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123-706: A related successive group on Earth-3 is known as the Crime Society ( of America ) and first appeared in 52 #52, and was later featured in Countdown to Final Crisis . A "Golden Age" supervillain group, the Crime Society was to Earth-2 what the Antimatter Crime Syndicate of Amerika was to Earth-0, until it was removed from continuity following DC's 2011 Flashpoint storyline and The New 52 company-wide reboot . Following this,

246-896: A "reversed" history similar to Earth-Three's, but with a much darker tone to both the team and its world. JLA Secret Files and Origins 2004 provided additional history of this team, showing that even though they did partially resemble the Earth-Three Syndicate, they were still easily identifiable from their Pre- Crisis Earth-Three incarnation. Unlike the Crime Syndicate of Earth-Three, this Crime Syndicate of Amerika are able to rule their world (a change from their Pre- Crisis counterparts, who were unsuccessful in conquering their world) though they allow governments to continue operating and honest people are able to continue operating in pockets such as Gotham City Police Commissioner Thomas Wayne Sr. (father to Owlman and counterpart of

369-479: A blind rage beats him to a pulp (at this point in time, Supergirl was portrayed as being slightly more powerful than Superman). Ultraman is saved when Saturn Queen provides information to Supergirl about her lost home of Argo City in exchange for sparing his life. From this point on, neither the Pre- Crisis Ultraman nor Saturn Queen are seen again and their fates were unknown at the time the universe

492-559: A boost, and Wonder Woman allowing Superwoman to 'steal' her Lasso of Truth , knowing that her opponent would not be able to use both of them. Following this defeat, the JLA freed the captured JSA heroes and imprisoned the CSA in an unbreakable bubble generated by Green Lantern 's power ring that was placed in a " limbo " dimension between the Earths, where time has no meaning. Over the ensuing years,

615-511: A daughter named Hyppolyta Trevor (who became a hero called Fury and joined a team of heroes known as Infinity, Inc. ). The 1970s revival of All Star Comics involved some flashback stories, but most of the issues took place in the modern day, showing the Justice Society members as older heroes decades after World War II. Conway also included younger heroes in the group, such as Power Girl (an Earth-Two version of Supergirl ). His hope

738-406: A different origin like Superwoman being Donna Troy, Owlman still being Thomas Wayne Jr. whose parents were killed by a mugger named Harvey Bullock under orders from Boss Gordon who considered them rival crime lords, Ultraman being Kal-El who was exploited by Jonathan and Martha Kent, John Stewart being a former beat cop before becoming Emerald Knight, and Johnny Chambers is a criminal who was raised by

861-584: A dimension-destroying weapon called the Void Hound and pursue the Syndicate to the matter universe, laying waste to hundreds of planets along the way. Reluctantly, the CSA teamed up with the JLA, but the Void Hound proved too powerful. The heroes finally defeated the Void Hound by using a former JLA foe, the Construct, to remove the artificial intelligence of the massive weapon and render it powerless. With

984-593: A father who trained dogs for dog fighting. The Syndicate is brought together to fight off an invasion by the Starros , paralleling the original origin of the Justice League of America where they possessed characters like Black Siren, Doctor Chaos, Miss Martian, Red Beetle, and Sky Tyrant. The Starros claimed they were not invading but were seeking refuge from the Overlords of Oa , but were nevertheless killed by

1107-581: A form much as it was prior to "The New 52". During the " Year of the Villain " event, the Crime Syndicate is revealed to still be alive along with their universe restored after the events of the " Watchmen " sequel " Doomsday Clock ". They decide to align themselves with Perpetua in her conquest of the multiverse, secretly planning to take power for themselves. However, Owlman learns from John Stewart that there have been other versions of himself and thus he can never truly be erased as an Owlman will always exist in

1230-470: A memorial for Superboy in Metropolis . Time traveler Booster Gold is shocked to not see the three heroes there, as this contradicts Skeets' historical data. Other contradictions, prompt Booster to search for answers in time traveler Rip Hunter 's bunker, which is littered with notes and photos of Gold and Skeets surrounded by the words "his fault". Booster later discovers that his reputation and fame

1353-459: A monthly publication. 52 and Batman Eternal (2014/2015) both hold the top position, of being the longest-published serialised weekly comic, published by a major North American publisher. The record was previously held by Action Comics Weekly . The story was originally conceived as being a chronicle of what happened in the "missing year" between the end of Infinite Crisis and the beginning of One Year Later . It would especially focus on how

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1476-454: A natural advantage on Earth-1 and the CSA had a similar advantage on Earth-3, Earth-2 being chosen as a neutral environment where neither group would have an edge). However, the JLA defeated the CSA by tricking the members into unleashing more power than they could control, such as Ultraman acquiring so many powers he could not use any of them, Power Ring's ring generating constructs that were too large for him to control after Green Lantern gave it

1599-726: A new phrase. Teth-Adam goes missing in the resulting explosion and wanders the Earth powerlessly, trying to guess the secret word. The Question and Montoya train with Richard Dragon in Nanda Parbat , where Montoya learns that the Question is dying from lung cancer and wants her to replace him. After they discover a prophecy in the Crime Bible about Batwoman 's death, the two join her fight against Intergang in Gotham City. When

1722-631: A new, unified reality with a revised history. The heroes of World War II now existed in the same timeline as modern heroes, simply operating at an earlier time. While it was not a major problem to establish that certain characters such as the Golden Age Flash (a man named Jay Garrick) and the later Flash (a man named Barry Allen) could co-exist and both operate during different time periods, this explanation didn't work for heroes with direct counterparts. Golden Age heroes such as Superman, Wonder Woman, Batman , Robin , and Green Arrow all of whom had

1845-676: A place among the Monarch 's army. Already recruited into the Monarch's army, Johnny Quick wins a place in the Monarch's elite squad when he defeats his Earth-9 and Earth-2 counterparts in the Countdown: Arena miniseries. All of the Crime Society members who are present in the Earth-51 dimension at the end battle with Superman-Prime and the Monarch are killed, as the entire dimension is completely destroyed with only Superman-Prime and

