Fiendish Foe’s Fearsome Fundamental Forces

King Kull had constructed decide on his native world of Earth-S a device that could harness forces of nature in three separate universes not present in ours. His goal as the total of destruction of humanity from these parallel planets, as he blamed mankind for the extinction of his ancient people, the Beast-Men. To combat this threat, the Justice League of Earth-One, the Justice Society of Earth-Two and the Squadron of Justice from Earth-S joined forces to stop Kull and his supervillain minions.

Speed force generated from the Flash of three worlds produced an anti-gravitational effect within Earth-One’s prototype City of Tomorrow, with the affect of causing its inhabitants to float into the atmosphere unbound by gravity. The Green Lanterns Hal Jordan and Alan Scott as well as Ibis of Earth-S helped reverse the process while joining the Scarlet Speedsters in defeating Kull’s cronies Mister Atom and Brainiac.

Q-Energy* concentrated in cloud form had been produced from a device, located on the recently resurfaced Earth-Two continent off Atlantis. This force was the Earth-Two version of the Guardians’ green plasma, which had for aeons been subverted and subdued by a variant of their emerald energy which the Guardians banished from their universe. 

The device had been designed to sink the continent of Atlantis, and then all other continental landmasses on Earth-Two. The Wonder Woman of Earth-Two, Superman and Green Arrow of Earth-One and Spy Smasher of Earth-S teamed up to defeat Kull’s associates Penguin, Blockbuster, Queen Clea and Ibac… and destroyed the Q-Energy device they had built.

A third inexplicable force transformed matter, such as 2-dimensional objects into 3-dimensional** versions, and visa versa. This caused various random individuals to gain crystalline or wooden features, in various locales around Earth-S.

While the Dynamic Duos Batman and Robin of Earth-Two as well as Mister Scarlet and Pinky of Earth-S tackled distractions in their foes Joker and Weeper, two other pairs tackled the true threads to Earth-S. These originated from satellites controlled by Earth-One’s Doctor Light and Earth-Two’s Shade, which Hawkman and Hawkgirl from Earth-One along Bulletman and Bulletgirl helped to neutralize. 

His complete mastery over sciences that would have varying effects on each of these distinct Earths with their own unique laws of physics proved King Kull's brilliant level of genius. However, his strategy was unsound as his actions provoked the forming a team of superheroes on his world in the image of the League and Society in the Squadron, an organization which formerly only existed in an informal capacity.

* We know that Kull’s cloud making device harnessed Q-Energy as it effected gravity in an unorthodox manner, as mentioned by the Earth-One Superman. This energy was used versus both Flashes to increase their weight, while Princess Ramia reversed this force causing Doiby Dickles’ taxi cab Goitrude to fly.

** This effect seems to be a variant on the bio-ray devised by Funny Face of Earth-Two, who uses it to animate artwork such as his Superman clone the Flying Tiger, as well as transform the 3-dimensional living Lois Lane into an inanimate picture. The bio-ray was itself a variation of the imperfect duplicator ray used on Earth-One, functioning under same principles, which created Bizarro.

Plentifully Prodigious Plastic Men

One of the iconic heroes in comic book history has to be the stretch sleuth known as Plastic Man, created by legendary writer Jack Cole. And from his initial 1941 appearance in Police Comics #1 through that series' conclusion and that of his own title published during that decade, the former Eel O'Brien became a legend. And a desired property for other publishers, particularly DC Comics which acquired the Quality Comics character.

So in 1966 Plas was reintroduced, or rather it turned out to be his son. Then, the original turned up in a couple of early 1970's Brave and the Bold issues teaming up with Batman. But was this the original? And what became of his son? Well after his own revitalized mid-70's series had concluded, he had a string of Adventure/Super Friends/Worlds Finest Comics solo tales. Intermixed, he was affiliated with at least three teams of champions of three Earths!

Once the dust cleared and time helped place things in perceptive, a few facts were made somewhat clear. The initial incarnation of Plastic Man resided on Earth-Two, home to most golden age heroes. Joining the All-Star Squadron as their FBI liason, he would stick around. During this period he met Captain Marvel from Earth-S, and Uncle Sam who moved to Earth-X. Around this time, an inventive crook created synthetic Plastic Men to bedevil the original. Even Woozy Winks became a stretchy sidekick accidentally and helped his pal to defeat the fakes.

It was the latter that finally motivated Plastic Man to journey with fellow heroes from Earth-Two to this hero-less world to protect it from the Nazi hordes. Sadly, this journey was not kind to this incarnation of Plastic Man, as alluded to by Uncle Sam's cryptic comments decades later. And yet, according to his "Who's Who" entry, this golden age Plastic Man still survived into the present day even though he was thought deceased on Earth-X!

Prior to his departure from Earth-Two, however, a gangster allied with a criminal mastermind created synthetic Plastic Men, with the same abilities and appearance of the original, which he used to initiate a crime wave. During this caper, Woozy Winks had himself transformed through this process into a version of his partner Plastic Man. After the pair defeated the crooks behind the elastic clones, apparently all the Plastic Men were eliminated, although conceivably at least one may have remained behind to aid Woozy in crime fighting when the original journeyed to Earth-X.

During the Convergence event that pulled various cities and their heroes to a planet outside space and time, Plastic Man along with you fellow Freedom Fighter battled the Nazi villain Silver Ghost. During the conflict, Plas and the Ghost formed an uneasy alliance to track down the origin of deadly cyborgs threatening the citizens of their displaced New York City. After a final battle when the Ghost betrayed his foe turned ally, Plastic Man was left outside and separated from the Fighters. Where this version of the hero ended up in the multitude of cities on Telos wasn't initially revealed. He didn't return to Earth-Two, as the Senate hearing that tried the Justice Society for treason in the 1980's stated that Plastic Man disappeared in the 1940's. It appears that this Plas journeyed to the Gotham City of Earth-Twelve, which was also listed as having temporarily been located on Telos, and on this Earth he ultimately settled down and sired a son in his own image!

