The Four Color Media Monitor

Several years ago in JSA, Hawkman, recently returned from limbo, noted how guys like him and Ted Grant, Jay Garrick and Alan Scott have outlived their namesakes, at least until Hal Jordan came back.

Well, it's not just say, Barry Allen, whom they've outlived. More precisely, these veterans have, for now anyway, outlived their Infinity Inc. counterparts, who were intended by Roy Thomas to be the younger generation that was more directly connected to the Justice Society in contemporary times. Now that I think of it, almost all the Infinitors have been largely wiped out. Last time I looked, barely three were left: Rick Tyler, new Hourman, Todd Rice (Obsidian), and possibly Al Rothstein, but that's less certain, since he seems to be in limbo or MIA for the past two years.

Hector and Lyta Hall: sent into death limbo in the Dreaming, just shortly after Lyta came out of her coma. Jade: killed in the Rann/Thanagar War. Even earlier, Beth Chapel and Yolanda Montez, who'd become new Dr. Mid-Nite and Wildcat, respectively, were slain at the hands of the male Eclipso. This is what's become of the real Infinity Inc. over the years - they were thrown away by editorial instead of making something worthwhile of them. Some respect for what Roy Thomas went to such pains to introduce in the first place.

Sure, there are still some youngsters around to represent the Justice Society. Nevertheless, there is something ludicrous, say, about Alan Scott outliving his green-skinned daughter, or even Ted Grant outliving the plausibly introduced protege who was far from being a product of political correctness at the time. And the death of Beth Chapel and Yolanda Montez back in the mid 90s was definitely tasteless.

During Zero Hour, the older Justice Society vets were big victims of a tasteless storyline, but then so too were their younger peers at the time. And that doesn't seem to have changed much.

As someone who feels that a wrong should be righted, I think it's about time to start reversing their deaths and to start showing that they can allow the younger Society members to be their own characters again like they were in the 80s. This is, quite simply, one of the ways in which DC has missed the boat on a lot of potential, and the time has come to fix it already.

Labels: dc comics, golden calf of death, Justice Society of America