DC's original superhero team, the Justice Society of America is officially returning to main DC continuity in Justice League #31, by Scott Snyder, James Tynion IV and Jorge Jimenez.
Despite the team not existing in Rebirth continuity, echoes of the JSA have been present throughout Geoff Johns and Gary Frank's Doomsday Clock. And as soon as the team's return was announced, readers wondered if there is a connection between Snyder's Justice Doom War storyline and Doomsday Clock.
The simple answer is, the two stories are not connected. Snyder and Johns went through the publication schedule and their respective plans together to make sure they could both tell the kind of story they wanted to.
In an interview with Newsarama, addressed the situation straightforward.
"I mean, Doomsday Clock really is its own wonderful, incredible story," Snyder said when asked how or if his JSA story would dovetail into Johns and Frank's Doomsday Clock plans. "The kind of light connection between them is just that, what Geoff [Johns] and I talked about was because Doomsday Clock is kind of running at its own pace and in its own kind of continuity, what I didn’t want to do was bring the JSA back before he had a chance to reintroduce them as a concept in issue #10.
"I think that’s similar with other characters that he’s going to be using in Doomsday Clock as well," Snyder continued. "So there’s a nod to each other in that regard. I wanted him to be able to have the JSA as an idea, and have that first appearance in Doomsday Clock. But in terms of the continuities linking up, Doomsday Clock is a very special and inspirational book. We’re all amazed, I think, at how good it is. But its effects are relatively self-contained to itself."
Snyder is referring to the fact that while Doomsday Clock was conceived to explain the continuity changes of Rebirth, it has in many ways turned out to be a standalone piece, whether by design or due to the event's numerous delays. Hence, while the Justice Society is an important puzzle piece in the plot of Doomsday Clock, the main continuity reintroduction of the team will happen in Snyder's "The Justice Doom War."
The Justice Society will be first making a guest appearance in Justice League #31's "The Justice Doom War" Part 2. Justice League #31 is written by Scott Snyder and James Tynion IV with art by Jorge Jimenez. The issue will be available September 4. Doomsday Clock #10 is written by Geoff Johns with art by Gary Frank. Doomsday Clock #10 is available now, with the next issue coming out August 14.