Superman Goes Nova On Batman

Superman, losing his powers and adopting a new costumed identity?  Then, turning on Batman with a murderous rage?

Is this real?

No, even a little less than normal, as these two issues of World's Finest Comics contain an "imaginary story", a story with familiar casts, but willing to shake up the status quo....now, these are set on alternate Earths.

Let's take a look at how things change and progress here!

The Has-Been Superman!

This saga begins in World's Finest Comics #178 (September, 1968) by Cary Bates, Curt Swan and Jack Abel, all under the stunning cover by Neal Adams with Superman taking on a new identity!


But, why is Superman taking on this new identity and what happened to his powers?


Superman, piloting a space ship into a dimensional rip in space caused by a super cobalt bomb, goes searching for lost aircraft there.  Finding an odd cavern, Superman finds alien machinery which coats his craft in a eerie white goo that shuts his systems down.

Not needing the ship to get around, Superman heads out and is covered with the goo as well.  Not feeling well, he heads back through the dimensional aperture, landing unconscious at a military base.  The doctors, checking on Superman find out he is fine, but now powerless, with no hope of regaining his super abilities.  Thankfully, they had called Batman in, as the shock of his loss drove Superman a little crazy for a time, and Batman slowed his friend down. 

Superman tries just living life as Clark Kent, reporter, but then, after covering an archery exhibition by Green Arrow and Speedy, gets the idea to create his own non-powered costumed hero identity. 

Batman and Robin respond to a prowler in the warehouse district, and Batman fights the green and purple costumed creeper, eventually knocking him out.  Removing his mask, Batman finds....Superman!  Clark had created the heroic identity of Nova, and was practicing his moves on the Gotham waterfront, when mistaken by security for a prowler.  Superman, as Nova, works with a special cape that allows him to glide and has special gadgets.  But, in encountering some thugs outside the Daily Planet, Nova finds his old Superman safety precautions of pulling his punches allows the thugs to capture him....and take him to the crime boss, Mr. Socrates (and into the next issue!).
 

Superman's Perfect Crime!

Continuing the imaginary story from issue #178 (#179 was a Giant, filled with fascinating reprints), World's Finest Comics #180 (November, 1968) has an even bigger shocker of a cover by Neal Adams, to reflect the shocks within the story by Cary Bates, Ross Andru and Mike Esposito.


After a quick splash page and recap, the story gets down and dirty with Mr. Socrates revealing his plans for Superman's new heroic identity of Nova....to wipe out Batman!  Superman scoffs at Socrates' plans, but his thugs work Superman over again.  Batman, checking on Clark to find him not home, leaves him information on Horatio Socrates, and wonders where his now non-super friend could be. 

Nova, recovering from his surgery, is very happy to work with Socrates....as Mr. Socrates had a mind control device implanted in Nova's neck, allowing him to control the former Superman.  While Socrates' men take Nova back to Metropolis, the control breaks for a second while in a tunnel (with Nova fighting the henchman) until Socrates' computer takes back control. 

Batman and Robin are concerned about Socrates (a millionaire criminal computer expert, that had his eyesight damaged in a fight with Batman), when over the radio, the Dynamic Duo hear of a crime spree in Gotham by Nova!  

The pair head to a construction site where he was spotted, finding Nova in his Superman costume, planning to kill Batman until they take him down, and back to the Bat-Cave. 

While there, Superman is free from the control, but escapes in the Batmobile.  Batman and Robin follow, now knowing of the device in Superman's neck (while Mr. Socrates and his men use the tracker in the device to go to the Bat Cave).  Superman heads out to a rocket testing facility, while Socrates and his men break into the Bat Cave, preparing a bomb under their elevator to finish the Dynamic Duo, but, a now immune Superman, with Batman and Robin, show up, stop Socrates thugs, and Socrates, in trying to escape, kills himself in the bomb blast meant for Batman and Robin.  The radio signals at the rocket range messed up the control device, and with Batman's help, Superman made a lead collar to continually block the signal.  Planning on wiping the memory of the Bat Cave from the thugs memories with Green Lantern's help, the Dynamic Duo wonder if Superman can indeed make it as the non-powered Nova.

