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Post by Phil Maurice on Oct 17, 2014 18:13:25 GMT -5
Clark Kent is a famous journalist in The DCU. The reference could work in the same way you could jokingly call a small-time reporter Woodward or Bernstein. Except it doesn't work at all. Later in the story, Corrigan tells a policeman to keep "Clark Kent" out of his way, and the policeman says, "Clark Kent? Gee, are you really Superman?" |
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Post by Cei-U! on Oct 18, 2014 7:24:47 GMT -5
The Spectre #3
March-April 1968 (January 16, 1968) $.12
Cover Art: Neal Adams
“Hang 'em Up, Wildcat ― You're Finished!” 13 pages
Julius Schwartz (Editor), Mike Freidrich (Writer), Neal Adams (Artist), no lettering or coloring credits
FC: Wildcat
Intro: “Sad” Jack Dold
In another dimension, two alien sorcerers battle. When two bolts of mystic energy collide, a dimensional barrier is breached. Small time crook “Sad” Jack Dold is saturated in that energy as he walks the streets of Knickerbocker City.
Elsewhere in the city, its resident super-hero, Wildcat, finds age catching up to him as he struggles to overcome two ordinary robbery suspects. Disturbed by his failing prowess, the former Heavyweight Boxing Champion of the World broods in his apartment until, determined to prove he is only in a temporary slump, he returns to the streets. Spotting a break-in at the Museum of Natural History, the Feline Fury makes quick work of the gang. In another room of the museum, Wildcat finds a fearful “Sad” Jack, who screams “Stop!” as Wildcat pounces. Hero and criminal alike are flabbergasted as Wildcat freezes in mid-pounce, just as Dold commanded him to. Dold and his fellow gangsters complete their crime and return to their hideout.
Experimenting with his new powers, “Sad” Jack convinces the others it is time to enter the big leagues of crime. The next night, they attempt to rob the ticket office outside the auditorium where the Heavyweight Boxing Championship bout is underway. Ted Grant, a guest of honor at the event, stumbles across the robbery in progress. He switches to his Wildcat identity but again meets defeat at Dold's hands. Wildcat's humiliation is complete when Dold ― now calling himself “Happy” Jack ― uses his powers to force the hero to his knees before a national television audience. The strain renders Wildcat unconscious and the gang escapes with the proceeds.
“Menace of the Mystic Mastermind” 11 pages
Julius Schwartz (Editor), Mike Freidrich (Writer), Neal Adams (Artist), no lettering or coloring credits
FC: The Spectre
GS: Wildcat
Villain: “Sad” Jack Dold
Among those viewing Wildcat's defeat is The Spectre. Transporting his teammate home, Spectre reassures Wildcat that no ordinary mortal could hope to overcome someone with Dold's sorcerous powers. Meanwhile, the other members of his gang try to cheat “Happy” Jack of his share of the loot. Realizing that his powers make money irrelevant, Dold abandons his cohorts, leaving them paralyzed amongst their illicit gains. Sensing Dold's powers in action, Spectre traces it to the gang's hideout. Freeing the crooks from their paralysis, the Spirit Sleuth turns them over to the Knickerbocker police.
Back at Ted Grant's apartment, Spectre tries to convince Ted that his value extends beyond his fighting prowess. “Happy” Jack, in the interim, has teleported himself to his hometown of Gateway City. Creating an outrageous super-villain's costume for himself, Dold decides to obliterate the city in an atomic explosion. The Spectre arrives in time to stop him. Draining “Happy” Jack of his powers, Spectre disperses the energy “at the edge of time and space.” Without his powers and on his way to jail, Dold is once again “Sad” Jack.
A few weeks later, Jim Corrigan visits Knickerbocker City, where Ted Grant has opened a gymnasium for underprivileged children. His sense of purpose restored, Wildcat stands ready to combat the world's ills on two fronts.
Behind the Scenes
Although this issue's contents constitute a single narrative, it is structured as if the first 13 pages were a solo “Wildcat” story.
The statement in this story that Earth-Two’s reigning “heavyweight champ” was wounded while serving in Viet Nam is probably meant as a commentary on Muhammad Ali’s refusal to serve in the armed forces on religious grounds, a refusal that cost him his title not long before this issue was published.
Cosmology
The city out of which Wildcat operates is identified as Knickerbocker City in this issue.
The Good Guys
According to this story, Wildcat has never married and is independently wealthy, thanks to his boxing career.
Wildcat's customized motorcycle, the “Cat-o-cycle” (misspelled “Catocicle” in this story), is seen for the first time in Earth-Two continuity.
Fashion Watch
Wildcat wears a modified version of his original costume introduced in Sensation Comics #1 (January 1942), with its distinctive floppy ear- and jowl-pieces and cat-paw feet, in this story. Unlike the original, the gloves do not leave the fingers exposed.
