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Post by foxley on Jul 13, 2015 16:33:13 GMT -5
There's some question of there ever having been an Earth-Two Angle Man. By the time "Angie" first appeared in Wonder Woman #70 (November 1954), editor/writer Robert Kanigher had made enough changes to her backstory, supporting cast (Etta Candy and the Holliday Girls were long gone) and villains (the Duke of Deception, for instance, no longer resembled the character introduced in #2) that the Amazon of '54 was implicitly no longer the Golden Age version created by Marston and Peter. Moreover, because "Golden Age" and "Earth-Two" are not synonymous, as demonstrated by my entries here, you can really only say with certainty that Earth-Two had counterparts of those '40s villains actually depicted in the '70s TV-inspired issues. I personally assign those first few Angle Man stories to Earth-1.5, my theoretical transitional reality, but your mileage may vary. Cei-U! I summon Wonder Woman's continuity: the indexer's nightmare! Thanks. I hadn't realised that Angle Man's first appearance was as late as that. |
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zilch
Full Member
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Post by zilch on Jul 14, 2015 1:43:23 GMT -5
So... care to let us know about this Earth? It's probably similar to the theoretical "Earth-E" or as i like to think of it... Earth-Super-Friends... |
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Post by foxley on Jul 14, 2015 2:15:53 GMT -5
So... care to let us know about this Earth? It's probably similar to the theoretical "Earth-E" or as i like to think of it... Earth-Super-Friends... Or Earth-B, home of those Bob Haney The Brave and the Bold that don't fit anywhere else. |
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Post by Cei-U! on Jul 14, 2015 7:08:55 GMT -5
So... care to let us know about this Earth? It's probably similar to the theoretical "Earth-E" or as i like to think of it... Earth-Super-Friends... Earth-1.5 is what I call the reality in which the adventures of those heroes whose titles/series ran without interruption between the close of the Golden Age and the start of the Silver Age, and that contain story elements inconsistent with the continuity of either, occur. Not every hero's history requires Earth-1.5 (Batman and Aquaman don't) but certainly Superman/Superboy, Wonder Woman and Green Arrow do. So far, I've seen no reason to assign any story published after '59 or thereabouts to 1.5, since Super Friends (the comic book, that is) unequivocally takes place on Earth-One. As for Earth-B, I reject its alleged necessity, based as it is on nothing but Bob Rozakis' disdain for Bob Haney and Murray Boltinoff. Cei-U! I summon the interdimensional directory! |
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Post by Cei-U! on Jul 14, 2015 7:10:26 GMT -5
The Batman Family #18
June-July 1978 (March 13, 1978) $1.00
Cover Art: Jim Starlin
“A Choice of Destinies” 10 pages
Al Milgrom (Editor), Paul Levitz (Writer), Joe Staton (Penciller), Bob Layton (Inker), Todd Klein (Lettering), Adrienne Roy (Coloring)
FC: The Huntress
Intro: Arthur Cranston
Intro: Roger Demarest
Synopsis
Helena Wayne feels torn between her responsibilities as a partner at the law firm of Cranston, Grayson and Wayne and her career as the Huntress. Another of the firm's lawyers, Roger Demarest, resents being passed over for a partnership in favor of a young, inexperienced attorney fresh out of law school and claims it was her father's money that got her the job. Senior partner Arthur Cranston reassures Helena that she has earned her place at the table but that she must resolve her personal problems and buckle down if she is to prove Demarest wrong. Though Helena believes in the firm's mission, she continues to wonder if she couldn't do more good for Gotham in her costumed identity.
The slums of South Gotham are plagued by a series of deadly arson fires. Patrolling the area as the Huntress, the daughter of Batman joins the rescue effort when yet another tenement is put to the torch. Investigating further as Helena, the young lawyer witnesses a sinister exchange in a darkened alleyway: a mysterious man pays a young boy for setting this latest fire and hands him the incendiary bomb he is to use to set the next fire. The duo disappears into the shadows before she can reach them. The frustrated Huntress vows to find out what's behind the arson spree “and then the hunt begins!”
