Comics discussions, with flair…
All-Star Squadron
All-Star Action
0825 days
The All-Star Squadron is a pretty huge organization and in this post we finish up their roster for the most part, so hang on and lets get to it.
The Guardian is beat policeman Jim Harper who basically turns into the Guardian to look after a group of scamps known as The Newsboy Legion. Jim was a young scamp himself, helping the local mob in the depression era to run numbers and acting as a lookout for heists. Destiny called and a strange man, or a Stranger, challenged Jim to live his life to be betterment of man, not to waste his time in the crime of Suicide Slum. Jim studied and with the aid of his shield became The Guardian of Suicide Slum.
This is the same suit that future Teen Titan, Mal Duncan, would find a copy of to become a new Guardian.
The Newsboy Legion are made up of a group of kids who are just trying to survive on the hard streets, but also look up to Officer Jim and The Guardian. The Legion is made up of Big Words, Gabby, Scrapper, Tommy, and Walt
Midnight is David Clark who carried a handgun and was an expert fighter in his fight against crime, while The Jester is Chuck Lane who decided that he would join the fight of the Mystery Men when he discovered he was descended from a long line of Court Jesters. Employing a fighting style designed to make criminals look laughable the Jester conquered the night.
There are quite a few Manhunters in the DCU, with the first designation meaning the robots that were created by the Guardians of the Universe. This Manhunter is Paul Kirk who acted as a private eye, hunting down detectives and bringing them to justice.
Mister America is Tex Thomson who decided to become Mister America when he was presumed dead after Nazis sunk the boat he was on. He took on the new avenging persona of Mister America and began to work behind the scenes at the request of the President of the United States, Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Once based in the Gestapo, Thomson began to set about destroying the Nazis from the inside out. He is an expert with the bull whip and seems to have an uncanny knack of escaping death.
Not to be out done in the bullwhip area here comes The Whip, who is secretly Rodney Gaynor had visited a small Mexican town and found himself appalled at the behavior of the land barons and their treatment of the poor people in the town. Rodney was inspired by legends of old and donned a Mexican themed outfit and affected a fake accent and became The Whip to bring justice to the downtrodden.
TNT is Thomas N. Thomas who is a high school science teacher and along with his young partner Dan Dunbar, the two gain amazing explosive powers when they press their Dyna-Rings together.
Next Up: Balloon Buster! Captain Triumph! Johnny Peril! Kong the Untamed! Lady Cop! Miss Arrowette! Neptune Perkins! Nightwing & Flamebird! Son of Vulcan!
To Infinity And Beyond
0891 days
Heading back to Earth-Two for our next set of heroes, but as is the case in most of these situations we have to take 2 steps back to take a step forward and these steps back include two new members of the All-Star Squadron we haven’t discussed previously.
Say hello to Will Everett, Amazing-Man. Will was an Olympic athlete who competed in Berlin and showed up the Third Reich. His athletic fame faded quickly once he returned to still segregated America. Will wound up taking menial jobs and was working as a janitor when he was caught in an explosion that gave him his ability to touch matter and absorb the properties of that material. He would touch cement and become living cement, touch a wedding ring and he becomes gold, touch a tire and he gains the properties of galvanized rubber and so on.
When the All-Star Squadron confronts Will, he is working as a henchman for a villain called the Ultra-Humanite. Eventually, Will’s better nature took over and he betrayed the Ultra-Humanite and joined the All-Star Squadron.
Will becomes our first African-American hero in terms of history so much that future tales would show that Will would go on and become a strong supporter of the Civil Rights movement and even caught the man who assassinated Martin Luther King, Jr.
Will’s material absorption powers would ultimately fade and be replaced with the ability to wield magnetism.
Writer Jonathan Law was inspired by the mystery men of the day, so much so that he decided to adopt a spider motif and join them in the war on crime. A trained acrobat and stage magician, Jonathan used his natural athleticism and wits along with spider themed weapons enabled him to strike fear into the hearts of evil doers. Most notably used was Tarantula’s web guns which shot out a sticky strand of fluid to enable him to swing from building to building or to entangle opponents. (Hmmm.. that sounds famliar…) By the way, Tarantula first appeared in 1941, the other guy (he’s had three movies) 1962.
Jonathan would eventually go on and write a tell-all book about the Mystery Men of the 40s, but other than that, he too sunk into obscurity, for a time.
Now, I had to go into all that to clarify this cover below, introducing Infinity, Incorporated.
Fanboyism: When Two Super-Hero Teams Meet, They Must Fight, Then They Resolve Their Difference and Cooperate.
Infinity Inc.’s members are from left to right: Fury, Silver Scarab, Nuklon, Brainwave Jr., Northwind, Jade, and Obsidian.
