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Man, that is one pissed-off (and kinda beefy) Superman! If I was Hawkman, I'd be very, very nervous.
The Story: "The Doom of the Divided Man" by Len Wein, Dick Dillin, and Dick Giordano. The JLA sits at in meeting room, when Hawkman comes in to make the startling announcement that he is resigning from the Justice League!
Hawkman informs that he and Hawkgirl's tour of duty on Earth has ended, and they are being called back to Thanagar.
As the JLA tries to argue, suddenly a wounded Red Tornado arrives in the company of a Dr. Bruce Gordon, who claims he is the one responsible for Reddy's current condition!
Reddy recuperates long enough to explain that he was working a lab assistant to Dr. Gordon, whose experiments brought out in Gordon his alter-ego, the villanous Eclipso!
Gordon had tried to destroy Eclipso once and for all, but instead it created three of them! (Man, are scientists generally incompetent in super-hero comics) Then the three Eclipsos spread out to all corners of the globe, drawing energies from the Earth itself. Batman analyzes and figures that if they aren't destroyed in six hours--Earth is doomed!
The heroes split up, with the Atom and Black Canary tracking one under the sea. Just as it looks like some goons of Eclipso are about to take them out, Aquaman arrives to stem the tide! Yay Aquaman! They then find Eclipso, and it's Aquaman(with the help of a flying fish) that defeats him and gets his black diamond from him, the source of his power.
Batman and Flash defeat their Eclipso, and Green Arrow, Hawkman, and the Elongated Man do the same thing. Done and done. Almost...
Back at the satellite, the three Eclipsos merge into one giant one, and grab the three black diamonds. He grabs them to use as a weapon, when they unexpectedly explode, destroying Eclipso!
Batman reveals he figured the three crystals could be sprayed with a chemical, causing them to overload with power, and working against Eclipso, sending him back into Dr. Gordon's body, where he lies dormant... for now.
The final page concerns Hawkman saying goodbye, and he's hurt that Green Arrow didn't even say goodbye. Turns out he was too upset, luckily Black Canary is there to comfort him:
It's a sweet sequence, though I wish whoever was in DC Production for this issue didn't slap the big Special Announcement blurb over the last few panels, sort of ruining the moment. Sheesh, you couldn't have put it on the JLA Mail Room, one page over?
Roll Call: Superman, Batman, Aquaman, Flash, Green Lantern, Green Arrow, Atom, Hawkman, Black Canary, Elongated Man, Red Tornado
Notable Moments: Again, Wein plants his JLA firmly in the DCU, by bringing back yet another old villain, Eclipso, who I always thought was kinda cool, even if he had a pretty dorky uniform.
I love, of course, how Aquaman comes in in the middle of the second chapter and saves the day. Cool.
Dr. Fate versus The Human Bomb is going to be a very quick fight!
The Story: "Thirteen Against The Earth!" by Len Wein, Dick Dillin, and Dick Giordano. The JLAers and JSAers continue to scour Earth-X in search of the hypno-ray machines, and this issue opens with Superman, Doll Man, Green Arrow, and Phantom Lady in Japan. (It's awfully nice of Superman not to point out that those three really don't help him out much, in terms of muscle)
Like what happened in the previous issue, the heroes defeat the Nazis and destroy the machine, but nothing seems to happen!
Meanwhile, Black Condor, Sandman, Uncle Sam, and the Elongated Man are at Mt. Rushmore(which features the addition of Adolph Hitler--boo! hiss!) and the same thing happens. It takes Ralph to figure out what's been going on, that the machines themselves are mirages, generated by yet another machine somewhere else! The figure think that that machine is hidden inside the giant Hitler head, which Uncle Sam smashes to bits.
The heroes regroup, but the JLAers and JSAers start to think its the Freedom Fighters who have been the beneficiaries of all the energy dispersed from the machines. This of course leads to a fight!
Red Tornado figures his comrades have fallen victim to the Nazi's hypno-ray, and takes off to find the source of the ray, a Nazi satellite in space! Reddy heads in, where he meets...Adolph Hitler!
Reddy punches Der Fuhrer in the face, knocking his head off, showing that this Hitler is merely an android. (Of course, Reddy didn't know that at the time, which means Reddy was ready to deliver a killing blow--don't mess with Red Tornado.)
Turns out a giant sentient machine was behind the whole thing. Reddy smashes it, releasing the entire planet from the Nazi's grip. The JLA and the JSA leave Earth-X, handing it over to the Freedom Fighters to rebuild.
Roll Call: Batman, Green Arrow, Elongated Man, Red Tornado
Notable Moments: After a few issues where the JLA sort of kicked him around, it was nice to see Red Tornado get the big save. Plus he got to do it by punching Hitler in the face!
The JLA Mail Room is header is changed again(I don't know why I feel the need to so obsessively document this tiny, tiny piece of JLA arcana, but here we are), this time with art by Dillin and Giordano, adding Red Tornado and a mis-colored Elongated Man:
The JLA and the JSA meet The Freedom Fighters!
The Story: "Crisis on Earth-X!" by Len Wein, Dick Dillin, and Dick Giordano. The JLA and the JSA are preparing for their yearly get together, using their new matter transporter(basically a big metal box).
Of course, it doesbn't go right, and none of the heroes show up--instead, they've been transported to another Earth, where they are immediately attacked by tanks bearing Nazi swatstikas!
But these aren't any old Nazis--their weapons seem to have super-advanced powers, and they knock around our heroes pretty good, until they are rescued by a team of superheroes--The Freedom Fighters!
Their leader, Uncle Sam, explains that on this Earth, The Nazis won World War II, and they are the last surviving superheroes, still fighting the power. To mollify the population, the Nazis came up with a sort of mind-control device. The FF has developed an immunity, so they will not relent.