Behind the Scenes
This is the first episode of the Huntress' solo series.
Continuity
It is not clear where the “Huntress” stories appearing in Batman Family #18-20 fit into Earth-Two continuity. They probably occur between pages 6 and 7 of the “Justice Society of America” story in Adventure Comics #461 but this cannot be confirmed. See the first Continuity note for that issue for further information.
According to the opening narration of this story, the death of Selina Wayne ― as depicted in the “Huntress” story in DC Super-Stars #17 ― occurred in the summer of 1977.
The Good Guys
The Huntress (as Helena Wayne) has joined the law firm of Cranston and Grayson as a full partner (and as a replacement for partner Dick Grayson a.k.a. Robin) just before the start of this story. The firm, which specializes in public interest research, changes its name accordingly to Cranston, Grayson and Wayne.
According to this story, Helena Wayne has recently graduated with honors from Harvard Law School (where she was valedictorian of her class and editor of the Law Review) at the age of twenty-one. Given that her parents were married in the summer of 1955 as seen in DC Super-Stars #17 (assuming Selina Wayne was not already pregnant at that time and that Helena was not premature), Helena was born at the earliest sometime in the spring of 1956 (nine months after the wedding) and at the latest in June of 1957 (twenty-one years to the month before her law school graduation).
This story marks the first time Dick Grayson's occupation is clearly identified as lawyer.
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Post by foxley on Jul 14, 2015 8:04:24 GMT -5
Doesn't DC Superstars #17 establish Helena's birth year as 1957? (My own copy is not readily accessible or I'd check). I know that in Infinity Inc #7, her birthday is said to be 27 September 1959, but it seems likely that Joey Cavalieri got the year wrong and meant 1957. (Although 27 September doesn't tally with the dates you give. Possibly someone was rounding up, or meant in her 21st year.)
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Post by Cei-U! on Jul 14, 2015 8:41:25 GMT -5
Doesn't DC Superstars #17 establish Helena's birth year as 1957? (My own copy is not readily accessible or I'd check). I know that in Infinity Inc #7, her birthday is said to be 27 September 1959, but it seems likely that Joey Cavalieri got the year wrong and meant 1957. (Although 27 September doesn't tally with the dates you give. Possibly someone was rounding up, or meant in her 21st year.) By golly, foxley, you're right! A caption in DCSS #17 does indeed say Helena was born "two years later" after the wedding. Don't know how I missed that! Cei-U! I summon the great catch! |
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Post by foxley on Jul 14, 2015 17:27:47 GMT -5
Doesn't DC Superstars #17 establish Helena's birth year as 1957? (My own copy is not readily accessible or I'd check). I know that in Infinity Inc #7, her birthday is said to be 27 September 1959, but it seems likely that Joey Cavalieri got the year wrong and meant 1957. (Although 27 September doesn't tally with the dates you give. Possibly someone was rounding up, or meant in her 21st year.) By golly, foxley, you're right! A caption in DCSS #17 does indeed say Helena was born "two years later" after the wedding. Don't know how I missed that! Cei-U! I summon the great catch! It's a fairly minor point, and your head is undoubtedly full of all kinds of other Earth-2 facts you're compiling for this excellent series of reviews (which I'm loving). I'm just happy I was able to contribute a little something to this store of knowledge. The Earth-2 Huntress was one of my favourite characters. I read a reprint of her origin story when I was just starting to get seriously into superhero characters and it really made an impact on me. I also love its 'prequel' "The Autobiographry of Bruce Wayne" in The Brave and the Bold #198. |
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Post by Cei-U! on Jul 15, 2015 7:16:19 GMT -5