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Post by Cei-U! on Oct 19, 2014 7:46:02 GMT -5
The Atom #36
April-May 1968 (February 1, 1968) $.12
Cover Art: Gil Kane
“Duel of the Dual Atoms” 23 pages
Julius Schwartz (Editor), Gardner Fox (Writer); Gil Kane (Penciller), Sid Greene (Inker); no lettering or coloring credits
FC: The Atom [of Earth-One]
GS: The Atom
SC: Jean Loring
Intro: Marion Thayer
Intro: Bill and Betty Roberts
Synopsis
His friends, Bill and Betty Roberts, set up bachelor Al Pratt on a blind date. Al is shocked to find his date, Marion Thayer, is a matronly woman in her fifties. But when Betty also inexplicably ages, Al realizes a strange force is at work. At Calvin City police headquarters, he learns that every woman in the vicinity has been similarly affected. Hoping to find a clue to the mystery on Earth-One, Al assumes his Atom guise and makes the interdimensional jump.
Earth-One's Atom, meanwhile, is foiling a robbery when he and the thieves decrease in age by ten years. His memory of his superheroic identity erased, the terrified Ray Palmer ― trapped at his six inch height ― makes his way home. There, he finds the Earth-Two Atom waiting for him. Al helps Ray return to full size and tries to explain what happened, but Ray is too distracted by his impending “first date” with Jean Loring to listen. Given no choice, Al forces Ray to return to Earth-Two with him.
Though the shift restores Ray's memory, it also turns him hostile and violent. The two Atoms clash until Al tries to shift back to Earth-One. Ray, however, has damaged Al's dimensional vibrator and the heroes end up stranded on an interdimensional world. Thinking he will have an advantage at full size, the Earth-One Atom assumes his Ray Palmer identity but, without his size-changing powers, he is no match for his older, more experienced counterpart. Al knocks Ray out, repairs his device, and finishes the journey to Earth-One.
Now Ray is even younger, barely a teenager. Believing himself late for a science club field trip, he races off to Mount Ivy with Al hot on his heels. Finding a radio telescope on the mountain, Ray irrationally destroys it, which restores him to sanity and his true age. Deducing that the telescope was inadvertently drawing a strange new radiation to Earth, the Atoms return to Earth-Two where, as expected, they find and destroy a similar telescope. This reverses the aging of Calvin City's women. Al happily continues his date with the now youthful Marion.
Meeting Minutes
This is the first and only appearance of the Earth-Two Atom's dimensional vibrator, which allows him to shift from one Earth to the other at the touch of a button. It is not clear if this is an independent invention or is based on similar devices used by (and presumably confiscated from) the Crime Champions in Justice League of America #21-22. Nor is it clear if all of the JSA carry such devices.
The Good Guys
The Earth-Two Atom shows no evidence of superhuman strength in this issue. His height is given as 5'2", an inch taller than in his Golden Age stories.
Despite implications to the contrary in The Atom #29, Al Pratt is clearly identified as a professor of nuclear physics in this issue.
Fashion Watch
The Earth-Two Atom's bare arms are colored the same yellow as his short-sleeved tunic throughout this issue.
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Post by Cei-U! on Oct 20, 2014 7:58:33 GMT -5
The Spectre #4
May-June 1968 (March 19, 1968) $.12
Cover Art: Neal Adams
“Stop That Kid.. Before He Wrecks the World!” 24 pages
Julius Schwartz (Editor), Neal Adams (Script and Art), no lettering or coloring credits.
FC: The Spectre
Intro: Hamilton Benedict
Synopsis
Jim Corrigan investigates the disappearance of little Hamilton Benedict, a farmboy who was hit by a weirdly glowing meteor. The Spectre, meanwhile, battles a huge out-of-season tornado. Detecting “something very unnatural” behind the freak storm, the Astral Avenger tracks that something to another supernatural calamity: a plague of giant locusts. Spectre deals with the bugs and continues his investigation, leading him back to Corrigan and the Benedicts. He tells Jim it is Hamilton, somehow endowed with strange occult powers, who is responsible for the recent disasters. When Spectre attempts an exorcism, the attempt nearly kills the boy. Escaping, Hamilton keeps the Spectre so busy responding to disasters that the Ghostly Guardian must split himself into two less-powerful Spectres. While one Spectre remains on Earth, the other trails the evil possessing Hamilton back to its apparent source: a distant planet where a scientifically advanced civilizations is slowly committing suicide by war. With his power halved, Spectre proves vulnerable to their mighty war machines. Struggling free, the Spirit Sleuth continues to backtrack the evil from one devastated planet to another, concluding that each was infected with “a plague of evil.” He races back to Earth, where his other half has been magically dueling with the Benedict boy. A reunited Spectre is too much opposition. Hamilton vows to destroy the Earth in revenge. Though Corrigan insists only the boy's death will stop the destruction, Spectre refuses to kill an innocent. Its plan to infect Earth by corrupting its “greatest good” ― the Spectre himself ― thwarted, the plague of evil returns to “the oblivion [it] was created from.”
