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The return of "Justice League Detroit"!
The Story: "Siege" by Gerry Conway and Ron Randall.
Deep inside the new HQ of the Justice League of America, we see our heroes and some civilians clearly the worse for wear:
Aquaman informs us this the work of the original JLA's old foe, Felix Faust. Aquaman, the team's new leader, tries to give his teammates an inspiring speech, intended to rally the troops, but it falls on deaf ears when Steel is openly contemptuous of it and, seemingly, Aquaman himself.
When Aquaman refuses to back down, Steel loses it and goes after the Sea King!
A loud "whomp" from outside the chamber focuses everyone's attention. As Aquaman formulates a plan, we flash back to ten hours earlier, as the JLA is giving a tour of their new HQ to local schoolchildren, as part of a plan to be part of the community.
Everyone seems up for the meet-and-greet, except Martian Manhunter, who feels a sense of unease. Good reason, since Felix Faust is nearby, watching his old foes. Using some sort of magical tablet (no, not an iPad), he calls forth massive black clouds which descend upon Detroit!
Meanwhile, Aquaman is defending the new JLA from one particularly snotty kid, who insists the team is now a bunch of nobodies. Another kid, in a Superman t-shirt, pipes up and defends the new group, much to the JLA's admiration. But just Zatanna is about to entertain the kids with some magic, there's an explosion, and the cause of it reveals himself:
The JLA fans out, taking on Faust's demonic creations. After Manhunter and Aquaman are knocked out, the team regroups in the medical lab, which is hermetically sealed behind them.
As Faust's minions pound their way in, the JLA forms a plan and, for once, acts as a team:
...except for Gypsy, who ignores Aquaman's order to help Elongated Man and Dale Gunn get the kids to safety. While Faust was distracted, she sneaks by and grabs the mystical tablet, breaking it in two over Faust's head!
As the demons fade into oblivion, Aquaman decides what to do about Gypsy's disobedience:
...the end!
Roll Call: Aquaman, Martian Manhunter, Elongated Man, Zatanna, Vixen, Steel, Vibe, Gypsy
Notable Moments: Like the Retroactive 1970s book, this story feels like a bit of a missed opportunity: this is the first time the JLD has been seen in years (and probably will be the last time, with the new DCU just around the corner), so I wonder why the story is so focused on the internal monologues of the characters, in that I mean we get a lot of dialogue with the JLAers (Steel mostly) yelling at each other, which was one of the things I think that sunk the team in the first place.
Also like the 1970s one-shot, its up to another character (in that book Adam Strange, in this one the young superhero fan named...Geoff) to sort of spur the plot and get the JLA moving. Since when can't the Justice League of America carry their own story?
All that said, of course its great to see the JLA--even this version--back again one more time. I still think the JLD could have worked, if given enough time, but editorial meddling kept that from ever really happening, so the team remains a mostly sad footnote to the legendary team's history.
Not to be too picky about this, but I'm not exactly sure when this story takes place. The story mentions (repeatedly) that the "Big Guns" are decidedly no longer part of the team, which places it after the events of JLA #239 (see below). But by JLA #241, Aquaman was already off searching for Mera, never to return. So I guess we'd have to say this is what the JLD was doing while the book was doing a sort of special "DC Retroactive" of its own.
This issue also features a reprint of Justice League of America #239, also by Gerry Conway.
We hope you JLA fans enjoyed this look back, both in the comics and on this blog! I know I did!
The super-secret origin of Black Canary is revealed!
The Story: "The Doppleganger Gambit" by Roy Thomas, Chuck Patton, Romeo Tanghal, and Pablo Marcos. Picking up from last issue, the JSAers leave the JLA satellite and prepare to head off to various corners of the globe to stop rampaging supervillains.
They are startled when they are met by Sargon the Sorcerer, who uses his powers to freeze and pretty much embarass the Huntress, Power Girl, and Red Tornado, who don't know who he is. Hourman and Flash have a nice laugh.
Sargon explains he is here because the body of Jim Corrigan--who houses the astral body of their friend, The Spectre--was also zapped by T-Bolt, so Sargon is here to help the JSA get to the bottom of what's going on.