This wasn't quite the end for Nova, popping up in the Human Target feature in an issue of Action Comics Weekly (#641) as a movie hero (and person Christopher Chance had to save in the story), then being a mystery figure in the 52 series (with a slightly different costume, and new identity), a year long weekly series (in 2006/2007) dealing with the DC Universe (including a non-powered Clark Kent and Booster Gold).

 

Look Out For Scarecrows

As fall slowly settles in, hay fields grow, apple orchards fill.....and scarecrows get set up.


But, are they moving?


Yes, the scarecrows are really subterranean invaders, coming for you in "The Living Scarecrows" from Strange Adventures #192 (September, 1966) with cover and art by Bernard Baily.

Batman Busy On TV

Holy couch potato, Batman!

The Caped Crusader, too busy to fight crime....

...all because of a TV show?

What is going on here, on this cover by Carmine Infantino and Murphy Anderson for Batman #183 from August, 1966?

Well, after a brief interlude, the facts will be revealed!

A Touch Of Poison Ivy

The first story in this issue by Robert Kanigher, Sheldon Moldoff (signed as Bob Kane) and Joe Giella, is a return battle against a femme fatale introduced just two issues before, Poison Ivy!

Poison Ivy has got Batman under her control.

However will Batman free himself from this dastardly dame?

Well, with a bit of luck, his incredible detective skills, and help from Robin, Batman turns the tables on the green goddess, throwing off her chemical control, and finding a way to put her back in behind bars.

Poison Ivy has been pruned.  But, what about the cover mystery?

Batman's Baffling Turnabout

Now, to the heart of the mystery, in a story by Gardner Fox, Sheldon Moldoff (signed as Bob Kane) and Sid Greene.

Batman and Robin were catching some criminals on a pier warehouse, when Batman fell prey to a deadly trap....with an imposter all ready to take his place!

Robin was too smart to fall for the phony's scheme, but played along, taking him to a back-up Batcave, where, when left alone, the imposter revealed his plan to blow up the Batcave.  Faking that, Robin then followed the phony, as he was checking to see if Batman was dead, but Batman had escaped the sticky trap, battling the bogus Batman, and winning. 

The caped criminal was a foe Batman had put in prison 5 years previously, thus he didn't know about Batman's logo change, the clue that tipped off Robin, and stopped this perilous plan from becoming fatally final.

Of course, the writing style might have tipped you off to the real mystery....taking the tone of the 1966 Batman TV series to remember the late Adam West, star of that show, who was the first Batman for so many of us, and was born on September 19th, 1928!

Flash Facts: Meet Your Maker

Imagine, if you will, a world where super heroes were only fictional, appearing in comic books!

You don't have to imagine it, it is the Earth known as Earth-Prime, and Flash took a run there!

Here's some of the story of Earth-Prime!

The Flash -- Fact Or Fiction?

This issue of Flash, Flash #179 (May, 1968), by Cary Bates, Ross Andru and Mike Esposito (with a cover by Andru/Esposito), is special....as it really happened!


Backtracking a bit, it seemed like a normal day for Barry Allen...

...facing off against an alien creature who seemed to appear wherever he was, meeting the alien hunter who had trapped the creature, finding out the creature was the Nok, given a time limit in which to catch the creature, then facing some ordinary museum thieves...

...at least until the Nok showed up there, too!

In trying to save the thieves, Flash had to vibrate at unusual frequencies, which caused him to end up on a parallel world.  No problem, Barry had ended up on the world of an alternate Flash (Jay Garrick) and could just head home.  Except....it didn't work this time.

