Did You Request A Chaperone? No? Me Neither.

During the Johns/Goyer JSA run, did the JSA know Captain Marvel was a teenager named Billy? I know Stargirl did, because she and Billy were sort of starting a relationship (and that's what lead me to wonder), but what about the rest?

I came into JSA late, long after it was ended (and then restarted as Justice Society of America), so I was under the impression they knew the deal with Captain Marvel. I had been reading JLA, and during Kelly's Obsidian Age story, Captain Marvel was one of the heroes Batman tried recruiting for the replacement league. When his little messenger spheres (the design for which he swiped from Mr. Terrific) approached Cap, he was at the JSA headquarters, as Billy. He said Shazam, and the Wisdom of Solomon apparently told him his place was with the JSA. Then another sphere asked Hawkgirl if she'd join up, she did, and away they went. I just assumed this meant the team was in on his secret.

Reading some JSA, it seems they weren't. Stargirl was surprised to meet Billy Batson, and Jay Garrick broke them up because he thought it was inappropriate. I'm guessing he didn't know Captain Marvel's a teenager in a grown-up body, and so he thought it was an adult hitting on a teenager. Which from the outside, does look iffy.

So why didn't Billy clue them in? The group clearly isn't adverse to having youngsters on the team, judging by Stargirl and Jakeem. Everybody seems to know everyone else's secret identities anyway. Surely the idea of a kid who speaks a magic word and transforms into a superhuman isn't that strange to a team that had the Spirit of Vengeance among its members.

I suppose Billy may have opted not to tell the rest of the team because it was between him and Courtney, something private that didn't involve the rest of the team. If that's the case, they should have told Garrick to butt out, that there were things he didn't know, and no, they weren't gonna tell him, because it's not his business, that's why.