Golden Age Flash Solo In The Bronze Age

Jay Garrick had 104 issues of Flash Comics, 32 issues of All-Flash and over 2 dozen issues of Comic
Cavalcade where he was the lead, but for the Silver and Bronze Age, he was always part of a team, either with the JSA or working with Barry Allen's Flash....except for one special story by Robert Kanigher and Murphy Anderson in Flash #201 (November, 1970).

Let's take a quick look at it!

Finale For A Fiddler!

Jay has to go into action as the Flash to face the Turtle Man, but the fastest man alive is starting to show his age....but his wife Joan, while helping, also wants to get to a rock concert the next day.

Shame Jay's old foe, the Fiddler has his sights set on causing trouble there, but, even though he isn't as fast as he used to be, Flash stops the Fiddler!

Flash (Jay) appears next in JLA #91, Joan next in Flash #215, Fiddler next in All-Star Comics #63 with the ISW, and Turtle Man doesn't appear again until after the Crisis On Infinite Earths, where he teams up with Barry's version of the Turtle to face Wally West as the Flash!

Turtle Man only had 3 Golden Age appearances, All-Flash #21, Comic Cavalcade #24 and Flash Comics #102...but he didn't make the cover of any of them!

This Bronze Age Flash story was reprinted in the Justice Society of America 100 Page Super Spectacular 1, 1975 issue (of July, 2000).

Request For Injustice Society Collections

One of the most persistent foes of the Justice Society of America has been the Injustice Society of the World.  Premiered in All-Star Comics #37 (October-November, 1947) by writer Robert Kanigher and artists Irwin Hasen, Joe Kubert, Carmine Infantino, John Belfi and Alex Toth, this group of villains has unleashed havoc across the world, as well as having grown in size (here by George Perez)....

...and while the group's Golden Age appearances have been reprinted a few times, many individual members are far from having their appearances visible since their first printings.

That needs change....and, here's a way to do that in three tradepaperback volumes!

ISW Volume 1

The first volume should include:

Wizard (William Asmodeus Zard) All-Star Comics #34 (April-May 1947):  "The Wiles Of The Wizard" Brainwave (Henry King Sr) All-Star Comics #15 (February-March 1943): "The Man Who Created Images" Gambler (Steven Sharpe) Green Lantern #12 (Summer 1944):  "The Gambler" Green Lantern #20 (June-July 1946): "The Gambler Comes Back" Green Lantern #27 (August-September 1947): "The Gambler Bets His Life" Per Degaton All-Star Comics #35 (June-July 1947):  "The Day That Dropped Out Of Time"

Thinker (Clifford DeVoe)

All-Flash #12 (Fall 1943):  "Tumble Inn To Trouble" All-Flash #14 (Spring 1944):  "The Man Who Unleashed The Past" Vandal Savage Green Lantern #10 (Winter 1943): "The Man Who Wanted The World"

...and the team appearance from All-Star Comics #37, "The Injustice Society of The World", for a wonderful collection of 319 pages (with appropriate covers, with sadly, the Thinker not appearing on any, and the Gambler only making one of his cover), with many All-Star Comics issues, and a few Golden Age Flash and Green Lantern tales.


Still, this does collect all of Per Degaton and Vandal Savage's Golden Age appeaerances, and at least the first two appearances of every charter ISW member except for Brain Wave.


Leaves some Brain Wave, Thinker and Gambler stories uncollected, but....read on!

