In 1999, the Justice Society of America, as far as the DC Universe was concerned, was a non-entity. Half the members were unceremoniously killed off in the Zero Hour event five years prior. A handful of members—Doctor Fate, the original Flash and Green Lantern—were active, but not very prominent. Considering the JSA originated in World War II and were always closely defined by that era, now 50+ years gone, the general sense seemed to be that the Justice Society’s time was done.
But you can’t keep a good concept down. Or maybe you just need to keep those trademarks active. Or maybe it was because Grant Morrison’s relaunch of the Justice League of America was going gangbusters, and James Robinson’s Starman, with its strong sales, critical praise, and focus on superhero legacies, meant that maybe there was an audience for the original superhero team after all. In any case, the JSA returned to the spotlight in 1999 in a multi-comics event dubbed “The Justice Society Returns!” with the ’99 model of All-Star Comics was meant to reintroduce the JSA to a then-modern audience.
