The Super-Men (and -Women) of All-Planets

[Jim Kelly]

"Superman's Secret Family":

Thanks to a newly invented super radio-telescope, Lois Lane discovers that Superman has been leading a secret double life on a small planet with his mermaid wife, Mooki, and their fish-tailed super-son, Nipper.



The Pride of Pittsdale is furious, now that she knows she's been played for a fool all these years. After she chews him out, the Man of Might discovers the truth and takes her to the small planet and his "family"--who are all robots.

As it turns out, when he created earlier models of his Superman robots, the X-3 robot was damaged beyond repair while subbing in for the real Man of Steel. Robot X-3 ended up on a small planet, when he was discovered by Mooki, a mermaid from the water world of Varda, where her people were all dying for lack of water.

Herself a scientist, Mooki left Varda in a rocket ship searching for another planet that could sustain her, but was unsuccessful and could only get as far as this small planet. Dying, as her last act Mooki repaired robot X-3. In memory of her--and recalling that his master had once loved a mermaid himself--the Superman robot created a Mooki robot as his wife and a super-robot boy for their son. The boy chose the name Nipper for himself.



X-3 was not restored to full power, so he could only make short trips away from their home planet, but on his world he tried to emulate his creator. Rather than destroying the robots or bringing X-3 back to Earth, Kal-El decides to let them live their "make-believe" life on their perfect, little world.



Note: Another planet that Lois views with the super telescope is Yorrp, which supports "many different types of highly intelligent creatures."

[Jim Kelly]

In two weeks, look for more Strangest Love Stories, but next week is Hallowe'en week and time for a Hallowe'en Special:

Starbreaker, the Cosmic Vampire

[Jim Kelly]

The Starbreaker Saga

JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA 9 (February 1962)--"The Origin of the Justice League" by Fox, Sekowsky and Sachs
THE FLASH 186 (March 1969)--"Time Times Three Equals--?" by Friedrich, Andru and Esposito
THE FLASH 207 (June 1971)--"The Evil Sound of Music" by Friedrich, Novick and Anderson
JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA 94 (November 1971)--1st story, "Where Strikes Demonfang?" by Friedrich, Dillin and Giella
JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA 95 (December 1971)--1st story, "The Private War of Johnny Dune" by Friedrich, Dillin and Giella
JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA 96 (February 1972)--1st story, "The Coming of--Starbreaker" by Friedrich, Dillin and Giella; cover art by Adams and Giordano
JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA 97 (March 1972)--"The Day the Earth Screams" by Fox, Friedrich, Sekowsky, Dillin, Sachs and Giella; cover art by Adams and Anderson
JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA 98 (May1972)--1st story, "No More Tomorrows" by Friedrich, Dillin and Giella; cover art by Neal Adams
JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA 29 (March 2007)--"Star Struck" by Len Wein, Christopher Williams and Rob Stull

[Jim Kelly]

When Hawkman, Flash and Green Lantern use the transporter to beam up to the Satellite Sanctuary they never arrive, to the shock of Black Canary, who is on monitor duty. Everyone else must be ferried up to the satellite the old-fashioned way--being flown up there by the Mightiest Man on Earth.





The Darknight Detective deduces that the lost Leaguers were caught in a Zeta Beam. And, as if in answer to the Batman's surmise, an incoming transmission from G.L. confirms that he, Flash and Hawkman are on Rann. They call for Superman to come to their aid and the Red and Blue Blur journeys to Alpha Centauri.



When he arrives on Rann, Clark finds that his fellow Leaguers are engaged in battle with giant robot bugs.

[Jim Kelly]

Once they've dealt with these "Mechanix" monsters, Green Lantern tells his colleagues that these are the foot soldiers of a being called Starbreaker. A "Cosmic Vampire," Starbreaker feeds on the energy released by a world's destruction, when it falls into its own sun. The Mechanix mob have been sent to soften up Rann for the big finish.



To take care of the Leaguers, Starbreaker creates energy duplicates of himself and deploys them to different parts of Rann. Barry and Hal deal with the one Starbrother, while Carter and Clark tackle the other.



Since this adventure comes on the heels of Green Lantern and Green Arrow's philosophical quest, there's a lot of emotional baggage for Jordan and Allen teaming up again, given they shared so many adventures in the past, in simpler times.

