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98-696: Giffen, DeMatteis, and Maguire had previously created the tongue-in-cheek Justice League International comic book in the 1990s, and revived a similar style of comedy as that series featured. Most of the Super Buddies recruited by Maxwell Lord and his robot sidekick L-Ron are former members of Justice League International when Giffen, DeMatteis, and Maguire worked on the series: Blue Beetle , Booster Gold , Fire , Ralph Dibny (The Elongated Man ) and his wife Sue , and Captain Atom . A seventh former member, Captain Marvel ,

196-607: A 16-issue crossover between the Justice League America (#53–60) and Justice League Europe (#29–36) titles, changing the tone of both series from a humorous one to a more serious one and introducing new creative teams to both series. The major events that occurred were the following: The Justice League titles continued to expand into the early to mid-1990s. Titles included: Justice League America , Justice League Europe , Justice League Task Force , Extreme Justice and Justice League Quarterly . Justice League Europe

294-630: A brush with Armageddon". Justice Society of America The Justice Society of America ( JSA ) is a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics . It was conceived by editor Sheldon Mayer and writer Gardner Fox during the Golden Age of Comic Books . It first appeared in All Star Comics #3 (Winter 1940–1941), making it the first team of superheroes in comic books. Its original members were Doctor Fate , Hourman ,

392-641: A crossover between the two titles. The title also indirectly tied into Odyssey , a storyline published in Wonder Woman that saw the title character being removed from history with her existence forgotten by most of her fellow heroes. This formed the basis of the book's finale, with the members of the Justice League International racing to track down Wonder Woman before Lord could find her and kill her. Plot threads from Kingdom Come and The OMAC Project also appeared. Generation Lost ended with

490-644: A different fictional "Earth". The JSA's popularity grew until they regained their own title. All Star Comics #58 (January/February 1976) saw the group return as mentors to a younger set of heroes briefly called the "Super Squad" until they were integrated into the JSA proper. This run lasted until #74, with a brief run thereafter in Adventure Comics #461–466, but it had three significant developments: it introduced Power Girl in All Star Comics #58, chronicled

588-799: A great notion, since it offered readers a lot of headliners for a dime, and also the fun of watching fan favorites interact". The JSA's adventures were written by Gardner Fox as well as by John Broome and Robert Kanigher . The series was illustrated by a legion of artists including: Martin Nodell , Joe Kubert , Jack Kirby , Harry Lampert , Joe Simon , Alex Toth , Sheldon Moldoff , Carmine Infantino , Joe Giella , Win Mortimer , Bernard Baily , Frank Giacoia , H. G. Peter , Jack Burnley , Lee Elias , Irwin Hasen , Bob Oksner , Paul Reinman , Everett Edward Hibbard , and Bernard Sachs . The first JSA story featured

686-516: A hostage, since her magic word — " Shazam! " — does not work in Hell (since the wizard Shazam himself is not present in that plane of existence). Ralph uses his stretching abilities to help foil the demons' plan to torture the Buddies. To the amazement of both Fire and Gardner, the Super Buddies discover Ice , another former JLI member, among the denizens of Hell. Sickened by Fire and Gardner's displays of sorrow,

784-656: A major figure in Flash , Teen Titans , and later Justice Society comics. Not long after, most of the team was incapacitated or killed in the 1994 crossover series Zero Hour: Crisis in Time . During the battle between the Justice Society and the villain Extant , the latter removes the chronal energies keeping the Justice Society young. The Atom , Doctor Mid-Nite , and Hourman die immediately. Hawkman and Hawkgirl , who were separated from

882-457: A member received his or her own title, that character would leave All Star Comics , becoming an "honorary member" of the JSA. Thus, the Flash was replaced by Johnny Thunder after #6, and Green Lantern left shortly thereafter for the same reason. For this reason, Superman and Batman were established as already being "honorary" members prior to All Star Comics #3. How these two heroes helped found

980-443: A murderous Ice, now a stripper using the name Tiffany, an even stupider version of Booster working as a bartender, and bouncer Metamorpho. The Fire of this universe had been killed by Tiffany and Sue had divorced Ralph. Doctor Fate finally brings the team back to their correct dimension after they have to do battle with doppelgängers of themselves. Most of the battle takes place on the hairy, insect-infested body of G'nort himself. It

1078-516: A red variation of the Silver Age Blue Beetle 's costume), and brought in Ri and Darknight, two Chinese superheroes that he had created for his Batman Confidential run. An ongoing series titled JSA All-Stars debuted with a February 2010 cover date (distinct from JSA: All Stars , a limited series published from July 2003 to February 2004). The series focused on a second team that formed after

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1176-492: A result, the Flash and Green Lantern returned to the team. With issue #27 (Winter 1945), National Comics bought out Max Gaines' share of All-American and the two companies merged to form Detective Comics, Inc. The JSA roster remained mostly the same for the rest of the series. Gardner Fox left the series with issue #34 (April–May 1947) with a story that introduced a new super-villain, the Wizard . The Injustice Society first battled

