Crisis On Multiple Earths - Crossing Over!

I've collected the Justice League of America crossovers with the Justice Society of America many times. I have many these stories in their original forms and have collected the reprints several times over. I just adore these wild yarns loaded to the hilt with heroes from the Golden, Silver and even the Bronze Age of Comics. This first volume gathers the first nine epic crossovers "Cris that became summer traditions so many years ago. 

Justice League of America #21 and #22 showcase the first "Crisis" between Earths 1 and 2. For the first time ever the JLofA meets its Golden Age counterparts the Justice Society of America. It's a convoluted tale of traps and the coniving creations of criminal masterminds.

"Crisis on Earth-One!" written by Gardner Fox and drawn by Mike Sekowsky and Bernard Sachs begins as three villains who have dubbed themselves the "Crime-Champions" offer up a challenge to nine Justice Leaguers of Earth-1 to stop their intended robberies. Felix Faust, Chronos, and Dr. Alchemy throw down the gauntlet and three squads of the JLofA set out to meet the challenge. Likewise on Earth-2 the Justice Society meets again for the first time in twelve years and find themselves confronted with a challenge from the Wizard, the Icicle, and the Fiddler. Dr. Fate, Hourman, Black Canary, Atom, Green Lantern, Hawkman and the Flash form the JSofA and charge off to meet the challenge. Felix Faust is confronted by Martian Manhunter, Atom, and Aquaman. Chronos is met by Superman, Green Arrow, and Flash. Dr.Alchemy is challenged by Batman, Green Lantern, and Wonder Woman. During each of the three battles the heroes turn away threats and ultimately defeat the villain only to see each of the three vanish. Likewise the Flash also disappears. Later on Earth-2 when Green Lantern and Black Canary confront the Wizard, Hawkman, Atom, and Flash battle the Fiddler, and Dr.Fate and Hourman confront the Icicle they likewise see their enemies disappear, and likewise the Flash disappears also. 

As it turns out all six villains have been working in concert from the beginning, since the Fiddler who has already battled Earth-1's Flash knew of the twin Earths and took his two companions away from Earth-2 after a jailbreak only to be met by Felix Faust and company. The six "Crime-Champions" schemed to confront their opponents in order to capture the Flashes who are held prisoner in twin globes of force in a borderland between the two Earths. The villains decide to switch Earths so they can enjoy their booty without scrutiny. But as it turns out the foolproof scheme is undone when the Earth-2 trio cannot pass up the opportunity for crime and impersonate the Earth-1 trio. They are confronted by the JLofA but are prepared for them by setting up an elaborate magical trap that will ultimately strand the heroes in their Secret Sanctuary. In order to escape the trap, the Leaguers use a crystal ball they confiscated from Felix Faust to have a defacto seance in which they learn of the Flashes' fate. They then summon the members of the Society to Earth-1 and a historic meeting takes place for the very first time. The heroes then decide to also switch Earths and the stage is set for part two of the initial Crisis.

 

"Crisis on Earth-Two!" finds the story already in progress as the JSofA confronts their trio of Crime-Champions. Hourman and Atom win against the Fiddler, Dr. Fate defeats the Icicle, and Hawkman and Black Canary take out the Wizard. On Earth-2 Martian Manhunter, Atom, and Green Lantern take out Felix Faust, Batman and Wonder Woman defeat Dr. Alchemy, while Chronos is taken down by Superman and Aquaman. Meanwhile the Green Lanterns travel to the borderland to free the Flashes. But once again the Crime-Champions have planned a twist and when the Flashes are freed all the heroes of both Earths find themselves caged in space. Quickly enough they escape thanks to the power of the Lanterns, and the final battle finds the conjoined forces of the League and Society taking out the Crime-Champions once and for all before the villains can escape to a hypothetical Earth-3. The battle won the heroes celebrate the end of this first crisis.

The power of this story is the mere fact that so many disparate heroes find their way together. The story is really just an elaborate excuse to have these two august teams meet and shake hands. Mike Sekowsky's two-page spread of the final battle is not something that might impress the modern reader, but I'd imagine that in 1963 it was something of a spectacular in and of itself. It's hard to imagine what sheer fun it must have been to see fifteen heroes assembled to battle evil. That's a mighty crowd indeed, and Fox's plot requires some close attention. There is much shifting about and many twists and turns as the villains reveal plots within plots within plots. My favorite twist is when it is revealed that Crime-Champions have been working together from the get-go. It adds a level of suspicion to all aspects of the story. The reader is put on warning that what is happening might not be real, and that pervades the story right through both parts. Fox depends on contrivance a bunch, but he can be forgiven for his overwrought solutions given how many characters he has to juggle. There's little if any of what modern readers might consider character development. Both the League and the Society are noble and brave. The Champions are invariably scheming and seem almost addicted to crime in a weird way. Mike Sekowsky is an artist I like a lot. His chaotic style has a vivid quality that overcomes whatever clumsiness might be detected. Sachs gives the whole affair an edge. Murphy Anderson inks both covers and of course his elegant line makes everyone look very noble indeed. 