ISW Volume 2

The second volume should include:

Icicle (Joar Makent) All-American Comics #90 (October 1947): "The Icicle" All-American Comics #92 (December 1947): "The Icicle Goes South" Fiddler (Isaac Bowin) All-Flash #32 (December 1947-January 1948):  "Duet Of Danger" Flash Comics #93 (March 1948): "Violin Of Villainy" Comic Cavalcade #28 (August-September 1948): "The Flash Concerto"

Sportsmaster (Crusher Crock) All-American Comics #85 (May 1947): "The Rise And Fall Of Crusher Crock" Green Lantern #28 (October-November 1947): "The Tricks Of The Sportsmaster" All-American Comics #98 (June 1948): "The End Of Sports"

Huntress (Paula Brooks) Sensation Comics #68 (August 1947): "Wildcat -- Former Crime Fighter" Sensation Comics #69 (September 1947): "Follow The Leader" Sensation Comics #71 (November 1947): "The Count That Never Ended" Sensation Comics #73 (January 1948): "Murder Masquerade" Sensation Comics #75 (March 1948): "The Snare That Backfired" Sensation Comics #76 (April 1948): "The Wildcat Ride" DC 100-Page Super-Spectacular #6 (1971): "Crime Wore A Costume"

Harlequin (Molly Mayne) All-American Comics #89 (September 1947): "The Harlequin" All-American Comics #91 (November 1947): "The Wedding Of The Harlequin" Green Lantern #29 (December 1947 - January 1948): "The Challenge Of The Harlequin" and "The Harlequin Haunts Green Lantern"

All-American Comics  #93 (January 1948):  "The Double-Crossing Decoy" All-American Comics #94 (February 1948): "Partners In Peril" All-American Comics #95 (March 1948): "The Unmasking Of The Harlequin" Green Lantern #31 (March-April 1948): "The Terror Of The Talismans" Green Lantern #32 (May-June 1948):  "The Case Of The Conscience Fund"

....and, with the Wizard's gathering of these villains from All-Star Comics #41 (June-July, 1948), this gives all the Golden Age appearances of these villains from the various Flash comics, Green Lantern comics and even Wildcat appearances (though he never made the covers of Sensation Comics).



Except for some of Harlequin's appearances, all of these characters Golden Age tales are here (about half of all of these stories hadn't been reprinted), with this being the largest volume, at 330 pages.

ISW Volume 3

The third volume should include Golden Age tales of the Bronze Age additions:

Shade (Richard Swift) Flash Comics #33 (September 1942): "The Man Who Commanded The Night" Solomon Grundy (Cyrus Gold) All-American Comics #61 (October 1944): "Fighters Never Quit" Comic Cavalcade #13 (Winter 1945): "And Then There Was One" All-Star Comics #33 (February-March 1947): "The Revenge Of Solomon Grundy" Comic Cavalcade #24 (December 1947-January 1948): "The Case Of The Withered Flower"

Missing stores of other ISW members from the Golden Age:

Brain Wave (Henry King Sr) All-Star Comics #17 (June-July 1943): "Brain Wave Goes Berserk" All-Star Comics #30 (August-September 1946)" "The Dreams Of Madness Gambler (Steven Sharpe) Green Lantern #30 (February-March 1948): "The Fatal Chance" Green Lantern #35 (November-December 1948): "Perfect Crimes For Sale"

Thinker (Clifford DeVoe) Flash Comics #65 (June-July 1945): "Adventure Of The Thinking Cap" All-Flash #27 (February-March 1947): "The Thinker Cooks With Gas" Comic Cavalcade #22 (August-September 1947): "Beware The Ice Age" Comic Cavalcade #23 (October-November 1947): "The Sleeping City" All-Flash #32 (December 1947-January 1948): "Crime, Incorporated" Flash #214 (April 1972): "The Tale Of Three Tokens"

Harlequin (Molly Mayne)

Green Lantern Vol. 1 #33/3 (July-August 1948): "The Harlequin's Leap Year"

Green Lantern Vol. 1 #34 (September-October 1948): "Harlequin's Secret Revealed"

Other villains, who joined even later or were related to the ISW:

Rag Doll (Peter Merkel) Flash Comics #36 (December 1942): "Tale Of The Treasure Hunt" The Mist (Kyle) Adventure Comics #67 (October 1941): "The Menace Of The Invisible Raiders"

The Shade joined during a JLA/JSA adventure, Solomon Grundy during the 1970s run with Star-Spangled Kid and Power Girl, Rag Doll VERY much later, in JSA All-Stars, and the Mist, because his second appearance was in the Wanted collection, and this gives more than Flash and Green Lantern (and JSA stories) with a Starman story, giving 328 pages (and hope that a collection with Hawkman's Gentleman Ghost and Monocle and a few others can materialize somewhere).