Secret Society of Super-Villains #15
June-July 1978 (March 20, 1978) $.35
Cover Art: Rich Buckler (Penciller), Dick Giordano (Inker), signed
“The Wizard's War of the Worlds!” 17 pages
Jack C. Harris (Editor), Bob Rozakis (Writer), Mike Vosburg (Penciller), Bob Smith (Inker), Jean Simek (Letterer), Carl Gafford (Colorist)
FC: The Blockbuster, Copperhead, The Mirror Master, The Plant Master, The Reverse-Flash, Star Sapphire, The Wizard, teamed as the Secret Society of Super-Villains
GS: The Atom, Captain Comet, Doctor Mid-Nite
Villain: The Silver Ghost
Cameos: Batman, Black Canary, Doctor Fate, The Flash, Green Lantern, Hawkman, Hourman, Mr. Terrific, Power Girl, The Sandman, The Spectre, The Star-Spangled Kid, Superman, Johnny Thunder and The Thunderbolt, Wonder Woman, teamed with The Atom and D. Mid-Nite as the Justice Society of America, on a poster
Cameos: The Black Condor, Doll Man, Firebrand, The Human Bomb, Phantom Lady, The Ray, Uncle Sam, teamed as the Freedom Fighters, in preview of following issue
Cameos: Chronos, Killer Moth, Quakemaster, Sizematic, in preview of following issue
Synopsis
In the deserted headquarters of the Injustice Society on Earth-Two, the Wizard explains to his faction of the Secret Society his plan to destroy the Justice Society of America by defeating its members one by one. As the first phase of his plan, the evil sorcerer lures the Atom then Dr. Mid-Nite into an ambush. Neither hero is a match for powerhouses like Blockbuster, Plant Master and the Reverse-Flash. Captain Comet materializes on Earth-Two, vowing that “no matter how many worlds [they] find to hide on,” he will “bring the Secret Society to justice.”
Behind the Scenes
This is the final issue of Secret Society of Super-Villains.
Continuity
It is not clear where the events of this issue fit into Earth-Two continuity. They probably occur between the “Justice Society of America” stories in All-Star Comics #71 and 72 (see the first Continuity note for All-Star #72 for further details) but this cannot be confirmed.
The story begun in this issue, left unresolved by the series' cancellation, is concluded behind the scenes, as revealed in the brief flashback on page 5 of Justice League of America #166. The exact timing of these events are unclear but probably occur sometime before the JSA and JLA battle the Lord of Time in Justice League of America #159-60, as Dr/ Mid-Nite is a participant in that adventure.
Although unfinished pages from what would have been Secret Society of Super-Villains #16 and 17 are printed in Cancelled Comic Cavalcade #2, the limited circulation of that publication renders those stories apocryphal.
Meeting Minutes
The Huntress (2), The Red Tornado (2), Robin, Starman and Wildcat are missing from the JSA poster hanging in Injustice Society headquarters but may be behind the portions of the image obscured by the Secret Society members standing in front of it.
The Good Guys
The Atom states in this issue that he is “semi-retired” but considering returning to active duty with the JSA.
This is the first mention in Earth-Two continuity of the Atom's “atomic punch,” although whether this is a distinct super-power or simply a colorfully-phrased description of his superhuman strength is not clear.
It is not clear if Dr. Mid-Nite, who is captured in the Keystone City Botanical Gardens, is operating out of Keystone or was lured there by the Wizard.
Fashion Watch
The Atom wears boots that are level at the top instead of coming to a point below the knee. Also his shirt is depicted with both long and short sleeves.
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Post by Hoosier X on Jul 15, 2015 10:17:53 GMT -5
The unfinished art for what was supposed to be SSOSV #16 and #17 was eventually published in volume two of the Secret Society of Super-Villains reprint hardcover. It's pretty cool! There's TWO Secret Societys! While the Wizard's group is attacking the JSA, a second group led by the Silver Ghost and made up of guys like Chronos, Killer Moth and Quake-Master attacks the Freedom Fighters.
