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146-580: 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 ,

292-595: A successful franchise which pioneered the Kyodai Hero subgenre where the superheroes would be as big as giant monsters ( kaiju ) that they fought. The kaiju monster Godzilla , originally a villain, began being portrayed as a radioactive superhero in the Godzilla films , starting with Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster (1964). By the 1970s, Godzilla came to be viewed as a superhero, with

438-705: A book entitled Business Zero to Superhero . In 2014, he received a cease and desist from DC and Marvel who claimed that his use of the term superhero would cause confusion and dilute their brands. He was offered a few thousand dollars in settlement to change the name of his book, but he did not concede. A few days prior to the scheduled hearing at the Intellectual Property Office in London, the companies backed down. A similar scenario occurred when comic book creator Ray Felix attempted to register his comic book series A World Without Superheroes with

584-693: A decorated officer in the United States Air Force who would become a costumed superheroine herself years later. In 1975 Shotaro Ishinomori 's Himitsu Sentai Gorenger debuted on what is now TV Asahi, it brought the concepts of multi-colored teams and supporting vehicles that debuted in Gatchaman into live-action, and began the Super Sentai franchise (later adapted into the American Power Rangers series in

730-537: A larger one. Another important event was the debut of Mazinger Z by Go Nagai, creating the Super Robot genre. Go Nagai also wrote the manga Cutey Honey in 1973; although the Magical Girl genre already existed, Nagai's manga introduced Transformation sequences that would become a staple of Magical Girl media. The 1970s would see more anti-heroes introduced into Superhero fiction such examples included

876-449: A letter column of the pulp magazine Thrilling Wonder Stories , the word superhero was used to define the title character of the comic strip Zarnak , by Max Plaisted. In the 1930s, the trends converged in some of the earliest superpowered costumed heroes, such as Japan's Ōgon Bat (1931) and Prince of Gamma (early 1930s), who first appeared in kamishibai (a kind of hybrid media combining pictures with live storytelling), Mandrake

1022-768: 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

1168-674: 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

1314-510: 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

1460-523: A multimedia franchise that used footage from Super Sentai . Internationally, the Japanese comic book character , Sailor Moon , is recognized as one of the most important and popular female superheroes ever created. The first use of the word "super hero" dates back to 1917. At the time, the word was merely used to describe a "public figure of great accomplishments." However, in 1967, Ben Cooper, Inc., an American Halloween costume manufacturer, became

1606-423: A profound effect on Japanese television . 1958 saw the debut of superhero Moonlight Mask on Japanese television. It was the first of numerous televised superhero dramas that would make up the tokusatsu superhero genre. Created by Kōhan Kawauchi , he followed up its success with the tokusatsu superhero shows Seven Color Mask (1959) and Messenger of Allah (1960), both starring a young Sonny Chiba . It

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1752-505: A promiscuous manner. Through the overdeveloped bodies of the heroes or the seductive mannerisms of the villains, women in comic books are used as subordinates to their male counterparts, regardless of their strength or power. Wonder Woman has been subject to a long history of suppression as a result of her strength and power, including American culture's undoing of the Lynda Carter television series. In 2017's Wonder Woman , she had

1898-577: A publishing agreement with DC Comics that allowed them to introduce a line of comics that included characters of many ethnic minorities. Milestone's initial run lasted four years, during which it introduced Static , a character adapted into the WB Network animated series Static Shock . In addition to the creation of new minority heroes, publishers have filled the identities and roles of once-Caucasian heroes with new characters from minority backgrounds. The African-American John Stewart appeared in

2044-600: A really fabulous job on it." The two men crafted a Batman story for Detective Comics #442 (Aug.–Sept. 1974) as well. Toth and E. Nelson Bridwell produced a framing sequence for the Super Friends feature in Limited Collectors' Edition #C-41 (Dec. 1975 – Jan. 1976). Toth's final work for DC was the cover for Batman Black and White #4 (Sept. 1996). Toth died at his drawing table on May 27, 2006, four weeks shy of his 78th birthday. Alex Toth

2190-527: 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

2336-757: A secondary character of the Green Hornet media franchise series since its inception in the 1930s. ). Kitty Pryde , a member of the X-Men, was an openly Jewish superhero in mainstream American comic books as early as 1978. Comic-book companies were in the early stages of cultural expansion and many of these characters played to specific stereotypes ; Cage and many of his contemporaries often employed lingo similar to that of blaxploitation films, Native Americans were often associated with shamanism and wild animals , and Asian Americans were often portrayed as kung fu martial artists . Subsequent minority heroes, such as

