Back in my Starman 101's (read them if you haven't) i mentioned that Jack and Ted both belonged to a team known as the Justice Society of America. But just who is the JSA?
Aside from being the first ever superhero team, this issue was the first time EVER that one superhero met another. All those guys on the front? They weren't the only members. Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman were all members too, but they were deemed "too popular" to appear regularly so they basically just showed up whenever they felt like it. Wonder Woman did appear quite often though.
The Flash: Jay Garrick was the original Flash, and mentored the following Flashes that wore the more traditional red bodysuit. I was always a big fan of the second Flash (Barry Allen) and while Jay is cool, he's kind of uninteresting in my opinion and one of my least favorite JSA members. But i still like him.
The Spectre: I have always been a fan of this guy. He is the spirit of vengeance, forced to live in the body of deceased cop Jim Corrigan. What are his powers? well... seeing as how he's The Spirit of Vengeance, The Angel of Death, and God's Right Hand of Judgement, what makes the Spectre such a unique character is that he has THE POWERS OF GOD HIMSELF. That's right. He literally has the power to do anything. He does have limits though: He can only use his powers where God permits. So although he can kill you by looking at you, he can only do it if you are a murdering sinner or rapist or something. Great character (check out his series by John Ostrander, it's good stuff).
Hawkman: You'd be hard pressed to find many comic-book characters more badass than Hawkman. Carter Hall has an interesting life, and an extremely confusing comics history. Is he the cursed Egyptian pharoah, cursed to live forever in different bodies? Is he an alien police officer from the planet Thanagar? Is it both? Currently it's both (... i think...) but regardless, Carter rocks. He's got weightless weapons made of Nth Metal that cut pretty much rival Wolverine's adamantium. Also, the dude's got centuries worth of combat experience. Bottom line: you don't fuck with Hawkman.
Dr. Fate: By far, the JSA member with the coolest costume. Kent Nelson's deal is he's got that helmet, the Helm of Nabu, that makes him an unstoppable Sorceror. His comics always were kind of creepy, and he had to fight some really dark characters. But who cares about his story, he's too busy looking fucking awesome.
Hourman and Liberty Belle: One of the most interesting couples in comics, personally. Hourman, Rick Tyler, gets superhuman strength, speed, invulnerability, precognitive visions, and more when he takes a drug called Miraclo. The downside is that his powers only last for an hour. I have no idea why, but aside from Starman and Sandman he might be my favorite JSA member. His wife, Liberty Belle, is often described as "The All-American Powerhouse". Jesse Chambers has superhuman strength (weaker than Hourman), speed (way faster than Hourman), and she used to be able to fly but i've never seen her do it lately. For a time, she was the only female Flash when she had the name Jesse Quick. Both of them are awesome characters.
Sandman: like i mentioned in the last paragraph, Starman and Hourman and this guy are my favorite JSA members. Sandman is cool because he's the most basic character: just a guy with a gas-mask and a gun full of knockout gas. His comics, Sandman Mystery Theater, is crazy good. He's unrelated to the Spider-Man villian and the character from Neil Gaiman's famous Sandman series, so Wesley Dodds here is usually pushed off to the side by those two. I still think he rules either way
The Atom: The original Atom, Al Pratt, sucked. I'm sorry, but he did. A little guy in a blue mask with explosive punches? yeah, of the founding members he was the worst. His successor, however (the size-changing Atom, Ray Palmer) is one of my favorite superheroes. In the JSA, Al has had two successors, Damage (his son) and Atom-Smasher (his god-son).
Atom-Smasher, Albert Rothstein, has the power to grow to monstrously tall heights (as opposed to the other Atom, Ray Palmer, who shrinks to microscopic size).He has a replica of Al's mask that he wears. Of the two, i always liked Atom-Smasher more. Growing over 40 feet tall is kind of a rad power.
Jakeem Thunder and Thunderbolt: Now here is an odd character. The original was Johnny Thunder, a kid with a genie who had limitless power only if ordered by Johnny. Soon after, Johnny and the genie merged, creating Thunderbolt, and was passed on to guard a young innercity kid named Jakeem Williams. They are definitely unique, but not anywhere near my favorite JSA members.
Black Canary: Without a doubt, my all-time favorite female superhero. Dinah Lance is just so hardcore, it's mindboggling. Hell, she beat Batman in a fist fight! She is a expert martial artist, and she has an ultrasonic scream like that kid in X-Men 2. She's also married to Green Arrow. I'm a HUGE fan of her. 
Doctor Mid-Nite: It's a common thing in comics to have a character's name start with "Mr." or "Dr.", don't ask me why because i can't give you an answer. What makes Doctor Mid-Nite different from the rest is that, ironically, he's an actual doctor who serves as the team's medic and surgeon. He is blind in the daylight, but can see superhumanly well in the dark (not unlike Riddick from the movie Pitch Black). He also carries around "Blackout Bombs" that only he can see through and he's got a pet owl. Neat guy.