The Earth-One Plastic Man first appeared chronologically alongside the Justice League of America in their origin story and later team up with that world's Batman in Brave and the Bold, then would go on to have solo tales in the 1970's in his own title, Super Friends Adventure and World's Finest Comics! After a notable career, this Plastic Man assumed the guise of explorer Kyle Morgan, and was engaged to corrupt businesswoman Ruby Ryder. From this experience, he saw the futility of having a life separate from his superhero persona, and resumed his career as the pliable protector and as an agent of the National Bureau of Investigation with pal Woozy Winks.

This pliable protector found a foe in the young Robby Reed, the possessor of the H-Dial, enabling him to "Dial 'H' for Hero" which he did over a dozen times in his brief career. Twice Robby become a clone of Plastic Man, first as a hero and years later as a misguided villain for a brief period.

Robby's Dial-generated Plas was similar to Burp the Twerp aka the Super Son-of-a-Gun, who had various shape-changing powers and met Earth-Two's Plastic Man on at least two occasions during his chaotic crimefighting career. 

Then there was the wacky 1960's son of the original, Eel O'Brien Jr. and a Plastic Man who had teamed up with the Inferior Five in their issue #6. It was then revealed that the golden age Eel (who originated on Earth-Two) made a home for himself on this third world he traveled to, one that unlike his home-world and his initial adopted world gripped by World War was more comical in nature.

Rather, this was a more lighthearted Earth, and it appears it was there that he carried on his adventures in  his self-titled own magazine during the late 1940s and early 1950s. He eventually married and accidentally bequeathed similar powers to his son, who carried on his legacy. This son Eel Junior would be, in effect, the Earth-Twelve doppelgänger of his dear old, dad the original Plastic Man of Earth-Two.

Eventually, the rigors of stretching his body in various ways causes the original Plastic Man crippling pain, leading to his retirement until called upon to aid his son later on.

Eel Junior existed contemporaneous to the Inferior Five, who were said to reside on Earth-Twelve, on that parallel world prone towards comedic circumstances. However, despite being a second generation hero like the Five (who themselves were the offspring of the golden age Freedom Brigade) Junior did not deem it worthy of joining them. What became of him after his dozen chronicled tales is unknown, as his Earth also encountered the Crisis that had engulfed the Multiverse.

Another Plastic Man was one who appeared alongside Kid Eternity on Earth-S. While this may, on the surface, seem similar to when Earth-One's Robbie Reed used his Dial "H" for Hero device to transform into the malleable manhunter himself on two occasions, this was the Eel O'Brien from the Kid's Eternity dimension, which was attached to Earth-S. It was this Plastic Man's exploits in the middle to latter part of the 1940's that were being chronicled in Police Comics, as mentioned in this particular story... on the Kid's Earth-S. 

Additionally, Blackhawk had tales in his own series during this time and also aided Kid Eternity on occasion. As with Plastic Man, it seems Blackhawk... and by extension his six teammates...migrated from Eternity to Earth-S. Or perhaps remained in the Eternity dimension These heroes continued to operate into the mid 1950's as chronicled in their Quality Comics tales.

Indeed, this legend stretched himself quite thin, in a sense... as five versions of him helped to protect five worlds! So in the end, there was Plastic Man of Earth-Two who was a founding member of the All-Star Squadron and later moved to Earth-X thanks to Uncle Sam, then due to the Convergence moved to Earth-Twelve where he sired that universe's native version of Plastic Man, the Plastic Man from Eternity that Kid Eternity brought to Earth-S where he remained, the Earth-One Plastic Man and his Robby Reed clone. And we aren't even counting the dozens of synthetic Plastic Men that one of the original's foes created in the early 1940's on Earth-Two. Whew!

Migrants of Multiple Earths Thesis: Part 8 Crisis Conundrem

During the height of the Crisis on Infinite Earths, Lex Luthor and Brainiac assembled a large number of supervillains from the five surviving Earths in order to conquer three of them and ultimately subdue all of them. As a result, the Dastardly Duo sent legions of these costumed crooks to accomplish this task in the so-called Villain War, while the superheroes were divided up in teams to tackle this treat and protect these worlds that were under represented by champions like Earths One and Two were. As an unintended side effect of this, a number of these individuals moved permanently to new worlds in universes they were not born in and seemingly remained there through the end of Crisis.

Among the armies that arrive on Earth-Four were Black Manta, Black Spider, the new Cheetah, Evil Star, Kobra, and Lady Lunar who originated on Earth-One, and Dragon King, Gambler and Solomon Grundy of Earth-Two (while prior to this, Alexei Luthor of Earth-Two was slain before he could be disparched to this world). This was the last documented sighting of each of these individuals, hence after their collective defeat they remained there. But they were not alone. Another misguided immortal like Evil Star took his place on Earth-One, that being the immortal sole survivor of Earth-Omega, Pariah! And Lady Lunar’s departure from Earth-One was replaced by Lady Quark, last survivor of Earth-Six!

Aquagirl aka Tula of Earth-One... a native the Atlantean city of Poseidonis... was among the contingent that traveled to Earth-Four to protect it, and was asphyxiated by Chemo. Such an eventuality would not transpire with her Earth-Two twin, Princess Lanya who lived out her life in the underwater city of Venturia in that Atlantis.

The next world to be assaulted by villains and assisted by heroes was Earth-S. Among the former, were Earth-One's Clock King, Eclipso, Queen Bee and Starro alongside Earth-Two's Cheetah. Those who remained with these miscreants on Captain Marvel's home world were the six Metal Men: Gold, Lead, Iron, Tin, Mercury and Platinum.

Concurrent with these events, the she-robot Mekanique of Earth-Two ended her temporary stay on Earth-One under Commander Steel's employee, then disappearing from before the combined might of the Justice Society and Justice League. She has been proceeded by two other mechanized marvels in Robotman and Commander Steel himself (a fourth self-aware automaton Goitrude the Taxi had also been sent from Earth-Two to Earth-One previously)!

The last of the terra-firma triad, Earth-X, was itself home to a large number of migrants from Earth-Two decades earlier. This included Doll Man*, Firebrand*, Human Bomb, Phantom Lady, as well as others who have since left that world behind in Jester, Manhunter* with his dog Thor, Plastic Man, Quicksilver and the Spider. While this left a vacancy of 15 living entities who left Earth-Two during the peak of the Crisis, this same event precipitated the removal of 15 protectors from Earth-One’s universe, who either perished in Earth-Four, the Anti-Matter Universe or waves emanating from it into their reality.  

