSTORY: 1942: In the days of World War
II, an albino psychopath, Jack
the Grin (the Joker), intercepts knowledge of a Nazi secret weapon. When
Jack is apprehended, he escapes, bringing the plane and its American Agents
down in Egypt.
U.S. intelligence calls in their operative the
Bat (replacing Ted Grant) to team with the
Clock (Tyler)
and the Owl (McNider). In Africa, the Owl meets up with another agent,
Canary (Dinah), whose cover is a nightclub singer. The agents run afoul
of two free agents (Whispering Pete and Bob), and the German
S.S., who are looking to keep Jack quiet. The Bat ultimately catches Jack
and injects him with truth serum. He discovers that the Nazi's secret weapon
is not a long-range
bomber, as the Americans had thought. Instead, they confirm that
Adolf Hitler has indeed been harboring some kind of "super-mensch." (#1)
The Bat and Clock next meet another agent, Terry Sloane (Mister Terrific)
in Bern, Switzerland. While recovering from injuries, the Owl is attacked
and killed by a Nazi agent called the Scarecrow. In the ensuing firefight,
Sloane's fiancee, Eva, is also killed.
Hitler's super-mensch is revealed as a Martian, J'onn J'onzz. The
Nazis brought him to Earth in 1939 and named him Johann. The Americans
make their way to Hitler's retreat and meet their mole, Robin. Robin
sends them after Hitler to El Alamein, Egypt. At the Suez Canal, the Americans
prepare reveal their own Super-Man, but the Bat manages to save the
day by engaging Johann directly and feeding him his thoughts. This triggers
Johann's suppressed memories and he turns on the Nazis. (#2)
The next series, The Unholy Three reveals that the Americans do not perfect
the nuclear bomb until 1948. Instead of bombs, it is the super-men that
win the war for the Allies.
ROLL CALL: The Clock, The Owl (deceased), The
Bat, Mister Terrific, Canary, Ted Grant (deceased), Johann (the Martian),
Robin, Super-Man.
JSA: The Unholy Three
2-issue limited series, Prestige format (2003)
By Dan Jolley and Tony Harris
STORY: In 1944, following their infamous mission,
Terry Sloane's hatred for the Bat over his fiancee's death was so great,
he nearly killed Wayne in revenge. He later went to work for Tyler
Chemicals.
1948: In Berlin, a rogue KGB agent called the Parasite tortured and
killed Sandy
Hawkins and Johnny Thunder for
information. J'onn J'onnz now worked on the moon helping NASA
construct a base. In Gotham, the Bat pursued Harvey
Dent,
who had been transformed into a half-monster by Arcane's magic. When
Bruce returned home, he found Gen. Maitland waiting to ask him to return
to service. By this time, they have prepared Clark Kent, Super-Man, for service,
too. Bruce recalled his old ally, Rick Tyler, who had been researching a
way to duplicate Kent's powers.
They were briefed about the Parasite and another Russian agent, Stalnoivolk/Steelwolf.
When they arrive in Berlin,
finding the bodies and enlisted the aid of agent Shiera Saunders.
The trail led to the Parasite, who killed Steelwolf. They apprehended him,
but another agent, Pemberton, was murdered, leaving them at square one.
Kent visited Shiera again, asking her to call him by another name: Zod. (#1)
Zod revealed that he was sentenced at age 11 to the Phantom Zone on Krypton.
Later on Earth, American scientists in the "Wormhole Project" freed
him. The boy lived with the Kents, under government supervision. When Zod
rejoined his
"allies," they met a deep cover agent, the Sandman. He told them the Soviets had a trigger that could detonate every nuclear weapon
across the globe. They're to meet the Lantern later at a social event
for more information. Zod intercepted the intel then killed the Lantern.
He knew that the "trigger project" produced a kind of radiation
that could cripple him.
Dodds warned the others, and the Bat called all available agents to stop
Zod from finding the trigger. From across Eurasia, the
Atom, Mercury, the Hawk, Tornado and the Huntress responded. They
converged on the city of Chernobyl, where another deep cover agent, the Star,
fought Super-Man. Zod killed the Atom and the Hawk before Terry Sloane arrived
with Tyler's own experimental super-serum. The Bat injected the serum and
was transformed into a powerhouse. He and the Star managed to unleash
the project's radiation on Zod, but activated the reactor/trigger as
well. Using the Star's cosmic rod, he, the Bat, and
the Clock combined will power to contain Zod and the reactor, and sent
them into space, where he exploded.