Plus, the people of this world recognized him, as Barry Allen, the Flash!  Seems this world only had super-heroes as comic book characters, and proven, as a kid showed him a comic written by Gardner Fox!  Not having a lot of space to carry more than spare change, Barry went to the offices of DC Comics, where he met with editor Julie Schwartz.

With a quick super speed change, convinced him that he was the real thing.  Barry stayed and read comics while Julie went out to get the parts needed to build a Cosmic Treadmill, which would allow Barry to speed back to his own Earth, which he did.

Then, back home, Barry realized why the Nok was following him....it was feeding on his super-speed aura.  So, Barry whipped up a gun to produce that aura, attracted the Nok with it, then turned him over to the alien hunter (with Julie Schwartz having an idea for a new story for the Flash back on his Earth). 

The Day I Saved The Life Of The Flash

Cary Bates wrote Flash #228 (July-August, 1974), and starred in it as well, but Irv Novick and Tex Blaisdell provided the interior art, with Nick Cardy giving readers the cover of the issue.


This time around, Cary Bates (who wrote the previous tale as his first outing as a Flash writer, soon after, becoming the regular writer for the Flash) was driving around Ohio (with just a little problem of driving too fast) when he found his way into a mysterious fog...


...which transported him all the way to another Earth, and to Central City, instead of his original destination of Athens, Ohio.

Cary quickly recognized the skyline as one drawn many times by Carmine Infantino and Irv Novick, and realized he was in Flash's Central City, just as the Trickster burst out of a bank he was robbing!   Realizing that Trickster was starting a plot that Cary had had,

Cary went to the home of the Allens, and, with a little work, convinced Barry that he was who he said he was, putting the Flash on the trail of the Trickster.

Flash confronted Trickster, but was stopped by the new gimmick the Trickster had, that of a hypnotic yo-yo, which caused Flash to forget who he was facing.

Cary had dreamed up that menace for the Flash, but had yet to think of a way to stop it.

So, Cary thought of a new robbery for Trickster, which the Trickster performed, then Flash showed up, and found a way to prevent James Jesse from making a clean getaway.


Thanking Cary for his help beating the Trickster, Cary used his "plotting power" to create the fog again, and drove home, knowing he'd have a new story for the Flash (not unlike how Julie Schwartz did).

Now, the saga of Earth-Prime didn't end there.

Earth-Prime came back for a JLA/JSA team-up (where that Earth was named, and Cary returned there), as well as introducing two super-heroes of its own, Ultraa and Superboy!

But, Earth-Prime didn't fair so well during the Crisis On Infinite Earths....

Lady Cop First Issue Special

Looking to fill an issue of First Issue Special, DC found a story that had been sitting around for a while.


Originally called Police Woman (which may have factored into this being released, as there as a show by that title on TV at the time), DC filled First Issue Special #4 (July, 1975) with....Lady Cop!


The cover was by Dick Giordano, and the two interior stories were by Robert Kanigher, John Rosenberger and Vince Coletta.

Lady Cop

The story starts with young Liza Warner watching her college roommates being killed by a man wearing stylized boots with a black skull and crossbones, feeling he could kill women like tossing out an Ace of Spades from a deck of cards.  While reporting the crime to the police, a female officer praised Liza for her attention to detail, and convinced her to enroll in the police academy. 

Liza trained well, and graduated top of her class....stopping a student who had scrubbed out from tossing a grenade at the graduating class.

Poisoned Love

Now on the beat, Liza had to deal with all the problems a police officer faces, as well as her own female problems.  First, she had to stop two thugs from roughing up a young girl, but they turned on her (not accounting for her training, where she stopped them and had them arrested).  Liza still searched for the young girl (as she was in trouble), and, after a day off (having problems with her own boyfriend, Hal, who didn't get her desire for her job), kept searching for the young girl (who she overheard on a phone call, finding out she had VD). 

Liza confronted a robber (getting stabbed in the arm in the process), and saved the shop owner's life.  Then, came around to find the girl on the docks, who was waiting for her father.  The girl was worried about her problem, compounded by how her dad would react (having lost his wife a decade ago, and was overprotective of his daughter).  Liza stayed to help the two of them come to terms with the problem, and get the girl some help.