These stories are a success in that they showcase the heroes. But next time something more will be needed. And the hint is in this story with the mention of a possible Earth-Three.

In 1964 the Justice League of America and the Justice Society of America met again, and a tradition is birthed. But this time when the super teams of Earth-1 and Earth-2 interact, it's because of a third party found on a third Earth. Earth-3 it seems is different from both the previous Earths we've encountered in that good seems to bad there. The super powered types on Earth-3 are actually villains. This as it turns out, while being bad for the folks of Earth-3 is fantastic for readers here on Earth-Prime. (More on that later.)

 "Crisis On Earth-Three!" by the Fox, Sekowsky and Sachs team again gets started very briskly. We see the Flashes of Earths 1& 2 doing their heroic duties and then we meet a third scarlet speedster. This one goes by name of Johnny Quick and he's robbing a museum. Quickly we meet a guy named Power Ring and a Superwoman, both of whom are committing crimes. It turns out that history is perverted on Earth-3 and one result is The Crime Syndicate of America made up of the three baddies we've already met along with Owl-Man and Ultraman. The Syndicate meets and bemoans that they haven't really got any challenges in their world of crime when Ultraman shows up and says he's found another Earth on which supertypes are heroes. This is the challenge they need immediately they invade Earth-1. The JLofA (made up of Green Lantern, Flash, Superman, Wonder Woman, and Batman) set out to meet threat cheered on by Snapper Carr. They want to battle their counterparts but find the baddies have switched places. Flash battles Ultraman, Batman takes on Johnny Quick, Superman challenges Power Ring, Green Lantern takes on Owl-Man, and Wonder Woman alone does battle her doppleganger Superwoman. The Leaguers all defeat the Syndicate members but once defeated each Syndicate member utters the world "Volthoom". It turns out Volthoom is the magical source of Power Ring's might and the magical spell has transported the heroes to Earth-3. Anther battle between the teams takes place, this time with the Syndicate coming out on top. Unsatisfied with the results (each team winning on home turf) the Syndicate seeks out a neutral ground to battle the League and chooses Earth-2. Immobilizing the League they set off. But the JSofA has caught a glimpse of this activity thanks to the magic of Dr.Fate and the League is freed long enough to issue a warning, but nothing can stop the upcoming battle for Earth-2. 

"The Most Dangerous Earth of All!" picks up the action with a warned Justice Society (made up of Dr. Fate, Dr. Mid-Nite, Black Canary, Hawkman, and Starman) anticipating the Syndicate's attack and knowing not to allow them to say the word "Volthoom". In this they all succeed when the Syndicate shows up inside their headquarters and five battle break out. The Society is triumphant as Hawkman takes on Johnny Quick, Dr. Fate battles Power Ring, Owl-Man and Dr. Mid-Nite go at it, Superwoman and Black Canary spar, and Starman fights Ultraman. But it seems that claiming a victory verbally was the spell this time and turns the tables on the Society and they all end up transported to Earth-3 defeated ultimately. With the JSofA eliminated the Syndicate then frees the League and the counterparts at last battle, but the Leagues teamwork, a concept alien to the criminal Syndicate proves to be the deciding factor and on neutral territory it is the Justice League that prevails. But the Syndicate has one last scheme to blow up both Earths 1 and 2 but their faces give it away and they are then imprisoned in the borderland between Earths. The JSofA is freed and everyone returns to their own territory.

This crossover is among my very favorites. The story despite considerable complication never loses its momentum. And despite having ten heroes (cut down from the previous year) and five villains (also cut down) the story keeps everyone on track. There is a ton of action throughout both installments of the story with the ultimate victory really resulting from the inherent good qualities of the League and revealing the ultimate flaw in the Syndicate despite their foresight and scheming. The League will work to support one another while the Syndicate never seems to even understand the concept. This story also shows the way forward for the annual crossovers. New Earths are coming, each with its own special flavor. That makes what becomes an annual tradition always something to look forward to, with new discoveries always to make. Also I'd never realized that the Golden Age Hawkman had appeared in the JLofA before his Silver Age counterpart. Hawkman of Earth-1 doesn't join the League until later in the year. And I personally love villains who are reverse images of heroes. Professor Zoom, Red Guardian, Abomination, Crimson Dynamo, Sinestro and others are a lot of fun. Dark side creations offer up neat spins on the heroic character. Star Trek has done a great job over the decades with this concept, and it's shown with great zest in this story by Fox and Sekowsky. DC couldn't resist the idea, and despite their moronic rejection of multiple Earths following the Crisis on Infinite Earths, they at long last relented and reintroduced the Syndicate in some luscious comics by Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely. The Syndicate was really juiced up for the modern reader and they oozed depravity in a way that Fox and the Comic Code of 1964 could never allow. Now that we'd seen another Earth with other older superheroes and a third with supervillains, the next stop was logical. What about an Earth with no superheroes. 

