Sargon the Sorcerer joins forces with the Justice Society in their battle against the Crime Champions. The Flash and Hourman take on Chronos and the Fiddler; Red Tornado and the Huntress fight Dr. Alchemy and the Icicle; and Power Girl and Sargon tackle Felix Faust and the Wizard.
Meanwhile, the Thunderbolt recounts for Starman and Black Canary the secret of her true origin. Johnny Thunder and Black Canary had been crime-fighting teammates at the start of her career, until Johnny decided to forgo the use of his T-Bolt and Black Canary eventually took his place in the JSA. Larry Lance became Dinah Drake’s boyfriend, and after the Justice Society disbanded in the 1950s, the two were married and had a daughter, also named Dinah. When the child was still an infant, however, the Wizard, seeking revenge on Black Canary, cast a spell giving the baby uncontrollable sonic powers, and the tearful parents allowed the T-Bolt to take the child to his home dimension, where her power would do no harm. The Thunderbolt then caused everyone to forget what had happened. His story is interrupted at this point, as the Earth-2 Johnny Thunder frees himself and overcomes his counterpart, thus allowing the T-Bolt to revive the JLA heroes, who join the fight against the Crime Champions, with the result that the villains are soundly beaten.
Superman and the Spectre then appear in the Thunderbolt Dimension to complete the tale of Black Canary’s beginnings, as it is revealed that the original Canary had died shortly after her husband (in JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #74), and that the Black Canary who joined the Justice League was actually the child Dinah Lance, now grown to adulthood, able to control her sonic powers, and imbued by the T-Bolt with her mother’s memories.
On Earth-1, the Justice Society of America, along with the Red Tornado, prepare to confront the Crime Champions. Before they can, they are confronted by Sargon, the Sorcerer. After defending himself against rash attacks from the Huntress, Power Girl, and the Red Tornado, Sargon, the Sorcerer, offers his aid. Sargon, the Sorcerer, reveals that Jim Corrigan, the host body of the Spectre, has been struck down by the Thunderbolt. The same culprit who has incapacitated the entire Justice League of America. The Justice Society of America, along with the Red Tornado, and Sargon, the Sorcerer, split into teams of two to confront the Crime Champions.
In the Thunderbolt Dimension, the evil Johnny Thunder, of Earth-1, holds his Earth-2 counterpart captive, along with the Black Canary, and the Starman. Thunder reveals a glass coffin, holding the lifeless corpses of private detective, Larry Lance, and a second Black Canary. Thunder has usurped control of the Thunderbolt, from his Earth-2 counterpart. The Thunderbolt explains himself. Once upon a time, the Black Canary, Johnny Thunder, and his Thunderbolt, had been crime-fighting partners. Unbeknownst to all, a powerful shaman had hexed the Thunderbolt, preventing it from responding to all of Thunder's summonings.
Fed up with the inconsistency of the Thunderbolt's appearances, Thunder banished the Thunderbolt, in favor of a closer partnership with the Black Canary. Eschewing his command of the Thunderbolt, while possessing no real crime-fighting skills, Thunder soon resigned his membership in the Justice Society of America. The Black Canary took his place. Soon after, the Black Canary began a romance with Lance, leaving Thunder, and all his unrequited feelings of love for her, out in the cold. In bitterness, Thunder walked away from the Black Canary, the Justice Society of America, and crime-fighting.
Thunder was immediately abducted by the shaman, who sought control over the Thunderbolt. Thunder was rescued by the Golden Age Superman, mere days before the Justice Society of America disbanded. Now retired, the Black Canary married Lance. Years later, the Wizard called on the Black Canary, and cursed her infant daughter with an uncontrollable sonic scream. Having no one else to turn to, the Black Canary called on Thunder for aid. The Thunderbolt carried the Black Canary's infant daughter into the Thunderbolt Dimension, where her newfound powers could not be a threat to anyone.
Feeling it would be easier for all parties, the Thunderbolt implanted false memories in them, that the baby had died. The Thunderbolt's story leaves the Black Canary with several unanswered questions. The evil Thunder, though, interrupts, forcing them to turn their attention to the Justice Society of America's battle with the Crime Champions. The Golden Age Flash, and the Hourman, confront Chronos, and the Fiddler, in Mexico. Chronos places the Pyramid Of The Sun in a stasis field, and stops time, for miles, in all directions around it. The Hourman attacks, only to discover he is striking holographic images of his foes.
The Fiddler forces the Golden Age Flash, and the Hourman, to dance. The Huntress, and the Red Tornado, confront Doctor Alchemy, and the Icicle, in Egypt. Inexplicably, the pair of criminals have seized the Pyramid of Cheops. The Huntress takes out the Icicle, with a batarang, only to find herself sliding, uncontrollably, down an icy ramp. Doctor Alchemy maneuvers the Red Tornado into position, so the the Huntress' trajectory cause her to collide with the Red Tornado, downing them both. Power Girl, and Sargon, the Sorcerer, confront Felix Faust, and the Wizard, at Stonehenge.
A simple spell of illusion, cast by the Wizard, causes Power Girl, and Sargon, the Sorcerer, to accidentally battle against, and defeat, each other. The heroic Johnny Thunder entices the indigenous electrical lifeforms, of the Thunderbolt Dimension, to dissipate his gag. The villainous Thunder orders the Thunderbolt to murder the Black Canary, and the Starman. Able to speak again, the heroic Thunder belays that order, and takes possession of his Thunderbolt anew. The heroic Thunder beats the evil Thunder into unconsciousness.
Thunder orders the Thunderbolt to restore the Justice League of America, then render aid to the Justice Society of America, in defeating the Crime Champions. The Elongated Man, and the Silver Age Flash, help the Golden Age Flash, and the Hourman, defeat Chronos, and the Fiddler. Firestorm, the Nuclear Man, and the Silver Age Green Lantern, help the Huntress, and the Red Tornado, defeat Doctor Alchemy, and the Icicle. Zatanna helps Power Girl, and Sargon, the Sorcerer, defeat Felix Faust, and the Wizard. The Black Canary asks Johnny Thunder if the woman in the coffin is the daughter she never knew she had.
The Spectre, and the Silver Age Superman, arrive to answer the Black Canary's questions. After the death of her husband, Lance, the Black Canary chose to leave Earth-2, to start a new life on Earth-1. En route, the Black Canary succumbed to the same radiation that killed Lance. Dying, the Black Canary begged to see her daughter's grave, one last time. In suspended animation, the Black Canary's daughter, still very much alive, had grown to adulthood. The Thunderbolt transferred the mind, and the memories of the Black Canary to her daughter.
The Thunderbolt then erased all memory of the child from her mind, while leaving her memories of Lance intact. Thus, the Black Canary never knew that she was actually her mother's daughter, and not the Golden Age Black Canary, who fought alongside the Justice Society of America. Though the Justice League of America were never aware of the ruse, Superman, and the Justice Society of America, always knew the truth. The Black Canary makes her peace with the truth about herself, then bids a fond farewell to her parent' gravesite, before returning home.
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