Review — JSA: The Golden Age

In a universe somewhere parallel to mainstream DC Comics continuity, World War II concluded in a similar fashion to how it did in our reality, with the death of Adolf Hitler and unveiling of nuclear ordinance. The war ended in 1945, and soldiers returned to America’s shores, greeted lovingly and admired as heroes.

Less was said about the heroes who remained home.

Masked “men of mystery” were barred from participating in battles overseas by presidential order, the emergence of a feared Nazi operative seen as too great a threat to various caped crusaders. But under different orders, one man slipped behind enemy lines and, as legend tells, single-handedly took out Hitler’s top operatives and then the Führer himself. The virtually unknown Tex Thompson, “the Americommando,” comes home to ticker tape parades and a shot at political greatness. Other heroes —men and women who guarded the home front — feel left out of the glory and, jealous of Thompson, choose to fade into obscurity.

This is where James Robinson and Paul Smith’s four-issue limited series begins, in the wake of a global war and with the promise of a new beginning for America… but perhaps not a “golden age” for everyone.

Content Guide

Violence: Two nukes are dropped, one causing untold death and destruction. Several characters get into scrapes, punching and kicking criminals. A few characters are shot, either wounded or killed outright. A man has his arm torn off. Another man experiences a series of violent dreams. A few cars crash. A couple of characters are electrocuted. It’s implied some men drown. A character commits suicide. Another man’s death is made to look like a suicide, and someone else contemplates suicide. A large fracas sees villains cut a bloody swath through heroic ranks — many characters are injured, and several are killed by blows, broken necks, bullets, or other violent means. Someone is stabbed.

Sexual Content: An unmarried couple cohabitates. Several couples kiss. A woman wears only a long flannel shirt. A female superhero’s costume is described as “eye-catching.” We see a man naked from behind. A woman says a man she sleeps with is borderline abusive; it’s implied the abuse escalates. A character suggests someone else should hire a prostitute; he also brags about losing his virginity. We see a couple beneath sheets, though their bodies are covered in shadow.

Drug/Alcohol Use: A few characters smoke and drink. Someone is told they need alcohol to help with a medical issue. A man’s powers are derived from taking pills, a thrill he becomes addicted to. He experiences hallucinations as a result. Someone snorts a line of cocaine. Characters clink drinks at a party.

Spiritual Content: Superhumans are compared to gods; one character believes himself a reincarnated Egyptian deity. A man is haunted by his dead brother’s ghost. A character prays to the stars. Someone else calls out to God for help. A character draws a pentagram. A villain is compared to both the devil and a god. References are made to prayer, a Christmas nativity pageant, and Valhalla.

Language/Crude Humor: Several uses of God’s and Jesus’ names in vain, including once in German. Also a handful of uses of h***, d***, b****, and b******. One use of the British profanity “bloody,” one unfinished “sonuva…,” and a single use of s*** pop up as well. Characters make two crude references to male anatomy.

Other Negative Content: Characters struggle with guilt and doubt and treat others poorly in different ways. A powerful man plans to blackmail people. A man believes it isn’t right for his wife to work.

Positive Content: Heroes save the lives of those around them. At financial risk to himself, a businessman supports his employees, despite differing political positions. Someone refuses to engage in utilizing his powers because he’s concerned about his inability to use them responsibly. A former hero helps an old friend in dire circumstances. Several heroes are said to have protected the home front during World War II. A young man leaps at the chance to use his powers for the good of his country. A woman sacrifices her life for her friends, and a former villain does the same to save a child. An alcoholic pours out his stash.

Review

“It is time for their secret identity to become their only identity,” proclaimed a judge in Pixar’s The Incredibles. After a series of superhuman accidents, the government in that world decided that all “supers” needed to abandon their caped and cowled personas and assume regular identities. Robinson and Smith’s Golden Age follows a similar trajectory, albeit with a twist.

