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Posts tagged Wonder Woman
The Creature in the Velvet Cage
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Roll Call: JLA: Green Lantern, Superman, Batman, and Elongated Man. JSA: Hourman, Sandman, Flash, and Wonder Woman.
As our collective heroes mop up a gang of villains dressed as owls we get a little bit of dialogue about how the Earth-One Wonder Woman has now regained her super powers, but has chosen not to rejoin the Justice League at this time, but that is as far as it goes for other developments. This story is all about Sandman and a mistake.
You see Sandman started out as this very deliberately pulp oriented character in the same vein as The Shadow. He would strike from the shadows, he was well off, etc.., and once Batman introduced his protegee Robin, it became the norm for heroes to gain a sidekick. Sandman’s sidekick was Sandy, the Golden Boy. After the World War II adventures, like most of the heroes he retired due to the McCarthy era accusations of super heroes being communists.
It turns out that this was a very good cover story for Sandman. While working on a new weapon to fight crime an accident occurred and transformed Sandy into this large sand creature. Which is all the exposition you need when at the end of the fight an alarm goes off sending Sandman into a frenzy to get to his sanctum sanctorum.
Sandman had been keeping Sandy in a stasis field which he had broken and went on what appeared to be a rampage. Instead Sandy was trying to escape in order to stop a series of tremors from causing wide spread damage to New York City. The heroes believing Sandy to be an enraged monster attack him at every turn. Sandy finally found his vocal cords and this enabled him to communicate with the heroes. It turns out that Sandman had kept Sandy paralyzed for years without understanding that Sandy had just become a new form of silicon life.
Sandman walks away disheartened by his mistake while the JLA and JSA wonder if Sandman will ever be all right again.
Next Up: Where On Earth Am I?
What Happened to Wonder Woman???
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In the beginning there was a story written by William Marston Moulton about a young amazon princess named Diana.
On an island, hidden from man’s world, a small fighter plane fell through the sky and through the whims of the Gods was allowed to crash land near Paradise Island so that the pilot named Steve Trevor would be rescued by that amazon princess named Diana.
The amazon queen, Hippolyta, was so caught off guard by this event that after consulting the gods it was determined that this was the time to begin the Amazon’s reintegration with mankind. A contest was planned and the winner of that contest would be the one woman who would bring the Amazon’s message of peace to the outside world.
When Diana came to her mother/queen to ask permission to participate in the games the queen forbid it in order to protect her daughter from the evils of the outside world. Diana would not be denied however. She donned a mask and wig and competed in the games and bested all of her sisters.
When the queen asked the Amazon who she was, Diana revealed herself to her mother and her mother beaming with pride and sadness gave Diana the armor and equipment to allow her to become Wonder Woman.
Wonder Woman’s fame grew and she became one of the Trinity of heroes that are the foundation of the DC Universe alongside Superman and Batman.
War time came and went and when the allies conquered the axis and the soldiers, sailors, airmen, and marines returned home, the role of women changed again.
You see, before World War II, women had not done a terrible lot of “men’s jobs” in the workforce. They did secretarial, teaching, housework, and child rearing for the most part. Never before had anyone contemplated the iconic Rosie the Riveter status would be permanent, and when the men returned home they needed their jobs back.
This relegated women back to the subservient role that they had before.
The stories that comics told at the time mirrored this dynamic.
Wonder Woman went from a strong heroine fighting crime and Nazis to a woman more obsessed with her relationship with Steve Trevor.
As a result, Wonder Woman’s sales began to slip. Girls became bored with her and when boredom sets in, there is only one thing to do.
Shake things up.
Gone was the Diana Prince of the past and now we have a new Diana.
One that has eschewed the Amazonian powers and is instead a secret agent of the highest order.
Her costume changed with the fashion of the time making her more Mod Woman than Wonder Woman.
The writer charged with revitalizing Wonder Woman, was Denny O’Neil, to which in many interviews he states how bad his intentions turned out. He took DC’s primary female character, a symbol of the feminist movement, and made her beholden to a male master in I Ching, this martial arts master that Diana was studying under.