1274-414: A seriously injured (and radioactively leaking) Captain Atom to a hospital, the others find that Manga Khan , L-Ron's former master, has come to Earth to reclaim the robot. Khan offers to trade G'nort , another former JLI member, for possession of L-Ron, but when this offer is refused, and Booster accidentally knocks over several rows of Khan's sentries, Khan declares war on Earth. Only by the intervention of

1372-457: A team of villains from both worlds. The following year, the two teams of heroes worked together to stop an evil version of the Justice League from another alternative Earth ( Justice League of America #29, "Crisis on Earth-Three", August 1964). These stories became the first in a long series of team-ups of the two supergroups, an annual summer tradition which continued until 1985. As well as

1470-538: A teaser that a new Justice League International series from The New 52 would be coming in a few months (with Booster Gold as leader). As part of DC's 2011 New 52 relaunch of all of its monthly books, Justice League International was relaunched in September 2011, after the conclusion of the Flashpoint storyline, written by Dan Jurgens and drawn by Aaron Lopresti . This version of Justice League International

1568-588: A two-issue story by Jerry Ordway , Bill Willingham and Lilah Sturges took over as writers with issue #29 in July 2009. Another JLA/JSA crossover was chronicled in Justice League of America #44–48 and Justice Society of America #41–42 under the Brightest Day banner. James Robinson, the writer who co-wrote the 1999 JSA relaunch, took over as the book's writer for the crossover while Mark Bagley illustrated

1666-426: A website, "blazingfire.com", where she makes sensual pictures of herself available for (paid) download, and cannot get along with the polite and innocent Mary Marvel, whom Fire dubs " Mary Poppins ". In addition, Fire convinces Sue that Ralph rates as "a four" (out of ten), giving Ralph an inferiority complex as a result. Captain Atom has no idea why he even joined the team, and is constantly tense and frustrated around

1764-458: A welcome letter, a badge, a decoder, a four-page comic book, and a membership certificate. By All Star Comics #24 (Spring 1945), a real-world schism between National Comics and All-American Publications—a nominally independent company run by Max Gaines and Jack Liebowitz —had occurred, which resulted in the Detective Comics, Inc. (National Comics) heroes being removed from the title. As

1862-433: A well-timed slap from Mary. The Super Buddies are then kidnapped during their first team meeting by Roulette, who brainwashes them into serving as gladiators in her intergalactic metahuman arena. Mary Marvel and Captain Atom are pitted against each other, and the mind-controlled Mary nearly beats Atom and Fire to death before she overcomes her programming and the team is released from captivity. While Beetle and Booster rush

1960-644: Is denied membership due to having a secret identity, but is allowed to accompany the group as part of an effort to foster good relations between the JLI and the original Justice League. The team goes on to defeat the Signal Men and the alien conqueror Peraxxus. During a press conference outside the Hall of Justice, Rocket Red is killed when a bomb explodes, while Fire, Ice and Vixen are hospitalized and become comatose. This leads Booster Gold to recruit Batwing , OMAC and Firehawk to

2058-510: Is formed by United Nations director Andre Briggs as a UN-controlled counterpart to the original Justice League and is based out of the Hall of Justice . The founding members of the team consist of Booster Gold, Fire, Ice, Rocket Red (Gavril Ivanovich), Green Lantern (Guy Gardner), Vixen , August General in Iron and Godiva , who are recruited to the team due to having their identities publicly known. Batman

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2156-526: Is on a roof shouting for his Thunderbolt and that it is his fault they lost the Justice Society. At the end of the crossover, it is revealed that the Pre- New 52 Jay Garrick was also stuck in the Speed Force, and Barry is able to momentarily free him. However, when Barry tries to secure him to the universe just as he did to Wally, Jay instead is transported back into the Speed Force in a blast of blue energy. In

2254-446: Is recruited by L-Ron, but he turns down the offer. His sister, Mary Marvel , joined in his place. The Super Buddies do not and cannot get along: Blue Beetle and Booster Gold, formerly the self-proclaimed " Abbott and Costello " of the JLI, now find themselves constantly arguing and fruitlessly attempting to prove to one another that they have matured. No one takes Booster or Ralph Dibny seriously, though not without good reason. Fire runs

2352-456: The Watchmen sequel Doomsday Clock , Doctor Manhattan recalls various events in which he indirectly killed Alan Scott and thus brought about changes in the timeline. On July 16, 1940, Alan Scott was riding on a train over a collapsing bridge, but he survived by grabbing onto a green lantern. He continues his life, eventually "sitting at a round table wearing a mask" and later testifying before

