The Justice Society indulge the new Huntress’ desire to make the team a place where villains can improve their reputation, by checking her list to see if naughty can become nice.
Green Lantern Alan Scott isn’t convinced teen hothead Red Lantern of Russia has what it takes, what with the multiple murders and all. Still, he catches up to Ruby halfway across the world, where she’s taking apart guards at a secret facility linked to her father, and takes her out for a drink, as you do.
Meanwhile, Stargirl, Jakeem Thunder and Thunderbolt, Salem the Witch Girl and Jay Garrick Flash discuss who’s worth their time in terms of tracking down for possible team membership.
I’m with Salem, Helena’s plan seems nutty. Here’s the Huntress’s reasoning.
Now, I’m a fan of time travel stories. I love ‘em. But this business with a Helena Wayne Huntress back from the future is just dragging, and makes little sense. Yes, she saw people die circa 2050, but now she’s in 2023 and they’re a long way from the cemetery. The linear timeline Helena landed on has changed since she arrived and almost certainly won’t hit the point at which she left. Regardless, the easiest way to keep Solomon Grundy (who dies and is reborn weekly anyway), the Gentleman Ghost (dead two centuries already), Ruby, Icicle, Kyle and the Harlequin’s Son intact is to keep well away from them. It’s not rocket science.
A more useful way for Helena to spend her time would be to help acclimatise the Lost Children to the 21st century, they’ve already landed on the JSA’s doorstep and have a pressing need.
Another time travel complication comes on the final page as we finally learn who the long-promised mystery Legionnaire is, and the answer is… ‘one of the more boring members of the Legion of Super-Heroes’ (or maybe his brother).
It wouldn’t be so bad if writer Geoff Johns would keep his scripts busy, but this one is decompressed, with far too much space at the start given to Ruby blasting Russian folk. It also makes for indistinct action, not something usually associated with artist Mikel Janín. Things get better artistically when Red Lantern is fighting Alan – the Golden Age Green Lantern looks fantastic, his outfit hanging realistically, his ring burning with power – but so far as the script goes, this is a very quick read. And that’s not great when Johns has set up so much story.
Of the slight progression we get this time, there’s a hint that the first Red Lantern, Ruby’s father, wasn’t actually Alan’s enemy… perhaps emerald light will be shed on the matter in this week’s new issue of the Alan Scott: Green Lantern mini-series. I shall read that next.
Rob Leigh’s letters are first rate, as ever, with a nice story title design thrown in for good measure.
I could do with Jordie Bellaire turning up the volume on her colour palette, at least so far as costumed characters are concerned. It seems she’s reserving intense tones for power blasts while the heroes, especially, are in muted shades. I get that there can be environmental factors at work, but I like my heroes to pop at least some of the time. It could be that Janín is setting the tone with his self-coloured covers, which continue to speak to anyone looking for Seventies-inspired bathroom tiles.
As for the cover image, it’s weirdly cluttered for a craftsman as talented as Janín, with Ruby in our face and the head of Alan Scott and Dr Fate’s mask squeezed in like afterthoughts. I think there’s also a green lantern lamp lying around… I wonder if Ruby was originally smaller in the image, but a close crop was decided on at the last minute.
I don’t regret buying this comic, but so far as we know the Justice Society of America is a 12-issue deal, and I’d like to feel that Johns, Janín and friends will get to finish their story. As it is, I fear a lot of loose ends are on the horizon. It doesn’t help satisfaction levels that the supposed monthly release of issues is a joke. If DC would just promote this series to ongoing and announce any creative team tweaks necessary, I’d be a lot happier.
Too Dangerous For a Girl 2 
I came here after seeing your skeet on Bluesky and figured it’s been awhile since I’ve visited. I definitely plan on becoming more of a regular visitor once more, more so because of your expertly crafted summations & takes than the issues themselves as I’ve long since stopped collecting or reading comics anymore, with a rare exception or two.
Anyhoo, I was aware of this series & did read the special the preceded this limited series, where Huntress was the lone survivor. I definitely enjoyed how this has all started, as Johns has always been a great supporter & advocate of the JSA. I also definitely like the recent additions of these newer characters & lost children into the fold. It’s certainly injected new life into the DCU as a whole.
I’m guessing the readers are left to fill in the blanks and surmise that Alan & Ruby’s father might’ve had a fling, brief or not, correct?
Definitely enjoying the new facial haired look for Alan as well.
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Thanks for popping back, and the lovely words. I’d love to know which books still have your attention.
I think you’re right about Green and Red Lantern coming together into a purple haze. Alan’s a proper horndog in his new incarnation.
I’m not yet sold on Alan’s beard, but at least he’s not dressed as a paraffin heater. Gosh, that was terrible.
