Did the Wonder Woman stories (in her book & World's Finest) have a note in each issue stating it was an Earth Two story?

Secret Society of Super-Villains #12
January 1978 (October 17, 1977) $.35


Cover Art: Rich Buckler (Penciller), Jack Abel (Inker), signed

“The Plunder Plan!” 17 pages

Jack C. Harris (Editor), Gerry Conway (Writer), Mike Vosburg (Penciller), Bob McLeod (Inker), Ben Oda (Letterer), Jerry Serpe (Colorist)

FC: The Blockbuster, Copperhead, The Plant Master, The Reverse-Flash, Star Sapphire, The Wizard, teamed as the Secret Society of Super-Villains
GS: Batman [of Earth-1], Captain Comet, Robin [of Earth-1]
Villains: The Fiddler, The Icicle, The Thinker, teamed with The Wizard as the Injustice Society of the World; in flashback
Cameos: The Flash, Power Girl, The Star-Spangled Kid; teamed as the Justice Society of America; in flashback to All-Star Comics #66-67

Synopsis

The Wizard promises Plant Master and Star Sapphire he has big plans for the Secret Society. Captain Comet recaptures Copperhead but the villain resists his telepathic probes. Plant-Master steals the team's newest recruit, the Blockbuster, from under Robin's nose at the Wayne Foundation. The Boy Wonder notifies Batman, who alerts Comet. Joined by his final recruit, the Reverse-Flash, Wizard proposes stealing a “trans-spacial transponder” from S.T.A.R. Labs and using it to return to Earth-Two. Comet trails Blockbuster's brain waves to the scene of the crime but the brute kayoes him. He comes to in time to see the villains vanish into the transponder and unhesitatingly follows them in.

Continuity

According to this story, the Wizard originally came to Earth-One — courtesy of the Fiddler's magic violin — to recruit villains from that reality for the Injustice Society of the World. This is said to have occurred following the ISW's defeat in the ‘Justice Society of America’ story in All-Star Comics #67. No explanation is offered for how the villains escaped custody following that event nor is there any mention of the Fiddler and the Icicle also traveling to Earth-One (as seen in Teen Titans #46 and Justice League of America #139 respectively). It is not clear if the trio made the transdimensional journey at the same time or if Fiddler and Icicle came later.

Fashion Watch

The Icicle's face mask is flesh-colored in this issue, rather than its familiar white

The Thinker is depicted without his moustache and carrying forty extra pounds in this issue.

The Superman Family #187
January-February 1978 (October 17, 1977) 1.00


Cover Art: Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez

“A Phoenix of Steel!” 8 pages

E. Nelson Bridwell (Editor), Gerry Conway (Writer), Curt Swan (Penciller), Jack Abel (Inker), Ben Oda (Letterer), Anthony Tollin (Colorist)

FC: Superman [of Earth-One]
GS: Superman
SC: Jimmy Olsen [of Earth-One], Prof. Phineas Potter
Villain: Krogg (dies in this story)

synopsis

The Superman of Earth-Two, no more of a match for Krogg than his Earth-One doppelgänger had been, is helpless to prevent the malevolent brute from escaping the Justice League satellite and heading for the planet below. The Men of Steel despair of stopping Krogg until Professor Potter proposes using the transmatter cube to temporarily merge them into a single being, thereby doubling their strength. The merger is successful but Potter warns them that if they are not separated within half an hour, the strain could, at best, result in psychological trauma and, at worst, cause their combined energies to reach critical mass, killing them and possibly destroying the Earth. Renewing ‘his’ struggle with Krogg, the hybrid Superman is able to force the self-proclaimed conqueror of a thousand worlds to bring his own super-energies to critical mass. The villain dies in a cataclysmic explosion. Back at the satellite, Potter separates the heroes in the nick of time. The elder Superman returns to Earth-Two with Jimmy Olsen, who has consented to donate his tissue to save his dying counterpart. The Earth-One Action Ace muses that it will probably be some time before he and his doppelgänger get together again, as the merger was emotionally traumatic.

The Good Guys

The Earth-One Superman states in this issue that he and his JSA counterpart have “equal strength,” contradicting repeated assertions in the “Justice Society of America” stories in the Bronze Age issues of All-Star Comics that the Kryptonians of the Earth-Two dimension are inherently less powerful than their Earth-One counterparts.

Points to Ponder

Since the concept introduced in this story that a superhuman being can be driven to reach critical mass and explode is not revisited in subsequent Earth-Two continuity, it may only be true for Krogg, perhaps as a result of his interdimensional origins.