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Post by Cei-U! on Oct 21, 2014 8:44:45 GMT -5
Green Lantern #61
June 1968 (April 11, 1968) $.12
Cover Art: Gil Kane (Penciller), Sid Greene (Inker)
“Thoroughly Modern Mayhem!” 23 pages
Julius Schwartz (Editor), Mike Friedrich (Writer), Gil Kane (Penciller), Sid Greene (Inker), no lettering or coloring credits
FC: Green Lantern [of Earth-One]
GS: Green Lantern
Intro: Captain Challenge (true name unknown)
Intro: Johnny Halliday and his gang
Intro: Tommy Saunders
Synopsis
The Green Lanterns end the crime spree of Captain Challenge, an Earth-Two villain running rampant on Earth-One. Returning to his civilian identity of Gotham Broadcasting president Alan Scott, the Earth-Two GL breaks up a brawl between Johnny Halliday and Tommy Saunders, his top disk jockeys. Though Saunders requires hospitalization, Scott decides not to have Halliday arrested. Word reaches the newsroom that the latest in a series of crime waves is underway. Green Lantern leaps back into action.
For the next 48 hours, the Emerald Gladiator works non-stop thwarting crimes that invariably occur whenever the Gotham City police are distracted by fires, car crashes, and so on. When the exhausted Lantern responds to a burglar alarm at Wayne Manor and finds his ring's charge depleted, he loses control, nearly beating the burglar to death. He returns to his apartment and finds it ransacked. Something in him snaps. He orders his recharged ring to “get rid of all evil on earth.” A heartbeat later, the Lantern fades away, as does every other human being on Earth-Two. Only his power ring remains behind.
On Earth-One, Hal Jordan discovers the entire population of Earth-Two standing in suspended animation on the Utah salt flats. Investigating, he finds the parallel world deserted and recovers Scott's ring. Returning to his native dimension, Hal locates and revives the elder Lantern. Alan, on the brink of despair, tells Hal of his final command, made without considering that the seed of evil lies in the hearts of all human beings. The Earth-One GL reminds him that their mission is not to eradicate all the evil in the universe but to oppose it whenever and wherever they can. His perspective restored, Alan helps Hal return Earth-Two's citizens to their own lives.
Back on Earth-Two, Alan visits Tommy Saunders in the hospital while Hal investigates the Gotham crime wave. Hal's ring intercepts a pirate VHF broadcast ordering Saunders' murder. He streaks to the hospital, to find Alan has already knocked the would-be assassins ― two GBC employees ― flat. Alan changes once more to his Green Lantern identity and, with a confused Hal trailing behind, races to the GBC building. He levels Johnny Halliday with a single punch. Halliday was the brains behind the crime wave, broadcasting orders to his gang whenever word of a police emergency reached the radio newsroom.
Behind the Scenes
The title of this story is a pun on the title of the 1967 movie Thoroughly Modern Millie.
The Good Guys
This is the first use in Earth-Two continuity of the Earth-Two Green Lantern's original oath. In the later years of the Golden Age, this oath was replaced by the more familiar “In brightest day, in blackest night” oath later used by the Earth-One Green Lantern.
Dick (Robin) Grayson no longer lives at Wayne Manor.
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Post by Cei-U! on Oct 22, 2014 7:56:37 GMT -5
The Spectre #5
July-August 1968 (May 14, 1968) $.12
Cover Art: Neal Adams
“The Spectre Means Death!” 23 pages
Julius Schwartz (Editor), Neal Adams (Writer and Artist), no lettering or coloring credits
FC: The Spectre
Villain: The Psycho Pirate
Reintro: “Gat” Benton (first name unknown)
Synopsis
Near the Himalayan village of Kru, a Westerner with a featureless face murders the local sorcerer and steals his crystal ball. Returning to America, the faceless man commands the seeing stone to seek out any nearby source of mystical energy. It shows him a derelict with a revolver, one bullet of which radiates tremendous amounts of such energy, but the bullet vanishes before he can siphon its power.
Capt. Jim Corrigan is one of many policemen called to a Gateway City department store, where a crazed giant with glowing eyes rampages. When The Spectre appears to combat the menace, bystanders run in terror from the Spirit Sleuth. To prevent further panic or injuries, Spectre wipes the incident from the crowd's minds, only to learn he has inadvertently wiped out more than that specific memory. In the confusion, the giant escapes.