1968-583: A press conference advising all metahumans to serve them or else. While Ultraman is upset over Atomica causing Ultragirl's death, Atomica holds Emerald Knight accountable for Johnny's death, and Emerald Knight criticizes Ultraman's withdrawal weakness to Kryptonite and concern over Owlman's duplicity. Later, the Crime Syndicate comes into conflict with the Suicide Squad , culminating in the "War for Earth-3" storyline, which sees Owlman and Ultraman defeated, with Superwoman, Johnny Quick, and Emerald Knight (now

2091-415: A safety protocol he had created hurled the traitors uncontrollably into the time stream, where they landed coincidentally on the satellite headquarters of the JLA in the then-present day of 1982 (the year the story was published). An intricate tale then followed, involving the CSA escaping and the JLA traveling back in time to Earth-Two in 1942 and Earth-Prime in 1962 to prevent the CSA from helping Degaton. It

2214-553: A single plant surviving the cataclysm. The original five members are not present at this battle, though their fates remain unknown. In " The New 52 ", with the changes of this new timeline, Crime Syndicate was introduced as the true antagonists of the " Villains Month " event, and the Forever Evil series. At the conclusion of Trinity War , it is revealed that the leader of the Secret Society , previously known as "

2337-685: A singular Crime Syndicate is the Earth-3 counterpart of the Earth-0 Justice League, first appearing in Justice League (vol. 2) #23 (October 2013), and the main focus of the company-wide crossover storyline Forever Evil . The events of that storyline have far-reaching consequences for the DC Universe and for the Crime Syndicate characters who survived and that remained on Earth-0 in one form or another after its events. As detailed in Justice League of America #29 (August 1964),

2460-548: Is able to pin Lex, who says "Mazahs!", summoning the dark lightning as he sounds like Alexander Luthor. Lex Luthor is able to defeat him once he is back to Alexander Luthor and then kills him. Ultraman begins attacking Lex. As he does, Black Adam and Sinestro move the Moon, causing Ultraman to be hit with the sun, weakening him. Atomica reappears from underneath the rubble, only for Lex Luthor to kill her by stepping on her. Lex Luthor rejoins

2583-620: Is also revealed that Saturn Queen , last seen in " Absolute Power ", survived the reboot of the universe in Infinite Crisis and through flashbacks we learn that she has used her telepathic abilities to convince Ultraman that he is Kal-El and that she is his mother. His original personality seems intact, however, as he is portrayed as being as sadistic and self-centered as ever. Saturn Queen further manipulates events to place him in charge of Kandor and mind controls Kara Zor-El ( Supergirl ) into marrying him. Kara eventually breaks free and in

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2706-540: Is another eight-issue series looking at the new Doctor Fate and a back-up story focusing on Eclipso . These include: In September 2006, DC Direct premiered a line of action figures based on 52 . The first wave, featuring figures based on Batwoman, Isis, Booster Gold, Animal Man, and Supernova, was released in May 2007. Ace Books , under the imprint of the Berkley Publishing Group and published by

2829-418: Is diminishing. He tries to regain the spotlight by containing an exploding nuclear submarine , but seemingly dies in the attempt. Skeets regains access to Hunter's lab and realizes the photos and arrows are pointing at himself. He goes after Hunter and eventually finds him with Booster Gold, who turns out to have faked his death to help uncover Skeets' true intentions. Hunter and Booster attempt to trap Skeets in

2952-724: Is imprisoned in the Phantom Zone, and Owlman's back is broken. Superwoman, Johnny Quick, and Power Ring are then joined by the Nocturna of an unknown reality, the Superboy clone Match serving as a new Ultraman, fellow Earth 3 native and Black Canary counterpart Black Siren, and the alternate Etrigan known as Etrigan the Brainiac 666. 52 (comics) 52 is a weekly American comic book limited series published by DC Comics that debuted on May 10, 2006, one week after

3075-591: Is not the Pre- Crisis Earth-Three, making these new characters unrelated to previous versions. In Countdown #31, the name of this team is revealed to be the Crime Society . The Society are said to be evil doppelgangers of the heroes of Earth-2, and make their first solo appearance in Countdown Presents The Search for Ray Palmer - Crime Society #1 written by Sean McKeever and illustrated by Jamal Igle . In addition to

3198-409: Is restored, and Mister Mind alters events in the 52 universes, creating new histories and a new status quo for each. The heroes trap him in the remains of Skeets' shell and send him back in time to the beginning of the year, where he is captured by Dr. Sivana, trapped in a time loop for all eternity. Will Magnus later rebuilds Skeets, using a copy he had made of the robot's memories. Week 50 of 52 and

3321-481: Is the cause of Kahndaq's new miseries, Osiris asks Captain Marvel to remove his powers. Isis and Black Adam stop him and the three return to Kahndaq. Sobek tricks Osiris into turning back into Amon and devours him, revealing himself to be the fourth Horseman, Famine. The other Horsemen join the battle. Isis is poisoned by Pestilence and dies while asking Adam to avenge her and Osiris' deaths. Grief-stricken and enraged to

3444-624: The 1939 New York World's Fair . The Perisphere contained the Squadron meeting hall, while the Trylon was retrofitted as an aircraft hangar/vertical launch platform. The All-Star Squadron had a robotic butler named Gernsback , based on the Elektro robots from the fair and named after science fiction publisher Hugo Gernsback . During the 1985-86 series Crisis on Infinite Earths , Earth-Two and Earth-One, along with some other realities, merged into

3567-536: The Axis Powers used the mystical Spear of Destiny to create a "sphere of influence" over their occupied territories and surrounding areas during most of World War II. This sphere of influence caused superhumans, magically empowered people, and magic-users to fall under Hitler's control and take on some of his personality traits. For this reason, the All-Star Squadron focused its activities on protecting

3690-541: The DC Universe , and several characters whose disparate stories interconnect. The story is directly followed by the weekly limited series Countdown to Final Crisis . It was the first weekly series published by DC Comics since the short-lived anthology Action Comics Weekly from 1988 to 1989. The use of a weekly publication format is unusual in the North American comics industry, traditionally based upon