 

That world only had three from this conflict who arrived during the Villain War that remained on Earth-X... Fastball of Earth-One, aa well as the Silver Ghost and the Mist of Earth-Two.

Another individual displaced was Earth-One's Justice League of Wonder Woman, shortly after she'd been tasked with protecting Earth-S. Her time-displaced younger self Wonder Tot was removed simultaneously from Earth-One continuity by Jonni DC, who deposited the Tot into Limbo between universes. This ultimately erased Wonder Woman from existence later during the conclusion of the Crisis, with her presence on Earth-One then being filled with Jonni who had migrated from Earth-Two.

Indeed, an equal number of persons from both Earths One and Two left these behind for new universes. But there were other notable departures during this Multiverse scale conflict.

Nighthawk of the 18th century Earth-One along with a pair of lasses also perished due to an anti-matter wave along with his horse, while the four Losers during Earth-Two's World War II also perished from "shadow demons", enhanced soldiers from the Anti-Matter Universe. Interestingly, the Earth-One Losers perished shortly thereafter as casualties of the War itself.

Prince Gavyn aka the cosmic powered Starman perished while protecting his planet-less people due to an anti-matter wave, leaving behind his home realm within the the Earth-One universe.

Another cosmic powered hero who was a former occupant of Earth-Two, after he lived for a brief period of time on Earth-One, was the Immortal Man. In his most current form, he used his abilities to protect others while at risk to his own life. Due to the Crisis, he never returned to his native universe.

Instances of Crisis-level events precipitating the transfer of inhabitants from one universe to another had occurred in the years proceeding these monumental event. For example, the Earth-One Champion family... all four of them... left for Earth-Two after indirect interference with one of the Monitors responsible for the Crisis.. Another quartet, the Newsboy Legion, had come from Earth-Two and moved to the Champion's former world during a crisis of their own.

Then there were the instances of "Crisis on Earth-One" or "Crisis on Earth-Two", etc. Such as when  the Justice Society met Earth-One's Legion of Super-Heroes and the Justice League met Earth-Two's Law's Legionnaires. Or when allies of the Justice League who were (at that time) non-members such as Elongated Man, Metamorpho and Zatanna joined them on a case to save Earth-Two, while villains such as the Shade, Thinker and the Fiddler tormented Earth-One's Flash, Atom and Teen Titans. While not permanent migrants, these individuals had prominent and often significant effects on these alternate earths thanks to their influence on these occasions.

* Some heroes moving to Earth-X during Crisis such as Doll Man and Manhunter returned to Earth-Two years later, while other Earth-Two characters such as Firebrand and Silver Ghost left Earth-Two for Earth-X and took their place.

Take Me Out to the Ballgame... on Multiple Earths

Baseball as a sport developed in the 18th and 19th century from common bat-and-ball games originating in England such as cricket and rounders, and by the 20th century became an American sport. And this is true on the various Earths within the multiverse. In the Gotham City of Earth-One and Earth-Two, their MLB team was the Gotham Giants. Among Major League Baseballs fans on Earth-Two were the Huntress and Power Girl, each of whom reflected on this national pasttime while engaged in cases during their costumed careers.

During her first trip to the Gotham City of Earth-One while visiting her father's counterpart Bruce "Batman" Wayne and working alongside her counterpart, Barbara "Batgirl" Gordon, Helena encounter an MLB pitcher for the Giants named Catfish Turner. While on this world he was a superstar, the Catfish Turner on her home world of Earth-Two was less gifted and more of a benchwarmer!

Sometime later, while intercepting a plummeting plane from the sky in Earth-Two's Metropolis, Karen "Power Girl" Starr compared her skills with that of a Brooklyn Dodgers' pitcher. What is remarkable is that, on Earth-One and our Earth, the Dodgers moved from Brooklyn to Los Angeles in 1957. Then, in 1962, the New York Mets were created as an expansion team to fill the void left behind by the Dodgers. Evidentally on Earth-Two, the expansion team created in 1962...Los Angeles Mets... became the first Major League Baseball team in that Californian city!

Huntress and Power Girl’s teammates on Infinity, Inc. were also fans of the game, having played it as children in the mid-1970s. Some more instances of professional baseball teams across the multiverse were:

• California Angels: On Earth-One, Linda "Supergirl" Danvers and her boyfriend Greg Gilbert watched a California Angels versus New York Yankees game on television.

• Cincinnati Reds: On Earth-S, Billy "Captain Marvel" Batson was involved in a case in Cincinnati during a Reds' game.

• Detroit Tigers: On Earth-S, there is evidence of Major League Baseball as Captain Marvel's anamorphic tiger friend Tawky Tawny once played for the Detroit Tigers.
  
  
• Houston Astros: On Earth-One, New Teen Titans members Raven and Starfire battle terrorists in the New York Yankees' stadium during a game with the Astros.

• Metropolis Metros: On Earth-One, Superman battles a criminal in a menacing tripod who was attempting to tear the Metros' stadium apart during a game.

• New York Yankees: On Earth-Two, adventurer Skip Scuyler was asked to pitch for the Yankees, proving there was a version of the Yankees on this world as on Earth-One above.

• Pittsburgh Pirates: On Earth-S, Captain Marvel was involved in a case dealing with the ownership of the city in which this team played

• St. Louis Cardinals: On Earth-S, Captain Marvel chased some criminals trying to evade him in the Cardinals' stadium

• Star City Stars: On Earth-One, Green Arrow battled the Calculator in the stadium during a game.

• Texas Rangers: On Earth-One, Hal "Air Wave" Jordan attending a game with his girlfriend Karen Peterson.

Whatever Happened to the Starfish Conqueror?

Starro the Starfish Conqueror was a mysterious entity originating from outerspace. When he arrived on Earth-One, he sought to dominate that world's lifeforms. To this end, he mutated three duplicates, although each of these was dispatched by five members of the newly formed Justice League of America. From a local boy in Happy Harbor, Snapper Carr, the Leaguers learned of Starro's vulnerability... lime, which the lad used on his family's lawn during the alien invasion.