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Moon Knight mostly, and Junkyard Joe, but I’ve been exploring older series like Astro City & the various spin-offs.
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I agree with the fling theory with Alan and Vladimir. I’m also looking forward to the least explored OG Legionnaire getting development and panel time. Maybe I’ll get my wish and the senseless death of Lyle Norg will be reversed too and as icing on the cake Condo as well!
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The death of Invisible Kid was such a rotten waste – heroes should not die in intimate short tales. The sequel was even worse. But I did like the invisibility explanation with the pencil.
I love Condo!
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I’d have to disagree with you in regards to Helena and her redeemed team from 2050. I think the survivors guilt of wanting to give her team and her team another change is interesting, plus it would help her fit into the current timeline better with a team close to home. The team are also substitute metaphors for the Batman and Catwoman relationship which is a major factor of Helena becoming the Huntress. The lost children are more useful in Stargirl territory, I’d like to see Courtney and Red Arrow lead the Young Justice Society.
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Good points, but the fact that Helena is trying to form her new team 25 years early is very odd. I’d love the Lost Kids to share a book with Stargirl!
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I’m okay with the Huntress’ motivation/actions. She’s been displaced in time, so there’s got to be some trauma/psychological/emotional shakeup involved. Yes, this is a comic, but how does any character not get stuck in the past and have it mess with them somehow? So this seems to be Johns’ way of dealing with that issue. Another writer might approach it differently, but I’m okay with what Johns is doing.
What I do find interesting is that Johns’ approach to his current time with the JSA is very similar to what he did when he rebooted the title back in the mid-2000s. In both series he introduced new legacy characters, greatly expanding the Justice Society’s ranks.
What is disappointing this time around, though, is that after so many years without a regular title (and being stuck in limbo thanks to the New52) I’d prefer a Justice Society book that focuses on the team we have.
It’s almost as if Johns has nothing left to say about Green Lantern, the Flash, Wildcat, Stargirl, Jakeem Thunder, and needs to bring in the Huntress and the Lost Children and the reformed villains to keep himself interested.
Although I have been enjoying this series, it does kind of feel like the main JSAers are guest stars.
I mean, Johns even brought back the female versions of Doctor Midnite and Wildcat who were killed off in the 1990s “Eclipso” series rather than use the new Doc Midnite from his original JSA run and the original Wildcat or his son, whom Johns introduced in that previously mentioned JSA reboot from the mid-2000s.
Again, I credit him for trying to expand DC’s Golden Age universe in these modern times, and for creating a true “society” of heroes (as opposed to just a team). But was any of this really necessary? Couldn’t we have just gotten the pre-New52 Justice Society back for some adventures without adding in all these new characters, who, I’m sorry to say, may just wind up in limbo now that Johns has gone exclusive with another publisher?
-Brian
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Fantastic thoughts on the series, Brian. I would have loved this series to be a direct continuation of the JSA series others worked on after Johns left the previous series, showing us the likes of Amazing Man III, Cyclone and Tomcat. I wonder why he didn’t do that – the future villains etc team is interesting in Huntress’s alternate future, but right now? I’d rather see existing heroes and have this lot be a new Injustice Gang… maybe that’s the plan.
And how do we fit this with the Fire and Ice mini-series, where Gentleman Ghost is proving rather affable (even if I do think he’s behind certain shenanigans).
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Johns does have a habit of throwing a ton of new characters at the JSA.
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Johns is making the same mistake that Bendis and Waid and co-creators did with Legion reboots. Just because a team has in total a metric butt ton of members does not mean they all have to appear immediately. Aside from Huntress, who gets any real focus? I am enjoying this series but I’d love it a lot more with a core cast of six to eight with guest characters for an arc.
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There are a few things bothering me about Helena’s plan
1. Like Martin said, it is odd that Helena is trying to recreate a team 25 years early… she didn’t understand that Kyle is a little kid… she should definitely focus on the lost children
2. How are all of the people young? Ruby should at least be in her 60s now let alone 25 years from now. Harlequin’s son should be well over 100 in Helena’s time
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Welcome to my world. Unless Ian Karkull’s death essence leached out to enemies, acquaintances, and people they said more than two words to, the JSA’s origin being tied to WW2 is a suspension of disbelief killer for me. I can still enjoy well crafted stories featuring them but afterwards it bothers me. They shot themselves in the foot with definitive stories during the war they don’t appear willing to fix so removing the war is out. All that remains is a workaround. I have a very comic booky idea of how to do it but doubt DC PTB even realize there’s a problem.
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Ian Karkill energy is now an app you can download!
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Man, I wish this book would settle down and focus. Every issue, everything is dropped for the new shiny object. Let’s start tying things together, shall we?
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A-blooming-men
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