The JSA are finally poised to replace the Justice League as DC’s #1 team

Warning: Spoilers for Batman/Superman: World’s Finest #31!DC Comics may have finally opened a door for those Justice Society of America To finally exceed these Justice League. The JSA actually predates the League by two decades, but right now, the League runs the DCU instead of the Society. It’s even more evident because the Justice League is back in prominence with their new roster, taking charge as DC’s flagship team despite the JSA returning with their new title.

However, a comeback for the JSA could be on the horizon as the Justice League falls in Batman/Superman: World’s Finest #31 by Mark Waid, Adrián Gutiérrez, Tamra Bonvillain and Steve Wands. At the end of the issue, It’s not the Justice League that remains Earth’s last line of defense during severe restrictions – it’s the Justice Society.

Depending on how the next issue—and, ultimately, the new arc as a whole—turns out, this arc could make or break the JSA in the DCU. It could finally catapult them into one of DC’s top teams – or embarrass them beyond repair.

The Justice Society of America is the last hope of the earth

Not the Justice League

Before the events of this issue, the Justice League was able to exorcise Eclipso – better known as DC’s most underrated villain – from the body of his victim, Dr. Bruce Gordon. At least, so they thought. While the spirit of Eclipso is Trapped in a black diamond in Gordon’s ring, it was Eclipso who trapped Gordon through a golden twin link.He then used magic to draw Bruce to his doom, allowing Eclipso to return to the living. Eclipso’s first order of business is to own the Justice LeaguePut a majority of the team under his control.

Not every Leaguer is possessed, as Batman, Superman, Elongated Man and Red Tornado are the few members who do not fall under Eclipso’s control. However, there is strength in numbers, especially as strength is drawn from the Flash, Green Lantern, Black Canary, Green Arrow, and the Atom, some of whom are among the most powerful Justice League members on their own merits. . naturally, The existing leagues were dissolved and the remaining leagues were dissolvedEspecially the red tornado that broke out.

As a result, while Batman and Superman are forced into a power struggle with Eclipso and the Atom knocks out Elongated Man, Red Tornado is forced to retreat into a teleporter on the watchtower. He lands in Civic City, where the injured and delusional B-tier Justice League hero winds up on the JSA’s doorstep. As Jay Garrick carries Red Tornado’s limp body to his teammates (Doctor Mid-Knight, Wildcat, Alan Scott, Hawkman, The Sandman, and Doctor Fate), he explains that this “Sounds like a job for the Justice Society.”

Why doesn’t the JSA have a more prominent position in the DCU?

JSA #1 Cover by Diego Olortegui

The Justice Society of America is representative of a past: the Golden Age of comic books. Although the Justice League has continued to evolve over time since their debut, the JSA as a team is too deeply rooted in the fundamentals and morals of the Golden Age of comics to really change. If they were to change drastically, it would change everything that the JSA is about and, thus, the Justice Society of America would cease to truly be the Justice Society of America.

The closest that the JSA came to evolving was through the team’s recent Golden Age initiative, which served as A soft reboot that has updated them for the modern canon While sticking to their classic values. Books like Justice Society of America By Geoff Johns and Mikel Janín and Alan Scott: The Green Lantern By Tim Sheridan and Cian Tormey have helped make an old-school team feel new, but it’s almost too little too late. Those old school values ​​have prevented the JSA from even being the second-top team in DC, as the Titans hold that spot now that the JLA has returned.

There has never been a better time to promote the JSA

With all in, it’s now or never

Now, the JSA is in a position to be higher than they have been in recent memory. The end of this issue gives The JSA as the one team capable of doing what the League can’t: defeat Eclipso and save the world. Doing so would instantly elevate them as more than a nostalgia act and to become legitimately one of DC’s essential teams. This will make the slow-going rebrand of the JSA worth the years, if the years are such that the team actually evolves into a prominent role for the first time in decades.

However, the opposite may be true. This moment could break the JSA as much as it could make them. If they defeat Eclipso, it’s nothing but backwards. On the other hand, if the JSA were beaten—or worse, brutalized—the entire team rebrand was for naught. They will at least be back to square one if they are embarrassed on the panel. For this team to finally become equal to the Justice LeagueDC needs to treat these Justice Society of America Role in the circle delightfully.

Batman/Superman: World’s Finest #31 is available now from DC Comics.