A fanciful wish from someone who knows the Flash, Green Lantern, Wildcat, Hawkman and Starman stories reprinted from the Golden Age, and would like to see more, with Wizard, Brain Wave, Per Degaton, Vandal Savage, Gambler, Thinker, Icicle, Sportsmaster, Huntress, Fiddler, Harlequinn and the rest serving as a nice conduit to a forgotten era!

Flash Facts: Giant Rivals?

To be fair, this issue of the Flash is a bit of a lie. 

While the cover is beautifully illustrated by Carmine Infantino and Murphy Anderson, this, the first of Flash's 80 Page Giants within his own title (numbered Giant #G-21, or just Flash #160 of April, 1966, taking place after a Flash Annual and a couple of 80 Page Giants already devoted to the Flash), it really isn't a collection of his greatest super-speed rivals (at least not entirely)....

...but, take a look through the individual stories reprinted here and see of you agree.

Flash #107

Starting with "The Amazing Race Against Time" from Flash #107 (June-July, 1959) by John Broome, Carmine Infantino and Joe Giella (with Broome and Giella providing the cover), things seem to relate to racing.

Flash encounters a man faster than he is as Barry tries to stop a runaway truck.  Problem is, the man doesn't recall who he is...so, the Flash tries to help him with his amnesia, as Iris West plans a charity race between the two (with the memory challenged fellow running backwards as he sees he is clearly faster than the Flash).  Flash brings the man to a doctor, who after exposing him to electricity, does return his memory, but at the cost of his speed.  The man is really an artificial lifeform called a Hominoid from another world, with the name of Kyri.  Kyri was trying to return to his home dimension, but cannot without his speed.  Flash helps him out, repairing his ship and providing the needed speed.

All-Flash #32

Next up is a jump back to the Golden Age, with a "Duet Of Danger" from All-Flash #32 (December-January, 1947/1948) featuring Jay Garrick, the original Flash, fighting his foe, the Fiddler, for the first time in a story by Robert Kanigher, Lee Elias and Moe Worthman (with Elias and Worthman providing the original cover!).

Isaac Bowen was a thief who got sent to prison in India, and partnered up with an Indian fakir, transferring the musical magic he learned to a fiddle instead of flute (using the fiddle to kill the fakir).  Returning home, Bowen planned to use his new skills to become a crime boss, but instead ended up facing the Flash in Keystone City.  It appeared at the end of this story that the Fiddler perished, but he would return (to face Flash individually as well as a member of the Injustice Society of the World). 

But Fiddler really isn't a super-SPEED rival....

Flash #113

And now, for something completely different, the reprint of the main story of Flash #113 (June-July, 1960) by John Broome, Carmine Infantino and Joe Giella, with the Flash facing "Danger In The Air" in the form of....the Trickster!

James Jesse premiered in this issue of the Flash, being a criminal who used gimmicks, including shoes that allowed him to walk on air, to commit robberies (all to make up for the fact that he was a failed circus acrobat...or at least had no affinity for that job; his fear of heights led him to invent the shoes that allowed him to walk on air, and his name, being the reverse of famous outlaw, Jesse James, led him to a life of crime).  Trickster still had a bit to the showman in him, facing off against Flash, at least until his theatrics helped Flash figure out his identity, leading this act...to jail!

Don't worry, the Trickster does return, again and again, same Flash-time, same Flash-channel (but, also not really a speed threat....).

