DC Special Wanted Joker Luthor Sinestro And More

Wanted -- The World's Most Dangerous Villains!  

And they were!

Joker, Luthor, Mirror Master, Sinestro, Shadow-Thief....this issue of DC Special, (#8 of July-September, 1970) was a chance for editor, E. Nelson Bridwell, to put together stories of the greatest villains of the DC Universe, all under a cover by Curt Swan and Murphy Anderson.

So, as villains are quite impatient folks, let's get at them!

Joker-Luthor, Incorporated!

First up is the second team up of Luthor and Joker in World's Finest Comics #129 (November, 1962) by France Herron, Jim Mooney and Sheldon Moldoff, under a cover by Mooney and Moldoff.

Joker started to work Metropolis, bringing Superman into the mix.  Joker had some help from Luthor, with Lex using a new ray beam to turn Superman into a stream of atoms.  Batman and Robin show up, but the villains escape.  The villainous duo, inspired by success, try again, transforming Superman again, with the Dynamic Duo unable to stop the villains alone.  The third time, Superman had figured out the villains plan, capturing a disguised Luthor before he could grab the loot, allowing both villains to be captured.

Luthor and Joker would have their individual origins reprinted later in a treasury edition.

Who Doomed The Flash?

Next up is a bit of a mystery for Flash #130 (August, 1962) by John Broome, Carmine Infantino and Joe Giella, with cover by Infantino and Murphy Anderson.

Central City seemed to be plagues by many of Flash's old villains, but, when Barry checked up on each of them, they were all still in prison.  Tracing back the connections of his foes, the only name in common was attorney Paul Bennett.  Investigating him, Flash came to be knocked out.  Putting on a Flash costume, Bennett goes to break out Mirror Master, who was the mastermind behind this scheme.  Working his way freem from a trap Mirror Master put him in, Flash goes and defeats the villain and free the lawyer from Mirror Master's control.

This story sets up for the eventual team up of Flash's Rogues.

The Day 100,000 People Vanished

This story by John Broome, Gil Kane and Joe Giella from Green Lantern #7 (July-August, 1961, under an original cover by Kane and Giella), sets up major storylines for Green Lantern Hal Jordan!

After the population of Valdale vanish, Green Lantern goes to investigate (as he had business there as Hal Jordan, but was delayed).  While on his way there, Hal's astral form is summoned by the Guardians of the Universe, who tell him the tale of the renegade Green Lantern - Sinestro - who tried to take over his own space sector of 1417, until the Guardians stripped him of his ring, and banished him to the anti-matter dimension of Qward, where Sinestro came to work for the Weaponeers of Qward.  That was why the population of Valdale was taken, in an attempt to get at Hal. 

Returned to his body with memories intact for the first time, Hal gets to work to trying to attract Sinestro's attention by making the citizens of Coast City disappear.  Hal is successful, as Sinestro brings Green Lantern to Qward.  Thinking Hal helpless, Sinestro is surprised when Green Lantern uses his ring against him.  Green Lantern makes a deal with Sinestro, himself and his ring for the citizens of Valdale. 

Sinestro sends them home, with Green Lantern in a yellow bubble trap, waiting for his ring charge to deplete in 24 hours.  Green Lantern is able to use his ring to speed up the Qwardian clock, making them think his ring was decharged, and after being let out of the bubble, uses the ring to escape.


Sinestro would return, uniting with other villains over time, and even gaining a special yellow power ring of his own.

Shadow-Thief Of Midway City!

Last but not least is the last of the introductory stories of the Silver Age Hawkman from Brave and the Bold #36 (June-July, 1961) by Gardner Fox and Joe Kubert (with original cover by Kubert), introducing Hawkman's main Silver Age foe.

Katar and Shayera Hol were being recalled to Thanagar to give their report on Earth, when a shadow started to rob banks in Midway City.  Becoming Hawkman and Hawkgirl to investigate, they also were unable to beat the Shadow-Thief.  Investigating, they found that he was Carl Sands, a low level thief, fascinated by light, who found a way to another dimension, and meeting Thar Dan there, got an invention of his that would allow Sands to become a shadowy being. 