This irked the feminists, and while she may not believe this, the Queen of the Feminists, Gloria Steinem took notice.
And when that happened you know that something had to be done. DC took notice, but could not do a lot about it as there was a movie in the works starring Kathy Lee Crosby as this new Secret Agent Wonder Woman.
Kathy Lee Crosby As Wonder Woman
The pilot was panned and the plans to proceed with this version of Wonder Woman was scrapped, but one significant casting change later and resetting the scene to World War 2 and we have an American classic back to the forefront.
Lynda Carter broke barriers again by becoming a true icon and one of the first women to carry the lead on an action adventure show.
So, Wonder Woman returned to her star spangled glory on tv and in the comics. She rejoins the Justice League and this little diversion into being a super-secret spy comes to an end….
Or does it???
Next Up: CRISIS ON EARTH-X!!!!
And One Of Us Must Die!!!
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Roll Call: JLA: Green Arrow, Black Canary, Aquaman, Green Lantern, Flash, with Special Guest Star: Zatanna and Diana Prince, Wonder Woman. JSA: Johnny Thunder, Wildcat, and Red Tornado. Seven Soldiers of Victory: Vigilante, Star-Spangled Kid, and Speedy.
The Oracle opens up the issue wondering why it is that as a cosmic entity that it should care for the life of this one Earth, but care he does. The Oracle reminds us that he is bound not to interfere in the affairs of lesser beings..
We find Green Arrow, Black Canary, and Johnny Thunder in the past in the American Midwest. Before they even get their footing the two men are fighting over which one of them the Black Canary prefers. Canary rebuffs both of the overblown alpha males. The trio make it to the Native American village where they see Vigilante is being held prisoner. Arrow and Canary begin to stalk their way while Johnny says for them to wait and he calls the Thunderbolt, but the genie does not come. It is too late to regroup as a group of Indian scouts has ambushed the heroes and laid them low. The chief of the tribe awakens the intruders informing them that they will die tomorrow because the white man will steal their lands, to which Green Arrow responds “Gotta admit you’ve got a powerful argument.” Later the Chief is getting ready to execute Vigilante who is tied up in the midst of the village and the chief finds himself interrupted by a well timed arrow. In the midst of the rescue, a buffalo stampede commences and Thunderbolt finally shows up complaining that his master is off the beaten path and it took a while to find him. The Thunderbolt turns the herd into butterflies and once the four heroes are once again together the Oracle zaps them out of the area.
The scene moves to Aquaman, Wildcat, and Green Lantern who have landed back in the prehistoric days with cro-magnon men and the Star-Spangled Kid. Actually, its not really the Kid at this point that the cavemen are fighting. The kid has set up an illusion to keep the locals from invading the cave. When the heroes approach Green Lantern’s power constructs fail him due to the areas unnatural yellow fog. It is up to Wildcat to take on the tribe’s leader and get the heroes into the cave, which he does quite well. Aquaman is the first to find the Star-Spangled Kid who is suffering from a flu which is why he was trying to keep the natives away from him. A flood takes root in the caves as it pours outside and the Kid is knocked out. Aquaman and Green Lantern save the Kid and they all disappear.
The final stop on the journey of collecting the Seven Soldiers of Victory finds the Flash, Zatanna, and the Red Tornado in the realm of the villainness Circe. Here the Greek polymorpher has transformed Speedy into a centaur for her amusement. Circe comes across the three heroes who ask that she return Speedy to his original form, to which Circe agrees that the heroes will join Speedy and she enchants Speedy’s arrows so that if one hits the heroes they will turn into whatever animal they hate the most. Speedy’s arrow flies and as much as Flash dodges the arrow it eventually finds him and turns him into a slug. Zatanna fares no better as the arrow blasts through a conjured brick wall and transforms her into a hummingbird unable to speak. Red Tornado becomes a mole and under Circe’s magical direction begins to attack the Flash as Flash attacks back. Zatanna realizes in the whirlwinds being whipped up that her wings make noise and she uses the sound of her wings to duplicate her actual voice to create a magic spell to counteract Circe’s spell. The heroes then go to Circe and snatch her magic wand from her and Zatanna casts a paralyzing spell on the sorceress. With Circe out of commission, her charges revert back to the way they were originally and the heroes are zapped away and head back home.