2450-468: The Crisis . One of Roy Thomas's efforts to resolve the Crisis -created inconsistencies was to introduce some analogues to Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman, in a sequel to All-Star Squadron titled Young All-Stars . In 1986, DC decided to write off the JSA from active continuity . The Last Days of the Justice Society one-shot involved most of the team battling the forces of evil while merged with

2548-732: The Fawcett Comics heroes, including Captain Marvel , the death of Mr. Terrific , and the origin of the Black Canary. The JLA/JSA crossovers often involved a third team as well such as the Legion of Super-Heroes , the New Gods , the Secret Society of Super Villains , and the All-Star Squadron . All-Star Squadron was a series taking place in the JSA's original setting of

2646-634: The Golden Age Superman , Batman , Robin , and Wonder Woman ceased to exist, and the Earth-One/Earth-Two dichotomy was resolved by merging the Multiverse into a single universe. This posed a variety of problems for the JSA, whose history—especially in the 1980s comics—was strongly tied up in these four characters. The JLA–JSA team-ups ended with the last pre-Crisis teamup occurring in Justice League of America #244 and Infinity Inc. #19 during

2744-785: The Justice League 's disbandment, initially consists of them, the Blue Beetle , Booster Gold , Guy Gardner , Fire , and Ice , and are based in the Justice League Satellite . In subsequent episodes, Rip Hunter , Robin , Kid Flash , Superman , Wonder Woman , Plastic Man , the Green Arrow , Captain Atom , Captain Marvel , and Rocket Red have joined the team. Martin A. Stever reviewed Justice League International Space Gamer/Fantasy Gamer No. 83. Stever commented that "thanks to clever characterization and wit, this creative team makes team moving day as exciting and as much fun as

2842-546: The Justice Society of America headquarters, Booster Gold begins messing around with Doctor Fate 's talisman and inadvertently wishes the team to Hell. From the depths of Hell, Fire calls Sue for help (on her cell phone, which is then accidentally destroyed), and Power Girl and Guy Gardner are recruited to follow the team to Hell and save them. While in Hell, the Super Buddies work at a labyrinthine version of Big Belly Burger called " Beelze Burger". The demons use Mary Batson as

2940-715: The Norse gods in an ever-repeating Ragnarök -like Limbo , written by Thomas, with art by David Ross and Mike Gustovich. Only Power Girl, the Star-Spangled Kid , the Spectre, and Doctor Fate escaped the cataclysm. A later comic book series, The Sandman , portrays this scenario as a simulation, created by Odin in his search for a way to thwart the real Ragnarök. Roy Thomas revised the JSA's origin for post- Crisis continuity in Secret Origins vol. 2 #31. Fan interest resulted in

3038-759: The Spectre , Sandman , Atom , the Flash , Green Lantern and Hawkman . The team was initially popular, but after superhero comics waned in the late 1940s, the JSA's adventures ceased with issue #57 of the title (March 1951). During the Silver Age of Comic Books , DC Comics reinvented several Justice Society members and brought many of them together in a new team, the Justice League of America . Other JSA members remained absent from comics for ten years until Jay Garrick appeared alongside Barry Allen , his Silver Age counterpart, in The Flash #123 (September 1961). The Justice Society

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3136-495: The Spectre , the Sandman , the Atom , Flash , Green Lantern , and Hawkman . Because some of these characters (the Atom, the Flash, Green Lantern, and Hawkman) were published by All-American Publications rather than DC Comics, All-Star Comics #3 is the first inter-company superhero title, as well as the first team-up title. Comics' historian Les Daniels noted that: "This was obviously

3234-467: The real Justice League (who have been spying on the Super Buddies all this time in anticipation of such a faux pas) is an intergalactic crisis avoided. Formerly Known as the Justice League proved a popular miniseries, and won the 2004 Eisner Award for Best Comedy Series. A six-issue sequel to Formerly Known as the Justice League , I Can't Believe It's Not the Justice League , was produced by Giffen, DeMatteis, and Maguire in 2004, but its publication

3332-501: The wartime 1940s. This led to a spinoff, modern day series entitled Infinity, Inc. which starred the children and heirs of the JSA members. Both series were written by noted JSA fan Roy Thomas and featured art by Rich Buckler , Jerry Ordway , Todd McFarlane , and others. In 1985, DC retconned many details of the DC Universe in Crisis on Infinite Earths . Among the changes,

3430-436: The "Earth-Two" characters. Later, this fictional age gap was to become a major theme for character development, with the fictional histories of different versions of the same characters deviating significantly from each other in ways impacted by their differences in age, including even the deaths of popular characters such as Batman in one setting while different, contemporary versions of the characters lived on as inhabitants of

3528-423: The "Power Posse". This team is a group-for-hire who operated out of a strip club owned by a sleazy, or sleazier, version of Maxwell Lord and his moll, a degraded and somewhat dimwitted version of Sue Dibny. The Power Posse consisted of a giant-sized G'nort who began a destructive rampage, sado-masochistic incestuous versions of Captain Marvel (who talked with a lisp) and Mary Marvel, who called herself Mistress Mary,