In short, this is what happens when your heroes grow up, retire, and get married. These are the descendants of the Justice Society of America. So, let’s go down the list and see what we come up with…
Fury is Lyta Trevor, the daughter of Wonder Woman (Diana Prince) and Steve Trevor of Earth-Two. As the daughter of the most amazing Amazon ever, Lyta has inherited most of her mother’s powers and skills and use them in the good fight.
Silver Scarab is Hector Hall, the son of Hawkman and Hawkgirl (Carter and Shiera Hall) of Earth-Two. Hector made a suit out of the Nth Metal that enabled the Hawks to fly, enabling him to fly, focus solar power beams, and enhance his strength. Hector and Lyta met at college and began dating.
Nuklon is Albert Rothstein and is the God Son of Al Pratt, the Earth-Two Atom. Nuklon is able to use his atomic radiation powers to increase and decrease his molecular density, making Al dense or immaterial. Nuklon’s powers also enable increased strength, stamina, and speed.
Brainwave, Jr. is Henry King, Jr. the son of the JSA’s villain Brainwave and Merry, the Girl of 1,000 Gimmicks. Inheriting his father’s prodigious mental talents Brainwave, Jr. can read minds, control weaker minds, telekinesis, and project realistic illusions.
Northwind is Norda Cantrell, the son of Fred Cantrell, who is a family friend of Carter and Sheira Hall, and Osoro, a member of an avian race. Norda is extremely agile in flight, and is able to heal himself from injuries. Northwind was adopted by the Hall’s after Fred’s death and he and Silver Scarab were raised together. Silver Scarab grew jealous of Northwind as he perceived his parents favored Norda, leading to a strain in their relationship.
Jade is Jenny-Lynn Hayden, the daughter of Green Lantern (Alan Scott) and the villainous now reformed Green Lantern villain Thorn of Earth-Two (Rose Canton). Jade’s skin is the tell tale green of the Green Lantern power battery and she has a power pulse in the palm of her hand that allows her to shoot out energy beams. Her powers have fluctuated wildly over the years, however she typically can pull any trick a Green Lantern can pull.
Obsidian is Todd Rice, the fraternal twin brother of Jade. Obsidian has the ability to turn into a two-dimensional shadow, blend into the darkness, and expose people to their inner fears by enveloping them in his shadow form.
After some time travel escapades to introduce the new group, they return back to the present day and petition to join the Justice Society, however they are turned down, saying that they need more experience and the first shift in JSA membership occurs. Star-Spangled Kid, Power Girl, and Huntress leave the JSA in order to join the Infinity, Inc. group.
And the beat goes on… as one generation rises up to take the place of the old…
Next Up: Time for some laughs.. Inferior Five, ‘mazing man, Sugar and Spike, and.. Ambush Bug.
More Mystics and Monsters
0921 days
DC’s stable of heroic characters includes a rather in depth supernatural community, be they magician or monster, or even a bit of both, magic plays an important part in the DCU and cannot be ignored as an area ripe for storytelling.
Destiny is a cloaked, presumably male figure, who holds the Book of Destiny. Destiny appears when a character is at a great crossroad in their lives to either guide or warn them of a certain course of action. Destiny it turns out has brothers and sisters called The Endless, but we will meet them a wee bit later in the course of telling our tales.
Doctor Terrence (Terry) Thirteen is an occult debunker, making a living on proving that the supernatural can be explained by scientific means, the good Doctor frequently is called upon by normal folks in the DCU to assist with possessions, poltergeists, and exorcisms. Unfortunately, its hard to maintain his dogma in the face of other characters who wield magic so effortlessly, like Zatanna.
Doctor Occult and his assistant Rose Psychic, some of the older DC mystic characters, operating mostly in the realm of Pulp Fiction in the 30s and 40s, the Doctor used his circular “Sign of the Seven” to combat the forces of evil from supernatural realms. Much, much later it would be revealed that the good Doctor and Rose are the one and the same, perhaps they merged later in life, and they are still relatively active today assisting those in need of help.
The Enchantress is June Moone, originally a super-heroine, then a super-villain, then to that gray area of pragmatic morality. June was given magic powers by a demon which when she uses too much she tends to veer over into the evil magic. Always a problem for her allies, having a cohort who might try to kill them at any moment, the Enchantress’ instability is what makes her a great character.
The blind Mister E is an anomaly, a religious zealot wrapped up in the mystic world. Given to a dogmatic outlook, Mister E is sometimes an ally and sometimes an enemy depending on whether you agree with his narrow point of view. He is certainly not above betraying others in order to meet the goals of satisfying his morality.
Nightmaster is a rock musician sucked into a realm to be the Nightmaster which apparently is a family duty handed down from father to son many times over. Using his mystic blade Nightmaster discovers that he can vanquish nearly any enemy as he attempts to free the citizens of this dark realm from the clutches of evil.
