*This article contains spoilers for Justice Society of America #3*
After months of delays, Geoff Johns’ next chapter of JSA has finally hit the market! However, readers were expecting more from such a long awaited book. Though Geoff Johns clearly has a story he wants to tell, it feels as though he is pulled in all directions. Perhaps it is because he is also working on Stargirl: The Lost Children, which has been a fantastic story so far, Justice Society of America is somewhat underwhelming—especially when compared to his previous JSA runs. Will this series find its wings or will it crash and burn?
The story starts with Sgt. Rock and his crew chasing the inhumane war criminal known as Per Degaton, who is orchestrating experiments with human test subjects. Of course, he is working with Nazis—a JSA story is not a JSA story without a few Nazis. But as Sgt. Rock barrels towards Per Degaton, Per Degaton flips a switch and is seemingly vaporized—or is he? In actuality, he time travels to the future. Thus begins the story of Per Degaton and his mad reach through time. His mission: to kill the JSA.
Moving forward, the JSA are in battle against a horde of Bizarros. While civilians are in danger, the only way to stop Angle Man is by destroying his interdimensional gateway device. This scene seems to take place in 2022 because of a mention of the Lazarus eruption—a reference to the current ongoing DC event, Lazarus Planet. Though it is so confusing. These time jumps are unclear and difficult for the reader to understand. One could argue the reader is just as confused as Huntress, but from a story perspective it is messy.
Another note worth mentioning, the return of Yolonda Montez and Beth Chapel—both of whom starred on the CW’s Stargirl tv series. Though the series was canceled, the characters have reentered the main DC continuity! Thank you, Lazarus Planet!
While the JSA struggles with Angle Man, Huntress swoops in and destroys Angle Man’s device and ends the battle. There are more introductions—like we have not seen about 12 different sets of introductions already in this series alone. And the issue ends with Per Degaton appearing in the Brownstone, which feels like it should be threatening, but Per Degaton has made such a little impression on the reader, there is not much cause for fear.
Overall, I expected more from this book. The story is just going through the motions. The stakes feel lower than they should. Let me be clear, not every story needs to have consistently high stakes and action, but there should then be enough alternative content to keep the reader engaged. This can take the form of character development and character exploration. An exploration of the relationship between characters. Literally anything. This comic feels more “this happens, then this happens, then this happens”, instead of a fluid story—partially caused by the time jumps. Hopefully the end of the story will show more of a payoff, but this issue seems to be the weakest in the current JSA run.
Rating: 3/5 Stars. Not much is happening in this issue, it feels more like a bridge from point ‘a’ to point ‘b’, necessary to the story being told but uninspiring to the reader. This can happen in a maxi-series—issues which have little purpose because of a need to publish a certain amount of books. Instead of just going through the motions, writer Geoff Johns could have done more to flesh out characters—specifically the villain, Per Degaton. We still don’t know his motives, but have to act like he is a great and fearful villain.
The delays in releases have also become a nuisance and are affecting my attitude toward the story.
Suggested reading: An editor’s note mentions All-Star Comics #35 as being a Per Degaton-centric story. Definitely worth a read if you have the DC Universe Infinite app! The issue is from 1946—a golden age book written by Gardner Fox.
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