3626-547: The 1980s when the heroes would logically be well into their 60s. The explanation given for this by writer Roy Thomas in All-Star Squadron Annual #3 is that the team, and several friends, have absorbed energy from the magical villain Ian Karkull during an adventure in the 1940s that stunts their aging process. Meanwhile, the JSA continued their annual team-ups with the Justice League. Notable events include meeting

3724-514: The Golden Age and subsequent eras. The 1985 Crisis on Infinite Earths limited series merged all of the company's various alternate realities into one, placing the JSA as World War II era predecessors to the company's modern characters. A JSA series was published from 1999 to 2006, and a Justice Society of America series that ran from 2007 to 2011. As part of DC Comics' 2011 relaunch of its entire line of monthly books, an unnamed version of

3822-626: The House Un-American Activities Committee but refusing to implicate anyone in his employ. On July 16, 1940, again, Doctor Manhattan moves the lantern six inches out of Alan Scott's reach so that Scott dies in the train accident and leaves no family behind. At the Daily Planet, Lois Lane finds a flash-drive showing footage of various members of the Justice Society of America such as Alan Scott, Jay Garrick, Doctor Fate, Hawkman, Hourman, Sandman, and Spectre. Lois did not know about

3920-403: The JSA before becoming honorary members was not explained until DC Special #29 in 1977. Hawkman is the only member to appear in every JSA adventure in the original run of All Star Comics . All Star Comics #8 (December 1941/January 1942) featured the first appearance of Wonder Woman . Unlike the other characters who had their own titles, she was allowed to appear in the series, but only as

4018-549: The JSA in issue #37 in a tale written by Robert Kanigher. The team's second female member Black Canary first helped the group in All Star Comics #38 and became a full member in #41. All Star Comics and the JSA's Golden Age adventures ended with issue #57, the title becoming All-Star Western , with no superheroes. A good amount of artwork has survived from an unpublished All Star Comics story titled "The Will of William Wilson" and has been reprinted in various publications from TwoMorrows Publishing . The explanation for

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4116-727: The JSA in the Silver Age, and refers directly to their last adventure in All-Star Comics #57, while in The Flash #137 the JSA re-form. These stories set the stage for "Crisis on Earth-One" ( Justice League of America #21, August 1963) and "Crisis on Earth-Two" ( Justice League of America #22, September 1963), a two-part tale where the Golden Age Justice Society teams up with the Silver Age Justice League to combat

4214-446: The JSA split. Calling themselves the "All-Stars", the group included more of the newer, younger members of the JSA. The roster consisted of: Magog, Damage , Power Girl, Hourman, Atom Smasher , Sand , Stargirl , Cyclone , Wildcat (Ton Bronson), Citizen Steel , Judomaster , King Chimera , Anna Fortune , and the A.I. Roxy, with Damage and Magog later being killed. DC cancelled JSA All-Stars with issue #18 (July 2011) because of

4312-662: The JSA was a hotel suite in New York City initially and, after the war, the team settled on a brownstone building in Gotham City , and later in Civic City . The JSA was provided with an orbital satellite headquarters, much like their later counterparts, the JLA, but it was immediately abandoned when it was revealed to be a death trap built in an attempt to kill off the team. The Gotham City brownstone remained unoccupied until years later when

4410-485: The JSA's secretary from #11 onward, and did not actively take part in most adventures until much later in the series. She was excluded from the title because of the same rules that had excluded the Flash, Green Lantern, Superman, and Batman from the title, though in #13 it was claimed she had become an active member. A fan club for the team called the "Junior Justice Society of America" was introduced in All Star Comics #14 (Dec. 1942-Jan. 1943). The membership kit included

4508-434: The Justice League , by the same creative team published in the pages of JLA Classified . This tale told a story of the characters attempt to rescue Ice from Hell . Following Blackest Night , DC launched two alternating 24-issue bi-weekly comic book miniseries , Brightest Day and Justice League: Generation Lost , written by Keith Giffen and Judd Winick . This second series features Captain Atom, Booster Gold,

4606-583: The Justice Society Infinity, a team continuing from an analogous post- Crisis Earth-Two. Most of the members of the Justice Society Infinity are original members of Earth-Two's Justice Society, such as the Atom and Robin ( Dick Grayson ), but the Society includes characters that are normally associated with Infinity, Inc., such as Jade and Nuklon ( Albert Rothstein ). Johns' run as writer of Justice Society of America ended with issue #26. Following

4704-520: The Justice Society mostly resided with Hawkman, although initially the Flash, and later Green Lantern, took turns leading the team. For a brief period in 1942, they were known as the Justice Battalion, as they became an extension of the armed forces of the United States of America during World War II. It was later explained that the reason the JSA did not invade Europe and end the war was because of

