JUSTICE SOCIETY 3: MISTER X

The Christmas Season rolls along with the 3rd adventure of the very FIRST superhero team in history: DC’s JUSTICE SOCIETY OF AMERICA. FOR PART ONE CLICK HERE

I will review the original issue and then detail how I would “script-doctor” the story for modern audiences.

ALL-STAR COMICS #5 (June 1941)

Title: THE MYSTERIOUS MISTER X

Heroes: HAWKMAN (Original), HOURMAN, FLASH (Original), SPECTRE, GREEN LANTERN (Original), DOCTOR FATE, ATOM (Original), SANDMAN

Villains: MISTER X AND HIS CRIME GUILDS

Synopsis: With organized crime in America on the ropes thanks to the various members of the Justice Society a mysterious masked figure called Mister X decides to fill the leadership vacuum. Organizing nationwide crime into Guilds and Unions for each type of criminal offenders Mister X plans to get “tribute” from his gangs AND to kill the entire Justice Society of America. 

The JSA does battle with the Arsonists Guild, the Kidnappers Union, and so on through gangs of jewel thieves, armed robbers and con artists. The greatest threats come from a gambling syndicate using an occult relic which hassles even the Spectre and from Mister X’s use of random bombings to extort protection money from entire cities.

All the criminals are defeated and Mister X is unmasked and sent to prison. 

How I Would Revise It: 

A. As I mentioned in the previous 2 issues I would keep the original female Red Tornado (Abigail Hunkel) as the comic relief superhero, not Johnny Thunder, the Jar Jar Binks of the JSA.

B. I would have had Hawkgirl actually serve as a substitute for Hawkman and have HIM be the one injured instead of her while Shiera pinch-hits for him.

C. As always I would avoid Gardner Fox’s foolish insistence on having the JSA members always split up to have individual battles with the villains. IT’S A TEAM BOOK, GARDNER! Instead I would have had this issue consist of three separate stories featuring ALL the JSA members fighting as a team.

D. Those three stories: 1) Mister X’s Crime Guilds   2) Mister X’s master plan involving the bombings and his extortion demands and 3) In a non- Mister X story I would have one of the con artists, Magico, be a REAL sorcerer instead and use the occult relic that the gamblers used to rob the Spectre of his powers. The rest of the Justice Society would clash with him and the gambling syndicate. 

I WILL REVIEW THE NEXT JSA STORY SOON. KEEP CHECKING BACK FOR UPDATES.

FOR MY EXAMINATION OF THE 13-PART BLACK PANTHER STORY TITLED PANTHER’S RAGE CLICK HERE

FOR MY ARTICLE ON THE LIST OF ATLAS/ SEABOARD SUPERHEROES CLICK HERE 

FOR MY ARTICLE ON THE MAIN LIST OF CENTAUR COMICS SUPERHEROES CLICK HERE

FOR MY ARTICLE ON THE MEMBERS OF INFINITE HORIZON CLICK HERE

FOR THE AUSTRALIAN SUPERHERO PANTHEON CLICK  HERE

FOR MORE SUPERHEROES CLICK HERE:  Superheroes

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