As such, Green Lantern used his power ring to dowse Starro in a thick covering of lime, which immobiized him. Something similar worked on Earth-Two with the shark-shaped spacecraft made of Metal-X, which Green Lantern alongside his Justice Society allies drenched the animalistic alien in acid.

As for Starro, a fragment of the creature had survived and nurtured itself in the poisonous waters of Earth-One, spawning a duplicate that gained even greater mental abilities while gaining a weakened immune system when removed from these toxic waters. However, despite retaining the transmitted memories of the original, this new Starro needed years to grow to maturity. Meanwhile, a fake Starro was built by T.O. Morrow to battle the League when they teamed up with the Society. This synthetic Starro of Earth-One was like the Metal-X ship of Earth-Two, a cybernetic rather than biological being.

Back over on Earth-Two, the actual doppelgänger of Starro and its replicants was the undersea tyrant Nyarl-Amen and his Fishmen, which launched an attack on Hawaii that was repelled by Doctor Fate. Decades later, Fate along with his Justice Society colleague Hourman faced the Psycho-Pirate, who spawned a replica of Nyarl-Amen along with other older adversaries of the hero to briefly confuse him.

Once strong enough, Earth-One’s Starro enlisting the aid of various marine life as well as members of Aqualad's undersea people. Starro sought revenge against Aquaman, who was one of the five originally defeating him. However, the Marine Marvel used his telepathic abilities to summon porcupine fish, which sprayed fresh water on the antagonistic alien. Aquaman then called upon his League teammate Green Lantern to dispose of their enemy, yet even still, Starro was able to jettison another fragment into space to fight another day.

And so it was that yet a third Starro, not counting the three starfish he mutated during his first appearance, appeared to once more war against humanity. This time, Starro was largely successful in mentally dominating millions of New Yorkers, including several members of the Justice League. However, Starro misjudged the Red Tornado, who unlike the other Leaguers was not human and so was not suspectible to the creature's mind control tactics. Leading the charge with his remaining teammates, Reddy was able to shut off the source of the alien's strength, while the other heroes used ice cold freezing blasts from Firestorm and Green Lantern to render this Starro inert. However, Starro had a contingency plan with yet another fragment of his former body.

This latest piece entered a space warp, arriving on Earth-C, whereby a new Starro was created in that univere. This version only had the memories of the original, and of the duplicate that had fought Aquaman, unaware of his counterpart's third attempt in New York.

This Starro's arrival on this new world inadvertently created the circumstances that empowered six new superheroes, who would become Captain Carrot and his Zoo Crew. Together with a visiting Superman, who had been displaced from Earth-One in the same space warp, these new champions were able to replicate the lime dowsing technique used by the League years earlier. This time, it finally seemed as if the threat of Starro had finally been extinguished, and indeed under normal circumstances this would indeed have been the case. However, unlike what had previously transpired, another entity engineered an unlikely resurrection of the Starfish Conqueror... Brainiac!

Brainiac along with Lex Luthor of Earth-One assembled a legion of doom from various eras and from five Earths, in order to implement of coordinated attack on three of those Earths. Starro was dispatched with several other supervillains to Earth-S, yet despite his awesome abilities, it proved unable to defeat Superman. This was no doubt due to the fact that Brainiac sent the being to a section of Earth-S placed under a deep freeze by the Icicle, Captain Cold and Killer Frost... a tactile mistake for the rogue robot. Whether this Starro was the original or replica that battled the League on Earth-One, or the clone that battled the Zoo Crew on Earth-S, is unknown?

The Starros of Earth-One, Earth-C and Earth-S, Metal-X of Earth-Two, the Starros of the Post-Crisis Earths... each were terrifying space-faring foes of mankind. And yet, despite their massive mental might, they each came up short when faced with their World's Greatest Superheroes!
  

Migrants of Multiple Earths Thesis: Part 3

In the previous chapters of our Migrants of Multiple Earths Thesis here and there we considered the loss of heroes from Earth-Two that migrated to Earth-One. It would seem that this golden age Earth became a provider for metahumans throughout the Multiverse, as we'll learn in this and future chapters, other Earths experienced this as well in later years. Let's now focus on the Freedom Fighters of three Earths!

We already learned how Uncle Sam, the Ray and Black Condor remained on Earth-X to offset the presence of Baron Blitzkrieg's three Nazi troops from that world. Similarly, Doll Man, the Human Bomb, Phantom Lady and the original Firebrand (not pictured but whom we previously considered) also left their home world of Earth-Two for that hero-less Earth. They were followed to Earth-One in late 1970's by the resident Earth-X bad guy the Silver Ghost.  In the course of their brief but memorable stay on this silver age world, they ended up running from the law for being framed by both foe and bad circumstances, yet did their part to protect another world though not their own.

Interestingly, it was later revealed in the so-called "Diary of Batman" that the Freedom Fighters had at some point during the 1970's journeyed back to the world of their birth, as Batman had said that the Freedom Fighters "have been seen back on this earth in recent years". When would this have occured... before or after their appearances on Earth-One in the mid to late 1970s? 

Well, Batman had delivered his diary to long-time friend Doctor Carter Nichols "months before he died", and it had been tainted with insanity due to mind control inflicted upon Batman's alter ego Commissoner Bruce Wayne by the Psycho Pirate. During that period of time, when Wayne manipulated retired members of the Justice Society into fighting its active members, the Freedom Fighters had left Earth-One following a battle with the Secret Society of Super-Villains. The only way Wayne would know that the Freedom Fighters were back on his Earth is if they visited the Justice Society.

It had been "two years" since the Freedom Fighters, with help from the Justice League and Justice Society, defeated the Nazi Regime on Earth-X. After this, a professor friend of theirs had developed an interdimensional teleporter, which the Fighters first  used to immediately travel from Earth-X to Earth-One. Thus, after a months long stay on Earth-One, Sam used his natural abilities to bring them to Earth-Two. In fact, at that point it seems Doll Man traveled back in time to the late 1940s (no doubt using the Flash’s recently invented time vortex device) to reunite with his first love Martha shortly before she had gained her Doll Girl abilities.

