Easily THE Golden Age DC team that seemed to always attract plenty of reboots, deaths, and resurrections over the years, translating into a roster flux that practically changed from issue to issue. Take a look inside to see the first incarnation of one of DC's most celebrated teams, straight from the cover of All-Star Comics #3!

One of the original DC teams, this squad always held a special place in my heart, trumping those JSA-wanna-be's, the JLA. With a history as convoluted as the X-Men's, it takes a dedicated reader to sift through the mess of members that have been inducted into the ranks of the JSA and forever immortalized in the JSA Museum. Today, we'll look at All-Star Comics #3, which had one of the most iconic line-ups, according to the front-cover roster.

Now, since it's well known that the Atom has not been made into Heroclix, we will begin with a man wearing a gas-mask and invading your dreams...THE SANDMAN!

or086 U Sandman
Team: Justice Society
Range: 6
Points: 59
Keywords: All Star Squadron, Detective, Justice Society

7 9 17 2

7 10 17 2

6 9 16 2

6 8 16 2

5 8 15 1

5 7 15 1

5 7 15 1

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

A straightforward piece: park in hindering and PC away. Stealth protects him from any incoming ranged attacks; Willpower will allow him to constantly ping away; and Smoke Cloud is mostly situational but it just might be enough to bump up an ally's Defense and make it harder on the opponent to hit the high defenses. Just mind click #2 where he gains a point of AV and Incapacitate but loses Stealth and PC. Quickly push him to click #3 which he then gains MC on top of Incap and PC. Another point of damage or push will Stealth him again with a dose of Close Combat Expert with Close Combat Reflexes keeping him safe in close. Coupled with the JSA, we're talking about 20 Defense up close, so as soon as you see those clicks, send Sandman in as a secondary tie-up piece.

Headlining your team on the offensive and defensive side of things is THE SPECTRE!

cr059 U The Spectre
Team: Quintessence
Range: 10
Points: 234
Keywords: Detective, Herald, Justice Society, Mystical

10 11 18 5

10 11 19 4

10 10 18 4

8 10 17 4

8 10 17 3

8 10 16 3

9 9 16 3

9 9 15 3

10 9 15 3

10 9 15 3

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

(Speed) Ghostly Guardian: The Spectre can use Charge, Phasing/Teleport, and the Justice Society team ability.
(Damage) Vengeance: Give the Spectre a power action to make a close combat or ranged combat attack, replacing his damage value with the damage value of his target until the action is resolved; the attack is penetrating damage.

This Ghostly Guardian will make or break your team, as far as Defense goes. One of the members on this squad with a natural 18 leading to a natural 19 Defense, it's a no-brainer fact that keeping the Spectre alive pretty much translates into keeping the higher defenses for the rest of your team. However, this works only for the first 4 clicks before the Spectre returns to the mystical underworld and carries out his acts of vengeance. However, before he does so, his presence on the battlefield cannot be ignored. Immune to Outwit, packing a range of 10, 11 AV with Super Strength, and a starting 18 DV with Impervious, be sure to be attacking every 2 of 3 turns, laying the hurt down on the opposition. You *must* mind the mid-dial clicks where the Spectre is at his weakest, with only Super Senses to protect him from attacks and Regeneration to hopefully get back to the Impervious clicks. On his back dial, he sports Vengeance, which allows him to deal penetrating damage at a whim. Again, your team goes as far as the Spectre goes: without quite a dedicated offensive front and the defensive boosts, the rest of your team will become "regular".

Zipping around and punching people in the face before they know what hit them is THE FLASH!

aa056 U The Flash
Team: Justice Society
Range: 0
Points: 120
Keywords: Central City, Justice Society, Past, Scientist

12 10 18 2

11 10 17 2

11 9 16 2

13 9 15 2

12 9 16 2

11 8 17 2

11 8 17 2

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

(Speed) Cosmic Treadmill: The Flash can use Hypersonic Speed and Phasing/Teleport. When the Flash uses Phasing/Teleport, he can use the Carry ability.
(Attack) Supersonic Punch: The Flash can use Quake as part of a close combat attack (instead of a close combat action), but targets of the attack are not knocked back.
(Defense) Fastest Man Alive: The Flash Can use Energy Shield/Deflection and Super Senses.

