Justice League of America #258 - Jan. 1987

The final case of the Justice League of America!

The Story: "Saving Face!" by J.M. DeMatteis, Luke McDonnell, and Bob Smith. We open on the monstrous face of Professor Ivo, as he is undergoing psychotherapy.

He is telling his therapist about how the Justice League ruined his life, by turning him into a monster!

The therapist tells Ivo he knows that's not true, that it was he who attacked the League--

Ivo cuts him off, and then turns him off. We see that the therapist is nothing more than a robot, built by Ivo to have someone to talk to.

Back at the Secret Sanctuary, the JLA is dealing with their failure to help Firestorm defeat the villain Brimstone (in Legends #1). As usual, Vibe makes a bad situation worse:

This quickly degenerates into name-calling, and then even a fight breaks out between Elongated Man and Vibe!

Manhunter breaks it up, but says that, following the President's order that all super-heroes withdraw from public life, he is disbanding the Justice League.

Gypsy tries to argue, but Vixen says J'onn is right. Elongated Man agrees, saying they've all got personal lives to deal with. He apologizes to Vibe, but Vibe blows him off.

There's not much left to say:

After Manhunter leaves the room, the rest of the heroes decide to head back to Vixen's apartment to talk. They invite Vibe, but he turns against them, sulking.

Meanwhile, we see that Ivo has built dozens of androids, and sends one of them out to find its "intended victim."

Later, we see Vibe aimlessly wandering his hometown streets. He runs into a little boy who worships Superman. Vibe is angry the kid doesn't know about his own people's superhero--him--but then dejectedly walks off.

He then runs into Ivo's android, who immediately attacks him!

With the kid watching, Vibe uses his powers to fight him off, telling himself he won't be defeated, won't let the kid down.

He hits the android over and over again with his powers, until it falls over and stops moving. The kid is thrilled, and runs off, desperate to tell his friends and family about their homegrown superhero, Vibe.

Vibe then decides to call the League about this, and realizes he was wrong to dismiss his teammates. But then:

Vibe is dead.

The android's mission completed, it walks off, leaving a member of the Justice League lying dead on the street like so much garbage:

To be continued!

Roll Call: Martian Manhunter, Elongated Man, Vixen, Steel, Vibe, Gypsy

Notable Moments: This story--both this issue and eventually the entire four parts--blew my mind. I couldn't believe what I was reading--not only were they killing off a member of the JLA, but they were doing it in such a nasty way. Vibe learns the error of his ways just before he is strangled to death. Ouch.

The new-ish JLA logo used since the second JLA Annual is replaced by the old school, mid-60s one.

Justice League of America #257 - Dec. 1986

The final showdown with Adam!

The Story: "Coming Down!" by J.M. DeMatteis, Luke McDonnell, and Bob Smith. Picking yup from last issue, Martian Manhunter is desperately trying to reconnect the mental link he had with Zatanna and Gypsy as they toured Adam's psyche.

While he tries, we Zatanna wake up on some sort of beach, followed by Gypsy, who is unconscious.

Zatanna realizes she insisted Gypsy come along to teach her a lesson; feeling she was too naive in wanting to help people like Adam, even after all he has done.

Realizing that was wrong, she uses her powers to send Gypsy back to reality, where she arrives safe and sound.

Still in Adam's psyche, though, Zatanna has a troubling encounter:

While in the embrace of Adam (eww), her father Zatara resurfaces, and shows Zatanna who Adam really is, turning him into a type of demon, a representation of Adam's lust!

She runs away, and finds even more bizarre psychic landscapes, with seemingly no way out:

Zatanna then comes across the God-Head itself, as it begins to devour Adam's psyche. She flings herself into the God-Head, after getting a message from her father, saying to come find him. She does, and then the God-Head promptly spits her out!

Manhunter is furious with Zee, thinking she gave up trying to save Adam, but actually the opposite is true--while being one with the God-Head, she saw "the plan". She takes Adam's hand, and he wakes up!

