Identity Crisis #3 flashes back to a 3-part story in which the minds of five JLAers are switched with the minds of five members of the Secret Society of Super-Villains. It appeared in Justice League of America #s 166-68, May-July 1979, and in fact takes place two days after the funeral of Zatanna's mother, Sindella.
"The Long Way Home,” JLA #166, May 1979: Red Tornado’s on monitor duty at the JLA Satellite when the Wizard, Blockbuster, Plant-Master (a/k/a Jason Woodrue, the Floronic Man), Star Sapphire, and Professor Zoom attack. They’ve been trapped between Earth-2 and Earth-1 for the past 6 months until Zoom used his vibratory powers to free them. After taking out Reddy, they use the JLA transporter to go to Israel and pick up a magic griffin statue. Using the transporter triggers an alarm which brings five JLAers. They follow the Secret Society to Israel. They fight, and the villains win. Star Sapphire exposits that their life-forces are trapped between Earths. The life-forces will die unless the villains transfer their minds into the heroes’ bodies, which they do. The brain-switches are as follows: Wizard-Superman, Zoom-Green Lantern, Star Sapphire-Zatanna, Plant Master-Wonder Woman, and Blockbuster-Batman.
“The League That Defeated Itself,” JLA #167, June 1979: While Wizard/S and Zoom/GL squabble, the JLA tries to figure a way out of its Kryptonian-made cell. Remembering a flaw from when he built it, Supes/W gets GL/Z to pound one corner at super-speed, and the cell shatters. The villains have left, so the Leaguers reactivate Red Tornado. He thinks they’re evil, and fights them, but loses. A trip to a San Francisco prison lets GL/Z trick a villain named Hijack (former member of both the Royal Flush Gang and Secret Society) into giving up info about the Society’s new 'Frisco headquarters. The League goes there, but everyone except Zatanna/SS is felled by Green Arrow’s shock arrow. GA, Black Canary, Flash, Hawkman, and Elongated Man have joined up with the other “Leaguers,” but GA is suspicious.
“The Last Great Switcheroo,” JLA #169, July 1979: Zoom/GL imprisons the “Society” members (minus "Star Sapphire") in a power-ring diamond, chained and gagged. Green Arrow flashes back to reveal that “Superman” set up the ambush. Thanks to super-hearing, Wizard/S knows of GA’s suspicions. He throws the diamond towards the sun. The real Leaguers are shocked. Wiz/S says calm down, the other members discussed it before you got here, and besides I just put them into a solar orbit until they can be rehabilitated. This confirms for GA that “Supes” is an impostor.
Aboard the JLA Satellite, Red Tornado escapes the ice-prison “Sapphire” put him in last issue. He sees “Sapphire” arrive, but holds off blasting her. She says she’s Zatanna and passes out.
Wiz/S sets up the League to guard the “Nova Jewels,” ancient Aztec jewelry on loan from the Mexican government. The Leaguers split up, with Wiz/S flying over the city and Zoom/GL and Black Canary staying with the jewels. Once they’re alone, Zoom/GL kisses BC. She knees him in the crotch (!), judo-flips him, and yells “They’re imposters!” loud enough for GA to hear. GA takes out Saph/Z with a paralysis arrow (so she can’t talk). Blockbuster/B and Plant-Master/WW attack Flash, but he ties them up with the magic lasso. Wiz/S sees what’s going on with x-ray vision, but he’s downed by Supes/W’s magic. Later, aboard the satellite, Zatanna/SS switches everyone back.
This story looks like a pretty important part of Identity Crisis. In fact, JLA #168 contains an ad for Flash #275, out the same month, in which Iris Allen was murdered. This helps settle the chronology of events. However, there are still some problems, since Professor Zoom killed Iris. That most likely happened shortly after this story, because Zoom had been trapped between Earths for the past 6 months. (I know the parallel-Earth issue is gone now, but I would think it's been replaced with something similar.) Moreover, Identity Crisis' flashback doesn't have Flash beating the daylights out of Zoom. I haven't read the Flash story, but it adds an extra layer to both the JLA story and IC -- Zoom learns Flash's real identity (if he hadn't already), has it erased by Zatanna (according to IC) and still manages to kill Iris Allen not long afterwards. (I imagine that Zoom broke jail soon after the League left him with the authorities. Either that or this was a Zoom from another point in the timeline before the JLA story, which would really make my head hurt.) In that respect, Zatanna's mind-wipe only postponed the inevitable.