The third crossover between the Justice League and the Justice Society had a very different character than those that had preceded it. In this one the League is all but disappeared from their own comic book and the JSofA steps in to take over for them.

"Earth-Without a Justice League!" was again written by Gardner Fox and illustrated by Mike Sekowsky and Bernard Sachs. Murphy Anderson as usual handled the inks on the cover. It begins with Johnny Thunder of Earth-2, the Society's resident doofus wondering about his counterpart on Earth-1 and since for him with his magic servant the Bahdnisian Thunderbolt, all he has to do is say it and it happens. But when he confronts his doppleganger he discovers that Earth-1's Johnny is gangster who takes control of the Thunderbolt almost immediately and knocks Johnny out. Planning a crime spree, he has the T-Bolt go back in time and effectively undo the origins of the members of the JLofA, and the result is a world minus a League as Part 1 ends. In Part 2 the Justice Society of America discovers this skullduggery and heads to Earth-1 to help out. The team is made up of Dr. Fate, Flash, Hawkman, Green Lantern, Atom and Mr. Terrific. They find bad Johnny and his T-Bolt who has to fight against the Society against his will. But he does the minimum and the JSofA survives and go to find out what happened to the JLofA. They then decide to fill in for the missing heroes and assume their identities. Part 3 begins as the Society assumes the appearance of the League members and set out to confront the T-Bolt and his criminal controller. He is ordered to break himself into six parts to battle the imitation Superman, Batman, Green Lantern, Atom, Flash, and Martian Manhunter and being weaker is ineffective. Johnny then orders T-Bolt to once again go back in time and have gangsters aquire the powers of the League members. He does and as the story ends, this criminal League is set to take on the JSofA who have resumed their original identities.

In "Crisis on Earth-A" (again by the Fox, Sekowsky, Sachs team) we find Earth-A, dubbed so by evil Johnny because it is an Alternate Earth, the scene of a ferocious battle between the "The Lawless League of America" and the Justice Society. The battle is intense but the JSofA comes out on top, beating the "Thug" League. In Part 2 of this tale Johnny then has Thunderbolt hit the JSofA with a hurricane, then an earthquake in an increasingly desperate effort to defeat the heroes. The Society overcomes both threats, so Johnny has the T-Bolt transport him to the Moon where he imports an atmosphere. The JSofA using the combined magic of Dr. Fate and Green Lantern head to the Moon to confront the nefarious Johnny who has had Thunderbolt create three ultimate super-villains. The trio named Medusa-Man, Absorbo-Man, and Repello-Man confront the Society and quickly Medusa-Man turns Mr. Terrific and Atom into wood, Repello-Man causes both Hawkman and Flash to defeat themselves, while Green Lantern is defeated when Absorbo-Man turns his own green power against him. This leaves only Dr.Fate to confront Johnny Thunder and his baddies. Fate has already neutralized Medusa-Man with a mask, then uses the wooden forms of Terrific and Atom to defeat the Lantern-powered Absorbo-Man, and he finally turns Repello-Man's powers against him with reverse attacks. Finally defeated evil Johnny wants for it all to be over so he wished that everything go back to the way it was before he met the Thunderbolt. The T-Bolt all too happy to comply resets the Earths and happily both the Society and Justice League are up and running as the story closes. T-Bolt tells the reader that only he and the Bolt know what happened.

 

This is rousing action romp with evil Johnny Thunder supplying a surprisingly effective threat. But as he becomes more desperate his wits desert him, and his weak character cause his downfall. Fox does a dandy job of creating a what if scenario here, imagining what an evil Thunder would be like. And despite having great power, we learn that is not enough for evil to overcome good. That's a pleasant message for the story to end on after all the chaos. The tactic to nullify the League by canceling their origins is a clever move, though in the case of Batman for some reason T-Bolt doesn't just stop the bullets that kill Bruce Wayne's parents, but frustrates Batman on his first case (which by the way was the same as the Golden Age Batman). And when the thugs assume the JLofA identities, the creation of a fake Superman and Martian Manhunter seems too weird given the innate nature of their powers. This is a wacky tale for sure, but an enjoyable fest, that wouldn't see a sequel for many, many years. 

