Let's ignore the apparent Willinghamisms for the moment. These are ham-fisted rhetoric and stilted dialogue. I know people are talking about Sturges but you know a Willinghamism once you see one.
1. What the HELL is up with Karen saying 'combat operations'? It's not like she has military background, and as for superheroes using military lingo...Superheroics has never been about fighting, but saving. Oh yeah, there will always be those goddamn awesome knock-em-out brawls, but the whole point of superheroes is to SAVE people. Wasn't that the whole point of KC in the first place? This might seem a small thing to worry about, but I really think this is something to watch out for. What with Marvel's SHRA, Wildstorm, and various other superhero books, there should be some worry that military concepts and language will insinuate themselves in superheroes. This is not a dig at the military but about remembering what superheroes are - saviors, not soldiers.
2. Are they seriously going for an ageist battle in the Justice Society of fuckin' America? Seriously? A title whose mainstays are the miraculously still alive original Flash, Wildcat, and Sentinel? All about family and legacy? Cutting back, yes, it isn't too bad an idea. Family squabbles and all that, legacies fighting off their past for a new future. We could be looking at a stale but always fun, completely familial storyline. Except they have MAGOG leading it. Which is such a big no-no that I can't even say it with a calm voice.
3. SUPERHEROICS IS AND NEVER WILL BE MILITARY ACTION. SAVING, NOT WARRING. The fact that Magog even threw that line about 3 years in the Marines is an absolute joke. I mean, Courtney has more experience with Superheroing than he does. She's faced greater challenges and saved more lives than this wreck of a character. She wields rank over him. U.S. combat operations is nothing like what a superhero needs. The best analogies would be emergency aid agencies, rescue operations, at the most extreme violent angle, perhaps counter-terrorism ops. Yes, I understand that this is Willingham (and Sturges) setting up a point for their knockdown fight but the fact that Magog gets this voice of experience when there are far more compelling and, importantly, experienced superheroes in the JSA pisses the hell out of me. Courtney should be representing the young guns. Where's Doctor Mid-Nite, with his moral objections?
I'm also slightly afraid that, as a former(?) operational head of Checkmate, Willingham (and Sturges) will cast Mr. Terrific on Magog's side, which would be a bloody mistake and off-character.