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Post by Cei-U! on Dec 2, 2014 9:54:51 GMT -5
The Brave and the Bold #118April 1975 (January 21, 1975) $.25  Cover Art: Jim Aparo, signed “May the Best Man Win Die!” 18 pages Murray Boltinoff (Editor), Bob Haney (Writer), Jim Aparo (Art and Lettering), no coloring credit. FC: Batman [of Earth-One] and Wildcat SC: Commissioner James W. Gordon [of Earth-One] Villain: The Joker [of Earth-One] SynopsisMike Dubcek, a key member of The Joker's gang serving time in Sparta Prison 200 miles north of Gotham City, is put in solitary confinement at Batman's suggestion to force him to give up information about the killer clown's operations. A few weeks later, the warden disobeys Batman's instructions and allows Dubcek out of solitary to box in an exhibition match with former heavyweight champion Ted Grant. Shortly after, Dubcek comes down with a rare, potentially fatal tropical fever which quickly spreads through the entire prison. Batman correctly deduces that Joker somehow managed to slip the disease germs into Dubcek's water during the fight. Now, thanks to the warden's error, the Clown Prince of Crime may claim 600 victims instead of one. Fortunately, Commissioner Gordan locates a pharmaceutical laboratory that has been synthesizing an antidote to the fever. Only enough anti-toxin exists to inoculate a small dog but the chemists reassure the authorities that the dog's system will generate enough anti-bodies to cure all those stricken if given within 72 hours. Little Spot is given a ride to Sparta in an armored car, with both Batman and Wildcat riding shotgun. Nonetheless, The Joker nearly succeeds in snatching Spot but the dog runs away during the attempt. For hours, every policeman in the city is on the watch for the little dog, who wanders from one temporary master to another until picked up by Animal Control. Meanwhile Batman, Wildcat and Gordon agonize over the possible consequences of losing Spot. It is only when Wildcat speaks wearily of “playin' dogcatcher” that Batman thinks of checking the dog pound. But he arrives too late: The Joker has already claimed the pup. Contacting Batman, Joker offers to release Spot to the authorities if the two super-heroes will battle to the death for the maniacal ghoul's entertainment. Breaking into “Jefferson Square Garden,” he forces the good guys to don cesti ― the spiked boxing gloves used by Roman gladiators ― and box in the Garden's famed ring. The heroes hammer each other mercilessly until both drop from pain and exhaustion. It is then that The Joker reveals that the cesti spikes were covered with the rare fever germs so that now Batman and Wildcat are infected… and that he plans to break his word and kill the dog anyway. When Spot bites Joker in self-defense, the green-haired madman orders him thrown in the river. In a desperate bluff, Batman tells him that in being bitten, he too has become infected with the fever. The Joker leaps into the river to save Spot only to have the intrepid little canine save him from drowning. With The Joker in custody and the infected men all treated with the antidote, Spot is returned to the lab to face whatever horrific experiment they decide to perform on him next. The Good GuysBoth Commissioner Gordon and The Joker are aware of Wildcat's dual identity in this story. Whether Ted Grant has gone public about his double life or whether the two men gained the knowledge through other means is unclear.
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Post by Cei-U! on Dec 3, 2014 9:36:26 GMT -5
Adventure Comics #439May-June 1975 (February 27, 1975) $.25  Cover Art: Jim Aparo, signed “The Voice That Doomed… The Spectre” 12 pages Joe Orlando (Editor), Michael Fleisher (Writer), Jim Aparo (Art and Lettering), no coloring credits. FC: The Spectre SC: Gwen Sterling, The Voice SynopsisGwen Sterling is seized as a hostage by the Symbiosis Liberation Army, a bloodthirsty band of political revolutionaries, during a bank robbery. As The Spectre, Jim Corrigan invisibly follows the terrorists back to their hideout where he slaughters the murderous radicals by bringing to life the triple-headed serpent the SLA uses as its emblem. The ever-persistent Gwen once more tries to talk Jim into a relationship. The tortured ghost finally convinces her that her love is wasted on him as long as The Spectre's task remains the eradication of evil from the face of the earth. Alone in his apartment, a heartsick Corrigan prays to be released from his mission. His prayer is heard by The Voice, who decides that such a mission is too much for any one being and restores the sleeping detective to life. Next morning, Jim ― despite feeling “peculiar” ― speeds off to help his fellow policemen capture a notorious hitman whose testimony could help Corrigan nail the “Ducky” McLaren gang. Unaware that his humanity has been restored, Corrigan recklessly charges the building where the killer is holed up and is shot three times. After a week's respite in the hospital, an overjoyed Jim rushes to Gwen and proposes. But when “Ducky” ― a whacko who asks the rubber duck he carries as a good luck piece for advice ― hears of the impending nuptials, he vows that “Corrigan ain't gonna live long enough to marry nobody!” Behind the ScenesThe Symbiosis Liberation Army is a parody of the Symbionese Liberation Army, the American terrorist group whose kidnapping and brainwashing of newspaper heiress Patricia Hearst was making news at the time of this story's creation.