They both start to talk that the God-Head wanted this to happen, wanted them to be bonded like this and take this trip together. After calming down a hysterical Pam, Zatanna and Adam depart, Zee nonchalantly resigning from the Justice League and maybe even Reality itself:

Later, Manhunter and Gypsy tell the rest of the team what has happened, none of them liking what they hear. But they don't have time to discuss it for long, since Firestorm suddenly arrives, needing their help!

Roll Call: Martian Manhunter, Elongated Man, Zatanna, Vixen, Steel, Vibe, Gypsy

Notable Moments: This story continues in Legends #1, and then dovetails back here, for the next issue of JLA.

At some point, not sure when, but I guess Batman resigned from the League, since he makes no more appearances in the book after #254.

The end to the Zatanna story is weird and abrupt, and certainly partly dictated by DC's plans for the League. But its weird in a sort of compelling way--you don't know what the hell Zee is talking about, which gives the thing a loose end, which isn't always a bad thing.

Justice League of America #250 - May 1986

The JLA's 250th anniversary issue, and a new leader takes charge!

The Story: "The Return of the Justice League of America" by Gerry Conway, Luke McDonnell, and Bill Wray. Picking up from last issue, Sue Dibny managed to hit the JLA Distress Signal, just as she is blasted by a strange being who has sprang forth from the alien stowaway known as "Junior."

We see who is receiving the signal--first up, its Batman, who is in the process of stopping some kidnappers from getting away with their hostages. After punching out most of them, he ends the melee simply by staring down the last one. Nice.

He is shocked to hear his JLA signal device go off, as is Superman, who finishes putting out a wildfire and then heads off to the source of the signal.

The same thing happens to Green Lantern, currently out in space, and Green Arrow and Black Canary, a little closer to home. Alas, the signal does not make it to everyone:

Back at the Secret Sanctuary, we see who this intruder is--a golden skinned man, who short circuits the JLA computer with his touch. He knows more are coming, and he will be ready...

Next, we find ourselves in a bucolic neighborhood, as the girl we know as Gypsy is coming from school. She has a Mom, a Dad, a little sister, and all seems to be well. Is this a dream? A flashback?

She enters a typical teenaged girl's room--stuffed animals, messy bed, Madonna poster on the wall. No, wait, it's a poster of...Vixen?:

Gypsy is pulled into the wall, then watches all her JLA friends start to wither away to nothing, all of them telling Gypsy she is next.

Of course, this is all a hallucination, and Gypsy wakes up from it screaming, in the arms of Black Canary and her fellow former Justice Leaguers:

Gypsy explains what happend, and Batman immediately takes charge. The heroes split up to search the Sanctuary to find the creature that did this.

Meanwhile, Zatanna is continuing her search for her friend Sherri. The trail leads her to a marina, where she assumes regular clothes and finds her way to a docked yacht. Amid weird questions about whether she is "part of the group", across the yacht she sees...Sherri!

As she approaches her, Sherri can only offer "I'm sorry" before one of them hits Zee over the head, knocking her out. To be continued...

Back at the Sanctuary, Green Lantern and Green Arrow run into the mysterious alien attacker, who blasts Hal, aging him the same way the others are! Green Arrow gets an arrow into the baddie's chest before he runs off.

He then runs into Superman and Batman, and they figure out that this alien is "carrying" their friends' life energies in him, and if they destroy him, they do the same to their friends!

The JLAers lure Junior from room to room, until he dives for Batman, misses, and plunges into a web of high voltage wires! Superman then grabs the wires, and, using his own body as conduit, transfers the energy to the unconscious JLAers, restoring them to normal. As Batman says, "It's over."

As the heroes celebrate, Martian Manhunter makes a plea to Batman--he should leading the League. At first he demurs, but finally:

In an epilogue, we see the strange alien from the previous issues has survived the trail of fire, and emerges reborn, as...Despero the Destroyer!

To be continued!

Roll Call: Martian Manhunter, Elongated Man, Zatanna, Vixen, Steel, Vibe, Gypsy

Notable Moments: The story a lot of JLA fans were waiting for, if a little dishonestly sold--you got the sense from the ads that Superman, Green Lantern, et al, were rejoining the League, when it was just Batman. Still, progress!

