Last Days of the Justice Society

These are the last days of the Justice Society. At least until they decide to bring them back. It's inevitable that some day they will, but for now the JSA is off the table.

I'm sure that many people will be unhappy about this. It doesn't really bother me. I haven't really enjoyed the Justice Society since prior to its most recent relaunch. The book has felt adrift for quite a while now, and I think that probably has something to do with the decision to "let it rest."

That said, I think there are better reasons out there for taking the JSA out of action. Indeed, I think there are some very good reasons indeed. First has to do with age. In the past, DC has remained firm in tying the JSA founders to World War II. Setting aside what role they may or may not have originally had during the war, they've been tied to that time period pretty consistently for quite a long time now.

That presents a problem for the new DCU. DC is trying to make their DCU younger and fresher. And that's somewhat difficult to do with a team tie so closely to World War II. After all, with every year that passes the war grows more and more distant. The original JSAers go from being in their seventies to in their eighties. And eventually their nineties. And that's a problem.

But it's not the best reason to take the JSA out of the DCU. Under the current post-Crisis chronology the JSA creates a fatal flaw in the DC Universe. In my eyes, there's a big thing that's been missing for the past twenty-five or so years. I think it absolutely vital that Superman be the first super-hero.

In the real world Superman is the first super-hero. There is little debate about that. He ushered in a new kind of fiction and changed our world forever. He did the same thing in the DCU: a world largely like ours existed until a man dressed in red and blue appeared in the sky and altered things irrevocably.

He was followed by many others, but there was no question that he came first and inspired those who followed him. And with the JSA as it has been conceived we can't have that. In order for Superman to be returned to his rightful place -- which it seems Grant Morrison intends to do -- the Justice Society must fade away.