Who are DC’s New Golden Age Justice Society Characters?
One of the most exciting aspects of The New Golden Age is the litany of new characters it introduces — and some stand out more than others for the prospective new edges they might bring to the DC Universe, helping flesh out classic characters and potentially impact the future in major ways.
Here’s each new character teased in The New Golden Age #1 (by Geoff Johns, Diego Oloretegui, JP Mayer, Scott Hanna, Jerry Ordway, Steve Lieber, Todd Nauck, Scott Kolins, Vicktor Bogdanovic, Brandon Peterson, Gary Frank, Nick Filardi, John Kalisz, Matt Herms, Jordan Boyd, Brad Anderson, and Rob Leigh), ranked in terms of storytelling potential.
Aquaman & Legionnaire Tease New Takes On Classic Characters
Among the newly introduced characters are a group of other, classic Silver Age characters, who seem to be getting Golden Age reinventions as part of the next chapter in the history of the Justice Society. The Legionnaire remains a complete mystery, with his backstory, origin, and full design hidden away by black bars in the issue. By contrast, the Golden Age Aquaman appears fully and even shares designs with their eventual successors.
Aquaman is teased to have been a brief member of the All-Star Squadron and tried to adjust to life on the surface as Adam Waterman before disappearing in the 1950s (ironically enough around the time of his Silver Age counterpart’s debut). Although he lacks the throne and power of Arthur Curry, he does seem to possess some connection to the ocean and befriended Alan Scott early in his career. Given his MIA status, it’s even possible this earlier take on Aquaman could still be alive (and could encounter the more famous Aquaman).
The Sidekick Squad Brings Fresh Diversity To The Golden Age
Comics coming out in the 1940s during the height of the Golden Age reflected the culture of the time, and most heroes in superhero comics were portrayed as white. But a new batch of sidekicks from the era could become something of a Teen Titans for the World War II era, and bring some much-needed diversity to the era. Betsy Ross and Molly Pitcher seem to be mystically enhanced sidekicks to Miss America, adding fresh blood to the fight against the Nazis. Cherry Bomb, Quiz-Kid, and Ladybug could be great ways to showcase new layers to Human Bomb, Red Bee, and Mister Terrific, as well as tease out the mystery of what happened to the teen heroes.
It was, after all, Mister Terrific’s investigation into Betsy and Molly’s disappearance that led to his own vanishing. The most exciting of the bunch though is John Henry Jr., A Golden Age take on Steel. This new Golden Age version’s origins involve witnessing John Wilson’s transformation into the KKK-bashing vigilante John Henry. This brings one of the most iconic elements of Darwyn Cooke’s DC: The New Frontier into the core-DC Universe. As someone with a core-DC Universe counterpart in Steel, it’ll be fascinating to see how this young hero fits into the larger world.
Harlequin’s Son & The Boom Bring New Layers To Classic Legacies
Two of the characters teased in the one-shot — the Boom and Harlequin’s Son — seem to be directly tied to members of the Justice Society, meaning their introductions could have further cascading effects on the universe at large. The Boom is a potential game-changer, as the daughter of Jay and Joan Garrick quickly learned to travel through time. The Boom has been already been mentioned, with Jay Garrick mentioning that Linda Park in costume reminds him of Judy, teasing her potential place in the Flash family.
Of the teased characters, Harlequin’s Son might be the one with the firmest connection to recent storylines. The son of Alan Scott’s longtime nemesis the Harlequin (and implied to be a gay man, similar to the present-day Scott), Harlequin’s Son’s history directly references the roles he played in Crisis on Infinite Earths and the chaos of Dark Crisis. It also references that he was an actor who played Carver Colman in a film, cementing his connection to the events of Doomsday Clock. All of this suggests he could have ties to the Watchmen universe and may be connected to the Harlequin and Mime of that universe (who currently reside in the core-DC Universe).
Salem The Witch Girl & Mister Miracle Tease Justice Society Dark
One of the most enticing prospects teased in The New Golden Age is the introduction of the Justice Society Dark, a 1940s answer to the supernaturally-tinted Justice League Dark. The original Mister Miracle is teased to have been a founding member of the group alongside Doctor Fate, and his ties to Oberon could help bridge the 4th World to the events of The New Golden Age.
Among the allies, he collected for the team appears to be Salem the Witch-Girl, a young woman taken in by Doctor Fate who tutored her in the use of her powers. Inherently a fun concept and potentially heroic answer to the typically chaotic Klarion the Witch-Boy, Salem’s powers — and the curse placed upon her family — could make her the key to any number of mysteries surrounding the young missing heroes.
Red Lantern Could Give The Core DC Universe Their Own Red Son
The only overt villain included among new characters, the Red Lantern could be a powerful new addition to the universe. A Soviet-aligned figure with a crimson variant of Alan Scott’s Green Lantern, the Red Lantern is teased in the story to be far more willing to use lethal tactics than the heroes of the era. He is a dangerous enough figure that even someone as strong as Alan Scott feared his return following World War II.
With John Henry Jr. bringing elements of an Elseworld story like DC: The New Frontier to the core-DC Universe, it’s possible that Red Lantern’s Soviet leanings could introduce elements of another alternate universe tale to the core-DC Universe. Aspects of the Cold War-focused Superman: Red Son could potentially bleed out of his loyalty to a long-gone version of Russia, with his daughter potentially even tying into any number of pieces of the DC Universe’s mysterious history.