This issue has a two-page JLA Mail Room, now back under the aegis of Alan Gold. Gold had a nice habit of printing the names of every person who sent in a letter, even if he didn't print the letter. To that end, here's the one moment he original JLA book and I converged:

...yep, that's me heading the list. My letter writing at that time was atrocious, and it doesn't surprise me that none of my letters ever got printed. Getting mentioned at all was a total thrill--and in the 250th issue yet!


Ok--we're now a year's worth of issues away from the final issue of JLA. As I have mentioned before, I'm planning about a week or so of posts after that before officially turning out the lights on JLA Satellite.

One of themes I've covered since starting this was naming my favorite issues, whenever they came down the pike.

But what I'd like to hear before we go are your choices for favorite issues. This blog has never enjoyed the (relative) popularity of The Aquaman Shrine, but its audience has remained remarkably consistent--each post of this blog has almost the exact same number of hits each day--which leads me to think those of you who stuck with me through this long, strange trip are, deep down, big fans of the JLA.

So, if you are so inclined, email me a list of your three or four favorite issues, with maybe a few sentences as to why you like them so much, and I'll post everyone's choices!

Justice League of America #243 - Oct. 1985

Aquaman returns, and the final chapter of the Amazo story!

The Story: "Storm Clouds" by Gerry Conway, George Tuska, and Mike Machlan. Continued from last issue, we see Aquaman--with Mera--return to the JLA's Detroit headquarters. He isn't relieved when he sees its empty.

Using the JLA computers, he sees the JLA headed for the Canadian Northwest, and he gets a feeling in the pit of his stomach--a bad one. Has he abandoned his friends when they needed him most?

Back in the Yukon, we see most of the JLA, unconscious and trussed-up, as they remain trapped in a pitch-black pit, put there by Amazo.

Vixen suffers from claustrophobia, but she finds it in herself to stay calm, and the power of her Tantu Totem allows her to break free of her rope bonds. Now...to dig herself and her friends out!

Meanwhile, Manhunter and Dale Gunn have arrived at the Fortress of Solitude, which was, before the melee in the Yukon, Amazo's last known address, as it were.

Vixen does manage to move the rock Amazo left there and dig herself out, helping her teammates out of the pit. She is met by another JLA shuttlecraft, and she is shocked to see it's Aquaman, and he's not alone:

Back at the Fortress, Manhunter finds what he was looking for: how Amazo escaped. Turns out it was an errant meteor that crashed and freed Amazo, not some supervillain or Amazo himself. To Manhunter, that means that all this destruction he is causing is from whatever human he first encountered, whose personality he assumed.

While Mera tends to the wounded JLAers, Aquaman tracks Amazo, who has made his way to Vancouver, and is ripping up the town!

They fly the shuttlecraft over him, and Aquaman dives out, getting a few good shots in on Amazo before he knew what--or who--hit him.

Back in the small town where all this started, Manhunter finds out that Amazo has been calling himself "MacGregor." Who's MacGregor? The local constable tells him:

...Tuska may not have been the best choice for superhero slugfests like this, but I simply adore that portrait of MacGregor--its so perfectly realized. Cartoony yet real--many artists tend to draw heavy people so they look grotesque, like Jabba the Hut, but Tuska nails it.

Anyway, back to Vancouver (where I'm sure all the destruction is causing the many, many movies always being shot there to halt production), Steel recovers enough to try again with Amazo. Amazon responds by throwing an unconscious Vixen at him.

Amazo is then confused when he meets--himself, Slick Jake MacGregor! But...how can that be?

Amazo is distracted long enough for Aquaman to deliver a two-handed, knockout wallop upside Amazo's head. MacGregor reveals himself, of course, to be Martian Manhunter using his shape-shifting powers.

Aquaman is happy, but Manhunter demands and explanation. He gets one, but probably not the one he wanted or expected:

Roll Call: Aquaman, Martian Manhunter, Elongated Man, Zatanna, Vixen, Steel, Vibe, Gypsy

Notable Moments: And with that abrupt ending, Aquaman's quarter-century career with the Justice League comes to an end.