2482-406: A single source." DC and Marvel have continued to expand their commercialization of the "superhero" mark to categories beyond comic books. Now, the two publishers jointly own numerous trademarks for figurines (see Spider-Man, Batman), movies, TV shows, magazines, merchandise, cardboard stand-up figures, playing cards , erasers , pencils , notebooks , cartoons , and many more. For instance,

2628-513: A skull-faced creature with superpowers to fight evil; she debuted in Fiction House 's Jungle Comic #2 (Feb. 1940), credited to the pseudonymous "Barclay Flagg". The Invisible Scarlet O'Neil , a non-costumed character who fought crime and wartime saboteurs using the superpower of invisibility created by Russell Stamm, would debut in the eponymous syndicated newspaper comic strip a few months later on June 3, 1940. In 1940, Maximo

2774-433: A story! Who knew what pacing was, and didn't just jam a lot of pretty pictures together into a page, pages, and call it a story, continuity! It ain't!" Toth lamented what he saw as a lack of awareness on the part of younger artists of their predecessors, as well as a feeling that the innocent fun of comics' past was being lost in the pursuit of pointless nihilism and mature content. In the 1990s and 2000s, he contributed to

2920-406: A suit not unlike the swimsuits in the T.V. show Baywatch . The sexualization of women in comic books can be explained mainly by the fact that the majority of writers are male. Not only are the writers mostly male, but the audience is mostly male as well. Therefore, writers are designing characters to appeal to a mostly male audience. The super hero characters illustrate a sociological idea called

3066-523: 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 the annual Justice League of America appearances, members of

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3212-602: 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

3358-467: 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 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,

3504-475: 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 a result,

3650-587: Is Nick Fury , who is reinterpreted as African-American both in the Ultimate Marvel as well as the Marvel Cinematic Universe continuities. Alex Toth He was inducted into the comic book industry's Jack Kirby Hall of Fame in 1990. Alex Toth was born in 1928 to immigrants from Hungary. His father was Sandor Toth, a coal miner, and also musician of Calvinist religion who hailed from Bodroghalász , Hungary, and his mother

3796-512: Is "a figure, especially in a comic strip or cartoon , endowed with superhuman powers and usually portrayed as fighting evil or crime", and the Merriam-Webster dictionary gives the definition as "a fictional hero having extraordinary or superhuman powers; also: an exceptionally skillful or successful person." Terms such as masked crime fighters, costumed adventurers or masked vigilantes are sometimes used to refer to characters such as

3942-442: Is a fictional character who typically possesses superpowers or abilities beyond those of ordinary people, is frequently costumed concealing their identity, and fits the role of the hero ; typically using their powers to help the world become a better place , or dedicating themselves to protecting the public and fighting crime . Superhero fiction is the genre of fiction that is centered on such characters, especially, since

4088-421: Is a motorcycle-riding hero in an insect-like costume, who shouts Henshin (Metamorphosis) to don his costume and gain superhuman powers. The ideas of second-wave feminism , which spread through the 1960s into the 1970s, greatly influenced the way comic book companies would depict as well as market their female characters: Wonder Woman was for a time revamped as a mod-dressing martial artist directly inspired by

4234-544: Is a website satirizing the sexualized portrayal of women in comics by recreating the same poses using male superheroes, especially Marvel's Hawkeye . In 1966, Marvel introduced the Black Panther , an African monarch who became the first non- caricatured black superhero. The first African-American superhero, the Falcon , followed in 1969, and three years later, Luke Cage , a self-styled "hero-for-hire" , became

4380-532: Is arguable that the Marvel Comics teams of the early 1960s brought the biggest assortment of superheroes ever at one time into permanent publication, the likes of Spider-Man (1962), The Hulk , Iron Man , Daredevil , Nick Fury , The Mighty Thor , The Avengers (featuring a rebooted Captain America , Thor, Hulk, Ant-Man , Quicksilver ), and many others were given their own monthly titles. Typically

4526-766: Is during that time that he worked on crime, war and romance comics for Standard Comics . In 1954, Toth was drafted into the U.S. Army and stationed in Tokyo, Japan. While in Japan, he wrote and drew his own weekly adventure strip, Jon Fury , for the base paper, Depot Diary . He served in the Army until 1956. Returning to the United States in 1956, Toth settled in the Los Angeles area and worked primarily for Dell Comics until 1960. In that year, Toth became art director for