3813-529: The Fortress of Solitude ; the rebirth of the multiverse is credited to Mister Mind's transformation, rather than the Crisis; and the weapon stolen from Steel by Booster during World War III is actually put to use against Mind, which it was not in the comic, and is the cause of his unexplained-in-the-comic shrinking. In December 2007, GraphicAudio released the first half of a full cast audiobook adaptation based on

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3936-490: The Freedom Fighters traveled from Earth-Two to Earth-X , an event indicated in an earlier Justice League story. With so many characters to choose from, the creative team decided to concentrate on "quite promising characters who have been ignored or underplayed for years", instead of only those Earth-Two characters who had popular counterparts on Earth-One. For examples, All-Star Squadron did not focus much on

4059-563: The Golden Age of Comics (roughly 1935–1951), several comic books featured crime-fighters, "mystery-men", adventurers, and superheroes. DC Comics began publishing the anthology series All Star Comics (sometimes referred to as All-Star Comics ) in 1940. In issue #3, DC had many of their superheroes join together for dinner and share stories, declaring the gathering to be the first meeting of the Justice Society of America . The JSA

4182-583: The Justice Society of America (JSA). The last series to do so was the second volume of All Star Comics , which lasted only seventeen issues from 1976 to 1979. As Roy Thomas put it, DC management gave him "a chance to write a return of the JSA". Instead of writing stories in the modern era of Earth-Two, Roy Thomas chose to set the series during World War II. Roy Thomas decided to include other Golden Age era characters that weren't published by DC Comics during

4305-547: The Phantom Zone , but Skeets appears to consume the sub-dimension and pursues his two adversaries through time. Ralph Dibny , the Elongated Man, is told that the gravestone of his dead wife Sue has been vandalized with an inverted Kryptonian "S", a symbol for resurrection. This was done by a cult that believes that Superboy can be resurrected, but would like to try first with Sue. Dibny and his friends disrupt

4428-553: The Science Squad and develop new weapons for them. There, Magnus is ordered to build a Plutonium Man robot. The scientists activate three of their Four Horsemen, which target Black Adam. Suspicious of him, Amanda Waller maneuvers Osiris into killing the Persuader and leaking footage of the incident to the media. With his reputation destroyed, Osiris retires from the public eye and acid rain ravages Kahndaq. Convinced that he

4551-427: The "Science Squad" storyline, keeping in the evil geniuses and their work for Intergang but leaving out Will Magnus' ongoing plot; in his introduction, Cox explains that it was not possible to adapt all the plotlines of 52 within a novel of reasonable length. Outside of the loss of these various storylines from the book, events play out in an essentially identical manner, with most of the dialogue itself even lifted from

4674-662: The 1930s and 40s but were acquired by the company in later years, such as the Quality Comics characters. All-Star Squadron established that most of these characters co-existed with the Golden Age DC heroes on Earth-Two. In a nod to the original JSA adventures in All Star Comics , writer Roy Thomas tried to include at least a cameo appearance by the Golden Age Hawkman in every issue, since he

4797-702: The 1930s and 40s occurred in a parallel reality called Earth-Two . While the Golden Age Superman , introduced in 1938, had lived through World War II, the Earth-One Superman had not even been born until long after the war was over. While the modern-day Earth-One Wonder Woman was a superhero in her prime, new stories revealed that the Golden Age Wonder Woman of Earth-Two had fought Nazis during World War II, then later semi-retired, married her dear friend Steve Trevor, and had

4920-480: The 1940s, retroactively inserting their narratives into the fictional history of the DC Comics superheroes. The team included many of DC's Golden Age era characters, new characters, and other World War II superheroes which DC did not own during the 1940s but later acquired. The name "All-Star Squadron" was creator Roy Thomas' reference to All Star Comics , the series that introduced the Justice Society of America,

5043-490: The 1985 12-issue maxiseries Crisis on Infinite Earths . As shown in issue #1, Earth-Three and all of its inhabitants were obliterated by an antimatter wave that was the catalyst for the story. The original Earth-Three Syndicate made a few Post- Crisis appearances, when Ultraman and Power Ring appeared in the Animal Man series and then again in Infinite Crisis , when Earth-Three was temporarily recreated and models of

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5166-563: The Anti-Monitor, who has killed Darkseid and now threatens all of existence. Seizing the opportunity to reunite the Syndicate, Volthoom seizes control of Jessica's body and when Cyborg attempts to interface with the ring, has the "Grid" personality re-uploaded and placed in control of his armor. As the trio plot to reunite with Ultraman, the heretofore-missing Owlman shows up and declares that the League and Syndicate must work together to stop

5289-421: The Anti-Monitor. At the climax of the story, Ultraman is incinerated by the Anti-Monitor, ignoring Superman's warnings that it was too powerful to fight alone. Superwoman gives birth to her baby and is shortly thereafter killed by the Anti-Monitor. Having abandoned his comrades, Owlman indicates he never cared for the Syndicate, and his ultimate goal was to sit on Metron's Chair, which would give him all knowledge in

5412-510: The CSA or one of its members would occasionally escape and attempt to wreak havoc on Earth-One and/or Earth-Two. Power Ring, Johnny Quick, and Superwoman battled Captain Comet after being released by the Secret Society of Super Villains . Ultraman once escaped and collaborated with Lex Luthor of Earth-One and Alexei Luthor of Earth-Two, but was defeated by Superman of Earth-One, Superman of Earth-Two , and Alexander Luthor Sr. of Earth-Three and

5535-412: The Crime Syndicate journey to the matter universe to attack Earth, blaming the JLA in the mistaken belief that the heroes are responsible for the changes that they have endured. It is during this time that they discover that the reboot of the antimatter universe wiped out the previous 24-hour rule, so the plan is changed to secretly take over the planet instead. Meanwhile, the defeated Qwardians rally behind

5658-425: The Crime Syndicate of America originally lived on Earth-Three , a world where history was "reversed" from the real world (e.g., Christopher Columbus discovered Europe, British colonists declared their independence from America, and President John Wilkes Booth was assassinated by an actor named Abraham Lincoln ). It initially had no superheroes, only the supervillains of the Crime Syndicate, though this changed with