The JLA and the JSA of course agree to help the Freedom Fighters defeat the Nazis(haven't they heard of the Prime Directive?), and Dr.Fate uses his powers to find the source of the beam that projects the Nazis' hypno-ray.
Several places around the globe appear, so the heroes split up to search, leaving Red Tornado behind to coordinate. Batman, Dr.Fate, The Ray, and the Human Bomb head to Paris.
Dick Dillin was not known for his work being particularly moody--Batman pretty much looked like another costumed hero--but occasionally he outdid himself, like this imposing panel of Batman about to bust some Ratzi head:
The four heroes find the machine sending out the beam, and it looks more like a giant robot, one that creates four demon-like creatures to dispatch the heroes.
The demons are quickly defeated, and the heroes smash the machine. Unfortunately, it doesn't seem to make a difference--everyone is still under mind control!
Meanwhile, back on Earth-1, the remaining JLAers are trying to figure out where their friends went. They begin to wonder...what if they're dead? To be continued!
Roll Call: Batman, Flash, Green Lantern, Green Arrow, Black Canary, Elongated Man, Red Tornado
Notable Moments: The first issue in a looong time that didn't feature Superman, although they sort of got him in, in that the Earth-2 version participates.
A Nazi planet is just too good a story concept not to try, whether its a comic book, a novel, or an episode of Star Trek.
Dick Dillin was one of the few artist that could draw Phantom Lady and not make the comic look like something you'd have to hide from your parents.
Early on, I decided not to cover other comics where the JLA guest-appeared, partly because it would throw off the flow of following the regular book, and also because it would force to me to go round up a lot of comics I don't have, which is tedious and holds no interest for me. But I am making an exception for books that had all-JLA issues, and this the first one we've gotten to.
100-Page Super-Spectacular is the confusingly-numbered DC series that featured a different star or stars each issue. Sometimes the 100-Page book was part of a series' regular numbering, sometimes not, like in this case.
Released in between JLA #s 105 and 106, the book features a nice Nick Cardy cover, no ads, and the poster-like back cover which you see above. Inside it reprints "Drones of the Queen Bee" from JLA #23, "The Card Crimes of the Royal Flush Gang" from JLA #43, plus "The Injustice Society of the World" from All-Star Comics #37, and an untitled Sandman story from Adventure Comics #65.
There's also a decent-sized text piece on the history of the JLA. Uncredited, but E.Nelson Bridwell seems like a good bet...
Another new member joins, this time The Red Tornado!
The Story: "Wolf in The Fold!" by Len Wein, Dick Dillin, and Dick Giordano. The JLA is grilling Red Tornado, asking him how he survived his suicide mission at the end of JLA #102.
Reddy doesn't remember much, except that he was not destroyed by the explosion, as everyone thought. He landed somewhere in the mountains, where he was found by a blind, hermetic sculptor, who nursed Reddy back to health(sort of) and even made him a human-looking face!
As Reddy prepared to leave, he found that he was on Earth-1, not his homeworld of Earth-2. He tried to go home, but found that he no longer had the ability to pierce the dimensional barrier, stranding him on Earth-1.
He wanted to ask the JLA for help, but decided to do it in secret because he felt the JLA didn't care for him. They feel bad about this, and Superman suggests membership in the JLA! Green Arrow objects, but the rest of them quickly approve Superman's motion--Red Tornado is the newest member of the JLA!
We then learn that the Red Tornado is, as the title suggests, a wolf in the fold. T.O.Morrow, consulting his super-smart master computer(with over 30K of RAM!), is told that in 28 days, the cosmic balance will shift, and either he or the JLA will cease to exist, and the best way to defeat the JLA is to destroy them from within via a new member!
Morrow sends some of his henchmen to draw Tornado out, hopefully making him activate his signa device, which is implanted with a deadly nerve gas, destroying the JLA. The JLA gets involved without that happening, but they grow suspicious that both Reddy and Morrow resurface at the same time. Reddy is offended at this, and it's here where we have the classic sequence of Reddy trying to fit into regular society, using his newfound face and trying to get a job:
Reddy, now known as John Smith, falls in love with the beautiful, kind-hearted Kathy. One day a few weeks later, Morrow attacks again, again bringing the JLA in.
Morrow is delighted when he sees The Elongated Man press Tornado's signal device(after Morrow's henchmen have stolen the other members' ones), and watches the JLA writhe in pain, seemingly to death. But he's then a little surprised when the JLA, alive and well, are at his doorstep!
Turns out Morrow was watching a hologram provided by Green Lantern, while they figured out what exactly was Morrow's plan. They knock him out, and take him to jail. Unfortunately, as they are doing this, Morrow's 28 days are up, and he vanishes into nothingness.
The JLA explains and apologizes to Reddy, saying they used him to see what Morrow's master plan was. He accepts their apology, and heads back down to Earth to see "...if an android is vulnerable to...love!"
Roll Call: Superman, Batman, Flash, Green Lantern, Hawkman, Black Canary, Elongated Man, and new member The Red Tornado!
Notable Moments: New things were afoot during Len Wein's run. Not since Denny O'Neil did the JLA undergo so many changes--two new members in just two issues!
Red Tornado always seemed like a shaky addition to the team to me, but he did provide a nice contrast in personality to the rest of the team. And since there was a Golden Age Tornado, Reddy does fit the whole "Silver Age-version of an older hero in the JLA" meme that kicked the team off in the first place.
Morrow disappearing into nothingness creeped me out as a kid. Still sorta does, even though he came back later.
Tomorrow(no pun intended):
The JLA inducts a new member...The Elongated Man!
The Story: "Specter in the Shadows! by Len Wein, Dick Dillin, and Dick Giordano. We open with Ralph Dibny, The Elongated Man, and his wife Sue taking in some culture at an art museum. Suddenly a gaggle of weird, dough-like creatures spring up and stat stealing the paintings!