Problem was, over use of the device would plunge Earth into an ice age, but Sands was unconcerned about Thar Dan's warnings.

Hawkman and Hawkgirl do figure out that gravity still works against him, and find away to suspend him in air, so that he has to get rid of his Dimensionmeter to save his own life, which also saves the Earth from an ice age.


Shadow-Thief would also return with other villains, in both the Injustice Gang of the World and the Secret Society of Super-Villains (both with Mirror Master), to menace Hawkman and the Justice League of America over the years.

Plus, in addition to those stories, there was a page dedicated to A Gallery Of Batman's Deadliest Foes, and one to Flash's Rogue's Gallery (which had appeared before, in 80 Page Giant Magazine #4 from October, 1964).  All in all, a nice start to what would be a longer series focusing on DC's villains.

Secret Origins Of Super Villains 2

Coming back with a little more Secret Origins for DC's super-villains.

Here's even more from Limited Collectors' Edition C-45 of June-July, 1976, under another wonderfully evil cover by Dick Giordano.


This time around, its the foes of Batman, Flash, Superboy/Superman and Wonder Woman that get covered....specifically Catwoman, Mirror Master, Mr. Mxyzptlk and the Cheetah!

Catwoman

Readers get to see "The Secret Life Of The Catwoman" from Batman #62 (December-January, 1950/1951) by Bill Finger, Bob Kane, Lew Schwartz and Charles Paris.

Catwoman is broken out of jail by the mysterious Mr. X to help in his planned crime spree.  Along the way, Catwoman encounters Batman, but saves him from a collapsing wall, with her receiving a knock on the head.  Catwoman claims the 1950 calendar is ahead of time...and wonders why she is in costume, after all she is just stewardess Selina Kyle.  Batman deduces she had amnesia, and works with her as she recalls a planned meeting with Mr. X.  Catwoman works with the dynamic duo to capture Mr. X, and after doing so, Catwoman vows to retire from the costumed life.

Thankfully she did not....

Mirror Master

Reflecting on his past, its time for the origin of the Mirror Master from Flash #105 (February-March, 1959) by John Broome, Carmine Infantino and Joe Giella with "The Master Of Mirrors!".

Ex-con Sam Scudder goes into a bank, to capture an image of one of the tellers.  Appears while serving time, Scudder made a mistake making a mirror, learning how to keep a reflection in one.  He continued experimenting with mirrors, making images that he could command, making himself a Mirror Master.  Scudder used this ability to rob banks in Central City, coming into conflict with the Flash, who followed one of his images home, and, after a battle with some of Mirror Master's illusions, the Flash took Mirror Master to jail (so Barry Allen could make his lunch date with Iris West).


Mirror Master would return again and again to face the Flash.

Mr. Mxyzptlk

Next up, a foe of Superman's, the 5th Dimensional imp, Mr. Mxyzptlk, but a tale from his (and the Man of Steel's) boyhood, with a young Mxyzptlk facing Superboy for the first time in Superboy #78 (January, 1960) in "The Ghost of Jor-El!" by Jerry Siegel and George Papp.

Mxyzptlk started as a mischievous little boy that vexed his 5th Dimensional parents of Fuzastl and Tlndsa, so, he ran away to Earth-1, encountering Superboy in Smallville, thinking it would be fun to turn the town against the Boy of Steel.  The boy prankster even enrolls in Smallville High, meeting Clark Kent, and accidentally revealing to Clark his color blindness.  After a few attempts to sabotage Superboy (which Clark turns to his advantage), Superboy finally uses what he has learned to get the imp to say his name backwards and go home.

Mr. Mxyzptlk never forgave Superboy for this, and would return again and again to torment the Man of Steel.

Cheetah

Last, but not least of the featured origins, was the first battle of "Wonder Woman And The Cheetah" from Wonder Woman #6 (Fall, 1943) by William Moulton Marston and H. G. Peter.