During this period of time, the Secret Society of Super-Villains had been battling individual members of the Justice Society on Earth-Two... while also battling the Freedom Fighters as directed by Silver Ghost. Five members of the Secret Society of Super Villains consisting of the Wizard, Blockbuster, Reverse Flash, Floronic Man, and Star Sapphire were being pursued by the hero known as Captain Comet. Note in the accompanying box the words of their leader the Earth-Two Wizard had spent "several profitable months on Earth-2".*

Meanwhile, on Earth-One, Mirror Master and Copperhead led another faction of the Secret Society into battle with the Freedom Fighters at the direction of Silver Ghost. After this conflict concluded with the Fighters proved victorious, they left Earth-One behind, and soon afterwards Phantom Lady was shown to be operating in the Paris France of Earth-X. Months later, the male members of the Freedom Fighters travel one last time to Earth-One to aid Superman on a case.

After their foray on Earth-Two, the Wizard reviews what became of he and his colleagues, as they were trapped for months in limbo between universes. This no doubt sounds similar to what transpired in the near future, wherein other members of the Secret Society also found themselves trapped in the same netherworld between parallel realities. For the Wizard's team there were five beings of Earth-One (Reverse Flash, Star Sapphire, Floronic Man, and Blockbuster) and Wizard of Earth-Two, while the Ultra-Humanite's team would lead seven beings of Earth-Two (Ultra, Psycho-Pirate, Brain Wave, Rag Doll, the Mist, Monocle... and a seventh in the form of Vulcan who arrived in Limbo through a different manner) and five different beings of Earth-One (Gorilla Grodd, Killer Frost, Cheetah II, Signalman). Of course, Floronic Man of Earth-One and Brain Wave of Earth-Two resided in Limbo twice!

That's eight villains of Earth-One and eight of Earth-Two removed from their native worlds at various times, once more showing how the cosmos offset itself repeatedly despite the best of intentions of these puny mortals. Not to mention the five members of Earth-Three's Crime Syndicate of America, who had been kept in prison there within an emerald bubble for several years!

Interestingly, the first known reference to this inbetween Limbo dimension was when the Crime Champions of Earths One and Two created a base of operations there, in order to escape detection from their foes. Years later, after their defeat, the Champions' enemies.... the Justice League and Justice Society... would co-op these headquarters to team-up with a third heroic group known as the Squadron of Justice from Earth-S.

By the time of the Crisis on Infinite Earths, all members of the Secret Society of Super-Villains, the Crime Syndicate, and all Leaguers, Socialites and Squadroners were back on their native homeworlds. However, several of these malevolent metahumans would resurface during the "Villain War" at the height of the Crisis on Infinite Earths, and under the leadership of Lex Luthor and Brainiac attempt to usurp control over Earths Four, X and S.

* During the several month sojourn of the Secret Society on Earth-Two, the Wizard led his five Earth-One minions into several successful victories versus individual members of the Justice Society. These included the Atom, Doctor Mid-Nite, Mister Terrific, and apparently Starman... the latter of whom had along with his teammates been captured by the Super-Villains. At some point, the active members of the Justice Society became aware of this, and tracked down the Secret Society where they eventually overpowered  the costumed criminals. While the Secret Society fled Earth-Two, the Justice Society successfully freed their colleagues soon after.

Billy Batson the Student... Billy Batson the Newsboy... Billy Batson the Marvelous One

Not every individual on one Earth has a direct counterpart on the other. Such would be the case for Captain Marvel. Such would not be the case for the lads known as Billy Batson. Consider, the Billy Batson of three parallel planets. On Earth-S, he has an adult alter ego that is... essentially... a separate individual than that of the young lad himself. As Captain Marvel, he is his world's greatest hero. On Earth-One in the 1980's, that world's Billy is a school-aged lad raised by his Uncle Dudley. On Earth-Two in the 1940's, that world's Billy is simply a newsboy selling the Daily Star. While Earth-One's Superman met Billy while battling an unwelcome visitor from Cap's universe, Black Adam, Earth-Two's Superman as Clark Kent simply brushed past his own Billy... although the lad indirectly inspired Ken's decision to seek employment with the Star as a reporter!

So while the two powerless Billy's are the counterparts of the boy Batson from Earth-S, that's Billy's Captain Marvel alter ego is the counterpart to the Supermen of Earths One and Two... since no Kal-El/Kal-L arrived from Krypton-S (it apparently blew up with no survivors). On one occasion, the Earth-Two Man of Steel did encounter Captain Marvel and Billy Batson of Earth-S... side-by-side... after they arrived on his world thanks to a teleportation device created by Gootsden, the chief scientist for that Earth's Hitler and his Nazi regime. So while on Earth-One, the separate Billy and Captain Marvel* teamed up with Superman to defeat Black Adam, on Earth-Two the separate Billy and Superman teamed up with other heroes to defeat Captain Marvel!

* The duplicate Captain Marvel which Gootsden split off from Billy Bateson that existed for a few weeks in 1942 Earth-Two mirrored the evil similarly powered Zha-Vam which was created by ancient Roman beings to battle the Earth-One Superman early in his career.

Mysteriously Missing Mighty Meteor

The errant emerald energy exiled by the Guardians of the Earth-One Universe was contained within the Starheart. This sentient power within a celestial body transferred a portion of its power into a massive meteor, which was sent to a planet in its new universe, that world being Earth-Two. Crash-landing in China centuries ago, legendary lampmaker Chang crafted a small amount of this space-rock into a green lantern, which he then misplaced when some residents in his town attempted to steal it. While he still possessed another piece of the meteorite, which sustained his life through the late 20th century, both the lantern and the remaining meteorite were claimed by a group of monks who safeguarded these for centuries.

Eventually, Chang’s lantern was claimed by engineer Alan Scott, who used its energy to charge his handcrafted power ring. As the Green Lantern, Scott was able to perform a wide range of feats, just as long as he charged his ring with the Chang’s power battery every 24 hours. During one accidental trip to Earth-S with his All-Star Squadron teammates Johnny Quick and Liberty Belle, he soon ran out of power as his ring’s charge lapsed.

However, Scott correctly surmised that a green meteor would be found in the same location on Earth-S as was that which Chang harvested on Earth-Two. But how could this be, since the Guardians only willed the Starheart’s emerald energy into Earth-Two’s dimension,  not Earth-S?