Still, Liza was searching for the "Killer In Boots".


Not the greatest comic story ever told, but likely something destined for a romance comic, that happened to end up here.  Simple by today's standards, a nice look back at the problems that women faced when they joined the police force (and that next issue was one of Jack Kirby's Manhunter!).

Liza wasn't totally forgotten either, having been revived for a few issues as the chief of police in Ivy Town in the All-New Atom, and being totally revamped as a bad cop for a few episodes of the CW's Arrow over the years.  Not bad for someone who premiered with folks like Atlas, the Dingbats and the Warlord.

Multiple Crisis Plus Green Lantern 61

Not all of the Earth-1/Earth-2 team-ups were included in the volumes of the Crisis On Multiple Earths The Team-Ups two volumes.

Green Lantern #61 (June, 1968) by Mike Friedrich, Gil Kane and Sid Greene, with a cover by Kane and Greene, was one of those tales, which we will monitor right now....

Thoroughly Modern Mayhem

This time around, the action starts quick!


The Green Lanterns Hal Jordan and Alan Scott defeating Captain Challenge on Earth-1, with Alan then heading home to Earth-2 to resume his work at Gotham Broadcasting in his alter ego, trying to just have a normal day....

.....only to end up stopping a fight between two co-workers, Johnny Halliday and Tommy Saunders, with Tommy going to the hospital.



Still more keeps the hero busy, multiple crimes, break-ins, running him all the way to the dawn and beyond!

Even at stately Wayne Manor, as Dick Grayson was a grown up Robin, and not staying there, and Bruce Wayne was away, getting an award for his good works as Earth-2's other Gotham Guardian, Batman....Green Lantern responds to the alarm he had set up there.

Green Lantern makes quick work of that thief and heads home, just to hear more trouble, and to find out his own home had been ransacked!


That was it!  Alan decides to will away all evil and everyone disappears!


Returning to his Earth, GL Hal Jordan finds the entire population of Earth-2 in the Earth-1 Utah desert, so, goes to check Earth-2, finding it empty (but Alan's ring at his home).

The GLs return work to return everyone home, with Alan realizing he can't do it all alone, so Hal goes to try to stop the crime wave (following odd radio broadcasts), while Alan checks up on Tommy in the hospital. 

Hal follows the radio signals there, to find Alan beating up two thugs, then the GLs go to Gotham Broadcasting where GL Alan goes after Johnny Halliday.  Johnny was the mastermind behind the crime wave, using the radio frequency to broadcast hate and coordinate robberies, Tommy found out, so that's why they were fighting. 

Alan realizes that just by doing something small, we can all do our part to stop the bigger evil.  This is a parallel to a later story involving Hal Jordan, who faces his own Zero Hour Crisis, and tried to do away with evil as Parallax.

Green Lantern Alan Scott was last in a team up with Hal (as recounted here), and appears next in the 6th JLA/JSA team-up, debuting Red Tornado. 

One of many Multiple Earths stories not in these volumes....more will come!

Flash Green Lantern Atom Second Multiple Crisis

Even more of the solo team-ups of heroes of Earth-1 and Earth-2 (as opposed to meetings of the JLA and JSA) for you to see!

With a concentration on Flashes and Green Lanterns, this time around also gives a look at the Atoms, as well as finishing a little from last time.

The Big Super-Hero Hunt

First up is Starman and Black Canary, going into action in Federal City, in Brave and the Bold #62 (October-November, 1965) by Gardner Fox and Murphy Anderson (with another stunner of an Anderson cover).