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4672-535: 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

4818-506: Is uncommon, the USPTO will grant joint ownership in a mark. For example, in the case Arrow Trading Co., Inc. v. Victorinox A.G. and Wegner S.A. , Opposition No. 103315 (TTAB June 27, 2003), the TTAB held that when "two entities have a long-standing relationship and rely on each other for quality control, it may be found, in appropriate circumstances, that the parties, as joint owners, do represent

4964-626: The Space Angel animated science fiction show. This led to his being hired by Hanna-Barbera , where he created the character Space Ghost for the animated series of the same name . His other creations include The Herculoids , Birdman and the Galaxy Trio , and Dino Boy in the Lost Valley . He worked as a storyboard and design artist until 1968 and then again in 1973 when he was assigned to Australia for five months to produce

5110-461: 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

5256-754: The Atom . In addition to superheroes, Toth drew Western comics for DC including All-Star Western . He was assigned to the " Johnny Thunder " feature in All-Star Western because editor Julius Schwartz considered him to be "my best artist at the time." Toth and writer Robert Kanigher co-created Rex the Wonder Dog in 1952. For a brief time in 1950, Toth was able to realize his dream of working on newspaper comic strips by ghost illustrating Casey Ruggles with Warren Tufts . In 1952 Toth ended his contract with DC Comics and moved to California. It

5402-604: The Black Canary first met the Justice Society of America and then joined the team. A canine sidekick for Green Lantern named Streak was introduced in Green Lantern #30 (Feb.–March 1948) and the dog proved so popular that he became the featured character on several covers of the series starting with #34. He worked at DC for five years, drawing the Golden Age versions of the Flash , Doctor Mid-Nite , and

5548-608: The Black Canary , introduced in Flash Comics #86 (Aug. 1947) as a supporting character. The most iconic comic book superheroine, who debuted during the Golden Age, is Wonder Woman . Modeled from the myth of the Amazons of Greek mythology , she was created by psychologist William Moulton Marston , with help and inspiration from his wife Elizabeth and their mutual lover Olive Byrne. Wonder Woman's first appearance

5694-735: The DC Universe in Crisis on Infinite Earths . Among the changes, 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

5840-535: The Emma Peel character from the British television series The Avengers (no relation to the superhero team of the same name), but later reverted to Marston's original concept after the editors of Ms. magazine publicly disapproved of the character being depowered and without her traditional costume; Supergirl was moved from being a secondary feature on Action Comics to headline Adventure Comics in 1969;

5986-527: The Lady Liberators appeared in an issue of The Avengers as a group of mind-controlled superheroines led by Valkyrie (actually a disguised supervillainess ) and were meant to be a caricatured parody of feminist activists; and Jean Grey became the embodiment of a cosmic being known as the Phoenix Force with seemingly unlimited power in the late 1970s, a stark contrast from her depiction as

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6132-758: 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 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

6278-706: The New York Times and The Colbert Report , and embraced by anti- Islamophobia campaigners in San Francisco who plastered over anti-Muslim bus adverts with Kamala stickers. Other such successor-heroes of color include James "Rhodey" Rhodes as Iron Man and to a lesser extent Riri "Ironheart" Williams , Ryan Choi as the Atom , Jaime Reyes as Blue Beetle and Amadeus Cho as Hulk . Certain established characters have had their ethnicity changed when adapted to another continuity or media. A notable example

6424-479: 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 a great notion, since it offered readers

6570-775: 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

6716-671: The X-Men 's Storm and the Teen Titans ' Cyborg avoided such conventions; they were both part of ensemble teams, which became increasingly diverse in subsequent years. The X-Men, in particular, were revived in 1975 with a line-up of characters drawn from several nations, including the Kenyan Storm, German Nightcrawler , Soviet / Russian Colossus , Irish Banshee , and Japanese Sunfire . In 1993, Milestone Comics , an African-American-owned media/publishing company entered into

6862-399: The " male gaze " which is media created from the viewpoint of a normative heterosexual male. The female characters in comic books are used to satisfy male desire for the "ideal" woman (small waist, large breasts, toned, athletic body). These characters have god-like power, but the most easily identifiable feature is their hyper sexualized bodies: they are designed to be sexually pleasing to

7008-479: 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 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