Meanwhile, in T-Bolt's dimension, Johnny Thunder forces T-Bolt to explain why all this is happening, and we get a rundown of the events in Johnny and Dinah's life in the late 1940s.
Johnny, now partnered (or so he thinks) with Black Canary, feels he didn't need T-Bolt anymore, and in an astonishing display of jackassery, tells the T-Bolt to get lost.
What Johnny forgot is, without the T-Bolt, he's basically Snapper Carr with worse fashion sense, and, realizing he is way, way out of his league in the JSA, eventually quit, to be replaced on the team by...Black Canary.
Johnny also takes a hit when he realizes that Dinah isn't interested in him as anything other than a friend:
Johnny Thunder, Ungrateful Jerk.
Years later, Larry Lance and Dinah are married, and they have a daughter. One day, the supervillain the Wizard shows up, to extract revenge for the time Black Canary and the JSA busted him. He casts a spell on the baby, which gives it the ability to project an ear-piercing scream whenever it talks...like a Canary Cry.
They turn to Johnny Thunder and his T-Bolt for help, and the T-Bolt says he can take the tyke, and keep her in suspended animation is his dimension, until a cure could be found.
Black Canary is, understandably, a little shocked at this news...she has a daughter she doesn't remember?
Meanwhile, the various heroes are finally getting to the supervillains: Flash and Hourman take on The Fiddler and Chronos (ooh, I'm scared!), the Huntress and Red Tornado take on the Icicle and Dr. Alchemy, and Power Girl and Sargon take on The Wizard and Felix Faust.
All the heroes are defeated, and we learn they stuck a deal with Johnny Thunder: if he could get all JLAers out of the way, they would do the same to the JSA. Johnny Thunder, though, has plans to have the T-Bolt kill the villains once all this is done, as well.
He then commands T-Bolt to kill Starman and Black Canary, and he tries to resist the command. As he struggles, the Earth-2 Johnny Thunder--also imprisoned there--breaks free of his energy gag, and supersedes that original order, freeing T-Bolt!
After the evil Johnny is punched out the good one, he sends T-Bolt to earth to help wake up the JLAers, who then in turn help the JSAers defeat the villains.
Back in the T-Bolt dimension, Black Canary is still wondering what the hell is going on. Luckily Superman and the Spectre show up to answer her:
...well, sure, I can see how that would make sen...wait a minute, what?!?
Turns out that Black Canary developed her powers when she switched Earths, not because of the villain Aquarius, as was thought way back in JLA #75. Superman and the JSA knew, but decided it was best just to leave "well enough" alone.
Superman picks up Canary, and as they head back to Earth-1, she asks that he let her explain all this to Green Arrow...
Roll Call: Superman, Flash, Green Lantern, Black Canary, Elongated Man, Red Tornado, Zatanna, Firestorm
Notable Moments: This has got to be, hands down, the craziest, most absurd retro-fitting in the history of superhero comics.
Even as a kid, when I got to the above page, I went "What?!?" Superman just took it upon himself to do all this memory and body switching? And he's kept this huge secret all these years? Gee, thanks, Kal, I think I can manage my own life, thanks very much.
I understand the need to explain how Black Canary seemed to be as young, if not younger, than most of the JLA, yet she was supposedly around since World Warr II. But the idea of erasing someone's memory, so you think you're your own Mother, is just so odd and wrong and weird and crazy.
From 1 to 10 on the Goofy Meter, this story, as a great man once said, goes to 11.
Enjoy this issue's cover by George Perez, its the last one he ever did for the book. *sniff*
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The JLA was doing a lot of guest-starring around this time--sandwiched in between their appearance in Batman and the Outsiders #1 (in Aug. 1983) and their one in World's Finest #300 (in Feb. 1984) was this guest-shot, in The Flash #327.
The Flash had just killed his old nemesis, Professor Zoom, and the JLA put him on trial to decide whether he should stay in the League.
Only six members participated, with Green Arrow, Elongated Man, and Firestorm voting to let Flash stay, and Wonder Woman, Aquaman, and Hawkman voting for expulsion. It's up to Superman, who shows up at the end, to cast the deciding vote (which ended up being for The Flash to stay, making for some awkward meetings between Barry and Diana, Arthur, and Katar).