Flash #114

Time for a back up, the Kid Flash back up story from Flash #114 (August, 1960), wherein young Wally West faces off against the "King Of The Beatniks" in a story by John Broome, Carmine Infantino and Joe Giella.

Wally's friend, Jimmy King, gets caught with an answer sheet to a test, and, leaves school.  The teacher, Miss Grant, realizes her mistake and recruits Wally to find him.  Jimmy went to New York to live with his cousin, Paul, the leader of a Beatnik Gang.  Kid Flash busts the Beatniks during a robbery, then, Jimmy returns to Blue Valley and school, to clear his name.

Other than Kid Flash, little speed here.

Flash #124

This time it's two heroes for the price of one, as Flash and Elongated Man have to avoid Captain Boomerang's "Space-Boomerang Trap" as originally presented in Flash #124 (November, 1961) by John Broome, Carmine Infantino and Joe Giella.

Captain Boomerang gets out of jail, and has a new scheme with a special boomerang that travels through time, allowing him to establish an alibi for his crimes.  Flash has problems solving this mystery, so calls in detective Elongated Man, and they sniff out the solution (but along the way, all three have to help stop an alien invasion, then have to contend with Captain Boomerang using a weapon gotten from those aliens against the Flash....with Elongated Man barely able to stretch to catch his friend in time!).

A great tale, but the rivals weren't all that speedy!

Adventure Comics #123

Time for an adventure....one from Johnny Quick, from Adventure Comics #123 (December, 1947), as Johnny deals with "The Adventure Of The Antelope Boy" by Don Cameron, Mort Meskin and George Roussos.

Johnny Chambers and Tubby Watts are headed to Africa to find the legendary Antelope Boy who can run so fast, but mobster Mobs Racket tries to get to the lad first.  Shame he didn't count on having to outrun Johnny Quick and his magic formula.  Johnny helps save the lad from the mobster, and is offered track scholarships to many schools in the United States!

A pretty speedy run-through of those stories, along with a Flash pin-up from Flash Annual #1 of 1963, it does lack one individual, the Reverse-Flash, who would most definitely need to be included in any collection of Flash super-speed rivals (but to be fair, at this point, Reverse-Flash only had 3 appearances!).

JSA Opposite: Injustice Society Additions Part 2

The Injustice Society of the World was the evil opposite of the Justice Society of America, made up of individual heroes Rogue's Galleries.  The first team formed to face the JSA back in All-Star Comics #37 (October-November, 1947), with only the Wizard escaping...

...allowing him to come back with new villains and a new ISW in All-Star Comics #41 (June-July, 1948) with "The Case Of The Patriotic Crimes" by writer John Broome, and artists including Alex Toth, Carmine Infantino, Arthur Peddy and Irwin Hasen, inked by Frank Giacoia and Bernard Sachs.

Here are the last two Golden Age members not covered earlier....

Fiddler

Isaac Bowin first appeared in All-Flash #32 (December-January, 1947/1948) by Robert Kanigher, Lee Elias and Moe Worthman, facing off against the Jay Garrick version of the Flash (who was the only Flash at that time) with a "Duet Of Danger".  Isaac was a thief who ended up in prison in India, then learned the skills of a fakir while there, but using a fiddle instead of a flute, and used the fiddle to kill the fakir.  Bowin returned home, intending to become a crime boss, but instead faced off against the Flash.  Fiddler seeming fell to his doom, but returned again in Flash Comics #93 (March, 1948 by Kanigher and Elias), facing off against Jay Garrick again, with his "Violin Of Villainy", before joining the Injustice Society...

...then fighting Jay Garrick's Flash one last time in the Golden Age, in Comic Cavalcade #28 (August-September, 1948 by Kanigher, Irwin Hasen and Bernard Sachs) in "The Flash Concerto", and popping up in a times past tale set in the early 1950s in Starman #46 (September, 1998), plotting to finish off Starman (Ted Knight).