At the time, I was furious that this story ended like this--I had been waiting for the eventual payoff to Aquaman being such an AquaJerk these past few months, but instead he ditches the JLA, gets back with the wife who seems to leave him every few months (I know she's hot an all, Arthur, but there are plenty of fish in the sea!), and leaves the JLA. I was fifteen, and the word "stricken" comes to mind as I recall reading this comic for the first time.

Of course, I now know some of the external forces that caused this, and while I wouldn't trade the superb Neal Pozner/Craig Hamilton Aquaman mini-series for anything, I really wish a better compromise could have been worked out between what Gerry Conway was doing here and DC's plans for Aquaman.

Also, this cover marks JLA Detroit co-creator Chuck Patton's final work on the book. After a fill-in next issue by Joe Staton, a new regular penciler takes over, the last one the book would ever have.

Interesting tidbit: on the JLA Mail Room page, letter writer Kent A. Phenis (who seemed to get more letters printed in DC books than anyone save T.M. Maple) wonders if the Phantom Stranger is still a member, since he wasn't around to be forced to make a choice.

Editor Alan Gold isn't sure, but I think its a safe bet that if Flash, Green Arrow, Hawkman, et al, showed up too infrequently for Aquaman's tastes, then the Stranger was definitely out. He probably would've sent the Stranger his JLA membership card torn up into little bits, if he had known where to send it.

Justice League of America #239 - June 1985

Vixen finally confronts her past, as does the new JLA!

The Story: "In The Shadow of the Ox" by Gerry Conway, Chuck Patton, and Mike Machlan. Picking up from last issue, the new JLA has returned home, with the missing Superman, Wonder Woman, and Flash in tow.

The three heroes demand to know how and why Aquaman could've done what he did--disbanding the Justice League!--while they were gone.

Aquaman tries to explain, and tells them about the Earth-Mars War. He then reiterates a short history of the team, about how it started, how it evolved, and the state is was in when Mars attacked:

The Flash suggests that maybe its time for the League to change again, and for them to give these newcomers a chance. Superman and Wonder Woman agree, and they wish Aquaman and the others good luck.

Sue Dibny reminds them of the conundrum of that, to the rest of world, the three heroes have been gone for weeks, not the half a day Superman and the rest claim. Manhunter suggests it was one of those "time pardoxes" that seem to be occurring lately (due to the ongoing Crisis). Flash offers to take his friends back in time three weeks to avoid any further time hiccups. They head out, no longer members of the Justice League of America.

Later, Vibe's sister Rosita arrives at JLA HQ, saying that a beloved member of their community, an old woman named Mother Windom, has been kidnapped.

Turns out she was taken by The Ox, who says he will turn her over if Vixen turns herself over to him!

Vixen agrees, but Aquaman tells her no. Vixen refuses to listen to him, and tries to run off. Aquaman then hits her with a mental blast, which stops her in her tracks.

This is all too much for the Martian Manhunter:

Manhunter believes she must handle this on her own, and a stewing Aquaman looks on.

In downtown Detroit, we see Vixen arrives at the abandoned movie theater where the Ox told her he would be. When Vixen confronts Ox, he tells her he wants her Tantu Totem, or Mother Windom dies.

Vixen hands it over, and when Ox puts it on, it transforms him into his namesake--a giant, demonic, human/ox hybrid creature! He loses all control, and starts smashing everything in his path, including his own henchmen!

Vixen gets Mother Windom to safety, before taking on The Ox head-to-head:

Whether she meant it or not, The Ox, the man who haunted Vixen ever since she was a child, is dead.

Roll Call: Superman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Flash, Martian Manhunter, Elongated Man, Zatanna, Vixen, Steel, Vibe, Gypsy

Notable Moments: Of course, this is issue--the first half, at least--is monumental, since the last link between the old and new Leagues was broken.

Sure, Superman, Wonder Woman, and Flash are a bit too complacent in accepting what happened, but as Elongated Man pointed out back in JLA Annual #2, between Batman leaving, the Atom disappearing, and Green Lantern resigning from the Corps, the JLA had been breaking up for the past couple of years.