Golden Age Green Lantern villain, the Sportsmaster, decides he wants a trophy (and the money around it) at an event Larry Lance is providing security for.  This brings the villain into conflict Larry's wife, Dinah Drake Lance (the heroine known as Black Canary), who pursues the fleeing villain.  Meanwhile, Starman (Ted Knight) finds Wildcat (Ted Grant) being held hostage on Ted Knight's estate by the Huntress (a foe of Wildcat's, and member of the Injustice Society of the World...now married to Sportsmaster).  The villains work together to defeat the heroes and leave the area with Wildcat as a prisoner.  Starman and Black Canary pursue the villains, freeing Wildcat, and learning from him their plans to get another trophy (and prize money), head after them, defeating them by turning the tables on the villainous pair, getting back all their ill-gotten booty.  Boxer Ted Grant (secretly Wildcat) is able to present the first trophy as a prize now that it is returned.

The second of two wonderful Starman/Black Canary team-ups (the first and more Earth-1/Earth-2 adventures here). and this is the first Silver Age appearance of JSAer Wildcat, and Injustice Society of the World members Sportsmaster and Huntress.  Wildcat and Black Canary appear next in the JLA/JSA's fourth team-up, with Starman shining in the 6th.

Prince Peril's Power Play

It's time for two Green Lanterns in Green Lantern #45 (June, 1966) by John Broome, Gil Kane and Sid Greene, all under a cover by Gil Kane!

Poor Princess Ramia of Myrg, being forced into marriage with the evil Prince Peril, flees her planet and ends up meeting Doiby Dickles....who, while attending a symposium at Spaceland (a new amusement park outside of Earth-2's Gotham), Doiby introduces the princess to Alan Scott (Earth-2's heroic Green Lantern).  While Green Lantern faces Prince Peril, Doiby and the princess flee in Doiby's old cab, Goitrude.  Even with the princess' science allowing the cab to fly, Prince Peril is in pursuit after defeating Green Lantern.  Ramia uses a dimension changer to take the cab (and its passengers) to Earth-1, where Prince Peril soon follows, now engaging in battle with Hal Jordan, the Earth-1 Green Lantern.  Prince Peril defeats Hal, bringing Doiby and Ramia back to Myrg as his captives.  The two Green Lanterns team-up, defeating Prince Peril, and the princess does indeed find a man to marry...Doiby Dickles!

Doiby and Green Lantern Alan Scott appear next in the next Green Lantern team-up, so keep reading!

The Thinker's Earth-Shaking Robberies

Instead of splitting Atoms, they are teaming up in Atom #29 (February-March, 1967) in a story by Gardner Fox, Gil Kane (who also did the cover) and Sid Greene.

Lawyer Jean Loring (Ray Palmer's fiancee) is helping actress Cheryl Drake in a legal battle with her deceased husband's parents over custody of her child.  Jean tells this story to Ray as the pair goes to a museum exhibit...that ends up being robbed by the Thinker.  Ray goes into action as the Atom, but the Thinker escapes by returning to Earth-2 (Thinker is a members of the ISW, and a foe of the Golden Age Flash).  Thinker thought stealing items on Earth-1 and returning home to Earth-2 would be a great way to make money....except Artie Perkins was committing the same crime as he was on Earth-2, in Calvin City, drawing the attention of Al Pratt, the Golden Age Atom.  Atom Al tries to help Artie, who can't control his sudden criminal tendencies, calling in Atom Ray for help (who builds his own dimensional vibrator to get to Earth-2).  Thinker finds his upgrades to his Thinking Cap also projected his plans to Artie, forcing him to repeat his crimes.  The two Atoms have two battles with the Thinker, defeating him in the end.

The Thinker gets an awesome costume in this issue, as he appears between battles with the two Flashes, and the Earth-2 Atom appears here after the third JLA/JSA team-up, appearing next in the second dual Atom meeting, chronicled below.

Our Mastermind The Car

Hal's friend, Tom Kalmaku, gives readers this little flashback tale of a meeting of the two Green Lanterns in Green Lantern #52 (April, 1967) by John Broome and Gil Kane, though the incredible Gil Kane cover promises an epic battle between Hal and Sinestro (which it delivers).

