The Massive, Extravagant, Over-the-top Golden Age JSA Re-read

Replies

- The Baron > Captain Comics May 28, 2026 at 12:52pm
  
  I'm no expert in human physiology, but I feel that Hawkman shouldn't be beating people up so soon after being shot in the shoulder.
Captain Comics May 28, 2026 at 1:25pm

IRL, Hawkman wouldn't be able to stand after being shot in the shoulder, and might die without immediate medical intervention. The worst of it must have been deflected by plot armor.
- Eric L. Sofer > Captain Comics May 28, 2026 at 1:45pm
  
  Oh, it's Hawkman. It was just a flesh wound. Y'know, the way he and Batman and Robin are covered with nicks and scrapes and flesh wounds. Beats taking one in the wing, I guess.
Philip Portelli May 28, 2026 at 1:43pm

Nowadays Hawkman's recovery would be attributed to his Nth metal. But back then, did they even mention how Hawkman can fly after the first few issues?

Johnny Thunder became one of the JSA's lifelong bachelors as he lost Daisy Darling. At least they never bothered to kill her off!
Commander Benson May 28, 2026 at 5:08pm
Some celebrities avoided service, but people like Lombard, Gable, Benny Goodman and Jimmy Stewart stood up when it counted.

The celebrities who served that impressed me most were fellows like James Stewart, David Niven, Robert Montgomery, Ted Williams, and Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. They were the guys who didn't go into uniform just to sell war bonds or do training films. Rather, they were in the thick of things, risking their lives in combat and taking an active part in planning and operations. One should look at Fairbanks' wartime record---there are few military men, then or since, who racked up the wartime performance that Fairbanks did (with the U.S. Navy, I'm pleased to say).

(Here's a list of his war decorations:
- Silver Star
- Legion of Merit
- American Defense Service Medal with "A" device
- American Campaign Medal
- European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal
- World War II Victory Medal
- Naval Reserve Medal
- Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire, 1949 [KBE, United Kingdom]
- Knight of the Order of St John [KStJ, United Kingdom]
- Knight of the Legion of Honor [France]
- Officer of the Order of the Southern Cross [Brazil]
- Distinguished Service Cross [United Kingdom]
- Croix de Guerre, 1939–1945 with bronze palm [France]
- War Cross for Military Valor [Italy]
- Federal Cross of Merit, Commander's Cross [West Germany])
And Jimmy Stewart's war service came damn close to that. That's why, after the war, he became the first military reservist to achieve general/flag rank as a brigadier general in the U.S. Air Force Reserve.

One has to admire these folks' courage and sense of patriotism and duty. They had exceptional film careers, lives of comfort and wealth; yet, they were willing to set it all aside to go into combat, knowing that they might be killed, maimed, or disfigured and lose it all. They could've gotten exemptions or taken safe desk jobs, but they didn't. They weren't "Jimmy Stewart" or "Douglas Fairbanks" for the duration, but just military men doing a tough, ugly, dangerous job, just like the thousands of others in uniform who nobody ever heard of.

And, of course, I'm talking about the fellows who were famous stars at the time of the war. There were lots more who served valiently who didn't become famous actors until after the war.

I salute them all.
Captain Comics May 29, 2026 at 12:51pm
FEBRUARY 16, 1942

All-American Comics #37, April 1942, All-American Publications Inc.
Cover by Marty Nodell and Irwin Hasen

Green Lantern
By Bill Finger and Marty Nodell (13 pages)

Alan Scott runs into Fog Blake, a pilot who is suicidal because he was accused of killing everyone on his last flight — a flight that included many scientists, including Professor Blau, Professor Vogt, Professr Steinholtz and Professor Caspar. Steinholtz was chief engineer at APEX, and a friend of Alan Scott's. Scott offers to hear Blake's version of events, which is that he blacked out at the controls and woke up in the ocean in a parachute. The plane crashed, and the bodies aboard were too burned to be identified. (There is no mention of a co-pilot.)