Nice to see Manhunter finally confront Aquaman on his jackassery; too bad it never really gets resolved.

Oddly, this was Chuck Patton's final issue as penciler. After taking such a huge role, along with Conway, in redefining the League, it seemed so odd that he would leave so relatively soon. And for the most part, Patton seemed to disappear from comics entirely not too long after.

Justice League of America Annual #2 - 1984

The biggest change to ever happen to the Justice League of America! New faces, new motivations, new leaders!

The Story: "The End of the Justice League!" by Gerry Conway, Chuck Patton, and Dave Hunt. Following what transpired in the Earth/Mars war in JLA #s 228-230, the members of the League who were present take a space shuttle to go back and see what--if anything--is left of their beloved satellite headquarters.

The various members of the team fan out and start assessing the damage. Black Canary wonders if it can be rebuilt, and Firestorm jokes "rebuild what?"

But Aquaman isn't in such a goofy mood. He takes one look at what has happened, and mutters to himself that this is the end of the Justice League:

(click to JLAify!)

Hawkgirl wonders if she heard Aquaman right. Hawkman, worriedly, says that she did.

After they return to Earth, Green Arrow suggests they start rebuilding immediately. Aquaman walks away, suggesting that even if it could be rebuilt, the team itself may not be able to be repaired. He says for everyone to meet him at the U.N. in one week.

He heads home, happy to finally see his wife, Mera. Unfortunately, she has left, leaving him a message saying that clearly his duty to the League is the most important thing in his life. She suggests he not try to find her...

One week later, at the U.N., Aquaman calls for a special audience, and makes a startling announcement:

...in just five pages, the JLA we all knew is gone.

The announcement is heard all over the world, like by an older man who seems to have massive wealth, and by fashion model Mari McCabe, who abruptly quits her job upon hearing what has happened.

At a high-rise apartment in New York, the JLA--such as it is--is deciding what to do next. They are met by a mysterious stranger, who seems to have fantastic powers!

She is revealed to be the super-heroine The Vixen, who says she is there to join up. Another new hero makes his introductions, as well, a man named Steel:

Steel comes with a new HQ, in Detroit. Its a fully-functioning base, complete with living quarters, a pool, training rooms, etc.

They are met an armed guard, who attacks them for breaking into this place. Steel busts the guy's head, and we learn that inside the suit is Dale Gunn, an old friend of Steel's grandfather, and sort of a surrogate father to the young man. Both Zatanna and Vixen like what they see.

Meanwhile, we are introduced to a young man, a street kid/grafitti artist named Paco, who goes by the name "Vibe." When he runs afoul of some gang members, he displays amazing powers that can be directed at people and shake them uncontrollably.

This little show is seen by Steel and Vixen, and Steel tries to talk Aquaman into letting the kid join. Aquaman says no, pissing off Steel in the process, but he reconsiders when Vibe walks up to their front door and Aquaman gets a first-hand lesson in what this kid can do.

The kid is full of himself, that's for sure:

On the way to meet Vibe's family, he and Steel meet another seemingly super-powered person, a young street thief that the people in the neighborhood call "Gypsy."

While Steel meets Vibe's family (and is immediately smitten by his sister, Rosita), Zatanna introduces herself to Dale Gunn, in about a forward a manner as possible:

While these two flirt, Gypsy breaks in to the HQ, setting off the security alarms!

The JLA all run to the sound, with Martian Manhunter using his shape-shifting powers to nab Gypsy. When they ask who she is, she gives them a long, implausible story. When pressed for the truth, she disappears.

Aquaman is worried none of this is going like he planned, but his doubts are interrupted by a neighborhood welcoming committee, who are throwing a block party to welcome their new neighbors:

Of course, to be continued!

Roll Call: Aquaman, Martian Manhunter, Elongated Man, Zatanna, Vixen, Steel, Vibe

Notable Moments: Well, what to say? This turn of events absolutely floored me when I read it, way back in 1984. While I was *thrilled* that Aquaman was taking such a large role in the JLA, I was very unsure of these new characters.