Nevertheless, Identity Crisis suggests (through Green Arrow's narration) that the Secret Society storyline took place before Iris' murder. I figure GA was trying to make a point. The Secret Society story immediately followed Sindella's death, but it was probably some years removed from Larry Lance's. Of those three deaths, both Larry's and Sindella's were sacrificial, and Iris' was the only murder. Thus, GA had to include Iris' death, or his argument would have fallen apart. Regardless, listing the two sacrifices alongside Iris' murder is jarring. Neither Larry nor Sindella were in positions to avoid sacrificing themselves, and neither of them could have been saved by the protection of their loved ones' secrets. In fact, it might have been the case that the time-traveling Zoom would have known Barry Allen's secret identity anyway. Is Brad Meltzer setting Green Arrow up for a fall, or is he unwittingly undermining his own plot, or both?
Speaking of Zoom, I'm not sure if this Star Sapphire was supposed to be Carol Ferris. (There was another Star Sapphire roaming around, and I thought she, not Carol, joined the Secret Society.) I don't think it was, because at that point Carol knew Green Lantern's secret identity. To further complicate things, I can't remember whether Carol's Sapphire remembered GL's secret. Still, that's another problem with the League's mind-wipes -- what if you're wiping the mind of the woman you love? (Carol may not be the best example of this, since she had other mental-health issues.)
There are a lot of JLA stories which have the Leaguers trade minds and/or bodies with villains or each other, and I am nowhere close to cataloguing them all. We'll see how IC plays with this theme in future issues.
Notes: To account for the current timeline, Identity Crisis substitutes Black Canary for Wonder Woman, I guess by default. (This would mean that someone else racked-up "GL" when he put the moves on her, and Hawkgirl is the only female member remaining.) The story still takes place before Sue’s rape because Zatanna is in her old costume. She didn't get the new one until much later, in JLA #187, February 1981. She also appeared in it in New Teen Titans #4, same month. Ironically, the new costume helped Flash figure out that "Zatanna" was an imposter. Another bit of irony -- in the JLA story, Wiz/S overhears Green Arrow voicing his suspicions; and in IC, Supes overhears GA telling Wally about the mind-wipes. Finally, IC’s Daily Planet headline, "Switcheroo!," is a bit of fun with the last part’s title.
Credits: All stories written by Gerry Conway, pencilled by Dick Dillin, inked by Frank McLaughlin, and edited by Ross Andru.
"The Long Way Home,” JLA #166, May 1979: Red Tornado’s on monitor duty at the JLA Satellite when the Wizard, Blockbuster, Plant-Master (a/k/a Jason Woodrue, the Floronic Man), Star Sapphire, and Professor Zoom attack. They’ve been trapped between Earth-2 and Earth-1 for the past 6 months until Zoom used his vibratory powers to free them. After taking out Reddy, they use the JLA transporter to go to Israel and pick up a magic griffin statue. Using the transporter triggers an alarm which brings five JLAers. They follow the Secret Society to Israel. They fight, and the villains win. Star Sapphire exposits that their life-forces are trapped between Earths. The life-forces will die unless the villains transfer their minds into the heroes’ bodies, which they do. The brain-switches are as follows: Wizard-Superman, Zoom-Green Lantern, Star Sapphire-Zatanna, Plant Master-Wonder Woman, and Blockbuster-Batman.
“The League That Defeated Itself,” JLA #167, June 1979: While Wizard/S and Zoom/GL squabble, the JLA tries to figure a way out of its Kryptonian-made cell. Remembering a flaw from when he built it, Supes/W gets GL/Z to pound one corner at super-speed, and the cell shatters. The villains have left, so the Leaguers reactivate Red Tornado. He thinks they’re evil, and fights them, but loses. A trip to a San Francisco prison lets GL/Z trick a villain named Hijack (former member of both the Royal Flush Gang and Secret Society) into giving up info about the Society’s new 'Frisco headquarters. The League goes there, but everyone except Zatanna/SS is felled by Green Arrow’s shock arrow. GA, Black Canary, Flash, Hawkman, and Elongated Man have joined up with the other “Leaguers,” but GA is suspicious.
“The Last Great Switcheroo,” JLA #169, July 1979: Zoom/GL imprisons the “Society” members (minus "Star Sapphire") in a power-ring diamond, chained and gagged. Green Arrow flashes back to reveal that “Superman” set up the ambush. Thanks to super-hearing, Wizard/S knows of GA’s suspicions. He throws the diamond towards the sun. The real Leaguers are shocked. Wiz/S says calm down, the other members discussed it before you got here, and besides I just put them into a solar orbit until they can be rehabilitated. This confirms for GA that “Supes” is an impostor.
Aboard the JLA Satellite, Red Tornado escapes the ice-prison “Sapphire” put him in last issue. He sees “Sapphire” arrive, but holds off blasting her. She says she’s Zatanna and passes out.
