So, last time the JSA were basically being held prisoners by the banished evil star known as Aquarius and only the Red Tornado had escaped and traveled to Earth-One to enlist the help of the JLA to combat the menace.

Roll Call:  JSA:  Superman, Black Canary, Doctor Fate, Green Lantern, Doctor Mid-Nite, Wonder Woman, Red Tornado, and Larry Lance (Black Canary’s husband).  JLA:  Superman, Green Lantern, Batman, Hawkman, Atom, and Flash.

The JLA travels into the new limbo-like universe where Aquarius is holding the JSA hostage.  Time is apparently moving quicker here than in the normal universe as a nearly exhausted Dr. Fate thinks to himself that he has been keeping himself and his teammates alive for two weeks but he is nearly at the edge of his stamina and cannot continue much longer.

We get an interesting piece of DC Cosmology from Green Lantern Hal Jordan who thinks to himself…

“Though I’ve made this trip so many times– it always awes me!  We’re at the center of nothingness, midway between being and non-being… I’ve got to be very careful at this point!  We’re  approaching  the entrance to the universe of negative matter.  If we were to slip through that gap,, we’d probably be instantly annihilated.  When positive matter from our universe as much as touches negative matter, it causes an explosion that makes an H-Bomb look like a firecracker!” – Green Lantern, Hal Jordan

 

The arrival of the JLA causes Aquarius pause as the star does not understand how more mortals could exist in this universe.  Aquarius mentally commands the JSA members to defeat the JLA and a battle royale begins.  Superman of the JSA takes on the Superman of the JLA.  It is Doctor Mid-Nite who picks Batman as his foe, but Batman is ready and takes the good doctor by surprise.  The Flash dodges mystic bolts from Doctor Fate while the Atom sneaks into Fate’s ear to cause him significant discomfort.    Dr. Fate’s mystic bolt goes far off course and strikes the JSA’s Wonder Woman and her lasso  ensnaring  the heroine who loses her powers when she is bound by a man.   Flash then knocks Doctor Fate out, and accidentally sends his cohort The Atom reeling as well.  The two Green Lanterns are fairly evenly matched in battle as Green Arrow fires his “stickum shaft” at the Black Canary trapping her in some gluey goop leaving her unable to move.  Larry Lance sneaks up on Green Arrow and knocks him out for having attacked his wife.  However, the scene has now been set.  With Black Canary trapped Aquarius begins sending out deadly balls of energy to kill those who threaten him and with the Canary unable to dodge the ball she is a goner.  Larry leaps in the path of the ball and saves his wife, but the price is his life.

When Larry Lance sacrificed himself to save Black Canary that moment freed the JSA members of the mental commands of Aquarius.  While life goes on in the worlds, Dinah Lance can only mourn the man she loved.  The two Green Lanterns need to renew their strength to get everyone home and so they recite their oath together.   The JSA and JLA leave the limbo land and go back to Earth-Two to bury the honored dead, only to have Aquarius show up mocking their grief.  IT falls to the Green Lanterns to taunt Aquarius into that area of the limbo universe near the negative universe.  Aquarius in a fitful rage does not realize what has happened until he is caught in the gravity well and is unable to break free.

Aquarius enters the negative universe and blows up ending his threat forever.

Back on Earth-Two, the JLA ready to depart, but Black Canary asks that she take them with her as the pain of the loss of Larry is too great to stay on Earth-Two and that a new start is needed.  Superman carries Black Canary through the barrier and we believe she joins the Justice League in the next issue…

 

But we know the real story now, don’t we?  

 

Next Up:  Peril of the Paired Planes!