With the full JLA and JSA assembled they count off the Seven Soldiers… Shining Knight, Star-Spangled Kid, Stripesy, Green Arrow, Speedy, Vigilante and Crimson Avenger. Everyone is here, so who is buried in the tomb? The answer:
The Unknown Soldier of Victory is my aide and companion— Wing! It was he who died to defeat the Nebula-Man and if there is any Justice in this world, he was buried where he fell— with honors!” —- Crimson Avenger
As everyone acknowledges Wing’s contribution to saving the world a voice comes out of the background, the Iron Hand who is holding Diana Prince hostage. Diana faints as the Iron Hand threatens to scatter her atoms to the winds if any of the heroes makes a move towards him. At this moment Diana turns and manages to karate chop the Iron Hand’s Iron Hand off of him rendering him fairly useless, even more so she whips him over her head and puts him in a hold and demands he reveal how to stop the Iron Hand enclosing on the Earth.
Iron Hand refuses to cooperate and so it is up to the Seven Soldiers to rebuild the weapon they used to destroy the Nebula Man. They do so but the Nebula Rod must be sent into the Iron Hand by hand which will cause whomever to deliver it to die. The heroes argue over who is going to take the Nebula Rod, but when they turn around the Nebula Rod is gone, taken by the Red Tornado
Red Tornado delivers the Nebula Rod and blows up in the process.
Wing and Red Tornado wave to the readers while they are in the sky.
Next Up: A Bit of A Sideways Step. A Wonder Woman Redux???
The Hand That Shook The World
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Roll Call: JLA: Superman, Batman, Diana Prince Wonder Woman, Hawkman, JSA: Starman, Dr. Mid-Nite, Wonder Woman, Hourman, Sandman, Mister Terrific, Green Lantern, Robin, Seven Soldiers of Victory: Green Arrow, Speedy, Shining Knight, Crimson Avenger, Vigilante, Star-Spangled Kid, and Stripesy Guest Star: Metamorpho,
The tale opens at the all but deserted headquarters of the JSA where the Earth-One Diana Prince is sitting when the JSA members Green Lantern, Mister Terrific, and Robin show up. Diana gives the heroes a run down on what has occurred so far. Great big cosmic hand threatening to crush the Earth and only the Seven Soldiers of Victory can stop this fate from occurring. The other heroes have gone off into the world of time and space to recover the time lost heroes and assemble them to prevent this catastrophe.
We go to a Buddhist Monastery where Superman, Sandman, and Metamorpho discover the valiant Shining Knight who is working for Genghis Khan and who is about to invade the monk’s home. Metamorpho turns into gas and goes to investigate and it turns out the mystical workings of one of Khan’s men has the Shining Knight bewitched to serve Khan.
At dawn, the Monguls make their move against the village and Superman is repelled by Shining Knights mystical armor and weaponry. Superman leaves the fight to Sandman and Metamorpho while he moves the village manually. Sandman gives Metamorpho his sleep gas formula and Metamorpho uses his powers to duplicate the gas and knocks out the incoming horde. Sandman then administers a concoction of Shining Knight and Winged Victory to bring them out of the mesmerism that they are in. The Oracle senses that the heroes are done and begins to take the heroes to where they need to go.
Back at JSA headquarters, Green Lantern, Mr. Terrific, and Robin leave Diana behind in order to head to the tomb of the Unknown Soldier in the Himalayas.
The scene shifts again and we see the Justice League’s Hawkman joined by the JSA’s Wonder Woman and Dr. Mid-Nite who have arrived in an English forest and find themselves under fire from a volley of arrows. Wonder Woman leads the charge to the bowmen deflecting arrows on the way and the trio make quick work of Robin Hood’s Merry Men. The Merry Men inform the heroes that they are here as peace-bringers and that they are not agents of the Sheriff of Nottingham. The trio team up with the Merry Men and invade the castle holding Robin Hood. In true teamwork fashion, Wonder Woman uses her magic lasso to draw the drawbridge down, Hawkman uses Little John’s staff to clear the oncoming guards, and Dr. Mid-Nite uses his blackout bombs to provide the cover needed to knock out the guards protecting Robin’s cell, but instead they find Green Arrow. Green Arrow was covering for Robin Hood while Robin recovered from some wounds he received and Green Arrow was captured by the Sheriff in the interim.
