Comic Book Review: Showcase Presents Justice League of America Volume 2 edited by Julius Schwartz
The Justice League of America debuted in The Brave and the Bold #28 (March 1960.) It was a retread of the Golden Age Justice Society of America, teaming up several of DC Comics’ superhero characters to promote all of them. It featured Wonder Woman, Aquaman, the new versions of Flash and Green Lantern, and then-new character Martian Manhunter, plus cameos by Batman and Superman. The team soon got its own book, initially focusing on the first five characters, but Batman and Superman soon became full-time members. Sales were good as the market was ready for superhero comics again (and this also inspired the creation of the Fantastic Four over at what would become Marvel Comics.)
This volume contains JLA issues #17-36, all written by Gardner Fox, with pencils by Mike Sekowsky and inks by Bernard Sachs.
#17, “The Triumph of the Tornado Tyrant!” starts with the Justice League returning from their latest triumph over the rock people of Pluto…wait, I don’t remember that story. And the League is acting awfully smug about this, boasting of their flawless win record and looking forward to more menaces that they can prove their superiority over. Something fishy is going on here!
One of the less good aspects of the Justice League comics of this time period was a lack of personal characterization. The JLA characters are interchangeably brave, smart and heroic; their story functions were differentiated by their power sets. So any time a Leaguer suddenly shows personality, there’s something wrong.
In this case, it’s that they’re not actually the Justice League we know, but duplicates created by the Tornado Champion. Formerly the Tornado Tyrant, its defeat by Adam Strange and subsequent witnessing of the Justice League in action convinced the living weather phenomenon that good always triumphs over evil. So the Tornado Champion, in order to live a life of good, created a duplicate Earth (this has some disturbing theological implications) identical in every way except that the Justice League is actually autonomous fragments of the Tornado Champion.
But its evil side, the Tornado Tyrant, still exists, and tries to smash the ersatz leaguers to prove that evil can, in fact, triumph. Stymied, the Tornado Champion has to turn to the real Justice League of America for tips on how to beat this menace.
The pattern is well set by this point. A menace appears, the Leaguers individually or in small teams battle aspects of the menace as there is some reason they can’t just skip to the end, and at the end a Leaguer figures out the secret weakness or a clever ruse to overcome the problem. At the time, DC’s comic books were very much considered children’s fare, so writing to a repetitive formula was considered a good idea.
#21-22 have the first “Crisis” storylines crossing over the Justice League of America with the Justice Society of America. It had been established in the Flash comics that the stories printed in the 1940s and early 1950s took place on Earth-2, an alternate Earth with some small differences. In this story, three supervillains from Earth-2 discover how to get to Earth-1 (where the Justice League lives) and make a deal with three local supervillains. They’ll rob on their own Earths, then switch place so that they can spend their loot in peace with no one realizing that the crooks are wanted men.
The JLA and JSA don’t team up so much as coordinate world switches to catch their own villains. But it did establish a precedent that would become a huge part of DC continuity.
#25, “Outcasts of Infinity!” cuts down the number of members participating (with Atom and Green Arrow having joined, getting everyone in every story was getting unwieldy.) There’s a scene where Superman, Green Lantern and the Flash trade lower bodies–Wonder Woman is specifically excluded from this effect, presumably because it would have raised uncomfortable questions in young readers’ minds.
#29-30 have another crossover with the Justice Society, introducing the Crime Syndicate of Earth-3. At this point, Earth-3 isn’t the “evil” Earth per se, just one where certain historical events happened in reverse, and it just so happens that every superperson on the planet is a bad guy. With lack of real competition, the Crime Syndicate finds themselves losing their edge and in danger of becoming careless. They’re thrilled to learn of the existence of Earth-1 and the Justice League. The Syndicate will test their mettle against their good counterparts.
The most interesting character here is Owlman, the Batman counterpart. His superbrain allows him to consider the possibility of defeat, so he always has contingency plans for that situation. The League wins the initial encounters, but find themselves trapped on Earth-3 where the Syndicate is more powerful. Then the Syndicate attacks the Justice Society on Earth-2 so they can use the “neutral” territory to determine who’s most powerful semi-fairly. (It’s the Justice League.)
#31 “Riddle of the Runaway Room!” inducts Hawkman on to the team (with a handwave as to why Hawkgirl doesn’t also get to join.) The opponent is Joe Parry, a minor criminal who gets hold of what is effectively a wishing machine. He does not use it wisely. Hawkman is featured heavily in the next few issues.
#32 “Attack of the Star-Bolt Warrior!” introduces new villain Brainstorm, who can use stellar energy to boost his brain power and create various nifty effects. He’s most interesting for his relationship to his petty criminal brother Fred, who he’s both protective of and condescending towards. Brainstorm thinks that Green Lantern has murdered Fred, so is out for revenge, but insists upon doing it the “right way” so that he can claim to be on the side of righteousness.
#34, “The Deadly Dreams of Dr. Destiny!” is a rematch with a villain that can make dreams come true; in this case he forces the League to dream of devices that give them different weaknesses which his dream menaces will then exploit.
This issue is special to me as it’s the first Justice League of America comic book I ever read, thanks to my cousin Patty lending me her stash. Despite the flaws I can now see, six year old me was overcome by the awesomeness, and I became a life-long comics fan.
#36. “The Case of the Disabled Justice League!” has our heroes visiting a hospital ward where several boys with physical disabilities are housed. The boys have lost hope that they can ever live fulfilling lives due to their handicaps. Brainstorm rigs it so that five of the Leaguers suddenly have similar disabilities. Superman’s blind, Green Arrow is without arms, and so forth. The heroes must fight Brainstorm’s dangerous creations by finding ways to work around their new issues.
By the end of the story, the Leaguers have been restored, but the boys are now filled with confidence that they too can succeed in life. Then Flash reveals that this story is a retread of one about the Justice Society, and there’s a special pledge about treating people with physical handicaps as equals.
This is a very shallow look at the realities of physical disability, and it’s never even suggested that the superheroes might be able to use their awesome powers to “cure” the children or otherwise make their lives easier beyond being inspirational. But for a 1965 comic book, progressive enough.
A character I should mention here is Snapper Carr. He was an editorially-mandated “kid appeal” character, a normal teenager who hung out with the Justice League, used “teen” slang, and snapped his fingers a lot. The writer seems uninterested in Snapper, having him left at the Secret Sanctuary or off taking tests in the majority of stories. Every so often he’ll mention that he’s been left out a lot lately, and be allowed on an adventure. (Marvel’s version of Snapper, Rick Jones, got much better treatment.) Eventually the neglect would be the focus of a story that got Snapper booted from the League for betrayal.
Despite the formulaic plots and cardboard characterization, there are a lot of cool ideas in this volume, and later writers were able to mine them for more modern stories with a rich history. The consistent art team gives this volume a clear identity. Recommended to Justice League fans, though you may want to check it out from the library rather than buy directly if you’re not a completist.