5781-457: The Crime Syndicate of America. During the fight, Sinestro is killed by Emerald Knight, Atomica causes Ultragirl to die from a brain haemorrhage, and a badly-injured Lex Luthor is taken prisoner. One week after the battle, the remaining members of the Legion of Justice ally with Jester and the Crime Syndicate set up their base in the Legion of Justice's former satellite base. The Crime Syndicate holds

5904-721: The Crime Syndicate, even through their predecessors (Qwardian versions of the original Syndicate) did. Its members were: It is not clear if any of these characters exist in Post- Zero Hour or Post- Infinite Crisis continuity. The JLA: Earth 2 graphic novel featured several costumes in the Syndicate Satellite (the CSA Watchtower). The Crime Syndicate's members included also: There are other unnamed evil counterparts of Martian Manhunter , Stargirl , Hawkgirl , Wildcat and Spectre . In addition to

6027-542: The Crime Syndicate. Grid informs the Outsider of the intrusion and he goes to protect their hooded prisoner over Grayson, only for Black Manta to intercept the Outsider and kill him. Batman, Luthor, Catwoman and Bizarro enter the room with Grayson and see he has been placed in a "Murder Machine" originally intended for Doomsday. They realize that the machine is a detonator for a bomb that can only be stopped if Grayson's heart stops. The remaining Crime Syndicate members return to

6150-537: The DC Universe limited series, in this story, Donna Troy explores the history of the DC Universe with the help of Harbinger 's recording device. In the final chapter, both the device and a Monitor inform Donna Troy that she was supposed to have died instead of Jade . Weeks 12 through 51 feature Secret Origins , written by Mark Waid with a rotating team of artists. In the aftermath of Infinite Crisis , Clark Kent , Bruce Wayne , and Diana Prince temporarily retire their costumed identities and do not attend

6273-733: The Earth-Three Ultraman, Superwoman, and Alexander Luthor Sr. were briefly merged with the Superman and Wonder Woman of Earth-1 and the Superman of Earth-Two and Wonder Woman of Earth-Two . During the Convergence storyline, the Crime Syndicate had accidentally killed the Earth-Three version of Bruno Mannheim where Superwoman was arrested and sentenced to death. Despite the dome being over their Metropolis, Ultraman, Owlman, Power Ring, and Johnny Quick worked to infiltrate

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6396-709: The Earth-Two versions of Superman and Wonder Woman, nor on the Golden Age version of the Flash, Jay Garrick, whose counterpart Barry Allen was very popular as the Flash of Earth-One. Roy Thomas wrote: "If we lost the original GL , we gained the Earth-Two Robotman ; if we dropped Jay (Flash) Garrick , we picked up on Johnny Quick ; Liberty Belle could stand in for Wonder Woman till more super-powered ladies came along. We even tossed in an Earth-Two version of

6519-596: The Justice Society members had been captured by the time-travelling villain Per Degaton with the help of JSA foes he had pulled back in time, but the available heroes were asked to first guard against a potential attack on the West Coast of the United States . Degaton himself used some stolen Japanese planes with hypnotized troopers to launch such an attack on San Francisco, hoping to change history by making

6642-565: The Marvel Comics series Invaders in a similar way to address and revise official Marvel fictional history. Several issues of the series offered detailed origin stories of various characters, sometimes with revised details. Characters who had origin issues dedicated to them included Amazing-Man , Starman , Doctor Fate , Liberty Belle , Robotman , Johnny Quick , and the Tarantula . The story arc in issues #32-33 detailed how

6765-527: The Omega Man, figuring that the Syndicate could take over the League's Earth after the Omega Man kills off most of the heroes. At the last second, Batman reveals that he anticipated the Syndicate's betrayal, and used the Tangent Universe 's version of Green Lantern to resurrect Luthor behind the Syndicate's back. Though his resurrection is short-lived, Luthor builds a machine that ultimately sends

6888-462: The Outsider ", was actually an Earth-3 version of Alfred Pennyworth . He gains possession of Pandora's Box to open a portal to Earth-3, from which the Crime Syndicate emerges. The Crime Syndicate then proceeds to attack the fallen Justice League members and claims Prime Earth now belongs to them. The New 52 line-up of the Crime Syndicate consists of Ultraman, Superwoman, Owlman, Johnny Quick, Power Ring, Deathstorm , Sea King (who does not survive

7011-685: The Penguin Group, released a novelization written by Greg Cox , with cover art by J. G. Jones and Alex Sinclair, and its design by George Brewer. The novel primarily adapts the weekly limited series and the World War III tie-in miniseries. The novel deals with the plotlines of Montoya, the Question, Black Adam, Booster Gold, Skeets, and the 52 Earths, dropping the Luthor/Steel/Everyman Project, Ralph Dibny, and space plotlines completely and including only part of

7134-419: The Project, but her uncle John Henry Irons forbids it. She enrolls anyway and becomes a member of Luthor's superhero team Infinity, Inc. During a battle with the third Blockbuster , Luthor deactivates the powers of one of Natasha's teammates with fatal results. The death of her friend prompts Natasha to question Luthor's motives. Angered by reports that he is incompatible with the treatment, Luthor deactivates

7257-428: The Question's condition worsens, Montoya journeys back to Nanda Parbat in a failed attempt to save his life. Shortly after they leave Gotham, Intergang discovers Batwoman's identity and attempts to sacrifice her to fulfill the prophecy. Montoya, as the new Question, tries to save Batwoman, who gets stabbed by Mannheim with a ceremonial dagger. Batwoman fatally wounds Mannheim and survives. After she recovers, Montoya shines

7380-400: The Squadron in combat situations in the European or Pacific Theaters of War was that Adolf Hitler had possession of the Spear of Destiny , a mystical object that gave him control of any superheroes with magic-based powers or a vulnerability to magic (including Superman , Green Lantern , Doctor Fate and others) who crossed into territory held by the Axis Powers . At the time, many of

7503-424: The Syndicate and attempts to resurrect Darkseid rather than Luthor, but the machine malfunctions and instead creates an immensely powerful villain called the Omega Man. In the ensuing storyline, Power Ring is killed and the members of the Justice League and the Crime Syndicate are forced to work together to stop the Omega Man. Realizing that the situation is hopeless, Owlman betrays the League and turns them over to