4802-511: The Justice Society until now. When Doctor Manhattan first arrived in the DC Universe, he witnesses the creation of the JSA and each of its founding members superhero personas. In one timeline (Golden Age/Earth-2), Doctor Manhattan watches as the JSA wait for the arrival of Superman to formally create their team. This then changes to a timeline (Post-Crisis/New Earth) where Superman was not a founding member and did not arrive until 1956. Curious about

4900-651: The League fights the Rocket Red Brigade , until Mikhail Gorbachev allows them to help. Wandjina sacrifices himself to stop a nuclear meltdown and the League are sent home by international law. Millionaire entrepreneur Maxwell Lord takes an interest in the team, breaching their security and suggesting Booster Gold as a new member. Booster proves himself in combat against the Royal Flush Gang and Lord declares himself their press liaison. The Martian Manhunter saves

4998-410: The League travels into space. Miracle recognizes it as a modified New Genesis device and neutralizes it. They return home as heroes. Maxwell Lord introduces a proposal to get United Nations funding and they are given sponsorship in exchange for government regulation. This plan allows them to act as an independent city-state with worldwide embassies. Captain Atom and Rocket Red #7 are added to the team by

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5096-467: The Ragnarök cycle, allowing the team to return to Earth. In 1992, the JSA was given an ongoing monthly series titled Justice Society of America , written by Len Strazewski with art by Mike Parobeck , featuring the original team adjusting to life after returning from Ragnarök. Though Justice Society of America was intended as an ongoing series, and was popular with readers, the decision was made to cancel

5194-479: The Speed Force. Johnny admits he threw away the magic pen containing Thunderbolt. In The Flash Rebirth series, the interaction between Pre- New 52 Wally West and New 52 Wally West triggers a disturbance in the Speed Force, which causes Barry to have a strange vision. In the vision, Barry sees Johnny Quick's Speed formula and Jay Garrick's Flash helmet. Johnny Thunder is seen again during the Button crossover, where he

5292-587: The Starman legacies to his sons, resulting in the creation of one of the new series following Zero Hour , James Robinson 's Starman . The JSA remained inactive for some time after the events of " Zero Hour ", but the surviving members of the Flash, Wildcat , and Alan Scott (now going by the name Sentinel) have remained active throughout the DC Universe, having been placed as reserve JLI members, as evidenced in Justice League Europe #50. The Justice Society

5390-488: The United States and Russia, respectively. Captain Marvel and Doctor Fate quit the team for personal reasons; Batman steps down as leader, appointing the Martian Manhunter to replace him. They are reintroduced to the world as Justice League International. Despite a series of embarrassing accidents, they successfully move in to embassies around the world. This includes Moscow , New York City and Paris . With issue #7,

5488-672: The annual Justice League of America appearances, members of the JSA guest-starred in other titles over the next several years: the Golden Age Atom in The Atom #29 and #36, and the Golden Age Green Lantern in several issues of Green Lantern . In addition, a number of the characters appeared in team-up stories in issues of the DC titles The Brave and the Bold and Showcase , while the Spectre

5586-489: The book after the third issue's release. Twelve issues of the new series were ultimately commissioned, though publication itself ended with issue #10. Portions of the remaining two issues originally intended for #11–12, which were part of a planned crossover with Justice League Europe , were published in Justice League Europe #49–50. Strazewski, in an interview explaining the cancellation of this series, said, "It

5684-412: The commercial success of the series fading, each of the titles was eventually cancelled. In 2003, Giffen, DeMatteis, and Maguire reunited for the six-issue miniseries Formerly Known as the Justice League . This depicted Maxwell Lord trying to get the gang back together as The Super Buddies – a hero-for-hire group that operated out of a strip mall. 2005 saw a second storyline, I Can't Believe It's Not

5782-762: The death of the Golden Age Batman in Adventure Comics #461–462, and, after nearly 40 years, it finally provided the JSA with an origin story in DC Special #29. The Huntress was introduced in DC Super Stars #17 (Nov.–Dec. 1977) which told her origin, and All Star Comics #69 (Nov.–Dec. 1977), which was published the same day. The 1970s run of All Star Comics was written by Gerry Conway and Paul Levitz , and artists included Ric Estrada , Wally Wood , Keith Giffen , Joe Staton , and Bob Layton . The series

5880-418: The demons free the group, allowing them to take Ice with them as long as they do not look back on their way out. Fire accidentally looks back, and Ice is snatched back to the afterlife. It is implied that Ice will be sent to Valhalla. The group makes its way out of Hell, but soon find themselves trapped in an alternate universe populated by a team of sinister versions of themselves and their fellow heroes called

5978-494: The distaste of Mary's brother Billy Batson (a.k.a. Captain Marvel). Captain Atom has quit the team because of the incident with Mary from the previous miniseries and sued Maxwell Lord, leading him to attempt to recruit both Power Girl and Guy Gardner to join the team. Gardner causes several problems of his own: he is opening a bar next door to the Super Buddies' strip mall headquarters, and he takes delight in sexually harassing Fire, Sue, Power Girl, and Mary Marvel. While visiting