Green Lantern then runs into some bank robbers with sound guns that make men pass out. He remembers Steinholtz was working on such a thing, and goes to the scientist's laboratory for clues. Naturally, there is one, that is conveniently written down for GL to find: Steinholtz was suspicious of Caspar. They go to Caspar's house, and eavesdrop. Caspar is there alive, and is running a spy ring, and plans to sabotage an aircraft factory that night. Since he's one of the scientists who "died" on Blake's flight, it casts doubt on the whole narrative.

GL, Doiby and Blake break up the sabotage, but not before Caspar notes Green Lantern's weakness to non-metals. Blake and Doiby are captured and put on a plane to a hidden airfield, and GL follows. Blake and Doiby meet all the "dead' scientists, who are being worked as slave labor to create weapons for Caspar, and learn the story of the faked airplane crash. GL arrives at the hidden airfiled, but is overcome by something wooden. Blake and Doiby are hypnotized. But Doiby resists the hypnosis and fights Caspar, giving GL time to recover. Then the gang is rounded up.

Where I read it: Golden Age Green Lantern Archives Vol. 2 (2002)

Takeaways: Doiby's malapropisms and neologisms are emphasized this issue more than I remember being the norm.

Errata:

I neglected to add this quote when Doiby learned GL was Alan Scott back in issue #35. Better late than never!

"Doiby, like all characters in comics, was not quite bright enough to recognize his best friend behind the Halloween mask, so Bill [Finger] wrote an early story in which the Green Lantern is unmasked," Jerry Bails wrote in Golden Age Green Lantern Archives Vol. 2. "From that point on, Doiby shared Alan Scott's secret, and for reasons unexplained, GL's first girlfriend, Irene Miller, was to be kept in the dark. Don't ask me why. Maybe Bill bought the old stereotype that women couldn't keep secrets, or that men whould have some secrets they keep from women. Whatever the reason, throughout the Golden Age, Green Lantern, like Batman, would never make confidantes of his girlfriends. That was more likely to happen with Hawkman, Sandman and Dr. Fate, all characters under the creative control of Gardner Fox."

This was written before Scott was retconned as a gay man, so Bails may look like he's anticipating that revelation. But I seriously doubt he meant anything of the sort and, after all, Bruce Wayne is still straight. But I will add that I like Doiby being a sidekick in the know. Stories run more smoothly, and Doiby is kept in the action — where, it must be said, he is pretty useful.

Fun Facts:
- When GL awakes and helps Doiby in his fight with Caspar, he says "keep 'em flying!" That's a pretty good context.
- When Blake is suspected of being a coward, his girlfriend rejects him. When he is cleared and gets his license back she returns. I dunno. Would you want her back? I'm not sure I would — she's not exactly a "for better or for worse" type.
The Atom
By Bill O'Connor, Ben Flinton and Leonard Sansone (6 pages)

Al has saved up $150 to buy a convertible. On the way to the dealership, he witnesses a car wreck where he notes oil-soaked sawdust has been packed into the transmission of one of the cars. "That's a trick used by crooked car dealers — well, it better not be tried on me!" He and the salesman go for a test drive, and Al drives to Joe Morgan's "health camp outside of Calvin." Joe gives a thumbs down on the car, despite the saleman's counter-arguments. On the way back, the car's brakes fail and Al drives off a cliff to avoid hitting a child. The salesman jumps out successfully and runs away. Al jumps out and catches a tree in the cliff. He decides that putting death traps like the convertible on the road is akin to murder, and decides to pay a visit to the dealership as The Atom. He discovers they think Al Pratt is dead and are clearing out. He beats up the boss' two underlings and threatens the boss, who calls the poice and confesses to murdering Pratt. "There's no evidence of any murder," one cop says, "but there's plenty to show they were swindling people into buying worthless junks."