The Fiddler returned, along with Thinker (Clifford DeVoe) and the Shade (Richard Swift), as the three villains had taken over Keystone City, and it took the "Flash Of Two Worlds" (both Jay Garrick and Barry Allen) to defeat the trio in Flash #123 (September, 1961).  After that, Fiddler worked with the Crime Champions in Justice League of America #21 and #22 (1963), faced Jay Garrick alone in Flash #201 (November, 1970), rejoined the ISW along with new member, Solomon Grundy, in All-Star Comics #63 (November-December, 1976)...

....faced off against the Teen Titans in Teen Titans #46 (February, 1977), worked with the Icicle and the Shade to revive Darkseid, and was opposed by Orion, Mr. Miracle, Big Barda, the JSA and the JLA in Justice League of America #183 to #185 (1980), reunited with the Crime Champions for Justice League of America #219 and #220 in 1983, was a part of the Crisis on Infinite Earths for a bit...

....joining the Wizard, the Shade and kids of the original ISW (including Artemis, Hazard and a new Icicle) in Injustice, Unlimited in Infinity, Inc. #34 to #36 in 1987, facing Wally West Flash and the new Thanagarian Hawkman and Hawkwoman (as well as a little time travelling to the past to face Jay Garrick), in Hawkworld Annual #1 of 1990...

...figuring out how much trouble the villains were in with Neron in Underworld Unleashed #1 (November, 1995), arriving for the funeral of the original Chronos, who was hastened to his grave by Neron (and his own lust for power) in Chronos #6 (August, 1998), being there as Wally West reclaimed the title of Flash in Flash #208 (April, 2004), all before dying as a member of the new Secret Six (along with surviving members Deadshot, Catman, a new Rag Doll, Mike the Parademon and Scandal Savage) in Villains United #1 (July, 2005)..

...with a legacy character, a female named Virtuoso picking up the fiddling villainy in Villains United #5 and #6 in 2005 (and a few issues of Secret Six), with Fiddler returning as an animated corpse (Black Lantern) in Suicide Squad #67 and Secret Six #17 and #18 in 2010 (where he also faced Virtuoso).

Harlequin

Molly Maynne first appeared in All-American Comics #89 (September, 1947) by Robert Kanigher and Irwin Hasen, where she was Alan Scott's secretary at WXYZ radio, which planned to have a Green Lantern radio show.  To face Green Lantern, they went to the comics, and picked "The Harlequin" (a character only in the comics) to be his first foe...Molly, who was in love with Alan Scott, took over the identity of Harlequin, getting hypno-spectacles and a mandolin, and trying to take over the gangs of Gotham.   She faced Green Lantern, but neither learned each other's identity.  Harlequin immediately returned in All-American Comics #91 (November, 1947) by Kanigher, Hasen and John Belfi, with a plan to marry Green Lantern (it took a while, but Molly eventually had that wedding).

Molly next faced Alan in a full-length issue in Green Lantern #29 (December-January, 1947/1948), all by Kanigher, Hasen and Belfi, with the first story pitting Green Lantern against the police (who think Alan is on Harlequin's side), then in the second part of that, having Harlequin face her own gang, who think she is in love with Green Lantern!  The third story was separate from the previous two, as Harlequin gives up, turning herself into the police....as long as Green Lantern defends her in court!  Next up, in All-American Comics #93 (January, 1948), Green Lantern comes up with the idea of taking Molly on a date, to lure out the Harlequin!   Coincidentally, Alan picks the stadium Molly was going to rob, so she goes along with it, to then change into Harlequin, to continue the robbery, but Green Lantern foils it, and captures Harlequin and her gang, but failed to take away her hypno-glasses, which she uses to escape.  