Interesting note: less than two years later, as Tony Isabella was putting Katar through his paces in his excellent Shadow War of the Hawkman mini-series, he had a moment where Katar reflects on this moment, and chastises himself for being so inflexible and tough on Barry. A nice touch, I thought.
The return of Felix Faust!
The Story: "Reprise" by Gerry Conway, Dick Dillin, and Frank McLaughlin. This issue opens with Green Arrow, having just resigned from the Justice League, aimlessly wandering the crime-ridden streets of Star City.
As he breaks up a car theft, he doesn't notice a mysterious, shadowy figure nearby--who we can see is the JLA's old villain, Felix Faust!
But no time for love Dr. Jones, since Arrow is then suddenly whisked away by a transporter beam, up to the JLA satellite, where some of the members who only now have heard what happened are demanding an explanation.
Arrow ain't having any of it, refusing to justify his actions further. Unfortunately for him, the JLA has already changed his membership status to "inactive", meaning he cannot beam down to Earth. Stuck there, he takes a seat, seeing who will break first.
Meanwhile, we follow Faust, who has found the secret journal of Nostromus at the Star City library (ha! and fundamentalists think Harry Potter promotes witchcraft!), and as he opens it he is blasted by some sort of energy beam.
Back at the satellite, Black Canary is trying to talk some sense into Green Arrow, when a ghostly vision of Faust appears, warning the JLA that the legendary warlock Nostromus is using Faust's body as a way to return to the land of the living to wreak havoc on the world!
The JLA follows Faust's signal to a small village outside Zurich, where they take on Nostromus' demon forms, to no avail. Luckily, the Nostromus-controlled body of Faust is stopped in mid-resurrection, thanks to a well-timed arrow which skewers the book, destroying it, and the warlock's chance of returning.
The JLA all congratulate Green Arrow for his fine work, and Superman welcomes him back to the JLA. But:
Roll Call: Superman, Batman, Green Lantern, Green Arrow, Hawkman, Black Canary, Zatanna
Notable Moments: Wow, is Ollie a major league a-hole on that last page. It doesn't even really make sense, since being in the League doesn't mean you live at JLA HQ full-time (although Aquaman obviously liked the sound of that idea), so why does Green Arrow act like he has to break up with Dinah? And...have you seen those fishnets, Ollie? Are you nuts?
There's also a back-up tale, a solo Elongated Man story titled "The Sun Queen Snatch!", a cute little mystery by my pal Paul Kupperberg, with art by Rodin Rodriguez and Vince Colletta.
It involves the Dibnys and the Halls taking a vacation cruise together, and Ralph stumbles onto an attempted kidnapping, foiling the plot in the time it takes Carter Hall to suit up as Hawkman, in a goofy last panel that makes me laugh every time I see it:
I just love how silly Hawkman looks, popping into the last panel like that, while Ralph relaxes with as stiff drink. Well played, Mssrs. Kupperberg and Rodriguez.
I'm assuming DC needed their regular books' artists to get up to speed with the longer page count (since DCs were now 50 cents), so they slotted in this back-up for this month only. Too bad, since I thought this was a lot of fun, and it might've been interesting to see other back-ups featuring JLAers who didn't have their own books.
Guest-starring...The Phantom Stranger!
The Story: "A Stranger Walks Among Us! by Len Wein, Dick Dillin, and Dick Giordano. The JLA meets at the satellite, wondering which of them called the meeting. Turns out it was...The Phantom Stranger, who manages to appear in the satellite taking the team by surprise!
None of the JLAers know him, but Batman(having met him in the pages of The Brave and the Bold) vouches for him. The Stranger then explains he senses an evil force brewing in the town of Rutland, Vermont. And the force is being summoned by an old foe of the JLA...Felix Faust!
As the team decides to head to Rutland, we cut to four people on their way there, named Steve, Len, Glynis, and Gerry, who are headed their for the costume parade(seen previously in the classic Batman #237, "The Night of the Reaper"). The parade's organizer, Tom Fagan, meets the JLA and Batman tells him why they're there. Tom then manages to talk the JLA into being part of the parade, on a custom-made power-ring float!
