Posts tagged Red Tornado

We wrap up our JSA Golden Age roll call with six new members, though some seem like we have seen them before. Let’s also keep in mind the JSA had Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman on its rolls, however Supes and Bats were reservists and WW served as the secretary. Since there are no changes in those three characters, they aren’t going to receive separate entries here. The only difference in them at this point is the era that they are active which begins in the late 1930s onward. With that said, here we go.

Dr. Charles McNider is an accomplished surgeon which is amazing since he’s blind. Well, he wasn’t blind when he learned how to be a doctor, he was working on a gunshot victim when one of those wily ubiquitos mobsters lobbed a grenade in, killing the victim and permanently blinding Charles. One evening an owl crashed into Charles’ window at home (just like what happened to Bruce Wayne, isn’t it?) Charles discovered that while he was fairly blind in the light he could see perfectly in darkness. Charles’ “sidekick” is the owl Hooty, making him one of the few heroes to have an animal as a crime fighting partner. Charles would employ his trademark “blackout bombs” and special goggles that he wore in order to mostly ambush villains.

(Would you let this man remove your appendix? Answer: Only if the lights were off.)

Theodore (Ted) Knight is a scientific genius. Showing talent in astronomy, energy, invention, and physics amongst others, Ted Knight harnessed an unknown form of cosmic energy and created the Cosmic Rod or Gravity Rod. The rod allows him to defy gravity, project energy blasts, harness objects, create force fields amongst other feats. Starman’s classic retro costume with the red costume, gold star, and fin is a classic of the age in which he was created. Since Ted’s natural abilities geared him towards being a top energy scientist in WWII, it was revealed that he helped create the atomic bomb. He spent the rest of his life wrestling with this fact, even mentally cracking at one point.

The very first Starman, but certainly not the last.

In the vein of Al Pratt, here comes Ted Grant, the heavyweight boxing champion of his day. Ted is gruff and tends to be a loner and is one of the most respected fighters in the DCU. Ted has taught Batman, Black Canary, and is currently teaching a new crop of JSAers in how to fight in a scrap. Ted is a great character and is frequently a man of few words preferring to let his fists do the talking. If you are wondering about the costume.. well, Ted’s counting on that, go ahead, make fun of it. Before you get your first joke out of your lips you will be on the floor staring at at least three of your teeth.

Do you really think Tyson would stand a chance?

Terry Sloane is a genius who graduated from college when he was 13 and conquered the business world prior to the time most Americans can legally drink. Whether you call him a savant or not, Terry became bored. What do you do when you have done all you set out to do? Terry grew increasingly depressed and was going to commit suicide until he wound up saving a woman’s life. This set him up on the path towards superheroism. Using his brains, marital arts, and natural athletic ability Mr. Terrific burst onto the scene urging kids to follow his mantra of “Fair Play.”

And remember kids, stay in school!

Wait a minute!!! Didn’t we already talk about the Black Canary? Why, yes. We did. This is Dinah Drake. Originally from Earth-2 and the daughter of a policeman, Dinah donned a blond wig, domino mask, and some fishnets and became the blonde bombshell. Eventually Black Canary married her beau Larry Lance and became Dinah Drake Lance, however their love was not to last for in one of the earlier JLA/JSA team ups while fighting a villain named Aquarius, Larry took a fatal dose of radiation. Distraught by her loss, Dinah immigrated from Earth-2 to Earth-1 to join the JLA.

Yowza. Even for the 1940s Dinah was hot. And you can see the pin-up girl influence.

And finally… no JSA roll call is complete without…

The original Red Tornado is Maxine “Ma” Hunkel. A housewife in WWII days, Ma Hunkel knew with all the menfolk gone off to war someone had to make sure the neighborhood was doing okay. So she donned an outfit made up with items around the house and a pot on her head with holes cut into it and patrolled for crime. The very real joke about Ma Hunkel’s JSA affiliation in the Golden Age is that she showed up for a meeting and then, every woman’s nightmare, her pants split. Especially important as the Red Tornado outfit made Ma look more like a man than a woman, making her one of the first real androgynous/cross dressing characters in comics.

So along with this entry I promised some McCarthyism right? Well Senator Joseph McCarthy on our Earth was a renowned Senator in charge of the House Unamerican Activities Committee which was the well spring of a lot of unnecessary vilification of Americans who didn’t believe as Sen. McCarthy did. Trumped up charges that were exceedingly insubstantial did not matter, as the word that you were called before McCarthy was enough to get one blackballed as a card carrying communist. The Cold War soared in height and before Mr. McCarthy was finally called on his foolishness many people were destroyed.

In our comic book world, Sen. McCarthy calls for the JSA to appear before the Committee to explain why such devout Americans would hide their true identities from those they seek to protect. The JSA members argued that they don masks to protect their loved ones from any villains that might seek retribution against them. Not good enough for McCarthy, the JSA are given an order, reveal their identities or else. The JSA take a few seconds to confer and tell McCarthy that they won’t be revealing their identities, but that America won’t be hearing from them again any time soon. At that, Doctor Fate teleports the JSA out of the chamber and the JSA anonymously retire to their civilian identities.

Next time: The JSA’s next generation.