Picking up where the last issue left off, All-American Comics #94 (February, 1948) by Kanigher, Hasen and Belfi, finds Alan Scott planning a coop to capture Harlequin by sponsoring a beauty contest with an opal Harlequin ring to lure his foe there (and she does enter, but uses illusions to keep Green Lantern busy).  Green Lantern hid a camera in the opal, to at least find out her identity (as she does escape with the ring), but she returns it with the camera broken.    In her final cover of the series, All-American Comics #95 (March, 1948), Harlequin finds a way to trap Green Lantern, promising to reveal her identity to him, if he does the same for her.  They actually do remove their masks in front of each other, but....a little smoke gets in the way (Gotham is a dirty city, after all).

In her final Golden Age cover, Green Lantern #31 (March-April, 1948) by Kanigher, Irwin and Belfi, a gang leader gets a hold of Harlequin's spectacles and Green Lantern's ring, forcing the two to work together to stop him.  Green Lantern #32 (May-June, 1948) sees Harlequin do something odd...offer to return her ill-gotten gains to the government, so they can return the funds to her victims.  After this, Harlequin works with the  ISW (where she helps Black Canary fight the Injustice Society to save the JSA, especially Green Lantern). 

Harlequin is only in All-American Comics #99 (July, 1948) as Molly Maynne (and Green Lantern is barely there as well as Streak the Wonder Dog takes over the tale, in a story by John Broome and Alex Toth (the Green Lantern feature soon leaves All-American Comics).  With Green Lantern #33 (July-August, 1948) by Kanigher and Hasen, Harlequin takes advantage of Leap Year to ask Green Lantern to marry her (Molly's got a one track mind).  Molly (and only Molly) has a brief appearance in Green Lantern's story in Comic Cavalcade #28 (August-September, 1948).  Then, with Green Lantern #34 (September-October, 1948) by Kanigher, Hasen and Bob Oksner, it is revealed that Molly has been a government agent all this time, working to bring down the mob!  Oddly, Molly is still Alan's secretary for an appearance in Green Lantern #36 (January-February, 1949), then helps Green Lantern and Mr. and Mrs. Superman in Superman Family #206 (March-April, 1981) in a story set in the 1950s, where she helps the heroes capture the Sportsmaster.

Molly does return as Harlequin in Infinity, Inc. #9, #12 and #18 in the mid-1980s, as she tries to get close to Green Lantern, then helps Jade and Obsidian find out who there mother is in Infinity, Inc. Annual #1 of 1985 (slight spoiler, it is NOT Molly, but yet another Kanigher creation).  Molly and Alan also get married, with the JSA and Infinity, Inc. in attendance, then appears in most of the mid-20s issues of Infinity, Inc. as the JSA deals with the Crisis On Infinite Earths (even appearing in the later issues of that series), and with Infinity, Inc. #30 (September, 1986) more or less retires as Harlequin as the JSA (including Green Lantern) get stuck in a limbo dimension for a time.

Molly remains active with the Infinity, Inc. kids until their series ends (including when Manhunter agent Marcie Cooper takes over the Harlequin's spectacles and identity for a time, and Marcie even joins Injustice Unlimited, and Molly's name grows and is shortened, as she goes by Molly Mayne-Scott with one "n" more now), pops up for a Green Lantern issue (#19 of December, 1991, with GLs Hal Jordan, John Stewart and Guy Gardner), and even has a brief return as Harlequin as Alan gets much younger, taking on his Sentinel identity in Green Lantern Corps Quarterly #6 (Fall, 1993), then the evil part of Molly's soul takes a life of its own as Harlequin, starting with Underworld Unleashed: Abyss - Hell's Sentinel (December, 1995), before her body and soul are reunited with help from Kyle Rayner's Green Lantern (#71 of February, 1996).  Molly and Alan are still together to this day (somewhere....)...

Molly has no relationship to the current Harley Quinn, but was the last Golden Age villain to join the ISW in the Golden Age, but not the last that the Injustice Society recruited (although not until the Silver Age, with the Shade and Solomon Grundy....).  