As the parade goes on, suddenly everyone in the crowd is frozen stiff! The team splits up to investigate, and Hawkman and Flash are attacked by three zombified paraders, dressed like Supergirl, Adam Strange, and, er, Commando America!
The demons are inhabiting these people, which give them powers and they actually manage to defeat Barry and Carter! Meanwhile, Batman is taking on another possessed partier, this time dressed in a familiar red-and-blue outfit with a spider on his chest. Green Lantern meanwhile is fighting a Norse Thundergod. They, too, succumb to some mysterious force.
Superman and Green Arrow take on ersatz versions of Captain Marvel and the Golden Age Flash, and end up the same way. Oddly, the Phantom Stranger shows up at the end of all these battles, but does not help the JLA out! What's going on here??
As the JLA recovers, the Phantom Stranger returns and they ask him what is indeed going on. Turns out the only way Faust's spell of possession could be defeated was to use a personal item from each of them as a sort of sacrifice--but those items could not be freely given, hence the Stranger waiting for the JLAers to be rendered unconscious.
The Stranger exhausts Faust's powers, the JLA fight the demons, and our four familiar partiers wake up from their stupor.
The JLA is thankful to the Stranger for helping them defeat Faust and quickly decide to ask him to join. But...:
Roll Call: Superman, Batman, Flash, Green Lantern, Green Arrow, Hawkman
Notable Moments: As a kid, I was very concerned with the JLA's roll call, and it bugged me to no end that the Phantom Stranger was a sort of quasi-official member. They did vote him in, but he didn't accept, but he didn't say no, so...grrrr! I need closure on this!
Len Wein was obviously having a blast with this issue, writing himself and his friends into the story, to say nothing of the "cameos" by Spider-Man, Captain America, and Thor. Much like Neal Adams from a few issues ago, doesn't this mean Len deserved a Who's Who listing?
Speaking of Neal Adams, there's this one panel from the book that sure looks like Neal Adams, rather than Dick Dillin, to me. I wonder, did somebody spill some coffee on Dillin's original page and Neal was around to pinch hit?
After a long run, Joe Giella is gone as inker, replaced by Dick Giordano, one of the finest artists in the business(who did part of last issue, as well). While Giella tended to simplify Dillin's pencils to the point of almost coloring-book proportions, Giordano added a nice strong line to them, making for a really attractive package.
Ok, Batman's in the book! We get it!
The Story: "Threat of the True-Or-False Sorcerer!" by Gardner Fox, Mike Sekowsky, and Sid Greene. Felix Faust creates a duplicate of himself which could spend the end of the universe! Luckily, Snapper Carr is here to figure it all out.
Roll Call: Superman, Batman, Flash, Green Lantern
Notable Moments: Aquaman? Who's Aquaman?
It's Goofy Demon Central this issue, with a plethora of funny-looking alien creatures(including a leprechaun!) courtesy the team of Faust/Sekowsky.
Part Two of the exciting first JLA/JSA crossover!
The story: "Crisis on Earth-Two!" by Gardner Fox, Mike Sekowsky, and Bernard Sachs. The JLA and the JSA break up into teams and take on the villains of two worlds, but when they capture them all, a magical trap sprung by Felix Faust ensnares them all in jail cells floating in space!
With the help of the two Flashes and Green Lanterns, they escape and dole out another around of super-team butt-kicking, this time defeating the bad guys for good. As they stand around six beaten, unconcious bad guys, the two teams promise to stay in touch.
Roll Call: Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Flash, Green Lantern, Martian Manhunter, Green Arrow, The Atom
Notable Moments: After the JLA and JSA break free, they get the drop on the bad guys and all the fighting is condensed into two beautifully crafted, clean pages:
...some of Mike Sekowsky's best work, I think. Simple yet exciting as heck.
I bought this back issue at the aforementioned "El Dorado" comic book store, sometime around 1983 or so. Yet I still went ahead and filled out the coupon for the "Task Force" toy soliders kit(only 69 cents!), as if the offer was still valid twenty years later. Kids are so literal.
The return of the Justice Society! The first JLA/JSA team-up! The first "Crisis" story!
