Secret Society of Super-Villains #1

Attend or Die

In New York City, Captain Cold and Mirror Master are counting their haul after looting a jewelry store. A rock is thrown through their hotel room window with an invitation tied to it. In Gorilla City, Grodd is mid-prison escape when he's suddenly teleported away. Outside a penitentiary in upstate New York, Copperhead is greeted after a successful escape attempt by one of his henchmen with a new costume and an invitation to join a new secret society in San Francisco.

Sinestro uses his ring to disguise himself as a regular human. He has receieved an invitation via sub-space message to come to Sinister Citadel for the first secret society meeting. Inside the Citadel, he's greeted by the new Star Sapphire in her civilian identity. Sinestro is brought up the elevator to a parlor room filled with other supervillains.

Before the criminals can settle in, they are seemingly attacked by the Justice League. Some of the villains note that the heroes are behaving oddly, but put aside their confusion to focus on defeating their foes. Gorilla Grodd tackles Superman into a wall only to find the Man of Steel is a robot. In fact, all of the heroes are actually robots.

Manhunter enters the room while the villains are still reeling and introduces themselves as their host. He informs the gathered crowd that this was a practical display of the need for a secret society of supervillains to go up against the heroes. If they agree to join, they'll have access to the secret headquarters as well as the society butler, Carstairs. Captain Cold expresses disbelief, insisting the proposition is too good to be true. Manhunter concedes that there is a catch - they must prove themselves to their mysterious, anonymous financier.

Grodd and Copperhead are selected as the first to be tested. They're instructed to steal plutonium from a government lab in San Francisco Bay. Grodd distracts the guards while Copperhead attempts to obtain the plutonium sphere. Copperhead successfully takes out the lone scientist in the room that holds the device, but he's shot by a heavily injured guard while making his escape. He drops the sphere and slips into the water, begging Grodd not to leave him. Disgusted by his incompetence, Grodd abandons to be captured by police.

Back at the Citadel, Grodd tells Manhunter that Copperhead was left behind because he betrayed the Society.

Notes:

• First appearance of Paul Kirk III, a clone of the original Manhunter Paul Kirk.)