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Post by Cei-U! on Jul 16, 2015 7:37:32 GMT -5
Action Comics #484
June 1978 (March 27, 1978) $.35
Cover Art: Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez (Penciller), Dick Giordano (Inker), main image, signed; Joe Shuster (Art), Action Comics #1 vignette
“Superman Takes a Wife!” 22 pages
Julius Schwartz (Editor), Cary Bates (Writer); Curt Swan (Penciller), Joe Giella (Inker); Ben Oda (Lettering), Tatjana Wood (Coloring)
FC: Superman
SC: Lois Lane, Jimmy Olsen
Villain: The Wizard
Reintro: George Taylor
Reintro: Susie Tompkins
Intro: Lucille Lane Tompkins
Intro: Colonel Future (Col. Edmund H. Future)
Intro: The C-F Gang (all unnamed)
Intro: The Mechanical Marauders (all destroyed in this story)
Synopsis
In Metropolis on Earth-Two, “long ago and far away,” Superman interrupts the depredations of the Mechanical Marauders, a quartet of bank-robbing robots. The Action Ace unceremoniously demolishes the machines. Watching with displeasure from a nearby balcony is Colonel Future, the mastermind behind the Marauders. Future vows to rid himself of the super-hero's constant interference in his plans. Superman reassumes his guise of Clark Kent, reporter for The Metropolis Daily Star, in time to thwart another of Lois Lane's schemes to expose his dual identity.
Three days later, Colonel Future orders his “soldiers” of the C-F Gang to fetch the Wizard, arch-foe of the Justice Society of America. He offers the villain a deal: Future will trade “the Glastonbury Wand… a priceless relic reputed to have been crafted by Merlin himself” — a relic the Wizard has long craved — if the wicked sorcerer will magically “remove Superman permanently from the face of the Earth!”
The next morning, Clark and Lois stumble across an armored car robbery by the C-F Gang. Kent slips away and becomes Superman. Meanwhile, “in the bleak countryside southwest of Metropolis,” the Wizard uses the Glastonbury Wand to summon the Man of Steel. Superman disappears from mid-battle, rematerializing before his occult assassin. Disoriented and powerless in the face of such potent magic, he has no time to react before the Wizard completes his spell. The Last Son of Krypton vanishes from existence.
That night, the full moon is sole witness as Clark Kent materializes above the scorched earth where Superman died.
With no Man of Tomorrow to stop them in the weeks and months that follow, the C-F Gang runs rampant over the forces of law and order in Metropolis. A surprising new hero arises to oppose their rampage: Clark Kent. No longer aware of his Superman persona and thus no longer required to disguise his secret identity behind a mask of timidity, Kent leads a public crusade against crime in the city, earning the enmity of Colonel Future.
Lois finds herself irresistibly attracted to this brave new Clark. A year after the disappearance of Superman, the couple wed. The Kents' Bahamian honeymoon is rudely interrupted by the C-F Gang. As a horrified Lois watches from shore, her swimming husband is riddled with gunfire… without effect. The hitmen flee in confusion. When Clark reaches the beach, Lois realizes he hadn't felt or even noticed the attack. Old suspicions are aroused. That night, Lois puts her theory to the test. Scissors break on Clark's invulnerable hair, convincing the new bride of the astonishing truth: she has married Superman.
It doesn't take the seasoned investigative reporter long to deduce that her husband no longer remembers Superman. Sure that only the person responsible can reverse the effect. Lois digs through every scrap of evidence from the investigation into Superman's disappearance. The trail leads her to a bum sleeping on a park bench, a bum who once called himself the Wizard. Though his defeat of the Man of Steel should have made him the most infamous super-villain on earth, so many other villains stepped forward and claimed credit that his boasts were lost in the avalanche of false confessions. With his confidence shattered, his magical powers fled. Lois persuades him to prove his claim by publicly bringing Superman back, knowing full well she may be sacrificing her marriage in the bargain.