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7626-477: The Syndicate back to their own ravaged world and seemingly destroys the Omega Man. In 52 #52, an alternate version of Earth-Three is shown as a part of the new Multiverse. In the depiction are characters that are altered versions of the original Justice League of America , plus the Martian Manhunter . The names of the characters and the team are not mentioned in the two panels in which they appear. Based on comments by Grant Morrison , this alternate universe

7749-432: The Syndicate. Lex Luthor starts to put together a resistance against them called the Legion of Justice that include New God Lonar, her horse Thunderer, Power Tower, Red Hood (Earth 3's Harley Quinn), Savanna, Sinestro, and Venus where their first mission results in the death of Johnny Quick before he can be recruited into the Crime Syndicate. The Legion of Justice were aided by Ultraman's cousin Ultragirl in their fight against

7872-484: The US from invasion, super-villains, spies, and sabotage rather than risk their minds being controlled by the Axis Powers if they operated overseas in Europe or Asia. After their introduction in Justice League of America, the team starred in the series All-Star Squadron which ran from 1981 to 1987. At different times, the organization's chairperson was Liberty Belle or Hawkman . A spin-off series entitled Young All-Stars began in 1987 and published 32 issues. During

7995-399: The United States fight to a stalemate against Japan, enabling him to take over the world, so the new Squadron's first major mission was to stop the attack and rescue the captured heroes, who also became part of the new group. Due to Per Degaton going back in time after the JSA were freed they forgot his involvement, though the events were not wiped. America's entry into the war caused several of

8118-400: The Void Hound defeated and the CSA owing the JLA a favor for saving them, the villains are sent back to the antimatter universe, where they discover to their horror that the Qwardians have also invaded their Earth, dismantling their entire criminal organization and freeing many imprisoned superheroes and rival supervillains. The Crime Syndicate's world is primarily governed by the "favor bank",

8241-524: The Watchtower and attack Sinestro, Deathstroke, and Black Adam. Johnny Quick and Atomica attack Captain Cold and Black Manta, who have unmasked the prisoner and removed the tape from his mouth. Captain Cold fires his cold gun on Johnny Quick's leg and then breaks it off. Back with Grayson, Luthor prevents Batman from saving Grayson, choosing to save the group's lives over Grayson's. As Grayson dies, Batman attacks Luthor for murdering him with Luthor trying to reason with him that he has everything under control. With

8364-492: The Weaponers of Qward. They acted as Claire Montgomery's ( Maxwell Lord 's ex-wife) second Conglomerate team. Following a further "soft" reboot of DC continuity in 1994's Zero Hour (1994) crossover, the Crime Syndicate was introduced once again, in 2000, in the JLA: Earth 2 graphic novel by Grant Morrison , which combined the Pre- Crisis parallel Earth idea with the Pre- Zero Hour antimatter universe concept. The Crime Syndicate's Post- Zero Hour antimatter Earth possesses

8487-445: The ability to gain powers from any sentient being in the universe. He uses it to return to Earth. Black Adam , the superhuman leader of Kahndaq, forges a coalition with several other countries against the United States and their metahumans: the Freedom of Power Treaty. He stops when Adrianna Tomaz , a former slave, shows him how he can use his abilities more peacefully to help his country. Adam convinces Captain Marvel to give Tomaz

8610-401: The ceremony, and the effigy of Sue crawls to Dibny, calling out to him as it burns; he suffers a nervous breakdown as a result. Ralph seeks out the helmet of Doctor Fate , which promises to revive Sue if he makes certain sacrifices. While preparing a spell for Nabu, Dibny reveals the helmet is not the one talking to him, but sorcerer Felix Faust . Faust was posing as Nabu to give Dibny's soul to

8733-490: The children and shares his power with him. Amon is reborn as Osiris . Osiris befriends a seemingly timid anthropomorphic crocodile named Sobek , who joins Black Adam's Black Marvel Family . Adam and Isis inform the Freedom of Power Treaty member nations that Kahndaq is no longer interested in consolidating power or in executing superhumans. Will Magnus , creator of the Metal Men , is abducted to Oolong Island, where Intergang and Chang Tzu force kidnapped scientists to form

8856-496: The comics verbatim. There are some minor cosmetic changes along the way (for instance, on Week 3, Black Adam kills Intergang thug Rough House as opposed to Terra-Man ), but in the final chapter, a lot of the specifics of Mister Mind's cross-time battle with Rip Hunter, Booster Gold, and Supernova are altered. The villain reveals himself in front of a gathered group of heroes in Metropolis, rather than to just Booster and Rip in

8979-449: The conclusion of the Infinite Crisis miniseries. The series was written by Geoff Johns , Grant Morrison , Greg Rucka , and Mark Waid , with layouts by Keith Giffen . 52 also led into a few limited series spin-offs. 52 consists of 52 issues, published weekly for one year, each issue detailing an actual week chronicling the events that took place during the missing year after the end of Infinite Crisis . The series covers much of

9102-526: The demon Neron in exchange for his freedom. Neron kills Dibny, but realizes too late that Dibny's spell has trapped him and Faust inside a circle of binding. With Ralph's death, Neron and Faust are seemingly trapped together for all eternity. Ralph and Sue Dibny are reunited in death and become ghost detectives. Lex Luthor announces the Everyman Project , a program designed to give ordinary people superpowers. Natasha Irons (Steel) wants to join

9225-494: The end of 52 and Mary Marvel 's corruption in Countdown to Final Crisis . Two strands of the 52 story were taken and put together with back-ups from the new Countdown to Final Crisis story. Countdown to Adventure looks at the fate of space-travelers Adam Strange, Animal Man, and Starfire in their new roles after their journey over the course of eight issues, with a back-up story following Forerunner. Countdown to Mystery

9348-532: The events of Infinite Crisis . They are pursued through space by agents of Lady Styx , whose forces are conquering and overrunning planets on a path of destruction toward Earth. With some help from Lobo, the Emerald Eye of Ekron and the Emerald Head of Ekron, the heroes defeat Lady Styx. During the fight, Animal Man dies. The aliens who gave him his powers later revive him with new powers. He now has

