As the JSAers go their separate ways after Mr. Terrific's funeral, Power Girl wonders why the team disbanded in 1951 and Huntress relates the story as she heard it in "The Defeat of the Justice Society!" Plus, more tales featuring the Flash, Deadman, and Aquaman!
"The Cloud with the Lethal Lining!"
The Flash races to stop a tornado, created by the Weather Wizard. To prevent his enemy's interference, the Weather Wizard rains hailstones down on the Flash. The tornado sucks up a parking lot full of rusted junk heaps, and moves off, to the outskirts of town, to deposit the cars at the city dump. The Weather Wizard proclaims that he's "gone straight". From this day forward he will only use his weather manipulating wand in the service of Central City. The Flash is skeptical of his old foe's new mission statement, and rushes the Weather Wizard to police headquarters. There, the Weather Wizard is forced to take a polygraph test to prove his truthfulness. The Weather Wizard passes the polygraph test with flying colors, but a radio report, regarding his tornado, seems to bear out the Flash's distrust. The Flash races, once again, to stop the tornado as it nears open farm country. The Flash arrives to find a massive black cloud of locusts approaching from the West. The Weather Wizard's tornado intercepts the locusts and funnels them high into the upper atmosphere. The Flash reluctantly apologizes to the Weather Wizard for his doubts. When flood waters threaten to overrun Blue Valley, the Weather Wizard arrives to convert the water into steam. When heat wave warnings go up in Central City, the Weather Wizard provides relief in the form of a temperature controlled summer shower. News reports, of increases in weather affecting sunspot activity, lead the Flash to suspect that the Weather Wizard, himself, may be affected. The Weather Wizard allows his gentle rains to escalate to monsoon intensity. After rescuing some children imperiled by the hazardous weather conditions, the Flash takes out his old foe and destroys the Weather Wizard's wand. Said act immediately ends the rainstorm and clears the skies over Central City. The Weather Wizard reverts to type, as soon as the sunspot activity decreases, and by week's end, is back behind bars.
"Never Say Die!"
Deadman looms over an old man, Abraham Gold, sitting on a park bench. After feeding the pigeons, Gold pulls a revolver from his pocket, and places the gun barrel at his temple. Deadman takes possession of a pigeon's body, and knocks the gun from Gold's hand. Believing it to be an act of God, Gold puts the gun away, and returns home. Gold finds his granddaughter, Sarah, alone in their brownstone apartment. His son, Jacob, arrives shortly thereafter. Gold scolds Jacob for abandoning Sarah, and demands that his son stop selling drugs to the neighborhood kids. Deadman follows as Jacob storms out. Jacob heads to the waterfront, and ponders his life. Ultimately, he decides to get out of the drug trade and be a better father to Sarah. Back in the apartment, Gold resolves to kill his son's employer, and sets off into the night. Jacob arrives at Mr. Caprice's houseboat, and demands to speak with him. Jacob hands Caprice an envelope filled with packets of heroin, and states his resignation. Caprice tells Jacob to reconsider his decision, as he knows too much about Caprice's organization to be allowed to leave. At that moment, Gold enters with weapon drawn. Deadman takes possession of Gold to keep the old man from becoming a murderer, allowing Caprice to murder Gold. At the death of his father, Jacob goes mad with grief. Deadman takes possession of Jacob, to better fight against Caprice and his men. Deadman/Jacob convinces Caprice that the crime lord's time is over. His prints on the murder weapon will send him away for the rest of his life. As the truth sets in, Caprice raises his weapon to his temple and commits suicide. Cradling his dying father in his arms, Jacob swears to redeem himself, as a grief stricken Deadman departs the scene in anguish.
"The Defeat of the Justice Society!"
Having attended the funeral services for Mr. Terrific, the members of the Justice Society, past and present, depart for their respective cities. Power Girl and the Huntress volunteer to stay behind, at headquarters, on monitor duty. After engaging in a friendly race, the Huntress relays the tale of why the Justice Society disbanded in 1951. A representative of Elimination's Inc., offered to destroy the Justice Society of America, for various organized crime figures. Acting as a representative of a private citizen's group, this man informed the Justice Society, via satellite, that they were to be rewarded. Encasing the team in a protective bubble, the Golden Age Green Lantern followed the satellite into space. It led them to a new headquarters, in permanent Earth orbit. Entering through the airlock, the team toured their new, state-of-the-art facility. In short order, the Justice Society were attacked and subdued, by robots manning the station. Each member was then placed in separate plastic sheaths, designed to negate their respective powers, while their headquarters broke orbit and departed for deep space. The Black Canary used corrosive acid to put a pinprick sized hole in the adjoining wall between her cell and the Golden Age Flash's. The famed speedster created a partial vacuum in his cell, resulting in an explosion that shattered his confinement. The Golden Age Flash then released his comrades. The Golden Age Green Lantern returned the team to Earth, while also tracking the satellite back to it's operator. Finding the man in collusion with a host of organized crime figures, the Justice Society made one of the largest busts of their careers. However, when the team turned all the criminals over to agents of the Department of Justice, they were asked first to wait, then handed subpoenas to appear before Congress. The team found itself under investigation by the Combined Congressional Un-American Activities Commission. Their association with their would-be killer was called into question, as the man was known to be a highly placed operative of a hostile foreign power. The Committee demanded the Justice Society reveal their secret identities in order to begin the process of clearing their good names. The Justice Society refused and immediately thereafter, the entire membership retired their costumed identities.
"Death on Ice"
Aquaman and Mera come under attack by amphibious Nazi snipers. Mera shields the duo with a hard water construct, while Aquaman commands octopi to ink the water, providing him with cover. Aquaman quickly takes the snipers out and turns them over to King Vulko, only to discover that the monarch of Atlantis has been replaced by a hologram. With Atlantis compromised, Aquaman and Mera journey to the Nazi's secret antarctic base to attack the threat at it's source. Aquaman and Mera follow heat vents on the surface to gain access to the Nazi base. Once inside, Aquaman discovers the hologram control room, and realizes to what extent the Nazi's have infiltrated his former kingdom. Mera leads Aquaman to another room, where Aquaman is stunned to discover that the Nazi leader, Helga, is still alive. It was only her clone that died in the assault on Atlantis. Helga reveals that Mera, too, is one of their holograms. Having entered their base through the heating ducts, Aquaman is greatly dehydrated and no match for Helga's guards. Aquaman is placed in an empty tank, with just enough water, trickling in from an adjoining tank, to keep him alive. Within the adjoining tank is seahorse, mutated into possessing pincers. Aquaman commands the seahorse to open the water flow into Aquaman's tank. With renewed strength and vitality, Aquaman breaks out of his tank. Aquaman assaults the main generator, which results in the flooding of the antarctic base. Mera, Vulko, and the Atlanteans meet up with Aquaman. Collecting the strange, mutated seahorse, Aquaman and company depart for Atlantis.
Notes:
- Ranked #66 in Wizard Magazine's list of "100 Best Single Issue Comics Since You Were Born".
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