With Green Arrow and Shining Knight retrieved, the heroes grow closer to assembling the Seven Soldiers of Victory to defeat the evil Hand’s plan. The Hand is watching however and he has decided the heroes are too close and now he must take a more direct role in the proceedings.
We shift again to Ancient Egypt as the Jewish slaves are building pyramids under the lash of the Pharaoh’s guard as Batman, Starman, and Hourman arrive to watch Stripesy do the lions share of the work. As the guards try to pry Stripesy’s strength secret out of him our heroes arrive to stop the brutal beating and find themselves blackmailed into giving themselves up. Buried in the tomb of the Pharaoh’s, the three heroes are bound and left with no way out. Batman kicks the hourglass that Hourman carries off of Hourman and the glass shatters. That glass is used to free the heroes from their bonds. Hourman favors knocking the walls down until they get out, but Batman reminds him that they are standing in history and they have to be more careful than that. Batman suggests that Starman uses his connection with his Cosmic Rod that was confiscated to show an energy path out of the tomb. The heroes surface and help free Stripesy and the heroes disappear in the mists beckoned by the Oracle.
Meanwhile, back at JSA headquarters, Diana Prince is being watched by a man with a claw….
Next Up: And One Of Us Must Die!
The Unknown Soldier of Victory
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Well here we are, Justice League of America #100. One hundred years issues prior to the day when I would pick up JLA #200 in a local market and start my comic book reading hobby that has become a rather significant part of my life today.
This book is the beginning of an expansion of the JLA/JSA team-up stories that include a third team which will be the theme moving forward for the next few stories we talk about leading up to the big Crisis story coming soon, so let’s get to it and meet our first group of guest stars, the Seven Soldiers of Victory.
We open our story as an alarm is going off at the JLA’s satellite, but no one is there to answer the phone. The JLA has decided to hold an anniversary party at their original cave headquarters and as Green Lantern, Green Arrow, Black Canary, Hawkman, and Aquaman are walking through musing about the old headquarters the phone rings in the abandoned headquarters and out pops the Atom.
The scene shifts rapidly to the remaining Justice Leaguers as Flash and his ally Elongated Man are wrapping up the Casino Gang. We see Martian Manhunter back on Mars rebuilding his home planet after a devastating war. Metamorpho flies away from the Stagg compound to be with his friends in the JLA while the recently duped Snapper Carr is unable to face the Leaguers following his unwitting betrayal. Adam Strange is on Rann and will be unable to join the JLA due to his Zeta beam radiation as Zatanna pops into the JLA headquarters to join the festivities. One by one the JLA show up with Batman and Diana Prince joining the group.
You’ll notice I said DIANA PRINCE there, not Wonder Woman…
Wonder Woman gets a new direction around this time and has since quit the Justice League prior to Black Canary’s entrance to the League as of JLA #75. Here, we see her billed as Diana Prince, not Wonder Woman and this change will be the catalyst for a lot of things coming down the pike very soon and we will deal with this change more in depth in a few postings.
When all the JLA and their allies have gathered they all get transported from Earth-One to Earth-Two by the mystic workings of Dr. Fate.
The assembled JSA members are Doctor Fate, Doctor Mid-Nite, Hourman, Johnny Thunder, Red Tornado, Sandman, Starman, Wonder Woman, and Wildcat.
The JSA explains that a gigantic hand is prepped to crush Earth-2 in it’s grip if the world does not surrender itself to it. The hand belongs to a villain called Iron Hand. In order to defeat the Iron Hand, the JSA attempted twice to defeat it being repelled both times. Dr. Fate then consulted his mystic crystal and it showed him a gravestone talking about the “Unknown Soldier of Victory who died so that his world would live.”