Power Girl: Kara Zor-L is the adult version of Supergirl, making her Superman's cousin from another reality (not going into specifics with that, it's complicated). She has all of Superman's powers, at his level of power. She is one of the most popular female superheroes, she's constantly cosplayed at Comi-Cons, she was name-dropped in an episode of Buffy The Vampire Slayer, and she's most famous for having the biggest breasts in all of superhero comics (sometimes drawn to the point of being ridiculous). I know a lot of people like her, and while I do like her, i'm not a hardcore fan. She's too "girl body-builder" for me. 
Mr. Terrific: Michael Holt is carrying the legacy of Mr. Terrific, but amping it up considerably. He has no powers, but he is the 3rd smartest man in the world and an olympic level athlete. If he had a power, it's basically that he's just really good at everything. He has these floating Spheres around him to perform a number of functions, the most famous being that Michael is invisible to all electronics, which is actually kind of cool. One thing i never understood about him is that he's noteworthy for being the biggest Atheist in comics, yet his teammate The Spectre has God's power. I never got that, he's around it every day! What a stubborn dousche.
Obsidian: Alan Scott's son Todd Rice. Todd has the power to turn himself into a shadow-form, and to control darkness. Pretty cool power (though he's got nothing on The Shade). He serves as the security guard for the JSA headquarters, so he doesn't really show up a whole lot unless the fight leads directly to HQ. What makes him famous is that he was one of the first ever openly gay superheroes. 
S.T.R.I.P.E.: Stargirl's step-dad Pat Dugan, he's famous for being the only adult sidekick to a teenage hero. He's got a swee-as-hell armored suit, like Iron Man turned up to 11. Really cool character, that packs serious firepower. 
For a team that doesn't get a whole lot of recognition (but loads of respect in comic-circles) the JSA are hands down the most important team in comics history. Why?
They were the first ever superhero team, created in 1940. Still going strong today, and they are equal to The Doom Patrol as my favorite superhero teams (foreshadowing Doom Patrol 101? I think so). 3 Starmen (Ted, Jack, and Thom) and Stargirl (Courtney Whitmore) have been members of the JSA, so i will not go over them because i already did in Starman 101. That would be redundant.
The team was created in All-Star Comics #3 in 1940, a year after the creation of Superman.
Aside from being the first ever superhero team, this issue was the first time EVER that one superhero met another. All those guys on the front? They weren't the only members. Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman were all members too, but they were deemed "too popular" to appear regularly so they basically just showed up whenever they felt like it. Wonder Woman did appear quite often though.Since then, there have been many incarnations of the team. One thing i love about this team that the line-up never really changes, it's just that new people wear the originals uniforms or carry on their legacy somehow.
Next, I'll go over the legacies of the team members.
Next, I'll go over the legacies of the team members.
Green Lantern: Alan Scott was the original GL, but unrelated to the rest that came after. Y'know the deal= magic ring lets him conjure up whatever his mind desires into Green energy. One thing worth noting is that while the other GL's rings aren't able to affect the color yellow or work when they have fear, Alan's ring doesn't work against wood. Also, what's up with his costume? He's called the Green Lantern, but he has red shoes and shirt, a purple cape and mask, and the only part of his costume that is Green is his pants? Way to pull a Blue Raja on us, there.
The Flash: Jay Garrick was the original Flash, and mentored the following Flashes that wore the more traditional red bodysuit. I was always a big fan of the second Flash (Barry Allen) and while Jay is cool, he's kind of uninteresting in my opinion and one of my least favorite JSA members. But i still like him.The Spectre: I have always been a fan of this guy. He is the spirit of vengeance, forced to live in the body of deceased cop Jim Corrigan. What are his powers? well... seeing as how he's The Spirit of Vengeance, The Angel of Death, and God's Right Hand of Judgement, what makes the Spectre such a unique character is that he has THE POWERS OF GOD HIMSELF. That's right. He literally has the power to do anything. He does have limits though: He can only use his powers where God permits. So although he can kill you by looking at you, he can only do it if you are a murdering sinner or rapist or something. Great character (check out his series by John Ostrander, it's good stuff).Hawkman: You'd be hard pressed to find many comic-book characters more badass than Hawkman. Carter Hall has an interesting life, and an extremely confusing comics history. Is he the cursed Egyptian pharoah, cursed to live forever in different bodies? Is he an alien police officer from the planet Thanagar? Is it both? Currently it's both (... i think...) but regardless, Carter rocks. He's got weightless weapons made of Nth Metal that cut pretty much rival Wolverine's adamantium. Also, the dude's got centuries worth of combat experience. Bottom line: you don't fuck with Hawkman.Dr. Fate: By far, the JSA member with the coolest costume. Kent Nelson's deal is he's got that helmet, the Helm of Nabu, that makes him an unstoppable Sorceror. His comics always were kind of creepy, and he had to fight some really dark characters. But who cares about his story, he's too busy looking fucking awesome.Hourman and Liberty Belle: One of the most interesting couples in comics, personally. Hourman, Rick Tyler, gets superhuman strength, speed, invulnerability, precognitive visions, and more when he takes a drug called Miraclo. The downside is that his powers only last for an hour. I have no idea why, but aside from Starman and Sandman he might be my favorite JSA member. His wife, Liberty Belle, is often described as "The All-American Powerhouse". Jesse Chambers has superhuman strength (weaker than Hourman), speed (way faster than Hourman), and she used to be able to fly but i've never seen her do it lately. For a time, she was the only female Flash when she had the name Jesse Quick. Both of them are awesome characters.Sandman: like i mentioned in the last paragraph, Starman and Hourman and this guy are my favorite JSA members. Sandman is cool because he's the most basic character: just a guy with a gas-mask and a gun full of knockout gas. His comics, Sandman Mystery Theater, is crazy good. He's unrelated to the Spider-Man villian and the character from Neil Gaiman's famous Sandman series, so Wesley Dodds here is usually pushed off to the side by those two. I still think he rules either wayThe Atom: The original Atom, Al Pratt, sucked. I'm sorry, but he did. A little guy in a blue mask with explosive punches? yeah, of the founding members he was the worst. His successor, however (the size-changing Atom, Ray Palmer) is one of my favorite superheroes. In the JSA, Al has had two successors, Damage (his son) and Atom-Smasher (his god-son). Damage, Grant Emerson, is on the current JSA, and although i never liked him to start he's grown on me. He has Al Pratt's power of explosive energy release, so he can punch you then detonate your face. Speaking of messed-up faces, His face was butchered beyond repair by the Flash villiam Zoom, and since then hides his face behind Al's old blue mask.
