Wednesday 12 June 2019

The Justice Society Returns In Scott Snyder's Justice League This Autumn

Today has been an interesting, yet very weird day for me. For one, my day started out with a friend and I sharing our disillusionment with DC as of late, especially in face of some of the kerfuffles that have been taking place ever since WB and AT&T have been taking a more active role in managing DC's intellectual properties.

Then later in the day, I talked in-depth about Helena Wayne's core mythology as a character, why she fits in better with the Justice Society, and why she doesn't really fit into the narrative of the Prime Earth Bruce and Selina because of how profoundly different their journeys are.

Whereas the Prime Earth versions of Bruce and Selina are very much a narrative that orbits around uncertainty with a side of stability, Helena Wayne's narrative by contrast thrives on stability. Whereas the Prime Earth versions of Bruce and Selina have yet to answer the question of whether or not they can truly function longterm as a couple, Helena Wayne's parents (the Golden Age Bruce and Selina) already went full circle.

Helena Wayne's entire character is born out of the stable relationship between her parents, which in turn factors into her character motivation. She doesn't have other siblings beyond Dick Grayson to compete with for her father's legacy, and her identity as the Huntress is very much tied to her decision to honour her parents' legacy while creating an identity of her own. Helena Wayne also builds on the legacy of the Justice Society due to her parents' Golden Age history, and more than she wants to bask in the legacy of her father, she wants to stand out as a hero of her own making. She also has relationships that are definitive to her character (like Power Girl) that serve to progress her narrative.

These are all aspects of her character that would be immediately erased if she is reintroduced as the daughter of the Prime Earth couple, which got me to think of the worse case scenario:

'What if WB and AT&T only care about Helena being the daughter of Batman and Catwoman, and nothing else that makes her character unique?'

'What if they're willing to sacrifice her status as the original Huntress, her relationship with Power Girl, and Justice Society membership to profit off of her as an extension of her parents?'

'I'll only feel comfortable with DC reintroducing Helena Wayne to the mainline continuity if it's done by Geoff Johns or Scott Snyder, two writers I actually trust with the character!'

Just as these thoughts were flowing through my mind, the unexpected happened. The very news that I needed to hear to immediately help me get a grip:

Newsarama announced Scott Snyder will be reintroducing the Justice Society in his Justice League run this autumn.

I could not have bounced harder off the walls, even if I was made of rubber. The news came at such a serendipitous moment, it almost felt like a prayer was being answered just as I was starting to feel concerned for the future of my favourite JSA character.

'But wait, D! Scott Snyder said in his interview that he'll be primarily focusing on the core group from the 1940s! He didn't say anything about including Helena Wayne in his reintroduction or any of the JSA legacy characters for that matter!'

True! But he also said that apart from reintroducing the classic team, he also had 'big plans' for them in general outside of his Justice League book. He also cited the work of Geoff Johns and James Robinson as major inspirations for the work he wants to do with the Justice Society, and both writers heavily developed the legacy aspect of the team for the post-Crisis continuity. So even if he doesn't reintroduce the JSA's legacy members right away, I'm pretty sure they're still on the horizon once he reimplements the original team members.

The other reason I'm hopeful we could still see Helena Wayne in his Justice Society plans is because Scott Snyder has also been developing the core mythology of the DC Multiverse in Justice League. He's already teased some multiverse characters like Captain Carrot (CAPTAIN CARROT!) in his upcoming 'Year of the Villain' event. He has further hinted '[The Justice Society are] a big part of "Justice: Doom War," as are a lot of other characters I don’t think you’ll expect to show up.'

'As are a lot of other characters I don’t think you’ll expect to show up.'

It's clear Scott Snyder wants to go big with his upcoming plans, and will most likely use any (perhaps every) DC Multiverse character at his disposal, especially ones that were highly demanded by fans back in 2017. Let's also not forget who made Snyder's 'top list' when he asked fans which characters we wanted to see make a comeback in the 2018-2019 year! Oh, yes! Our girl Helena made that list! Yours truly even played a hand in that! You can revisit the original Twitter exchange here!

I am once again feeling hopeful and enthusiastic about the future. It's hard being a Helena Wayne Huntress fan because of DC's past history with the character, and also because of what's been going on behind the scenes with WB and AT&T as of late. But in Scott Snyder I trust. He hasn't let me down yet, no reason to start doubting him now. August can't get here faster!

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