Dr. Fate was unable to divine the meaning behind the headstone but with the added might of Zatanna and Johnny Thunder’s Thunderbolt the three mystics work in tandem to achieve a greater working (this is something that will also become a recurring scenario much later in the Crisis stories).
The Oracle appears, apparently a cosmic creature that assists the heroes by telling them the tale of the Seven Soldiers of Victory.
The Seven Soldiers originated on Earth-2, but after fighting their last villain, the Nebula Man, were believed lost.
The Oracle reveals that the 7 Soldiers are lost in time in other dimensions and are no longer acting as themselves but as other entities and it is now the duty of the JLA and JSA to bring the 7 Soldiers back into this dimension to save Earth-2.
The teams are quickly picked in Justice League tradition the larger team breaks into smaller teams to solve the problem quicker. Diana Prince elects to stay behind to coordinate the effort at the JSA headquarters.
Team One: Atom, Doctor Fate, and Elongated Man
This team is taken to an existence where the Crimson Avenger has been transformed into the King of the Aztecs. While the heroes cautiously watch from a safe distance they sneak in and attempt to free the Crimson Avenger to find the Crimson Avenger is capable of zapping the heroes unconscious.
Doctor Fate and Elongated Man awaken to find themselves chained up, the Atom has managed to avoid this fate and once they are relatively alone with the Crimson Avenger the heroes free themselves with Atom and Dr. Fate taking on the Crimson Avenger and Elongated Man taking on the guards.
Elongated Man’s mystery sniffing nose keeps focusing on a glowing meteor that once Dr. Fate destroys the rock Crimson Avenger loses these new powers and comes to his senses and allies are joined.
In a small headquarters the Iron Hand, a villain of the Seven Soldiers of Victory waits as time ticks down to his deadline to take over the world.
Next Up: The Hand That Shook The World
Where Valor Fails…Will Magic Triumph?
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Roll Call: JLA: Green Lantern, Green Arrow, Atom, Black Canary, Superman, Hawkman, Batman, and Flash JSA: Spectre, Dr. Fate, Wonder Woman, Red Tornado, Hourman, Starman, Hawkman, Johnny Thunder & Thunderbolt, Green Lantern, Superman, and Dr. Mid-Nite.
We pick up where we left off with Black Canary deciding that she must die to save the two universes from colliding and their demise.
The World Builders decide that the JSA has been enough trouble to them so far and have decided to go ahead and attack the Justice Society directly. On Earth-One, Green Lantern goes to investigate what might be causing the universes to merge and he discovers that Red Tornado is being held in stasis and that the android is the focus of the attack and not Black Canary. Green Lantern cannot resolve this as the Earth-Two Green Lantern falls to the traps of the World Builders, so too does the Green Lantern of Earth-One. The same effect occurs to Hawkman as well and so it goes.
Black Canary on the JLA Satellite is ready to set the transporter to scatter her atoms across the galaxy ending the threat to the universes.
Doctor Fate and Johnny Thunder & Thunderbolt are all that are left of the JSA and they teleport away to enlist the help of The Spectre. The spirit of vengeance used to be mostly man but seems to grow ever distant from mankind and more seeking revenge. Dr. Fate is able to persuade the Spectre to save the worlds with them and they do so, by using the Spectre to keep the worlds apart it appears that the heroes win the day, though Spectre may have perished in the act of saving the worlds.
Once the worlds are free Dr. Fate and Johnny Thunder & Thunderbolt go to take care of the World Builders. This frees Red Tornado, Green Lantern, and the previous heroes who were at death’s door, although it seems The Spectre may not have survived, how does one kill a ghost?
Next Up: Earth — The Monster Maker
Peril of the Paired Planets
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We open our tale with Superman flying through the clear skies of Metropolis and all seems well with the world until he plows into the Daily Planet building, goes through the building, and eventually falls into the subway system where he lies comatose. Hawkman and Flash come to his aid and get him to the new JLA Satellite Headquarters orbiting at 22,300 miles above the Earth in Geosynchronous orbit. Joined there by Batman and the Atom the Justice Leaguers begin to diagnose Superman’s condition with Batman deducing it must be magic that affected the Man of Steel with no Kryptonite or Red Sun radiation nearby. As Batman reveals this, he is attacked by an unknown force and rendered unconscious and dying. Hawkman goes and calls the rest of the Justice League: Green Lantern, Green Arrow, and Black Canary to help the JLA out.