At his next confrontation with the raging colossus, Spectre again causes panic in onlookers. After suspending time around the crowd, the Astral Avenger brings all his power to bear on his foe. Nothing, not even anti-matter, affects the giant. Worse, some of the bystanders unaccountably escape from the time suspension, distracting the Spectre. Trying to suspend them anew, the Ghostly Guardian miscalculates and accidentally sends three innocents backward in time. In the time it takes to rescue them, the giant escapes once more. But Spectre has erred again, for a tyrannosaurus has returned from the past with him. Though on the verge of exhaustion, Spectre dispatches the dinosaur, unaware that some distance away a gloating figure watches his struggles in a crystal ball.
Corrigan, concerned about the fearful effect his ethereal counterpart is having on the public, refuses to allow Spectre to rest within him unless he vows to stay there forever. Desperately, Spectre tries to force his way into Jim but proves too weak. The frustrated Spirit Sleuth makes a last attempt to defeat the giant by entering his body in microscopic form. His power source neutralized from within by The Spectre, the giant reverts to human size. When Corrigan arrives on the scene, he discovers the mastermind behind these events: The Psycho Pirate.
The Pirate reveals it is he who has been draining Spectre's energies in order to free himself from the mystic mask placed on him by Doctor Fate in Showcase #56. He had originally planned to use the magic bullet ― the Tholaggan bullet created by Azmodus in Showcase #60 ― for that purpose, but when it was absorbed into the drifter, turning him into a destructive giant, the Pirate chose to use the mutated derelict to goad Spectre into action. His power over emotions restored, Psycho Pirate creates crippling fear in Spectre and Jim.
With his rationality restored, the drifter is revealed as “Gat” Benton, the gang boss who murdered Jim Corrigan in 1940. Fleeing in panic at the sight of his victim, Benton overturns the Pirate's crystal ball, smashing it. Forgetting himself, the Pirate displays anger on his face, transmitting that emotion to Jim. He furiously batters the criminal duo unconscious. The spell removed, the formerly fear-fraught Spectre returns to normal and takes a well-earned rest.
The Good Guys
The Spectre states in this issue that he is partially vulnerable to anti-matter. This is consistent with his appearance in Justice League of America #46-47, in which contact with the Anti-Matter Man caused his ectoplasmic body to distort.
The Bad Guys
“Gat” Benton was last seen in the Spectre story in More Fun Comics #53 (March 1940).
The Psycho Pirate shows much less versatility in this story than in his previous appearance, evoking only two emotions: fear and anger.
Fashion Watch
The Psycho Pirate adds a high-collared cape to his costume in this issue.
Points to Ponder
The Spectre is referred to as “the most powerful force in the universe” in one caption of this story, a statement that should probably be interpreted as hyperbole rather than taken literally.
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Post by JKCarrier on Oct 22, 2014 23:10:59 GMT -5
Except it doesn't work at all. Later in the story, Corrigan tells a policeman to keep "Clark Kent" out of his way, and the policeman says, "Clark Kent? Gee, are you really Superman?" My workaround for this is to assume that Clark Kent has been suspected of being Superman so many times (and of course, has managed to disprove it every time) that it's become a running joke to the DCU public. Sort of like the rumor about Walt Disney's frozen corpse being hidden away in Cinderella's Castle -- an urban legend that everyone has heard, but nobody takes seriously. |
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Post by Phil Maurice on Oct 23, 2014 7:32:21 GMT -5
My workaround for this is to assume that Clark Kent has been suspected of being Superman so many times (and of course, has managed to disprove it every time) that it's become a running joke to the DCU public. Sort of like the rumor about Walt Disney's frozen corpse being hidden away in Cinderella's Castle -- an urban legend that everyone has heard, but nobody takes seriously. Assuming that's the case, then Corrigan/The Spectre either has an inexplicably low opinion of Clark Kent despite knowing that he IS Superman OR Corrigan/The Spectre takes time out of his busy day to reinforce this misinformation regarding Superman's secret ID. I don't know, but then again I'm not a hard-continuity guy. Maybe Fleischer isn't either. I'm very interested to read Cei-U's take on this. |
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Post by Cei-U! on Oct 23, 2014 8:33:15 GMT -5
Justice League of America #64
August 1968 (June 13, 1968) $.12
Cover Art: Dick Dillin (Penciller), Jack Abel (Inker)
“The Stormy Return of The Red Tornado!” 23 pages
Julius Schwartz (Editor), Gardner Fox (Writer), Dick Dillin (Penciller), Sid Greene (Inker), no lettering or coloring credits
FC: The Justice League of America (the team makes no actual appearance in this issue)
GS: The Atom, Black Canary, Doctor Fate, Dr. Mid-Nite, The Flash, Green Lantern, Hawkman, Hourman, Mr. Terrific, The Sandman, Starman, teamed as the Justice Society of America
Villain: T. O. Morrow
Reintro: The Red Tornado [1] (Abigail “Ma” Hunkel), as a projected image only
Intro: The Red Tornado [2]
Synopsis
The boredom hanging over Justice Society headquarters shatters with the arrival of a strange costumed man with awesome wind-generating powers. He identifies himself as The Red Tornado, an original member of the JSA. Although he demonstrates detailed knowledge of the members present ― including their civilian identities ― this claim is impossible, for the Tornado who briefly associated with the team was a woman with no super-powers. The JSAers convince the imposter to remove his helmet and mask, only to find the stranger is completely faceless.