[Jim Kelly]

The Thanagarian and Kryptonian are nearly defeated by their Starbreaking duplicate, who has science, magic and red sun energy in his tool kit. But they tag team to take out the Nebulous Nosferatu.



The real Starbreaker is not happy to see that the super-heroes have saved Rann and defeated his agents, vowing the destruction of Earth as his revenge.

[Jim Kelly]

Having feasted on the solar deaths of other planets and the despair of the doomed inhabitants, the Interplanetary Impaler is much more powerful than he was on Rann. Appearing in an Earth city centre, he uproots skyscrapers with his star bolts, to attract the attention of the mightiest Justice Leaguers--Flash, Green Lantern and Superman.

They prove no match for his powers and he could deliver the coups de grace right then, but he spares the beleaguered trio in anticipation of a greater feast when they see their entire world perish.

The Justice League are humbled by the awesome power of their foe. However, Hawkman makes an impassioned speech to his fellow Champions of Justice. Thanks to the Absorbascon, he has the collective memory of all Earth's culture. He invites his teammates to recall the League's origins and learn from their past foundation.

Adjourning to the records library, they view the tapes made by all the charter members, recalling the crisis that brought them together.



Beginning with the Manhunter from Mars: In Middleton, people had been turned to stone. A megalithic colossus was responsible. J'Onn's Martian Vision allowed him to read the Goliath's mind. He learned it was from the planet Appellax, being one of seven strange creatures all vying for the position of Supreme Kalar on that world.

They were sent in meteoroids to Earth, which would serve as the battleground for their war. Each Appellaxian had the power to transform others into creatures like themselves for their armies.

[Jim Kelly]

The Appellaxian adversary of Aquaman was glass, of Wonder Woman was mercury, of Green Lantern was avian, of Flash was fire.



After each hero defeated their five meteorite menaces, they went to the Carolina coast, where a sixth meteor had landed. They were all turned to wood before a wooden Appellaxian emerged from its meteorite cocoon.

Only by working together were the fantastic five able to defeat the wooden warrior.



A seventh meteor had landed in Greenland, attracting Superman and Batman to deal with a diamond invader.



Later, all seven gathered together and decided they should form a team, a league, to fight against evil and uphold justice.

Note: Taking advantage of the extra 16 pages in the 48 page format, this issue combined work by Fox/Sekowsky/Sachs from JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA 9 (February 1962) with new work from Friedrich/Dillin/Giella to retell the Justice League origin.

[Jim Kelly]

Inspired by this first case, the Justice League are rededicated to ending Starbreaker once and for all. As luck would have it, Sargon the Sorcerer appears at the eleventh hour.

Who is Sargon the Sorcerer?

Sargon, alias John Sargent, had been a magic hero in the 1940s--appearing in ALL AMERICAN COMICS, COMIC CAVALCADE and SENSATION COMICS--first appearance, ALL AMERICAN COMICS 25 (May 1941); last appearance, GREEN LANTERN 37 (March-April 1949). The main source of his power was the Ruby of Life, a jewel he wore in his turban.

After a twenty year absence, Sargon the Sorcerer showed up again in THE FLASH 186 (March 1969), where he freed Eobard Thawne from his prison cell in the future and brought him back to the 20th century. The magician, also known as John Sargent, wished to learn the secrets of time travel from the Reverse-Flash. It seems his quest for magical power had corrupted Sargent and he strayed from the noble path he used to follow.

However, the sorcerer was unsuccessful in getting anything from Professor Zoom and actually lost his Ruby of Life to the Flash, who put it away in the Flash Museum.



Sargon returned in THE FLASH 207 (June 1971) intent on getting back his precious red gem.



"The Sound of Evil Music" features a couple named Paul and Grace who are expecting a baby. They are in a rock band called Washington Starship. Barry Allen is a big fan and is excited to take Iris to a Washington Starship live show.

However, Sargon uses the performance to conjure demons, then commands the Crimson Cyclone to retrieve the Ruby of Life from the Flash Museum and hand it over.



It turns out that Grace is John Sargent's niece. She excoriates her uncle, outraged that he would do this hellish thing to her and her unborn child. Sargent must reflect on how he ended up on this lonesome road and how to get back to right again.

