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Two years and some months ago, I did a column based around the idea
of an animated version of the Justice Society of America. This was about the
same time that the current JSA series began, and only dealt with the Golden
Age version of the team. With the coming of the JLA cartoon, this season, it
seemed like a good time to discuss a JSA cartoon, as well.
The main problem with doing Golden Age JSA stories is the period in
which they originate. American animated cartoons have not dealt with the
topic of war, in decades, but stories set in the Golden Age could not avoid
the issue. Personally, I think you could tell some fantastic stories, set in
that period. Unfortunately, it would be hard to convince a network executive
that those great stories would not generate unwelcome parental objections.
The simplest solution to this, would be to do a JSA series running
mostly modern stories, with occasional flashbacks to the Golden Age. That's
why I originally titled the art for my first JSA column,
"JSA Then." This
time around, I've done the present-day team, minus a few characters, because
I like the idea of bringing new characters in, as we go along.
When DC brought the new JSA into being, one of their first
adversaries was one of the great villains of the DC Universe, the evil
sorcerer Mordru. More famous, or rather, infamous, for his attempts to
dominate the galaxy in the 30th Century, the JSA faced Mordru in his
relative youth. More violent and ruthless than in his old age, this Mordru
was somewhat less powerful than he would one day become. Even so, his defeat
required the incarnation of a new Dr.Fate, returning the long-missing son of
the Golden Age Hawkman and Hawkgirl, Hector Hall. Hector had been missing
for more than a decade (of real time, maybe a couple of weeks, in
comic-time), since his days as Silver Scarab, in the offshoot team of the
JSA, Infinity Incorporated.
When deciding the makeup of this team, I decided to keep it small,
at first. Bringing in other favorite characters on a rotating basis. Of
course, this is all in my head, what I would do, if only someone would put
me in charge of a project like this. Another factor is the upcoming JLA
cartoon, which steals one of the new JSA characters, the youngest Winged
Wonder, Hawkgirl. I didn't want to duplicate the JLA cartoon lineup, by
including only the "big guns". One of the nice things about the "new" JSA is
the mixture of old and young heroes, from Alan Scott and Jay Garrick (the
original Green Lantern and Flash), to the youngest, Courtney Whitmore a.k.a.
the Star-Spangled Kid. The Justice Society of America was the first
super-team in comics. Because no one had gone before them, they made up the
rules as they went along. Unlike the Justice League, the JSA welcomed a wide
variety of heroes into their midst, even truly silly heroes like Ma Hunkel,
the original Red Tornado. This makes the JSA an ideal setting for young
heroes to work side-by-side with veterans, learning the ropes with
experienced heroes to watch out for them.
To start with, I decided I had to have the Flash. Jay Garrick
anchors the team in it's history. Next came Black Canary, because I like the
idea of heroic legacy, and her mother was also a member, back in the day.
For muscle, we have Atom Smasher, the nephew of the original Atom, with the
power to grow to enormous size and the strength to make it work. As a bridge
between the generations, we have Sand, formerly Sandy, the Golden Boy.
Former sidekick of one of the first heroes of the Golden Age, the Sandman,
Sandy Hawkins has remained young (for reasons too complicated to go into,
here, involving once being turned into some kind of sand-monster) and uses
the Sandman's weapons to fight crime and injustice. Additionally, he has some
earth-based powers, which allow him to move through earth and stone like
they were air, an after-effect of his monstrous form. And, of course, the
Star-Spangled Kid and Dr.Fate, to round out the team.
As in the comic, their first adversary would be the sorcerer,
Mordru. Where they go from there, who knows? It's only an idea, right now.
That's all, for this month, time just ran out on me. As always, I'm
open to suggestions for future columns. See you next month!
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