As the New Golden Age #1 spins out of the events of Flashpoint Beyond, the Time Masters have their work cut out for them - and their current goals could set up multiple future DC storylines.
Written by Geoff Johns, The New Golden Age #1 is a double-sized one-shot featuring art by Diego Olortegui, JP Mayer, Scott Hanna, Jerry Ordway, Steve Lieber, Todd Nauck, Scott Kolins, Viktor Bogdanovic, Brandon Peterson, and Gary Frank; colors by Nick Filardi, John Kalisz, Matt Herms, Jordan Boyd, and Brad Anderson; and letters by Rob Leigh.
The story spans millennia - literally - as it explores the past and future of the Justice Society of America and an apparent conspiracy against the superhero team. But the Time Masters are dealing with even more problems.
Spoilers ahead for The New Golden Age #1
At the end of Flashpoint Beyond, the Time Masters mention Martha Wayne's family, and how Batman will soon be preoccupied with them, while the Justice Society will need to deal with Degaton - DC's version of Marvel's Kang the Conquerer. The Time Masters also reveal that 13 Golden Age superheroes' time capsules have failed, meaning they will be reintegrated into the main DC Universe timeline.
But in The New Golden Age #1, it's revealed that some of the 13 were "lost" before they could be reintegrated, which means the Time Masters now have to track them down. This is revealed after Corky is picked up from the U.S. in 1848 and scolded for talking to people without permission - in this case, a young John Wilkes Booth, the man who assassinated President Abraham Lincoln in 1865. Johns's script seems to suggest that Corky is at least partially responsible for Lincoln's death.
The final pages of The New Golden Age #1 reveal more details about the 13 superheroes first seen in Flashpoint Beyond #6 and introduce the Justice Society Dark to the DC Universe. One of the 13, called Legionnaire, has their information completely redacted. While it isn't confirmed in the one-shot's pages, this seemingly rogue character could be the Stranger, a mysterious figure who's been hunting down and killing the Justice Society of America across time.
If the Time Masters can track him and the other missing heroes down - they never state how many are gone - it could completely rewrite history.
Equally pressing, the Time Masters have to track down Nostalgia, a 16-year-old character who's obsessed with Ozymandias and finding the Watchmen, and find a boy named Dreiberg - whose forehead boasts the symbol of Doctor Manhattan - before anyone else does, including his biological parents.
In just a few lines of dialogue, the Time Masters set up at least three potential future DC storylines. And The New Golden Age #1 also sets up Helena Wayne AKA the Huntress's storyline in the upcoming Justice Society of America series, which debuts at the end of November.
Combined with the mention of Martha Wayne's family and Degaton in Flashpoint Beyond, Johns has opened doors to multiple stories, which will make the era of the new Golden Age very, very interesting.
The New Golden Age #1 is available now.
