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’re 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’s 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 “modern” 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’s all well and good. let’s go back to the next point…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!!!