How Stargirl Changes The JSA From The Legends of Tomorrow Version (& Why)
With John Wesley Shipp’s Jay Garrick joining the cast of Stargirl, the status of the Legends of Tomorrow’s JSA in the past of Earth-Prime is in doubt.
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The news that John Wesley Shipp’s Jay Garrick will be appearing in Stargirl season 2 has raised a number of complications for the Arrowverse, particularly with regards to the Justice Society of America (JSA) that appeared in Legends of Tomorrow. Beyond violating the new rules of the multiverse regarding doppelgangers of the same people existing on alternate Earths, it raises a number of questions about the new timeline established by Crisis on Infinite Earths and whether or not there was ever a Justice Society on Earth-Prime.
Debuting in All-Star Comics #3, the Justice Society of America was the first superhero team created for DC Comics. Featuring eight of DC Comics’ most popular heroes (including The Flash, Green Lantern and Hawkman), the logic was that kids would be more likely to spend their hard-earned dimes on comic books featuring multiple heroes fighting alongside one another. The idea proved profitable, and superhero teams have been an indispensable part of the genre ever since.
The first version of the Justice Society of America to appear in the Arrowverse was teased by the cliffhanger finale of Legends of Tomorrow season 1, when a man who introduced himself as Rex Tyler (aka Hourman) arrived in a beat-up version of the Waverider and warned the Legends not to board their ship or they would all die. The full JSA team — comprised of Hourman, Stargirl, Doctor Mid-Nite, Obsidian, Commander Steel, and the first Vixen — was introduced in Legends of Tomorrow season 2. By the end of the season, most of the team (save for Obsidian and Vixen) were either dead or scattered across time to protect the pieces of the Spear of Destiny, which had the power to rewrite reality. In a notable shift from the original comics, this JSA was a clandestine organization that operated in secrecy, yet its members wore colorful costumes like those associated with traditional superheroes.
Stargirl season 1 established a different version of the Justice Society of America, which was more accurate to the original line-up in the comics. This team operated openly, with its members often appearing in the newspapers of the time and making no effort to cover up their existence. Somehow, despite being established in 1941, most of the original team lived until Christmas Eve 2010, where all of them (save for Hourman) were killed in a final battle with their arch-enemies, the Injustice Society. The first season of Stargirl saw Courtney Whitmore, who had acquired and reawakened staff of Starman, try to build a new Justice Society with classmates from her new school, including the son of the original Hourman.
While Stargirl teased one version of Jay Garrick being The Flash of the new Earth-2 (played by John Wesley Shipp), it remains unclear how this is possible. In the original Arrowverse timeline, Jay Garrick was a native of Earth-3, a doppelganger of Barry Allen’s father, Dr. Henry Allen, and was not a part of any incarnation of the JSA. The Flash season 7 revealed Jay became a citizen of Earth-Prime following the collapse and reboot of the multiverse during Crisis on Infinite Earths; however, behind-the-scenes reports revealed that Shipp will be appearing as Jay Garrick in Stargirl season 2. While it’s still unclear how Jay’s presence on Earth-2 will be explained, his arrival may open the doors to the Arrowverse’s multiverse once more, allowing for the characters of Stargirl to be fully aware of other Earths thanks to Garrick’s The Flash. It’s possible Jay was originally from Earth-2 instead of Earth-3 in this universe and ended up on Earth-Prime following the multiverse collapse, which would explain why he’s no longer around. Whatever the case may be, Stargirl will officially be a part of the Arrowverse at large because of Garrick. The Flash is the only one who could previously travel between worlds anyway, so it makes sense that he is the one to connect the multiverse once more.
However, this does raise the question of whether or not a version of the Justice Society of America introduced by Legends of Tomorrow existed in the past of Earth-Prime’s timeline. Presumably, there had to be some team with Vixen and Commander Steel, if only to inspire their descendants in the modern-day Arrowverse, but there may not have been a Courtney Whitmore to become the Stargirl that later traveled back in time to become Merlin, armed with a piece of the Spear of Destiny. Given the timeline differences between Earth-Prime and Earth-2, the JSA was never going to be exactly the same regardless. And considering the fractured nature of continuity in Legends of Tomorrow, it seems unlikely this point will ever be addressed on the show, leaving Stargirl to answer some of the questions it left behind or ignored completely.
Link Source : https://screenrant.com/stargirl-jsa-legends-tomorrow-changes-arrowverse-why/