Writer: Paul Levitz
Artists: George Perez(p), Bob Wiacek(i), Tom Smith(c),
Publisher: DC
Paul Levitz and George Perez recapture the magic of earth-two in a mostly stand-alone issue of JSA. Levitz was one of the architects of earth-two. He co-created with Joe Staton the Huntress; the one that actually had a purpose. George Perez really was not involved with All-Star Comics or All-Star Squadron, but he did have a hand in indelibly imprinting the JSA on Bronze Age fan brains through his illustration of the JSA's team-ups with the JLA. Needless to say these two produce something flawless. Consider this a pearl in the slimy muscle of Infinite Clams.
Levitz recreates the camaraderie between Superman and Batman. While re-establishing their friendship, he does not blend their voices or personalities, a common argument held by post-Crisis apologists. The differences between the heroes were already well established. The post-Crisis merely capitalized on them and made sometimes-subtle nuances to the characters more obvious.
Levitz reminds readers of the glory that was. He doesn’t do this through bombastic pyrotechnics involving the destruction of worlds or phallic symbols between the breasts. He opts for wit, characterization and daring-do.
The story begins with Power Girl and Ma Hunkle hunkering over the earth-two Lois Lane's notebook. Her shorthand relates the story of a time immediately after the JSA disbanded when Batman, Superman and two other Society members had to deal with one charming felon by the name of Gentleman Jim Craddock. Here again, Levitz does not succumb to postmodern tampering. Craddock kills nobody. He expects the heroes to save lives. He underestimates them, and while you never really can permanently defeat the Gentleman Ghost, the Society does their best to vanquish him.
In short, this blip on the radar of good writing and good artwork is a triumph and not a flashy one.
Welcome Back to Earth-Two, Kotter; Don't Get Used to It
Legend: E1(Earth One); E2(Earth Two); PC(Post Crisis); ICk(Infinite Crisis)
"Worlds live. Worlds die. You decide."--Possibly a reference to the 1-800-Kill-Jason Todd Scam that DC ran during the PC. That worked out well didn't it? This also could refer to Levitz's dismay over his creation the Huntress being killed off by Wolfman in the Crisis. So ticked off was Levitz, that he forced Wolfman to kill one of the characters he created--Kole. Good for Levitz. Incidentally all those emotional Huntress moments during the Crisis were provided solely by Perez and Ordway. Wolfman didn't like the Huntress.
Ma Hunkle (E2, PC)--The original Red Tornado; a comical, satirical figure who on E2 became an honorary member of the JSA. She was reintroduced briefly in the PC and has apparently become caretaker of the JSA HQ--more alphabet soup to come.
"Zee leetle window."--has gotten way bigger over the years. Perez during the Bronze Age drew Power Girl in a less pulchritudinous fashion. Wally Wood, Power Girl's co-creator, disliked "the leetle window" and preferred the sexier all white uniform. I tend to agree with him. This is however the PC hypersexualized Power Girl whose thoughts are now aligned with the E2 Power Girl. How this can be given that the Zero Hour rebooted everything from scratch I suppose is one of those "how many licks does it get to take to get to the center of a Tootsie Pop" mysteries.
Batman portrait on the wall--Time anomaly; ignore it.
"Oh, my. Lois Lane. I didn't know you were close."--poor Ma seems senile here, doesn't she? Actually her mind is running on a PC track.
The Trophy Room--Encased--middle: the half-helmet of Dr. Fate(E2), the cloth mask of Hawkman(E2); behind Wildcat mannequin: Zatarra's top hats(PC), Ma Hunkle's helmet(E2; PC); to the right: the Fiddler's fiddle(E2), Sportsmaster's mask and bat(E2)
Merry, the Girl of 1,000 Gimmicks (E2, PC)--mannequin situated next to the Atom's statue.
Huntress (E2,PC)--The villainous Huntress was married to the Sportsmaster. She is not related to the heroic Huntress of E2 or the generic Huntress of PC. Apparently she was also bedded by Wildcat to produce the Bronze Huntress in Geoff Johns' JSA. Basically, we can have any Huntress except Helena Wayne.
