Sinister Sharks versus Amazing Amazons

The Shark was a perpetual predator who not only plagued the Green Lantern of Earth-One, Hal Jordan, but also sought other powerhouse prey. After three clashes with the Emerald Crusader, the Shark diverted his attention to the Lantern's Justice League comrades Aquaman, Superman and finally Wonder Woman. Each time he faced these Leaguers, his mutated humanoid form was reverted back to his natural state as a tiger shark. However, the atomic radiation he was initially exposed to and which caused his mutation forever affected his genetic structure, and it was only a matter of time before he regained his former stature.

In his various altered forms, the Shark possessed not only superhuman strength and the power of flight, but also vast mental powers which included the ability to induce fear in his victims. His doppelgänger on Earth-Two was born a human who gained unspecified powers after his imprisonment, although this individual known as King Shark ended up allied with his world's Green Lantern, Alan Scott. Once his girlfriend's life was saved, he disappeared never to reappear, although another man named Shark Wilson seemed to fully mutate into a shark during a clash with his reality's Aquaman. Wilson's counterpart Shark Norton was a mere criminal and foe of the Justice Leaguers Aquaman and Green Arrow.

Interestingly, additional shark-human hybrids appeared on Earth-Two, spawned by the young scientist on Paradise Island named Gerta Von Gunther. These creatures were transformed into flying mermaids, led by the sinister Sharkette, whose Earth-One cosmic twin was the Global Guardian heroine named Little Mermaid. 

Just as the Earth-One Wonder Woman initially encountered the Shark and later battled him on Paradise Island, so too had the Earth-Two Wonder Woman first met Sharkette and her blonde haired "mermaid-sharks" whom she battled on Paradise Island. The mindless mermaid minions filled in for King Shark, who never interacted with Wonder Woman, and three of these ladies found corresponding creatures in the Shark's "Princes of the Prey, whom the Shark unleashed upon Wonder Woman and her Justice League allies on a later occasion. 

Unlike the Shark and his Prey Princes, who were irredeemably evil and transformed back to their natural states, Sharkette and her mermaidens were made docile and integrated into Amazonian society. While Sharkeeta still remained the self-appointed “Queen” to her fellow mer-sharks, Shark only had a brief stint as self-proclaimed royalty when he attempted to usurp kingship of Atlantis from Aquaman under the human alter ego of Kershon.

Teams Traveling Twin Transporting Teleporters

Thanagarian Relativity Beam Systems may have been standard on that world, but they were foreign on Earth-One. Nevertheless, when Katar Hol of Thanagar-One introduced his Justice League teammates to this device, the team began incorporating these transporter tubes not only aboard their orbiting space satellite headquarters, but also in several major cities atop skyscrappers. These devices allowed League members, and their guests, to teleport from the planet below to their headquarters above.

A similar yet far superior mechanism was created on Earth-Two. Developed by the former arch-enemy of Wonder Woman turned benevolent Amazonian scientist, Paula VonGunther developed her Space Transporter. This device not only could send those projected by its rays from Earth-Two to the hyperspace world of Venus, but also to a variety of other locations... both in space and time! This mechanism, originally located beneath Holliday College in Paula's secret laboratory, had a duplicate built on Paradise Island (and possibly other locales). However, Paula had help creating this teleporter, considerable help across space and time!

While she was affiliated with Nazi Germany as one of its chief scientist, Baroness VonGunther worked alongside Helmut Streicher, also known as the Red Panzer. Streicher constructed a time-grappling device that could project and retrieve his Panzer Ship through time and space. And he himself undoubtedly adopted this technology from fellow Nazi scientist Hans Gootsden, who purchased space ships from the immortal of Oa, the Monitor.

And it seems that the combined knowledge behind assembling the Justice League Transporter and Paula’s Space Transporter culminate do in the connection the the Transmatter Cubes which the Justice League and Justice Society developed together, allowing them to traverse their two universes as often as needed!

Dual Dream Dimensions Disorient Dogooders

The Dream Dimension was first discovered by the Flash when he perceived of its existence as a band within the velocity spectrum, which he physically entered while approaching and surpassing the speed of light. This reality had previously been accessed mentally through the Amazonian Memory Chair, a devise developed on the Paradise Island of Earths One and Two, as well as the Kryptonian Symbioship which Zor-L of Krypton-Two designed.

Sometime after the Earth-One Flash ventured there, scientist named Doctor Sanford Garrett developed equipment in conjunction with the United States government allowing him to physically travel within that dimension. Offering to test this himself in order to save a high ranking official trapped within through his dreams, Sanford adopted the alter ego of Sandman, with the mission of protecting humanity from nightmares manifested therein. Sandman could only return to his home world of Earth-One one hour each day. 

Sandman eventually met the Flash and his teammates in the Justice League of America, while battling the dream-themed villain Doctor Destiny (a similar tale  involved the Justice Society vs Brain Wave). Among those present on that case was Wonder Woman, whom Sandman had previously observed from his Dream Dome and cultivated romantic feelings for... which were not reciprocated.

Interestingly, both the Wonder Woman of Earth-One and Power Girl of Earth-Two had partial existences within the Dream Dimension while mentally linked to the Memory Chair and Symbioship, wherein they had fabricated lives and adventures.  As virtual representations of themselves, these women experienced stories within the Dream Dimension that mirrored the real life tales of their cosmic twins, Supergirl of Earth-One and Wonder Woman of Earth-Two.

While the Earth-Two Sandman, Wesley Dodds, did not have direct access to the Dream Dimension as had his Earth-One doppelgänger Garrett Sanford, he did have a strong connection to dreams which he relied upon in his various adventures as a costumed crusader. Unlike Sanford, Dodds kept his relationship professional with his Justice Society teammate Wonder Woman. No doubt, his having a true love in his own dream-girl, Dian Belmont, helped him avoid looking at other women. Dian's own cosmic twin, Beautiful Dreamer of Earth-Two, also had a connection with the Dream Dimension from which she derived her powers.