Prince Ra-Man (see his head up there on the cover?) is a telekinetic master able to move things with his mind. Ooooooohhhh!!!!! The Prince never made much of a splash in comics, but he was working the mystic schtick enough for me to include him on this list.
Sargon the Sorcerer and his Ruby of Life enables him to animate objects which he can then manipulate mentally. A pretty nifty power and a nice throw back look to the mystery men of old. Not many guys can pull of suit, cape, AND turban.
And finally, Zachary Zatara, the father of Zatanna, makes his appearance on this blog as he had been active in the 1940s, he possesses the same powers as Zatanna with his backwards speech. He eventually left active heroics when it was foretold that he would be the cause of his daughter’s death, leading Zatanna on her Quest for Zatara which started her heroic career.
Doctor Occult, Sargon, and Zatara all assisted with the All-Star Squadron in the 40s in their battle versus Axis saboteurs.
Next Time: Some More Lovely Ladies! Black Orchid! Dolphin! Firehawk! Merry, Girl of 1,000 Gimmicks! Onyx!
Squadron of Justice
1973 days
The other heroes who hung their hats on Earth-S besides the Shazam family were basically grouped together as the Squadron of Justice and mostly made their appearance in the DCU the first time as part of JLA and JSA team-up.
Bulletman and Bulletgirl are Jim Barr and Susan Kent Barr (the couple started off as boyfriend/girlfriend and eventually moved on to become married crime fighters like Hawkman and Hawkgirl. Bulletman created a serum to give himself some powers and a device called a Gravity Regulator Helmet that happens to be shaped like a bullet. Stronger than the norm, able to deflect bullets, a bit smarter than the average joe, the bulleteers are very able heroes indeed.
And speaking of Hawkman and Hawkgirl… Ibis and Taia are the constantly reincarnated souls of an Egyptian prince and a Theban princess… (have we heard this before folks? I think we have.) Using his Ibis Stick, Ibis commands immense magicks and most likely Taia is accomplished in the arts as well, but perhaps not the focus of the stories.
In the sidebar on this cover you will see a glimpse of Mr. Scarlet and Pinky, which really was Fawcett’s answer to Batman and Robin in the day. Instead of a “bat” motif, there was a “red” motif… beyond that this couple of crime fighters can be considered analogues as well.
Alan Armstrong is another Batman analogue as well, using various gadgets, but instead his adventures were concentrated on spies during the World War II era. After the WWII era went away, Spy Smasher became Crime Smasher and he continued his adventures.
Most of these heroes in the DCU have existed again, mostly as members of the All-Star Squadron and some of their legacies have become revealed over time.
Next up: We spend some time with Captain Carrot and the Amazing Zoo Crew! (yeah, not kidding)
Welcome to Earth X
0992 days
Just a recap.
Earth-One is where the main DC Characters exist like the Justice League and Teen Ttians
Earth-Two is where the World War II era heroes exist like the Justice Society and the All-Star Squadron
Earth-Three is where the heroes are the villains and the villains are the heroes and home to the Crime Syndicate
Now meet, Earth X!
The Earth where instead of the Allies winning World War II, the Axis did. In that universe the heroes band together to form an underground resistance group known as The Freedom Fighters.
Uncle Sam is the leader and possesses power in direct proportion to America’s strength. Uncle Sam is strong, tough as nails, and extremely charismatic. It is rumored that Uncle Sam was created during a mystic rite by the founding fathers of the nation and has assumed many different forms over the ages including a Minuteman, and even two individuals when the country was torn apart in the Civil War as Billy Yank and Johnny Reb. Sam has possessed the ability to increase his size and to be aware of happenings on American soil without witnessing them or being told, making him at least clairvoyant when it comes to America.
Human Bomb is Roy Lincoln and he is sealed in his hazardous materials suit to protect others from his powers, that of a living bomb for when the Human Bomb touches anything he creates an explosion. While working with his father on an experimental weapon, Nazis stormed the lab and killed his father. Roy drank the concoction they were working on in an effort to hide it from the Nazis and to commit suicide. The liquid changed his body at the molecular level giving him the ability to create explosions whenever his exposed skin touched the air.
Phantom Lady is Sandra Knight and is an extremely attractive woman and the daughter of a senator. When Sandra thwarts an attempt on her father’s life the adventuring bug bites and she takes on the mantle of the Phantom Lady. Using a Black Light Ray she is able to put her opponents into pitch-black darkness or to make herself invisible. Phantom Lady wears a purposefully revealing outfit in order to distract her male combatants. And for the 1940s, she was a little pin-up hottie.
The Doll Man is Darrell Dane who perfected a chemical formula that once drunk allowed him to shrink to six inches high and retain his normal strength. Eventually Darrell’s fiancee would drink the same formula and become Doll Girl to aid him in his crime fighting.