Filling in the harasser role, play The Flash as if there was no tomorrow. Keeping in mind that he has high defenses thanks to the JSA TA, he should always be zipping around, looking for soft targets to beat up with his HSS/Quake. Packing his own PC, on the 2nd and 3rd clicks, Jay ensures he doesn't need outside help hitting his targets. Just be sure to get back into adjacency with an ally: that ES/D on top of Super Senses with the JSA TA will give him an effective 21 Defense from range with 33% chance of missing an incoming attack outright. The back-dial Willpower will help him stay in the fight much longer than he should.

Swooping in from high, bashing in your skull with his mace is HAWKMAN!

or060 V Hawkman
Team: Justice Society
Range: 0
Points: 135
Archenemy: Shadow Thief (Orange)
Keywords: Justice Society, Warrior

10 12 17 4

10 11 17 4

10 11 17 3

9 10 16 2

9 10 16 2

8 9 16 3

8 9 15 2

7 9 15 2

7 8 14 2

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

Finally, a taxi (at least, a dedicated one)! A dial without any surprises, it's quite easy playing Hawkman: taxi in Hourman or the Atom and watch them swing away! Hawkman's quite pushable in the fact he can taxi the first turn, push and smack the opposition on the 2nd turn for a whopping total of 6 damage on top of 12 Attack, getting to his damage reducer clicks. ES/D, again coupled with the JSA TA, gives him a 21 DV at range, way more than enough to keep Carter in the fight so try and keep him top-dial for as long as it takes until a threat looms. He softens up somewhat mid-dial with Flurry and only 2 damage, so choose your targets wisely. There's one interesting click to try and capitalize on, click 7's Charge/Quake combo...try and find a cluster of soft targets. Hopefully, Hawkman will be able to use the Regeneration to try and regain some lost clicks.

Weaving protection and spells for this squad is DOCTOR FATE!

or212 LE Dr. Fate
Team: Justice Society
Range: 6
Points: 134
Keywords: Justice Society, Mystical

9 10 16 3

9 9 16 3

8 9 15 2

8 8 15 2

8 8 14 2

7 7 14 2

7 7 13 2

6 7 13 2

6 6 12 1

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

Another character dedicated to PC, Dr. Fate will serve as the team's primary set-up man, especially when you push him onto Telekinesis. Very little thought is needed to play Dr. Fate: set him up in a sense where he can TK whoever you need to be flung into the fight and be able to either PC/Perplex the following attack. Losing TK, Dr. Fate turns into a desperate run-and-gun figure with ES/D and a smattering of Incapacitate and Psychic Blast...at 8 or below AV. Use Fate carefully as you want to TK your allies into battle as often as you can. Failing that, he can support the team with Perplex and PC.

Bringing the light of the Green Lantern's might is ALAN SCOTT!

or076 R Green Lantern
Team: Justice Society
Range: 8
Points: 85
Archenemy: Sentinel (Green)
Keywords: All Star Squadron, Justice Society, Mystical

10 10 17 3

8 9 17 3

9 9 16 2

9 8 15 2

8 7 15 3

8 7 14 2

7 7 14 2

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

Alan comes with a dial that screams for Stunning Blow, which is what he should be equipping. Period. With a healthy swing of 13 and a very admirable 10 AV and 3 damage for a 85 point figure is just too much of a steal. Add ES/D in relation to the JSA TA and you have a lottery winner! High Defense and decent attack translate to a cheap shoot and forget cannon. Mid-dial Phasing will allow Alan to reposition himself for the best shot possible. The Barrier that shows up on the back end of the dial just might help mid- to late-game where you will need the power to shutter in opposing figures or protect allies under fire.

