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What is the story behind this hideous mash-up costume?!?
The Story: "The Day Superman Became The Flash!" by Edmond Hamilton and Al Plastino.
Superman gets an urgent message...from the Justice League of America!
Jor-El consults a "computer" built by Zhan-Zar, who says his machine can use probability statistics to peer into the future (and also figure out what baseball players are underrated). By putting into the computer that he will be potentially sending his infant son to various planets, the computer presents several scenarios.
On the planet Xann, for instance, Kal-El would be miniature compared to that planet's giant inhabitants. Turns out that young Kal, still with Superman-like powers, would again become a costumed superhero, similar to The Atom! Jor-El tries again, seeing what would happen if Kal was sent to the all-water planet known as Valair:
On the planet Ntann, due to that world's red sun, Kal wouldn't have superpowers, but the computer extrapolates that he would take up archery, turning into him an ersatz Green Arrow. Kal's future on the planet Saruun is a grimmer one, where he is adopted by a widower to teaches his son to take the form of a bat-like creature known as The Diro. Finally, on the planet Gangor, young Kal would gain the power of super-speed, but that doesn't turn out that well either:
Roll Call: Superman, Batman, Aquaman, Flash, Green Arrow, Atom
Notable Moments: What a bizarre story! It has become known over time that during the early 1960s, DC was having a lot of trouble coming up with stories for its big three characters, and this story certainly reads like someone was desperate for inspiration. "Hey, wouldn't it be fun to see Superman act like the other Justice Leaguers?" seems like a fine enough proposition, but the whole "Jor-El peering into the future" conceit is so ridiculous and contrived that (IMO) it clocks an 11 at the Goofy-Meter.
And while I'm not complaining of course, it feels strange to A)have Aquaman as the spokesman for the League (since when?) and B)have the other JLAers never utter a single word in the story! They show up and then just stand there, as Aquaman drones on and Superman gets all misty-eyed, as he always did when talking about Jor-El and Lara.
This story marks the JLA's fourth-ever appearance outside their own title; other than helping out Adam Strange in Mystery in Space #75, the team was generally written into members' solo books as a colorful mob who basically just sat around, commenting on the action. At least here some of them got a nice trip to a tropical island!
One final thing: I wonder why the cover and title of this story focuses on Superman becoming The Flash only? I'd say "The Day Superman Became The Justice League" has a little more snap to it.
Firestorm versus...The Justice League of America?!?
The Story: "The Icy Heart of Killer Frost!" by Gerry Conway, Pat Broderick, and Rodin Rodriguez.
Over on The Fire and Water Podcast, my co-host The Irredeemable Shag and I have moved on from reviews of the now-cancelled New 52 Firestorm comic to looking back at what we're calling Fury of Firestorm Classic; issue-by-issue recaps of the 1982 series. We just finished looking at Fury of Firestorm #3, the first of a two-part tussle with The Nuclear Man's (IMO) premier villain, Killer Frost.
Some of you might know that the Justice League of America makes a guest appearance in FoF #4. And while we'll be getting to it soon enough on the show, it occurred to me that it's been forever since I updated JLA Satellite, so why not "read ahead" a little and cover it here?
At the end of the previous issue, Killer Frost has taken over all of New York, and has forced Firestorm to do the whole kneel-before-Zod bit. Of course, KF doesn't trust Firestorm to willingly be her slave, so she demands he pass a test: in this case, it means flying to California and retrieving Big Time Movie Star Curt Holland. KF has a big crush on Holland and is looking to get her icicles melted, or something.
Firestorm initially refuses, but when Killer Frost almost kills some innocent civilians with a frozen billboard, he relents and takes to the skies. It's here that The Nuclear Man runs into his new found teammates in the Justice League, and earns his nickname Hot Head:
At the JLA Satellite, Firestorm explains everything that's happened, going so far as to reveal his dual secret identity once it's revealed that a detailed knowledge of physics will be needed to deal with this problem.