A Different DC

Published under DC’s “Elseworlds” banner, untethered to typical DC continuity, the limited series focuses on alternate versions of heroes of old — men and women who predate the company’s most recognizable figures. Instead of the Flash, you get Johnny Quick. Instead of Batman, you get Hourman. Instead of Green Lantern, you get… actually, you do get Green Lantern, just Alan Scott instead of Hal Jordan. Several of these heroes are associated with DC’s mainstream Justice Society, but others are more obscure, giving readers the chance to connect with characters they may otherwise ignore… even though this is an alternate universe.

As the series opens, one thing becomes clear: the law didn’t force these heroes into hiding. They forced themselves. Former speedster Johnny Quick — now a humble documentarian named Johnny Chambers— says these heroes cast aside their costumed identities like infants throwing a temper tantrum. These days, heroes no longer protect the home front. Alan Scott runs a broadcasting corporation, his power ring sealed in a safe. Former Tarantula Jonathan Law spends hours pounding drunkenly away at the typewriter, striving fruitlessly to engineer the next Great American Novel. The once space-soaring Starman now resides in a sanatorium, driven to mental collapse as he struggles with guilt over Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

The rise of Tex Thompson and his superhuman helper “Dynaman” only emphasizes the changing world. As men with masks — several of whom have no abilities — choose to languish in obscurity, Thompson’s bold vision of a future protected by superhumans runs unchallenged. He sees America on the cusp of greatness, if only they can crush that annoying rising sentiment towards Communism and the Soviet Union responsible for post-WWII discord. But even his dream comes with caveats. He doesn’t want every masked hero by his side, thus expanding the gulf which already exists between himself and some of the jealous former vigilantes. It’s up to our assorted characters to decide for themselves what to do with their former identities, either to confidently slip back into them or leave them suspended in the past.

Finding “Gold” in the “Old”

In remarkably stirring fashion, Robinson and Smith reach into DC’s past and pluck out heroes who are either fairly obscure or have been supplanted by modern interpretations. You hear “Mr. Terrific,” you probably think of the guy from James Gunn’s Superman, not a former street brawler who now runs an airline. Robinson and Smith are far more interested in the men and women who inspired the DC heroes we know and love today (even though this is an alternate universe), giving long-forgotten yet memorable heroes opportunities to grow. The series enables the creators to create rich characters from folks without decades of baggage, developing compelling heroes and villains driven to find “something” which will heal their individual internal wounds.

Robinson and Smith couldn’t start The Golden Age safe in the knowledge most readers would already be familiar with their characters; they needed to develop empathy within the reader as the series progresses, which they do earnestly. They generate an amazing amount of empathy for these heroes across four issues, even if readers have never heard of these characters prior to reading this series. Heck, we’ve got three different guys named “John” here, and by time The Golden Age ends, you care for at least two of them (maybe all three? I dunno; one of ’em’s kind of a jerk — you decide!). By largely stripping away superheroics, Robinson and Smith use these characters’ self-inflicted exile to peer beyond codenames and costumes and allow human hearts, hopes, and hurts to rise to the surface.

Now mostly living among humanity as regular folk, our characters are overwhelmed by a sense that the lives they are leading are wrong, empty, and in need of purpose, providing them very real intentions and motivations that should resonate with readers. Alan Scott has locked away his ring, but he still dives in with his fists to stop a jewelry store robbery, seeking the thrill even without the power. Johnny Quick creates documentaries of the past, slowing his life down but still incapable of moving forward. His former wife, the heroine Liberty Belle, is unhappy in her new relationship with Jonathan Law and seeks to become more than just a housewife. These characters, out of spite and anger, decided to cast aside their costumed identities; yet they each find, in their unique way, that those costumes may have been the more true sides to themselves than the mundane existences they use to fulfill some aching loss inside.