Black Condor was Richard Grey who was found as a child amongst his murdered parents and raised by condors. It is impossible not to draw the Tarzan analogy, isn’t it? The child was feral when found by a recluse who had a time domesticating the child to normal human standards. Once Richard was old enough he tracked down his parent’s killers and found his justice. Richard can fly after being taught the secrets of the Condor race and used his abilities and most likely a borrowed black light ray gun from Phantom Lady to fight crime.
The Ray is Lanford “Happy” Terrill was caught in a balloon accident when he was struck by lightning on a clear and sunny day, now he can convert his body into living light and fly at that speed.
The above heroes made up the majority of the Freedom Fighters however others have helped the Freedom Fighters out on occasion.
The original Firebrand is Rod Reilly and he is the cousin of the second Firebrand from the All-Star Squadron. He had no fire powers and was more a swashbuckling type of hero.
Originally called Invisible Justice, the Invisible Hood who is secretly Kent Thurston would assist the Freedom Fighters on a few key adventures. Kent’s cloak rendered himself invisible allowing him to a master of subterfuge.
Neon the Unknown was one of those bizarre mystical characters who would pop in and do some weird stuff and take off. After drinking some magic water Neon was able to blast people with mystic energy from his hands and he gained the ability to fly.
And finally, the Red Bee.. was Richard Raleigh, an Assistant District Attorney who could control bees… yeahhhhh…. A hero who could be defeated by an epi pen. Let’s move on shall we?
The Freedom Fighters were mostly owned by a company named Quality Comics which was bought out by DC Comics and all those characters migrated over to join the DC Heroes. The Freedom Fighters would be migrated off to Earth-X for their adventures which explains why no other heroes from the DC Canon guest-starred in those stories.
There is ONE hero who came from Quality that is fairly popular who was not a member of the Freedom Fighters.. a drum roll for everyone’s favorite..
Eel O’Brien was a petty thief back in the day when he was betrayed by his fellow thieves and exposed to a liquid that changed his molecules into a malleable plastic. Plas (pronounced Plahz) can stretch his body, form shapes with it, is nearly invulnerable to most forms of harm, and his sense of humor serves to cause his enemies to underestimate him as a buffoon. Over the years Plastic Man has anted up his game and is one of the big guys in the DCU.
Before we leave Earth-X.. a classic cheesecake shot of Phantom Lady..
Hubba-Hubba!!! This costume was actually cited for corrupting the youth by Dr. Wertherm in his tome “Seduction of the Innocent” and Oh, lookie, Blue Beetle.. hmmmm.
Next Up: Earth-4 and the Heroes of Charlton Comics!
Seven Soldiers
0
The Seven Soldiers of Victory are a group of characters bound together in the Golden Age on Earth-Two, where the Justice Society hang their hat and their roll call has some familiar names.
Green Arrow and his sidekick Speedy and the Star-Spangled Kid and Stripesy are four that we have talked about previously which leaves us three new heroes to introduce. Just remember this is Earth-TWO.
The Crimson Avenger is Lee Travis, a newspaper man of the late 30s and early 40s in the Golden Age. He first emerged as a shadowy figure skulking in the background to dole out justice to those who needed to be stopped and were unable to be stopped by conventional means. The Crimson Avenger is a striking figure in his early costume evocative of the pulp heroes of the day, but eventually will adopt a red and yellow costume with a sun motif on his chest that is more evocative of a traditional super-hero costume.
Crimson Avenger is assisted by an able Asian martial artist named Wing. One of the Crimson Avenger’s trademark move is appearing from the midst of a cloud of crimson smoke. Crimson Avenger despite his athleticism is a normal human being possessing no super powers… for now.
Sir Justin was one of the younger knights in King Arthur’s court who was sent to go on a quest to vanquish an ogre. On his way to do his duty, Sir Justin was set upon by highwaymen and in the resulting melee Sir Justin pierced a tree that had been the prison of the great mage Merlin.
Grateful that Sir Justin removed the prison, Merlin imbued the knight with many gifts. Sir Justin’s armor is practically impenetrable by man made weaponry, his sword is capable of slicing through all manner of obstacles, and his horse, Victory, was given wings and renamed Winged Victory.
Justin continued northward with his new abilities and while he did the deed to the ogre, he and his horse were buried alive in an avalanche where they lay dormant in suspended animation until the early 40s when Sir Justin was discovered and he reemerged to defend the United Kingdom from Hitler and the powers of the Axis.
Greg Sanders is a country music singer who is the latest in a line of family heroes. While the first Sanders that we know of lost his life in battle with native Americans while fighting for expansion of the West, his descendant and Greg’s father became a sheriff out in the West. When Greg’s father was murdered, he took it upon himself to avenge his father’s death and became the Vigilante. Wearing white jeans, cowboy boots, a blue cowboy shirt, a red bandana around his neck and his face as a mask, and topped with a white hat the Vigilante strikes a very imposing silhouette. Vigilante was often helped by an Asian assistant named Stuff who was very good with ju-jitsu.