Lastly but not least, clocking in is HOURMAN!

lg014 E Hourman
Team: Justice Society
Range: 0
Points: 85
Keywords: Justice Society

7 9 15 2

8 10 16 3

8 9 15 3

8 9 16 2

7 8 15 2

7 8 14 2

6 7 13 2

6 7 12 2

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

The only dial on the squad with an activation click, this dude just might surprise the opposition, especially when he takes his hour-long serum! The opening click not counted, Hourman is respectable as a close-up brick with the usual Charge/Super Strength combo with a healthy dose of damage reducers throughout the entire dial. What will surprise your opponents is the mid-dial PC, giving the JSA a total of THREE PC'ers. Anybody would know that even a 3 rolled three times over can turn into a critical miss! Back-dial CCE keeps Hourman hitting hard, especially when he has his Defense bolstered by the JSA TA.

After accounting for everything, the team comes out to:

Sandman + Running Start + Ambush 59 + 5 + 5
The Spectre + Shellhead + Protected 234 + 10 + 8
The Flash + Armor Piercing 120 + 10
V Hawkman 135
LE Dr. Fate 134
R Green Lantern + Stunning Blow 85 + 10
E Hourman
---------------------------------------------------
900 points on the nose.

Quite the squad there! At any given point, you could have 3 Perplexers and 3 PC'ers, ensuring your Defense is shored up or your Attack sticks! Obviously, capitalizing on the Defense is key, so be sure to push Spectre onto the 19DV click; Shellhead and Protected will ensure he stays there when he's exposed on the push. The rest of the team will carry their own weight just fine, just as long as you have Dr. Fate at the ready to fling them wherever hot spots are to cool them down before Spectre comes in and deals his final judgment!

Hope you all liked this article; check back in two weeks for yet another iconic team!

Sorry for being late.

Here it is, granting a reader's request!

Hope *you* liked it! (you know who you are! )

Great article. Speaking of feats I think I would prefer Coordination on sandman to the 2 you have but your mileage may vary.

Edited to reflect new 900 point version.

When you reach Hawkman you say "Finally a taxi!" - but both Atom Smasher and Spectre can carry figures too - and both of them are preferable because they can lend their defenses to JSAers they carry (Sandman or Hourman).

A nice 1000 point theme team. The JSA are all pretty competitive. I love how Hourman actually has a good first click - 9 attack is so worth it.

Strangely sexist too - 9 members of the team with no female members at all.

Ah, I was going to edit in (at least, a dedicated one).

Agreed on the sexist tone. When'd Hippolyta make the team?

Wrong "Atom" by the way. The JSA one has never been made as a fig, and would be more like Wildcat (he was just a short fighter) than like Ray Palmer.

The fig you show doesn't have the keyword because he's the wrong guy. The Golden Age Atom is there on the cover on the far left. You label him Atom Smasher, but that's just the Atom. Atom Smasher's costume is a tribute to the original Atom (who was his godfather).

Also, the Hourman clix is the original's son, but the dial would basically be the same.

Yep on the V, quite costly...would prefer the feats.

As for Ambush...true, if he was a close-combat piece. In my opinion, he isn't...however, he could benefit from it back-dial, though.

I don't get it. Is the Atom some kind of inside joke?

Ahhh, no wonder! Admittedly, my readership on the JSA doesn't go THAT FAR BACK!

What was his real name, this Atom? Ah, wait a minute, Atom = Atom Smasher? If so, I'm SO EDITING the first post...and the team.

Yep, a quick search/research came up with this factoid.

Team has been edited to the 900 point version.

very nice. wish i had some of those figs.

Am I actually the first to point out that the JSA is GOLDEN Age, not Silver Age -
and that they were the FIRST ever super team
and that the Atom is in the bottom left of the cover and is in no way the Ray Palmer shrinking version...
and I'll leave it to Mr_JTR and CustomCreator to point out the other mistakes!

BTW, among my numerous JSA and ISA customs I have a custom Al Pratt (JSA) Atom who is on a R Wildcat base - works pretty well!

The Atom on that cover is Al Pratt, the original Atom. He's Damage's biological father and Atom Smasher's godfather, hence the costume similarities.

beat me to it -
funny that my custom Atom is exactly as you suggested though - on a R Wildcat base!
(great minds?)

Also never really liked the Hourman version they did in HC, since he wasn't the Golden Age version, so I had CustomCreator make me one using the U Superman base from ORIGIN - good powers, no flight or range, JSA keyword!
I've got to learn how to post these customs some day!!!