In this review of JSA #12, the Lovecraftian apocalypse summoned by the Injustice Society is nigh, but the Justice Society may have a way to turn things around.
JSA #12
Written by JEFF LEMIRE
Art by DIEGO OLORTEGUI
Main Cover: LEONARDO ROMERO
Variant Cover: JORGE CORONA
Page Count: 32 pages
Release Date: 10/1/25
This review contains spoilers
JSA #12 opens with a glimpse at just how wide-reaching the Unnamed Ones’ effects are (pulsing sky here, raining blood there, a few heavy doses of outright madness and other psychological strife hitting various heroes in the ‘verse…). We get back to the Justice Society, though, and they have a plan in mind. That plan primarily involves getting Beth inside to shut down the Injustice Society’s machine.
The two factions battle it out, Beth being briefly intercepted before an assist from Obsidian. Alan and Jade try to get through to Ruby, but she’s not having it. But then Fate and Wildcat show up with a good amount of backup. The two of them are told of what’s going on inside.
Inside, Beth and the small group that headed in with her have run into Sorrow and company. As the thought to sacrifice them comes about, here come Fate and Wildcat to prevent that from happening. Fate gets his helmet back, giving the Justice Society a much-needed power boost…but it’s still not quite enough.
Kid Eternity gets some information, though, and provides that missing piece to Fate. Now that he knows the Unnamed Ones’ faces and names, he’s able to get them back to their own world.
There’s an “everything’s right with the world again” montage, showing the team having some downtime, some roster changes, a bit of training…which is when Kid Eternity gets called into a portal.
Thinking it’s the original Wildcat again, she heads through…but instead, it’s a shady hooded guy that intends to use her to get both his freedom and revenge. And one possession later, The Specter is ready…
So, JSA #12 felt like a satisfying ending to the current storyline, I think. Everyone gets a chance to shine in that final battle (even some that aren’t really among the living anymore, thanks to Kid Eternity). There’s also something kind of great about the contrast in reactions to the Unnamed Ones. In Metropolis and Bludhaven, we get horrified confusion. With Swamp Thing and the Flash, that horrified confusion happens on a much more personal level. But with the Justice Society? No panic. No guarantee (from their perspective, of course) that they’ll pull this off…but they have a plan in place and every intention of seeing it through.
With the artwork in JSA #12, the designs of the Unnamed Ones are suitably Lovecraftian, with lots of tentacles, eyes where they shouldn’t be, and just an outright delight to look at. (Also, when it starts raining blood in any context…a personal favoirte surefire way to tell that something is VERY not-right.) They look like they were definitely fun to draw.
A couple of the character expressions stood out to me, as well. When Alan and Jade are confronting Ruby, and she responds with this incredibly angry facial expression. That was a face of pure rage, and it was pulled off really well. But there’s also Yolanda’s expression when Kid Eternity relays a message to her from the original Wildcat. She goes from shock, to relief, and while the exact words of the message don’t show up, it can be reasonably assumed that he wanted her to know that no, she had not disappointed him when she killed that opponent. That he likely understood that it was a possibility and that she didn’t need to blame herself. Seeing her get some much-needed catharsis was great.
The way JSA #12 ended sets things up nicely for the next arc, between the roster changes (Jesse headed out, and a few former members rejoined) and that tease at the end for the impending isssues with The Specter leaves me looking forward to issue 13.
Final Thoughts
JSA #12 is a fitting end for this story. And we get some familiar (and welcome) faces in the mix. It brings the Ragnarok arc to a lovely and well-earned conclusion, while making it perfectly clear that just because that problem is solved…the next is right around the corner. Bring on the next arc!