Afterwards, Bruce made amends
with Sloane. He was unsure what the lingering effects of the serum would be. (#2)
ROLL CALL: The Bat, the Clock, Super-Man (turned),
Johnny Thunder (deceased), Sandy Hawkins (deceased), Shiera Saunders (deceased),
Pemberton (deceased), the Sandman, the Lantern (deceased), the Atom (deceased),
Mercury, the Hawk (deceased), Tornado, the Huntress, the Star, Mr. Terrific.
From Countdown: Arena #1 (2008); art by Scott McDaniel.
4-issue limited series (2008)
The Bat's story continued when the evil Monarch collected
warriors from across the multiverse.
The
Bat was chosen to do battle with counterparts from other Earths. He was
bitten by the vampire Batman of Earth-43 (Arena #1) and
turned into a vampire himself. (#2) Although
he was reborn and attempted to lead the others to freedom, he
was ultimately blasted and apparently killed by Monarch. (#4)
This particular interpretation of the 52 universes has been revised in the wake of DC's "New 52" relaunch. The fate of this Batman is uncertain.
+ JSA Liberty Files: The Whistling Skull
6-issue limited series (2013)
By B. Clay Moore and Tony Harris
An early promotional cover for the series, before it was absorbed by DC. Johannes (right) and Michael Keene and Mr. Teagle.
From JSA Liberty Files: The Whistling Skull #1 and #6 (2013); art by Tony Harris.Left: The Whistling Skull and Knuckles. Right: Hellman's Karneval. From JSA Liberty Files: The Whistling Skull #3 and #4 (2013); art by Tony Harris.
Introducing: The Whistling Skull VI (John Singleton, deceased) • The Whistling Skull VII (William Massey) • Knuckles (Nigel Singleton) • Johannes
• Dr. Moon
• Mr. Teagle
• Mr. Nash
• Michael Keene
• The Cat (deceased)
• Fahkri • (unnamed) agent
The Whistling Skull is an interesting anomaly in the JSA universe. The title began as a proposal for a series of mini-series (like Hellboy) by creators B. Clay Moore and Tony Harris. The pair had finished Ex Machina, published under Wildstorm, and their next project, the "Further Adventures of the Whistling Skull," was announced in April 2010. But when Wildstorm was shuttered in preparation for DC's "New 52" makeover, the Skull's future was uncertain. The pair repitched this series to DC editors (including Jim Lee, former head of Wildstorm), and miraculously, it was picked up. Harris credited DC with the "willingness to marry and ‘seat’ Skull firmly in the JSA: Liberty Files universe that I was a part of creating in years past.”
In this "universe," the Justice Society is a loose term used to describe a network of 52 groups of adventurers (whose missions sometimes intersect). Skull introduces a number of British heroes, both super-powered and non-, who work for a network called the Skeleton, an agency Teagle and Sons, run by Mr. Teagle and Dr. Archibald Moon. (#2) The Whistling Skull is a British operative who possesses the memories of his predecessors. His horrible visage is not supernatural, but a mask. (DC's original Dr. Moon first appeared in Batman #240, 1972).
Another group of the 52 is the Boy Commandos, who appear in issue #4; Brooklyn and Andre are named. The Boy Commandos were created by Simon and Kirby, all the way back in Boy Commandos #1, 1942. The trade paperback reveals, in a memo by John Thunder (U.S. federal liaison to the 52), that Capt. Hop Harrigan and his men were another cell.
In 1940, the sixth Whistling Skull, John Singleton, worked with the Justice Society's Owl, Cat, and Clock, in Japan. In this mission, Singelton went missing and the Cat was killed (the last of his nine lives exhausted). All that is known is that Singleton was placed inside a wooden coffin where he encountered a monkey-like demon. His final fate is uncertain. (#1) Skeleton deployed their Bodysnatchers—agents Jenkins and Nash—to recover John Singleton's body but found his "coffin" empty. (#3) When Nash attempted to remove a coffin, the temple itself rose up to stop him and Nash disappeared. (#5)
On another mission in 1921, John Singleton was saved by another agent of Skeleton, the native mystery man called Fahkri. (#3)
Singleton's son, Nigel, first met young William Massey in London, in 1925. Being a rather "slow" child, Nigel had few friends. The boys' friendship became a brother-like bond, one noticed by Nigel's father. It moved John Singleton to name William Massey as his successor, the seventh Whistling Skull. What's more, Nigel Singleton possessed innate super-strength. When John went missing, Mr. Teagle recruited William for the Skull position. They told him that Singleton had died, a fact which Massey chose to withhold from Nigel. The Whistling Skull has no super-powers, but thanks to the mental abilities of Dr. Moon, he has all the memories of his predecessors. Nigel's fists are as tough as steel due to the ointment given to him by his father.