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6076-416: The entire event. After the crossover, Robinson wrote one final issue with artist Jesus Merino , which dealt with the relationship between Green Lantern and his son Obsidian . Following the Brightest Day story arc, Marc Guggenheim became the new writer with issue #44, and Scott Kolins took over art duties from Merino. During his first several issues, Guggenheim introduced a number of new characters to

6174-415: The events of Flashpoint , the DC 2011 summer event. As a result of the title's cancellation, writer Marc Guggenheim had all of the All-Stars except Power Girl and Magog rejoin the JSA in Justice Society of America #49. In the DC Universe Rebirth one-shot, Johnny Thunder is in a nursing home. He is trying to escape, but Kid Flash Wally West appears to Johnny trying to establish a link to return from

6272-450: The events of DC's Infinite Crisis crossover and the World War III event chronicled in 52 , JSA members Jay Garrick, Alan Scott, and Ted Grant decide to revive the Justice Society. On December 6, 2006, a new series was launched with the creative team of Geoff Johns (writer), Dale Eaglesham (pencils), and Alex Ross (cover art). The beginning of the new series showed JSA veterans the Flash, Green Lantern, and Wildcat choosing members of

6370-429: The existence of the original one, albeit vaguely. In September 2005, JSA ' s popularity led to a spinoff series, JSA: Classified , which tells stories of the team at various points in its existence, as well as spotlighting specific members in solo stories. The first arc, written by Geoff Johns with art by Amanda Conner , featured Power Girl's origin. The series was cancelled with issue #39 (August 2008). After

6468-731: The importance of Superman and what would happen if time were to be changed and how it would affect him, Doctor Manhattan prevented Alan Scott from becoming Green Lantern. This in turn created the New 52 Universe, and with it, the creation of the Justice Society of America was erased. When Doctor Manhattan undoes the experiment that erased the Justice Society and the Legion of Super-Heroes, the Justice Society (consisting of Atom-Smasher, Cyclone, Damage, Doctor Fate, Doctor Mid-Nite II, Flash, Green Lantern, Hawkman, Hourman II, Jade, Jakeem Thunder and Johnny Thunderbolt, Liberty Belle, Mister Terrific, Obsidian, Power Girl, Sandman II, Stargirl, S.T.R.I.P.E., Wildcat I, and Wildcat II) appears to help Superman fight

6566-419: The influence of the Spear of Destiny , which caused the JSA's most powerful members to fall under the control of its wielder, Adolf Hitler . In the 1980s, it was established that the JSA had a loose affiliation with the All-Star Squadron . The All-Star Squadron's adventures were set in the 1940s, and were considered to have happened concurrently with the Justice Society's in a " retcon ". The headquarters for

6664-402: The name of the team from Justice Society to Justice League . In The Flash #123 (September 1961) "The Flash of Two Worlds", the Silver Age Flash meets his Golden Age counterpart, Jay Garrick who, along with the rest of the original Justice Society, is said to inhabit an alternative universe. This historic meeting thus became one of the classic DC comics of the Silver Age. Fan letters on

6762-455: The new Blue Beetle Jaime Reyes, Fire, Ice and a new Rocket Red (by the name of Gavril Ivanovich) and essentially saw the return of Justice League International, as explained by Giffen: In all of my years in comics, I have never experienced anything like the complete 180 this project took once the brainstorming kicked off. Like I said, when we started the writers' summit, the Justice League... hell, why mince words... Justice League International

6860-435: The new generation of superheroes to train. Continuing a major theme from the previous JSA title, this new series focused on the team being the caretakers of the superhero legacy from one generation to the next. The crossovers between the JLA and JSA began again with "The Lightning Saga" (see below) in JLA vol. 4 #8–10 and JSA #5–6 and an epilogue in issue #7. Justice Society of America Annual #1 (September 2008) featured

6958-441: The others. To top it all off, Maxwell Lord plans to fully exploit his employees' images; he sets their headquarters up in a Queens, New York strip mall storefront, making the team available for contact through a 1-800 number and producing a Super Friends -esque television commercial for the Super Buddies. This new team successfully defeats the E-Street Bloodsuckers, a gang of Harvard drop-out super-powered hoodlums, thanks to

7056-471: The pages of following issues were wildly enthusiastic about the revival of the original Flash, both from older fans who remembered the old JSA tales, and younger fans eager to learn more about these new heroes. Further meetings occurred in The Flash #129 "Double Danger on Earth" (June 1962), and The Flash #137 "Vengeance of the Immortal Villain" (June 1963). The Flash #129 contains the first mention of