The Elongated Man (and Sue, bless he heart) try and stop them, but they are overpowered. Ralph then decides to call in help with this JLA signal device! But I thought only members had those! What's going on?
We flash back one week, and see Green Lantern inviting Ralph and Sue to the JLA Satellite, where they tell him they are inviting him to join! He of course says...yes!
We cut back to present time, where EM is explaining what he saw. The JLA splits up into teams(of course) after they receive several distress signals involving the self-same dougy guys!
The Flash, The Atom, and Green Arrow head to a coal mine, where they defeat the doughy guys, but...why were they trying to steal coal? And who is that mysterious stranger, watching the JLA from the inky shadows?
Superman and Black Canary are less successful, as they try to stop the baddies from stealing...tires? They stop the theft, but the doughy guys escape.
Green Lantern gets stuck with the new guy, and Ralph plunges into the ocean while trying to stop one of the bad guys. Lantern tries to rescue him, but Ralph is gone! Hal is despondent--"Who would've thought the Elongated Man's first case with the Justice League would also be his last?" And hey, there's that mysterious guy again!
The JLA reconvenes at the satellite, depressed over Ralph's seeming demise. The distress signal goes off again, and they find the doughy guys guarding a gian beehive type structure. As they fight, one of the doughy guys saves Black Canary, revealing himself to actually be...The Elongated Man!
After the JLA defeats them, Ralph explains he got the idea to go "undercover" on the spot, and learned that the beehive is poised to explode! The JLA can't break their way in, but just as the place is about to blow, a giant wind picks it up, and sends it into space, where it explodes harmlessly. What the?!?
Turns out the last-minute save is from the mysterious stranger, who turns out to be...The Red Tornado!
Roll Call: Superman, Flash, Green Lantern, Green Arrow, Atom, Black Canary, and new member The Elongated Man!
Notable Moments: The first new member in thirty issues, The Elongated Man was a solid addition to the team, in terms of powers and personality. Ralph certainly had a decent history in the DCU, and I liked him in the book, even if, as a kid, I always wondered why it wasn't Plastic Man.
This issue features the classic "new member" scroll splash page, my favorite bit of tradition in these types of stories:
The return of the Shaggy Man!
The Story: "The Shaggy Man Will Get You If You Don't Watch Out! by Len Wein, Dick Dillin, and Dick Giordano. We open with the villanous, giant-domed Hector Hammond, using his vast mental powers to travel the earth, and landing upon the JLA as they have a meeting in their satellite.
Hammond is trying to devise a way to defeat the JLA, and he gets an idea from reviewing their cases in the JLA library, considering all the various baddies they have fought in the past...Amos Fortune, The Key, Amazon, Kanjar Ro, Despero...but settles on another. He heads(no pun intended) to Northern Chile, and revives the long dormant Shaggy Man!
He transports the Shaggy Man to the satellite, but sneakily. The Shaggy Man is discovered during a sequence with Aquaman giving the Black Canary a tour of the JLA Trophy Room. Aquaman shows Canary the Shaggy Man statue until he realizes "Waitaminnit...we never had a statue of the Shaggy Man!"
Aquaman and Canary fight the beast to a standstill, until Hammond gets involved and rings the Gamma Gong(as bad as it sounds!), knocking them out. Shaggy, with the help of Hammond, proceeds to make short work of the JLA, as he individually defeats Hawkman and Green Arrow, Batman and Atom, and the Flash.
Unfortunately, the Shaggy Man isn't the mintiest comic in the box, and he bursts through the hull of the satellite to get to Superman, causing the JLA HQ to lose orbit and it begins to hurtle towards Earth!
As the satellite is about too crash, Green Lantern shows up, catches it, and he then revives the unconscious JLAers to team up to fight the Shaggy Man, in one of those great full-page shots of the whole JLA:
The Shaggy Man makes like King Kong by grabbing Canary and heading for the top of a skyscraper. As Lantern fights him, Hammond finds his mental powers exhausted, leaving GL to reduce the Shaggy Man to action figure-size proportions, encasing him in a small tube.
We end with Hammond, still in prison, vowing revenge once again. Whatever, Mike Farrell!
Roll Call: Superman, Batman, Aquaman, Flash, Green Lantern, Green Arrow, Atom, Hawkman, Black Canary
Notable Moments: In just a few issues, writer Len Wein brought back the Seven Soldiers of Victory, plus classic JLA villains Felix Faust and the Shaggy Man. A fun issue all around, one of my favorites.
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.
The thrilling conclusion the JLA/JSA/Seven Soliders of Victory team-up!
The Story: "And One of Us Must Die!" by Len Wein, Dick Dillin, Joe Giella, and Dick Giordano. Continuing from last issue, the JLAers, JSAers, and assorted guest-stars continue traveling to different time periods to rescue the amnesiac Seven Soldiers of Victory.
Green Arrow, Black Canary, and "The Incomparable Johnny Thunder"(really, that's what it says!) arrive in the old west, where they rescue The Vigilante(the Earth-2 one, not the Earth-1 one who appeared in JLA #78), but not before Arrow and Thunder argue who Black Canary has to go with. Men!
Aquaman, Wildcat, and Green Lantern head to prehistoric time and bust some hominid head as they find the Star-Spangled Kid. Finally, The Flash, Zatanna, and Red Tornado arrive on the isle of Aeaea, and find Speedy, who has been turned into a centaur!
Aeaea was, according to legend, the island of Circe, who of course had magical powers. Luckily Zatanna is there to fight her to a standstill, fix Speedy, and head out.
The heroes--all of 'em--regroup at the JSA's sanctuary, and its panels like this that probably had Dick Dillin staying up late:
All the Soldiers have been rescued--but, then, who is the one that died?