7154-831: The 1930s, in American comic books (and later in Hollywood films , film serials, television and video games ), as well as in Japanese media (including kamishibai , tokusatsu , manga , anime and video games). Superheroes come from a wide array of different backgrounds and origins. Some superheroes (such as Spider-Man and Superman ) possess non-human or superhuman biology or use and practice magic to achieve their abilities (such as Doctor Strange and Captain Marvel ) while others (for example, Iron Man and Batman ) derive their status from advanced technology they create and use. The Dictionary.com definition of "superhero"

7300-568: The 1970s as an alternate for Earth's Green Lantern Hal Jordan , and would become a regular member of the Green Lantern Corps from the 1980s onward. The creators of the 2000s-era Justice League animated series selected Stewart as the show's Green Lantern. In the Ultimate Marvel universe, Miles Morales , a youth of Puerto Rican and African-American ancestry who was also bitten by a genetically-altered spider, debuted as

7446-458: The 1980s, superhero fiction centered on cultural, ethnic, national, racial and language minority groups (from the perspective of US demographics ) began to be produced. This began with depiction of black superheroes in the 1960s, followed in the 1970s with a number of other ethnic-minority superheroes. In keeping with the political mood of the time, cultural diversity and inclusivism would be an important part of superhero groups starting from

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7592-409: The 1980s. In the 1990s, this was further augmented by the first depictions of superheroes as homosexual. In 2017, Sign Gene emerged, the first group of deaf superheroes with superpowers through the use of sign language . Female super heroes—and villains—have been around since the early years of comic books dating back to the 1940s. The representation of women in comic books has been questioned in

7738-561: The 1990s). In 1978, Toei adapted Spider-Man into a live-action Japanese television series . In this continuity, Spider-Man had a vehicle called Marveller that could transform into a giant and powerful robot called Leopardon, this idea would be carried over to Toei's Battle Fever J (also co-produced with Marvel) and now multi-colored teams not only had support vehicles but giant robots to fight giant monsters with. In subsequent decades, popular characters like Dazzler , She-Hulk , Elektra , Catwoman , Witchblade , Spider-Girl , Batgirl and

7884-604: The Amazing Superman debut in Big Little Book series , by Russell R. Winterbotham (text), Henry E. Vallely and Erwin L. Hess (art). Captain America also appeared for the first time in print in December 1940, a year prior to the attack on Pearl Harbor by the Japanese government, when America was still in isolationism . Created by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby , the superhero was the physical embodiment of

8030-856: The American spirit during World War II. One superpowered character was portrayed as an antiheroine , a rarity for its time: the Black Widow , a costumed emissary of Satan who killed evildoers in order to send them to Hell —debuted in Mystic Comics #4 (Aug. 1940), from Timely Comics , the 1940s predecessor of Marvel Comics . Most of the other female costumed crime fighters during this era lacked superpowers. Notable characters include The Woman in Red , introduced in Standard Comics ' Thrilling Comics #2 (March 1940); Lady Luck , debuting in

8176-422: The Avengers) with her brother, Quicksilver. In 1963, Astro Boy was adapted into a highly influential anime television series. Phantom Agents in 1964 focused on ninjas working for the Japanese government and would be the foundation for Sentai -type series. 1966 saw the debut of the sci-fi/horror series Ultra Q created by Eiji Tsuburaya this would eventually lead to the sequel Ultraman , spawning

8322-468: The Birds of Prey became stars of long-running eponymous titles. Female characters began assuming leadership roles in many ensemble superhero teams; the Uncanny X-Men series and its related spin-off titles in particular have included many female characters in pivotal roles since the 1970s. Volume 4 of the X-Men comic book series featured an all-female team as part of the Marvel NOW! branding initiative in 2013. Superpowered female characters like Buffy

8468-430: 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

8614-461: 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

8760-489: 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

8906-400: 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

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9052-568: 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 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;

9198-545: 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

9344-426: 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

9490-524: 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 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

9636-481: 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 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

9782-444: 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

9928-452: 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

10074-485: 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

10220-445: The Justice Society one-shot involved most of the team battling the forces of evil while merged with 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

10366-466: 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

10512-471: 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

10658-516: 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

10804-515: The Legion of Doom has already travelled to the past and meddled in history, attacking and seemingly conquering the United States. They encounter the Justice Society, much to their surprise, as they are not aware of any superheroes active in the 1940s. However, they begin to develop an affinity for their Golden Age counterparts, and feel that there is an intricate shared history they cannot fully remember. Superhero A superhero or superheroine

10950-471: The Magician (1934), Olga Mesmer (1937) and then Superman (1938) and Captain Marvel (1939) at the beginning of the Golden Age of Comic Books , whose span, though disputed, is generally agreed to have started with Superman's launch. Superman has remained one of the most recognizable superheroes, and his success spawned a new archetype of characters with secret identities and superhuman powers. At