The Green Flame of Life, which is what the Starheart meteor called itself, had apparently sent a portion of the meteor into the Earth-Three universe. We know this die to the existence of the villainous Power Ring of Earth-Three’s Crime Syndicate. This Syndicator was given his power battery by a mad monk named Volthoom, the counterpart of the Chinese Monk who bequeathed Alan Scott his own battery*. And Power Ring’s emerald jewel has the same weakness as Alan’s, that being all wooden substances. Eventually even Power Ring, although a greedy criminal, still attempted to protect innocents from harm during the Crisis on Infinite Earths. 

The meteor’s correlating energy repository of emerald energy in Earth-One's universe, the planet Oa’s Central Power Battery, was briefly transported to Earth-Two by Sinestro when he attempted to create a Sinestro Corps with his clones. This massive battery took the place of the missing meteor.

After the timely intervention of Alan Scott and his Earth-One counterpart Hal Jordan, the Green Lanterns defeated Sinestro, the Central Power Battery was transported back to Oa, where it would remain. However, a few years later the rogue Malthusian named Krona attacked his brothers in the Guardians of the Universe and their Corps, destroying this main Battery. Another centralized battery was built as a replacement. 

The remnants of the Earth-Three meteor contained within Power Ring’s power battery was later claimed by the visiting Captain Comet of Earth-One. The Captain used it to transport himself to Earth-Two, in pursuit of the Secret Society of Super-Villians. This Earth-Three battery with its concentrated emerald energies took the place of the missing Earth-Two meteorite (which had initially been replaced by the Earth-One central power battery from Oa).

* Alan met his world’s Volthoom during a time travel adventure, when he was inadvertent transported to ancient Camelot. Volthoom was one of a delegation of Chinese ambassadors who were also monks and guardians of the green lantern battery through the centuries.

Untold Teamup Tales of the Justice League & Justice Society

As evidenced by the existence of an unaffected future for the Legion of Super-Heroes, Brane "Batman" Taylor, Bilbat"Captain Marv", and a Kamandi... there were multiple 30th century timelines set apart from one another. These heroes' realities remained separate and distinct from one another. Their realities... Earth-One, Earth-Two, Earth-S and Earth-A.D... where each their own unique location within the Mulitverse. As previously ascerted, this proves that a future timeline existed and was thus spared from the cross-contamination of a merged post Crisis on Infinite Earths singular universe, which itself would repeatedly reboot and readjust itself.

With this in mind, we can hypothesize additional untold tales of those 20th century heroes, including several annual teamups between the Justice League of America and the Justice Society of America. These involved additional teams, on both their own worlds and alternate Earths. This harmonizes with the pattern they set for decades, when the JLA and JSA encountered the Crime Syndicate of Earth-Three, the Lawless League of Earth-A, the Seven Soldiers of Victory of Earth-Two, the Freedom Fighters of Earth-X (and formerly of Earth-Two), the Squadron of Justice of Earth-S, the Legion of Super-Heroes of Earth-One, the New Gods of an adjacent Earth-One reality, and the All-Star Squadron of Earth-Two.

What were some of these teamups? Thanks to the inventive mind of Multiverse historian David Stepp, we get a glimpse into some of these amazing adventures:

• The League and Society teamup with Sentinels of Justice of Earth-Four to defend that world against an incursion by the Crime Champions, a gang of villains originally consisting of Earth-One's Chronos, Felix Faust and Doctor Alchemy and Earth-Two's Icicle, Wizard and Gambler. Evidentally, this sinister six expanded their roster to include Sentinal adversaries the Ghost, Doctor Spectro, Punch and Jewelee. To combat this, JLAers Batman, Green Arrow, and Red Tornado as well as JSAers Atom, Hourman and Starman are joined in the fight by Sentinal members Captain Atom, Nightshade and Blue Beetle as well as their ally the Son of Vulcan. The result of this confrontation undoubtedly proved better for Earth-Four than had the Crisis' "Villain War", which left portions of that world in environmental chaos unleashed by the costumed criminals and their mammoth sentient toxic weapon of war, Chemo.

• The Justice Society journeyed to Earth-One to assist the Justice League and the League's next generation protégées, the New Teen Titans, versus the malevolent Brother Blood and his Church of Blood from the nation of Zandia. Sebastian Blood possibly snatched the Powerstone, prompting the intervention of the JSA. Thanks to the intervention of these three titanic teams, led by New Teen Titans' leader Dick "Robin" Grayson and Justice Society member Dick "Nightwing" Grayson (although why the younger Dick reverted to his Robin alias rather than remain as Nightwing is unknown).

• Sinestro uses his ability to mentally manipulate others (which he has formerly used in a Brave and Bold tale when he controlled the Oan Guardians of Earth-One’s Universe while disguised as one of their own... and later when he exerted mind-control over his fellow Korugarians) to coerce select members of the Green Lantern Corps into becoming his second Sinestro Corps. Apparently, he sought to succeed where he had years earlier failed, when cloning himself a dozen time into the first incarnation of the Sinestro Corp when he and his minions invaded Earth-Two. The Justice Society's involvment in this tale indicates that Sinestro brought over these Corps men and women to Earth-Two for a repeat incursion into that world, one thwarted by the JLA and JSA led by Green Lanterns Hal Jordan and Alan Scott of those respective teams.

• In a two-part crossover, the Time Trapper recruits fellow temporal thieves the Lord of Time of Earth-One and Per Degaton of Earth-Two to ensnare the majority of the Justice League and Justice Society in a time trap in the 30th century of Earth-Two. In part two, the remaining Leaguers and Socialites journey to the 30th century of Earth-One to recruit the aid of the Legion of Super-Heroes from that era in helping them battle their old foe Trapper and his cronies, but end up settling for the Legion of Substitute Heroes who help them after defeating the Legion of Super-Villains sent by the Time Trio to thwart them.

• Finally, the Justice Society individually face off against the Crime Society, a version of the Crime Syndicate but from a different world than that of Earth-Three. This Crime Society is modeled off the Justice Lords, a team of renegade superheroes who took the law into their own hand, administering their perverted form of authoritarian justice upon President Lex Luthor and his criminal minions on their world. This Crime Society would undoubtedly have invaded Earth-Two, just as the Crime Syndicate had invaded that world and Earth-One several years earlier. Perhaps the Justice League later became involved, aiding the Society as they had versus the Syndicate.