The next morning, the Wizard and Lois call a press conference. The sinister sorcerer reverses his spell. Superman rises from the ground where he died (while, unnoticed by the assembled reporters, Clark simultaneously fades away) and appears once more in the skies over Metropolis. After taking Wizard into custody, Superman returns home to find Lois packing. Her fears prove groundless. Not only does the Man of Tomorrow want to remain married, he marries her a second time at a Kryptonian ceremony held at his mountainside Secret Citadel.
Behind the Scenes
Colonel Edmund H. Future is named for science-fiction pioneer (and frequent ‘Superman’ writer) Edmond Hamilton, whose many creations include the pulp magazine hero, Captain Future.
Continuity
No specific dates are given to indicate when the events of this story, which span the space of an entire year, take place. A reasonable guess can be made based on internal evidence. Superman has learned the truth about his Kryptonian ancestry, for example, which places it after the story in Superman #61 (November-December 1949). Also, although it is not stated explicitly, the Wizard's dialogue implies that the JSA is still active, which places it before or shortly after the ‘Justice Society of America’ story in All-Star Comics #57 (February-March 1951). If true, the story must then take place largely in 1950. Although the clothing styles, cars, airplanes and so forth seen in the artwork are consistent with such a date, this timeline cannot be conclusively confirmed.
The Good Guys
The text page in this issue, written by E. Nelson Bridwell, is a twenty-one point comparison between the two Supermen that would establish the backstory for all the Earth-Two version's future appearances. Among the major differences:
● The Earth-Two Superman and Power Girl are the only living Kryptonians; millions of Kryptonians survived their planet's destruction in the Earth-One dimension, notably the citizens of the bottle city of Kandor and the inhabitants of the Phantom Zone, the extradimensional limbo to which Kryptonian criminals are exiled.
● The Earth-Two Superman did not become aware of his extraterrestrial origin until Superman #61; the Earth-One version has memories of his infancy on Krypton.
● The Earth-Two Superman's foster parents were John and Mary Kent; the Earth-Two version's were Jonathan and Martha.
● The Earth-Two Superman had no Superboy career and was wanted by the law in the early days of his costumed identity; the Earth-One version earned international adulation while still Superboy.
Superman is shown flying throughout this issue.
This is the first appearance in Earth-Two continuity of Superman's Secret Citadel, the equivalent of his Earth-One counterpart's Fortress of Solitude. The Citadel is located in the mountains of the eastern United States.
Lois Lane marries Superman (as Clark Kent) in this issue. Jimmy Olsen is best man, her sister Lucille Tomkins is matron of honor and Lucille's daughter Susie is flower girl at their wedding.
George Taylor was last seen in the ‘Superman’ story in Action Comics #30 (November 1940). He should not be confused with his Earth-One counterpart introduced in Superman #366 (December 1981).
Susie Tompkins was last seen in Superman #95 (February 1955). Although it was clear in her Golden Age appearances that Susie was the daughter of Lois Lane's sister, her mother's first name was never mentioned.
Lucile Lane Tompkins should not be confused with her Earth-One counterpart, Lucy Lane, introduced in Superman's Pal, Jimmy Olsen #36 (February 1959).
It is not clear who the bald, bespectacled man in formal wear standing behind Lucile Tompkins at the ceremony is. He may be Sam Lane, Lucile and Lois's father (first mentioned in the ‘Mr. & Mrs. Superman’ story in The Superman Family #198 but never actually seen in Earth-Two continuity) but this cannot be confirmed.
Although Clark Kent, Lois Lane, Jimmy Olsen and George Taylor began working for The Daily Planet as early as the ‘Superman’ story in Action Comics #23 (April 1940), they are depicted as working continously for the Daily Star from the late '30s through the early- to mid-'80s in most canonical Earth-Two stories. The depiction of Clark and Lois as Planet employees in the ‘Superman and Wonder Woman’ story in All-New Collectors' Edition #C-54 is the sole deviation.
The Bad Guys
Colonel Future should not be confused with the Earth-One villain of the same name introduced in Superman #378 (December 1982).
