7 Biggest Differences Between the Justice League and the Justice Society

The Justice Society and Justice League are two of DC Comics’ greatest teams. The Justice Society set the tone for every super team that came after them, combining the greatest heroes of their era. The Justice League used the same formula as their elders and became the most important team in the DC Multiverse. Back in the old days of the DC Multiverse, they were more similar, since they each had their own Earth and did the same job, only coming together to fight against the biggest threats. After Crisis on Infinite Earths changed everything, the two teams started existing in the same world, and that changed the way they operated.

The two teams are extremely similar, but they’re also completely different. Their histories have a lot of the same ideas and events, but they have grown in completely different directions. These seven differences between the Justice Society and Justice League are the biggest, showing just how unique each team is.

7) The Justice Society Is the Blueprint

The Justice Society are legends, and they play a huge role in the history of superheroes. The team is the blueprint for the Justice League, as well as every major team in the comic industry. All of them are assemblages of the most powerful and skilled heroes, which is the same schtick as the Justice Society. They codified a certain kind of super team, and their existence allowed the Justice League to come about. There would be no Justice League (or Avengers, for that matter) without them. The Justice League has their own unique milestones, but the Justice Society is the blueprint.

6) The Justice League Is the Current World-Saving Team

The Justice League saves the day when no one else can, and they’ve become the top multiverse-saving team in DC Comics. Once upon a time, that was the Justice Society, but the League has taken their place. While the Justice Society still d save the day in their adventures, when there’s a big threat coming to devour the Earth or the universe, it’s the League that everyone lets take the lead. They are the main team, the foremost group of protectors and even the longer tenured heroes of the JSA let them take the lead.

5) The Justice Society Has Become a Training Team

The Justice Society fields some very powerful heroes, including some of the most experienced heroes of them all. However, the team has transformed over the decades, becoming more of a training team. The JSA brings together the descendants of Golden Age superheroes, many of whom are just getting into the superhero game or who are still learning to master their powers. The League is full of icons, and the JSA has plenty of their own, but they also have a lot of members who are on their way up. This is a huge difference between the two groups; while the League does have some younger heroes (I love Air-Wave!), the older team is way more about teaching the new generation to be better.

4) Types of Members

The Justice League and Justice Society both field some of the greatest heroes ever, but there’s a huge difference in the types of heroes on each team. The Justice League has expanded greatly, to the extent that everyone who is a working superhero is a member of the team and can use their headquarters and other facilities. However, the Justice Society only allows in heroes who have some kind of connection to the Golden Age. If you’re a Golden Age legacy hero, you can be on other teams, but if you’re not, you can’t join the Justice Society.

3) They Have Very Different Headquarters

There have been numerous Justice League teams, but one thing they mostly share is the grandeur of their various headquarters’. The League’s first major headquarters was Mount Justice, a hollowed out mountain. They moved to the Justice League Satellite, went to Detroit (okay, that one doesn’t match the others), then had an embassy system across the world. There was the Watchtower on the moon, and then they went back to a satellite as well as the Hall of Justice. They’re back in space now, sitting above the world to protect it. Conversely, the Justice Society’s base has mostly been the JSA Brownstone, a nice building in cities like Gotham City or New York City (depending on the era). There’s a big difference between their headquarters’.

2) Their Legacies

So, both teams have a major legacy, but they’ve changed over the years. Once upon a time, the Justice Society was the team that everyone wanted to be on, while nowadays, it’s the Justice League. On top of that, there’s the fact that the JSA is basically just a legacy team. The team is all about preserving the legacy of heroism of the past and bringing it forward into the present. The League’s legacy is quite different; they’re more about saving the multiverse than preserving their own legacy. Their legacy is the continued survival of the Earth.

1) Their Roles in the Superhero Community

So, this one can seem like I’m repeating myself, but it’s not. See, the Justice League is the team that everyone wants to be a part of. They’re the big team, the one that everyone works hard to get to. They’re the head honchos, the best of the best, and everyone wants to be a member of their team, even members of the Justice Society. Meanwhile, the Justice Society is a team that everyone respects, but not everyone wants to be a members of. The Justice League is the top of the mountain, they get the praise and everyone respects them. They are the leaders, and being a member of the team puts a hero on a new level.

What do you think are the differences the JLA and the JSA? Leave a comment in the comment section below and join the conversation on the ComicBook Forums!

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