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Post by Cei-U! on Dec 4, 2014 8:27:58 GMT -5
Adventure Comics #440July-August 1975 (April 29, 1975) $.25  Cover Art: Jim Aparo, signed “The Second Death of The… Spectre” 12 pages Joe Orlando (Editor), Michael Fleisher (Writer), Jim Aparo (Art and Lettering), no coloring credits. FC: The Spectre SC: Gwen Sterling, The Voice SynopsisThe day before his wedding to Gwen Sterling, Lt. Jim Corrigan is lured by a trusted snitch into an ambush. The “Ducky” McLaren mob murders the resurrected detective and leaves his corpse outside Gwen's door as a macabre joke. But there is to be no peace for the twice-murdered Corrigan. Summoned from his grave by The Voice, he is told that it is his destiny to stalk evil as The Spectre. He returns to Earth and tracks down “Ducky” and his men. The wrathful ghost turns the gang leader's rubber duck into a giant, which promptly makes a meal of the deranged gangster. He then seizes the car in which the other gangsters are fleeing and hurtles the vehicle out of the earth's atmosphere. Found alive by the cemetery caretaker, Jim says a final farewell to Gwen before resuming his grim mission of vengeance. Behind the ScenesThis is the final issue of Adventure Comics to feature the “Spectre” strip. Three additional episodes had been scripted at the time of the series' cancellation. These stories were eventually illustrated by Jim Aparo and saw print in Wrath of The Spectre #4 (August 1988). The first three issues of that title reprinted the Adventure stories indexed here. The Good GuysJim Corrigan's tombstone reveals that his full name is James Brendan Corrigan and that he was born in 1940.
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Post by Cei-U! on Dec 5, 2014 9:14:45 GMT -5
The Flash #235August 1975 (May 27, 1975) $.25  Cover Art: Ernie Chan [as Ernie Chua] (pencils), Dick Giordano (Inks) “Vandal Savage ― Wanted Dead and Alive!” 18 pages Julius Schwartz (Editor), Cary Bates (Writer), Irv Novick (Pencils), Tex Blaisdell (Inks), no lettering or coloring credits FC: The Flash [of Earth-One] GS: The Flash, Green Lantern [of Earth-One] SC: Carol Ferris Villain: Vandal Savage SynopsisBarry Allen comes home from work to find the table laid and dinner cooking but no sign of his wife, Iris. A small explosion in the kitchen announces the presence of Vandal Savage, who seems to have acquired strange new “super-scientific” powers. He provokes Allen into attacking him as The Flash with taunts about his missing spouse, then causes the hero's powers to run out of control, demolishing the Allen house. A moment later, roused from the hypnotic spell he was unknowingly under, Barry hears Savage's telepathic assurances that “although our battle was imaginary … your wife's disappearance is real!” Later that evening, Hal Jordan, Earth-One's Green Lantern, has a similar hallucinatory encounter with Savage in the apartment of Hal's sweetheart Carol Ferris. The next day, Flash and GL travel to Earth-Two to ask Jay Garrick for more information about Savage, whom the Justice League heroes had assumed dead after the events of The Flash #215. Jay theorizes that Savage had been in transit between the earths when hit by the meteor. On Earth-Two, he continues, Savage survives as a mere phantom. Apparently, his other half on Earth-One is corporeal and has gained new powers. The JSA speedster then apologizes for not being very helpful and departs to deal with “an even more urgent crisis.” Barry and Hal are startled and rather offended at Jay's offhanded dismissal of their ladyfriends' kidnapping. Returning to their native dimension, the League duo are drawn to the countryside by illusions of Iris and Carol pleading for help. They arrive to find Savage waiting for them near a huge fireball hovering in mid-air, within which he claims to have imprisoned the missing women. Desperate to save the girls before their oxygen runs out, Flash and Green Lantern attempt to douse the fireball without success. Only after finding the real Savage and using GL's power ring to compel the villain to reveal the truth do they learn that Savage believed that his immortality could be restored if the Earth-One counterpart of the meteor that made him immortal were subjected to GL's green energy and the Crimson Comet's vibratory powers. To that end, he plotted to kidnap Carol and Iris but, as revealed when the fireball is opened up, found only Carol. Barry's wife was already missing when Savage went looking for her. He does not know what happened to her. Meanwhile, back on Earth-Two, Jay Garrick wonders how Barry would respond if he knew that Jay kidnapped Iris… or that for the sake of all mankind, the couple must never be reunited. The Bad GuysVandal Savage learns the civilian identities of the Earth-One Flash and Green Lantern in this story.