Three months later, Nigel had adopted his own codename: Knuckles (originally conceived by Harris as "Brickfist") and the pair were sent on a mission to Switzerland to investigate a rash of disappearances and mutilations. They met another mysterious operative, Johannes the semi-invisible man. (Johannes was partially transformed by an experimental gas in the first war; parts of him are still visible.) The trail led to a traveling circus, Der Karneval, which featured freaks Serpentina the snake woman; the Pocket, a knife thrower; the Boneless; Der Flock, a shadow wraith; and the Strong Man. (#2) Their leader was a former Nazi biologist Klaus Hellman. Agent Michael Keene provided the intel that Hellman was released by Hitler when his experiments went too far afield from the Führer's goals. (#4)
The boys found Hellman's laboratory but the villain escaped. In their inevitable clash, William took a knife to the chest and one of Hellmanm's monsters turns out to be Johannes's brother, Viktor. (#5) To help him win against Hellman, the Skull recieved help from another (unnamed) agent. From this agent's lab inside Big Ben, William was given a teleportation device in the form of a pocket watch. It could only use once, and the watch allowed the Skull to gain the upper hand against Hellman, who was finally captured. En route to his incarceration, Hellman's train was stopped by the Gestapo and he went with them.
The Clock and the Owl surprised Nigel and William by delivering a new wagon for the Skull, complements of the Society. William had been looking forward to returning to his sweetheart, Miss Judith Lightwood, but the Teagle had already made plans for him to pick up the case in Japan.(#6)
The series also featured the first appearance of an unnamed, multinational group of young soldiers (Brooklyn, Jan, and others).
Dr. Fate brings the Scooby Gang to 1942 to help the JSA. From Scooby-Doo Team-Up #77 (2018); by Sholly Fisch and Dario Brizuela.The Red Tornado joins in the fight against Vandal Savage and Nazis. From Scooby-Doo Team-Up #78 (2018); by Sholly Fisch and Dario Brizuela.
Scooby-Doo Team-Up
Digital first: Scooby-Doo Team-Up #77–78 (2018)
In print: Scooby-Doo Team-Up #39 (Aug. 2018)
By Sholly Fisch and Dario Brizuela
...
From Superman/Batman Genereations II #1 (2001); art by John Byrne.
Superman
& Batman: Generations
Generations II, 4-issue limited series
(2001)
Generations III, 12-issue limited
series (2003)
In this tale, Superman and Batman, along with most other original Golden
Age DC heroes, debut in the 1930s-40s and form the Justice Society. Their
JSA lasts
until the "Silver
Age,"
adding members who normally would have founded the Justice League. The
heroes who normally founded the Teen Titans become the Justice
League instead.
The first Generations series did not deal with the super-groups,
only the title characters.
ROLL CALL , JSA:
1942: Batman, Hawkman, Spectre, Green
Lantern, Superman, Wonder Woman (all their traditional selves) (Generations II #1)
1953: Atom, Green
Arrow, Wonder Girl (a magical clone), Flash (Jay Garrick, retired)(#1)
1964: Flash II (Barry
Allen), Batman II (Dick
Grayson) (#2)
ROLL CALL, JLA:
1964: Supergirl (Kara Kent), Robin II/Batman III (Bruce
Wayne, Jr.), Kid Flash/Flash III (Wally
West), Wonder Girl II/Wonder
Woman II (Stephanie
Trevor) (#2)
1986: Flash IV (Carrie
Allen) (#3)
1997: Green Lantern II (Kyle
Rayner), BlackHawk (Janet Hall; granddaughter of the Hall's and Janos Prohaska) (#3)
2008: Flash V (Jay
West), Nightwing (Clark Wayne), Cyborg, Green Lantern III (Hal
Jordan) (#4)
21st Century: — Superman I (Clark
Kent), Batman I (Bruce
Wayne), Flash V (Jay
West), Wonder Woman II (Stephanie
Trevor), Green Lantern III (Hal
Jordan), Blackhawk. (Generations III #2)