Debutante Priscilla Rich is outshone by Wonder Woman a few times, and decides to plot revenge against the amazing amazon.  Priscilla manifests an alter ego, the Cheetah, and garbs herself to look like one. stealing charity money with the intent to frame Wonder Woman for its theft.  Cheetah fails in this, ending up trying to kill Wonder Woman in quicksand, then a fire, with Wonder Woman nearly figuring out her identity as it appears the flames take the Cheetah.

But, the Cheetah would return.

Added features in the treasury include a feature on 18 super villains (including Captain Boomerang, Vandal Savage, Scarecrow, Matter Master, the Shark, Bizarro No. 1, Penguin, Solomon Grundy, Giganta, Grodd, Brainiac, Two-Face, Felix Faust, Queen Bee, the Top, Pied Piper, Sonar and Kanjar Ro), another feature on the many costumes of the Catwoman, and, on the last page, "Every Hero's Enemy"...that of Dr. Light, making this and the other DC villains' treasury an indispensable guide for every villain fan of from the 1970s!

Flash Facts: Barry And Iris' Wedding

The comic book wedding of Barry Allen and Iris West didn't quite go the same as the version seen on CW's Flash (during the Crisis On Earth-X event they had), but it was interesting nonetheless. 

In "One Bridegroom Too Many" from Flash #165 (November, 1966 by John Broome, Carmine Infantino and Joe Giella, under a Murphy Anderson cover), Barry did indeed get his wedding interrupted, but it was the Flash doing it!   This involved some trickery from the 25th Century villain, Reverse Flash (a.k.a. Eobard Thawne), and this time, Barry had to be careful not to reveal his identity to his guests (which included Wally West's parents, Professor Ira West who Iris' thought was her father, Al Desmond who was formerly Dr. Alchemy, and Barry's parents, Henry and Nora Allen).   

Barry's dilemma was that he had not yet told Iris (nor almost anyone at the wedding other than Wally), that he was the Flash.

This plot point continued for a year, with Barry finally deciding to tell Iris during the course of the "Stupendous Triumph Of The Six Super-Villains" in Flash #174 (November, 1967 by John Broome, Carmine Infantino and Sid Greene under a classic cover by Carmine Infantino and Murphy Anderson featuring Flash's Rogue's Gallery).  This was complicated by facing a good Mirror Master and evil Flash from a parallel Earth (as well as Barry's Earth-1 Rogues including his Mirror Master), but Barry had been his own worst enemy (and the solution to his problems) as Iris already knew.  

Seems Barry talks in his sleep....so, believe it or not, Flash solved his own problem, not by being the Fastest Man Alive, but by simply slowing down and being with the woman he loved!

Flash Facts: The Early Days of Mirror Master

Sam Scudder can attribute all his successes due to image...

...a reflection of who he was, and how he came to be the Mirror Master!


Living a life of crime let him to confront the Flash, and here's where it all started!

The Master of Mirrors

The Mirror Master premiered in Flash #105 (February-March, 1959) by John Broome, Carmine Infantino and Joe Giella, starting off as a bank robber, capturing the image of a teller of a Central City Bank, and using that image to go back and steal money from the bank, attracting the attention of the Flash!  As Flash followed the mirror image of the teller, he found Mirror Master's hideout, and faced off against a few illusions inside, such as a minotaur and a giant mosquito, until Flash saw the light (of not wanting light) to defeat his foes (who were just tricks of light in a mirror), and defeated the Mirror Master.

This story was first reprinted in 80 Page Giant #4 (October, 1964), as well as in Limited Collector's Edition C-45 (June-July, 1976), as well as in the first collection of the Flash Archives of 1996, Flash Chronicles of 2009, Flash Omnibus of 2014 and Flash: The Silver Age of 2016, as Mirror Master was the first villain of the new Flash's solo title to become a reoccurring villain...