Before they can react to this development, Hourman's crime forecasting computer alerts the team to an impending robbery at a nearby museum. Racing to the scene accompanied by the bogus Tornado, they find the museum being looted by a band of similarly faceless men armed with futuristic weaponry. The Red Tornado, determined to prove himself to the JSA, throws himself into the fight but his bungling inadvertently leads to the apparent deaths of four Society members. Only Doctor Fate survives. He and the Tornado are both knocked unconscious and left behind by the thieves.
Recovering, the Tornado becomes aware of a “homing instinct” at work within him. He follows it to the lair of Thomas Oscar Morrow, the renegade Earth-One scientist from The Flash #143 (March 1964) now living on Earth-Two. Bursting in, Red Tornado is surprised that Morrow recognizes him. After a brief skirmish, Morrow deactivates the Tornado with the same radiation that felled the JSA.
Though paralyzed, The Red Tornado is still conscious. He hears Morrow brag that the Tornado and the other faceless men are androids created by him at the behest of the prognosticating computer Morrow had stolen from the far future. The computer programmed the Tornado android with knowledge of the Justice Society in order to infiltrate the team, for it had predicted that Morrow's planned crimes would fail unless the JSA gained a new member. Now the computer reveals that Morrow's scheme to raise and loot Atlantis will succeed only if Red Tornado is there to try and stop him. Reluctantly, Morrow reactivates the android. The Tornado realizes that the fallen Society members must also be comatose, not dead.
Meanwhile, Doctor Fate has retrieved the bodies of his teammates and taken them back to headquarters. There, six more JSA members join him. Green Lantern uses his ring to locate the ersatz Tornado. The android is at Atlantis where, contrary to the future computer's prediction, he has destroyed Morrow's other androids and is capturing the villain himself just as the JSA arrive. Jubilantly, The Red Tornado reveals the others are in a radiation coma, a coma that can be reversed with Morrow's captured gun. But when the android triggers it, he and the other super-heroes are struck down.
Satisfied he has nothing more to fear on Earth-Two, T. O. Morrow vows to return to Earth-One and destroy the Justice League. His computer assures him he will succeed… unless The Red Tornado intervenes.
Cosmology
It is not clear if the Atlantis raised in this issue is the same Atlantis formerly ruled by the Earth-Two Wonder Woman's foe Queen Clea, last seen in the “Wonder Woman” story in Comic Cavalcade #18 (December 1946-January 1947).
Meeting Minutes
Hourman introduces the “Crime-Caster,” a computer that can allegedly predict crimes, in this issue. Although he describes it as “a new computer I've been working on,” Rex Tyler is a chemist, not a computer scientist. It is most likely the product of a research project funded by Tyler Chemical. Apparently, the Crime-Caster proves unreliable as it is never seen again (at least under that name) after this issue.
The Good Guys
This is the first mention in Earth-Two continuity of the original Red Tornado of the 1940s, last seen in the “Scribbly” story in All-American Comics #59 (September 1944). The Tornado was never listed as a member of the Justice Society in the JSA's series in All-Star Comics, despite her cameo appearance in #3 of that title. The character makes no actual appearance. All future references to The Red Tornado in this guide should be understood as indicating the second, android hero unless specified otherwise.
The Bad Guys
Since The Red Tornado's programming includes the secret identities of the Justice Society, T.O. Morrow must also be aware of them. If so, he never references or acts upon the information in later appearances.
Fashion Watch
The Atom wears a cowl with a blue crest instead of the usual red in this issue and the next.
Doctor Fate does not wear his costume's gauntlets in this issue (though his hands are colored yellow in several panels).
Green Lantern wears the light purple cape last seen in Justice League of America #22 in this issue and the next.
Green Lantern's boots have four black stripes instead of two yellow stripes in this issue.
The trim on Hourman's cape features a broad black stripe flanked by two thinner black stripes.
The hourglass worn around Hourman's neck is rendered as a chest insignia on the cover of this issue.
Mr. Terrific is depicted with the coloring scheme of Hourman's costume in two panels of this issue.
Points to Ponder
The Flash, disintegrated in the first part of the story, is shown intact (though still seemingly dead) later in the issue with no explanation given for his restoration.