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Post by Cei-U! on Dec 6, 2014 8:34:37 GMT -5
The Flash #236
September 1975 (June 19, 1975) $.25
Cover Art: Mike Grell (signed), main image; Neal Adams, Earth-One Flash headshot; Mike Sekowsky (Penciller), Bernard Sachs (Inker), Earth-Two Flash headshots; Irv Novick (Penciller), Tex Blaisdell (Inker); Doctor Fate headshot. “Nowhere On the Face of Earth!” 20 pages Julius Schwartz (Editor), Cary Bates (Writer), Irv Novick (Penciller), Tex Blaisdell (Inker), no lettering or coloring credits. FC: The Flash [of Earth-One] GS: Doctor Fate, The Flash SC: Iris Allen, Joan Garrick SynopsisBarry Allen, The Flash of Earth-One, scours the territory surrounding Central City at super-speed searching for his vanished wife Iris, unaware she is on Earth-Two, a prisoner of that reality's Flash, Jay Garrick. Jay's wife Joan tells Doctor Fate, who is working with the Scarlet Speedster on the Iris Allen problem, that she is worried about Barry's reaction when he learns the truth. Fate responds by sending a spell between the Earths that he assures Joan “will reunite The Flash with his lost love!” Stopping by his house to rest for a bit, a weary Barry watches a live broadcast of the dedication ceremony of a new tunnel. Spotting a woman who looks exactly like Iris in the crowd at the ceremony, he changes back to his Flash costume and races to the site. But the woman, who thinks Flash is putting the moves on her, angrily tells the confused super-hero that she is not his wife. Before he can probe deeper into this mystery, a gigantic ethereal hand appears out of the tunnel's mouth and threatens the crowd. The Flash battles this hand ― and its companion that materializes a few minutes later ― until they vanish as abruptly as they appeared. Taking advantage of the distraction, the Iris look-alike slips away but Flash soon tracks her down. Taking her to police headquarters, the Crimson Comet uses fingerprints, voiceprints and every other kind of test to prove to the recalcitrant woman that she is in fact Iris Allen. She still angrily denies it, claiming she's never so much as been engaged, even after Flash points out that she is wearing Iris' wedding ring. At that moment, the mysterious menacing hands again materialize. As Barry resumes the battle, Doctor Fate and Jay Garrick watch his struggles with the aid of Fate's crystal ball. They return their attention to the real Iris Allen. Fate tells Jay that even with the extra time the spell with which Barry contends bought, he cannot find a cure for the strange pestilence infecting Iris, a pestilence that would cause an unimaginable cataclysm were she exposed to Barry's speed aura. She can never return to Earth-One. With a heavy heart, Fate cancels his spell and, back on Earth-One, “Iris” suddenly reassumes her true appearance. That accomplished, the Mystic Mage tells Jay he can turn off whatever is operating the gigantic hands. “But I thought the menace was your doing!” sputters Jay. Fate realizes that the hands are an unintended side effect of his spell but is unable to control their actions. It doesn't matter. Barry finds a way to destroy them anyway. Later, Jay and Fate explain the situation to Iris. She consents to being sent a thousand years into Earth-One's future, the era she is originally from and where her biological parents live, in the hope that the science of the future can cure her. Meanwhile, Barry hops aboard the cosmic treadmill that allows him to time travel and, in a last bid to find his wife, heads for the year 2974. Points to PonderIt is never quite clear why Jay Garrick and Doctor Fate cannot simply tell Barry Allen the truth about his wife's condition instead of carrying out the elaborate ruse seen here.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 6, 2014 12:03:46 GMT -5
Kurt, you've got the same cover posted in your 2 posts for Flash 235 and 236 (I think they are both the 235 cover).