Where I Read It: Online

Atom Bucks Watch:
- Lots to chew on here. Al has to save up to buy a car, so he's not independently wealthy. But he can save up, so he's got an income. Either he has part-time jobs, or as one Legionnaire has suggested, he has a trust fund of some kind that pays out on a regular basis. We have yet to learn anything about his parents.
- Also, the abandoned farm Al used in his first adventure is apparently now Joe Morgan's health camp. I seem to have a vague memory of that being mentioned, so it's not entirely a surprise. But it means that Al no longer has this property, making him less wealthy than he was before. We just don't know that was!
- And did he get his $150 back?
Fun Facts: Al tells Joe to "keep 'em flying" as they drive away. As Joe just did Al a favor, it works for me as a thank you and a salutation.

Doctor Mid-Nite
Untitled is by Charles Reizenstein and Stan Aschmeier (8 pages)

War profiteers at a munitions company anticipate great profits, until the company's president, N.N. Osgood, says they're going to fulfill the contracts at cost as a patriotic duty. They plan to rub Osgood out with some foreign agents they hire to shoot him outside his home, but Myra and Dr. McNider happen to be driving by, and McNider's ability to see in the dark takes in the scene and comes to the right conclusion. He pretends to faint and steers the car into the car with the hoodlums. The cops arrive, see the guns, and take the agents away.

Foiled there, the profiteers hire an actor to play an Army colonel and pretend to review the contracts. Then they all go out for drinks, and they get Osgood drunk. Then they frame him for "killing" the colonel. Dr. Mid-Nite sees enough of this to understand the plot, and frames the profiteers for the "murder" instead, convincing them the colonel really is dead. "Not having a real case" Dr. Mid-Nite forces them to sign confessions and then puts them on a boat to South Africa.

Where I Read It: Online.

Takeaways: It's a strange day when the Atom story is more interesting than the Dr. Mid-Nite story.

Fun Fact: Mid-Nite tells Osgood to "keep 'em flying." That works, since he's a defense contractor, who presumably makes things that fly.

Continuing: Hop Harrigan, Red Tornado and Scribbly, Red White and Blue, Sargon the Sorcerer.
Captain Comics June 2, 2026 at 8:37am
FEBRUARY 16, 1942

Action Comics #47, April 1942, Detective Comics Inc.
Cover by Fred Ray. It's lifted from a panel in the story.

Superman
"Powerstone"
By Jerry Siegel and John Sikela (13 pages)

Luthor gains super-strength from a self-created electrical treatment, but he's not as powerful as Superman. He needs the Powerstone, which he later describes to Superman as "a stone from another planet with properties that will give me powers as great as, even greater, than yours!" As if in evidence, Luthor robs a bank and Superman stops him. The police intervene, and Luthor escapes.

Luthor devises a strange and elaborate scheme to get Superman to get the Powerstone for him. First, he finds a "young man with great wealth." That turns out to be Brett Calhoun, possessed of $6 million. Unbeknownst to the public, Luthor threatens Calhoun until he announces he will give half his fortune to anyone who can prove he is the wealthiest man in Metropolis. Contestants must pony up $100,000 at the door and IDs will be kept secret. The billionaires arrive, and Lois indulges in a little light breaking and entering to spy on the proceedings. Each of the billionaires is required to declare why he wants the money. Then Luthor arrives and announces that they're all going to be ransomed (and he's keeping the entry money, becasue he's just greedy). Superman arrives, but Luthor threatens to kill Lois with electricity unless Superman gets the Powerstone. (It took a while, but he got there.)

The Powerstone is in the "lost mountain of Krowak in Skull Valley." Evidently, people who have gone there have never returned. Superman plows into the mountain, and faces various threats (lava, hypnotic snakes, fire) before finding a lost civilization that is enslaving the explorers who went missing. He grabs the Powerstone, splits the mountain in two and rescues the enslaved men. He gives the Powerstone to Luthor, who declares he is more powerful than Superman now, and is going back on his word: He's going to keep the billionaires for ransom. He dismisses Superman, saying he could blast him out of existence, but "it will be much more interesting to observe your helplessness while I secure mastery of the world!"