These heroes come across as genuine, human, approachable… and marvelously imperfect. Possible solutions entice them to make decisions which provide momentary relief yet ultimately deny them honest change. Paul Kirk, the former (non-Martian) Manhunter, hides out in a small town while suffering amnesia, his newfound peaceful existence dangling by the thread of those tempestuous memories; if he embraces the truth, you know his present life will be shattered. Rex Tyler’s Hourman becomes addicted not only to his powers but the pills which enable those powers, a junkie in more than one sense. Al Pratt, the Atom (different from the shrinking guy), sides with Thompson, only to feel sidelined and wishing he could make more of an impact. Robinson and Smith achieve a wide range of reactions and emotions from their cast, creating in each hero a relatable individual, some whom you support, others you hope will change. The driving question across the series becomes: what will these heroes choose? You wonder if Paul will rediscover his memories regardless of the personal cost, if Rex can beat his addiction, if Al can find purpose working for Thompson.

A Society in Need of Justice

Around these characters is wrapped a narrative embedded in actual history (even though this is an alternate universe). The wounds of World War II are still fresh even as the threat of subversive Communism and political countermeasures such as HUAC and McCarthyism arise. There’s a unique blending of the fantastical and real when you watch Alan Scott appear before HUAC, a nuclear bomb provide a young man superhuman abilities, or Thompson ask the heroic community to rally around his anti-Soviet sentiment. Those hearts, hopes, and hurts which belong to our characters have, in some shape at one time or another, been the hearts, hopes, and hurts of an actual American public. The USA. of this universe, as illustrated in detailed fashion by Paul Smith, feels lived-in and real, enabling Robinson to give his heroes’ triumphs and tragedies a grounded vibrancy, even in a world where characters often don’t touch the ground.

Where the realism doesn’t quite work as well can be found in a two-pronged, third act twist, which I feel comes across as a bit too “jump the shark” for the series. This particular twist is not wholly unfathomable, and it does align with the series’ more outlandish comic book aspects. However, it develops fairly quickly and is seeded in a historical event which is referenced early on yet not discussed with much gravitas during the series. Its impact is found more in its relevance to actual history and shocking the audience than how it relates to the comic narrative. It seems too obvious, a sudden emotional moment which doesn’t feel earned based on the earlier story.

I could surmise the twist is related to Justice Society history and may have worked with fans of that long-lived league. But as the series is so adroit at humanizing long-forgotten characters, I’d argue it’s surprisingly reader-friendly and is intended for a broader audience than only Justice Society fans. With a reread or two, you may be able to spot some hints that Robinson and Smith throw in, but clues to the reveal are few. The creators otherwise wonderfully build up to their climax. Backstories are revealed over time, and characters develop at a decent clip, providing overarching themes to the story. As I said, you genuinely care for these principal actors and actresses. Yet this twist falls flat. Additional hints would have been appreciated, but I’ll admit, I’m more enthusiastic that the creators used their allotted pages to develop their characters nicely instead.

A bumbled surprise notwithstanding, The Golden Age works as a wonderful love letter to the glory days of old, back before Justice Leagues, Suicide Squads, and Challengers of the Unknown battled across landscapes completely torn by Cold War paranoia. The series is not without its dark edges, but there is an all-encompassing winsome energy infused in every page. Readers return to a bygone era of comics history and American history both, celebrating the past while tugging at the necessity of growth, change, and forward momentum that come with an uncertain future. Human characters navigate human problems in an America coming to terms with the devastation of the Second World War. Peace is fragile, and hope seems distant.

Our heroes are divided between embracing normality and the allure of heroism. Which way is right? Don your flashy costume and join a potentially invigorating crusade? Or remain in obscurity, safety, seeming security? Each decision comes with a cost, as Robinson and Smith deftly and often point out. That cost breeds character, character breeds sacrifice, sacrifice breeds a true Golden Age… not necessarily determined by a length of time, but by the willing strength of the heroes who fight and die for their deepest beliefs.