Now comes arguably the most wacked JLofA-JSofA crossover ever. In the midst of the comics camp era fueled by the success of the Batman TV show (note his prominence on both covers), this adventure reads like nothing so much as a staid comic book writer's attempt to recreate an LSD trip. It's really, really weird.

"Crisis Between Earth-One and Earth-Two!" by Gardner Fox with Mike Sekowsky on the pencils and joined by Sid Greene on the inks is a bizarre story. It begins with relative new Leaguer Hawkman battling some hijackers on a lonely road when a mist appears and suddenly he finds himself confronted by an armored car and completely different thugs. Nonetheless he dispatches them. On Earth-2 meanwhile Sandman finds himself in exactly the opposite situation and using his enhanced sand weapons puts down the hijackers Hawkman had been fighting before. In quick order we meet Dr.Mid-Nite armed with his new gun the "Cyrotuber" battling criminals and getting vibrated to Earth-1. Batman finds himself suddenly on Earth-2 punching Wildcat. As it turns out across the world switches like this are happening all over. In between the Earths, the Spectre though detects a greater threat still while Solomon Grundy in his Dr. Fate-Green Lantern bubble trap descends out of orbit onto Earth-1. Part 2 finds Dr. Mid-Nite and Black Canary hooking up with the League to confront the Grundy threat. On Earth-2 the Blockbuster finds himself in Slaughter Swamp. There is a very brief cut to the lab of Erichetta Negrini's lab where Ray Palmer finds he cannot change to the Atom. The League meanwhile take on Solomon Grundy and after a furious fight trap him inside a mountain. As Part 2 closes the Spectre finds himself confronted by an offbeat looking weirdo he dubs "The Unknown" (called "The Anti-Matter Man" on the covers). Part 3 finds the Spectre battling the Unknown but losing badly. He then turns his attention to keeping the Earths from sliding into one another by using his body to keep them apart. On Earth-2 the Justice Society plus Batman battle the Blockbuster. But the combined forces of Dr.Fate, Wildcat, Sandman, and Bats are not enough and only Bruce Wayne's revealed face calms the man-monster down. (He likes Bruce Wayne of all people it seems.) That threat averted, the end the story shows Spectre still desperately keeping the Earths from touching which will cause them to explode.

"The Bridge Between Earths!" by the same creative team picks right up where we left off. Ray Palmer is at last able to become the Atom and begins to investigate the problem. Meanwhile Solomon Grundy and Blockbuster switch places and the Society and League find themselves in pitch battle once more. The creatures seem possessed of great powers and offer significant resistance. Finally learning of the threat of the Unknown in the Borderland, Dr. Fate sweeps up the heroes of both Earths and takes them to the space between Earths. Part 2 opens in the Borderland where the combined heroes battle The Unknown, shielded from his anti-matter, but they are summarily defeated. But as the battle gets close to the Spectre's body, he takes a hand and helps the heroes who are able to at last bind The Unknown. The Atom appears and cooks up a scheme to shrink then quickly expand the Spectre's body, the only thing keeping the Earths apart, with the hope that the expansion will kick them back into their proper places. But it could destroy the Spectre. Nonetheless he gives the go ahead and the Atom does his stuff. The Spectre is exploded but the Earths return to safe places relative to one another. But the Spectre is able to reassemble himself. Part 3 sees the Spectre and the heroes send The Unknown on his way. They then turn their attention on the problem of Grundy and Blockbuster. But the Green Lantern of Earth-1 has had the two beast men battle one another while the heroes have been gone and they have beaten the hate out of each other and are now buddies. It turns out the lab experiment by Negretti caused the near destruction of both Earths, but as the story closes the combined heroes are fine with allowing her to continue her work since the superheroes will be around to handle the fallout. My summary does not do this story justice at all. As offbeat and peculiar as this plot is, you have to add in the hipster dialogue which seems to get more and more pronounced as the threat deepens. The heroes have a devil-may-care attitude about the whole concept of the total destruction of two Earths, that it's sometimes hard to keep hold of the threat as the story unfolds. The Unknown is silent and offers no internal explanation of its motives. The Spectre's powers in this story are off the charts. Also strange is the way Fox seems intent on redesigning both Dr .Mid-Nite and Sandman, giving both heroes updated equipment which gives each a wide and wacky range of powers. Clearly these two Golden Agers are seen as underwhelming in the Silver Age and need some sprucing. The truth is they don't, and the cleverness of the two heroes is undermined by Fox's offbeat additions. 

This is an entertaining story, but in a whole different way than the previous crossovers. This story is a relic of the brief time when superheroes were ultra-hip and pop culture glossed them with satire. This weirdo story makes no real sense save when I think of it as the heroes on some sort of wacked-out trip. Groovy man! 