Note: Friedrich drops some obvious hints that the Washington Starship are essentially the Jefferson Airplane/Starship, which makes Grace and Paul the real life Grace Slick and Paul Kantner, who were indeed expecting a baby around the time this story was written. This is also when they did the side project album called BLOWS AGAINST THE EMPIRE, where the name "Jefferson Starship" was first used.

[Jim Kelly]

So with that history in mind, Sargon shows up at the end of JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA 97. In the next issue, the sorcerer sends Aquaman, Black Canary, Batman and Hawkman on a fetch quest to find the two counterparts to the Ruby of Life.



With the three rubies and Hal's power ring, the heroes--assisted by Hawkgirl and Supergirl--combine magic and science to channel love power.

[Jim Kelly]

The power of love League meet Starbreaker on the field of battle, just outside Central City. However, the Solar Impaler divides to conquer, sending G.L., B.C. and Hawk into the past; Flash, G.A. and Aqua to the future; leaving Supes and Bats in the present.

Each group squares off against Starbreaker in their time period. The clashes in the past and future don't go as planned for the Cosmic Vampire, leaving him depleted in the present when he encounters the World's Finest Duo.

Unable to defeat the Metropolis Marvel, the Astral Nosferatu runs away, through the narrow alleys of Central City, until he's cornered by the Gotham Goliath, who handily knocks him out.



With that, they all return to the Satellite Sanctuary, without any time having passed. Drained of his power, the Stellar Destroyer will be handed over to the Guardians of the Universe.

But why did the super-villain make the costly mistake of sending the League into three different time periods which proved his undoing? The answer is the Atom. The Tiny Titan was in Starbreaker's brain influencing his decisions.



Even though Sargon's researches into time travel took him down a lonesome road (in THE FLASH 186 and 207), all that preparation put him in the right place to save the world in the end.

Note: Starbreaker has all the makings of a great Superman adversary. Like the Caped Kryptonian, his powers are tied in with the sun. Yet his dark nature casts him as the Man of Steel's opposite. Still, Starbreaker was left on the shelf for a long time after this saga--maybe because, despite all the hype, he turned out to be full of hot air--taken out by the Batman, to add insult to injury.

[Jim Kelly]

The Sun-Sucker doesn't really get back to doing evil until after the Crisis, when continuity has changed. A new League faces the Cosmic Vampire in JUSTICE LEAGUE AMERICA 62 (May 1992) - 65 (August 1992). Later, Starbreaker revisits Rann in the 8 issue ADAM STRANGE limited series, 1 (November 2004) - 8 (June 2005). Here it's revealed that Starbreaker is the mature form of a Sun-Eater (if you can believe it).

While I understand the elegant simplicity in connecting the two concepts--Sun-Eaters and Cosmic Vampires--I think that diminishes the horror of both. What's terrifying about a Sun-Eater is that it's an unthinking monster, driven to devour suns by its basic nature. That it has no feelings and can't be reasoned with makes it that much more frightening. Whereas, Cosmic Vampires like Starbreaker scare us because they are driven by human emotions--they really do thrive on causing emotional damage.

I could see Sun-Eaters and Cosmic Vampires having some primordial link in whatever galaxy they came out of. Just as viruses and human beings are linked way back billions of years ago in early evolution. But they shouldn't be confused with one another.

The Interplanetary Impaler squares off against the World's Greatest Super-Heroes yet again in the "Starbreaker Crisis?"-- JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA 27 (January 2007) - 34 (August 2007)--see post # 164 - 166.

In JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA 29 (March 2007), Starbreaker narrates the events from the original saga. For the most part, his account sticks to how it happened during the Friedrich run. But for some unexplained reason, Len Wein rewrote the concluding chapter from JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA 98 (May 1972). In his "Star Struck" version, Sargon does not play a role. There are no three rubies involved. The final battle doesn't take place in three different time periods.

Instead, Starbreaker is using his energies to drive the Earth out of its orbit and toward the sun, but Superman and Green Lantern are combining their efforts to keep the Earth in its orbit. Meanwhile, the rest of the Justice League are attacking the Cosmic Vampire on the ground and maintaining an upbeat attitude. So, because his efforts are divided, the Imperious Impaler ends up depleted of energy (like in the original account), yet it's Aquaman not Batman who delivers the final blow.