Wiz/S sets up the League to guard the “Nova Jewels,” ancient Aztec jewelry on loan from the Mexican government. The Leaguers split up, with Wiz/S flying over the city and Zoom/GL and Black Canary staying with the jewels. Once they’re alone, Zoom/GL kisses BC. She knees him in the crotch (!), judo-flips him, and yells “They’re imposters!” loud enough for GA to hear. GA takes out Saph/Z with a paralysis arrow (so she can’t talk). Blockbuster/B and Plant-Master/WW attack Flash, but he ties them up with the magic lasso. Wiz/S sees what’s going on with x-ray vision, but he’s downed by Supes/W’s magic. Later, aboard the satellite, Zatanna/SS switches everyone back.
This story looks like a pretty important part of Identity Crisis. In fact, JLA #168 contains an ad for Flash #275, out the same month, in which Iris Allen was murdered. This helps settle the chronology of events. However, there are still some problems, since Professor Zoom killed Iris. That most likely happened shortly after this story, because Zoom had been trapped between Earths for the past 6 months. (I know the parallel-Earth issue is gone now, but I would think it's been replaced with something similar.) Moreover, Identity Crisis' flashback doesn't have Flash beating the daylights out of Zoom. I haven't read the Flash story, but it adds an extra layer to both the JLA story and IC -- Zoom learns Flash's real identity (if he hadn't already), has it erased by Zatanna (according to IC) and still manages to kill Iris Allen not long afterwards. (I imagine that Zoom broke jail soon after the League left him with the authorities. Either that or this was a Zoom from another point in the timeline before the JLA story, which would really make my head hurt.) In that respect, Zatanna's mind-wipe only postponed the inevitable.
Nevertheless, Identity Crisis suggests (through Green Arrow's narration) that the Secret Society storyline took place before Iris' murder. I figure GA was trying to make a point. The Secret Society story immediately followed Sindella's death, but it was probably some years removed from Larry Lance's. Of those three deaths, both Larry's and Sindella's were sacrificial, and Iris' was the only murder. Thus, GA had to include Iris' death, or his argument would have fallen apart. Regardless, listing the two sacrifices alongside Iris' murder is jarring. Neither Larry nor Sindella were in positions to avoid sacrificing themselves, and neither of them could have been saved by the protection of their loved ones' secrets. In fact, it might have been the case that the time-traveling Zoom would have known Barry Allen's secret identity anyway. Is Brad Meltzer setting Green Arrow up for a fall, or is he unwittingly undermining his own plot, or both?
Speaking of Zoom, I'm not sure if this Star Sapphire was supposed to be Carol Ferris. (There was another Star Sapphire roaming around, and I thought she, not Carol, joined the Secret Society.) I don't think it was, because at that point Carol knew Green Lantern's secret identity. To further complicate things, I can't remember whether Carol's Sapphire remembered GL's secret. Still, that's another problem with the League's mind-wipes -- what if you're wiping the mind of the woman you love? (Carol may not be the best example of this, since she had other mental-health issues.)
There are a lot of JLA stories which have the Leaguers trade minds and/or bodies with villains or each other, and I am nowhere close to cataloguing them all. We'll see how IC plays with this theme in future issues.
Notes: To account for the current timeline, Identity Crisis substitutes Black Canary for Wonder Woman, I guess by default. (This would mean that someone else racked-up "GL" when he put the moves on her, and Hawkgirl is the only female member remaining.) The story still takes place before Sue’s rape because Zatanna is in her old costume. She didn't get the new one until much later, in JLA #187, February 1981. She also appeared in it in New Teen Titans #4, same month. Ironically, the new costume helped Flash figure out that "Zatanna" was an imposter. Another bit of irony -- in the JLA story, Wiz/S overhears Green Arrow voicing his suspicions; and in IC, Supes overhears GA telling Wally about the mind-wipes. Finally, IC’s Daily Planet headline, "Switcheroo!," is a bit of fun with the last part’s title.
Credits: All stories written by Gerry Conway, pencilled by Dick Dillin, inked by Frank McLaughlin, and edited by Ross Andru.
2 comments:
Hi! just came across your blogg and I like your IDC article :)
Hello, I just asked over on CBR what the origin of the Society's knowledge of the JLA's secret IDs was... and viola! someone linked me to your nicely provided review of the three issues in question. I understand they had been in the quarter box until just this month or so, when IC connected to them, skyrocketing prices...$76 for all three according the the most recent Ebay pricing tonight! Sheesh! Anyway, thank you for the concise summary. What year were these three originally published?
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