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Post by Cei-U! on Oct 24, 2014 7:23:08 GMT -5
As mentioned previously, the Earth-Two stories are being reviewed in publication order. Thus, we interrupt "The Stormy Return of The Red Tornado" to bring you:
The Spectre #6
September-October 1968 (July 16, 1968) $.12
Cover Art: Jerry Grandenetti (Penciller), Murphy Anderson (Inker)
“Pilgrims of Peril” 23 pages
Julius Schwartz (Editor), Gardner Fox (Writer), Jerry Grandenetti (Penciller), Murphy Anderson
(Inker), no lettering or coloring credits.
FC: The Spectre
Intro: Nawor, Demon Lord of Geimpo
Intro: Zebabeb Dodson and his followers
Synopsis
When phantom Pilgrims frighten the inhabitants out of the “old quarter” of Gateway City, a boy named Billy is inadvertently left behind. Rushing to his rescue, The Spectre is transported to the extradimensional realm of Geimpo, ruled by the monstrous Nawor. The Disembodied Detective manages to hold the demon at bay long enough for he and the boy to escape.
The ghosts began life as a cult of Nawor worshippers led by a sorcerer named Zebabeb Dodson. Forced to flee England in 1668 for their beliefs, Dodson and his followers settled in America on the site of present-day Gateway City, far from the other British colonies. They stole certain mystical artifacts from the local Indian tribe in hopes of bringing Nawor to the mortal plane. Put under a curse of death by the tribe's shaman for their sacrilege, the cultists were instead placed in limbo through Nawor's intercession. For a single day every hundred years, Dodson and three followers are able to return to Earth. Each time, they obtain one of the Indian artifacts needed to overturn the curse, restore them to life and grant Nawor the power to cross over from Geimpo. Now, in the present day of 1968, they begin their sinister ritual.
By the time Spectre and Billy return from the astral planes, Nawor has gained enough strength from his worshippers to manifest on Earth. While the Ghostly Guardian battles the seemingly invincible demon lord, Billy manages to free Jim Corrigan from the sorcerous flames in which the phantom cultists imprisoned him. Jim disrupts the ritual, weakening Nawor. Spectre discovers the otherdimensional monstrosity is vulnerable to the wood of the rowan tree. The thoroughly defeated Nawor is returned to Geimpo for all eternity. Without his power to sustain them, the spirits of Zebabeb Dodson and his followers are released from the Indian curse and their bodies crumble to dust.
Cosmology
Gateway City was originally named Rood Point.
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Post by Cei-U! on Oct 25, 2014 7:27:46 GMT -5
Justice League of America #65
September 1968 (July 25, 1968) $.12
Cover Art: Dick Dillin (Penciller), Joe Giella (Inker)
“T. O. Morrow Kills the Justice League ― Today!” 23 pages
Julius Schwartz (Editor), Gardner Fox (Writer), Dick Dillin (Penciller), Sid Greene (Inker), no lettering or coloring credits
FC: Aquaman, The Atom, Batman, Snapper Carr, The Flash, Green Arrow, Green Lantern, Hawkman, Superman, Wonder Woman, teamed as the Justice League of America
GS: The Atom, Black Canary, Doctor Fate, Dr. Mid-Nite, The Flash, Green Lantern, Hawkman, Hourman, Mr. Terrific, The Red Tornado, The Sandman, Starman, teamed as the Justice Society of America
GS: Hawkgirl [of Earth-One]
SC: Jean Loring, Mera, Midge, Col. Steve Trevor [of Earth-One]
Villain: T. O. Morrow
Synopsis
The Red Tornado is amazed to find himself recovering from the radiation that felled the Justice Society. Realizing he must have one of T. O. Morrow's futuristic weapons to bring the JSA out of their comas, the android uses his “homing instinct” to follow Morrow's trail to Earth-One and the Justice League's secret sanctuary. There, he finds Morrow has already defeated the JLA and they, too, are comatose.
The Tornado is only able to revive Aquaman, Atom, Hawkman, Snapper Carr, and Wonder Woman. The quintet of Leaguers accompanies the Tornado back to Earth-Two, where Morrow, now thoroughly mad, plots to embroil the twin Earths in a genocidal interdimensional war. The Tornado and his allies destroy Morrow's android army and his hate ray machine and capture the renegade scientist. The Justice League and Justice Society are revived.
Despite his induction into the JSA, The Red Tornado wonders if there is room in society for a thinking, feeling artificial life form.
Behind the Scenes
This is the final Justice Society/Justice League crossover to be written by JSA co-creator Gardner Fox.
Meeting Minutes
The Red Tornado joins the Justice Society in this issue, making him the nineteenth official JSA member.
Fashion Watch
Hawkman is depicted wearing a wingless version of his Earth-One counterpart’s helmet in one panel of this issue.