1967 was a transitional year for the annual Justice League and Justice Society crossovers. The artist on all of the crossovers, and all of the League adventures since the very beginning was Mike Sekowsky. He'd soon be leaving the League for other opportunities, and this was his last crossover event. But his final crossover cover featuring the adult Robin of Earth-2 (inked by Murphy Anderson) is a knockout.

"The Super-Crisis That Struck Earth-Two!" was written by Gardner Fox and for a final time by the team of Mike Sekowsky and Sid Greene. The story begins simply enough on Earth-2 in China when a bandit named How Chu is about to be executed by firing squad. Before he can be shot a mysterious black sphere enters his body and gives him super strength which he uses to escape. In Chicago an identical sphere enters the body of jewel craving stenographer Claire Morton, in London one enters the body of money-hungry business Horace Rowland, and likewise a former baseball player named Marty Baxter gets entered. All four of these people become super-villains. The JSofA meets to deal with this threat. The team consists of Mr. Terrific, Wonder Woman, Wildcat, Hawkman, Hourman, and for the first time initiate Robin the "Man" Wonder. They divide into teams and go off to battle the super-villain threat. Robin and Wildcat face off against Marty (Smashing Sportsman) Baxter, and Wonder Woman faces Claire (Gem Girl) Morton. The JSofA are defeated. In Part 2 Mr.Terrific and Hawkman face off against Horace (Money Master) Rowland, and Hourman battles How-Chu (who doesn't get a nifty nickname). Again the JSofA members are defeated. They regroup where Johnny Thunder is waiting, and they describe the defeats. Johnny sends his Thunderbolt off to battle the four villains, but T-Bolt returns defeated. Then Thunderbolt is ordered to bring the Justice League to Earth-2 and suddenly Flash, Green Lantern, Green Arrow, and Superman appear. They've been battling a similar threat and have had equal misfortune. The teams agree to pool resources to solve the Earth-2 problem then apply it to Earth-1. Thunderbolt tells them that the Black Spheres are actually alien intelligences who have entered the bodies of humans to survive and soon will take them over body and soul. The stage is set for the next issue.

 

"The Negative-Crisis on Earths One-Two!" by Fox, Sekowsky, and Greene picks up the action with the combined JLofA and JSofA looking for Black Spheres that failed to bond with humans. They mine and process these Black Sphere radiations and imbue four of their members (Wonder Woman, Hourman, Green Lantern, and Flash) with the power suspecting the energy might pervert their will. Then they divide into teams to battle the villains. But the team of Superman, Robin and Hourman soon come to blows when Hourman turns bad. He is defeated with water. Then the team of Hawkman, Green Arrow and Flash likewise fallout when the Flash turns villain. He is defeated with an allergic reaction to wisteria. Mr.Terrific and Wildcat have to fight Green Lantern but find his weakness is no longer yellow but wood like the Earth-2 GL. Wonder Woman and Johnny Thunder fight also but Thunder is able to defeat the Amazon by making her laugh with his rather bad jokes. Realizing that laughter might defeat all the Black Sphere villains, Johnny goes to their hideout and begins to tell his lame jokes. But they work and the baddies do laugh purging them of the hostile raditions. The heroes gather afterwards, decide the villains deserved not to be blamed for what they done under the influence of the spheres and then the League makes plans to use humor to defeat the threat on Earth-1.

(Is this cover inspired by JLA #56?)

This tale is not quite as gonzo as the previous year's effort, but it's still a wacky story. The pacing of these two issues were notably quicker than previous crossovers, with a remarkable amount of the story taking place off stage. This also adds to the slapstick quality of the tale. The villains are rather peculiar, people overcome by their passions makes sense, but they are never really dealt with in terms of character after they become bad. The resolutions seem to come very quickly, almost in a pro forma way. This is probably on account of the camp way comics were interpreted at the time. Clearly the Batman TV show influence is still being felt, if only in the way Robin of Earth-2 is featured on the cover of the first half. The cover to the second half of the tale by Carmine Infantino and Murphy Anderson is one of the classic images of the era, and spawned many swipes over the years. I remember seeing both of these covers in ads of the period and I yearned to read the stories underneath. The stories were disappointments only in the sense that neither cover really conveys what went on in each story. Robin is not featured to any extent once he's introduced and the face-off between heroes does happen but not in the direct fashion on the cover, and not between the heroes pictured. The next year will bring change to the crossovers and to Earth-2 in a big way.

1968 was the year I began my first-hand experience with the classic Justice League-Justice Society crossovers. I tumbled into comics gathering from all sources before becoming a Marvel Zombie for a few years. My very first Justice League comic was JLofA #64 featuring the debut of the Red Tornado and signaling the end of an era in the League. This was Gardner Fox's last crossover script, the guy who started it all was done with Earth-2...almost. More on that later.

