You'd think after adding four members (including Johnny Thunder, Dr. Mid-Nite, Starman and Wonder Woman), the Justice Society would be full...but, even more members came to sit at the table (like they did for the first meeting of the JSA in All-Star Comics #3, or for the Murphy Anderson cover of the All-Star Companion #1, one of four volumes on the JSA and all of the original Earth-2 by Roy Thomas...collect them all!).
Fair Play
Mr. Terrific seems like a good place to start....as he only appeared with the JSA once in the Golden Age, in
All-Star Comics #24 (Spring, 1945), and that (along with the
Big All-American Comic Book of December, 1944), are the only two covers he made it onto in the Golden Age. Premiering in
Sensation Comics #1 (January, 1942 by
Charles Reizenstein and
Hal Sharp), Terry Sloane was a genius, and college graduate by the age of 12...and an incredible socialite and athlete, so much a success that he was considering suicide at a bridge, until he met Wanda Wilson, also planning to kill herself as her brother was on his way to becoming a gangster. Designing a costume and deciding to fight for "Fair Play", Terry became Mr. Terrific to show the boy Billie a new way, beating the leader of the gang, Big Shot, and finding a new purpose for his own life!
Mr. Terrific fought criminals for 63 issues of
Sensation Comics #63 (March, 1947) before retiring for a time...and coming back to the JSA with
Justice League of America #37 (August, 1965). Terry made a few appearances with JLA/JSA tales over the years until his untimely passing (in one of those tales, no less!). Still, that wasn't enough to totally take out Mr. Terrific, as he appeared with the JSA in two World War II set issues of
Wonder Woman in 1977 (
#231 and
#232)...
...as well as being a member of the All-Star Squadron (though he only made it to their biggest meetings in
All-Star Squadron #31 and
#59-60, and post-Crisis in
Young All-Stars #1,
Annual #1 and
#27), as well as being a ghost and visiting Starman (Jack Knight) in
Starman #37 (December, 1997)...
...and a World War II tale in
National Comics #1 (May, 1999 by
Mark Waid and
Aaron Lopresti) with the Flash! This tale, along with the other original JSA members' tales (and
JSA #1-25 from the 1999 series, and the 2003
JSA: All-Stars #1-8 and more) are all in the
JSA Omnibus #1 of 2014!
But, Terry did inspire the next generation and in
Spectre #54 (June, 1997 by
John Ostrander and
Tom Mandrake), with Michael Holt taking over the mantle of Mr. Terrific to protect the next generation from gangstas as well as joining the JSA...and Michael even met Terry thanks to a few time travel tales in the JSA!
Battlin' Boxer
While very similar to Mr. Terrific, Wildcat became the poster child for the JSA in later years. Wildcat also began in
Sensation Comics #1 (January, 1942, but by
Bill Finger and
Irwin Hasen), and boxer Ted Grant had been framed for the death of Socker Smith (Smith had trained Grant, and their managers wanted Grant to take a dive, Ted didn't, so they poisoned Smith, and Grant got the blame for his death). Inspired by a kid recounting an adventure of Green Lantern, Ted decided to make his own costume, becoming Wildcat (and clearing his name as well!).
Wildcat also joined the JSA in
All-Star Comics #24 (Spring, 1945), but he also came back for
All-Star Comics #27 (Winter, 1945), as well as being in the first two issues of
Comic Cavalcade of the 1940s, and the
Big All-American Comic Book. Wildcat just battled on, working with a private detective named Stretch Skinner and fighting foes such as the Yellow Wasp and the Huntress, until ending his Golden Age run with
Sensation Comics #90 (June, 1949), though one unpublished battle of Wildcat and the Huntress came out in
DC 100-Page Super Spectacular #6 (1971, which also reprinted the first JLA/JSA team up of
Justice League of America #21-22 of 1963). Wildcat himself didn't return in the Silver Age until
Brave and the Bold #62 (October-November, 1965) fighting with the Sportsmaster and the Huntress alongside Starman and Black Canary, and even working with the Spectre once.
Wildcat was a frequent JSAer in JLA/JSA events, as well as being a major part of the 1970s revival of
All-Star Comics (as well as getting his own Earth-1 counterpart that worked with Batman in 5 issues of
Brave and the Bold, as well as the Creeper in one
Super-Team Family). Wildcat was injured during the Crisis on Infinite Earths, and taken out of time with them...and Yolanda Montez took over as Wildcat for a time with Infinity, Inc. until her unfortunate passing (but Ted returned with the rest of the JSA...and even helped train a new Wildcat to work in the JSA with him!).