Other than that, great stuff as always.
-M
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Post by Cei-U! on Dec 6, 2014 12:10:11 GMT -5
Noted and fixed, O Mephistic One!
Cei-U!
I summon the "Doh!"
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Post by Deleted on Dec 6, 2014 12:45:47 GMT -5
Points to PonderIt is never quite clear why Jay Garrick and Doctor Fate cannot simply tell Barry Allen the truth about his wife's condition instead of carrying out the elaborate ruse seen here. Oh, where's the fun in that? |
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Post by Cei-U! on Dec 7, 2014 8:57:12 GMT -5
As mentioned previously, I'm presenting the Earth-Two stories in order of publication. Thus, we interrupt our Flash trilogy to bring you the following: Justice League of America #123October 1975 (July 1, 1975) $.25  Cover Art: Ernie Chan [as Ernie Chua], main image; Neal Adams, JLA headshots; Mike Sekowsky (Penciller), Bernard Sachs (Inker), Dr. Mid-Nite headshot; Ross Andru (Penciller), Mike Esposito (Inker), Wonder Woman headshot; Dick Dillin (Penciller), Frank McLaughlin (Inker), Wildcat headshot. “Where On Earth Am I?” 18 pages Julius Schwartz (Editor), Cary Bates and Elliot S! Maggin (Writers), Dick Dillin (Penciller), Frank McLaughlin (Inker), no lettering or coloring credits. FC: Aquaman, Batman, Black Canary, The Flash, Green Arrow, Hawkman, teamed as the Justice League of America GS: Dr. Mid-Nite, Hourman, Robin, Johnny Thunder and The Thunderbolt, Wildcat, Wonder Woman, teamed as the Justice Society of America (all but Thunderbolt die in this story) SA: Cary Bates [of Earth-Prime], Julius Schwartz [of Earth-Prime] Villains and Team Reintro: The Huntress, The Icicle, The Shade, The Sportsmaster, The Wizard, teamed with Cary Bates and The Gambler as the Injustice Society of the World Reintro: The Gambler (Stephen Sharpe) Intro: Elliot S! Maggin [of Earth-Prime] Intro: Carmine Infantino [of Earth-Prime] SynopsisOn Earth-Prime, a reality in which super-heroes exist only in fiction, DC Comics editor Julius Schwartz cajoles two of his writers, Cary Bates and Elliot Maggin, to come up with a new “Justice League of America” plot. When he steps out of the office for a minute, the procrastinating duo amuse themselves by reassembling the cosmic treadmill left behind by The Flash of Earth-One when he was temporarily stranded on Earth-Prime back in The Flash #179 (May 1968). It isn't so amusing a moment later when the treadmill is accidentally activated and Cary disappears. The writer rematerializes on Earth-Two, where Robin and Johnny Thunder are trying to capture some robbery suspects. Just as the heroes are about to close in for the kill, the criminals' car inexplicably transforms into a spaceship and rockets them to safety. As the JSA duo scratch their heads in bewilderment, Cary Bates runs away, chortling gleefully. He caused the transformation, using hitherto unsuspected super-powers. He looks forward to his new career as a super-villain. Meanwhile on Earth-Prime, “Julie” Schwartz sends Elliot Maggin off on a desperate quest to find Cary. Elliot appears over open ocean on Earth-One. Saved from drowning by Aquaman and taken to the JLA satellite, he is able to persuade the skeptical Leaguers ― with the help of The Flash ― that he is what he claims to be. They agree to help him search for his missing friend. Elsewhere, a sextet of Justice Society members enter a botanical garden in answer to a mysterious summons received over Wonder Woman's “mental radio.” As Cary Bates ― dressed in cape, tights and glasses ― watches in delight, the heroes battle giant Venus flytraps and other menacing plants controlled by the reality-displaced writer's new powers. When the JSAers emerge triumphant, Bates strikes them down with a mysterious gas. Little does Cary suspect that both his powers and his villainous behavior are the result of a spell cast on him by The Wizard as part of a new Injustice Society scheme. Tracing Cary to Earth-Two, Elliot and the Justice League appear on the deck of an aircraft carrier. They are attacked by a strangely silent Injustice Society. The battle is fierce but brief. When it's over, the JLA are horrified to discover that their foes are actually their JSA colleagues in disguise… and that they have killed them. Who is responsible? “Why, none other than that little old plot-twister me!” brags a sneering Cary Bates. CosmologyThis is the first known contact between Earth-Two and Earth-Prime. Although Earth-Prime