Return Of The Mirror Master

Sam returned in Flash #109 (October-November, 1959 by John Broome, Carmine Infantino and Joe Giella) (with a story title that gave it away the basic plot).  Still, when Mirror Master returned, he brought new trouble for the Flash...after using a prison mirror to escape (which was discovered by Iris West as she was reporting on him in his jail cell), Mirror Master used a blinding light to rob banks this time around, and did escape the Flash with the cash.  Flash tracks down Mirror Master, but he uses the mirror he used to escape to shrink the Flash, who does figure out a way to reverse the process and defeat the Mirror Master (and at least try to make up missing time with Iris as well!).

This story was reprinted in Flash #187 (April-May, 1969), in the second Flash Archives of 2000 and Flash Chronicles of 2010, and the first Flash Omnibus of 2014 and Flash: The Silver Age of 2016.

Case Of The Stolen Super Powers

Next appearance for Mirror Master was outside of the Flash title, but instead in Brave and the Bold #30 (June-July, 1960) by Gardner Fox, Mike Sekowsky and Bernard Sachs.  True, the main villains of the story were Professor Ivo (who made his second appearance in Flash #158) and his android, Amazo, but Mirror Master was there, making him the first individual villain of a JLAer to appear in a Justice League of America story (even before the Justice League had their own title!).

This story was reprinted in Justice League of America #39 (November, 1965), as well as in the first Justice League of America Archive of 1992, Justice League of America Omnibus of 2014 and Justice League of America: The Silver Age of 2016 (and this wouldn't be the last the JLA saw of Mirror Master!).

The Mirror Master's Magic Bullet

Mirror Master returned to the Flash title with Flash #119 (March, 1961) by John Broome, Carmine Infantino and Murphy Anderson, with his greatest scheme to date...that of stealing rare mirrors in an art collection!  Escaping Flash (who was at the exhibit with the owner's daughter, Bettina; much to Iris' frustration) by throwing some of the mirrors he was stealing out a window (for Flash to save), Flash does find a key left behind by Mirror Master.  Finding Mirror Master by trying every lock in Central City (remember, fastest man alive), Flash is captured in a mirror duplicator and made to serve Mirror Master!  After sending Flash for a few useless trinkets from across the world, Mirror Master sends Flash to steal the rest of the mirrors from the exhibition....which was enough to break Flash out of the hypnotic spell, as Flash normally wouldn't steal.  With Sam back in jail, Barry goes to explain what happened to his reporter fiancee, Iris.

This tale was reprinted in Flash #169 (April-May, 1967), as well as in The Greatest Flash Stories Ever Told (both hardcover of 1991 and softcover of 1992)...

...and in the third Flash Archives of 2002, the fourth Flash Chronicles of 2013, and in the first Flash Omnibus of 2014.

The Doom Of The Mirror Flash

With Flash #126 (February, 1962) by John Broome, Carmine Infantino and Joe Giella, Mirror Master started using mirrors to access other dimensions (escaping jail).  While in that other dimension, Mirror Master befriends the women who live there, making them mirrors, while they bring him everything he wants.  Problem is, Mirror Master wants to escape this dimension, and recruits the Flash to help, bringing Flash to this dimension to help him escape.  Of course, Mirror Master turns the tables on the Flash, trying to kill him by turning the speedster into a mirror....but, Flash still comes out victorious, returning Sam Scudder to jail. 

This story was reprinted in the fourth Flash Archive of 2006 and in the first Flash Omnibus of 2014.

Who Doomed The Flash?

It is Flash who breaks Mirror Master out of jail in Flash #130 (August, 1962) by John Broome, Carmine Infantino and Joe Giella (or at least, so it appears).  Really, Flash was following up on a lead of recent attacks by his foes, but finds them all in jail, with attorney Paul Barrett the only link among them.  Going to check on the lawyer, Flash is overpowered by him, who then disguises himself as the Flash to break Mirror Master out of prison (Barrett was under Mirror Master's control since Sam's trial).  Mirror Master puts Flash in a trap which he escapes by the skin of his teeth (or, more accurately, filling his way out of danger), and recaptures the reflective rogue.