JSA Foes Crime Champions 2

The villains known as the Crime Champions had beginnings on two Earths, and finished their first team up in Justice League of America #22 (September, 1963) with the "Crisis On Earth-Two" by Gardner Fox, Mike Sekowsky and Bernard Sachs.

The foes of the Justice Society of America....Fiddler, Icicle and the Wizard, the villains from Earth-2 (where the Justice Society of America lived) where the ones who initiated the team-up, crossing over from their Earth (Earth-2) to Earth-1 (and they captured the two Flashes, who had a few team-ups before....).

Fiddler

The Fiddler first appeared in All-Flash #32 (December-January, 1947/1948 by Robert Kanigher, Lee Elias and Moe Worthman), the last of the All-Flash comics of the Golden Age, using his magical musical talents against Jay Garrick, the Golden Age Flash, in "Duet Of Danger".  The Fiddler, also known as Isaac Bowen, would return for a couple of solo battles against the Flash in the Golden Age, as well as being a part of the Wizard's second Injustice Society of the World, before being one of three villains (the Thinker and the Shade) to face both Flashes (Jay and Barry Allen) in the Flash #123 (September, 1961), just before joining the Crime Champions.  After the first battle with the JLA and JSA, Fiddler returned first for a solo battle with Jay Garrick in Flash #201 (November, 1970), then was a part of the Injustice Society of the World (and its update, Injustice, Unlimited, to face Infinity, Inc.) for most of his returns after (though he did stop by to face the Teen Titans once), at least until meeting his final fate with the Secret Six.

Icicle

Joar Mahkent first appeared facing the Golden Age Green Lantern in All-American Comics #90 (October, 1947 by Robert Kanigher, Irwin Hasen and John Belfi) as "The Icicle".  The Icicle returned twice in the Golden Age (the second time in the Injustice Society of the World in All-Star Comics #41 of June-July, 1948, working with the Fiddler, the Wizard and the Sportsmaster and the Huntress as well), before throwing his cold gun in to help out the Crime Champions.  The Icicle was a loyal member of the ISW, making all his appearances after the meeting with the Crime Champions as a member of the ISW (starting with Justice League of America #123 of October, 1975, except when he worked with the Crime Champions again, or faced his end during the Crisis On Infinite Earths).  But, the Icicle legacy lived on with his son taking over the name (and he had ice powers of his own!).

Wizard

The Wizard premiered battling the entire Justice Society of America in All-Star Comics #34 (April-May, 1947 by Gardner Fox and the hosts of artists including Irwin Hasen, Joe Kubert, Frank Harry, Lee Elias, Harry Lampert and Paul Reinman), having the JSA face "The Wiles Of The Wizard", posing as W. I. Zard, to trick the JSA, offering them money to capture villains.  The Wizard returned twice during the Golden Age, working with the Injustice Society of the World in All-Star Comics #37 (and Vandal Savage and Per Degaton, among others), and #41, before joining the Crime Champions (though later historical inserts add the Wizard as the man who helped the Golden Age Superman marry Lois Lane, and who cursed the young Dinah Laurel Lance, giving her what became the "Canary Cry" when she became the second Black Canary).  After using his magical powers to work with the Crime Champions, Wizard also returned as a member of the Injustice Society of the World to face the JLA and JSA in Justice League of America #123 of October, 1975), but the Wizard had bigger aspirations, also working with the Secret Society of Super-Villains and later, Injustice, Unlimited, to continue to menace all generations of heroes.

The Crime Champions never quite took hold (likely having too many bosses, as Chronos also led groups of villains over time), and only returned one more time, in Justice League of America #219 and #220 (October and November, 1983) where they worked with the evil Earth-1 version of Johnny Thunder (and learned of the history of the two Black Canaries), though it was with the second version of Dr. Alchemy.  Still, the Crime Champions were a building block of villainy, allowing for larger groups of villains to form in the future.