7154-574: The rampaging metahumans. Afterwards, the Justice Society investigates the Department of Metahuman Affairs which led to the arrest of those involved. The Justice Society returns in the pages of Justice League . The League splits up to retrieve fragments on the Totality from the past and future. Flash and Green Lantern are transported to 1941 to retrieve a fragment. They arrive in December 1941 to discover that

7252-622: The remnants of the Super Buddies ( Mary Marvel included) are shown trying to avenge the Blue Beetle's murder, with no success. Justice League International Justice League International ( JLI ) is a fictional DC comics superhero team that succeeded the original Justice League from the late 1980s to the early 2000s. The team enjoyed several comic books runs, the first being written by Keith Giffen and J. M. DeMatteis , with art by Kevin Maguire , created in 1987. Due to editorial conflicts,

7350-519: The rest of the Justice Society after being pulled into the timestream , merge into a new Hawkgod being , resulting in their deaths. Doctor Fate dies of the resulting aging shortly after Zero Hour . Green Lantern is kept young because of the mystical effects of the Starheart , but loses his ring and subsequently changes his name to Sentinel. The rest of the team is now too physically old to continue fighting crime and retires. Starman retires and passes on

7448-407: The revival of the JSA in 1991. An eight-issue Justice Society of America limited series featuring a previously untold story set in the 1950s was published in 1991. In the final issues of the four-issue Armageddon: Inferno limited series, the JSA returns to the modern-day DC Universe when Waverider transported the "daemen" of the interdimensional Abraxis to Asgard as a substitute for the JSA in

7546-421: The series solo after Goyer's departure. The series featured the art of Stephen Sadowski , Leonard Kirk , and Don Kramer , among others. It featured a story by Pulitzer Prize winner Michael Chabon . During the events of Infinite Crisis , some of the surviving Golden Age characters, such as Wildcat and the Flash, are transported to the new "Earth-Two," as created by Alexander Luthor Jr. , and seem to recall

7644-400: The series was renamed Justice League International to reflect the team's new international status. The name change spawned the term "JLI", which is used when referring to this period in Justice League history. The series was again renamed following the launch of Justice League Europe in 1989. The series was known as Justice League America until its cancellation in 1996. "Breakdowns" was

7742-449: The team appears in the Earth 2 Vol 1 (2012-2015), Earth 2 World's End (2014-2015), and Earth 2: Society (2015-2017). The Justice Society of America first appeared in All Star Comics #3 (Winter 1940–1941) written by Gardner Fox and edited by Sheldon Mayer during the Golden Age of Comic Books . The team initially included: Doctor Fate , Hour-Man (as his name was then spelled),

7840-552: The team was active again. The headquarters used in the 2000s was a brownstone in Morningside Heights . Having successfully introduced new versions of several characters (the Flash, Green Lantern, etc.) during the late 1950s, DC tapped industry veteran, and former Justice Society writer, Gardner Fox to create a new version of the Justice Society. Editor Julius Schwartz , influenced by the popularity of Major League Baseball's National League and American League, decided to change

7938-505: The team's disappearance, and the inactivity of most of its roster after the early 1950s, was first given in Adventure Comics #466 ("The Defeat of the Justice Society!", December 1979) by writer Paul Levitz , which explained that most of the Society chose to disband and retire rather than appear in front of the Joint Un-American Activities Committee, which demanded that they unmask themselves. The chairmanship of

8036-497: The team's first meeting, with a framing sequence for each member telling a story of an individual exploit. In the next issue, the team worked together on a common case, but each story from there on still featured the members individually on a mission involving part of the case, and then banding together in the end to wrap things up. An in-house rule explicitly laid out on the last page of All Star Comics #5, reprinted on page 206 of All Star Comics Archives Vol. 1, required that whenever

8134-488: The team's new makeup was based largely on newer characters, such as Booster Gold , and recent acquisitions from other comic book companies, such as The Blue Beetle . In 2010 and 2011, the team experienced a resurgence as part of the Blackest Night and New 52 comic runs. Following the events of the company-wide crossovers Crisis on Infinite Earths and Legends , Justice League of America writer J. M. DeMatteis

8232-575: The team, such as Blue Devil and Manhunter . In issue #49, he expanded the JSA's roster by bringing back all of the JSA All-Stars except for Magog , who had been killed in Justice League: Generation Lost , and Power Girl, who had unofficially departed from the JSA during the same maxi-series, as well as the original Liberty Belle . In addition, Guggenheim introduced a new character named Red Beetle (a gadget-wielding heroine clad in

8330-609: The team. DC canceled Justice League International in 2012, concluding with issue #12 and Justice League International Annual (vol. 2) #1 in August. Justice League International appears in Batman: The Brave and the Bold . Introduced in the episode "Darkseid Descending!", this version of the team is assembled by Batman , Aquaman , and the Martian Manhunter to combat Darkseid following an unspecified incident that led to