The story: "Crisis on Earth-One!" by Gardner Fox, Mike Sekowsky, and Bernard Sachs. A team of bad guys calling themselves the (*snicker*) Crime Champions, consisting of Chronos, Felix Faust, and Dr. Alchemy(ooh, I'm scared!) tell the JLA about some crimes they plan to commit, while on Earth-2 the very same thing is happening with the JSA!
The villains trap the JLA, but they use the crystal ball they got from Merlin, no less(JLA #2), to contact Earth-2 and switch places with the JSA! This leads to the first time these two legendary teams have met. They then split up to take on the bad guys of both Earths!
Roll Call: Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Flash, Green Lantern, Martian Manhunter, Green Arrow, The Atom
Notable Moments: Oddly, Batman is not listed in the "Roll Call" on page one, though he has a large part in the story.
It's amazing, when looking back, how the smallest notions can be built into Major Ideas. Not to slight Gardner Fox--at all--while I'm sure this idea of bringing back the JSA was immediately recognized as a good one, I bet mostly it was thought of as a way to fill that month's twenty-five pages. Of course, this whole storyline would serve as the basis for the entire DC Universe, produce countless spin-offs, and the cover by Murphy Anderson would become one the hallmark images of DC Comics. Well done, fellas!
Part 2 of the Felix Faust plus The Lord of Time plus The Demons Three epic!
The story: "One Hour to Doomsday" by Gardner Fox, Mike Sekowsky, and Bernard Sachs. The JLA, having chased the Lord of Time into the future, try to go back by find themselves unable to return home.
They enlist the help of the Demons Three, who then try to turn the tables on them. Nice try, Abnegezar, Rath, and Ghast!
Roll Call: Superman, Batman Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Flash, Green Lantern, Martian Manhunter, Green Arrow
Notable Moments: The Demons Three are now colored pink, the look they will keep for the rest of the four-color career. To help defeat the demons, the JLAers "switch bodies", and its Batman who gets turned into Wonder Woman. Awkward...
A letter writer asks--nay, demands--that the Atom join the team. As a hint, they run another letter analyzing that each current JLA member's name has a sequential number of letters--i.e., Flash has five, Batman has six, Aquaman has seven, and so on. The response is that there is no hero with thirteen letters in their name, but there is one with four--The Atom!
By the way, that last, obsessively-compiled letter is by somebody named E.Nelson Bridwell!
This issue is a veritable feast of comics history--the enduring JLA villains Felix Faust, The Lord of Time, and the Demons Three(Abnegezar, Rath, and Ghast) all debut in this one comic!
Eventually all three(six?) bad guys would find their way into the larger DCU, and specifically the tres Demons would make a memorable appearance in Alan Moore's Swamp Thing run, where they take on Dr.Fate and he immolates one of them right on the spot. Don't mess with the helmet of Nabu!
The story: "The Fantastic Fingers of Felix Faust!" by Gardner Fox, Mike Sekowsky, and Bernard Sachs. Felix Faust learns the only way to unleash these Demons Three guys is to retrieve specific magical objects, so he uses his magic powers to force the JLA into getting them for him(there's a lot of JLA-controlling-by-bad-guys in these early issues).
Meanwhile, the Lord of Time wants to get these objects, too, which causes this story to get so big that it becomes the first multi-issue JLA story!
Roll Call: Superman, Batman Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Flash, Green Lantern, Martian Manhunter, Green Arrow
Notable Moments: Sekowsky's design of the three demons is way cool--they look funky and weird, with strange proportions that actually make them look otherworldly, not just humans with a fang or a horn. Also, here they are colored bone white, instead of the pink tone they are more associated with.
Felix Faust is knocked out by a school of flying fish, under the command of Guess Who. Not one of Faust's best moments.
Letter writer John Budnick of Hicksville, NY, wants the book and team to be renamed the "Interplanetary League of Justice" since he thinks it suits them more accurately. He points out, a little angrily, actually--that Superman is Kryptonian, Manhunter is Martian, and "[y]ou'd have to stretch a long point to consider Aquaman an American, and of course Wonder Woman's birthplace is the Amazon Paradise Island." Somebody call Lou Dobbs!
