JUSTICE SOCIETY: 1949 STORIES

For this weekend’s light-hearted, escapist blog post about superheroes, Balladeer’s Blog looks at the 1949 issues of America’s very first superteam in comic books – the Justice Society. 

ALL STAR COMICS Vol 1 #45 (February 1949)

Title: The Case of the Cosmic Criminals

Justice Society Roster: Dr. Mid-Nite, the 1st Wonder Woman, 1st Flash, 1st Atom, 1st Black Canary, 1st Hawkman and 1st Green Lantern

Villains: The Cosmic Criminals

Synopsis: Professor Felix Egri uses star alignments, stellar energy and a distant nova to provide a charge of cosmic energy to 6 ordinary objects. The Rocky Castle Gang of criminals raid his lab and steal the half-dozen items and begin a crime wave with the powers granted to them by the cosmic energy of those objects.

The Justice Society of America is called into action, splitting up to battle the scattered members of the Cosmic Criminals terrorizing the country. First off, Wonder Woman and Hawkman fight Ox, whose cosmic stick pin lets him fly, and Gunshy, whose cosmic watch grants him force-field powers. 

At a carnival in the Midwest, the Atom and Dr. Midnite clash with Pee Wee, whose cosmic gloves give him superhuman strength that matches the Atom’s own, and Specs, whose cosmic flashlight serves as a blacklight weapon.

At a California millionaire’s mansion, Flash opposes a robbery attempt by Slowpoke, whose cosmic jacket gives him as much superspeed as Flash. Meanwhile, Rocky Castle, leader of the gang, uses his cosmic powered ring which gives him red energy powers like Green Lantern’s ring provides. The Lantern stops Rocky from stealing a visiting dignitary’s jewels.

After each of the heroes defeated their criminal opponents, they vanished after touching the cosmic objects empowering them. We readers now see that the Justice Society members were all teleported into a special prison built by Professor Egri upon contact with the cosmically charged items. 

Egri reveals himself as the real mastermind behind the Rocky Castle Gang, who programmed the cosmic weaponry to teleport the JSA into his trap if they defeated the criminals pulling off robberies for him.

Egri thought he had dealt with Black Canary, who stayed behind to “guard” him since our heroes did not realize he was the top villain in all this. She tricks him, however, and frees her Justice Society teammates.

Professor Egri dons all 6 cosmically charged objects and fights the entire JSA at once. Eventually, the professor loses control of the cosmic energies and is disintegrated along with the charged objects.

I would substitute: Superman for the Atom.

ALL STAR COMICS Vol 1 #46 (April 1949)

Title: The Adventure of the Invisible Band

Villains: The Invisible Band

Synopsis: A group of supervillains called the Invisible Band pull off a series of robberies with no trace of their identities left behind. The Justice Society wrack their brains trying to work out a strategy for nabbing them but are frustrated over and over again.

Our heroes fail to stop the Invisible Band from robbing a collection of ancient coins, cleaning out the cash vault at a department store, robbing a popular floral business and stealing money from a bank. The villains put the JSA members in a death trap but the heroes turn the tables and capture the assembled Invisible Band.

It turns out that the villains were running a phony detective school, with one assignment for their students being to outline a perfect robbery. That was how they got the plans for their brilliant capers.

I would substitute: Batman for Dr. Mid-Nite.

ALL STAR COMICS Vol 1 #47 (June 1949)

Title: The Ghost of Billy the Kid

Villains: The Kid

Synopsis: A gang led by a supervillain posing as the ghost of Billy the Kid robs a charity function of its proceeds. The Justice Society head out west the next day to bring the gang to justice.

Our heroes defeat the Kid and some of his gang when they try to rob a gold shipment. The JSA defeat and capture the gang members but the “ghost” escapes.

The next day a plane flies in with a cargo of gold from the fictional country of Norland. The Kid lassoes the plane on the runway, then he and his men start looting the gold. Again, the Justice Society nabs the gang members but “Billy” gets away.