Wonder Woman #239
January 1978 (October 31, 1977) $.35


Cover Art: Rich Buckler (Penciller), Vince Colletta (Inker), signed

“A Duke Named Deception!” 17 pages

Larry Hama (Editor), Gerry Conway (Writer), Jose Delbo (Penciller), Vince Colletta (Inker), Milt Snappin (Letterer), Jerry Serpe (Colorist)

FC: Wonder Woman
GS: The Flash
SC: Col. Hammond Belushi, Gen. J. Blankenship, Pvt. Etta Candy, Lt. Pierre Marchand, Maj. Steve Trevor
Reintro: Mars, also called Ares, Greco-Roman God of War
Reintro: The Duke of Deception (true name unknown)

Synopsis

The Flash and Wonder Woman foil yet another assassination plot against General MacArthur but she resents his help. She is tired of not being treated as an equal by the male JSAers and resents her role as the team's secretary. A flabbergasted Jay protests that he does consider her an equal, to which she replies before departing, “[T]hink back over our relations in the past… …search your heart… and then tell me you believe I’m as good as you are.”

Returning to the hotel room she is sharing with Etta Candy while they are in New York, the Amazon princess is unaware of the overly curious bellboy tracking her movements. Etta is about to leave on a date with Lt. Marchand. Something about the French officer raises Diana's hackles. Her thoughts drift to Steve Trevor, still hospitalized after his encounter with Armageddon.

Steve, meanwhile, is stunned by Colonel Belushi's accusations against Wonder Woman, accusations he backs up with photographs of the Amazon's recent rampages. Certain that the woman he loves needs his help, Trevor tries to leave the hospital but collapses after only a few steps.

On Mount Olympus, Mars ― bitter enemy of the Amazons ― rages over Wonder Woman's continued interference in his plans to infect all of Earth with the madness of war. One of his servants, the handsome Duke of Deception, proposes to neutralize WW by using his powers of illusion to exacerbate her problems with the American military. Mars agrees and dispatches the Duke to the mortal realm.

Later that evening, Diana Prince and Jay Garrick stroll through Battery Park. Apologies are exchanged. The mood is broken when the Statue of Liberty comes to life and begin wading towards Manhattan Island. The copper colossus' motion is, of course, an illusion cast by the Duke of Deception, visible only to Wonder Woman. All Jay sees is his teammate using her super-powers to topple the monument from its pedestal. When he asks her why she has performed this irrational act, she storms off angrily.

Flying over the New Jersey docks, the Amazing Amazon sees Nazi submarines disgorging hundreds of German troops. She attacks, unaware she is actually attacking American ships and sailors. The Flash, anxious to stop Diana before she does irrevocable harm, is confronted by a huge sea monster created by Deception to keep the Scarlet Speedster out of the way. As General Blankenship and Colonel Belushi ― just returned to New York ― watch from the observation deck of the Empire State Building, Wonder Woman cuts a destructive swath through the naval station.

A few moments later, Wonder Woman pauses to survey the damage only to find herself surrounded by Belushi's troops and ordered to surrender… or die.

Continuity

This story begins the day after the events of Wonder Woman #238. For the first time, the setting for the story arc of which this issue is a part is given as June 1942.

The story in this issue is essentially a retelling of the first Duke of Deception story in Wonder Woman #2 (Fall 1942). This version, however, bears almost no resemblance to the original, except in the basic concept of Wonder Woman being framed for a crime. In the original, Deception appeared in his true form throughout and his machinations were a single thread of a complex plot by Mars that involved two other of his minions, Lord Conquest and the Earl of Greed.

It is not clear where his appearance in this story fits into the Flash's Golden Age continuity. It presumably occurs either just before or just after the events of the “Flash” story in Flash Comics #32 (August 1942; on sale June 9) but this cannot be confirmed.

The Good Guys

The Flash states that he is in New York to attend a scientific conference in his Jay Garrick identity.

The Bad Guys

Mars was last seen in the “Wonder Woman” story in Sensation Comics #104 (July-August 1951). He should not be confused with his Earth-One counterpart introduced in Wonder Woman #159 (January 1966).

Because the Duke of Deception appeared in “Wonder Woman” stories throughout the 1940s, '50s and '60s, there is no point at which it can be authoritatively said that the character segues from his Golden Age incarnation to his Silver Age persona. However, since the majority of his appearances in the years following the death of series creator William Moulton Marston occurred in the context of the non-canonical “Wonder Family” stories, this guide will regard the “Wonder Woman” story in Sensation Comics #104 as the last indisputably Earth-Two appearance of the character.