The Wizard's real name, Frederick P. Garth, is revealed in this issue. His appearance here occurs after the “Justice Society of America” story in All-Star Comics #41 (June-July 1948), his final Golden Age appearance.
Colonel Future's men list the Puzzler and the Wrecker among the Earth-Two Superman's foes. This is the first mention of either villain in Silver or Bronze Age continuity.
The Brain Wave is among the 22 villains falsely claiming credit for Superman's disappearance.
Fashion Watch
Superman is depicted wearing a variant of his costume's familiar five-sided “S” symbol throughout this issue. The bottom point of the diamond-shaped emblem is truncated to form a sixth side. Also the upper serif on the S attaches to the shield's border on two sides instead of one.
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Post by Cei-U! on Jul 17, 2015 8:34:06 GMT -5
Steel, The Indestructible Man #3
June 1978 (March 27, 1978) $.35
Cover Art: Don Heck (Penciller), Al Milgrom (Inker), signed
“When Hammer Meets Steel” (10 pages)
Al Milgrom (Editor), Gerry Conway (Writer), Don Heck (Penciller), Joe Giella (Inker), Ben Oda (Letterer), Bob LeRose (Colorist)
FC: Steel, the Indestructible Man
SC: Edward Runyon
Intro: Sledgehammer (Emil Sledgeski) and his gang
Synopsis
Steel arrives for a clandestine meeting with Edward Runyon in time to witness an attempted hit on the isolationist newspaper publisher. The hoods are no match for the Indestructible Man but their boss, the Chicago ganglord nicknamed Sledgehammer, is another matter. A hulking brute with super-strength and freakishly oversized fists, Sledgehammer knocks the hero out long enough for he and his men to escape. In Runyon's Empire State Building office, the publisher admits he summoned Steel to protect him from the gangsters. Sledgehammer is actually Emil Sledgeski, a Polish immigrant befriended by Runyon during their childhood in Chicago's West Side slums. In 1924, Sledgeski accidentally killed a man. Runyon hid him until an anonymous tipster revealed his whereabouts. Now, years later, Sledgehammer wants his boyhood friend dead. Steel tracks Sledgehammer to a mob-run hotel. It takes all of the hero's power and cunning to overcome the monstrous crimelord. Afterward, the Indestructible Man confronts Edward Runyon with the truth: it was Runyon who betrayed Sledgeski for the reward, turning the misunderstood mutant into a hardened criminal.
“A Night Without Heroes” (7 pages)
Al Milgrom (Editor), Gerry Conway (Writer), Juan Ortiz (Penciller), Bruce Patterson (Inker), Todd Klein (Letterer), Bob LeRose (Colorist)
FC: Steel, the Indestructible Man
SC: Gloria Giles, Kathy Kulhammer, Maj. Hannibal Morton, Edward Runyon
Intro: The Gadgeteer (Colonel Roger Romane, true revealed in Steel the Indestructible Man #4)
Synopsis
After defeating Sledgehammer, Steel returns to base. Edward Runyon meets Kathy Kulhammer for dinner at an upscale restaurant, unaware they are being watched by a costumed man who calls himself the Gadgeteer. Major Morton wakes Hank Heywood up to inform him that Gilbert Giles has had a heart attack. Given twelve hours of hardship leave, the young Marine hurries to his mentor's bedside. The Gadgeteer, meanwhile, uses his gadgets to rob the dinner crowd. Kathy Kulhammer, already enamored with Steel, decides to enlist his help against the new villain. Despite crashing his Jeep en route, Hank makes it to the hospital in record time. There, a distraught Gloria tells him her father's heart attack was triggered by newspaper accounts of Steel's activities. “If Giles dies, then I'm responsible,” thinks Heywood. “Steel may have killed the man who saved my life!”
Cosmology
Hank Heywood is depicted driving a Jeep in November 1939, three months before the first prototype was completed and nearly two years before the American military began using them in our reality.
Continuity
This issue takes place “a few days” after the events of Steel, The Indestructible Man #2.