11096-482: 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

11242-514: The Spirit , who may not be explicitly referred to as superheroes but nevertheless share similar traits. Some superheroes use their powers to help fight daily crime while also combating threats against humanity from supervillains , who are their criminal counterparts. Often at least one of these supervillains will be the superhero's archenemy or nemesis . Some popular supervillains become recurring characters in their own right. Antecedents of

11388-601: 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

11534-827: The Sunday- newspaper comic-book insert The Spirit Section June 2, 1940; the comedic character Red Tornado , debuting in All-American Comics #20 (Nov 1940); Miss Fury , debuting in the eponymous comic strip by female cartoonist Tarpé Mills on April 6, 1941; the Phantom Lady , introduced in Quality Comics Police Comics #1 (Aug. 1941); the Black Cat , introduced in Harvey Comics ' Pocket Comics #1 (also Aug. 1941); and

11680-545: The TV series Super Friends . He continued to work in comic books, contributing to Warren Publishing 's magazines Eerie , Creepy and The Rook . For DC Comics, he drew the first issue of The Witching Hour (February–March 1969) and introduced the series' three witches. Toth illustrated the comic book tie-in to the Hot Wheels animated series based on the toy line . His collaboration with writer Bob Haney on

11826-408: The USPTO. Felix is one of many who argue that the term "superhero" has become generic (see discussion below). Felix's mark is currently abandoned, but he has stated that he intends to fight against DC and Marvel for use of the term. In 2024, Superbabies Limited managed to obtain a default judgement and cancel the "super heroes" trademarks as genericized, except for the animation pictures mark. This

11972-540: The Vampire Slayer and Darna have a tremendous influence on popular culture in their respective countries of origin. With more and more anime , manga and tokusatsu being translated or adapted, Western audiences were beginning to experience the Japanese styles of superhero fiction more than they were able to before. Saban 's Mighty Morphin Power Rangers , an adaptation of Zyuranger , created

12118-471: The West as Astro Boy , was published. The series focused upon a robot boy built by a scientist to replace his deceased son. Being built from an incomplete robot originally intended for military purposes, Astro Boy possessed amazing powers such as flight through thrusters in his feet and the incredible mechanical strength of his limbs. The 1950s saw the Silver Age of Comics . During this era DC introduced

12264-512: The archetype include mythological characters such as Gilgamesh , Hanuman , Perseus , Odysseus , David , and demigods like Heracles , all of whom were blessed with extraordinary abilities, which later inspired the superpowers that became a fundamental aspect of modern-day superheroes. The distinct clothing and costumes of individuals from English folklore , like Robin Hood and Spring-Heeled Jack , also became inspirations. The dark costume of

12410-419: The archetypical hero stock character in 1930s American comics, superheroes are predominantly depicted as White American middle- or upper-class young adult males and females who are typically tall, athletic, educated, physically attractive and in perfect health. Beginning in the 1960s with the civil rights movement in the United States, and increasingly with the rising concern over political correctness in

12556-487: The cancellation of this series, said, "It 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

12702-413: The comic-strip characters Patoruzú (1928) and Popeye (1929) and novelist Philip Wylie 's character Hugo Danner (1930). Another early example was Sarutobi Sasuke , a Japanese superhero ninja from children's novels in the 1910s; by 1914, he had a number of superhuman powers and abilities. The French character L'Oiselle , created in 1909, can be classed as a superheroine. In August 1937, in

12848-534: The companies filed a trademark application as joint owners for the mark "SUPER HEROES" for a series of animated motion pictures in 2009 (Reg. No. 5613972). Both DC and Marvel also individually owned trademarks involving the "super hero" mark. Notably, DC owns the mark " Legion of Super-Heroes " for comic magazines and Marvel owns the mark "Marvel Super Hero Island" for story books, fiction books, and children’s activity books. DC and Marvel have become known for aggressively protecting their registered marks. In 2019,

12994-552: The companies pursued a British law student named Graham Jules who was attempting to publish a self-help book titled Business Zero to Superhero . Much academic debate exists about whether the "super hero" mark has become generic and whether DC and Marvel have created a duopoly over the "super hero" mark. Conversely, DC and Marvel hold that they are merely exercising their right and duty to protect their registered marks. The following trademarks were or are registered jointly with MARVEL CHARACTERS, INC. and DC COMICS: As mentioned,