Latecomers Green Lantern(of Earth-2), Robin, and Mr.Terrific can answer that, since it was they who traveled to the top of the Himalayas to check out the grave marker shown them all by the Oracle. The dead Solider was...Wing, the Crimson Avenger's sidekick!
As the mass group of heroes start rebuilding the weapon that helped defeat the Nebula Man, they find the Iron Hand is there, attempting to kill Diana Prince. Unluckily for him, this seeming easy prey is of course Wonder Woman, who makes quick work of him.
The heroes demand to know how to stop the giant iron hand that is surrounding the earth("...or I'll take you apart a bone at a time!" Diana threatens), but IH tells them it can't be stopped.
But with the help of the Soldiers, they rebuild the Nebula Rod that will do the trick. Unfortunately, the resulting explosion from using it would kill whoever set it off. As the heroes argue who will do the job, Red Tornado sneaks off with the rod into space(I ask again--how does Red Tornado's powers work in airless space?), sets it off, destroys the hand, but dies in the process.
The issue ends with the ghostly images of Red Tornado and Wing, smiling down upon our mourning heroes.
Roll Call: Superman, Batman, Aquaman, Flash, Green Lantern, Green Arrow, Atom, Hawkman, Black Canary
Notable Moments: Red Tornado's "death" is fairly abrupt, but I assume that writer Wein had always planned to bring him back in just a few issues so he didn't have to worry about giving him a huge send-off.
I love the look on Batman and Wonder Woman's faces on the cover(again by Nick Cardy), as Superman makes his pronouncement. "Red Tornado?" Diana asks. Batman, thinking back to an earlier sub-plot, quietly suggests "Green Arrow."
Wing remains one of the rarest of superheroes--one that, as far as I know, has never come back from the dead.
Part 2 of the JLA/JSA/Seven Soliders of Victory team-up!
The Story: "The Hand That Shook the World!" by Len Wein, Dick Dillin, and Joe Giella. Continuing from last issue, the JLAers, JSAers, and assorted guest-stars continue traveling to different time periods to rescue the amnesiac Seven Soldiers of Victory.
Superman, Sandman, and Metamorpho take on Genghis Khan, where they meet up with The Shining Knight. Hawkman, Wonder Woman, and Dr.Mid-Nite arrive in Ye Olde England, where they meet Robin Hood(!)--or actually the man everyone thinks is Robin Hood, though we know him as Green Arrow!
There's a great moment during this sequence where the heroes have to make their way into Nottingham Castle. As the drawbridge is lowered and the King's minions attack, Hawkman grabs a staff and saves everybody a lot of time:
"Two hits--me hitting you, you hitting the floor."--Carter Hall.
Batman, Starman, and Hourman head to Ancient Egypt to rescue Stripsey, where none of the Egyptians seem to be unnerved by a giant redheaded white guy wearing a red-and-white-striped shirt.
Meanwhile, back at the Secret Sanctuary, Diana Prince is holding down the fort. Unbeknownst to her,the Iron Hand is there as well! To be continued!
Roll Call: Superman, Batman, Aquaman, Flash, Green Lantern, Green Arrow, Atom, Hawkman, Black Canary
Notable Moments: This is the first three-part JLA/JSA team-up, and as if this story didn't feature enough characters, Wein starts working in historical figures, as well. I wonder what Dick Dillin thought when he started getting scripts from this new JLA writer?
Even though it's a relative tiny mistake, Starman having all-red arms on the cover(again by Nick Cardy) to me looks really, really odd, like he has jammies on or something.
Welcome to the 100th issue anniversary of the Justice League!
The Story: "The Unknown Soldier of Victory!" by Len Wein, Dick Dillin, and Joe Giella. This issue opens with members of the Justice League--Aquaman, Green Lantern, Green Arrow, Black Canary, and Hawkman--rummaging though their old Secret Sanctuary headquarters in preparation for their 100th meeting!
(Since some of the stories in the previous 99 issues were two or three-parters, this isn't the 100th case exactly; so there must be other JLA adventures we haven't seen. I guess that's what JLA: Classified is for)
Anyway, various stars of the DCU are also attentding the celebration, like Metamorpho, Zatanna, Diana Prince, and the Elongated Man:
Nice of Len Wein to remember to include the Martian Manhunter, even if he couldn't attend(by the way--just what is Ralph doing to those crooks?). Another non-attendee is Snapper "Loser" Carr, who can't bring himself to show up, even though the JLA graciously invited him.
Anyway, just as the JLA is about to cut the cake, they are suddenly transported to Earth-2! Here the JSA--Starman, Dr.Fate, Wonder Woman, Hourman, Wildcat, Sandman, Red Tornado, Dr.Mid-Nite, and Johnny Thunder--tell them of a menace called The Iron Hand is threatening Earth-2. He has told the JSA they have 28 hours to turn over control of the planet to him--or he will destroy it!
Dr.Fate, looking for help from his mystic crystal, is shown a mysterious grave, inscribed with "Here in Honored Glory Rests an Unknown Soldier of Victory Who Died That His World Might Live." Unfortunately, no one knows what that means, so he asks for help from Zatanna and the Thunderbolt to consult a magical entity called The Oracle, who Fate believes will help them defeat the Iron Hand.
The consult the Oracle(who looks a bit like Mordru), and he tells them the story of how a similar foe, called the Nebula-Man, was fought a team of heroes called The Seven Soldiers of Victory, one of whom died in the battle while using a new weapon that defeated the Nebula Man.
Unfortunately, no one in the JLA or JSA remembers the SSOV, and that's because, as the Oracle explains...they no longer exist...at least in this time. The two teams split into smaller teams, to find the SSOV, dispersed throughout the mists of time.