is identified as our own reality in this story, it is later proven otherwise when it begins to acquire its own indigenous superhumans, beginning in Justice League of America #153 (April 1978). Earth-Two is said to rotate “at a slower speed” than Earth-One in this story. See the first Points to Ponder note for Justice League of America #82 for further discussion of the time difference between the two dimensions. The Good GuysThis is the first mention in Earth-Two continuity of Wonder Woman's mental radio, an Amazonian device powered by brain waves allowing her instantaneous audiovisual communication with Paradise Island. The Bad GuysThe Gambler was introduced in Green Lantern #12 (Summer 1944) and last seen in Green Lantern #35 (November-December 1948). He should not be confused with the Earth-One villain of the same name introduced in Superboy #140 (January 1967). The Shade is inducted into the Injustice Society of the World shortly before the events of this story, making him the twelfth official member and the first to join in Earth-Two continuity. This is the first appearance of the Injustice Society of the World in Earth-Two continuity (although the Earth-Two half of the Crime Champions in Justice League of America #21-22 consisted entirely of former ISW members). The ISW was last seen, with a different roster, in the “Justice Society of America” story in All-Star Comics #41 (June-July 1948) Fashion WatchDr. Mid-Nite wears a tunic fastened with green laces instead of the usual crescent-moon buttons . Guess whose boots are redesigned in this issue? Hourman's boots are now black with three broad red stripes that do not encircle his calf, running only across the front of his leg. [/b] |
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Post by Phil Maurice on Dec 7, 2014 12:21:53 GMT -5
This is the first known contact between Earth-Two and Earth-Prime. Although Earth-Prime is identified as our own reality in this story, it is later proven otherwise when it begins to acquire its own indigenous superhumans, beginning in Justice League of America #153 (April 1978). And here's where my eyes start to cross and I begin praying for the Crisis to sweep it all away. If Bates and Maggin want to appear as themselves in a Justice League story, fine. Do it. Metafictional elements and "breaking the fourth wall" are legitimate and time-honored literary devices. It's this relentless need to explain every blessed thing with the creation of yet another alternate universe that does my head in.
"Earth-Prime is where we, the readers live. Oh, wait. No, it isn't. Sorry, that's a different universe altogether." So are we now on Earth-BM, for Bates and Maggin? Who was it that simply couldn't enjoy the story without these labyrinthine cosmologies that feel the need to account for every last detail, including a writer's or artist's whimsy?
Look, I understand if an editorial decision is made that the Quality heroes don't interact with the Charlton heroes, just as I understand that the Brady Bunch in Hawaii won't be reporting their kidnapping to Chief McGarrett.
No offense intended to anyone who enjoys a sprawling, incomprehensible (to me) multiverse. I guess hard continuity just isn't my cup of tea.
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Post by Reptisaurus! on Dec 7, 2014 17:23:23 GMT -5
I kind of agree - Although my problem boils down to poor handling of Earth-Prime in later stories. It's SUPPOSED to be our world, which means no superheroes. The "rules" of how the fictional world works were well established and easily comprehensible - But later writers decided to ignore them, which makes for problematic and confusing storytelling. JLA # 123 was.... well it was dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb, but the problems don't stem from the multiple universes or the cosmology Team, just the dumb, dumb, dumb handling of such.
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Post by Cei-U! on Dec 7, 2014 21:44:44 GMT -5
This is my least favorite of the JLA/JSA crossovers and Earth-Prime is why. Cary Bates concocted E-Prime in his very first Flash script (#179) and, though he didn't appear in that first story, he later uses it to make himself the hero of one story (Flash #228) and the villain of another (this issue). As we discussed back in the CBR days, I hate it when creators inject themselves into the plot of a story (as opposed to humorous cameos a la Lee and Kirby) and these two Justice League issues are a major reason why.