13140-416: The deaths of popular characters such as Batman in one setting while different, contemporary versions of the characters lived on as inhabitants of 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

13286-477: The debut of Shotaro Ishinomori 's Skull Man (the basis for his later Kamen Rider ) in 1970, Go Nagai's Devilman in 1972 and Gerry Conway and John Romita's Punisher in 1974. The dark Skull Man manga would later get a television adaptation and underwent drastic changes. The character was redesigned to resemble a grasshopper, becoming the renowned first masked hero of the Kamen Rider series. Kamen Rider

13432-401: The end of the decade, in 1939, Batman was created by Bob Kane and Bill Finger . During the 1940s there were many superheroes: The Flash , Green Lantern and Blue Beetle debuted in this era. This era saw the debut of one of the earliest female superheroes, writer-artist Fletcher Hanks 's character Fantomah , an ageless ancient Egyptian woman in the modern day who could transform into

13578-476: 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

13724-587: 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

13870-511: 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

14016-428: 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

14162-515: The first black superhero to star in his own series . In 1989, the Monica Rambeau incarnation of Captain Marvel was the first female black superhero from a major publisher to get her own title in a special one-shot issue. In 1971, Red Wolf became the first Native American in the superheroic tradition to headline a series. In 1973, Shang-Chi became the first prominent Asian superhero to star in an American comic book ( Kato had been

14308-454: The first entity to commercialize the phrase "super hero" when it registered the mark in connection with Halloween costumes. In 1972, Mego Corporation , an American toy company, attempted to register the mark "World's Greatest Superheroes" in connection with its line of action figures. Mego Corporation’s attempted registration led Ben Cooper, Inc. to sue Mego Corporation for trademark infringement. Due to its financial struggles, Mego Corporation

14454-464: The first printing sold out within weeks of first publication. Film director Michael Almereyda said Toth was a formative influence on his youth, and credits Toth's long interest in Nikola Tesla as the catalyst for Almereyda's biographical drama Tesla : ... part of my fascination came from a great comic book artist, a guy who within his own framework is called a genius, named Alex Toth. He's

14600-557: The four page story "Dirty Job" in Our Army at War #241 (Feb. 1972), has been described as a "true masterpiece". Toth worked with writer/editor Archie Goodwin on the story "Burma Sky" in Our Fighting Forces #146 (Dec. 1973 – Jan. 1974) and Goodwin praised Toth's art in a 1998 interview: "To me, having Alex Toth do any kind of airplane story, it's a joy for me. If I see a chance to do something like that, I will. He did

14746-479: The hypothetical heteronormative male audience. Villains, such as Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy , use their sexuality to take advantage of their male victims. In the film versions of these characters, their sexuality and seductive methods are highlighted. Poison Ivy uses seduction through poison to take over the minds of her victims as seen in the 1997 film Batman and Robin . Harley Quinn in 2016's Suicide Squad uses her sexuality to her advantage, acting in

14892-470: The idea of a masked avenger and the superhero trope of a secret identity . Over the next few decades, masked and costumed pulp fiction characters such as Jimmie Dale/The Grey Seal (1914), Zorro (1919), Buck Rogers (1928), The Shadow (1930), and Flash Gordon (1934), and comic strip heroes such as the Phantom (1936), began appearing, as did non-costumed characters with super strength , including

15038-778: 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

15184-469: 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

15330-469: The last pre-Crisis teamup occurring in Justice League of America #244 and Infinity Inc. #19 during 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

15476-467: The latter, complete with a domino mask and a cape, became influential for the myriad of masked rogues in penny dreadfuls and dime novels . The vigilantes of the American Old West also became an influence to the superhero. Several vigilantes during this time period hid their identities using masks. In frontier communities where de jure law was not yet matured, people sometimes took

15622-606: The law into their own hands with makeshift masks made out of sacks . Vigilante mobs and gangs like the San Diego Vigilantes and the Bald Knobbers became infamous throughout that Old West era. Such masked vigilantism later inspired fictional masked crimefighters in American story-telling, beginning with the character Deadwood Dick in 1877. The word superhero dates back to 1899. The 1903 British play The Scarlet Pimpernel and its spinoffs popularized

15768-478: The likes of Batwoman in 1956, Supergirl , Miss Arrowette , and Bat-Girl ; all female derivatives of established male superheroes. In 1957 Japan, Shintoho produced the first film serial featuring the superhero character Super Giant , signaling a shift in Japanese popular culture towards tokusatsu masked superheroes over kaiju giant monsters. Along with Astro Boy , the Super Giant serials had