And while I was happy to see action-hogs Superman, Wonder Woman, Flash, and Green Lantern depart, it was the removal of my other favorites, like Green Arrow and the Hawks that made me scratch my head.

I was even more confused by this passage in the annual's text page by editor Alan Gold:

...in retrospect, of course Gold was just trying to make sure comic fans didn't storm the DC offices like the mob in Frankenstein, but it left me confused. Were "The Big Ones" gone from the book, or not? And if not, what chance did these new characters have? Questions, questions!

Before we move on to JLA Detroit's (as it came to be known) first appearance in JLA proper, we'll take a moment tomorrow to try and answer some of the questions about this strange turn of events in the history of the World's Greatest Superheroes, when the JLA Satellite talks to the man himself, Gerry Conway! Be here!

Justice League of America #181 - Aug. 1980

Green Arrow leaves the Justice League!

The Story: "The Stellar Crimes of the Star-Tasr!" by Gerry Conway, Dick Dillin, and Frank McLaughlin. The story opens with Green Arrow, alone, relating this case into a tape recorder.

The story opens with Black Canary and Green Arrow transporting down to Star City, and they are discussing his increasingly uncomfortable presence in the JLA. He feels out of place and not doing the kind of work he really wants to do.

Suddenly they hear an explosion a few miles away, so Arrow fires a rocket arrow which carries them both to the scene of the melee.

Meanwhile, Arrow's presence in the team is also the subject of discussion at the JLA satellite. They all mention they've noticed a change in his demeanor, and it's Aquaman who seems to have the least sympathy for the Emerald Archer:

...ouch.

Anyway, this talk is interrupted by a distress signal, and the JLA heads own to Star City, just in time to see Arrow caring for a nearly-dead Black Canary, having been attacked by...the Star-Tsar!

At the hospital, Snapper Carr shows up, but Green Arrow nearly belts him before he can explain. Turns out Snapper's old costume was stolen from the Metropolis Police Department (way to go, MPD), so obviously someone else has assumed the role.

The JLA splits up, and both Superman and Green Arrow find the Star-Tsar simultaneously, at a concert at the Star City Stadium. But Arrow's stealth plan is ruined when the entire JLA busts in, in the middle of the Tsar's attempted kidnapping of the singer.

While the concert crowd nearly riots from panic, Arrow shoots some sort of smog arrow over him, blocking the light from the stars that gives him his powers.

Arrow then wraps up his report, finally realizing what all this had led to, his resignation from the Justice League of America:

Roll Call: Superman, Aquaman, Flash, Green Arrow, Atom, Black Canary, Elongated Man, Hawkgirl

Notable Moments: A big, momentus issue--the League's oldest "new" member leaves. As a kid, I was blown away by this turn of events.

Looking back on it now, you can see that the Green Arrow had become a bit of a jerk over these past dozen issues or so--something he ramps up to "11" next issue--so Gerry Conway was definitely stacking the deck.


Tomorrow:

Justice League of America #146 - Sept. 1977

You can't keep a good Construct down!

The Story: "Inner Mission!" by Steve Englehart, Dick Dillin, and Frank McLaughlin. Continued from last issue, the Red Tornado has miraculously returned, but with no memory of what happened to him since he seemingly died(in JLA #129).

Superman is suspicious, and asks Reddy some questions only he would know. When that trips him up, he suddenly attacks the JLA, with a voice not his own, but one they recognize as...The Construct!

As the JLA decides to go after the real Construct, Hawkman moves to have eternal guest-star Hawkgirl made an official member! Superman puts up an argument, but the Phantom Stranger advises to table the discussion for the moment, in a rare moment where the Stranger acknowledges he is, in fact, a JLA member.

Superman, Batman, and Green Arrow meet up with Aquaman and Atom, where they take on a weapon under the control of the Construct. Aquaman smashes it(yay!), and the Atom tells them to head to Manhattan, where Ray has tracked the Construct's broadcasting beam.