With Prof. Stein stuck back at the Satellite, Ronnie needs help finding Curt Holland, so he and Red Tornado teleport to Los Angeles. Holland is not interested in helping out (can't really blame him), angering Ronnie and they head back to space. In the meantime, Prof. Stein has developed a machine that, while cumbersome, has the capacity to freeze Killer Frost!
A little while later, Firestorm arrives with Curt Holland, and Killer Frost is overjoyed. She plants a frosty kiss on him, but when he doesn't seem affected by it, the jig is up! Killer Frost blasts "Holland", revealing him to actually be Red Tornado!
Firestorm engages in battle with Killer Frost, keeping her distracted while Red Tornado, who has Prof. Stein's device implanted in his chest, goes into action. It works, sapping Killer Frost's powers long enough for Firestorm to knock her out. But all of New York is still encased in ice!
Reddy is frozen too, and Firestorm uses his powers to boost Prof. Stein's device and creating a massive heat bubble over the city:
I really loved this story; I can remember buying the issue off the newsstands at the time. I think I bought Firestorm intermittently, but when I saw the JLA on the cover it was a Must Purchase.
Roll Call: Superman, Wonder Woman, Hawkman, Red Tornado, Zatanna, Firestorm
Notable Moments: This story (according to Mike's Amazing World) takes place between JLA #205 and another guest appearance in Action Comics #535.
The scene where Firestorm just loses it and attacks the JLA is quite powerful and well-executed; he uses his powers in nearly lethal ways and it's fun seeing the new kid on the block really put a beat down (albeit temporarily) on the big guns like Superman and Zatanna. It doesn't make a whole lot of sense that the World's Greatest Superheroes would just let NYC stay frozen, handing off the assignment to just Firestorm and Red Tornado, but that's a standard trope of superhero storytelling and it's something you just have to roll with.
Gerry Conway, writing both books of course, used this guest appearance to actually forward the characters relationship, something pretty rare for guest appearances, which are often as not done as sales drivers. Here the JLA learns Firestorm's real identity (Superman already knew but kept it from everyone; as we all know, Kal is big on keeping secrets from his JLA teammates), and while it never really came that much into play over in Justice League of America, it's still a nice moment.
Top it off with learning that Red Tornado is a Steve Martin fan, and you've got one fun issue of The Fury of Firestorm!
The New Teen Titans face off against...The Justice League of America?!?
The Story: "Against All Friends!" by Marv Wolfman, George Perez, and Romeo Tanghal.
This issue opens 22,300 miles in geosynchronous orbit above Metropolis, where some members of the Justice League of America are gearing up for trouble:
Three magical beings see the JLA approach, and fire a series of blasts at them, knocking them off their feet (metaphorically) for the moment. Some sort of gag appears over Zatanna's mouth, preventing her from casting a spell. Green Lantern attempts a direct assault, but a voice yells out, telling him to stop!
It's the voice of Raven, demanding that the JLA let the sorcerers perform their ritual. Green Lantern refuses, and tries to cage Raven, but she escapes. The three sorcerers expel even more energy, knocking the JLA out. Raven then disappears, transporting to another faraway, fantastical world. Waiting for her in one of the grand palaces is Raven's mother, who admonishes her daughter for coming here.
Raven's mother tells her she can do nothing to save the Earth, and with a touch sends Raven home, where she awakes:
Raven seems to remember a battle involving The Fearsome Five that none of her teammates can recall, which distresses her. We then see that this is all being watched by the FF, who are, as usual, squabbling among themselves. We learn this is a plot to destroy the JLA and the Titans--by pitting them against each other!
Raven learns that due to the inadvertent efforts of the JLA, the demi-god Trigon will be able to build a bridge to Earth. So Robin declares that the JLA must be stopped--any any cost!
