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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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.
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