• These are just a few examples of potential probable plotlines involving the Greatest Heroes of Earths One and Two in a future unobstructed by the calamity that fell upon the Multiverse during the Crisis on Infinite Earths!

Fawcett's Finest: Power Princesses

Powerful princesses resided on the various Earths of the multiverse, sometimes friends... other times foes... always interesting in their displays of temperment, tenacity, and talents. Among these were Princess Diana of Themyscira and Princess Taia of Thebes, women who fought for the cause of truth and justice since the early years of World War II on parallel planes of existence known as Earth-Two and Earth-S. While Diana as Wonder Woman had a superhuman physique and glorious gadgets, Taia as Ibis the Invincible's true love shared possession of his Ibistick.

Thus, Taia was at times able to implement its awesome abilities in a variety of cases in the 1940's,  as had Linda "Supergirl" Danvers of Earth-One when she grabbed it from Black Adam visiting from Earth-S, and Lois Lane on Earth-Two when she had been recruited along with her husband Clark "Superman" Kent to aid Johnny Thunder and his Thunderbolt... who had given that world's Ibistick to her... in defeating a power-mad priest.

At the same time as had Diana who herself was inspired by a true love in Colonel Steve Trevor. In modern times, Taia would be revived alongside Ibis from another decades long sleep induced by Captain Marvel's arch-foe, Doctor Sivana, who had subjected all of the golden age eras superheroes to a Suspendium-based comatose state. Thus, she was preserved young as was Diana, who had been granted a lengthier lifespan thanks to her Amazonian heritage. Now living in a modern era, both Taia and Ibis remain in retirement from crime fighting, only reappearing once during a Crisis on three Earths instigated by King Kull of Earth-S, which led to the reformation of the Squadron of Justice. However, on this adventure Taia remained behind and thus did not have an opportunity to meet her counterpart Diana of Earth-Two, who with the Justice Society allied with the Squadron of Justice and Earth-One's Justice League.

Another pair of regal royalty were Carol Ferris of Earth-One and Andrea Thomas of Earth-S, selected to be the latest in the line of princesses known as Star Sapphire and Isis, respectively. Each possessed tiara's that while worn provided them tremendous abilities, Sapphire for evil and Isis for good. While their careers were shorter than those of Diana and Taia, they were nonetheless notable for the stir they caused towards those whom they met in battle. At about the same time that Carol Ferris had lost her sapphire to an alien woman who assumed her alter ego, Andrea had acquired her own abilities from that of a previous Isis living centuries ago. Both women retreated to private life after their brief forays into costumed crusading, though their legends lasted longer.

The Mysterious Earth of the Anti-Matter Universe

When the rogue scientist from Malthus, Krona, unleashed a wave of energy across his universe, an infinite number of additional positive matter universes and a single anti-matter universe were formed. Just as that sole realm had the planet Qward in the center of the Anti-Matter universe, so too existed planet Oa within the universe of Earth-One, where some of Krona’s fellow Maltusians became the Guardians of the Universe.

Elsewhere in the anti-matter universe of Qward, there existed a corresponding Earth, only there instead of just humans, a different life form existed on that world… Stone Giants! After six stone scientists detonated a cobalt bomb simultaneous to the nuclear bomb detonated by humans on Earth-One, the fabric of realty began to tear between both universes. To prevent the twin Earths from merging, the stone giants took destructive action against Central City, Brasilia and Tokyo, which the Justice League then protected. 

Eventually the League and the "untouchable aliens" (a side effect the giants experienced from the radiation exposure) communicated and together prevented their parallel planets from merging. Both teams returned to their native dimensions, never again meeting despite League members encountering the Thunderers of Qward time and time throughout the years. Unlike the residents of Qward, the residents of anti-matter Earth were not intrinsically evil merely inquisitive.

This makes some sense, however, as the majority of these Giants’ counterparts in the positive matter universes were inherently malicious towards humanity. This was certainly true of the Sand-Beings on Earth-Two, who were a minority who opposed mankind by creating a destructive weapons against them. Then there were the inhuman variants on Earth-One known as the Metamorphs. Of these, only Earth-One's Metamorpho (and Element Girl) and Earth-Two's Sandy the Silicon Creature had heroic dispositions.

Interestingly, a creature known as Quarrmer or the “Sand Superman”  was spawned when an experimental Kryptonite-powered reactor experienced a nuclear meltdown. While attempting to avert a disaster, Superman inadvertently irradiated some sand which an energy-based creature molded into a duplicate body. Syphoning off some of Superman's powers, this Quarrmer gained control of his body, transforming it into a silicon-carbon hybrid. 

Revealing himself to having originated in the "dimension of Quarm", he entered into the Earth-One universe which a breach in the dimensional wall caused by the reaction meltdown allowing the entity to enter the human's world. Once realizing that Quarrmer could not coexist in the same realm alongside a counterpart with an "opposite charge" molecularly, he returned to his own universe.

Shortly thereafter, the immortal Martian known as Karmang enlisted the aid of both Quarrmer and Black Adam with the intent of having each of them impersonate their foes, Superman and Captain Marvel. Seeking to use these pawns to incite a conflict that would merge and then destroy Earth-One and Earth-S, in a misguided attempt to revive Karmang's long-lost people, instead Quarrmer aided the heroes in repelling this threat from both Earths. While last seen on Earth-S, it is logical that Quarrmer would have returned to either Quarrm, unless the dimensional rift was closed following this encounter. If so, this Sand Superman would be trapped on Earth-S forevermore!

Courageous Captains Cause Cosmic Chaos

Earth-276 was a world never visited by residents of the prime universes that survived through the final days of the Crisis on Infinite Earths, and yet it was the mirror image of one of these parallel planets known as Earth-S, which had been home to the Marvel Family. It's prime protector also once visited another prime universe in Earth-One.