8428-588: The team. The series was nominated as "Best New Series" in 1988 by the Harvey Awards , but lost to Paul Chadwick's Concrete . It also featured Adam Hughes ' first work for a major comic book publisher. They fight the Champions of Angor , other-dimensional superheroes intent on destroying all nuclear weapons. Bialya's dictator Rumaan Harjavti takes advantage of the Champions to eliminate his rivals. In Russia ,

8526-555: The world when they battle against a conscious psychic plague and he consumes it. Gardner challenges Batman to a fight over leadership, but Batman knocks him out in one punch. Doctor Fate is captured by the Gray Man, a rogue servant to the Lords of Order. Teaming up with the Creeper , they release Fate and stop the Gray Man from taking over the world. Earth is attacked by a mysterious satellite and

8624-560: Was Giffen's idea, introducing new characterizations to old characters: Guy Gardner was now a loutish hothead, Booster Gold was greedier and more inept than he had been in Dan Jurgens ' series and Captain Marvel displayed a childlike personality. When Black Canary resigns, Green Flame and Ice Maiden (both from the Global Guardians ) join. They eventually change their names to Fire and Ice and become long standing members within

8722-445: Was a capricious decision made personally by Mike Carlin because he didn't like Mike's artwork or my writing and believed that senior citizen super-heroes was not what DC should be publishing. He made his opinion clear to me several times after the cancellation." Justice Society of America included the first appearance of Jesse Quick , the daughter of All-Star Squadron members Liberty Belle and Johnny Quick , who would go on to be

8820-452: Was established as existing on " Earth-Two " and the Justice League on " Earth-One ", different versions of Earth in different universes . This allowed for annual cross-dimensional team-ups of the teams between 1963 and 1985. New series, such as All-Star Squadron , Infinity, Inc. , and a new All-Star Comics, featured the JSA, their children, and their heirs and explored the issues of aging, generational differences, and contrasts between

8918-416: Was given a solo run in the latter which led to his own series. Some JSA members during this period, residing on "Earth-Two", were portrayed as middle-aged versions of their younger, contemporary "Earth-One" counterparts; the "Earth-Two" characters' portrayal as older than their counterparts eased incorporation of the existing fictional history of the Justice Society of America into newly written stories about

9016-593: Was held off until 2005, after DC's Identity Crisis , in which a pregnant Sue Dibny is killed, had run its course. There is a running gag in the miniseries involving whether or not Sue is pregnant. I Can't Believe It's Not the Justice League , published in JLA Classified #4-9, finds the Super Buddies settling into their roles as superheroes for hire. The Elongated Man is bragging about Sue allegedly being pregnant, when she is, in fact, not pregnant. Fire and Mary Batson (Mary Marvel's alter ego) become roommates, much to

9114-543: Was later retitled to become the second volume of Justice League International . In the latter part of the series, more recognizable characters, including Superman , Wonder Woman , Green Lantern and Aquaman, joined, followed by lesser known characters such as Bloodwynd , Maya , Maxima , Nuklon , Obsidian , the Tasmanian Devil and Triumph . Longtime JLI-era characters such as Captain Atom , Martian Manhunter and Power Girl were revised and revamped. By 1996, with

9212-541: Was not on the table. Then someone, and I really wish I remembered exactly who, stirred the JLI into the mix. Over the course of the series, Power Girl and Batman joined the group as well, with Wonder Woman appearing in the book's final three issues. The title was heavily tied to Winick's run on Power Girl , which had the title character dealing with villains connected to Maxwell Lord's plans in Generation Lost , and eventually had her rejoin Justice League International after

9310-446: Was noteworthy for depicting the heroes as having aged into their 50s. The artwork gave them graying hair and lined faces. It was highly unusual, then or now, for a comic book to have heroes this old. Most comic books obscure the timelines or periodically relaunch the series to keep the characters youthful. This depiction was a consequence of the fact that the heroes were closely linked to the era of World War II. This became problematic in

9408-477: Was paired with writer Keith Giffen and artist Kevin Maguire on a new Justice League series. However, at the time, most of the core Justice League characters were unavailable. Superman was limited to John Byrne 's reboot , George Pérez was relaunching Wonder Woman and Mike Baron was launching the Wally West version of the Flash . As a result, the initial team consisted of: The resulting comedic tone

9506-419: Was revealed in the eighty-page one shot Countdown to Infinite Crisis (2005) that Maxwell Lord was in fact Checkmate's latest Black King, and had been collecting information on the Justice League members' weaknesses so that he could annihilate them. Blue Beetle had broken into Lord's secret headquarters and discovered his secret, but was murdered by Lord before he could warn anyone. In The OMAC Project #5,

9604-417: Was revived as a monthly series called JSA in 1999 which mixed the few remaining original members with younger counterparts. This incarnation of the team focused on the theme of generational legacy and of carrying on the heroic example established by their predecessors. The series was launched by James Robinson and David S. Goyer . Goyer later co-wrote the series with Geoff Johns , who continued to write

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