"The Stormy Return of the Red Tornado!" by Gardner Fox features the artwork of new Justice League artist Dick Dillin, moving over from DC's long-running Blackhawk title. Sid Greene remains on the inks. Outgoing JLofA artist Mike Sekowsky and Joe Giella are credited with the cover artwork. This story begins on Earth-2 with the JSofA being bored by a lack of crime. Hourman unveils his Crime-Caster, a computer to predict crime, when suddenly the Red Tornado appears announcing his return to the team. The Society is non-plussed since the Red Tornado they knew was a large woman in a homemade costume who bumbled through only one JSofA adventure. Tornado insists he's the real McCoy nonetheless despite revealing he has no face at all. He does however have detailed information on the Society's secret identities. They are debating the situation when the Crime-Caster predicts a robbery at the 20th Century Museum. Dr. Fate, Black Canary, Hourman, Starman, Flash and the Red Tornado race to the crime to find faceless villains doing the deed. The battle is rough and tumble with the Tornado attempting to help but invariably his actions result in the seeming deaths of each of the JSofA members. Only Dr. Fate survives along with the Tornado. The villain of the piece is revealed as T.O.Morrow an Earth-1 villain who has used future weapons and a prophetic computer to commit his crimes. It is revealed that he created the Tornado to infiltrate and defeat the Society despite the Tornado's lack of complicity. The Tornado chases Morrow down, but is defeated himself. Meanwhile Dr. Fate gathers more Society members (Mr. Terrific, Sandman, Atom, Green Lantern, Dr. Mid-Nite, and Hawkman) to stall a further attack by Morrow on the Island of Atlantis. Red Tornado seems already to be on site and fighting the villains, and defeating Morrow. But when the JSofA arrives Tornado mishandles a weapon discharging radiation which again seemingly "kills" the remaining members of the Society along with the Tornado himself. The comic ends with T.O. Morrow vowing to go to Earth-1 to continue his crime spree knowing from his prophetic computer that he can only be defeated if the Tornado appears, but since Red Tornado is "dead" he's supremely confident.

 

"T.O.Morrow Kills The Justice League--Today!" again features the talents of Fox, Dillin and Greene, with Dillin delivering his first cover. The League is assembled when five of the members' romantic interests arrive to give them lethal kisses before vanishing. The members who are "killed" are Snapper Carr, Wonder Woman, Atom, Hawkman, and Aquaman. The remaining Leaguers are warned of the attack of three mythical monsters, an orange dragon, a yellow griffin, and a purple harpy. Superman, Batman, Green Lantern, Flash, and Green Arrow face off against this threat and win but then have to face in the Secret Santuary itself former villains. Amazo, a Diamond Creature, Doctor Light, Super-Duper, and Starro all battle the remaining Leaguers and "kill" them. The defeated and presumably deceased Justice League is then arranged in alcoves so that Morrow can gloat over his victory. Meanwhile on Earth-2 the Red Tornado recovers, heads to Earth-1 and uncovers Morrow's plot. He then arranges for the real loves of the five originally stricken League members to come and give each a "Kiss of Life" to undo the "Kisses of Death". The Leaguers revive and attack Morrow's forces again as he plots to pit the twin Earths into a war with each other. Morrow is defeated, the remaining League members are revived and Red Tornado returns to Earth-2 to revive all of the seemingly dead Justice Society members who then induct the Tornado officially into their ranks. The story ends with Tornado wondering about what this new life will mean for him.

Original Red Tornado by Sheldon Mayer

So this is the story that introduced me to the Justice League. Did you notice what was missing from the first half of this story. Yep, there is no Justice League. The JLofA is absolutely missing from their own comic book completely. Not a single panel depicts the League in any way. The second half is all about the League of course with only Red Tornado making the trip between Earths. So this is a crossover of a very different kind. It's not much about the nature of Earths One and Two at all, since those concepts seem completely settled now, but it's purely about developing a single character, reviving yet another classic name from DC's Golden Age. It's also a whopping good action tale with tons of battle by all concerned. There is a wild and fanciful quality to the story, but it doesn't reach the near-absurdist qualities of the past two crossovers. This is a straight forward superhero action tale, albeit with loads of characters and concepts. And guess what, as a novice DC and Justice League reader I wasn't confused, not even a little bit. Gardner Fox was a master of explaining everything, and even in this densely plotted two-parter with twenty-one heroes, I never got lost. I bring that up because the confusion of readers was one of the canards that DC editorial always threw out to justify the revisionist Crisis on Infinite Earths. They would say that readers needed a clearer platform to build on. That's rubbish. Each story succeeds or fails on its own, and the complexity of the world it operates in has nothing to do with it. It's a creator's job to explain things so a reader won't get lost. Gardner Fox did that better than anyone. His supple hand on these stories will be missed. But as I said, we are not quite done with Mr. Fox quite yet. 