Captain Thunder aka Willie Fawcett was the counterpart of Billy "Captain Marvel" Batson from Earth-S. Willie had been born on Earth-276 and came upon the acquaintance of Merokee, who like his own counterpart Shazam had imbued a lad with superhuman abilities. The Monster League of Evil had a long running enmity towards Thunder as had the Monster Society of Evil with Marvel, although in the former's case this pitched battled spilled out through some 1,953 dimension. Eventually, the Captain captured the League, leaving them in inter-dimensional Limbo existing between universes, however the League's leader used his mental abilities to warp the mind of Thunder. This led the caped crusader to erroneously venture to Earth-One instead of his home world, whereupon as young Willie happens upon both criminals and the costumed crimefighter, Superman.

However, when Fawcett transformed to Thunder, the Captain's suddenly evil disposition turned him into an adversary of Superman, and the two battled on a couple occasions, In between these encounters, Willie reverted to his childhood self and sought out reporter Clark Kent in hopes of the journalist helping to lead the teen to Superman. Together, they ascertained that Captain Thunder was acting against his true benevolent nature, and so Superman tricked his rival into utilizing his inherent wisdom to revert the Captain to his once righteous demeanor once more.

At that point, Captain Thunder calculated the means to travel back to his native Earth-276, at which point he disappeared from Earth-One's reality nevermore to return. Similar confrontations occurred between a mentally controlled Captain Marvel, who temporarily resided upon Earth-Two and battled that world's Superman, and decades later a similar occasion when he battled this same Superman who previously dueled with Thunder years previous. As to whether Captains Marvel and Thunder, Shazam and Merokee, or the Society and League of Monsters ever encountered one another is unknown, although given that Marvel and his Family where in suspended animation during the period when Thunder was traversing various dimensions before irrevocably returning to his Earth, it is unlikely. 

As for Thunder's cosmic twin Captain Marvel, and later tale wherein Mister Mxyzptlk swapped the powers and costumes of Marvel and Superman, in a scheme wherein the imp was working alongside Mister Mind and King Kull to defeat the pair. This encounter solidified that Captain Marvel, and by extension Captain Thunder their worlds' respective Supermen, even though neither originated on Krypton as has Kal-El and Kal-L. At the end of this crooked caper, wherein Mxyzptlk became disenchanted with the bloodthirsty demeanor of Mind and Kull, he returned to his 5th dimensional home after reversing the condition of Earth-One and Earth-S' mightiest men that restored them to normal.

Fawcett's Finest: Center of the Multiverse

Where is the center of the universe? That's difficult to access, although not so in the DC Universe(s).

When the Multiverse was first created from the rash actions of the Malthusian known as Krona, all planets in Earth-One's realm were replicated countless times throughout the cosmos except for Oa itself (on the left). That is, except in the Anti-Matter Universe which had the world of Qward (on the right), which was the home of the Guardians of the prime Universe's evil dopplegangers, the Weaponers. What resided in the remaining dimensional planes at their center? A mysterious monolith... the Rock of Eternity... created by Shazam in his Champion alias with the help of his time-lost pupil Captain Marvel. This locale, at the center of space and time, could not exist in the original matter or the anti-matter universes, but could be accessesd from Earth-S, and elsewhere.

The interesting aspect of the Rock is that it was an access point to Eternity, a timeless access point wherein historical and fictional characters reside. Kid Eternity's powers tied into this location wherein he was able to recruit various heroes, including Blackhawk. While that ace aviator had cosmic twins on Earths One and Two, on Earth-S his tales as well as those of his fellow Quality Comics allies were only published. And yet, these characters were real individuals on Earth-S thanks to being residents in the ether of Eternity.

Further evidence that something significant resided in the center of Earth-Two's universe is evident during the Infinite Crisis, when the Superboy of Earth-Prime was tasked by Earth-Three's Alex Luthor of recreating that lost realm by shifting the center of the surviving universe by moving various surrounding worlds' positions in space. The resulting mass exerted from the repositioned planets in close proximity created an access point in space-time, as had the Rock of Eternity.

Freedom Fighters on Earth-X: The X-Factors

Of all world's in the original Multiverse, only two had no resident superheroes, at least initially... Earth-Prime and Earth-X. The former eventually had two, known as Ultraa and Superboy. And the latter had their own superhumans, although these would only appear following the migration of a legion of champions from another universe, and then with mixed results.

The history of Earth-X was left undocumented save for the exploits of those Quality heroes who arrived from Earth-Two in 1942. In the reconstituted Earth-10 following the Infinite Crisis, a world was formed modeled after Earth-X, with a version of Axis Amerika there known there as JLAxis. This team had a variation of Batman known as Der Grösshorn Eule or Leatherwing. Apparently, there was also a variation on the Flash and Green Lantern heretofore unseen as well as a pair of Winged Warriors. Also, a Valkyrie named Brunhilde was among the JLAxis, corresponding to Gudra of Earth-Two who had joined Axis Amerika, and who filled the role of a Wonder Woman there.

On the reconstituted Earth-10, there was a Superman named Ubermensch, although in the original Earth-X history there was instead a de-powered Clark Kent who disguised himself a a variation of the Joker, leading the LUTHAR League which battled Jimmy Olsen of Earth-One, who while on Earth-X was temporarily the superhero known as Steelman. In place of a Superman in the original Earth-X history, there was Lance and Michael Gallant who, like Billy Batson and Freedy Freeman aka Captain Marvel and Captain Marvel Junior of Earth-S, became Captain Triumph. While not officially joining the Freedom Fighters, Triumph was his world's most powerful... and only native... superhero.

Of course, the preeminent team of superheroes on Earth-X was the Freedom Fighters. Recruited and led by Uncle Sam, who along with his compatriots arrived from their native Earth-Two to assist the then-hero-less world against the hordes of the Axis Powers. As he brought most of these former All-Stars from Earth-Two during a Crisis event in 1942, something similar happened on Earth-X as happened when the citizens of Earth-B migrated to Earth-One during the Crisis... the Fighters seemingly merged with their Earth-X counterparts! And so, such heroes as Doll Man and Phantom Lady merged with the Darrel Dane and Sandra Knight of Earth-X, which enabled them to renew acquaintances with counterparts of Darrell's girlfriend Martha and Sandra's father Henry, among others. Meanwhile, the original friends and family members they left behind on Earth-Two undoubtedly had significant holes to fill with the departure of their loved ones. Such was an eventuality during times of war and conflict.