9471-534: The evil New Gods . On the day of the bombing of Pearl Harbor , President Franklin Roosevelt gathered available superheroes—including members of the Justice Society of America , Freedom Fighters , and solo heroes—at the White House. He asked them to band together for the war as the All-Star Squadron to battle sabotage and keep the peace on the home front during World War II . The rationale for not using

9594-481: The existence of superheroes, they crossed the dimensional void and attacked the JLA and JSA . The villains were at first defeated but when they said the word "Volthoom", they sent themselves into Earth-Three thanks to a fail-safe created by Power Ring. The CSA was then able to capture the JSA by transporting them to Earth-Three and imprisoning them, intending to fight the JLA on Earth-2 to prove their superiority (the JLA had

9717-457: The first appearance of Deathstroke 's unnamed antimatter doppelganger. The Ultraman, Owlman, and Superwoman presented in the story have the same costumes as the antimatter universe version of the Syndicate. This tale however is being told by Mister Mxyzptlk and, as such, may not actually be canonical. After the events of Infinite Crisis , the original Pre- Crisis Ultraman appears in the bottle city of Kandor posing as Kal-El (Superman). It

9840-413: The first comic book superhero team. According to the series All-Star Squadron , US President Franklin Roosevelt creates a "superhero draft" called Article X during World War II. Article X asks all active American masked crime-fighters and superhuman adventurers to join forces as a single war-time organization, just as many American labor organizations did during World War II. In the canon of DC Comics,

9963-447: The five founding members, The New 52 version of the team introduces five new members: When Pandora was transported to Earth-3, she meets an unnamed counterpart of Martian Manhunter dying. Following Death Metal, the new lineup features Ultraman, Owlman, Atomica, Donna Troy as Superwoman, Jonathan Chambers as Johnny Quick, and John Stewart as Emerald Knight / Power Ring. After Amanda Waller takes over, Atomica disappears, Ultraman

10086-577: The five known members, this version of the CSA includes evil versions of the Green Arrow , Wildcat , the Black Canary , Hawkwoman , Stargirl , and the Spectre . Later issues introduce Annataz Arataz (the evil counterpart of Zatanna ), and counterparts of Supergirl (Kara Zor-El) , Wonder Girl (Donna Troy) , and Booster Gold . Shortly after the Crime Society's introduction, they are offered

10209-478: The following month with the creative team of writer Roy Thomas , with artists Rich Buckler and Jerry Ordway . The comic book series lasted 67 issues from September 1981 to March 1987, with three annuals published as well. In All-Star Squadron #1, series writer Roy Thomas published "An Open Letter to the Readers" wherein he described the impetus for the series. Namely, DC wanted a comic book telling tales of

10332-724: The four-issue World War III limited series , which was released the same week, depict the superhumans' battle with Black Adam. World War III also depicts Aquaman 's transformation into the Dweller of the Depths , Martian Manhunter 's change in outlook, Donna Troy 's assumption of the Wonder Woman mantle, Supergirl 's return to the 21st century, Jason Todd pretending to be Nightwing , and Cassandra Cain being drugged to turn evil and join Deathstroke . The lead stories of

10455-610: The heroes and saves Superman by removing the kryptonite placed in his brain by Atomica. In the aftermath, Ultraman and Superwoman are captured, with Owlman still on the loose. It is later revealed that the entity that destroyed the Crime Syndicate's world is the Anti-Monitor , who declares " Darkseid shall be mine". In the " Darkseid War " story in Justice League , Cyborg and Jessica Cruz, who has partially learned to harness Power Ring's Ring of Volthoom, seek out Superwoman in her maximum security prison for guidance on how to deal with

10578-543: The hooded prisoner now free, he reveals himself as Alexander Luthor and yells "Mazahs!" to access the dark lightning. Alexander Luthor transforms into Mazahs and kills the injured Johnny Quick, taking his power. After the trapped superheroes are freed from the Firestorm Matrix, Superwoman reveals that the father of her child is actually Alexander Luthor. Mazahs destroy Deathstorm taking his powers as well as attacking Lex and Bizarro, where Mazahs defeats Bizarro. Mazahs

10701-449: The later introduction of the heroic Lex Luthor who used his vast intelligence for good. In their first appearance, the Crime Syndicate, bored with the ease with which they were able to commit crimes on their Earth (and with no one to truly challenge them), discovered the existence of Earth-One and Earth-Two after Ultraman got "Ultra-Vision" from exposure to a large chunk of kryptonite and found he could peer between worlds. Intrigued by

10824-533: The members of the JSA to enlist, or be drafted in their civilian identities. These included Alan Scott , Starman , Hawkman , The Atom and Johnny Thunder . In the pages of " The New Golden Age ", the Prime-Earth version of the All-Star Squadron is revealed to exist as the bio for the Golden Age Aquaman mentions that he was briefly a member of this group. Mister Terrific also mentioned that

10947-512: The multiverse. He strikes a bargain with Metron and sits in the chair, absorbing its secrets. Suddenly, he becomes aware of a presence but before he can react, he and Metron are seemingly vaporized by a blue light . With the deaths of the last remaining Syndicators, Superwoman's child becomes the sole survivor of Earth 3, paralleling Alexander Luthor Jr.'s survival after the first Crisis. In 2016, DC Comics implemented another relaunch of its books called " DC Rebirth ", which restored its continuity to

11070-462: The multiverse. Upon this realization, Owlman betrays them and destroys his own world out of jealousy towards The Batman Who Laughs , and his belief that he will inevitably be reincarnated when the multiverse reforms. Following the reboot of the Multiverse at the end of Dark Nights: Death Metal as seen during the " Infinite Frontier ", a new Earth 3 is created with a new Crime Syndicate with

11193-424: The murdered father of Batman). Superman later encounters Ultraman, Superwoman and Owlman after a scared and out of control superpowered baby appears out of nowhere. Ultraman and Owlman come to believe the child is the offspring of Ultraman and Superwoman. Owlman wants to kill it out of jealousy, Ultraman wants to raise it as his demented protégé, and Superman tries to save it from them both. When Superwoman arrives on