Edward Runyon's newspaper is identified as the New York Daily Star in this issue. Its offices are in the Empire State Building. There is no known connection between it and the Metropolis paper of the same name.
The Good Guys
Steel uses his flare gun and tranquilizer rifle for the first time in this story. Although he wears the rifle slung across his back, it is not clear where he carries the flare gun (his costume has no holster) or his tranquilizer darts.
Fashion Watch
Kathy Kulhammer is portrayed as a blonde beginning with this issue. She was a redhead in her previous appearance.
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Post by Cei-U! on Jul 18, 2015 6:23:55 GMT -5
Freedom Fighters #15
July-August 1978 (April 3, 1978) $.35
Cover Art: Alex Saviuk (Penciller) and Frank Giacoia (Inker), signed
“Carnival of Death” 17 pages
Jack C. Harris (Editor), Bob Rozakis (Writer), Dick Ayers (Penciller), Jack Abel (Inker), Milt Snappin (Letterer), Mario Sen (Colorist)
FC: The Black Condor, Doll Man, Firebrand, The Human Bomb, Phantom Lady, The Ray, Uncle Sam, teamed as the Freedom Fighters
GS: Batgirl, Batwoman [of Earth-One]
Villains: The Morcans
Reintro: Senator Henry Knight, in flashback to Police Comics #1
Reintro: Ace Diamond, in flashback to Police Comics #1
Intro: The Warmaker (destroyed in this story)
Synopsis
Phantom Lady is a captive aboard a huge spaceship, her only companions the blobs of protoplasmic jelly contained in glass tubes throughout the ship. One such blob reclaims its true form as the Ray but he has no more explanation for what's happening than PL.
Back on Earth, Uncle Sam and Firebrand form an alliance with Batwoman and Batgirl to get to the bottom of the strange doings at Kathy Kane's circus. Doll Man and Black Condor report finding a strange factory beneath the grounds.
Ray and Phantom Lady land on the planet Morca, home of the little green men plaguing the circus. The telepathic aliens are using the protoplasm, actually “reprocessed” human beings, to build a “warmaker,” a giant android that will help the Morcans conquer the galaxy. The Ray uses his powers to convert the creature back into the people it was made out of, including the Human Bomb. Overpowering their captors, the humans return to Earth to find Sam and the others have defeated the Morcan factory workers and their android hordes.
With the aliens' plot thwarted, Batgirl returns to her congressional duties and the FF settle into their new lives as carnival performers, still intent on someday capturing the Silver Ghost and clearing their names.
Behind the Scenes
This is the final issue of Freedom Fighters.
The series' outstanding plotlines are left unresolved with the book's cancellation, though writer Bob Rozakis will provide a brief synopsis of his intended resolution in the letters page of DC Comics Presents #62, the Freedom Fighters' next chronological appearance.
The Freedom Fighters were scheduled to crossover with the Secret Society of Super-Villains series, appearing in #16-17 of that title. Both series were instead cancelled as of their fifteenth issues. Unfinished pages from those stories appear in the limited-circulation Cancelled Comics Cavalcade #2 but are not considered canonical by this guide.
Cosmology
Phantom Lady explicitly states that her origin occurred on Earth-X.
Continuity
Batgirl mentions that the events of Freedom Fighters #14-15 occur in the same week as those of The Batman Family #17, placing them in January of 1978 (see the first Continuity note for the latter issue for further information).
The Good Guys
Phantom Lady's origin is retold in this issue.
Senator Henry Knight was last seen in (insert citation here).
The Bad Guys
The Morcans, who were portrayed as four feet tall in the previous issue, are half that size (and occasionally smaller) throughout this story.
Fashion Watch
Firebrand wears the boots from the previous issue in the issue's interior art but is without them on the cover.