We come at last in 1969 to the first Justice League-Justice Society crossover not written by Gardner Fox. Denny O'Neil steps in to take the reins of the summer classic as Sid Greene will complete his final Earth-2 story, and this one will have some significant consequences for the DC universe.

"Star Light, Star Bright--Death Star I See Tonight" scripted by Denny O'Neil features again the artwork of Dick Dillin and Sid Greene. The peculiar cover is by Joe Kubert. The story begins in space a long time ago when the Council of Living Stars ejects one of its own, a star named Aquarius for his crimes against the universe. His vast energy is drained save for that necessary to keep him barely alive and he is set to wander the universe forever. The last issue of JLofA had Red Tornado show up with news of Earth-2 but the League only gets around to hearing his story now and he tells of Starman encountering an anomaly which turns out to be the depleted Aquarius. Getting control of Starman's Cosmic Rod, Aquarius is able to recoup his power. Then Starman's body falls out of the sky into the greenhouse of Larry Lance and his wife Dinah Drake Lance, also known as Black Canary. She investigates but is set upon by a mysterious attacker who turns out to be her husband. He comes to his senses after she defeats him and she summons more Justice Society members. Dr. Fate, Dr. Mid-Nite, Green Lantern, Wonder Woman, and Superman answer the call. Lantern faces animated neon light warriors and subdues them. Dr.Mid-Nite encounters a four-year old brat who goes on a super-strength tantrum, and Dr. Fate is knocked out the sky by a mysterious power. The Society gathers and find themselves face to face with a now gigantic but humanoid Aquarius. They quickly determine he is a schizophrenic manic-depressive and one with vast power thanks to the Cosmic Rod. The battle to little effect, then he vanishes the whole of Earth-2 to nothingness, the only survivors are the Society members saved by Fate in a magic bubble. Only their memories now preserve Earth-2. Trapped, Aquarius waits for his power to accumulate again then he will destroy them. Red Tornado who had been ordered to sit on the sidelines then makes a beeline for Earth-1 and that brings the tale full circle as the League kick themselves for making him wait, but decide of course to act. But that will the next issue.

"Where Death Fears To Tread!" is again by the O'Neil, Dillin, and Greene team, with a dynamic Neal Adams cover up front. The story picks up with the League making the crossing to Earth-2 where Green Lantern notes a dangerous place in the Borderland, an access to a zone of negative matter. The League confronts Aquarius, and as it's been two weeks Fate's powers fade and his bubble collapses. The Society immediately comes under the control of Aquarius who orders them to battle the League members. Superman battles Superman, Batman battles Dr. Mid-Nite, Dr. Fate takes on Flash and the Atom, Wonder Woman fights Hawkman, and the Green Lanterns take each other on. The League wins pretty quickly save for the Supermen who both collapse. Green Arrow traps the Black Canary with his new "stickum arrow" but is himself knocked unconscious by her husband Larry Lance who has all this time been fighting alongside the JSofA. Aquarius launches an attack that threatens to kill the trapped Canary but Lance throws his body in harm's way saving her, but sacrificing his own life. The League and Society are both stunned, and at that same time Earth-2 reappears complete. Both the JSofA and JLofA take time to bury Larry Lance and then Aquarius reappears minus the Cosmic Rod which presumably had been lost in the last encounter. The combined might of the heroes launch against him, but it is for the two Green Lanterns to plot to lure the mad star into the dangerous zone of negative matter. They goad him into following them there, where he is destroyed utterly. After the battle, the Black Canary requests that she be able to accompany the League back to Earth-1, which they gladly agree to.

There is a pretty rich emotional quality to this particular crossover. The death of Larry Lance hits the heroes pretty hard, actually harder than the utter oblivion of all of Earth-2. That's because the latter is old hat comic book storytelling and we all know that the status quo will be returned. With the death of a guy like Lance, there is a sense of finality. This is one character we won't see again, and it stings a bit. I'm not at all sure that O'Neil had any notion of the ultimate romance between Canary and Green Arrow when he made Arrow a critical part of her husband's death, but it does add texture to their relationship. In fact I think it was O'Neil's plan to have Canary attracted to Batman, but that didn't gel for whatever reason. The loss of veteran Sid Greene will impact these stories. Worthy inkers will take on the stories, but Greene's crisp style will be missed.  Dick Dillin will remain with the series for a good long time, so while changes will come again and again, a strong reliable thread is still evident. 