Dr.Fate, The Atom, and Elongated Man arrive in Mexico during the reign of the Aztecs, where they find one of the Soliders, the Crimson Avenger, who is King of the Aztecs! There's a short battle, since the Avenger now suddenly has mystical powers, and he thinks our heroes are a threat. Fate figures out his powers are coming from a glowing rock, which he destroys.
That wakes the Avengers up, and he returns home with the heroes. Meanwhile, we get a glimpse of the Iron Hand, who predicts he will hold dominion over all! To be continued!
Roll Call: Superman, Batman, Aquaman, Flash, Green Lantern, Green Arrow, Atom, Hawkman, Black Canary
Notable Moments: As you can see from my endless description, new writer Len Wein crams a lot of plot into a normal-sized issue, to say nothing of working with the JLA, the JSA, and guest-stars!
As much as I admired Mike Friedrich's run on the book, I thought this was the beginning of a really good era for the JLA. Wein's stories were fun, full of adventure, and steeped in the history of the DCU. Classic, solid super-hero comics.
This issue features the second of many covers by Nick Cardy, Aquaman artist extraordinaire and DC's go-to guy for covers at the time.
Wow--you guys are awesome!
I've had a lot of fun with this blog, and seeing the enthusiasm the original JLA still generates in people is a real joy to see. I had no idea what kind of response I'd get to the New Frontier contest, but I'm happy to say I got nothing but well thought-out suggestions, so let's get right to 'em!:
Adama, he of the Green Arrow blog Dispatches From The Arrowcave, suggested Captain Comet: "Yes, I would love to have seen Captain Comet in the Justice League. I think he would have brought a space adventure/cosmic fun aspect to the League. I mean sure, the League went out into space, but were any of them actually an authority on galactic politics? I think not!"
My friend Richard, aka RAB of the Estoreal blog, sent me a long piece, first considering some other characters, like Ultra, Sargon, Supergirl, and Robotman, before stating why they should be eliminated. (He cleverly points out that Steve Englehart's "secret origin" issue of JLA, #144, is, in many ways, a thematic ancestor to New Frontier) He, too, settles on the good captain, saying "Clearly the best choice is...Captain Comet.
Gerry Conway retconned the Captain as having been away in space for twenty years in Secret Society of Super-Villains, of course, and he went on to interact with the JLA in other books but never actually joined forces with the entire team in the pages of their own comic. He's been revived a couple of times since then, but he was never better than when he briefly skirted greatness with the JLA."
My pal and frequent contributor to the Rob Kelly Family of Blogs, Vince Bartilucci, sent in an exhaustively detailed piece--almost an essay--that takes in every conceivable angle in an attempt to answer this question. He considers characters' histories, how they would fit within the JLA framework, and even how they would look as rendered by Dick Dillin!
He, too, considers Captain Comet, as well as members of the Teen Titans, Captain Marvel, Mera(trying to bribe the judge will not work, Vince!), the Human Target, Batgirl, the Creeper, before blowing my mind with his ultimate pick...Shade, the Changing Man!
Shade, the Changing Man?? Yes, says Vince: "Shade's feature distorting force field (courtesy of his M-Vest) is a great power not exhibited by any other Justice Leaguer. And he doesn't require any special environment or conditions to shine. When the story focuses on another Leaguer he can still contribute.
Shade’s 'fugitive from another dimension' origin can supply the raw material for both little character bits and full-blown adventures. He might even keep his fugitive status a secret from his fellow Leaguers. What happens when his people come for him? How do his JLA comrades react to the news that he's a wanted man in some other dimension? Conflict, anyone?
Visually, Shade's powers are dynamite. I'm sure Dillin would have done a great job of depicting the Changing Man’s fearsome visage--there would be no mistaking Rac for any other Leaguer in a crowded fight scene. You think Batman is scary, huh? Check out this freak! And his standard 'unchanged' costume is both super-heroey and distinct at the same time.
Finally, Shade, The Changing Man was created by Steve Ditko. Pedigree must count for something!"
Wow, Vince--now that's thinking outside the box.
New commenter Butch had an equally unique suggestion: Vartox! Says Butch: "Imagine facing a group with Superman, Martian Manhunter, Green Lantern and Vartox.
Vartox would also allow for any existing members of the League to be phased out or de-emphasized as the writer would want (so if Superman is busy in his monthly book, here's Vartox to pick up the slack). I think Vartox would be great friends with J'onn and I could see Vartox and the other members with the JLA who have experience with aliens/alien culture (Hawkman, Hal Jordan) getting along well. And while I don't know where exactly he would fit in the argument, imagine him taking Green Arrow's side in his arguments with Hawkman.
Frequent Hey Kids! contributor George Rears makes a case for Plastic Man, even alongside The Elongated Man: First of all, it would have generated exposure to the character, and established him as an Earth-1 fixture (which the company wavered on throughout the 70s). It would also have helped lighten the load during the thematically heavy Denny O'Neil run.
Later on, the creative team turned Elongated Man into Plastic Man when he joined the League anyway: using him for laughs--and only using him as a detective when Batman was on another mission. Having Plastic Man in the League would have allowed the Elongated Man to stay true to himself--an excellent supporting character who was capable of carrying his own feature due to his own unique quirkiness as a married, publicly known adventurer.
Luke, of the comic blog El Jacone's Comic Book Bunker, had a more recent and unusual suggestion: "A hero who should have been inducted into the hallowed halls of the Justice League but hasn't is none other than the legendary hero Skyrocket!
Who?
Skyrocket's real name is Celia Forrestal, and she was a Navy pilot who's skills were unmatched. When it became clear that she was never going to gain advancement in the service, she (with the help of a battlesuit-harness developed by her parents) became a superhero, using the Argo Harness's ability to absorb and redirect any form of energy to battle evil.