Atom-Smasher, Albert Rothstein, has the power to grow to monstrously tall heights (as opposed to the other Atom, Ray Palmer, who shrinks to microscopic size).He has a replica of Al's mask that he wears. Of the two, i always liked Atom-Smasher more. Growing over 40 feet tall is kind of a rad power.Jakeem Thunder and Thunderbolt: Now here is an odd character. The original was Johnny Thunder, a kid with a genie who had limitless power only if ordered by Johnny. Soon after, Johnny and the genie merged, creating Thunderbolt, and was passed on to guard a young innercity kid named Jakeem Williams. They are definitely unique, but not anywhere near my favorite JSA members.Black Canary: Without a doubt, my all-time favorite female superhero. Dinah Lance is just so hardcore, it's mindboggling. Hell, she beat Batman in a fist fight! She is a expert martial artist, and she has an ultrasonic scream like that kid in X-Men 2. She's also married to Green Arrow. I'm a HUGE fan of her. Doctor Mid-Nite: It's a common thing in comics to have a character's name start with "Mr." or "Dr.", don't ask me why because i can't give you an answer. What makes Doctor Mid-Nite different from the rest is that, ironically, he's an actual doctor who serves as the team's medic and surgeon. He is blind in the daylight, but can see superhumanly well in the dark (not unlike Riddick from the movie Pitch Black). He also carries around "Blackout Bombs" that only he can see through and he's got a pet owl. Neat guy.Power Girl: Kara Zor-L is the adult version of Supergirl, making her Superman's cousin from another reality (not going into specifics with that, it's complicated). She has all of Superman's powers, at his level of power. She is one of the most popular female superheroes, she's constantly cosplayed at Comi-Cons, she was name-dropped in an episode of Buffy The Vampire Slayer, and she's most famous for having the biggest breasts in all of superhero comics (sometimes drawn to the point of being ridiculous). I know a lot of people like her, and while I do like her, i'm not a hardcore fan. She's too "girl body-builder" for me. Mr. Terrific: Michael Holt is carrying the legacy of Mr. Terrific, but amping it up considerably. He has no powers, but he is the 3rd smartest man in the world and an olympic level athlete. If he had a power, it's basically that he's just really good at everything. He has these floating Spheres around him to perform a number of functions, the most famous being that Michael is invisible to all electronics, which is actually kind of cool. One thing i never understood about him is that he's noteworthy for being the biggest Atheist in comics, yet his teammate The Spectre has God's power. I never got that, he's around it every day! What a stubborn dousche.Wildcat: A former heavyweight boxer, Ted Grant is a fucking badass. His power is that, like a cat, he has nine lives (though i believe he's used a few). That, and he has the uncanny power to beat the shit out of you. His job is to train all of the other recruits in fist-fighting. He's a lovable tough guy, the JSA's answer to The Thing from the Fantastic Four.
Obsidian: Alan Scott's son Todd Rice. Todd has the power to turn himself into a shadow-form, and to control darkness. Pretty cool power (though he's got nothing on The Shade). He serves as the security guard for the JSA headquarters, so he doesn't really show up a whole lot unless the fight leads directly to HQ. What makes him famous is that he was one of the first ever openly gay superheroes. S.T.R.I.P.E.: Stargirl's step-dad Pat Dugan, he's famous for being the only adult sidekick to a teenage hero. He's got a swee-as-hell armored suit, like Iron Man turned up to 11. Really cool character, that packs serious firepower. Now, I left out a few more (Mr. America, Amazing-Man, Judomaster, Citizen Steel) but i think that was enough for today.
check back in soon, as i'll start my-
DOOM PATROL 101.
read it when i have it up, i'm going to go all out with that one.
1 comment:
that might be the most intense picture of S.T.R.I.P.E. I've ever seen!
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