Greg is a normal human with a mastery of the lariat and his six-shooters. He is an expert horseman and motorcyclist and is sometimes seen with his trusty guitar.
The Seven Soldiers of Victory, also known as Law’s Legionnaires, were all operating individually when a villain named The Hand received word that he was terminally ill. The Hand decided to go out with a bang and gives his plans to various other villains who are all confronted by and defeated by the individual 7 Soldiers.
Angry beyond belief, The Hand invites the heroes to his home which is a lot like 13 Dead End Drive, a trap in every corner for he plans to kill them all. The heroes of course team up to defeat the villain and Sir Justin, probably longing for a new round table, suggests the heroes become a group.
Together they all serve as members of the All-Star Squadron during World War II but in a fight with the Nebula Man, Crimson Avenger’s assistant Wing was killed and the 7 Soldiers were lost in the time stream until the above comic book where the 7 Soldiers appeared again.
Next Up: We’ve talked about them before, but now we’re delving into the history of the Original Teen Titans!
Crisis on Earth-Prime
01163 days
It’s an ordinary day for the JLA and the JSA in 1982 as each group preps to enjoy their annual get together which is typically set for Thanksgiving. When you know nothing has gone wrong yet, that other shoe is about to fall.
The other shoe is time travel. So far we’ve dealt with stories that are fairly lineal with only the Legion of Super-Heroes going to Smallville to pick up Superboy and go to the 30th Century and back. Consider those your training wheel for time travel that I am now forced to take off the bike to see if you can keep your bike out of the ditch.
As our JLA heroes (Aquaman, Firestorm, Hawkman, Superman, and Zatanna) await their guests the Justice Society of America, the Justice Society on Earth-Two (Doctor Fate, Green Lantern, Huntress, Power Girl, and Starman) enter the Transmatter Cube which transports people from one Earth to another. Unfortunately deviltry is afoot! Instead of the JSA, the Crime Syndicate appears and makes quick work of the JLA. The Crime Syndicate then leave the JLA’s satellite for Earth-One to start to take over this planet, and they do not seem too fond of a gentleman named Per Degaton.
The JSA members meanwhile have materialized in 1982, but not on Earth-One, instead they are on Earth-Prime, and Earth-Prime has been devastated in a nuclear holocaust. A standard mutated plant attack later and the JSAers deduce that their old foe Per Degaton is responsible for this horror.
Back to the JLA, after gathering themselves from the butt whoopin’ they were just given by the Crime Syndicate, the JLA decide to go to Earth-Two to see if the JSA are all right. When the JLA arrive on Earth-Two, they discover a JSA headquarters in disrepair. When the heroes step outside, the Gotham City brownstone gives way to a scene akin to 1938 Berlin, it is as if time stopped with the WWII era, but all the statues and tributes are not for Hitler, but for Per Degaton.
The JLA deduce that they must go into the past to solve this change in history and when they do so they encounter the five members of the All-Star Squadron at the JSA Brownstone.
In flashback we discover that Per Degaton got his time machine from his boss, whom he murdered, and went traveling. Degaton found the Crime Syndicate in limbo, where the JLA and JSA had left these villains from their first meeting in the very first Crisis story.
Degaton makes a bargain, release the Crime Syndicate and have the villains bring him nuclear weapons from Earth-Prime to Earth-Two where Degaton would assume absolute power. Degaton being a man who never minded complete genocide has the villains steal the weapons during the Cuban Missile Crisis on WWII. The resulting change to an already intense historical situation where the world teetered on the brink of self destruction assured Earth-Prime’s destruction via nuclear warheads.
The heroes eventually reunite and discover if they can just stop the theft of the missiles on Earth-Prime then Per Degaton will not come to power on Earth-Two and Earth-Prime will not be destroyed. The teams employ an old fashioned JLA plot device by splitting into groups to divide and conquer. With one member of each team working together in groups of three versus one Crime Syndicate member they eventually stop the theft of the missiles and save both of the Earths.
When this is done all the players go back to where they were with no memories of the adventure that just occurred. You have to love those paradoxical adventures.
Well, think about it. If the missiles were never stolen and Per Degaton was stopped before he could get into the time machine then the whole start of the deviltry never got off the ground. The JLA/JSA reunion goes off without a hitch and all is right on all the worlds.
A few notes on this story. It is 1982 when this story came out. The cold war rhetoric of the US and the USSR was a constant buzzing and nuclear war was the specter we all lived with all the time back then. If you were a child of the 80s then you most likely heard of if you did not see the movie The Day After.
