Secret Origins #31
In *Secret Origins* #31 (1988), Roy Thomas and Michael Bair deliver a reimagined origin for the Justice Society of America in the post-Crisis era, stripping away Earth-2’s Superman and Batman from the core narrative. The story hinges on a pivotal moment when FDR’s life is saved by Superman’s last-minute intervention—only for the Spectre to later restore him with a secret condition that he wouldn’t live to see the war’s end. Michael Bair’s dynamic art, rendered in bold inks and rich colors by Carl Gafford, brings this alternate history to life, with a cover by Bair that captures the weight of the moment.
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This is a post-Crisis retelling of the JSA's origin, omitting the Earth-2 Batman and Superman appearances from the story itself. Although Batman was easily eliminated, Superman wasn't, because of his last minute rescue of FDR from the Valkyries' attack pre-Crisis. As a result, FDR was killed, but the Spectre was able to return him to life with the stipulation that FDR wouldn't live long enough to see the end of World War 2, known only to the Spectre himself. Things returned to normal, with nobody the wiser of FDR's "death" save one.
Plot details indexed by the Grand Comics Database (CC BY-SA).