The Justice League encounters "The Wheel of Misfortune" Amos Fortune creates a machine to drain all the good luck out of the Justice League. Can the Justice League overcome plain and simple bad luck?
The Justice League finds themselves trapped on "The Wheel of Misfortune!" Not only are Superman and Batman omitted from the cover of this issue, they are omitted from the entire story. It was editorial practice to use the World's Finest in a cameo role at this time, so that some of the lesser known heroes could be seen in action, and this time the rest of the JLA solve the case without their help.
The Splash page of this issue (a kind of inside cover, which showed a scene from further in the story) is almost a reproduction of the cover, with the criminal professor Amos Fortune gloating over his wheel of misfortune, which holds the members of the Justice League captive.
Surely our super heroes don't believe in bad luck? But when Aquaman encounters an ancient curse, Wonder Woman has her path crossed by a black cat, The Flash breaks a mirror, Green Lantern spills some salt, Green Arrow runs under a ladder and Martian Manhunter breaks a spiders web - and each JLAer then makes an uncharacteristic mistake in the carrying out of their duties, they begin to wonder. Present as an observer at each event has been the man known as Amos Fortune. Fortune believes he is responsible for the bad luck each JLA member has just encountered. Fortune has studied luck for years - eventually finding a formula he believes never fails - and has discovered that the human body can be controlled by stimulating the twin good luck and bad luck glands within them. Fortune has developed a Stimoluck - a scientific invention he uses to stimulate his own good luck and the JLA's bad luck.
When the JLA meet for their regular monthly meeting, the stories of their bad luck comes to the fore. As soon as they realise what has been happening, and reach the conclusion that someone could have planned the whole thing, they dismiss that particular idea and turn their attention to a couple of letters they have received.
Splitting into teams, Green Arrow joins the Flash and Jonn Jonzz to investigate a case of lost treasure while Aquaman, Wonder Woman and Green Lantern set out to catch an invisible thief. It is the former team who star in chapter 2 of "Wheel of Misfortune!" Reaching Deeping Farm, they are greeted by Hazel Deeping who has written to them of a treasure that has been hidden on her land for over 100 years. As the heroes set about searching for the hidden treasure, we turn back the clock one day and meet Amos Fortune again. Having had a dose of good luck on the horses and the stock market, Fortune visits the Farm and purchases the farm Gateposts. By now the JLA have solved the riddle of the hidden treasure and are emptying the coins as Fortune arrives to claim what is rightfully his. As Fortune drives away, he is staggered to hear that the Leaguers have found an Art Masterpiece, an oil well and a vein of Uranium on the grounds of the Farm. Hazel Deeping is reassured about her future, but Amos Fortune is bewildered - how can the JLA have had the good luck to find some treasure for the girl? Not satisfied with his "luck" theory, Fortune resolves to study the situation more.
Meanwhile, GL, Wonder Woman and Aquaman visit a museum where impossible crimes have been happening. Checking the museum, there seems to be no way that a thief could enter the building and commit the crimes that have been committed. Every precaution seems to have been taken, and Green Lantern seals the safe and covers the valuables with his power just to make sure. The JLA leave the building and observe what happens next. While this is happening, dawn breaks and we find Amos Fortune driving along when he suddenly stops and starts climbing a hillside. In moments he finds the cache of stolen museum artifacts. Turns out that the museum curator is also an expert fisherman and has used his skills to hook valuable goods from the museum while to all intents and purposes appearing to be fishing.
As the JLA capture him, they see Fortune fleeing with his find. Again, bemused by the luck that has allowed Aquaman, Wonder Woman and GL to find him, Fortune turns his Stimoluck device upon himself and manages to stun the heroes with a dose of Carbon Monoxide fumes. Fortune takes the heroes to his hideout and ties them to what he calls his Wheel of Misfortune. His plan is to eliminate the heroes' good luck glands and subsequently eliminate his own bad luck gland.
Flash, Green Arrow and Jonn Jonzz burst into Fortune's hideout and through a series of mishaps find themselves also attached to the Wheel of Misfortune. Having heard all of Fortune's plans as he spins his wheel. the Martian Manhunter suddenly bursts free. Despite Fortune's best efforts he can have no effect on Jonn Jonzz. As he captures the villain, Martian Manhunter points out that as a Martian he does not have the human good and bad luck glands so Fortune's weapons never worked on him. He may have been responsible for what happened to the other Leaguers at the start of the story, but what happened to him (Jonn) was pure coincidence and nothing to do with Fortune whatsoever.
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