Additionally in high school, I had read the book called Alas, Babylon by Pat Frank for high school English. A really quick and involved read and I do recommend it to anyone who wants to pursue the what if? factor of surviving nuclear war. This was one of the very few books I read in high school I can say I honestly enjoyed. Perhaps it was because it helped deal with those fears of nuclear war which no one wanted to talk about it in the self-involved 80s.
Time Travel. You really cannot have a sci-fi genre without it. Be it Doctor Who’s Tardis, Marty McFly’s DeLorian, or the grand daddy of all, the classic H.G. Wells’ Time Machine. Time travel happens often in comics it is a firm part of the super-hero genre and yes it can make your head hurt. Just ask any present day Lost fan. But time travel opens up so many possibilities to go to different eras it is hard to say that you can do sci-fi on a recurring basis with the same characters and NOT invoke the Time Travel card at some point.
Paradoxes will occur from time to time, and yes, there is an app for that.
Next Time: Back to the Titans! Brothers and Sisters doing very, very bad things!
All-Star Squadron
01165 days
So we have been over who and how the All-Star Squadron formed and what their focus is in WWII on Earth-Two. With all that covered we are going to briefly go over the main five All-Stars.
Libby Lawrence is a journalist and a patriot. Naturally athletic and of course not suitable for battling the forces overseas, Libby takes it upon herself to be inspired by the Liberty Bell and quite possibly the bomber The Liberty Belle and becomes a bombastic woman of mystery.
Whenever the Liberty Bell in Philadelphia was struck her belt buckle which was made out of the missing piece of the Liberty Bell would give her an increase in strength, speed, and stamina. Eventually, Libby would gain some sonic powers thanks to a Nazi villain and the actual Liberty Belle. Libby is the first female super-hero to hold the chairmanship of an organization historically, but since her position was awarded in the 1980s, its hard to say that this decision was not in part influenced by the Women’s Liberation movement.
(Those pants are called Jodhpurs, handy for trivia nights at your local bar.)
Johnny Quick is Johnny Chambers who works as a newsreel photographer. You must be saying, “Well, I sure hope he met Libby at some point.” Of course he did, eventually Libby and Johnny would marry each other. Johnny uses a mathematical formula to tap into his super speed powers. Once he says his formula: “3X2(9YZ)4A!” Johnny’s speed rivals that of the Flash and like the Flash is quite capable of running across bodies of water before he can sink.
Johnny Be Good!
Commander Steel is Henry Haywood who was a U.S. Marine prior to the start of WWII. When the base Henry was stationed to was attacked, Henry was caught in the attack and was in need of major medical rehab. The doctors decided to reinforce his skeleton and joints with.. (wait for it) steel. Cue the Million Dollar Man theme. I say this because Steel was created in the late 70s, birth of the Bionic Man 1974. Now, I would say this was just an influence, not an out an out rip as the word “bionics” were never used and it is not as if comics didn’t already have androids, half robots/half men characters wandering around all over the place.
And you thought G.I. Joe was the Greatest American Hero?
Danette Reilly, Vulcanologist. That would be a scientist specializing in the study of volcanoes. Again, this type of thing, wins you free beer on trivia nights, so don’t knock it. While in Hawaii shortly before Pearl Harbor, Danette ran afoul of the JSA villain Per Degaton. Leaving her for dead, Per Degaton left, however what he had accomplished was to give Danette the ability to create heat and fire from her hands. She can encase herself in an fiery aura in order to fly.
Now, Firebrand, had an older brother named Rod, who was the very first Firebrand. A guy named Rod, wearing pink and red poofy sleeves. Yeah, he was straight. Heh. In the meantime, Firebrand tragically meets her end shortly after WWII.
No, no boys. Don’t touch. This one will burn ya.
Robert Crane was a scientist. It helps to be a scientist, occultist, or an all-around American athlete in order to survive these origin stories. If you aren’t one, well odds are, you are going to wind up being a villain or dead. Anyways Robert was shot, bang! His science friends decide to put his brain into a robot body. So again we have the human faced with being inhuman. See: Red Tornado, Cyborg, etc.., This is a common theme in comics and continues to this day. Since Robert is a robot he has superhuman strength, stamina, he’s pretty quick and that science brain means he’s not just a meat head.
Next Time: We get into the meet and potatoes of that cross over I told you about last week!
Super Heroes, World War II, and the Spear of Destiny
01170 days
It is the mid 1930s, the shadow of fascism has slowly begun to rise in Germany. Based on the premise of the “Ubermensch”, Adolf Hitler rose to power and Berlin hosted the 1936 Olympic Games and in retrospect we have to assume that Hitler was confident that his superior race would win out.
Then came along Jesse Owens. An American. A Black American. No one used African-American back then. He won four gold medals in Berlin in track and field. Humiliating the German ubermensch and enraging Hitler. Now, was Hitler’s mad dash for power because of this? God no. But this mini drama is the opening salvo in America’s entry into World War II.