Cei-U!
I summon the thumbs down!
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Post by Cei-U! on Dec 8, 2014 9:12:36 GMT -5
Justice League of America #124November 1975 (August 7, 1975) $.25  Cover Art: Ernie Chan, signed [as Ernie Chua], main image; Neal Adams, JLA headshots “Avenging Ghosts of the Justice Society!” 18 pages Julius Schwartz (Editor), Cary Bates and Elliot S! Maggin (Writers), Dick Dillin (Penciller), Frank McLaughlin (Inker), no lettering or coloring credits. FC: Aquaman, Batman, Black Canary, The Flash, Green Arrow, Hawkman, teamed as the Justice League of America GS: Dr. Mid-Nite, Hourman, Robin, The Spectre, Johnny Thunder and The Thunderbolt, Wildcat, Wonder Woman, teamed as the Justice Society of America (all but Spectre restored to life in this story) SC: Cary Bates [of Earth-Prime], Elliot S! Maggin [of Earth-Prime], Julius Schwartz [of Earth-Prime], The Voice Villains: The Gambler, The Huntress, The Icicle, The Shade, The Sportsmaster, The Wizard, teamed with Cary Bates [of Earth-Prime] as the Injustice Society of the World SynopsisAs a sorrowful Elliot Maggin looks on, the Justice League lay their fallen Justice Society comrades to rest, victims of the evil machinations of the Injustice Society and their spellbound pawn, Cary Bates, Elliot's fellow refugee from Earth-Prime. Meanwhile back in their home dimension, Julie Schwartz worries over the fate of his two missing writers. Over the course of the next few days, Cary uses his magic-spawned super-powers to go on a rampage of crime on behalf of his sinister ‘teammates.’ The JLA, unable to contact the remainder of the JSA, fill in for the absent good guys, consumed all the while by guilt for their own unwitting part in the others' deaths, news of which has been withheld from the public. Intent on luring the League into a trap, Bates kidnaps Maggin. Watching all of this is The Spectre. The Ghostly Guardian, determined to somehow reverse these events, begins to formulate a plan. He hopes “that in His wisdom… …He will give me permission” to make the attempt. The JLA enters the lists against the Injustice Society but their feelings of guilt hamper their efforts, especially after Cary Bates uses his powers to make them see the ‘ghosts’ of their murdered friends. While The Spectre pleads with The Voice for permission to resurrect the JSA heroes, Elliot uses his knowledge of Cary's personality to distract him with well-aimed insults. Heroes and villains alike are astonished when the dead heroes appear, whole and hearty, to help the League take down the Injustice Society. Even Maggin gets his licks in, managing to knock Bates unconscious. Later, The Thunderbolt reverses The Wizard's spell on Cary and sends the writer duo back to Earth-Prime. Using his own powers, Spectre causes everyone on Earth-Two ― including the Justice League ― to forget the deaths and resurrections of the six JSAers… which leaves Cary and Elliot with no ending for their story! ContinuityNo explanation is offered for how The Spectre survived the events of Justice League of America #83 or why it took him five years to reappear on Earth-Two. His benevolent behavior in this story, however, makes it clear that this is not the Spectre seen in Adventure Comics #431-440. He would've avenged his fallen teammates by killing the Injustice Society in some gruesome but ironic manner! Meeting MinutesThe remainder of the Justice Society is said to be away on a “mission in space” during the events of these two issues. No details of this case are revealed and it is never mentioned again. The Good GuysThis is the last appearance of The Spectre as a participant in the annual JSA/JLA crossovers. The Spectre refers to the events of his solo story in More Fun Comics #75 (January 1942) while pleading his case with “The Voice.” This is the first reference in Earth-Two continuity to the “Ring of Life” given to him in that story. Points to PonderThe Spectre's appearance in this story, in which he works entirely behind the scenes and Jim Corrigan is nowhere to be found, further advances the theory that the Earth-Two Corrigan is dead. It is possible that Spectre cannot physically interact with the mortal realm without a host body. However, no corroborating evidence exists to support such a conclusion. As happened with Larry Lance in Justice League of America #74, the Justice League secretly bury the murdered JSA members without following the proper procedures. They also apparently don't bother to notify their families (though admittedly at this point it has not been established that these particular Society heroes have families).