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Post by Cei-U! on Jul 21, 2015 7:39:36 GMT -5
All-Star Comics #73
July-August 1978 (April 17, 1978) $.35
Cover Art: Joe Staton (Penciller), Joe Giella (Inker), signed
“Be It Ever So Deadly…” 17 pages
Joe Orlando (Editor), Paul Levitz (Writer), Joe Staton (Penciller), Joe Giella (Inker), Todd Klein (Letterer), Adrienne Roy (Colorist)
FC: Doctor Fate, The Flash, Green Lantern, Hawkman, The Huntress, Power Girl, Wildcat teamed as the Justice Society of America
SC: Joan Garrick
Villains: The Huntress (1), The Sportsmaster, The Thorn and her gang
Intro: The Master Summoner
ynopsis
The Huntress' mission to fetch the Icicle's freeze gun ― needed to save the life of the comatose Wildcat ― from JSA HQ hits a snag when her villainous namesake, infuriated by the appropriation of her nom du crime, springs her trap. After a savage fight, the elder Huntress traps the younger in an unbreakable glass cage. When Helena fails to signal Green Lantern to recall her to Keystone City, he tunes in on her with his power ring and discovers her peril. While GL flies to her rescue, the Flash and Power Girl scour the city at super-speed for signs of the Thorn.
Doctor Fate and Hawkman find themselves in “a land of twin suns, towering pyramids [and] shadowy beings.” A voice issues from the largest pyramid. “The Master Summoner you face,” it says, “and reckoning awaits… …reckoning for you and all your mortal race!”
PG and Flash track the Thorn to the home of Jay Garrick, where the murderous madwoman plans to revenge herself on the Scarlet Speedster by murdering his wife Joan. Ambushed outside the House by the Sportsmaster, Flash eludes his traps and races inside, leaving Power Girl to deal wIth the sinister sportsman.
As his doctors look on helplessly, Wildcat edges closer to death.
Green Lantern frees Helena from her cage. While Flash and PG defeat Thorn and Sportsmaster in Keystone, the Huntress captures her evil counterpart in one of her own booby traps.
Six hours later, an anxious Justice Society looks on as Ted Grant goes under the surgeon's knife. The delicate operation is a success: Wildcat will live.
The Good Guys
Given the celebrity status of retired boxing champion Ted Grant, it is a certainty that the medical team who perform his brain surgery are aware of Wildcat's secret identity.
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Post by Cei-U! on Jul 22, 2015 6:50:20 GMT -5
The Batman Family #19
August-September 1978 (May 15, 1978) $1.00
Cover Art: Michael Kaluta
“Gotham Town is Burning Down!” 10 pages
Allen Milgrom (Editor), Paul Levitz (Writer), Joe Staton (Penciller), Bob Layton (Inker); Jean Simek (Letterer), Adrienne Roy (Colorist)
FC: The Huntress
SC: Arthur Cranston, Roger Demarest
Intro: Franklin Gresham
Synopsis
Returning to the alley where she witnessed a mysterious figure pay a child for setting the South Gotham fires, the Huntress finds the secret exit they vanished through. She emerges from the tunnel into the courtyard of an abandoned building. Staking the place out, her patience is rewarded a few hours later when a light appears in a window. The bombmaker hears her approach and escapes before she can identify him.
The next day at the law offices of Cranston, Grayson and Wayne, Helena and the others watch a televised press conference with Gotham City Councilman Franklin Gresham. The politician stresses the necessity for infusions of federal money to reverse the awful conditions in his district, as epitomized by the current arson spree. The partners decide to back Gresham's campaign.
That night, the Huntress hunts while South Gotham burns.
The following morning, Helena watches Roger Demarest and Councilman Gresham debate on a live TV news show. Roger's skepticism regarding Gresham's motives raises her own suspicions. The Huntress trails Gresham to his apartment. She is caught searching the councilman's wall safe. Gresham holds her at gunpoint long enough for his chauffeur to knock her out. “Now I'll finish the job,” Gresham says, “by killing her!”
The Good Guys
Helena Wayne lives in the prestigious Innwood neighborhood of Gotham City, not far from the Justice Society brownstone.
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