Fashion Watch

The Flash is depicted wearing cavalry-style variants of his costume's winged boots in this issue and the next.

Etta Candy is back in olive drab in this issue.

Mars has grown a beard since his last Golden Age appearance, making him physically identical to his Earth-One counterpart.

The three issue Power Girl tryout was one of my favorite E-2 stories!  I SO wanted this to be an ongoing!!

At the end of this series, i'll post an idea i've always had about Brain Wave...

to be continued!!!

World's Finest Comics #249
February-March 1978 (November 14, 1977) $1.00


Cover Art: Jim Aparo, signed, main image; Neal Adams (Art), logo headshots

“A Fire in the Sky!” !5 pages

Jack C. Harris (Editor), Gerry Conway (Writer), Mike Vosburg (Penciller), Bob Smith (Inker), Milt Snappin (Letterer), Jerry Serpe (Colorist)

FC: Wonder Woman
GS: Sgt. Rock
SC: Bulldozer, Ice Cream Soldier and another unidentified member of Easy Company
SC: Gen. J. Blankenship, Maj. Steve Trevor, Joan White
Villains: Doctor Psycho, Oragon
Villains: The Krell

Synopsis

Mesmerized by Doctor Psycho, Sgt. Rock fires his pistol at Wonder Woman. After deflecting his shots with her bracelets, the Amazon strikes the non-com just hard enough to break Psycho's hold over him. So confident were Psycho and his Nazi allies that Rock would kill our heroine that they left them unguarded. They flee into the German countryside, taking with them the unconscious alien WW had rescued from the demolished missile factory. Discovering their escape, Psycho uses his powers of ectoplasmic manipulation to transform the captive Easy Company into prehistoric savages.

Back in London, Steve Trevor and General Blankenship learn that the British have scheduled a bombing strike against Psycho's “flying bomb” factory. The American officers, fearing for the lives of Rock and his team, plead for more time but it is too late to call off the raid.

Wonder Woman and Sgt. Rock question the extraterrestrial. Bound in the Amazing Amazon's magic lasso, the alien reveals that he and his people are descendants of the Krell, a race that ruled the galaxy until “three thousand years ago, [when] in a single night, the Krell disappeared.” He and his crewmates have come to Earth as part of their mission “to explore new worlds, contact bold civilizations, to boldly go where no Krell has gone before.” For all their technological sophistication, the Krell are remarkably gullible. They believed Psycho's lies because “we saw no reason to disbelieve.”

The interrogation is interrupted by Rock's transformed men. Despite their great strength, the ‘cavemen’ are quickly subdued and, with the aid of Diana's lasso, restored to their true forms and right minds. Rock and Easy will find the Krell spaceship while Wonder Woman tries to persuade Oragon, its commander, that he has been duped. Neither is aware that a squad of British bombers are only twenty minutes away.

Oragon is already becoming aware of Psycho's duplicity. When he decries the woman-hating dwarf's glee over the impending deaths of the Americans as “not the reaction of a peaceful man,” Psycho responds by growing to gigantic size and threatening to crush Oragon should he try backing out of their deal. The illusion is shattered a moment later when Wonder Woman kayoes Joan White, the medium without whom Psycho's powers cannot function.

At that moment, the Allied bombing raid begins. Wonder Woman and Oragon flee with the captive Psycho and Joan to the Krell spaceship, now in the hands of Easy Company. The alien craft escapes in the nick of time.

Behind the Scenes

This is the final episode of the Earth-Two Wonder Woman's Bronze Age series in World's Finest Comics.

The Krell's mission statement is a paraphrase of the familiar title sequence for the Star Trek television series.

Continuity

A footnote in this story states that the Krell first appeared in the story “The Answer Man of Space” in Mystery in Space #73. In that story, however, the alien race is called the Krull and they vanished a million years ago (from that story's 22nd Century vantagepoint), a full 995,000 years earlier than the three millennia cited here.

The Good Guys

The unidentifed third member of Easy Company is depicted in this issue with a moustache and goatee. He was clean-shaven in the previous issue.

The Bad Guys

Doctor Psycho is seen reading a copy of the Necronomicon, the book of black magic bound in human skin that figures prominently in the horror fiction of H. P. Lovecraft, in the flashback to his origin in this issue.