The JSA Has a Traitor Problem (And It’s Not Who You Think)

JSA‘s return has paid dividends for DC fans. JSA was one of DC’s greatest teams books in the late 1990s and early 2000s, reintroducing the Justice Society of America to an all-new generation of readers. With DC all-in on rebuilding their classic universe, and DC’s New Golden Age having rebuilt that corner of the universe, it was time for this book to come back, under the direction of writer Jeff Lemire and artist Diego Orlotegui. So far, the book has again taken its place among the best team books on the stands, with the Injustice Society’s multi-pronged plan having split the JSA; the older members of the team stuck in Hell and the younger members on Earth, dancing to the tune that the Injustice Society is playing for them.

But the Injustice Society has a secret, one that is making the Earthbound Society’s job even more difficult. Johnny Sorrow, one of the Justice Society’s more dangerous foes, has made sure that the JSA is neutered by taking the place of Obsidian and using him to keep the team off balance. Obsidian is the son of Alan Scott, the Golden Age Green Lantern, and he’s exactly the person that a villain would pick to replace. Sorrow is using Obsidian to rip the team to shreds, and unfortunately, it’s believable that Obsidian would do all of this.

Obsidian Has Had a Difficult Life

Obsidian and his sister Jade are the children of the villain Thorn and Alan Scott. Thorn had Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID), giving her two personalities — Rose Canton and Thorn. Thorn didn’t keep Obsidian and Jade, and they were separated in foster care. Obsidian grew up in an extremely abusive household, which had a deleterious effect on his psyche. Eventually, Obsidian and Jade were found by Alan Scott, who embraced them with love, and joined the team known as Infinity, Inc. Obsidian’s power allowed him to control shadows and travel to the otherdimensional realm known as the Shadowlands. Obsidian’s past of abuse meant that he was headstrong and violent, but things would get worse when he was possessed by Ian Karkull, a powerful sorcerer. The Justice Society was able to save him, but Obsidian was rather easily corrupted.

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Obsidian was recruited by the villains Eclipso and Mordru in the brilliant JSA story “Princes of Darkness”, his shadow powers allowing the terrible trio to nearly conquer the entire Earth. The love of his father and sister broke the hold of despair and evil over Obsidian and since then, he’s been on the straight and narrow, even coming out of the closet to his family and friends. Sorrow picked the perfect hero to take over when he chose Obsidian; Obsidian has always been more violent than other members of the team, so him being so gung ho, as he’s been in the first five issues of JSA, makes sense with how he was. It’s easy for the team to look at his actions and not see an evil mastermind, but Obsidian being over zealous against evil. All the while, Sorrow has used his time as Obsidian to set the JSA on Earth, many of them former members of Infinity, Inc. who have been with Obsidian for years and are willing to let him slide, against each other and JSA #5 sees him preparing to throw the team into a battle they have no hope of winning.

The Justice Society Has Been Pulled into the Web of a Master Manipulator in the Guise of a Friend

The Justice Society is the oldest superteam in comics, and have faced the greatest threats in the DC Multiverse. The team’s dynamic — combining surviving Golden Age heroes like Alan Scott, Jay Garrick, Hawkman, and Hawkgirl with the younger heroes who picked up the legacies of dead or retired Golden Age heroes — has often kept the team from doing stupid things; the older members would rein in the younger. However, the Injustice Society planned for that, separating the team into two groups. Divide and conquer is a great strategy, and choosing Obsidian to use as the Injustice Society’s lever has wreaked havoc on the group, just like Sorrow planned.

Obsidian is an easy scapegoat for the JSA. Because of his dark past, and the dark nature of his powers, the team will cut him some slack. However, that is the problem with the team at this point. The Earthbound team is nowhere near as cohesive as they should be, all because Johnny Sorrow has been able to use his place as Obsidian to poison the minds of the team.

JSA #5 is on sale now where ever comics are sold.