11316-522: The new Power Ring) now working for Amanda Waller , who converted the Crime Syndicate into a new Justice League alongside operatives in her squad. The following five members founded the original Crime Syndicate of America and have appeared in all additional iterations of the team: A team of Qwardians based on the then-current Justice League International roster appeared on the Post- Crisis /Pre- Zero Hour Earth, although they did not call themselves

11439-587: The novel by Greg Cox. Like GraphicAudio's audiobook of Infinite Crisis , this spans two volumes (each 6 hours long) with 6 CDs and features a full cast, music, and sound effects. Volume 2 was released in February 2008. Voice cast credits as follows: In the CW series The Flash , the term '52' is often used as an Easter egg . For example, in the episode "Things You Can't Outrun", the Flash team opt to incarcerate criminal metahumans in "Area 52" at S.T.A.R. Labs . In

11562-645: The only issue of the series where he does not appear. The All-Star Squadron team is an example of " retroactive continuity " or "retcon", since the team itself was retroactively inserted into the history of DC superheroes and the series rewrote portions of already-established DC canon published during the 1940s. The first known use of the term "retcon" was by Roy Thomas in the letter column of All-Star Squadron #20 (April 1983). Several story lines ironed out continuity errors, fleshed out characters' origins, explained inconsistencies in character development, and resolved lingering questions and plot threads. Roy Thomas had used

11685-410: The only rule that is not consistently broken. If any person should grant a favor for someone else, that person is entitled to compensation whenever they see fit, no matter what the cost or hardship to the latter. Failure to pay back a favor results in inordinately harsh consequences, as seen in the beginning of "Syndicate Rules". A mobster, Jackson "Rat-Eyes" Drake, who failed to follow up on a favor owed,

11808-490: The original Pre- Crisis iterations of Power Ring and Johnny Quick replacing their contemporary counterparts as a mirror to the events of Green Lantern: Rebirth and Flash: Rebirth . After arriving on New Earth following the destruction of their world at the hands of Alexander Luthor (who had built a weapon of mass destruction that detonated following his demise), the Syndicate attacks the Hall of Justice , where Luthor's corpse

11931-442: The planet, the entire Antimatter universe undergoes a reboot which causes some immediate changes, the most obvious of which is the sudden replacement of the white Power Ring with a black counterpart to John Stewart , the then-current Green Lantern in the JLA. In the story, it is explained that the reboot the Syndicate experiences is direct fallout from the events of 2003's JLA/Avengers crossover event . Not knowing of these events,

12054-614: The point of madness, Black Adam destroys the country of Bialya, base of the Four Horsemen, murdering the country's entire population. He then attacks Oolong Island. The Justice Society of America invade the island to arrest him and subdue the scientists, but Adam escapes and embarks on a week-long rampage across the globe , during which he kills several superhumans. Captain Marvel convinces the Egyptian pantheon to revert Adam to Teth-Adam and changes Adam's magic word from "Shazam" to

12177-605: The popularity of the series, DC issued several series of comics based on the individual threads of 52 that began several months after 52 ended. Booster Gold (vol. 2) is an ongoing series that sees the eponymous hero and Rip Hunter travel through time to fix history as "the greatest superhero never known". The six-issue 52 Aftermath: The Four Horsemen miniseries covers the Four Horsemen's battle with Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman. Black Adam: The Dark Age , another six-issue miniseries, follows Teth-Adam's quest to restore his powers and bring Isis back to life; it takes place between

12300-517: The power of Isis. Adam and Isis free enslaved children across Africa . Meanwhile, the Question and Renee Montoya start investigating Intergang . Following a lead, they fly to Kahndaq and prevent a suicide bombing at Black Adam and Isis' wedding. Adam awards them one of Kahndaq's highest honors. The four uncover Intergang, which is inducting children into a religion of crime based on its Crime Bible. Black Adam finds Isis' crippled brother Amon among

12423-670: The powers of the majority of the Everyman subjects, resulting in many of them falling from the sky to their deaths. After learning the reports were falsified, he gives himself the powers of Superman. John and the Teen Titans attack LexCorp and bring him to justice with Natasha's help. Beast Boy offers Natasha membership in the Teen Titans, but she declines in favor of forming a new team with her uncle. Animal Man , Starfire , and Adam Strange are marooned on an alien planet after

12546-515: The prison and free Superwoman. Due to the interference of the Rogue Hunters, the Crime Syndicate failed to save Superwoman as the electric chair was activated. As the Rogue Hunters placed the shackles on the Crime Syndicate members, the domes fall around the cities as the Crime Syndicate breaks free. The Crime Syndicate soon found themselves fighting against Justice Legion Alpha from the 853rd Century's Metropolis. A Post- Crisis version of

12669-475: The restored Bat-Signal to call her back to work. Skeets is revealed to be Mister Mind , who has been using Skeets' metallic body as a cocoon to metamorphose into a gigantic, monstrous form that feeds on time itself. Rip Hunter and Booster escape to the end of the Infinite Crisis and witness the secret creation of 52 identical parallel universes. Mister Mind intends to consume them. The Phantom Zone

12792-434: The same secret identities, same basic origin stories, and largely similar supporting casts as their modern day counterparts. For this reason, these particular Golden Age heroes, and some others, had to be removed from the history of the new, unified timeline. This also meant the canon of several recent All-Star Squadron stories was now questionable, since the Golden Age versions of those same heroes made multiple appearances in

12915-470: The scene, adamant that she has never given birth, it is revealed that the superpowered infant is actually a reborn Brainiac from the antimatter universe, defeated by Ultraman in the Earth-2 story. Brainiac's sentience is eventually dispersed and the villains return home to sort out their differences. The Crime Syndicate reappear and lay waste to the planet Qward out of boredom. During their decimation of

13038-496: The second season, inter-dimensional breaches are made between Earth-One and Earth-Two , and 52 separate portals are located. All-Star Squadron The All-Star Squadron is a DC Comics superhero team that debuted in Justice League of America #193 (August 1981) and was created by Roy Thomas , Rich Buckler and Jerry Ordway . Although the team was introduced in the 1980s, its self-titled series took place in

13161-416: The series are collected, with commentary from the creators and other extras, into four trade paperbacks : All 52 issues were also available in the 52 Omnibus hardcover (1,216 pages, November 2012, ISBN   978-1401235567 ). The collection has also been made available in a two-volume edition that includes bonus material after each chapter: Other connected collections include: Taking advantage of