Alan Scott comes to Hal Jordan to recruit his help in bring Doiby an anniversary gift, taking his cab, Goitrude, to Myrg for the happy couple.  But, the Green Lanterns go to find the car missing from its storage garage...the car seems to have taken on a life of its own, now working with criminals (and talking).  The two Green Lanterns contact Doiby, who leaves the Princess to go help....with the trio facing down Goitrude, with Green Lanterns blasting the car, releasing the force possessing it....Hal's foe, Sinestro!  Absorbing the power from two dimensionally differing Power Rings, gives Sinestro power, which he uses, along with Doiby's dimension changer and his own yellow Power Ring, to steal the Master Battery from the Guardians of the Universe on Oa, transporting it to Earth-2.  Sinestro plans on using the Master Battery to create a Corps of his own, dedicated to evil.  The two Green Lanterns head to Earth-2, facing Sinestro to take back the battery, and, after defeating him, give him to the Guardians for safe keeping.  Hal and Alan even give Doiby a replica Goitrude, promising to restore his real cab for him.

Green Lantern Alan Scott appears next in the next Green Lantern team-up (not covered in this book or article, but will be), and Doiby and the Princess eventually come back in the first Infinity, Inc. Annual, which happens during the Crisis On Infinite Earths.

The See-Nothing Spells Of Abra Kadabra

Flash Barry Allen is having a carefree day as seen on Carmine Infantino/Murphy Anderson's  Flash #170 (May, 1967) cover, but the story by Gardner Fox, Carmine Infantino and Sid Greene shows why he needs the help of three members of the JSA.

Barry and his new wife Iris attend a play, but while trying to meet the actor playing Merlin, Barry hears a disembodied voice threaten to reveal his identity as the Flash.  While Iris goes to dinner with her actress friend, a worried Barry dons his costume, but only stops a group of criminals committing a robbery.  The owner of the building gives Flash a device....and, as Flash takes the criminals to the police, he forgets why he brought them there.  Heading home. Flash ignores a mugging, then a mob war....all under the watch of three mysterious strangers.  It is revealed that the actor and owner were Abra Kadabra in disguise, who created a Psychonizer in his 64th Century prison, using that device to prevent his robot captor from seeing him, then travelled back to the 20th Century, to use that device on the Flash, to make him not see any crimes.  Thankfully, the three strangers trailing the Flash were the Golden Age Flash, Dr. Fate and Dr. Mid-Nite, who came to Earth-1 after Dr. Fate's magic detected evil descending down on Central City.  The trio helped Barry's Flash fight criminals, then worked in concert to defeat Abra Kadabra, with Dr. Fate a little confused as to why his magic was unable to counter Abra Kadabra's (Abra's was 64th Century science used to fake magic, why Dr. Fate's was real magic).  Freeing Barry from Abra's control, Barry met with Iris (promising to reveal his secret life as the Flash to her soon).

Dr. Fate and Dr. Mid-Nite were last in the fourth JLA/JSA team-up, and return in the 6th.  Flash Jay Garrick was last in the 3rd JLA/JSA team-up, and returns with Barry in the issue covered next.

Doomward Flight Of The Flashes

The three Flashes are fading fast in Flash #173 (September, 1967) by John Broome, Carmine Infantino and Sid Greene, as seen on this Carmine Infantino/Muprhy Anderson cover.

