In the wake of the battle with Starbreaker, an Alien plant has emerged in Central City! Backup stories featuring the Sandman and the Atom.
"Seeds Of Destruction!"
Following their epic battle against Starbreaker (issues #96 - #98), the clean up operation begins in earnest. However, as Black Canary in Central City and Green Lantern in Southern California lend a hand in said clear up, they both find themselves suddenly attacked by mysterious plants which seem to have grown from nowhere and are now choking the life out of them. (The plant faced by GL is yellow, of course!)
Receiving simultaneous emergency signals, Hawkman, who is on monitor duty in the JLA Satellite 22,300 miles above the earth, arranges for all available members to go to the assistance of their colleagues.
Green Lantern power rings some heaters to make his captor dry up, but just as he is about to be released, his power ring runs out of juice. Fortunately, Batman appears and with a couple of heat pellets keeps up the pressure and the two heroes are soon heading towards the source of their problems.
At this point, we flashback several hours and are introduced to Bur Sed and Ker Sed, an alien father and son who have seen the amount of pollution upon the earth and have taken it upon themselves to introduce the necessary amount of plant life to restore a natural balance to the world. In no time, this well - meaning duo cause chaos by producing plant life almost everywhere, bringing traffic to a standstill. When the JLA in the form of Black Canary and GL try to do something about it, they find themselves under attack - which is where we came in.
While Batman has been helping Green Lantern, the Flash and the Atom come to the assistance of Black Canary. Becoming microscopically small, the Atom invades the plant's vital cells, enough for the plant to release its hold on Black Canary. Immediately, the Bird of Prey launches an attack on Ker-sed, but the alien is protected by a force-field. Meanwhile, the flash is causing a super-speed vacuum in order to snuff out the lives of the destructive plants in their midst.
Suddenly, Ker-sed uses his power staff to intercept the powerful vortex that the Flash has whipped up and redirects it elsewhere. The scene then changes to Aquaman, who, along with his friends from the deep, are trying to control an oil spill which is about to ruin an area of natural beauty. As they do so, out of nowhere comes a mighty wind so powerful that it confuses the fish and leaves a track of dirt where there was once water. A miffed king of the sea contacts Hawkman for some answers.
We now rejoin Batman and Green Lantern as they meet Bur-sed, and despite the best efforts of his power ring mallet, Green Lantern finds he cannot penetrate the force-field which surrounds the alien. Batman's laser beams and Green Lantern's power beams have little effect upon the plant life around them, and Bur-sed deflects their powers, just as Ker-sed had done previously. While all this is going on, Superman is placing a brand new waste disposal building unit to its designated site. As he does so, he has to reconstruct much of the building as it comes under attack from Green lantern's displaced power beams. At this point Hawkman has seen enough and calls an urgent meeting of the JLA in their Satellite HQ.
As the heroes swap stories, and Hawkman twitters on about how Sargon the Sorcerer is now an honorary member of the JLA and how it will soon be time for their annual meeting with the JSA, the Atom brings everyone's attention back to the problem at hand. As he does so, Batman announces that he has deduced the Ker-sed and Bur-sed are using the JLA Satellite to bounce the powers of the JLA from one place to another. Racing back into action, Superman is the first to attack Bur-sed, and as he does so, Hawkman begins to move the Satellite. However, Superman's powerful blow causes a rock slide, which the Flash has to divert from a village somewhere in Eastern Asia. Deducting that soundwaves can penetrate the force-field of Ker-sed, the Atom follows their sound and lands a blow upon the alien's cheek. At that moment, Bur-sed arrives, and, using the deflected powers of the Flash, he literally blows the Atom away. Time and again the Leaguers attack, but try as they might, and try as he might to move the Satellite away from the reflective beams of Bur-sed and Ker-sed, Hawkman finds he cannot do so, and the JLA find themselves causing more harm than good.
At Batman's suggestion, the JLA approach the aliens and announce their intention to help them spread their seeds. As they set off to do so, Green Lantern lulls them into a false sense of security and suddenly captures their power staffs. Not only are these the source of the alien's power, but they have been helping them to breathe on earth. Realizing that they cannot breathe in this artificial over-planted environment that they have helped create, the aliens agree to teleport back to their own world if their staffs are returned. The JLA obliges, but not before Green lantern tears them off a strip for their interference. The story ends with a note of relevance as the author points out we breathe again, but..."For how long?"
The Sandman
This story was originally published in Adventure Comics #51 (June,1940). A plot summary for this story can be found at the link.
"Terror Rides The Rails!"
This story was originally published in Flash Comics #98 (August, 1948). A plot summary for this story can be found at the link.
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