Well, maybe not. Superman gave him a fake Powerstone, because he's not an idiot. (That's Johnny Thunder's job.) They battle, and Luthor's electrical charge wears off. Superman rounds up Luthor's gang and flies off, hinting to Lois that Clark is going to scoop her.

Takeaways:
- We're never given any reason Luthor couldn't continue the electrical treatment in future stories. He wouldn't be as powerful as Superman, but he'd be much more powerful than most people, which would be handy. Although there is a sequel to this story, where electricity comes into play.
- Maybe there are side effects. Luthor does, inexplicably, have fangs throughout the story.
- When the billionaires give their reasons for wanting more money, the reasons are awful. And they sound a lot like our country's oligarchs today, which makes me queasy.
- A not-rich guy tricks his way in. He says, "What would I do with the three million if I had it? I'd exterminate the whole filthy lot of you!" I suspect a lot of people feel that way even today.
- At least these oligarchs are concerned about appearances. When they demand they still get the three million dollars — despite a brush with death, they're still greedy — Lois says they'll forget Calhoun's pledge or she'll tell the world what they said in the meeting. They clam right up.
- The lost civilization is a throwaway bit that only takes up a panel or two. That would be three issues in a nine-issue event in today's decompressed storytelling.
- Superman might have captured Luthor during the bank robbery, but the police arrive and shoot at Superman. He stops fighting Luthor to send them on their way. It's a clumsy way to extend the story, as A) I don't think Superman was wanted by the police at this time, and B) he could've just ignored them and captured Luthor anyway.
Where I read it: Superman: The Action Comics Archives Vol. 3 (2001)

Related: Jeff of Earth-J's Superman from the Beginning.

Continuing: Vigilante, Three Aces, Mr. America and Fat Man, Congo Bill, Zatara
Philip Portelli June 2, 2026 at 12:36pm

I read the Powerstone stories in Superman #252 (Ju'72) so when it inspired a major story arc in All Star Squadron in 1983, I was all Steve Rogers "I understand that reference" mode like when Tarantula was revived!

It always struck me odd that comics are more likely to portray the wealthy as miserable, untrustworthy people while making a good percentage of their superheroes wealthy!

Maybe there was a class war in the JSA!
- The Baron > Philip Portelli June 2, 2026 at 1:41pm
  
  I always figured that they had to be rich because Joe Lunchpail was too busy working for a living to fight crime as well
Captain Comics June 3, 2026 at 10:54am
FEBRUARY 17, 1942

More Fun Comics #78, April 1942, Detective Comics Inc.
Cover by George Papp

Doctor Fate
By Gardner Fox and Howard Sherman (10 pages)

A crime boss (usually referred to as "Boss") has three of his men (Lefty, Duke and Trigger) melt down wax figures of Nero, Goliath, Jesse James and Captain Kidd in a wax musuem. The four surreptitiously take their place, and "come to life" during museum hours. They then proceed on a crime spree in character. (Boss is Nero, and just plays his lyre during the actual robberies.)

They try to rob the Grand Ball, which has Kent and Inza in attendance. Doctor Fate begins to wail on the three gangsters, but "Jesse James" uses his lariat as a noose and almost lynches him. Inza swipes a sword and cuts him down. The three escape, but take Inza since she seems to have a conncection to Fate. Fate uses his "magic crystal" (ball) to find Inza, and his ring glows when he is near (I guess that's the ring that glowed when near evil a few issues ago). But Boss is ready with a giant bell jar, which traps Fate, and a suction pump which pulls the air out so he will suffocate. Fate throws his keys, loose change, etc., into the suction tube and blows up the engine (which shatters the bell jar).

Fate's magic crystal tells him the "wax museum gang" will next strike at a party on the Van Richwater yacht that night, and goes to the police commissioner with a plan. When the gang strikes, Fate arrives with the police commissioner and two more men, dressed as King Arthur, Buffalo Bill and Lafayette. The good guys beat the bad guys, and a wax Doctor Fate is added to the museum.