Wildcat II (E2, PC)--photograph next to Jay Garrick's picture; female super-hero introduced during The Crisis of Infinite Earths. Killed in the PC by Eclipso.
Alyn, Wilson, Lowery and Reeves Costuming--Kirk Alyn portrayed Superman in the cliffhangers. George Reeves of course was the first to portray him on television. Lewis Wilson and Robert Lowery portrayed the Batman in the cliffhanger serials. Nice one.
The Daily Star (E2) --Clark Kent and Lois Lane historically worked for George Taylor at The Daily Star before the paper's name and editor was changed.
House of Un-American Activities Committee--A very real Congressional organization that symbolizes Lord Acton's adage "power corrupts, absolute power corrupts absolutely." The HUAC became part of the shameful Red Scare Movement instigated by Senator Joseph McCarthy. Edward R. Murrow on See It Now exposed McCarthy as a bastard lacking a single cell of testicular tissue. McCarthy, who destroyed hundreds of innocent lives, died a stinking drunk, and if there's a hell, we can all hope that he's rotting there. The HUAC responsible for the Hollywood Blacklist disbanded in 1975. On E2, The HUAC headed by then Senator Richard M. Nixon demanded the JSA reveal their identities. The JSA told the HUAC to go screw themselves and instead dissolved the organization.
Gentleman Jim Craddock (E2, E1, PC)--Historically a golden age Hawkman foe. His E1 incarnation who pestered and later helped the silver age Hawkman and Hawkgirl is better known. In fact, I don't believe Craddock was actually ever seen on E2. Craddock also matched wits against the E1 Batman and was immortalized on The Super-Friends. Craddock made the transition to the PC, but here, things get murky. The silver age Hawkman and Hawkgirl who renamed herself Hawkwoman, despite meeting Superman and joining the Justice League of Giffin/DeMatteis/Maguire, were retconned out of existence by the Hawkworld of Jon Ostrander and Tim Truman. This led to some really far-fetched stretches of the imagination that still make little sense. Craddock was reintroduced in Geoff Johns' Hawkman series. This completes the cycle of insanity.
Duck and Cover--According to Cold War pundits, the best defense against the atom bomb. "Duck and Cover" was a popular jingle during the fifties. Filmstrips were made showing the efficacy of this defense. Crew-cut teenagers in ever so white-America dropped their whitebread sandwiches and dived under picnic tables. Poodle-skirted teens stopped their studies in homemaking to duck under the ironing boards. All absolutely useless. If a nuclear holocaust occurs, the best thing you can do is have as much sex as you possibly can. You're going to die anyway. Bomb shelters will be completely useless, and don't even think that that government leaders will somehow survive. They'll also die horribly, which is a comforting thought because they're the likely the sphincters that brought radioactive armageddon down on humanity. Ever see The Day After? It was too optimistic. Really. Orgy it up. All ages. All genders. You're going to die. Also see: Duct Tape in response to bioterrorism and Vogon Construction Fleet.
Superman's vulnerability to magic--not pertinent to the E2 Superman.
A Tale of Two Cities, The History of Gotham II--The theme is two, get it?
Kane Press--While stories differ, what can be said is that Bob Kane is the co-creator of Batman.
The Bat-Fan--I love the Bat-Fan :)
Statue of Anubis--Anubis was the jackal-headed Egyptian god of the dead. Not an evil god, he was more of a guardian to the gateway between life and death. Very fitting that the Gentleman Ghost would admire the Anubis statue.
"I remember Lois Lane. So young, So Pretty..."--"Ruh, roh, Shaggy, Ma Runkle ris rinking in E2"; "Zoinks, Scoob! You're right this ICk is contagious!"
Naked Power Girl--Oh, give it a rest. She's in her room, and lots of people sleep naked. Pervs.
Sources
Alter-Ego
Encyclopedia of Super-Heroes--Jeff Rovin
Wikipedia
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