13284-728: The series since its start, became the series regular penciler starting with issue #19 (March 1983). He and Thomas then co-created the Infinity, Inc. team, introducing it in All-Star Squadron #25 (Sept. 1983). All-Star Squadron #31 (1984) featured the group's first "full roster" general meeting, taking place at their headquarters. The All-Star Squadron HQ was depicted as the Trylon and Perisphere , actual structures in Flushing Meadows , Queens, New York, constructed for

13407-422: The series. To clear the slate after Crisis on Infinite Earths and re-launch the franchise, All Star Squadron ended with issue #67 and the series was succeeded by Young All-Stars . Since then, the All-Star Squadron has appeared in sporadic stories published by DC Comics. Article X was used again during the crossover Final Crisis when Earth's superheroes needed to unite against the forces of Darkseid and

13530-561: The story defeat and imprison the Syndicate and free the slaves, the antimatter Earth falls into chaos. In Justice League of America (vol. 2) #43, Doctor Impossible and his cohorts use extra-dimensional superhero the Blue Jay to open up a gateway to the Multiverse. Owlman, Ultraman, and Superwoman are briefly seen standing atop a building, with shadows obscuring most of their identifying marks, thus making it unclear which versions they are. The full Crime Syndicate members later appear with

13653-421: The team, simply known as the "Crime Syndicate" (not 'of America'), was eventually introduced. This Post- Crisis version (revealed in 1992's Justice League International Quarterly #8) was composed of Qwardians (residents of the antimatter counterpart of Oa ) as well as being "more powerful than their counterparts", they are shown to be different from the Earth-Three incarnation by their enlarged eyes, resembling

13776-427: The time when they are looking for Batman's kryptonite ring. Grid also informs them that the ring has released a pulse that was sensed throughout the Multiverse. Knowing the creature that destroyed their world has found them, Ultraman orders the Syndicate to regroup and heads to Maine with them. Batman, Lex Luthor and their team arrive at the fallen Watchtower and go in search of the kidnapped Dick Grayson ( Nightwing ) and

13899-527: The trip to Prime Earth) and two new members: Atomica , who had posed as the Atom while working as a mole for the Secret Society, and Grid , a sentient computer virus in a robot body made from Cyborg 's old prosthetic parts. The Sea King, however, awakens after his body is placed at the bottom of the ocean. After Power Ring fell in battle against Sinestro, Grid informs Ultraman and Superwoman about it at

14022-437: The venerable Plastic Man , whose series in [ Adventure Comics ] was just folding..." When Rich Buckler left the series after the fifth issue, editor Len Wein hired artist Adrian Gonzales as a replacement and notified Roy Thomas with a note stating "You're going to like Adrian Gonzales". He drew the series for 13 issues, during which the team had a crossover with the Justice League of America . Jerry Ordway, who had inked

14145-527: The world dealt with the disappearance of the "big three" heroes in the DCU, Superman , Batman , and Wonder Woman . As the series went on, it became more of a platform for which to set the stage for upcoming storylines in the DC Universe. A backup story titled History of the DC Universe appears in Weeks 2 through 11, with the creative team of Dan Jurgens and Art Thibert . Reminiscent of DC's earlier History of

14268-406: Was during the Earth-Two visit to the past that the JLA teamed up with America's superhero team of that era, the All-Star Squadron . The heroes succeeded in stopping Per Degaton and the CSA before their evil plan could be set in motion, effectively wiping these events from existence and everyone's memory. Earth-Three and the original CSA were destroyed, along with the rest of DC's parallel worlds, in

14391-421: Was interred after his murder at the hands of Joker during the finale of Infinite Crisis . It is revealed that the Syndicate members were working with Doctor Impossible in order to create a machine that could resurrect the dead, hoping that they could revive Luthor and force him to undo the damage he had dealt to the Crime Syndicate's world. Just as the machine is to be activated, Doctor Impossible double-crosses

14514-426: Was put on "trial" by Owlman, who then had him incinerated by Ultraman as a favor. Superman/Batman Annual #1 (2006) details Superman and Batman's first encounter with Ultraman and Owlman. Set years before Superman and Batman knew each other's secret identities, a vacationing Clark Kent, Bruce Wayne, and Lois Lane meet Ultraman, Owlman, and Superwoman when the villains appear on a cruise ship. This story also features

14637-476: Was rebooted again during 2011's Flashpoint . Meanwhile, the antimatter CSA made their next appearance in Trinity . Here, it is revealed that the Syndicate have gained control of their Earth again and have been abducting people from throughout all of the individual 52 universes in the current positive matter Multiverse to use as slave labor to repair their damaged Earth. After the hyper-powered Trinity heroes of

14760-453: Was returned to his limbo prison. On one occasion, the entire CSA were released by the time travelling villain Per Degaton when he was caught up in a time storm and stumbled upon their limbo prison. He freed them and they reluctantly agreed to help him take over his homeworld of Earth-Two in his present time of 1942 by stealing nuclear missiles from the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis of Earth-Prime . When they inevitably tried to double-cross him,

14883-474: Was the first comic book superhero team and became the main feature of All Star Comics until it was canceled with issue #57 in 1951. Writer Gerry Conway revived the All Star Comics series in 1976, continuing the original numbering by starting with issue #58. By this time, DC had established that its modern day adventures took place in the universe of Earth-One, whereas DC's Golden Age stories during

15006-433: Was the one hero to appear in every Golden Age issue of the original All Star Comics series , including the two issues that predated the formation of the Justice Society of America. Although Hawkman did not appear in every issue of the second All Star Comic series, Roy Thomas wanted to create a new streak for the character in All-Star Squadron . The artwork for issue #49 was printed without Hawkman's cameo included, making it

15129-525: Was to later have the younger members star in a spin-off series of their own, forming a team that could be called the All-Star Squadron. Management at DC worried that the team's name would be abbreviated as A.S.S., and so the group's name was changed to the Super Squad. A team known as the All-Star Squadron debuted years later in a special insert in Justice League of America #193 (August 1981). The team's official series All-Star Squadron then began

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