On September 1st, 1939, Germany invades Poland and the war is on. America remains deeply divided as Germany conquers country after country. And with America’s eyes firmly fixed on the foundation of isolationism while keeping on eye on Europe, December 7th, 1941, the Japanese surprise attack the United States in Hawaii at Pearl Harbor. An enraged America rises up and Franklin Delano Roosevelt gives one of the most rousing political speeches of all time.
Yesterday, December 7th, 1941 €“ a date which will live in infamy The United States was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan.
The United States was at peace with that nation and, at the solicitation of Japan, was still in conversation with the government and its emperor looking toward the maintenance of peace in the Pacific.
Indeed, one hour after Japanese air squadrons had commenced bombing in Oahu, the Japanese ambassador to the United States and his colleagues delivered to the Secretary of State a formal reply to a recent American message. While this reply stated that it seemed useless to continue the existing diplomatic negotiations, it contained no threat or hint of war or armed attack.
It will be recorded that the distance of Hawaii from Japan makes it obvious that the attack was deliberately planned many days or even weeks ago. During the intervening time, the Japanese government has deliberately sought to deceive the United States by false statements and expressions of hope for continued peace.
The attack yesterday on the Hawaiian islands has caused severe damage to American naval and military forces. Very many American lives have been lost. In addition, American ships have been reported torpedoed on the high seas between San Francisco and Honolulu.
Yesterday, the Japanese government also launched an attack against Malaya.
Last night, Japanese forces attacked Hong Kong.
Last night, Japanese forces attacked Guam.
Last night, Japanese forces attacked the Philippine Islands.
Last night, the Japanese attacked Wake Island.
This morning, the Japanese attacked Midway Island.
Japan has, therefore, undertaken a surprise offensive extending throughout the Pacific area. The facts of yesterday speak for themselves. The people of the United States have already formed their opinions and well understand the implications to the very life and safety of our nation.
As commander in chief of the Army and Navy, I have directed that all measures be taken for our defense.
Always will we remember the character of the onslaught against us.
No matter how long it may take us to overcome this premeditated invasion, the American people in their righteous might will win through to absolute victory.
I believe I interpret the will of the Congress and of the people when I assert that we will not only defend ourselves to the uttermost, but will make very certain that this form of treachery shall never endanger us again.
Hostilities exist. There is no blinking at the fact that that our people, our territory and our interests are in grave danger.
With confidence in our armed forces with the unbounding determination of our people we will gain the inevitable triumph so help us God.
I ask that the Congress declare that since the unprovoked and dastardly attack by Japan on Sunday, Dec. 7, a state of war has existed between the United States and the Japanese empire.
This being the case that our history serves as a mirror to the history in our fictional universes, the question that Fanboys must ask themselves is why do they not just send Superman over there to kick Hitler’s butt?
Very good question and it deserves an answer that will hold substantial water.
And now we introduce our first official religious icon into the DC Universe.
31 Now it was the day of Preparation, and the next day was to be a special Sabbath. Because the Jews did not want the bodies left on the crosses during the Sabbath, they asked Pilate to have the legs broken and the bodies taken down. 32 The soldiers therefore came and broke the legs of the first man who had been crucified with Jesus, and then those of the other. 33 But when they came to Jesus and found that he was already dead, they did not break his legs. 34 Instead, one of the soldiers pierced Jesus side with a spear, bringing a sudden flow of blood and water. 35 The man who saw it has given testimony, and his testimony is true. He knows that he tells the truth, and he testifies so that you also may believe. 36 These things happened so that the scripture would be fulfilled: Not one of his bones will be broken, 37 and, as another scripture says, They will look on the one they have pierced. John 19: 31-37 NIV Version.
This bit of text from The Holy Bible is a description of what soldiers did and did not do as Jesus’ dead body hung from the cross. The spear is the key though that we will be focused on. As any watcher of Indiana Jones movies knows, one does not mess with artifacts related to the Old and New Testaments. It is a really good way to get your face melted off.
All these religious artifacts are rumored today to hold immense powers if used in the correct way and by those interpretations in modern pop culture.. the Ark of the Covenant, the Holy Grail.. lets add this. The Spear of Destiny or The Spear of Longinus. We need to make the leap that this is a literal spear and not a metaphorical one for the purposes of storytelling in the DCU.
Now that the Spear is lost to time and memory €¦eventually falling into the hands of Adolf Hitler. It is rumored that whomever has the Spear, will conquer the world. Well, Hitler very nearly did conquer the world. Did he have the real Spear or just a facsimile? I won’t argue either side for now.
