A little over a month ago, I was excited to learn there would be a DC animated movie featuring the first ever super hero team from comics, the Justice Society of America. I’ve discussed the Justice Society a few times here and I’ve enjoyed many of their incarnations in the comics from their earliest appearance in 1940 up through their more modern appearances in the 1990s and early 2000s. This new movie promised to return the Justice Society to World War II to punch some Nazis.
The story opens with President Franklin D. Roosevelt learning about the Justice Society from Colonel Steve Trevor, Wonder Woman’s long-time romantic interest. Trevor suggests these heroes could make a real difference in the war effort. We then jump ahead to what appears to be the present day. Barry Allen, the Flash who first appeared in the Silver Age comics, is having a picnic with his girlfriend Iris West when a fight breaks out between Superman and Brainiac. During the fight, the Flash attempts to stop a speeding Kryptonite bullet from hitting Superman. In the process, he speeds up so much he appears to go back in time to World War II, into the middle of a battle where the Justice Society is involved. The only thing is, Barry has never heard of this superhero team and the whole concept of superhero teams is alien to him. Still, the Flash from the modern era earns the trust of the heroes of the past and they begin following leads to a Nazi invasion of North America. The climactic scenes involve a battle between Nazi-controlled sea-dwelling kaiju-like creatures and the Justice Society.
Over the course of the movie, plenty of Nazis are punched or dispatched in other ways. At the risk of a minor spoiler, Barry learns that he didn’t travel back into the past, but to an alternate Earth. In the comics, this was a pretty typical conceit used to bring the Justice Society and Justice League together for an annual team-up. The best character arc involves the romance between Steve Trevor and Wonder Woman, which then pays off in the story involving Barry Allen and Iris West.
I was pleased to see that the early Justice Society was well represented. Hourman, Hawkman, Jay Garrick’s Flash, Black Canary and of course Wonder Woman are all present and accounted for. That said, Hourman and the original Flash were the only two Justice Society members we don’t see as familiar, regular characters again in the Silver Age and beyond. I would have enjoyed seeing at least a couple more of the early Justice Society members such as Alan Scott’s Green Lantern, the Sandman, or Al Pratt’s Atom. I also think it’s past time for the original Red Tornado, Ma Hunkel, to get a little more of the spotlight.
That all noted, I was pleased to see Wonder Woman depicted as the leader of this Justice Society incarnation. Wonder Woman’s first appearance was, in fact, in the back of an issue of All-Star Comics featuring the Justice Society and she was soon made a member. However, she was relegated to the role of secretary and rarely went on actual adventures. So, giving her the spotlight was nice.
Although I liked several elements of this movie, I didn’t think it quite lived up to the quality standards of earlier DC animated films. It’s tricky to give people good character development in large team-up pieces like this, but the script writers managed it in movies like Justice League Dark and Teen Titans: The Judas Contract. Aside from the parallel romance story, the characters weren’t explored much at all. Also, the climactic battle just seemed a little too big and over-the-top like what we’ve come to expect in the DC live action movies. I wanted to see the Justice Society punch Nazis. Somehow, a battle with a gigantic shark-octopus hybrid felt a little anti-climactic.
It was nice to see the Justice Society get the spotlight in an animated film and I hope they get a chance to appear again. I also hope they can get a stronger story and more time for less-familiar characters to show us what made them as cool as more modern heroes.
In the meantime, I’m in the process of sharing my debut comic book over at my Patreon site. We’re taking a break for the weekend, but we’ll be back with a new page on Monday. Even if you haven’t subscribed, you can see the first two pages for free. After that, you would need to subscribe. To learn more, visit https://www.patreon.com/davidleesummers
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Wonder Woman is another one of those “it looked different during its time” phenomena.
Had she been created today as she was originally, there would be a lot of complaints over “Why did they make the woman the secretary?” But had she (and other supers) been created over a hundred years ago, there might have been a lot of complaints over the same thing; “Why did you make the woman the secretary?” That’s because, back then, secretaries were men. Making a woman the secretary would have been feminist.
By the standards of its time, Wonder Woman was a sign of feminism. She rescued the male United States Army Air Corps officer Steve Trevor from something very, very dangerous–a group of powerful women.
I think we largely agree, Alden, and I may do a longer post about this subject later in connection with my exploration of L. Frank Baum’s Oz novels, so I won’t take up too much space here. Also, I acknowledge that, especially in the military of World War II, most secretaries would have been men so that Diana Prince’s role back then would have been progressive. Still, it occurs to me that there’s a difference between explaining behaviors of the past and excusing them.
Because we can explain why Wonder Woman was portrayed as the Justice Society’s secretary — and I’m referring to her in her role as a super hero, not in her guise as Steve Trevor’s secretary — it means I can look back and enjoy those comics understanding the context in which they were written. That said, I’m under no obligation to excuse an injustice of the past, just because it was a societal injustice. In that context, it makes me glad that in a version released in 2021 and set in a parallel universe, Wonder Woman takes up a much deserved leadership role in the Justice Society.
My husband got that one and enjoyed it. I have to admit, I got stuck on the “Nazis in WW I” thing, because they were from WW II. Also, Flash travels through time and space… again? It would be great to see some fresher material from DC.
If you’re talking about the Justice Society animated movie, Most of the action is actually set during World War II, not World War I, so Nazis are correct. The 2017 live action Wonder Woman film presented an alternate early version of Wonder Woman that pushed her origin back to World War I instead of World War II, as it was presented in most of DC’s history and the Germans in that film are Imperialists, not Nazis.
As for the Flash being the “flashpoint” of this movie — indeed. In the comics, DC has done some lovely standalone Justice Society comics without involving characters from modern or parallel eras.
I liked this animated film Dc always brings amazing animated content🔥
Cool. Overall, I liked it as well. Thanks for dropping by.
Yes of course!!
It was enjoyable imo, but I definitely had some complaints
Exactly. That pretty much sums up my feelings.