Where I Read It: Golden Age Doctor Fate Archives Vol. 1

Best Line:
- Doctor Fate (to Captain Kidd): "I love my life, but oh you Kidd!"
Second Best Line:
- When Fate, the commissioner and his two men arrive in their costume at the yacht, Fate announces "Lafayette, we are here!" I wonder how many kids reading that knew Fate was quoting an officer with the American Expeditionary Forces standing before Lafayette's tomb in France in World War I. (I thought it was said by Gen. John J. "Blackjack" Pershing, but Wiki says it was a Col. Charles Stanton.)
Takeaways:
- Doctor Fate's new weakness is used more often than kryptonite. In this issue, he is nearly asphyxiated twice.
- The giant bell jar and vacuum is particularly noxious. Where did Boss get that kind of equipment, and install it, in the short time he had between ball and battle? How likely is it that he would twig to Fate's exact weakness from the lariat scene? What are the odds that Fate would step in exactly the right place for the jar to fall on him and trap him? (He came in through a wall, not the door, so it's not like his path was predictable.) Boss must have his own magic crystal.
- Since Fate has access to his keys and loose change, his costume must have pockets we can't see.
- Inza says, "I thought you were a goner this time." That's the second time there's been a reference to Fate's mortality. (The first was when he was nearly crushed by a giant while inside a painting.) I guess he's not immortal any more. (He still shrugs off bullets, though.)
- I think we all know now that the story about Nero fiddling while Rome burned isn't true. For one thing, fiddles weren't invented yet. For another, he was 45 miles away during the fire. And he actually responded rather well to the fire, opening his palaces to the homeless and organizing relief and rebuilding. But the myth was widely believed in the '40s, so Boss "fiddles" while his men rob places.
- How on earth did Fate convince the cops to play dress-up on a raid? Aside from being dangerous — they don't appear to be carrying their pistols — it would be a hard thing to explain to the mayor and city council. The commissioner would be dismissed for being a silly person.
- If Fate can use his crystal ball to know when a crime is going to happen, then he should be using that trick a little more often.
The Spectre
“The Magic Crimes”
By Jerry Siegel and Bernard Baily (10 pages)

Jim Corrigan and Percival Popp run into a stage magician named Kati Lugi in need of an assistant. He hires Popp, but in their first performance a glowing giant calling himself "The Glowing One" appears and distracts The Spectre before disappearing. A "Glowing One Gang" commits many robberies, and the description of one of the gang fits Percival Popp. The pair meet with Lugi, who says he may have accidentally summoned The Glowing One in his occult studies. Or not, he says. How useful.

Anyway, Corrigan and Popp are jumped by Glowing One Gang thugs, and Popp joins them, turning a gun on Corrigan. Spectre sees that Popp is hypnotized, and frees him. He sends him back to work for Lugi, telling him to keep an image of Spectre in his mind. Popp goes back to work, and Lugi immediately tries to hypnotize him. But thanks to Spectre, it doesn't work. Popp pretends it does, and is sent out to rob the audience. The Glowing One ("merely a clever illusion," says The Spectre, "an application of mass hynpnotism") appears when Lugi hits a switch. Which is not how hypnotism works, but OK. Spectre captures Lugi and takes him to the police station, along with Popp as a witness. The Chief tries to capture Spectre but fails. Corrigan teases the Chief that he failed to do what he keeps telling Corrigan to do, but the Chief says it's Corrigan's job, so, basically, shut up.

Where I Read It: Online

Takeaways:
- The adventure begins with Corrigan "out driving" with Percival Popp. "I've let you come along, Percival, only to convince you once and for all that I'm not interested in teaming up with you!" That would be a more convincing argument, Jim, if you didn't take Popp out driving.
- Spectre says "One-two-three O'Larry" while playing with crooks' bullets, and I had to look that one up. The internet says it's an old song. Or an old game. Which is Irish. Or Scottish. And it's sometimes spelled Aleerie. Or O'Leary. And sometimes it involves a ball. And sometimes it doesn't. So after many seconds of rigorous research, I'm not really sure what it is.
Continuing: Green Arrow, Radio Squad, Aquaman, Johnny Quick

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