The Fourth Super-Team Family

Looking back at the classic collection of stories in Super-Team Family #4 (April-May, 1976), with stories featuring the Justice Society of America and the World's Finest team of Superman, Batman and Robin....

...all under a cover by Ernie Chan, in a return to all reprints in the book (after issues #2 and #3 had new stories as well as reprints), with a new editor, E. Nelson Bridwell.

All-Star Comics #33

The first story reprinted in this issue is All-Star Comics #33 (February-March, 1947) by writer Gardner Fox and artists Irwin Hasen, Joe Kubert, Stan Aschmeier, Martin Naydel, Jon C. Koziak and Paul Reiman, with "The Return Of Solomon Grundy".

Grundy was an animated corpse (formerly the man known as Cyrus Gold), that came from Slaughter Swamp in Gotham City (and facing the Golden Age Green Lantern twice before this).  Freed from the power ring bubble Green Lantern had trapped him in, Solomon Grundy went to find the emerald gladiator.  The JSA went to their meeting house, finding Green Lantern missing, so went to find him...with Hawkman, Dr. Mid-Nite, Flash, and Atom facing Solomon Grundy (and Johnny Thunder meeting a phony Grundy, with Wonder Woman playing secretary, but likely able to take out Grundy herself), eventually reuniting to stop Grundy and saving Green Lantern, who then exiled Solomon Grundy to the moon...

....who returned one time after that in the Golden Age, in Comic Cavalcade, to face Green Lantern, before his Silver Age revival, facing Dr. Fate and Hourman along with Green Lantern), with the JSA being featured in a revival of All-Star Comics at this time (including a grown up Robin, the Star-Spangled Kid and Power Girl as members, and Grundy joining the Injustice Society of the World soon after this reprint appearance).

World's Finest Comics #98

Since the Justice Society story was so large, there was only room for one more reprint, that of World's Finest Comics #98 (December, 1958) by Bill Finger, Dick Sprang and Stan Kaye, with "The Menace Of The Moonman".

The story focuses on an astronaut, Brice Rogers, who is exposed to the radiation of a green comet, that, when he returns to Earth, turns into the Moon Man under the moonlight.  Superman faces him (but that green radiation must have contained Kryptonite, as Superman is weakened), but the Moon Man reverts to Rogers, with criminals trying to use his new identity to their advantage, until Superman, Batman and Robin defeat them, and Rogers' Moon Man power fade away....but he does return, with a new person, Lady Lunar exhibiting those powers.

Moon Man and Lady Lunar vs Superman and Batman

It's been a while since there has been "one small step for man"...

....yet, the effects of going into space and landing on the moon have been felt by the heroes of Earth...

...just take a look at Moon Man and Lady Lunar!

Moon Man

Astronaut Brice Rogers got powers from exposure to a meteor in space while orbiting the moon, and changing into the Moon Man in the "Menace of the Moon-Man!" in World's Finest Comics #98 (December, 1958 by Bill Finger and Dick Sprang)!  The Moon Man was a separate entity that would take over Brice, and gave him the powers to effect gravity (attracting items or pushing them away), as well as the ability to hypnotize people (afflicting them with a temporary lunacy)....all under the moon's influence (and living a normal life during the day).

There must have been some green kryptonite in that meteor as well, as the green glow Moon Man put off weakened Superman...and it took the help of Batman and Robin to help Brice Rogers see the light of day and be rid of his evil alter ego of the Moon Man!

Lady Lunar

Stacy Macklin was an astronaut working at NASA when Diana Prince joined the program in Wonder Woman #252 (February, 1979 by Jack C. Harris and Jose Delbo) and Wonder Woman faced the menace of Astarte in "The Empress of the Silver Snake!".  Diana continued at NASA for a time, with Stacy also appearing in Wonder Woman #253 (March, 1979, finishing the battle against Astarte), Wonder Woman #254 (April, 1979 with Wonder Woman facing Angle Man), Adventure Comics #463 and #464 (from 1979, with Wonder Woman facing Zazzala the Queen Bee), and Wonder Woman #256 (June, 1979, with Wonder Woman facing the Royal Flush Gang).

Stacy returned in World's Finest Comics #266 (December-January, 1980/1981 by Cary Burkett and Rich Buckler) working for S.T.A.R. Labs as a guest speaker, and being exposed to the capsule of Brice Rogers.  There must have been some meteor dust left, as when Stacy was standing next to Rogers' capsule and struck by moonlight, she changed into Lady Lunar!

As Lady Lunar, Stacy's personality split, and she had the same gravity and hypnotic powers the Moon Man did.  Lady Lunar kidnapped Dr. Jenet Klyburn of S.T.A.R. Labs, used her knowledge to help make a bomb (and as bait to capture Batman), and planned to blow up Metropolis under the cover of night.  If not for Superman making solar reflectors to blanket Metropolis with sunlight, Lady Lunar may have succeeded!

Lady Lunar's days were not finished after that...she returned again as one of the villains to face the heroes  in Crisis On Infinite Earths #9 (December, 1985), where she faced the Doom Patrol's Negative Woman (and even made it to the cover of this villain filled issue!).


One never knows what dooms could be unleashed on mankind if Moon Man or Lady Lunar returned...