Now, why does Skyrocket deserve to be in the Justice League? First off, her background in the Armed Forces means that she knows how to work in a team environment, but he skills as a pilot means that she excels as an individual as well.
Her powers make her a formidable foe as well. The Argo Harness, in addition to granting her the power of flight, also can absorb just about any type of energy thrown at it--a useful defensive power. Once absorbed, Skyrocket can redirect the energy as an attack, or absorb it to restore the Harness's power cells.
But that is not the only reason why I think she would make a great addition to the team. The Justice League started out primarily as a Boy's Club--you had Wonder Woman, true, but that was it. Later, there were a smattering of other female members, or members of color, such as Black Canary, or Doctor Light, but as a whole, diversity has not historically been one of the League's strong suits. Skyrocket, besides representing a powerful ally for her fellow Leaguers, also would represent the notions of inclusion and diversity for the greatest collection of heroes the universe has ever known. And at the same time, she's not a character who was created to be representative of the race--she's not a token character in any sense."
All of these are great suggestions, and all of them are great examples of how much the DC Universe means to people, even as we go from young enthusiastic readers to aging, crabby fanboys. All the entries were well thought out, and in a lot of ways all of them are justifiable.
After weighing the options, I'm going to go with the choice that, at first read, seemed the most ridiculous: Shade the Changing Man.
At the time, Shade was an irredeemably weird character, but his later addition to the DCU proper showed that, under other writers, he fit in with other heroes just fine. His uniform and powers would've been a great contrast to the rest of the JLA, and at the time of his creation--1977--the JLA was starting to evolve, and would soon start to add younger(either in chronological age or in publishing debut) members like Zatanna and Firestorm.
It was a tough call, since all the submissions make sense in their own way. But the more I thought about Vince's suggestion of Shade, the more I couldn't get it out of my head, and the more I wanted to actually have seen it happen in the book. So congratulations, Vince! Send me your address and the WB will be shipping you a copy of Justice League: The New Frontier.
I hope everybody had fun coming up with their ideas, and enjoyed the contest--thanks for all your effort and being a reader of the blog! (And for my money, I would've loved to have seen a Justice League with Captain Comet and Plastic Man!)
Before we go, I think now is the best time to let the inimitable Fred Hembeck weigh in on the issue, which he did in his own unique way back in 1979 in the first issue of his series Fantaco series Hembeck:Hmm...no one did suggest Brother Power!
A nifty Day of the Triffids-esque cover by Nick Cardy!
The Story: "Seeds of Destruction!" by Mike Friedrich, Dick Dillin, and Joe Giella. An alien named Ker Sed arrives on Earth and tells them that he and his father are here to help restore the ecological balance that earthlings have so carelessly destroyed.
Problem is, the two aliens planets they have brought with them seem pretty malevolent, as they attack both Green Lantern and Black Canary for just getting near them. The Flash and the Atom arrive to help, but they are helpless against these powerful alien lifeforms!
Meanwhile, Aquaman is facing a strange ecological phenomenon under the sea, and contacts the JLA to help investigate. They all arrive there together, to share individual stories of what's been happening around the globe. Batman figures out a plan, and they use their super-powers to go on a mass seed planting operation.
Everyone figures out this has all been a big misunderstanding--the aliens are trying to help, but didn't bother to check with the citizens of the Earth first, and the JLA came in swinging first, asking questions on page nineteen. The aliens decide to return home, with the JLA saying Earth will take care of itself...or will it?
Roll Call: Superman, Batman, Aquaman, Flash, Green Lantern, Atom, Hawkman, Black Canary
Notable Moments: It is mentioned that, between issues 98 and 99, Sargon was granted honorary membership in the JLA for his help against Starbreaker. I could make a joke about how much a step up the list of JLA Honorary Members took, going from Snapper Carr to Sargon the Sorcerer, but why kick a man when he's down?
This issue also comes with a Sandman reprint from Adventure Comics #51, and a solo Golden Age Atom tale from Flash Comics #98.
This was Mike Friedrich's last issue as JLA writer; for the most part I'd say his run was pretty successful--and I'm of course personally glad he brought Aquaman back into the book so forcefully, after his total absence from Denny O'Neil's run on the book.
This was also the last of the giant-sized DC issues. After this DC's books would go back to being 20 cents, long after Marvel had done so. During this time the relative upstart Marvel took the lead in sales from the legendary DC, a position they would hold for approximately the next decade and a half.
Tomorrow @ midnight is the deadline for our JLA Membership/New Frontier Contest. But if you have a candidate in mind and just need more time, please just let me know! Thanks!
One of my favorite Neal Adams' covers--spooky and weird.
The Story: "No More Tomorrows!" by Mike Friedrich, Dick Dillin, and Joe Giella. Sargon the Sorcerer shows up in the JLA Satellite, and informs them(after he holds off an attack by them, classic Marvel misunderstanding style) that the Starbreaker can defeat any physical attack by them, they need the assistance of magic!
He says they need two other magical talismans to go along with his Ruby of Life, and dispatches the JLA to retrieve them. Aquaman and Black Canary are sent to Sierra Verde, where they obtain the mystic ruby--but only due to the use of their very specific powers. Almost as if Sargon knew...
The same thing happens with Batman and Hawkman, and they all reconnoiter at the satellite, where Sargon enlists them all in a seance. He tells them "Within these mystic gems surgers the only force mankind can use to overcome its death-fears--love-power!" And this guy's a master sorcerer?
Anyway, he links up the power from GL's ring, the Hawks' futuristic weaponry, and the "myriad of alien power-banks " in Superman's Fortress of Solitude, featuring cameos by Hawkgirl and Supergirl. Hawkgirl is ok, but who the heck drew that Supergirl panel?:
Anyway, the JLA, with the addition of these magical energies, defeat Starbreaker(with the specific help of the Atom) and bring him back to the satellite. It's here that Sargon strips the cosmic vampire of all his destructive power, and the Guardians of Oa take possession of the unconscious Starbreaker.