They meet up with the other JLAers at the Construct's headquarters--a basement hideaway beneath, er, the World Trade Center. Its here they find the Construct's robot army, but the big man himself is gone. It's here that Red Tornado shows up, claiming to be the real deal. The JLAers are of course skeptical, but Hawkgirl peers into Reddy's "soul" and claims she knows for sure this is the actual Red Tornado!

They finally find the Construct, but when he attempts to flood Reddy with power to overwhelm him, the presence of Tornado's soul flips the power back at the Construct, destroying him. And Wonder Woman took the precaution to ensure a Construct cannot reform.

And even though the last time they talked about it they couldn't come to a decision, Black Canary predicts the JLA is about to have an election:

Roll Call: Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Green Arrow, Atom, Hawkman, Black Canary, Red Tornado, and new member Hawkgirl!

Notable Moments: I have no idea what happened to the bottom corner of the cover. I know I didn't buy it like that.

Hawkgirl's addition--duplicate powers rule or not--was long overdue, and I'm glad Englehart added her to the team.

I also like how the Construct kept coming back, though not in issues all in a row. He could give the Joker a run for his money for sheer persistence!

Justice League of America #129 - April 1976

This cover gives me vertigo. Well done, Mr. Chua!

The Story: "The Earth Dies Screaming!" by Martin Pasko, Dick Dillin, and Frank McLaughlin. Continued from last issue, the fearful Hawkman decides not to try and save his formerly-beloved Midway City.

Wonder Woman, the only JLAer not affected by Nekron-inspired fear, finds a way to override it, by using her magic lasso!

The only problem is, the bolt of energy that will destroy Midway is designed to only be stopped by Hawkman, which means Wonder Woman would have to force him to give up his life, which she can't bring herself to do!

Soon after, Flash, Aquaman, and Red Tornado arrive, Flash having also seen a vision of his death at the hands of Captain Cold. Black Canary then notices that while Hawkman is down in Midway trying to evacuate the people, he also seems to be in space heading towards Nekron's energy bolt! What?!?

Turns out that Red Tornado has dressed himself as Hawkman, to fool Nekron! The burst hits Tornado, exploding him to bits! He sacrificed himself to save the city.

While Wonder Woman uses her lasso to convince some of the JLA to fight Nekron on Earth, the Atom comes up with an ingenious plan to defeat him for good.

He has uses Greeb Lantern's ring to amplify Aquaman's telepathic power to boost the fear of death into Superman to a greater extent than even Nekron could accomplish.

So when, down on Earth, the JLA transports Nekron to the JLA satellite, he instinctively attacks Superman, who is cowering in a corner.

Unfortunately for Nekron, when he tries to absorb Superman's fear, its too much for him to handle, which stuns himself and reduces him down to his original, insect-like size. Nice job, Atom and Aquaman!

While the JLA is happy they defeated Nekron, they are saddened over the loss of their friend The Red Tornado...

Roll Call: Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Flash, Green Lantern, Green Arrow, Atom, Hawkman, Black Canary, Elongated Man, Red Tornado

Notable Moments: Red Tornado explodes a lot.

I loved Martin Pasko thinking outside the box here, taking Aquaman's inherent abilities and amplifying them to something not seen before with the character. Also, having Wonder Woman be the catalyst for defeating Nekron was a great way to bring her back into the JLA.

The JLA Mail Room header is changed again, to reflect the change in membership, and was drawn by Dick Dillin and inked by my old Kubert School instructor Tex Blaisdell:

Justice League of America #128 - March 1976

Wonder Woman returns to the JLA! Great Hera, about time!

The Story: "Death-Visions of the Justice League!" by Martin Pasko, Dick Dillin, and Frank McLaughlin. Wonder Woman shows up to the JLA satellite for her first meeting back as a member(having been reinstated in Wonder Woman #222).

But...she finds the JLA packing up its stuff, since they have decided to disband the JLA! Great Hera, what's going on here?!

Turns out all the various members of the JLA had separate visions of their violent deaths at the hands of bad guys, which has robbed them of their courage to be heroes! Only Wonder Woman is unaffected.