This tale was reprinted in DC Special #8 (July-August, 1970), in the fourth Flash Archive, DC Comics Presents: The Flash in 2011, and in the first Flash Omnibus of 2014.

The Mirror Master's Invincible Bodyguards

Mirror Master breaks jail again in Flash #136 (May, 1963) by John Broome, Carmine Infantino and Joe Giella, with a new plan to take on the Flash!  This time, Mirror Master has created two mirror guardian duplicates of himself to take on the Flash first, so he won't have to get his hands dirty.  This allows Mirror Master to escape his latest heist with his ill-gotten loot (and gets Mirror Master moved up in a poll of popular criminals).  Flash comes to confront Mirror Master creating after-images of himself to distract the mirror guardians, and defeats Mirror Master (with Mirror Master crashing in the criminal polling after heading back to jail).

This story was reprinted in Flash #196 (April-May, 1970) and in the fifth Flash Archive.

The Mirror Master's Master Stroke

Mirror Master's next scheme was a little quicker, as seen in Flash #146 (August, 1964) by John Broome, Carmine Infantino and Joe Giella,  using a mirror gimmick to switch legs with the Flash for a time.  Mirror Master then goes to take a course on making oneself a success, where he brags about his recent heist, hypnotizing the class to forget it after he tells them his tale.  Problem is, Barry Allen was also attending the class, and wonders where his missing time went, eventually figuring out one of his classmates was the Mirror Master, and then defeating him.


This story was reprinted in the sixth and final Flash Archive of 2012.

The House Of "Flashy" Traps

Mirror Master got tired of being caught by the Flash in the Flash comic, so he moved over to Detective Comics #336 (February, 1965) by Gardner Fox, Carmine Infantino and Sid Greene, where Elongated Man helped the Flash while visiting Central City, wherein Elongated Man was to help Flash with Mirror Master, and works his way through a mystery Mirror Master set up, catching a henchman of Mirror Masters....and finding Flash at police headquarters, with Mirror Master captured (with Flash having left his friend behind to solve the mystery, which Ralph Dibny loves to do!).


This story has only been reprinted in black and white, in the Showcase Presents the Elongated Man tradepaperback of 2006.

Reflections On Team-Ups

After his last defeat, Mirror Master teamed up with other Flash foes (like Captain Cold, Captain Boomerang, Heat Wave, the Top and Pied Piper) to form the Rogue's Gallery in Flash #155 (September, 1965), facing a secret villain, and would continue to work with other villains, like the Injustice Gang of the World (and Poison Ivy and Chronos), and with the Secret Society of Super-Villains (with Star Sapphire and Sinestro).  On reflection, this makes this a good place to stop, but some day soon, there will be another look at the Mirror Master!

JLA Foes The Injustice Gang Of The World

This gathering of evil is the Injustice Gang of the World.

They were formed in Justice League of America #111 (May-June, 1974 by Len Wein and Dick Dillin) by a villain called Libra (also his first appearance, and more on him later….since even though he gathered these foes, and gave them a satellite of their own, his history didn’t get revealed until much later).

This group was unique, as it was the first named gathering of villains of established Justice League of America members (well, only JLA members…more on that later) and this group came back a few times!

So, let’s start with their members….though they weren’t the greatest foes of each of the members of the Justice League, they had fought their respective JLAers a few times before appearing here…

Scarecrow

Jonathan Crane first got noticed by the Batman back in World’s Finest Comics #3 (Fall, 1943 by Bill Finger and Bob Kane), and his first cover appearance on Detective Comics #73 (in March, 1943, though both of those were technically the Earth-2 Scarecrow, the one in the IGW was first in Batman #189 of February, 1967), and was last in Detective Comics #389 (July, 1969) before joining the IGW.  

