The JLA and the JSA face off against one of their oddest adversaries ever!The Story: "Where On Earth Am I?" by Cary Bates, Elliot S! Maggin, Dick Dillin, and Frank McLaughlin. We open on Earth-Prime("our" Earth), where we find JLA editor Julius Schwartz berating his young writers--Bates and Maggin--for not being able to come up with a plot for this month's issue!
While Julie goes to lunch, the boys break out Julie's Cosmic Treadmill(as seen in The Flash #179), and Bates accidentally finds himself transported to Earth-2! While there, something mysterious happens to Bates, where he finds himself with amazing powers, and becomes tempted to use them for evil!
Meanwhile, Maggin tries to follow him, but ends up on Earth-1, where he is rescued by Aquaman from drowning, who takes him to the JLA satellite, where he gives them his story.
They of course don't believe him, but Maggin has developed powers too, which he uses to prove to the JLA he's not making up this crazy story, by teleknetically removing the masks and knowing the secret I.D.s of several JLAers!
On Earth-2, Bates gets worse, and uses his powers to trap and defeat the JSA. We then find out that this is because the evil supervillian, The Wizard, cast a spell on Bates turning him evil!
The JLA come to Earth-2, and are met by the Wizard and his Injustice Society(Sportsmaster, Huntress, The Gambler, The Shade, and The Icicle). Luckily, the JLA defeats them, but finds that these bad guys are actually...the JSA! What's going on here? Only the evil Cary Bates knows for sure. To be continued!
Roll Call: Batman, Aquaman, Flash, Green Arrow, Hawkman, Black Canary
Notable Moments: Another lark of an issue, similar to #89 where writer Mike Friedrich was the protagonist. What was it about the JLA that made their writers want to incorporate themselves into the stories?
On the JLA Mail Room page comes this interesting suggestion for a new member:
4 comments:
I hate this storyline with a passion, I can remember when I first read it thinking "What is this garbage?"
These "Earth Prime" mash-ups are silly fun!
There's also that WORLD'S FINEST, which I believe features Haney & Aparo?
Best,
-Craig W.
I've always hated comic book stories where the writers feel the need to insert themselves as characters. Talk about ego and lack of inspiration. The only time it has ever worked was in those halcyon days of Marvel when Stan and Jack appeared in the Fantastic Four, but that was because (1) they were self-deprecating rather than self-aggrandizing & (2) they were but fleeting moments in a story that did not revolve around them.
I think the reason that some writers put themselves in stories is simply hero worship. I mean, if you could hang out on the JLA satellite with Earth1 Supes, Bats and company, wouldn't you? I would. So I don't mind it as much as some. Besides, it's got the JSA and that is always a good thing!
Post a Comment