Meanwhile, Green Lantern is on another planet, fighting a weird creature named Nekron, who feeds off the fear of others. Hmm...

Nekron knocks out Lantern, and heads for Earth. Wonder Woman manages to talk the JLA into helping her go after Nekron. But Nekron manages to defeat them, and gets away.

As the JLA is back at the satellite, figuring out its Nekron who is "getting in their heads", he appears on TV to announce that a giant ball of fire is headed towards Midway City, and only Hawkman can stop it!

Hawkman isn't about to risk his life, so he calls Shayera and tells her to get out of Dodge, metaphorically. Wonder Woman is shocked to hear him say "Too bad about Midway--I'm going to miss it." To be continued!

Roll Call: Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, Green Arrow, Atom, Hawkman, Black Canary, Elongated Man

Notable Moments: Clearly, Wonder Woman belonged in the Justice League--going through all these issues one by one, it was surprising to see just how long she'd been gone--fifty-nine issues!

The cover by Ernie Chan isn't bad, though this is one goofy-looking Atom:

They pulled out the old JLA Hereby Elects...(or, in this case, Reinstates) scroll for Wonder Woman's return, but done a little differently this time:

Justice League of America #117 - April 1975

One of the more dishonest cover images you'll see--no way does that look like a silhouette of Hawkman.

The Story: "I Have No Wings and I Must Fly!" by Elliot S! Maggin, Dick Dillin, and Frank McLaughlin. Somewhere in space, a strange-looking man(?) named The Equalizer is coming...

Meanwhile, at the JLA satellite, Green Lantern is watching members arrive after he set off the distress signal. He saw Hawkman's Thanagarian ship orbiting Mars, but when the other JLAers tell him Hawkman should be following behind them at any moment, he doesn't show!

So the JLAers head to Mars to see what's going on. They find the ship, but it manages to fire several defensive weapons at them. The JLAers manage to avoid them, and get inside the ship, long enough to see someone who they think is Carter Hall, but they aren't sure. He assures them he is Hawkman, and slams Batman and Green Arrow, dumping them out of the ship and taking off.

On Mars, strange changes are happening to the JLAers--Atom is growing in size, Batman finds he has the ability to fly...what's going on here?

We see what happened back on Thanagar--a weird ship spread some sort of chemical over Thanagar, making everyone the same size--equalizing them. Now that the ship is headed for Earth, Hawkman needed to expose the JLAers to him so he could "steal" a fraction of their powers and take him on.

As Hawkman takes on the Equalizer, the JLAers combine their will power to use GL's ring to help them find their friend. They do, but are stymied when the Equalizer is able to balance whatever they can do with what he can do. Hawkman finally figures out that if they flood the Equalizer with pure hate, then he will become overloaded and that's the chance they have to get their powers back.

So the JLAers each think of someone or something in their lives they hate, and it works. The Equalizer is destroyed, returning the JLAers back to normal.

Since Hawkman has been cured of the Equalizer's effects, he tells the JLA if he returns he will succumb to it all over again, since the whole planet is still under quarantine. He asks if he could be reinstated back in the Justice League, which they quickly agree to.

Roll Call: Superman, Batman, Aquaman, Flash, Green Lantern, Green Arrow, Atom, Hawkman, Black Canary, Elongated Man, Red Tornado

Notable Moments: I never liked Hawkman not in the JLA, so I'm glad he was reinstated so quickly after leaving. In fact, his absence in issues 110-116 makes for the shortest time any hero was gone from the team.

The JLA Mail Room header is changed yet again, with Hawkman put back in, though someone in coloring still needs to figure out just how Elongated Man and Red Tornado are supposed to be colored:

This issue's letter column is almost entirely devoted to people's suggestions for membership, and it's instructive to see that comic fans back then were as hard to please and all over the map as they are now:

Get rid of Superman and Wonder Woman (who, er, hasn't been a member for years) and replace them with two Robins? What the hell?

And the guy who suggested Captain Marvel Jr. and Swamp Thing is from Medford, NJ, the next town over from here; I gotta go find him and ask what the hell was he thinking.