In this review of JSA #9, the separated members of the Justice Society start coming back together, and they finally learn the identity of the mole.
JSA #9
Written by JEFF LEMIRE
Art by DIEGO OLORTEGUI
Main Cover: LEONARDO ROMERO
Variant Cover: JORGE CORONA
Page Count: 32 pages | Variant $4.99 US (card stock)
Release Date: July 2, 2025
As JSA #9 opens, we catch up to Mid-Nite as she’s pulling Obsidian along, in search of safety (and a non-frozen shelter). But Scandal shows up to fight Mid-Nite, explaining why she’s been working with Sorrow and Wotan.
Meanwhile, Obsidian’s consciousness, along with that of Jakeem, is traveling through a maze. The two of them locate Johnny Thunder, along with the creepy blond nurse dude from the hospital the guys had initially been in. Creepy Blond Nurse Dude starts to morph into something unnatural, as Jakeem and Thunder manage to bring forth Thunderbolt again. It’s soon revealed that Creepy Blond Nurse Dude is actually Qwsp, and that they’re all in the Fifth Dimension.
At the Brownstone, Jade expresses her self-doubt to her father, who reassures her. “Todd” (well, who they assume to be Todd, anyway) mentions a secret museum. Only Alan and Jay know about it, and Alan tells them where it is, unaware of who his “son” really is…
Khalid catches up to Yolanda at a bar, where she’s still guilt-ridden over killing a Kobra agent. Khalid also feels that Ted would be disappointed in him for losing the Helmet of Fate. But he soon says that Wildcat wouldn’t have wanted them beating themselves up and would want them back out there.
Back with Mid-Nite, Scandal is pulling her and Obsidian through the snow, when Mid-Nite wakes up for a rematch (and wins). But because of the freezing conditions, it’s a struggle to do much of anything that requires dexterity. She does manage to get in touch with the Brownstone, revealing that the real Obsidian is with her, and that the one Jade and Alan are with is…Sorrow.
Story-wise, I was admittedly a bit concerned at first because I hadn’t been following this specific title and thought I’d be a bit lost. But after giving it an initial read-through, I found that I didn’t have a hard time following the story. It does have a major “picking up the pieces” vibe to it. And after going back and reading the first 8 issues before rereading this one, I found that the added context made it better. But even without that context, it was easy enough to pick up on what was going on.
The way it cut between the different scenes was sort of interesting. I think my favorite may have been the part with the real Obsidian and Jakeem going through the maze. Even just on a visual level, that scene was fun to see, with the panels being framed by maze fragments, themselves. But when stuff begins to get revealed, and Thunderbolt comes back into play, the maze framework falls away.
I also appreciate Yolanda’s angst about killing the Kobra agent being given an appropriate amount of weight. Even without knowing her as well as other characters in the DC universe, it’s immediately clear that this is not someone that’s accustomed to taking lives, random mook or not. That first one tends to stick with people. Though having looked at the prior issues, it was also a heat-of-the-moment decision, and rather understandable (being upset over a missing friend and unsure if they’d killed said friend). But most people wouldn’t simply kill a guy for the first time and shrug it off.
The mole reveal…it was definitely coming sooner or later, and from a narrative standpoint, “after the reveal of something the enemy really shouldn’t know” is rather sub-optimal for the characters…but great for the reader.
Final Thoughts
With some entertaining reveals and some well-done character drama, JSA #9 is definitely worth the read. JSA #9 was easy enough to follow without much prior knowledge, but is enhanced considerably by the context.