Jay brings his wife Joan to Earth-1 for the first time, as Joan wants to talk to Barry about revealing his identity to Iris.  The couple arrive and meet Iris and her nephew, Wally West, who seems a little upset.  Separating from the ladies, Wally talks to Jay, telling him that he (as Kid Flash) and Barry Flash were fighting the Domino Gang, but that Barry disappeared during the battle.  Kid Flash and the Golden Age Flash have their first team-up searching for Barry....but then Kid Flash disappears.  Kid Flash was transported to Vorvan by the Golden Man, a mutant from his planet who had evolved millions of years beyond the cave dwelling inhabitants of his world, who brought the two Flashes to his world.  Their energies proved not enough to power his evolutionary machine, so he brought Jay Flash to his world....except Jay didn't arrive unconscious like Barry and Wally did.  Jay battled the Golden Man, freeing Barry, and eventually the three battled him....getting him to use his evolution machine, but it instead devolved the Golden Man, freeing the Flashes.  Barry set up the machine, and Jay had arrived conscious on the planet due to his using internal vibrations as a mask (as he wears none).  The three return home, and meet up with ladies (with Joan having spoken to Barry, getting a promise that he will talk to Iris soon).

This was the first meeting of Jay Garrick and Wally West, and Jay appears next in the 6th JLA/JSA team-up. 

Menace Of The Mystic Mastermind

Switching gears to another team-up of members of the JSA is the Spectre #3 (March-April, 1968) by Mike Friedrich and Neal Adams, with a glorious Spectre/Wildcat cover by Neal Adams.

Two interdimensional sorcerors are having a mystic battle, but the power they directed at each other combined....then vanished.  That power drifted through dimensions. finding small time crook, "Sad" Jack Dold.  Being confronted by Wildcat during a robbery, Jack finds his powers (being those of persuasion and more), taking Wildcat to an arena to fight, and changing his name to "Happy" Jack, as he defeats Wildcat on camera.  Spectre happen to see the fight, and comes to try to remove the mystic might from Dold, but fails.  Spectre also has to help Ted Grant, demoralized by his defeat and feeling his age.  Spectre tries again, being able to remove the magic from Dold as Dold is using it, and Ted Grant finds new purpose, in training the next generation in the art of pugilism.

Spectre was here as a part of his 10 issue series, with Wildcat appearing between the 5th and 8th JLA/JSA stories.

Duel Between The Dual Atoms

Last but not least is a real atomic fight from Atom #36 (April-May, 1968) by Gardner Fox, Gil Kane and Sid Greene, as the Atoms fight (as shown so well on the Gil Kane cover).

Al Pratt is single, and set up on a date by his friends Bill and Betty Roberts.  But, meeting her, Al sees Marion as old...but, that's a sudden thing, as Betty suddenly aged as well.  A quick interruption by some criminals gives Al an excuse to go into action as Atom.  Capturing them, Atom finds out at the police station that women all around town have suddenly aged.  Atom decides to go to Earth-1 to see if this event has happened there.  On Earth-1, while Atom Ray Palmer is fighting thieves, they all stop....as they have all been de-aged about 10 years, losing their memories past that point as well.  Atom Al then appears, and helps him return to normal size, but Ray just wants to go meet his new girl, Jean Loring (who has been his fiancee for a decade).  Al takes Ray back to Earth-2, which restores Ray's age and memories, but makes him upset.  The two Atoms fight, with Ray activating Al's vibration device...but stopping it midway, putting them between dimensions.  They then return to Earth-1, where Ray's age devolves even further, including an appropriate memory loss.  Ray heads to Mount Ivy, seeing a new antenna set up, gets angry and smashes it.  This restores his age and memories.  Finding Al, the two go to Earth-2, finding a similar set up, and they take it out, restoring women to their younger selves around Calvin City.  Al goes on a new date with the restored Marion, as Ray meets with Jean.

Atom Al Pratt returns in the 6th JLA/JSA team-up.

Sadly, the second Crisis On Multiple Earths volume (with a Matt Wagner cover) is the last, but there were more team-ups of single JLA and JSA members (like a Flash/Spectre story and a Superman/Superman story) already covered....and more to come, as well as more JLA/JSA stories!

Flash Faces Gorilla Grodd

Irv Novick was making a bit of a monkey out of Gorilla Grodd, having him stand in for King Kong, carrying Iris Allen as Fay Wray with the Flash being the hero in this image for the month of September from the 1977 Super DC Calendar.

Flash faces a few of his other foes in a previous calendar as well.