And where *ARE* those three heroes? Appearing as the “Hard Traveling Heroes” in the new Green Lantern/Green Arrow series of course:
Anyway, the scene shifts to Earth-Two, home of the Justice Society of America and the wayward android Red Tornado who is visiting outer space bemoaning his inability to fit in amongst humans due to his android body. He runs across a group of aliens and attempts to communicate with them and the aliens capture Red Tornado. The aliens are basically planet killers and then creators. In order to build a planet they must destroy two planets. Well, here are two planets separated by the vibrations that keep the universes of Earth-One and Earth-Two separated and Red Tornado who possesses the ability to go in-between the worlds is the perfect being to use to cause the destruction of both worlds.
On Earth-Two we see Superman and Doctor Mid-Nite attacked and subdued in ways that appear to be the same way that Superman and Batman were on Earth-One, except on Earth-Two we see the planet building aliens are responsible. The same fate befalls the Flash of both worlds when Jay Garrick confronts an alien he is captured by a constricting net, Barry Allen on Earth-One is attacked and bound by an unseen force mimicking the net on Earth-Two. The Atom and Hawkman of Earth-One have been running tests and they determine that there is some force ripping the two worlds asunder and it must have some sort of focus point that has vibrations on both earths. Black Canary comes to a bone chilling conclusion. She is the nexus point. She must die.
Next Up: Where Valor Fails, Will Magic Triumph?
Where Death Fears To Tread
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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!
Star Light, Star Bright — Death Star I See Tonight
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No, not THAT Death Star, another one.
With this story we get a bit of a tonal shift in our JLA/JSA cross-overs. Veteran author Gardner Fox has been replaced by up and coming Denny O’Neil and with Mr. O’Neil comes a bit more realism in his comics and a bit more pathos.
We open in the cosmos where the Council of Living Stars is passing judgment on the star Aquarius, who is apparently guilty of crimes that we are not informed of, but the council decides to rob Aquarius of all his powers except for those that sustain his life force. This now ex-cosmic force is sent fading to Earth where we pick up our story with our heroes.
ROLL CALL: JLA: Batman, Green Lantern, Atom, Hawkman, Superman. JSA: Red Tornado, Starman, Black Canary, Doctor Fate, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, Doctor Mid-Nite, and Superman
Red Tornado has appeared in the JLA headquarters to inform them of a dire threat to the universe and the Justice League insists that he tells the tale to them.
The scene fades over to Earth-2 where the Starman has detected the matter floating to Earth that was once the powerful star Aquarius. Starman attempts to apprehend the strange creature, but winds up being caught himself and Aquarius steals the Cosmic Rod and causes Starman to fall to the Earth. Starman happens to land in the apartment of Dinah and Larry Lance. Dinah Lance who happens to be the Black Canary. Starman is still alive and Larry cares for him as Dinah dons her Blonde Bombshell gear and hits the door looking for whatever caused the Starman to fall out of the sky.
Coming up empty handed Black Canary comes back but finds Larry armed with an odd piece of wood as he attacks his wife. Black Canary subdues Larry and he snaps out of whatever was controlling him. Larry doesn’t remember a thing in the interim from helping Starman to waking up after Dinah threw him for a loop. Black Canary summons the rest of the JSA feeling that they are a bit out of their depth here.
Green Lantern Alan Scott is delayed by a billboard coming to life and attacking him. Dr. Mid-Nite is delayed by a young child who is a fan who has suddenly acquired super-strength and is having a really fantastic temper tantrum. Once the child hits Dr. Mid-Nite he snaps back to normal and has no idea what he has done. Doctor Fate was preoccupied by a demonic storm of dark energy that once dispelled turns into Aquarius. Aquarius has managed to pull himself together by holding onto the Cosmic Rod.