Femme Fatale
Black Canary started off her career as a criminal, facing off against Johnny Thunder in
Flash Comics #86 (August, 1947, by Robert Kanigher and Carmine Infantino). Dinah Drake was the daughter of a police officer, and trained to join the police force...but didn't make it. Dinah's dad died due to the disappointment, and she inherited enough to open a flower shop. Still wanting to do more, Dinah donned a blond wig and distracting outfit, and decided to fight crime using her martial arts skills and training as the Black Canary! At first, she appeared to be a criminal robbing other criminals, running afoul of Johnny, but her true heroic nature soon shown through, working with the JSA on a few cased, and taking over Johnny's feature in Flash Comics with
Flash Comics #92 (February, 1948) and meeting private detective Larry Lance, and joining the JSA (also taking Johnny's place) with
All-Star Comics #41 (June/July, 1948), which was also the second appearance of the Injustice Society of the World!
Black Canary continued on in Flash Comics until
Flash Comics #104 (February, 1949), also having one Golden Age adventure in
Comic Cavalcade #25, and two unpublished Golden Age Black Canary adventures ended up being presented after the Golden Age, in
DC Special #3 (April/June, 1969) and in
Adventure Comics #399 (November, 1970). All of Black Canary's Golden Age solo adventures are in the
Black Canary Archives #1. Black Canary also continued as a member of the JSA until their original end in
All-Star Comics #57 (February/March, 1951), and the story behind the story in
Adventure Comics #466 (November/December, 1979), and returning to action with the JSA in
Justice League of America #21 (August, 1963).
Between the last Golden Age adventure and the Silver Age Crisis, Black Canary married Larry Lance (as revealed in
DC Special Series #10 of 1978), becoming Dinah Drake Lance, working with the JSA in the JLA/JSA team-ups, as well as two meeting with Starman in
Brave & the Bold #61 (where Larry & Dinah's marriage was first revealed) and
#62 (1965, tales also in the
Black Canary Archives). The JLA/JSA team-ups proved fatal for Larry, as at the end of the battle against Aquarius in
Justice League of America #73 and
#74 (August/September, 1969), he gave up his life to save Dinah and the worlds. This prompted Dinah to leave Earth-2 and go to Earth-1 (and more of the story will be revealed under Black Canary's JLA entry....).
End of An Era
With
All-Star Comics #57 (February/March 1951), the Golden Age JSA adventures ended (why that happened was revealed in
Adventure Comics #466, but the JSA returned with the return of the Flash (Jay Garrick) in
Flash #123, then the team in
Flash #137, and with
Justice League of America #21, an annual tradition of multi-Earth Crises started....
...but the JSA wasn't quite done with the Golden Age yet!
Ex-Boy Wonder
Robin (Dick Grayson) was a boy, working with Batman ever since
Detective Comics #38 (April, 1940, by
Bob Kane,
Bill Finger and
Jerry Robinson), but as time passed, the Boy Wonder got older (though it wasn't really reflected in the comics of the day). The acrobatic youth even had his own solo run of stories in
Star-Spangled Comics #65-#130 (1947-1952), even though Batman joined in the tales toward the end of the run, and gaining his own foes, like the Clock, the Fence, George Midas and a Boy Commandos' foe of Crazy-Quilt), and was a member of the wartime All-Star Squadron (also along side Batman).
It was revealed in
Justice League of America #55 (August, 1967), that Robin had indeed grown up, developing his own new costume (influenced by Batman), and he quickly became a member of the JSA as well! Eventually, Robin adopted a new costume, and he continued to work with the JSA (and Infinity, Inc., as well as others, as
detailed here) until the
Crisis on Infinite Earths put an end to Earth-2 for a time.
The Mother of Them All
Well, not quite, but worth mentioning...the Red Tornado! Abigail "Ma" Hunkel (first appearing in
All-American Comics #3 of June, 1939 by
Sheldon Mayer) was just a lady trying to take care of her kids (Huey and Amelia, also known as "Sisty") and her neighborhood (including "Dinky" Jibbet and his father, "Scribby" Jibbet)...until the mob kidnaps Sisty and Dinky! The police are unable to help, and that's when Ma learns of Green Lantern...and comes up with a plan to free the kids (who are terrorizing the hoods who took them), by becoming the Red Tornado (all happening in
All-American Comics #20, November, 1940 also by
Sheldon Mayer, under a Green Lantern cover!). Though possessing no powers other than two wild kids and some street smarts, she's able to defeat the hoods (who are unaware that she's a woman under her mystery man outfit). Ma continues to do good in the neighborhood, soon aided by the Cyclone Kids (Sisty and Dinky, starting with
All-American Comics #24, March, 1941). Ma's adventures as the Red Tornado continued until
All-American Comics #59 (July, 1944).
The Red Tornado was there for the first meeting of the JSA, but couldn't stay due to ripping her costume! Ma was well loved by the JSA, and even considered a member (but she wasn't). Still, there was a Red Tornado to come into the JSA (and Ma even came back herself to help out here and there as well, like explaining being a hero to Liberty Belle, Phantom Lady and Wonder Woman in
DCU Holiday Bash #2 of 1998!).
More to come, as the JLA and JSA grew closer, and as you can see, there's another Red Tornado on the horizon!
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