Roll Call: Superman, Batman, Aquaman, Flash, Green Lantern, Green Arrow, Atom, Hawkman, Black Canary
Notable Moments: This was a real Sargon-centric(and when has that phrase ever been used before?) issue--not only does he guest-star and basically save the JLA's bacon, but this issue reprints a solo Sargon story from Sensation Comics #70. There's also a Starman story from Adventure Comics.
I'm not sure how Thanagarian futuristic weaponry helps with magic, but I supposed Sargon knows his business.
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Shameless Plug Department: Frequent commenter and regular contributor to the Rob Kelly Family of Blogs Vincent Bartilucci has a great story about this very issue of JLA over at Hey Kids! Comics!, go check it out!
Hey, who's that on the bottom right of the cover?
The Story: "The Day The Earth Screams!" by Mike Friedrich, Dick Dillin, and Joe Giella. Starbreaker arrives on Earth, and Superman, Flash, and Green Lantern go after him, to no avail.
Starbreaker then uses his powers to start dragging the entire Earth towards the sun, to steal its energy for himself. Meanwhile, the JLA licks its wounds back at the satellite, despairing that they can't beat the Starbreaker("We led with our aces..and were trumped!" Batman mutters, uncharacteristically).
Hawkman is disgusted at all this negative talk, and attempts to rally the troops by telling them they need to "examine our origin, the spirit that first united the Justice League." The JLA then decides to go their library to watch a tape telling the story of how the JLA came together:
Sure, I could see why that would...wait--what?!?
We then enter a weird section of the book, where new origin story material drawn by Dillin and Giella is mixed with a reprint from JLA #9, with art by Sekowsky and Sachs, of course.
It does the trick, and the JLA is reinspired not to give up, with Batman saying he's come up with a possible solution to defeat Starbreaker. But just then someone unexpected arrives--Sargon the Sorcerer! To be continued!
Roll Call: Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Flash, Green Lantern, Martian Manhunter, Green Arrow, Atom, Hawkman, Black Canary
Notable Moments: The cover is supposedly by Neal Adams and Murphy Anderson, though I don't see much Adams there.
I can only assume that Dick Dillin needed a small break from the massive amount of pages DC was demanding from him every month, so they had to shoehorn this reprint in the book. Friedrich tries his best to make it as unobtrusive as possible, but it reads really odd, to have a bad guy dragging all of Earth towards the sun, and the JLA decides to take in a movie--about themselves.
The JLA versus the Cosmic Vampire!
The Story: "The Coming of Starbreaker!" by Mike Friedrich, Dick Dillin, and Joe Giella. Superman arrives at alien planet, as missing JLAers Flash, Green Lantern, and Hawkman are getting attacked by giant insects. It's always something...
Turns out these insects are robots, which frees Superman to use lethal force on them, wrapping up the fight by page six. GL then explains that the beam transporting them to JLA HQ was intercepted by the Zeta Beam, where they found the planet Rann under attack by a a baddie named Starbreaker!
Turns out Starbreaker uses these robot insects to move these planets into the sun(!) releasing their energy, which he collects and uses to make him more powerful, hence the "cosmic vampire" moniker.
The Starbreaker has split himself into multiple beings, and the JLAers split up. Green Lantern and Flash defeat their Starbreaker, and Superman and Hawkman do the same for theirs. They all meet up on Rann, where Adam Strange is their to meet them.
Then the Zeta Beam wears off, transporting Flash, GL, and Hawkman home. Strangely, though, the Starbreakers disappear too! We follow them "home", as well, where the original Starbreaker dissolves his duplicates, and swears revenge on the Justice League...and on Earth!
Roll Call: Superman, Flash, Green Lantern, Hawkman
Notable Moments: This issue also features two Golden Age tales, an Hourman one from Adventure Comics #48, and a Wildcat one from Sensation Comics #84, drawn by Bernie Krigstein! Wow!
I like Starbreaker as a villian--he's a classic, mustache-twirling bad guy, and after so many issues of the JLA facing more social, earth-bound threats, it's nice to see them doing what they do best--beating up bad guys bent on world domination.
Guest-starring...Jimi Hendrix, apparently.
The Story: "The Private War of Johnny Dune!" by Mike Friedrich, Dick Dillin, and Joe Giella. On the JLA Satellite, Black Canary explains that as Flash, Green Lantern, and Hawkman teleported in, they were suddenly whisked away without a trace!
We then cut to the story of Johnny Dune, a Vietnam vet who has just returned home, but found it frustrating to readjust into civilian life. He finds solace in music, but that quickly turns to anger when he learns that his bid to become mayor--to help people--is being trashed in the proverbial smoke-filled room.
Green Arrow and the Atom, attending the concert(in costume yet), find themselves the focus of all that anger, and the concert crowd turns into a mob and attacks them. While the JLA gets a distress signal from Green Lantern, they also get one from Arrow and Atom. Aquaman takes charge(!) and splits them up into two teams.
Batman and Black Canary arrive the concert, only to have Green Arrow and the Atom attack them, under the mysterious influence of Johnny Dune. He then ties them all up and leads a victory march through the streets.
The heroes find a way to fight off Dune's influence, and the mob grows even more unruly, so much so that even Dune realizes its gotten out of hand(he's just realizing that now?). He orders the mob to attack him, to quell their anger, and they d,o, nearly killing him.
The JLAers take him to the hospital, where he recovers. Turns out Johnny Dune was a bona-fide mutant, who had the ability to control people through his words. He realizes the error of his ways, and resolves to work harder for change, but realizing isn't going to happen overnight.
