DC Comics has been firing on all cylinders since All-In began, and JSA has been the best team book of the lot (that’s right, better than Justice League Unlimited). The book has been building the best Justice Society/Injustice Society story in decades, maybe ever. Writer Jeff Lemire is definitely a student of the Justice Society, as the book so far has done a fantastic job of using the history of the team to inform the current narrative. JSA #9 is the turning point in the story, as not only are three of the team’s most powerful members put back on the table — Obsidian, Jakeem Thunder, and the Thunderbolt have broken free of Qwsp’s maze — but Doctor Mid-Nite II has finally been able to get in touch with the team to reveal the traitor in their midst. However, the damage may already be done, as the secret the Injustice Society has been looking for has finally been revealed.
The current battle against the Injustice Society has tested the JSA like no other battle they’ve fought. The Justice Society was split in two; the group’s heavy hitters sequestered in Surtur’s Realm while the rest of the JSA dealt with a traitor in their midst. JSA lifer Wildcat was killed in battle, and the team finally was able to come back together, all while Johnny Sorrow tears the group apart from within. However, the Injustice Society’s plans have finally fallen apart, and the true threat to the team — and the world — has been revealed.
The Injustice Society Has Been Trying to Get the Spear of Destiny
So, to truly understand the Injustice Society’s true purpose, we have to go back to JSA #8, the book’s last issue. That chapter was a flashback tale from the last days of WWII, as the Justice Society were finally able to enter Europe after years of being held at bay by the Spear of Destiny. The team foiled a plot by Wotan and Johnny Sorrow to use the Spear, not to control the metahumans of the world (which is the threat that kept them out of Europe while the Nazis had the Spear), but to open a rift for the Nameless Ones, the Lovecraftian gods that gave Sorrow his powers. Hawkman took the Spear to his secret museum, which the Injustice Society has been trying to find. Alan Scott lets the location drop when Obsidian, who is Johnny Sorrow in disguise, asks about the location of the secret museum. Wotan, watching the whole time, sends the rest of the Injustice Society to Blackhawk Island to regain the Spear of Destiny.
As this is happening, Doctor Mid-Nite II, who has been trapped at the Injustice Society’s base, escapes with the actual Obsidian, who is still unconscious and trapped in Qwsp’s Fifth Dimensional maze. Scandal Savage tries to stop her — we learn that Wotan and Sorrow promised Scandal they’d kill her father Vandal Savage, meaning they probably promised the rest of the Injustice Society their heart’s desire for their help — and even succeeds for a time, because Mid-Nite II is blind when it’s light out. However, after the sun goes down, she can see again and she’s able to beat Scandal. Trapped in the snow with an unconscious teammate, she does her best to get in touch with the Justice Society using Scandal’s communicator. She’s finally able to do so, and she reveals to Scott and his daughter Jade the truth about Obsidian. The traitor to the team is revealed, and the final battle is about to begin.
Can the Justice Society Defeat the Injustice Society Now That the Truth Is Revealed
Since the beginning of JSA, readers had been wondering exactly what the Injustice Society’s plan is. At first, it seemed like the standard “divide and conquer” plan, separating the heavy hitters from the younger members of the team, and using Johnny Sorrow as Obsidian to keep them from working together. JSA #8 revealed the endgame for Sorrow and Wotan wanted to summon the Nameless Ones, who would basically destroy everything in their way. The Injustice Society usually doesn’t go in for wholesale destruction, so Wotan and Sorrow almost certainly lied to them, telling them they would get ultimate power or some such nonsense to get the to help.
The true threat to the Justice Society finally stands revealed. They’ve been trapped in Sorrow and Wotan’s game for months, and now they finally know who and where to fight. However, the Injustice Society has been dog-walking them for ages. Can the Justice Society triumph in the end or will the Nameless Ones destroy them all? If the end of this story is as great as the beginning has been, then the only winners are the readers.
JSA #9 is on sale now.
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