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Post by Cei-U! on Oct 26, 2014 7:28:01 GMT -5
The Spectre #7
November-December 1968 (September 17, 1968) $.12
Cover Art: Jerry Grandenetti (Penciller), Murphy Anderson (Inker)
“The Ghost That Haunted Money” 14 pages
Julius Schwartz (Editor), Gardner Fox (Writer), Jerry Grandenetti (Penciller), Murphy Anderson (Inker), no lettering or coloring credits.
FC: The Spectre
Intro: Frankie Barron (dies in this story)
Synopsis
Would-be bank robber Frankie Barron is killed during a robbery attempt, but his spirit refuses to rest until he has successfully completed his crime. Though Jim Corrigan and The Spectre continually thwart his efforts, it is not until the Spirit Sleuth brings the graphics on the currency to life and batters Barron with them that the ghost disavows his claim to the money and passes on into the afterlife.
“The Hour Hourman Died” 9 pages
Julius Schwartz (Editor), Gardner Fox (Writer), Dick Dillin (Penciller), Sid Greene (Inker), no lettering or coloring credits.
FC: Hourman
Intro: “Tricky Dick” Arnold
Synopsis
Returning to his chemical factory after a Justice Society meeting late one night, Hourman interrupts burglar “Tricky Dick” Arnold in the process of stealing valuable blueprints from the Tyler Chemical Company vault. During the struggle, the Man of the Hour is accidentally exposed to the rays of the “metalizer,” the experimental device Arnold uses to pass through the vault's metallic door. The burglar is horrified when his super-heroic opponent falls dead, even though the metalizer does not normally affect human tissue.
Fearing the vengeance of the JSA, Tricky Dick flees. Half an hour later, Hourman gets to his feet, kept alive only by the Miraclo in his body. When his 'hour of power' is up, he will die for real. Able to track down Arnold by tuning in to the metalizer's radiation, the master chemist manages to capture the crook and prepare an antidote with only seconds to spare.
Behind the Scenes
The second story in this issue is an Hourman solo story and is unconnected to the issue's feature story.
This issue marks the last time Gardner Fox ― co-creator of The Flash, Hawkman, Doctor Fate, The Sandman, and the JSA itself ― will write about any of the Earth-Two characters professionally.
Fashion Watch
There is no trim on Hourman's cape in this story.
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shaxper
CCF Site Custodian
Posts: 22,867
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Post by shaxper on Oct 26, 2014 9:35:00 GMT -5
Spectre #4 and Green Lantern #61 are two of my absolute favorite Silver Age covers. It does my heart good to see the two displayed, one after another, here  |
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Post by Cei-U! on Oct 27, 2014 7:58:31 GMT -5
The Spectre #8January-February 1969 (November 19, 1968) $.12 Cover Art: Nick Cardy “The Parchment of Power Perilous” 23 pages Julius Schwartz (Editor), Steve Skeates (Writer), Jerry Grandenetti (Penciller), Murphy Anderson (Inker), no lettering or coloring credits. FC: The Spectre Reintro: The Voice Intro: Narkran (full or true name unknown; dies in this story) SynopsisIn 18th Century England, an elderly alchemist and magician under the influence of “supramundane forces” writes upon a parchment the occult formula that opens “the doorway to limitless power.” Repulsed by the thought of the evil that would be thus unleashed, the wizard vows to destroy the parchment. His power-hungry apprentice, Narkran, has other ideas. After accidentally killing his master, Narkran invokes the spell. Instantly, he is flung into the astral dimensions where his knowledge and power grow immeasurably. Sensing that his human body cannot survive such power for long, Narkran attempts to return to the mortal plane in the hope that the key to survival is contained in those parts of the parchment he neglected to read. In the present, an exhausted Spectre seeks out Jim Corrigan, only to find his mortal host being stalked by criminals. Impatient to take his rest, the Astral Avenger blasts the crooks with a burst of magical energy, carelessly striking down an innocent bystander in the bargain. Later that night, Spectre dreams he is summoned into the presence of the divine Voice that gave him his supernatural abilities to answer for his recklessness. As penance, the Ghostly Guardian is condemned to experience a random weakness whenever he finds himself in a stressful situation. Next morning, weather all over the planet is disrupted by the approach of Narkran, for whom the past two centuries seemed to last only twenty minutes. Confronting the immensely powerful former apprentice, Spectre is afflicted with the first of his ordained weaknesses: blindness. Despite this handicap, the Disembodied Detective overcomes Narkran. Seeking out the alchemist's parchment, The Spectre finds it in a deserted old house in Salem, Massachusetts. He destroys it after first learning that the inscription is incomplete: nothing can prevent the cataclysmic explosion that reduces Narkran to a burnt-out shell. The Spectre is victorious but uneasy about his continuing penance. The Good GuysThe Spectre states that he does not normally dream when at rest within Jim Corrigan. This is the first ‘appearance’ of The Voice in Earth-Two continuity. The Bad GuysNarkran should not be confused with the Earth-One villain of the same name introduced in Aquaman #41 (September-October 1968). Points to PonderIt is curious that Narkran's parchment, steeped in evil magic, could be located in Salem for centuries without attracting the attention of Doctor Fate, who also resides there. Attachments:
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Post by Cei-U! on Oct 28, 2014 7:53:35 GMT -5
The Flash #186March 1969 (January 16, 1969) $.12 Cover Art: Ross Andru and Mike Esposito “Time Times Three Equals--?” 23 pages Julius Schwartz (Editor), Mike Freidrich (Writer), Ross Andru (Penciller), Mike Esposito (Inker), no lettering or coloring credits. FC: The Flash [of Earth-One] SC: Iris West Villain: Professor Zoom Reintro: Sargon the Sorcerer (John Sargent) SynopsisReturning home from a two-week vacation in the 23rd Century, The Flash inexplicably collapses before his startled wife's eyes. At the hospital, doctors say only that the comatose Barry has been stricken with a virus of unknown origin. Cut to the 25th Century. In the specially-constructed prison cell of Professor Zoom a.k.a. The Reverse-Flash, a voice identifying itself as “Sargon the Sorcerer” offers to free the super-villain and bring him back through time to our own era. Agreeing, Zoom combines his speed powers with the other's magic to bridge the centuries, materializing in the candle-studded chamber of his mystical benefactor. Sargon, after handing the escapee his costume, explains that after “twenty years” of using his magic to fight for justice, he “matured [and] decided it was a waste of my special talent.” He has immersed himself in occult scholarship ever since, growing especially interested in traveling to the future. It was to learn that secret that he contacted Zoom. The villainous speedster insists that learning the secret would require months of training and that his plans for revenge on The Flash can't wait. He vanishes before Sargon can protest. Reluctantly, the magician attempts to use a Flash costume, stolen along with Zoom's from the Flash Museum, to summon the hero. When the spell fails (due, unbeknownst to him, to Barry's medical condition), Sargon decides to trick Professor Zoom into believing the Crimson Comet is dead. Summoning Flash's remains from their future grave and clothing them in the pilfered costume, he leaves the grisly result in a hole at a construction site. A trio of teens, brought to the site by a magically-implanted compulsion, discovers the body a few hours later. Informed by Sargon of the death, a skeptical Reverse-Flash checks for himself. Posing as a mortician, he approaches a confused Iris Allen about her husband's passing. Contacting the hospital, she learns that Barry has disappeared from his bed. Iris bullies the police into giving her a copy of the x-rays taken of the alleged Flash corpse. To her horror, the pictures match those taken at the emergency room when Barry was brought in. Convinced that Flash is indeed dead but unwilling to share the secrets of time-travel, Zoom tricks Sargon into exiling himself to “the netherworld of Chimano” then sets out on a spree of super-speed crime. The Flash is, of course, very much alive. Waking from his coma some time earlier, Barry surreptitiously left the hospital and reverted to his costumed identity. Feverish, he passed out in a deserted alley. He comes to hours later and, still wobbly, hails a cab to take him back to the hospital. En route, he hears a news bulletin about Zoom's rampage. Before he can do more than step out of the taxi, Flash vanishes, struck by a bolt seemingly from nowhere. “Nowhere” turns out to be Chimano, where a desperate Sargon struggles to resist that dimension's lethal “chill of death.” Summoning The Flash, who is unaware of his malevolent intent, Sargon adds his powers to the Scarlet Speedster's, returning them to their own world. Sargon passes out from the strain while Flash races off to confront Professor Zoom. Still weak from his illness, he falls victim to the miniaturization ray his foe uses to reduce his stolen loot to manageable size. Zoom takes him prisoner and returns with him to the 25th Century. Realizing that he had accidentally palmed the Ruby of Life from Sargon's turban while in transit between dimensions, Flash uses its power to escape, return to normal size, and hand Zoom the shellacking he deserves. Future scientists cure his virus and the super-hero returns to the present to find Sargon gone. Barry goes home to his relieved wife's welcoming arms, unaware that the mysterious sorcerer, temporarily weakened and deprived of his chief power source, has vowed that “this is not the end!” ContinuityNowhere in this story, nor in any appearance of Sargon the Sorcerer prior to Justice League of America #220, is Earth-Two mentioned. Nonetheless, because he will be retroactively identified in that issue as an émigré from Earth-Two, this guide will track his appearances regardless of which Earth the stories are set on. The Bad GuysSargon the Sorcerer was last seen in Green Lantern #37 (March-April 1949). Judging by his comment about spending twenty years crimefighting, his heroic career must have lasted far longer than the eight years' worth of adventures depicted in comic books. Attachments:
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