Dr. Crane was a psychologist who went a little crazy, as his fascination with fear led him to experiment on people…and brought him into conflict with Batman and Robin (and he kept coming back, even being enhanced by Neron for a time…and facing Hawkman!   

He even fought other Batman foes like Joker and Catwoman).


Scarecrow used a fear gas to fight his foes, and make them face what they feared the most (which makes him the perfect villain for Halloween).

Poison Ivy

Pamela Isley started to cause trouble for Batman and Robin with Batman #181 (June, 1966 by Robert Kanigher and Sheldon Moldoff), but she simply was a tease (based on model Bettie Page, no less!).  Poison Ivy last appeared in Superman's Girlfriend, Lois Lane #116 (November, 1971) fighting the Rose and Thorn (another Kanigher creation....) before joining the Injustice Gang.

Later appearances added her immunity to poisons and plant-manipulation powers (and when she faced Wonder Woman in a couple of World’s Finest Comics issues, she was a botany student named Lillian Rose, who was seduced herself to become a thief by a Frenchman….who then poisoned her, and she survived to become Poison Ivy).  Later, her name was changed to Pamela Isley, and she was a student of Jason Woodrue (he who became the Atom and Swamp Thing foe, Floronic Man…).  

Poison Ivy fought against the Metropolis heroine, the Thorn in the pages of Lois Lane, was also a member of later super-villain group the Secret Society of Super-Villains, and of the government sponsored group the Suicide Squad, and worked quite a bit with Joker’s gal, Harley Quinn and then with her and the Catwoman as well.


Poison Ivy was immune to poison, knew plants, had a hatred for men, but knew how to manipulate both flora and fauna.

Chronos

David Clinton first menaced the mighty mite in Atom #3 (October-November, 1962 by Gardner Fox and Gil Kane), and used devices based on clocks and watches to fight the little man.  As time progressed, Chronos seemed to gain some mastery of time travel as well... both for his good and bad.

Chronos was also a member of the Crime Champions (a villain team composed of Flash foe Dr. Alchemy, JLA foe Felix Faust, golden age Green Lantern foe Icicle, JSA foe the Wizard and golden age Flash foe the Fiddler…who did beat the IGW into existence by 90 issues…but was a mix of JLA and JSA villains…and didn’t reoccur until after the Injustice Gang’s 3 appearances as a group).  

Chronos last faced the Atom in Action Comics #427 (September, 1973) before becoming a member of the IGW.  

Chronos also joined the Secret Society of Super-Villains, the Suicide Squad, even the “anti-Justice League” with folks like Merlyn, the Ocean Master, Sinestro and Grodd…and even the Time Foes!  

Chronos even played baseball against a team of heroes comprised of JLAers and Teen Titans, as well as facing Elongated Man, Wonder Woman, Captain Comet and Tommy Tomorrow, Superman & Batman and Blue Beetle individually!

Chronos was quite the timely villain, facing foes with watch-inspired woes, clock catastrophes and time travel troubles!

Mirror Master

Sam Scudder was a crook even before he became a foe of the Flash (starting in Flash #105, March, 1959 by John Broome and Carmine Infantino), and while in prison manipulated a mirror into holding an image, and used that to escape.  Somehow this convict came up with a few other mirror gimmicks, and faced the Flash…time and time again!  He even teamed up with other Flash foes like Captain Boomerang, Captain Cold, Heat Wave, the Top, and the Pied Piper to form the Flash Rogue’s Gallery, so Mirror Master was a natural at joining groups, and he last faced Flash in Flash #219 (December-January, 1972/1973)!  

Mirror Master was the first of JLAers individual foe to pop up in JLA stories (Brave and the Bold #30 with Amazo, as well as Justice League of America #40 with the Shark) and also joined the Secret Society of Super-Villains with a few other Flash foes like Grodd, Captain Cold and the Trickster, and faced Elongated Man a few times, and even Batman…before Sam died in the Crisis on Infinite Earths!  