15914-712: The magazine King of the Monsters in 1977 describing Godzilla as "Superhero of the '70s." In 1971, Kamen Rider launched the "Henshin Boom" on Japanese television in the early 1970s, greatly impacting the tokusatsu superhero genre in Japan. In 1972, the Science Ninja Team Gatchaman anime debuted, which built upon the superhero team idea of the live-action Phantom Agents as well as introducing different colors for team members and special vehicles to support them, said vehicles could also combine into

16060-442: The magazines Comic Book Artist and Alter Ego , writing the columns "Before I Forget" and "Who Cares? I Do!", respectively. In 2006, James Counts and Billy Ingram compiled personal anecdotes, hundreds of unseen sketches from famous Alex Toth comic and animated works combined with correspondence with friend and comics dealer John Hitchcock in the book Dear John: The Alex Toth Doodle Book (Octopus Press). Launched at ComicCon 2006,

16206-582: 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 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

16352-470: The mark in connection with comic books, and were granted the mark by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) in 1981. In the years leading up to the assignment of the mark, both DC and Marvel battled to register various trademarks involving the phrase “superhero.” However, DC and Marvel quickly discovered that they could only register marks involving the phrase "superhero" if

16498-526: 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

16644-432: The new Spider-Man after the apparent death of the original Spider-Man, Peter Parker . Kamala Khan , a Pakistani-American Muslim teenager who is revealed to have Inhuman lineage after her shapeshifting powers manifested, takes on the identity of Ms. Marvel in 2014 after Carol Danvers had become Captain Marvel. Her self-titled comic book series became a cultural phenomenon, with extensive media coverage by CNN ,

16790-532: 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

16936-535: 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

17082-623: The pages of several popular superhero titles from the late 1950s onward: Hal Jordan 's love interest Carol Ferris was introduced as the Vice-President of Ferris Aircraft and later took over the company from her father; Medusa , who was first introduced in the Fantastic Four series, is a member of the Inhuman Royal Family and a prominent statesperson within her people's quasi-feudal society; and Carol Danvers ,

17228-420: The past decade following the rise of comic book characters in the film industry (Marvel/DC movies). Women are presented differently than their male counterparts, typically wearing revealing clothing that showcases their curves and cleavage and showing a lot of skin in some cases. Heroes like Power Girl and Wonder Woman are portrayed wearing little clothing and showing cleavage. Power Girl is portrayed as wearing

17374-406: The phrase referenced their own company or a character associated with their company. As a result, DC and Marvel decided to become joint owners of the "superhero" trademark. Although many consumers likely see DC and Marvel as competitors, the two comic book publishing giants are allies when it comes to protecting the trademark "superhero" and variants thereof. Although joint ownership in a trademark

17520-419: The power of a god, but was still drawn to a much weaker, mortal male character. This can be explained by the sociological concept "feminine apologetic," which reinforces a woman's femininity to account for her masculine attributes (strength, individualism, toughness, aggressiveness, bravery). Women in comic books are considered to be misrepresented due to being created by men, for men. The Hawkeye Initiative

17666-503: The power of art as a visual story component", and called him "one of the handful of people who could seriously enter into Greatest Comic Book Artist of All-Time discussions" and "a giant of 20th-century cartoon design". Toth was known for his exhaustive study of other artists and his outspoken analysis of comics art past and present. For example, in a 2001 interview he criticized the trend of fully painted comics, saying "It could be comics if those who know how to paint also knew how to tell

17812-520: The public, and policing unauthorized uses. However, misuse by the public alone does not necessarily cause a trademark to become generic if the primary significance of the term is still to indicate a particular source. Some legal experts argue that, like the once-trademarked terms "aspirin" and "yo-yo," the term "superhero" now primarily refers to a general type of character with extraordinary abilities, rather than characters originating from specific publishers. In keeping with their origins as representing

17958-533: 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

18104-524: 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

18250-421: 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

18396-549: The superhero supergroups featured at least one (and often the only) female member, much like DC's flagship superhero team the Justice League of America (whose initial roster included Wonder Woman as the token female ); examples include the Fantastic Four 's Invisible Girl , the X-Men 's Jean Grey (originally known as Marvel Girl ), the Avengers ' Wasp , and the Brotherhood of Mutants ' Scarlet Witch (who later joined