Back at the satellite, the members of the JLA know nothing of any of this, so they aren't quite ready when they receive unexpected visitors:
The Titans watch the JLA disintegrate, but turns out its just an illusion of Raven's, who has put them all in stasis until she can figure all this out. Eventually, the Titans wake up and the JLA rejoins them to fight the three sorcerers. In the melee Trigon is set free, and the whole dimension seems to explode:
Eventually, a bigger truth emerges: that this new team of teen heroes has been formed partly due to lies and the magical influence of Raven, who has been using her powers for what she calls a greater purpose.
The Titans are enraged, and wander off--as does the JLA, leaving Raven alone, screaming to the heavens dire warnings about Triton, who is watching all this with delight. To be continued!
Roll Call: Batman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, Atom, Hawkman, Zatanna
Notable Moments: This story takes place between the two stories in JLA #188 (according to Mike's Amazing World, at least).
It's great seeing the JLA (or some of them, at least) drawn by George Perez, and battling some of their former sidekicks, to boot. Batman clocking Robin in the back of the head with his elbow is particularly wince-inducing...unless you've always thought the Boy Wonder deserved a rap in the head; then it's great.
Since I've made the decision to update this blog occasionally with original JLA content I want to cover, I thought taking a look at this team-up was long overdue. How I ever resisted that cover the first time around I'll never know!
A classic tale of the Justice League versus one of its more fearsome foes!
The Story: "The Planet That Came To A Standstill" by Gardner Fox, Carmine Infantino, and Murphy Anderson.
Out story opens with honorary JLA member Snapper Carr relaying an adventure that starts in deep space:
While Kanjar Ro hatches another plan to defeat the JLA, Adam Strange and Alanna are enjoying themselves on Rann. Soon, though, they find themselves in another scrape, against some invaders atop giant birds!
One of them rings some sort of small crystal, which forces Adam and Alanna hurtling into space, where they are soon caught by the planet's orbit. Thanks to Adam's ingenuity, though, they manage to escape and fall over one of Rann's highest peaks, softening their fall.
Adam and Alanna re-engage the invaders, and pretend to be held captive so they can find out who is behind them--namely, Kanjar Ro! Thanks to Ro's experiments, he is now more powerful than ever, and tests his powers on some JLA duplicates:
Adam and Alanna escape, and Adam comes up with another plan, but one that involves him making a trip back to Earth. Adam grabs Ro's "Slave Ship of Space" and takes it to Earth, leaving it there before the Zeta Beam takes him back to Rann.
The Flash finds the ship, and calls in his JLA pals:
Adam and Alanna spy Kanjar Ro leaving his lab, so Adam grabs Ro's gong and strikes it so hard he paralyzes everyone on Rann, including Ro! Then another Zeta Beam brings Adam back to Earth, leaving his body back to normal (got all that?):
Kanjar Ro manages to defeat each of the JLAers, but is stopped by Adam Strange, who strikes Ro with the gong's mallet. Why does this stop him? Because Strange figured out that its made of metal from his home planet, Dhor, and that it would affect him the way Kryptonite does Superman. Flash is so impressed he thinks to himself "Terrific! I'm going to propose Adam Strange for membership in the Justice League at our next meeting!"
Later, Adam introduces the JLA to Alanna:
...The End!
Roll Call: Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Flash, Green Lantern, Martian Manhunter
Notable Moments: This story takes place between JLA #s 3 and 4, making it the last appearance of the original seven, in terms of publishing history.
This is a very fun story, but complicated as heck! A bunch of characters, with Adam Strange bouncing back and forth between Rann and Earth like a ping-pong ball. There's so much plot in this issue that if they did this story nowadays, it would take up six issues and be given its own trade paperback.
It was suggested at the time that JLA Satellite.com cover this issue, since its pretty much a direct sequel to issue #3, but I was just starting out and didn't feel the need to take even a momentary diversion into another title (plus I didn't have a copy of the book!). But now that I've decided to bring back this blog every so often, I thought why not start almost at the very beginning of the JLA's career!