Roll Call: Superman, Batman, Aquaman, Flash, Green Lantern, Green Arrow, Atom, Hawkman, Black Canary
Notable Moments: This issue ends with picking up the other story thread, as we follow Superman chasing after Green Lantern's distress signal.
This issue also features two Golden Age tales, a Dr.Mid-Nite one from All-American Comics #25, and a Dr.Fate one from More Fun Comics #67.
The letters page features missives from a Bob Rozakis and a Mark Gruenwald!
*We interrupt our regularly scheduled JLA blog to bring you this commercial announcement*
Ok, as anyone who bothers to read this blog knows, the animated adaptation of Darwyn Cooke's superb DC: The New Frontier mini-series hits DVD shelves on Tuesday the 26th.
Even though the series is one long tribute to the classic Silver Age-era of DC Comics, I didn't think to talk about it here since it fell outside of what I set out this blog to be about.
But! Just the other day, I was contacted by a marketing arm of Warner Bros., maker of the DVD, asking me if I was interested in talking about the DVD on the blog, in exchange for two free copies of the movie--one for myself, and one for a JLA Satellite reader that I could give away in some sort of contest. How long do you think it took me to answer?
So that's what we're gonna do! Cooke's series was such a love letter to the DCU--and the original JLA specifically(notice how the DVD has been rechristened Justice League: The New Frontier)--that this contest will give all you JLA fans a chance to win the New Frontier DVD, courtesy of Warner Bros. and the JLA Satellite!
I think if there's one thing all JLA fans have opinions on, it's who exactly should have been in the JLA. The book's letter pages--from the beginning until practically the final issue--always had at least one or two letters from some irate fan demanding to know "How could you not have fill-in name of favorite hero in the JLA?"
So to win a copy of the DVD, all you have to do is send in your choice as to what hero should have walked the hallowed halls of the Secret Sanctuary and/or the JLA Satellite, but never did. But you must show your work!
That means you have to explain why your choice is clearly, without a shadow-thief of a doubt, the best choice. For those of you who are writers, doing so in text is of course the way to go. Those of you out there who are more artistically inclined, feel free to whip up a "JLA Hereby Enrolls ______________" pin-up of said character if you get so inspired. Email me your entries here, or leave a comment.
The contest ends in one week, on Tuesday the 26th--though I may extend that if I get a lot of submissions. Requests for more time will be considered, unless your choice is something stupid, like "Snapper Carr, but with super powers." The judges decision is final, and the best(or maybe all) suggestions will get posted here so everyone can get a chance to see what everybody else thought.
Have fun everybody, thanks for reading and loving the JLA like I do, and be sure to buy the DVD next Tuesday!
*End commercial announcement*
Guest-starring Deadman!
The Story: "Where Strikes Demonfang?" by Mike Friedrich, Dick Dillin, and Joe Giella. As we left them at the end of issue #92, we see Aquaman, Green Arrow, and Batman in the crosshairs of an assassin's rifle!
Luckily for them, the sun reflects off the rifle, alerting the three JLAers to his presence, and they are able to get out of the way in time and apprehend theri would-be assassin. They try to find out who sent him and why, but he won't answer.
We cut to the mysterious League of Assassins, where we see the master archer Merlyn being given to succeed where the previous attempt failed. While Merlyn is tracking Green Arrow--the seeming target--he comes across Superman and the Atom, and manages to subdue them(!) with his his trick arrows(!!).
Aquaman, Green Arrow, and Batman then discover the first assassin has been murdered--by this Merlyn character. The three of them start to track Merlyn, and find their way to a creepy haunted house-type place. They spring some sort of alarm, and various death-traps are sprung, trapping Green Arrow!
Meanwhile, Batman wants to know who Aquaman "really" is--because earlier he off-handedly mentioned Nanda Parbat, a location only two people in the outside world know about! Turns out that Aquaman has been taken over by Deadman, who needed to contact the Justice League when he discovered the League of Assassin's plan to bump off Green Arrow.
Superman and the Atom show up, help free Green Arrow, and fight Merlyn, who manages to escape. Deadman informs Bats that Ra's Al Ghul is gunning for Batman, as well, where it is suggested this story will continue in Batman and Detective Comics.
Roll Call: Superman, Batman, Aquaman, Green Arrow, Atom, Black Canary
Notable Moments: This issue features four pages of art by Neal Adams--which makes sense, given Deadman's guest-spot, but they fall on pages 1, 5, 20, and 22--huh? Did someone at the DC offices spill coffee on Dillin's originals and they called Neal in at the last minute?
In any case, Neal wanted to knock the reader's socks off right off the bat, so we're treated to this superb portrait splash page:
And this page, also by Neal, features two of the three DC characters I'd argue Neal is most known for, Batman and Deadman, with his superb Aquaman thrown in:
This is also features two Golden Age reprints, the first appearances of The Sandman(from Adventure Comics #40) and Starman (Adventure Comics #61).
This issue is cover-dated November 1971, which means it was on sale in August, 1971--the month I was born. Hmm...I just happened to be born the month my eventual all-time favorite comic features an uber-rare Aquaman-centric cover? Coincidence...or destiny?
The return of the (sort of) 80 Page Giant!
The Stories: "Riddle of the Robot Justice League" (JLA #13) and "Journey Into The Micro-World" (JLA #18) by Gardner Fox, Mike Sekowsky, and Bernard Sachs, with an all-new cover by Dick Giordano.
Roll Call: Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Flash, Green Lantern, Martian Manhunter, Green Arrow, Atom
Notable Moments: The last time DC would issue an all-reprint issue of JLA, released the same month as a regular one. The cover format this time is a little ungainly, and what's with that ancient Wonder Woman head-shot?
The letter page features a missive from a young man named Bob Rozakis.