Aquarius reveals his mania and Dr. Mid-Nite quickly diagnoses him as a manic depressive with schizophrenia. In true hero style, Larry Lance gets the villain to start monologuing about his plans. It is at this point that Red Tornado, Superman, and Wonder Woman join the other heroes to sneak attack Aquarius. Superman is quickly downed by Aquarius’ magical attacks and Wonder Woman repelled by intense heat. Aquarius in an intense fit of anger destroys Earth-Two and only Doctor Fate’s shield saves the JSA members and Larry Lance.
However, they were not really destroyed. They are attached to Doctor Fate’s magic in another dimension. Once the JSA members die, so will their world. Aquarius is tired and must wait to kill the Justice Society members. This gives them one hope. Red Tornado. It is at this point that Red Tornado spins so fast to get to Earth One and this is where we leave Part One!
Next Up: Where Death Fears To Tread! And one death will change the JSA & JLA forever.
T.O. Morrow Kills The Justice League — Today!
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Good question T.O. Morrow, but let us not count our chickens before they have hatched, eh?
Lets remember that last issue T.O. Morrow basically pwned the Justice Society of America and left them all for dead and then discovered that in order to succeed in his evil plans he had to eliminate the Justice League as well. All caught up now? Good. Lets go.
So the Justice League is having a meeting in their Mountain Cave headquarters and the entire membership is there: Superman, Batman, Flash, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, Aquaman, Hawkman, Green Arrow, Snapper Carr, and the Atom. Down below the main meeting room is the Souvenir Room where we see five of the Leaguers significant others waiting to surprise their lovers: Steve Trevor, Jean Loring, Hawkgirl, Midge (Snapper Carr’s Girlfriend), and Mera. During the meeting the five lovers burst into the room and plant the “kiss of death” on their targets: Wonder Woman, the Atom, Hawkman, Snapper Carr, and Aquaman. The Justice Leaguers attacked fall to the ground lifeless and their lovers turn into dust.
It is at this point that the Justice League receives a challenge to go fight some beasts that are coming to the planet now. In typical Justice League form one of the creatures is completely golden to keep Green Lantern busy while another has Kryptonite teeth caps..
Lets just ponder a second to figure out who would take the time to put kryptonite veneers on a space dragon……
Yeah, I don’t think even Lex Luthor would bother with that, but apparently T.O. Morrow had the time to perform some space dragon dentistry.. This leaves our three non-flyers (Flash, Batman, and Green Arrow) to deal with the last remaining flying beast while they are all trying to devise ways to stay in the air and nnot fall to their deaths.
The Justice Leaguers defeat the strange space beasts and head back to the Souvenir Room where T.O. Morrow reveals himself and turns the JLA’s souvenirs against them. Amazo’s body awakens, Starro animates, the Crystal Creature from Appellax reanimates and strikes the Green Bell, Dr. Light attacks with a laser gun, and the weird Super-Duper (a mix of the heroes’ DNA) attacks as well.
With the Justice League defeated, T.O., Morrow remains confident that he will triumph although he is warned that there is no way he will win if the Red Tornado opposes him.
Back on Earth-Two, the Red Tornado stirs and realizes the Justice Society members are lifeless, but could be revived with the correct energy from one of T.O. Morrow’s machines. Red Tornado then spins with enough force to get through the barrier from Earth-Two to Earth-One and discovers how T.O. Morrow took out the Justice League.
Red Tornado then summons the five real significant others: Jean Loring, Mera, Steve Trevor, Midge,, and Hawkgirl to revive their loved ones with a positive energy kiss. This leaves Red Tornado to wonder about the concept of love. With these five Justice Leaguers revived: Atom, Aquaman, Wonder Woman, Hawkman, and Snapper Carr to go fight and defeat T.O. Morrow with the assistance of the Red Tornado.
In short order, Wonder Woman wrecks Morrow’s machines while the men defeat T.O. Morrow’s hired goons, but the task of defeating T.O. Morrow falls to Red Tornado who does so quite efficiently leaving the would be conqueror to revive the remaining Leaguers and then Red Tornado does the same for the JSA members. Another Crisis averted.
Next Up: Star Light, Star Bright– Death Star I See Tonight