The same results happen when the Kid and his remaining men steal gold from a bank’s subterranean vault in a major city. At length the JSA traces the Kid to an abandoned old west town called Silver Butte.

The Kid, now with no more men, uses a hostage to force the Justice Society into a death trap. The heroes escape the death trap and corral the Kid, who turns out to be Hal Hampden, a rodeo star who wanted to steal a lot of gold, then retire.

No explanation is given for the apparent superpowers that the Kid displayed during the story. You know comic book writing! As a side note, in addition to super-strength and an unbreakable lasso, the villain wielded guns with explosive bullets, prairie dust which would blind his opponents … and loco weed smoke to make his foes’ minds numb.

(If you’ll recall, terms like loco weed and Mexican cigarettes were euphemisms for marijuana.)

I would substitute: Hourman for the Atom.

ALL STAR COMICS Vol 1 #48 (August 1949)

Title: The Strange Lives of Edmund Blake

Villains: The X-Criminals

Synopsis: Amid an ongoing clash with a team of gangsters called the X-Criminals, the JSA are called upon to try raising the spirits of a hospitalized child named Edmund Blake. Edmund has lost the will to live and his doctors fear he will not survive his upcoming surgery.

This boring waste of a story involves the Justice Society visiting Edmund at his hospital bed, showing him a scrimmage among their members, and trying to convince him his life is worth clinging to. A hidden Australian land of dinosaurs and giant kangaroos also play a part, but a sadly brief one.

The only thing that winds up raising his spirits is when he manages to save our heroes from being killed in their climactic battle with the X-Criminals. NOTE: The X-Criminals have no special powers or weapons and no explanation is given for why they are called the X-Criminals.

I would substitute: Sandman for Dr. Mid-Nite.

ALL STAR COMICS Vol 1 #49 (October 1949)

Title: The Invasion of the Fire People

Villains: The Fire People

Synopsis: A comet passes by the Earth and an army of its inhabitants fly down to our planet in spaceships. The Fire People raid the world for all the radium they can find and defeat the Justice Society and assorted armies from the countries they attack.

Again, and again the JSA are driven off by the Fire People from the yellow comet. At length it appears that their rampage will destroy all life on Earth.

A Dr. Conrad has evidence that the comet previously passed the Earth a million years earlier and must have wiped out all life at that time, too. Our heroes begin carving warning messages about the yellow comet and its Fire People for future life forms that may be born on Earth.

A last-minute strategy of the Justice Society to literally “fight fire with fire” defeats the Fire People, who all destroy themselves rather than be captured. The Earth is saved.

I would substitute: Starman for Green Lantern. 

ALL STAR COMICS Vol 1 #50 (December 1949)

Title: The Prophecy of Peril

Villain: Mr. Alpha

Synopsis: A costumed supervillain calling himself Mr. Alpha is prophesied as a man who will become known as the most unique and daring criminal in history.

The villain’s costume and weaponry are all very high-tech and enable him to defeat our heroes when they try stopping his crime spree.

Mr. Alpha uses chemicals to steal a million dollars from a safe at Midwestern University, the alma mater of the Flash’s secret identity, Jay Garrick. Next, he explodes a few levees, unleashing a flood to keep the JSA busy while he steals priceless antiques.

For his next caper, the villain causes a hurricane to form near a beachside resort but makes the resort’s casino safe in the eye of the storm while he robs it, despite the JSA’s attempt to stop him. Mr. Alpha follows that up by freeing all the animals at a city’s zoo as a cover for his robbery of City Hall.

After the villain’s fifth crime – stealing a custom vehicle worth a million dollars – the Justice Society catches him and exposes him as Fred Kincaid, an old college classmate of Jay Garrick.

I would substitute: Wildcat for Dr. Mid-Nite.

FOR MY REVIEW OF THE 1960s TEAM-UP STORIES OF THE JUSTICE SOCIETY AND THE JUSTICE LEAGUE CLICK HERE.

FOR MY EXAMINATION OF CANADA’S GOLDEN AGE SUPERHEROES CLICK HERE.