1970 brought new things and continued the traditions of the last decade. The annual crossover event between the League and the Society saw another two-part installment. But missing was longtime DC inker Sid Greene, his replacement was reliable Joe Giella who gave Dick Dillin's pencils a smooth gloss. Denny O'Neil offers up his second and final crossover tale.

"Peril of the Paired Planets" by O'Neil, Dillin and Giella, under a cover by Neal Adams, begins dramatically on Earth-1 when Superman plummets from the sky unconscious. The JLofA investigates and they suspect magic when Batman too is struck down. The remaining League members Hawkman, Atom, and Flash call in Green Lantern, Green Arrow, and Black Canary from leave. The story shifts to Earth-2 where in space Red Tornado encounters an alien spacecraft. On board are some blue aliens led by a mysterious blue figure called "Creator Squared" (actually the text uses the superscript number). Wishing to mine the energy of the twin Earths when they are pushed into one another across the dimensions and explode, Creator Squared puts a device in Tornado's noggin and situates him in the Borderland between Earths as a beacon of sorts to increase the inevitable pull. He then sends five of his henchman to capture the JSofA members with high-tech nets. Superman is the first captured and we learn that it is this capture which brought down the Superman of Earth-1 in the beginning of the story because of the affinity between the two heroes and the closing situation of the Earths. Next Dr. Mid-Nite is captured and his counterpart on Earth-1 is Batman. Flash is next and he escapes the aliens for a while, but eventually he is captured and so is Barry Allen. As the Earths get closer and closer many people across both globes detect ghostly images of what seem to be themselves. The JSofA assemble to face the threat, and on Earth-1 Green Lantern attempts to get to Earth-2 but finds the way blocked. The Atom's diagnosis suggests some link between the Earths is drawing them together, and the team not knowing about Red Tornado suspect it just might be Black Canary who migrated from Earth-2. She declares to save both Earths she must die.

 

Under a very strong Dick Dillin and Murphy Anderson cover, the O'Neil, Dillin, and Giella team offer up part two of the saga titled "Where Valor Fails...Will Magic Triumph?". The story opens with the assembled Justice Society facing the threat when more of the super nets from the aliens appear and attack the members. Starman is captured, as is Wonder Woman, and Hourman is defeated also. On Earth-1 Green Arrow consoles Black Canary who imagines she must die to save the planets while Green Lantern tries again to get access to Earth-2 and finds a hole. He discovers Red Tornado but is then cut-off from a return. Hawkman is on Earth-1 helping people who are threatened by ghostly dopplegangers of themselves when he too is struck down at the same time as his counterpart on Earth-2 is captured by a net. The Society continue to fight and Green Lantern of Earth-2 is caught when the net becomes wood, his weakness. This also freezes the Lantern in the Borderland. As time ticks away, Canary has just twenty minutes she thinks before she must commit suicide. Johnny Thunder's Thunderbolt and Dr.Fate gather up the Spectre from his graveyard lair and head to the Borderland where Spectre uses his body to form a barrier between the Earths. Thunderbolt and Fate attack Creator Squared's spaceship directly ultimately destroying it and ending the threat and freeing Red Tornado from his influence. But Spectre is caught in the wake of the twin Earths speeding away from each other and is seemingly "killed". The scene shifts to Earth-1 where Green Lantern returns and tells the League what has been happening since he was filled in magically by Dr.Fate. They all feel remorse for the sacrifice of Spectre but suspect he will return somehow. 

 This crossover feels somehow more muddled than have others in the series. O'Neil seems more adept at communicating emotion than cold plot details and consequently, I think the story has some decent pathos, but lacks the forward impetus that other entries have had. I will say that his attempt to move back and forth from the Earths is a brave device but doesn't always succeed as it might. Also the sacrifice of the Spectre (the second Earth-2 "death" in as many crossovers) is underwhelming simply because of his very nature. The threat of Creator Squared never really seems potent enough to cause the problems he does. That said, this is a brisk and reasonably entertaining story with a lot of members from both teams getting some exposure. One oddity is the correlation between Dr.Mid-Nite and Batman. This correspondence has been suggested before in other crossovers, but since we know for a fact that Batman of Earth-2 is around, it seems very peculiar that this relationship between these disparate heroes would exist. This points up a real oddity though in these crossovers, and that is since DC has been all too ready to reveal both a Superman and Wonder Woman on Earth-2 why exactly does it seem that Batman will not get that nod. In Wonder Woman's case, it's a clever way to get the classic Wonder Woman some action while the Emma Peel phase works itself out over in her own title. But the two Supermen seem straightforwardly confusing, if its visual clarity between the heroes that DC desires. Anyway, this crossover I'd have to label as the weakest installment yet in the annual event, but that doesn't mean it's not still great fun to read. 

You have to admit there's a ton of entertainment tucked between these covers. 

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