Though the mantle of the Mirror Master was picked up a few times…before Flashpoint ended things, it was worn by Evan McCulloch, who faced Animal Man and Gunfire, before coming to face off against the Wally West version of the Flash, and Evan even joined the Rogues as well, and later faced Green Arrow even!



Mirror Master cast quite a negative reflection, facing the Flash with a little slight of hand, and polished up as quite the villain.

Shadow-Thief

Carl Sands was a criminal, who happened to be able to make contact with an extra-dimensional being named Thar Dan from Xarapion, and saved his life.  As a reward, Carl was given the Dimensiometer which allowed him to become a shadow (and a pair of gloves that allowed him to grip objects as a shadow), and became…a Shadow-Thief!  This brought him into conflict with Midway City’s alien heroes, Hawkman and Hawkgirl (in Brave & the Bold #36, July, 1961 by Gardner Fox and Joe Kubert).  A side effect of the device would have plunged the Earth into an ice age, had the Hawks not stopped the Shadow-Thief!  He returned again to face the Thanagarian couple (appearing in Hawkman #5 of December-January, 1964/1965), before joining the IGW (and only appeared as a member of the group once, as when he came back to face the JLA again…along with Captain Cold, the Icicle and Wonder Woman’s foe, Minister Blizzard), the Phantom Stranger took his Dimensiometer away!  

Eventually, Carl got it back, and continued to menace Hawkman (and now Hawkwoman), and even got more power working with the Thanagarians and with the demon Neron (as well as getting some of his own history rewritten as the Hawks had their lives altered as well).


Beware what’s in the shadows, it could be the Shadow-Thief!

Tattooed Man

Abel Tarrant was a sailor who was starting a criminal career, until being exposed to some mysterious chemicals that allowed him to animate objects from images made with those chemicals.  Inking up, he became the Tattooed Man and faced Green Lantern in Coast City in Green Lantern #23 (September, 1963 by Gardner Fox and Gil Kane).  And then, the Tattooed Man pretty much only popped up in the Justice League book for a time (Justice League of America #28, #61 along with folks like Lex Luthor, Penguin and Dr. Light in #69), before joining up with the IGW (and getting a new costume, which he dumped to be part of the baseball team of villains…so he had his old suit for his two return appearances with the IGW in #143 and #158).  Abel even was thought to have been dead for a time…but it was only a tattoo image of him!  

This salty sea dog doesn’t even appear on that many covers!  Other people got inked up with his special ink, making other Tattooed Men to menace other heroes (or, even try to be a hero at times).


Being a man of many talents, this inked irritant called the Tattooed Man was an occasional bother to Green Lantern!

Libra

Justin Ballantine was just a poor boy who lost his mother when he was young due to a pharmacist who gave her the wrong medicine (because he was a drunk).  So, Justin threw himself into astronomy…and would have been killed by his father (after Justin spent all his money on a telescope), if not for the fact his father was drunk and fell to his death.  These events taught Justin balance, and after some tutoring (eventually even being a student of Ted Knight, the first Starman, in college) he was ready to strike out on his own.  

A mysterious benefactor gives him the Transmortifier (and, likely the satellite) to test against the JLA (the device absorbs powers), and he formed the Injustice Gang of the World to menace the heroes.  At the end of the battle, Libra tried to absorb the universe…and ended up on Apokolips, being reformed by Desaad, where it was revealed it was Darkseid’s device, given to Libra by Glorious Godfrey!  These New Gods then returned, gathering an army of villains (including Martian Manhunter foe, the Human Flame), and became a menace to the JLA and the world in the Final Crisis!

Libra kept things in balance, to try to turn the scales of justice…against the Justice League!

The Injustice Gang of the World wasn’t quite the first group of villains the JLA faced, but they were the most frequent in the Justice League of America title, coming back without Libra, with the Construct in charge in Justice League of America #143 (June, 1977) and Abra Kadabra pulling the strings in Justice League of America #158 (September, 1978)…in the Silver and Bronze Age, and they led the way to bigger groups  and more menaces!