18542-464: 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), the Spectre ,

18688-560: 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

18834-639: 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

18980-497: 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

19126-594: 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

19272-410: The term "SUPER HERO" trademark is at risk of becoming generic. Courts have noted that determining whether a term has become generic is a highly factual inquiry not suitable for resolution without considering evidence like dictionary definitions, media usage, and consumer surveys. Trademark owners can take steps to prevent genericide , such as using the trademark with the generic product name, educating

19418-513: 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 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

19564-421: The two companies also own a variety of other superhero-related marks. For instance, DC owns "Legion of Super-Heroes" and " DC Super Hero Girls " and Marvel owns “Marvel Super Hero Island" and "Marvel Super Hero Adventures." DC and Marvel have garnered a reputation for zealously protecting their superhero marks. As noted above, one of these instances included a man by the name of Graham Jules, who sought to publish

19710-611: The weakest member of her team a decade ago. Both major American publishers began introducing new superheroines with a more distinct feminist theme as part of their origin stories or character development. Examples include Big Barda , Power Girl , and the Huntress by DC comics; and from Marvel, the second Black Widow , Shanna the She-Devil , and The Cat . Female supporting characters who were successful professionals or hold positions of authority in their own right also debuted in

19856-452: 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

20002-546: Was in All Star Comics #8 (Dec. 1941), published by All-American Publications , one of two companies that would merge to form DC Comics in 1944. Pérák was an urban legend originating from the city of Prague during the German occupation of Czechoslovakia in the midst of World War II . In the decades following the war, Pérák has also been portrayed as the only Czech superhero in film and comics. In 1952, Osamu Tezuka 's manga Tetsuwan Atom , more popularly known in

20148-550: Was intended as an ongoing series, and was popular with readers, the decision was made to cancel 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

20294-485: Was my dream to do what Caniff , Raymond , and Foster had done"), he found the industry "dying" and instead moved into comic books. After graduating from the School of Industrial Art in 1947, Toth was hired by Sheldon Mayer at National/ DC Comics . Green Lantern #28 (Oct.–Nov. 1947) was one of the first comics he drew for the company. He drew four issues of All Star Comics including issues #38 and #41 in which

20440-485: Was noticed early, and a teacher from his poster class in junior high school urged him to devote himself to art. Enrolling in the School of Industrial Art , Toth studied illustration. He began his career when he sold his first freelance art at the age of 15, subsequently illustrating true stories for Heroic magazine through a comic book packager named Steve Douglas. Although he initially aimed to do newspaper strips ("It

20586-448: 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 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

20732-415: 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

20878-677: Was the Roman Catholic Mary Elizabeth Hufnagel, who hailed from Budapest . His parents Alexander Tóth and Mary Hufnagel married in Hamilton , Ontario on October 27, 1924, and after that they moved to Manhattan where Alex Toth was born. His paternal grandparents were Sámuel Tóth, a wine and grape farmer in Bodroghalász, and Erzsébet Menyhért; his maternal grandparents were József Hufnagel a farmer from Torontál County and Mária Kroppa. Toth's talent

21024-756: Was the father of four children, sons Eric and Damon and daughters Dana and Carrie. His marriage to Christina Schaber Hyde ended in divorce in 1968, and his second wife, Guyla Avery, died in 1985. Toth did much of his comics work outside superhero comics, concentrating instead on such subjects as hot rod racing, romance, horror, and action-adventure. His work on Disney's Zorro has been reprinted in trade paperback form several times. Also, there are two volumes of The Alex Toth Reader, published by Pure Imagination , which focuses on his work for Standard Comics and Western Publishing . Brian Bolland has cited Toth as one of his idols. Journalist Tom Spurgeon wrote that Toth possessed "an almost transcendent understanding of

21170-404: Was unexpected as Marvel and DC had filed a motion to extend time to answer. There is an ongoing debate among legal scholars and in the courts about whether the term "superhero" has become genericized due to its widespread use in popular culture, similar to terms like "aspirin" or "escalator" which lost their trademark protection and became generic terms for their respective products. Some argue

21316-467: Was unwilling to defend itself against Ben Cooper Inc.'s suit. As a result, in 1977, Mego Corporation jointly assigned its interest in the trademark to DC Comics , Inc. ("DC") and Marvel Comics ("Marvel"). Due to the financial prowess of DC and Marvel, Ben Cooper, Inc. decided to withdraw its trademark opposition and jointly assigned its interest in the "World's Greatest Super Heroes" mark to DC and Marvel. Two years later in 1979, DC and Marvel applied for

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