In the DCU, Hitler did have the Spear of Destiny and was quite an accomplished occultist. Hitler used the Spear of Destiny to form large areas that would instantly assert mental control over any super powered being that entered into them. Get too close to Europe or Japan and boom! You’re suddenly a pawn of Hitler?
Nice solution really when you think about it. We have to explain how Superman could let all these normal people go overseas and die for their country when Supes could zip in there and take care of them all at super speed.
The Justice Society of America was formed prior to the All-Star Squadron, the All-Star Squadron is the beefier version of the JSA including every Golden Age character that existed.
Between these characters and our fighting men and women, the Axis never stood a chance.
Next Time: JSA Roll Call!
Crisis on Earth-Prime
01171 days
Okay, we’ve eased into the idea of alternate earths correct?
Previously there was Earth-One, the earth where all our characters exist and Earth-Prime, the earth where all of us gentle readers live in a non-super powered world.
Well HANG ON FOLKS! We are about to blow that idea up to the ceiling.
Just take a look at this cover.
Here are the keys I would like to point out:
- The 20th Annual team-up of the Justice Society of America and the Justice League of America.
- Guest starring the All-Star Squadron
- And who are those quasi familiar villains coming out of that cube?
All good questions! Now, just park it for a second.
The Justice Society is the precursor of the Justice League. Originally published back in the 1940s primarily for kids and to be shipped overseas for the boys far from home. The Justice Society fought all sorts of Nazi saboteurs and their own super-criminals.
In the 40s most heroes veered on the “pulp” style of masked mystery men. The only main DC characters published at the time who did not appear in the JSA were those with their own adventures like Superman and Batman as those characters were “too busy” in their own books.
After the world had vanquished the Axis threat, superheroes waned in popularity due partly to not needing heroes so much any more during the idyllic late 40s and 50s. Additionally we can thank Dr. Frederick Wertham who wrote a snappy little dissertation called “The Seduction of the Innocent” in which comics (and a number of other things) are blamed for juvenile delinquency.
So, in the interim, the JSA declined and basically went away while the genres of the Wild West comic and Space Adventure (sounds very Toy Story, doesn’t it?) soared in popularity. The only characters to continue throughout this drought were Superman, Wonder Woman, and Batman with Aquaman and Green Arrow appearing in backup features.
Eventually, Editor par excellance Julius Schwartz decided it was time to bring back the Super-Heroes. Instead of resurrecting the older heroes, he took their names and with various creators around DC Comics twisted them into origins that were less mystical and more scientific to relate to the new Atomic Age.
This is basically the break down of the Golden Age of Comics and the Silver Age of Comics.
The Golden Age heroes exist on an Earth called Earth-Two. They were active during World War II.
The Silver Age heroes exist on an Earth called Earth-One. They are active in the present day, for this story that is 1982.
Additionally on Earth-Two the Justice Society heroes got older, added some more modern characters, and exist in the present in 1982.
The JLA and JSA have met each other for 20 years at this point starting with this iconic comic.
NOW.. do you notice anything about this cover that looks.. odd?
Yeah, that is Black Canary up there with the JSA, not the JLA.. WTF is going on here???
Well, okay guys, just calm down. There is a lot of things going on here and we’ll touch on all of it eventually. Here’s what you need to know.
DC COSMOLOGY:
Earth-One: The home of the Silver Age characters. These are the characters we read in €œmodern € comics and their official starting point at this point is the 1950s in the Atomic Age.
Earth-Two: The home of the Golden Age characters. These characters started in and around WWII but continue into the present day as well.
So, that is all well and good. let ‘s go back to the next question: Who is the All-Star Squadron?
The All-Star Squadron is a World War II group that was formed by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt on Earth-Two as a draft action to enlist every mystery man or woman into the service to combat the Axis threat. Formed and then disbanded after WWII concluded the All-Star Squadron includes every Golden Age hero that DC Comics owns, but their stories tend to focus on the five heroes shown above: Liberty Belle, Johnny Quick, Robotman, Firebrand, and Commander Steel.
Now, we also have to address those pesky villains coming out of the Transmatter Cube.
Ultra-Man, Superwoman, Owl Man, Johnny Quick, and Power Ring, together they are The Crime Syndicate from Earth-THREE!
On Earth Three, everyone who is good on Earth-1 is EVIL on Earth-3 and everyone who is EVIL on Earth-1 is actually good. The one hero left on Earth-3? Lex Luthor. The villains correlate directly to Superman, Wonder Woman, Batman, The Flash, and Green Lantern.
Wait! Darren, there can’t be two Johnny Quicks and two Green Lanterns? ARGH!!! Slurpee headache!!! Don’t worry, here.. breathe into this paper bag. Nice and slow.
Since, I have more than blown your mind with this nugget of DC history. So, rest your swollen noggins my peeps.
Next Time: The All-Star Squadron and The Spear of Destiny!!!