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Post by Cei-U! on Dec 9, 2014 8:46:25 GMT -5
The Flash #237October 1975 (August 21, 1975) $.25  Cover Art: Ernie Chan, main image; Murphy Anderson, Flash figure; Gil Kane, Green Lantern figure. “The 1,000-Year Separation!” 11 pages Julius Schwartz and Bob Rozakis (Editors), Cary Bates (Writer), Irv Novick (Penciller), Frank McLaughlin (Inker), no lettering or coloring credits. FC: The Flash [of Earth-One] GS: Doctor Fate, The Flash SC: Iris Allen Villain: Professor Zoom SynopsisDoctor Fate, with The Flash of Earth-Two looking on, uses his mystic powers to try to prevent Earth-One's Sultan of Speed, Barry Allen, from traveling to the future in search of his vanished wife. The ever-resourceful Barry finds a way to circumvent the spell. In the year 2975 AD, Iris Allen and her biological parents, Eric and Fran Russel, flee Central City in hope of eluding Barry. Futuristic science was unable to cure the “lethal energy flux” infecting her. Should she and her husband come near each other, very bad things will happen. Flash arrives in the future and tracks down the Russels. Mere seconds before he makes contact, he is warned off by a telepathic message from Doctor Fate explaining everything. Fate's warning has come too late. Earthquakes, atmospheric disturbances, and other natural disasters strike Central City. Flash does his best to save the city from destruction but this time his best may not be good enough. His old foe, Professor Zoom a.k.a. The Reverse-Flash, suddenly appears and stops the cataclysm with a simple gesture. Zoom brags that it was he who infected Iris with the energy flux during his last clash with the Crimson Comet and alerted Doctor Fate to the danger, knowing the sorcerer would eventually send her to this era. He and he alone knows how to cure Iris and will happily do so… if she agrees to become his wife. Helpless to intervene, Barry does nothing as his evil counterpart dresses Iris in a futuristic wedding gown and speeds away with her. Zoom is flabbergasted a split-second later when Flash snatches Iris out of his arms. Once more the disasters begin but Barry, having deduced how Zoom stopped them earlier, puts an end to them. The speedsters battle until The Flash puts Zoom down for the count. He explains to Iris that Zoom's ‘simple’ gesture actually generated vibrations that temporarily neutralized the energy flux infection. Repeated exposure to these vibrations will permanently cure her. Though Zoom escapes when the couple isn't looking, the reunited lovers don't much care. Cosmology Jay Garrick's statement that the combination of the energy flux and Barry's super-speed aura will destroy “all time and space” is apparently an exaggeration. Professor Zoom states later that only the Earth will be destroyed. ContinuityThe timing of the events depicted in The Flash #235-237 is somewhat confused. A caption early in this issue states that two weeks have passed since #236. This is unlikely, as the story resumes right where the previous issue left off, with Barry aboard the cosmic treadmill. It is more probable that the two-week gap falls between #235 and #236, during which Barry searches for Iris and Jay Garrick searches for a cure. The Good GuysThe Flash of Earth-Two plays no active role in the events of this issue.