[Jim Kelly]

Upon the Justice League's debut in THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD 28 (February-March 1960)--on sale December 29th, 1959--they had seven charter members--plus Snapper Carr who became an honourary member with the story in that issue. However, Superman and Batman were deliberately kept off the covers and usually had a minor role in the team adventures. Editor Julius Schwartz explained this in the letter columns as giving a chance to the other five heroes to be in the spotlight, since the ACTION and DETECTIVE stars had plenty of exposure elsewhere.

Julie was bending the truth. In actual fact, Mort Weisinger and Jack Schiff (the Superman and Batman editors) didn't want Schwartz to use their main characters and only relented in letting him use them if they were shown in this reduced capacity.

This edict must have seriously impacted sales on the book. I'm sure if Schwartz had been able to put the Man of Steel and the Caped Crusader on the covers that would have given the title a big boost at the newsstand.

While at first Batty and Supey were written out of the stories, immediately after the origin in issue 9, they assumed a more active role. By then, Jack and Mort had been overruled by their boss, Irwin Donenfeld. Yet Superman and Batman continued to be denied cover placement except the few times their figures were reduced (as in the JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA 1, 5, 10 and 19 covers). Finally with the first J.S.A. crossover in issue 21 (August 1963), the World's Finest Duo appear predominant on covers with some regularity.

When "The Origin of the Justice League" first appeared in JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA 9 (February 1962), the letter column for that issue had a letter from young Joe Staton, analyzing who he liked and who he didn't like in the team. His letter ignited a great debate among readers in subsequent letter columns. Joe's faves were Flash, Snapper, Green Lantern and Superman. The others didn't meet his standards. He didn't like Wonder Woman at all.



Many other letter writers didn't care for Wonder Woman, either. It seems like only Flash and Green Lantern were appreciated by most of the readers, which makes some sense, since they were the fresh new stars, reviving interest in super-hero comics. And, having reduced the roles of Superman and Batman, Schwartz gave his own heroes, Flash and G.L., most favoured status.

Joe Staton would go on to draw every one of these characters in the comics, with major work on both Green Lantern and Superman. He even drew Wonder Woman on occasion--hopefully he got over his distaste for the Amazing Amazon by that time.

Next week: Strangest Love Stories

[Jim Kelly]

SUPERMAN'S PAL, JIMMY OLSEN 140 [G-86] (August-September 1971)--"Featuring Amazing Adventures Out of This World!" cover art by Swan and Anderson; on sale June 3rd, 1971:



Jimmy's Giant spotlight is on Kandor's Crimebusters.



Reprinted from--

SUPERMAN 158 (January 1963)--"Superman in Kandor" by Hamilton, Swan and Klein
SUPERMAN'S PAL, JIMMY OLSEN 69 (June 1963)--1st story, "The Dynamic Duo of Kandor" by Hamilton, Swan and Klein
SUPERMAN'S PAL, JIMMY OLSEN 72 (October 1963)--1st story, "The World of Doomed Olsens" by Siegel, Swan and Klein

[Jim Kelly]

DC SPECIAL 14 (September-October 1971)--"Wanted: The World's Most Dangerous Villains!"; cover art by Murphy Anderson; on sale July 1st, 1971



This was the second try-out for the "Wanted" theme, before it gained its own title.

The 1st story in this issue is from--

SUPERMAN 47 (July-August 1947)--1st story, "The Toyman's Castle" by Cameron, Yarbrough and Kaye:



By 1971, the Toyman (alias Winslow Percival Schott) was never seen in the comics and had lost a lot of his appeal, so seeing him in a classic adventure helped to revive interest in the vintage villain.

***

Also on sale the same day was the first issue of GHOSTS (September-October 1971), which was arguably one of the most successful new titles from National Periodicals in the 1970s, reaching 112 issues. Murray Boltinoff was the editor and Leo Dorfman did most of the scripts during the early years of the run. Two weeks later, WEIRD WAR TALES would have its first issue, from editor Joe Kubert, and would last a bit longer than GHOSTS, ending with issue 124. THE WARLORD has both of them beat with 133 issues, but it didn't debut until 1976, more than halfway through the decade.