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Post by Cei-U! on Dec 10, 2014 8:26:16 GMT -5
1st Issue Special #9December 1975 (September 18, 1975) $.25  Cover Art: Joe Kubert (signed) “The Mummy That Time Forgot” (title on cover only) 18 pages Gerry Conway (Editor), Martin Pasko (Writer), Walt Simonson (Art), no lettering or coloring credits FC: Doctor Fate SC: Inza Nelson SA: Amon-Ra, Anubis Reintro: Nabu the Wise, in flashback Intro: Khalis SynopsisAlerted by the Crystal Orb of Nabu that a dreadful prophecy is about to be fulfilled, Doctor Fate flies from his Salem tower to the Boston Museum of Egyptology. He finds the curator and another man murdered, “stark terror etched on their white faces!” Attacked by Khalis, a ghastly living mummy wielding mighty magical energies, Fate fights back valiantly but in vain. Siphoning the power of the Wonder Wizard's mystic amulet, Khalis steals the talisman and lurches off into the night, shouting that “from this night forward, I control man's destiny… for I control… the power!” Regaining consciousness hours later, Fate makes his way home with the last of his strength and collapses in his wife's arms. Inza bandages his wounds, complaining all the while of the strain his life as Fate ― who she regards as another person ― puts on their marriage. When he falls asleep mid-tirade, she tearfully storms out of the house. After a brief rest, Fate begins going through his library, searching for information about his foe. In the year 2030 BC, a megalomaniacal worshipper of Anubis used black magic to destroy a temple dedicated to the goddess Bast. As a reward, the god of death gave Khalis a talisman of great mystical potency. Using its power, the priest made himself absolute ruler of the city of Bubastis until overthrown by Nabu, the powerful wizard who would one day transform Kent Nelson into Doctor Fate… and who would also pass Khalis' talisman, the Amulet of Anubis, on to his protégé. Though Khalis was punished for his crimes by being mummified alive, Anubis granted him “life-in-death” until such time as he can recover the amulet. Armed with this data, Fate renews his assault on Khalis, drawing on Boston's power grid to bathe the servant of darkness in light, blacking the city out in the process. Though rocked by this assault, Khalis' power continues to grow under the amulet's influence. Inza arrives with a fragment of Khalis' sarcophagus bearing his “magical name,” knowledge which may prove crucial in the coming clash. When the lights come back on, Bostonians are astonished to see a gigantic Egyptian temple complex in the heart of the city. Within the temple, the undead priest calls on Anubis to witness what has been accomplished in his name. The jackal-headed deity no longer remembers Khalis but agrees to increase his power if he will destroy Doctor Fate. Fate is not so easily gotten rid of. Using the mummy's magical name to invoke the power of Amon-Ra, god of light, the Mystic Mage destroys Khalis, reverses the effects of his sinister magic and regains possession of the amulet. Recognizing that Fate would've lost without her help, Inza decides to give their marriage another try. Cosmology This is the first appearance of the Earth-Two versions of Amon-Ra and Anubis and the first indication that, like the Greco-Roman pantheon seen in “Wonder Woman” stories, the gods of ancient Egyptian mythology are real in the Earth-Two dimension. ContinuityThe flashback in this issue retells the “Doctor Fate” origin story from More Fun Comics #67 (May 1941) but with several notable differences: ● In the original, Nabu telepathically commanded Kent Nelson to release the wizard from his tomb; here, Kent does so by accident. ● In the original, Kent Nelson grew to adulthood naturally and was given the name and costume of Doctor Fate only after years of training in the mystic arts; here, Nabu immediately transforms the boy into the adult Fate after magically erasing Kent's grief and anger over his father's death. ● In the original, Doctor Fate began his super-heroic career in 1940; here, only fifteen years have passed since 12-year-old Kent Nelson assumed the Fate identity. Because of these discrepancies (the last of which obviously cannot be reconciled with Earth-Two continuity) and because Earth-Two is not mentioned in the story, some have suggested that this is the first and only appearance of the Earth-One Doctor Fate. Nonetheless, because so many details of characterization and backstory established here are referenced in later Fate appearances indisputably set on Earth-Two, this guide will treat the story as canonical. The Good GuysNabu the Wise was last seen in the “Doctor Fate” story in More Fun Comics #67. This is the first time that the wizard is portrayed as Egyptian rather than Mesopotamian. Nabu and Doctor Fate are said to serve the “Lords of Life,” their mission to preserve “the natural order,” for the first time. Doctor Fate and Kent Nelson are portrayed as two distinct personalities, Nelson becoming Fate whenever he dons the Helmet of Nabu, for the first time. The ankh effect associated with Doctor Fate's magic appears for the first time. This is the first time the amulet Doctor Fate wears is called the Amulet of Anubis. Inza Nelson undergoes a drastic change in characterization with this issue. In Golden Age continuity, Inza became involved with Doctor Fate long before learning his true identity and seemed quite comfortable within his world of weird. The Bad GuysAnubis should not be confused with his Earth-One costumed criminal of the same name introduced in Detective Comics #262 (December 1958). Points to PonderAlthough the connection has never been made explicit, it is possible that Nabu the Wise is, in fact, the being of the same name worshipped as the Sumerian god of wisdom.
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