Twice-Told-Tales: Manhunters Manhandle Malicious Martians

The blue-caped crusaders clad in shorts and red chest straps heroically battled malicious Martians, who sought to conspire to conquer their neighbors. These men with ties to the Mars in their universes, Martian Manhunter of Earth-One and Atom of Earth-Two, were victorious despite overwhelming odds.

Martians physiology differed  radically in the various universes they occupied. Consider the Manhunters of twin Mars as a case study. J'onn Jon'zz gained powers similar to those of Superman while residing on Earth-One. Roh Kar maintained his normal abilities without gaining additional attributes while visiting Earth-Two.

However, the reverse was also true. How so? Humans from Earth-Two gained superhuman powers on their universe's Mars, while those of Earth-One are still normal on the Mars in their reality. For example, Al "Atom" Pratt gained powers comparable to his Justice Society teammate Superman while on Mars-Two*, while Ray "Atom" Palmer remained unchanged when he and his Justice League allies ventured to Mars-One to aid their former teammate Jon'zz versus the White Martians. But what caused the divergence in superhuman abilities, granting these to Mars-One Martians and Earth-Two humans?

Apparently, this phenomenon is similar to the divergent condition between Kryptonians in each universe. Those Kryptonians living on the homeworld of Earth-Two's Superman possessed superhuman physiques due to the environmental conditions on Krypton-Two. This was not true of those Kryptonians in Earth-One's reality, as they were normal humans on Krypton-One. Perhaps, the presence of a large Blue Flame on Mars-One and a Green Flame on Earth-Two imbued native peoples of each world with the capacity to gain powers on worlds other than their own, as these flames were twin batteries charging Martians and Terrans alike.

Interestingly, a Martian guide immediately welcomed Al Pratt to his world after the Atom there, following the Tiny Titan and his Justice Society allies been exiled into space by their enemies. This individual was most probably Roh Kar, who mentally linked with Al using an Educatograph which Martians used to teach themselves such things as their native language. Now gaining the Atom's perspective, Roh Kar now doubt experienced the sensory exiliration of becoming superhuman on his homeworld. 

Years later, Roh undoubtedly appreciated when his mind-mate the Atom gained superhuman strength through exposure to radiation. It seems that the mental bond between the Mighty Mite and the Manhunting Martian was mostly benevolent, although apparently their mental link aroused suspicions within the ranks of the Justice Battalion (which the Justice Society was called during that period of time) due to the Atom’s seemingly odd behavior. 

* Martians in each universe lived on two different Mars, the twin Mars in the same solar system as Earths One and Two, and a pair of Mars-II's across the universe accessed via Hyperspace. Both the Atom and Batman of Earth-Two ventured to each Mars, and seemingly gained the same vibrant vigor of these worlds. Meanwhile, J'onn Jon'zz along with his League allies remained the same on each Mars within their own reality.

Creating Composite Counterparts

An endeavor in our research of the DC Multiverse is to explore the various facets of the parallel planets known as Earths One and Two, and this includes locating all doppelgängers on each world. For several, this is straightforward for virtual carbon copies, for heroes such as the Batmen, and villains such as the Jokers. For some, this is still relatively easy, for those such as the Hawkmen and Hawkwomen who have different appearances. For others, this is based upon powers and aliases such as the Flashes aka Barry Allen and Jay Garrick.

Then there are the few prominent protagonists and amoral antagonists on Earth-One who initially seem unique, with no direct comparisons on Earth-Two. However, upon further examination, we can ascertain a few upon deeper analysis. Consider, for example, Matt Hagen. The second man to use the alias of Clayface, his predecessor was former movie star turned criminal Basil Karlo. In fact, there was a Karlo/Clayface on both Earths... yet Matt only existed on Earth-One.

However, another man named Bart Megan existing on Earth-Two adopted the alter ego of Doctor No-Face. Having a similar modus operandi, along with appearance altering abilities, it seemed this one-hit wonder could be his world's version of the second Clayface. His placement on Earth-Two was verified in the Batman Encyclopedia, published as an authoritative work on the characters related to the Batman mythos. 

And decades later, another man with similar criminal intent using the alias of Graham Peake had... like Megan... adopted a profession as a doctor, and also like Matt had sought to synthetically alter his body mass into different shapes. When encountering Batman's daughter, the Huntress, Peake in fact was transformed into a form similar to Hagen when he was Clayface II. And so, we connect the dots, and hypothesize that Bart "Doctor No-Face" Megan and Graham Peake are one in the same person... and his world's version of the second Clayface.

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Another specimen for consideration Toby "Terra Man" Manning, a time-displaced outlaw cowboy from the 1800s who arrived in 20th century Metropolis on Earth-One to repeatedly battle Superman. Employing a variety of advanced weaponry, which Manning inherited from the alien criminal who adopted him after slaying his father, Terra-Man posed a serious threat to the Man of Steel. During one adventure, Toby encountered a counterpart from another universe, a Terra-Man from a world without a Superman.

Yet prior to this, Superman found himself at odds on Earth-One with another time-lost (and universe displaced) rogue, pirate captain Ezra Hawkins... the ancestor of Inza Nelson of Earth-Two! This man appeared similar to Manning, and also using a variety of special weaponry against the Kryptonian caped crusader.

Decades earlier, another man named Sir Traytor battled Shining Knight. This was a immortal villains from the days of Camelot, and in fact during that ancient period the Superman of Earth-Two had battled a Dark Knight who bore a striking resemblance to both Ezra Hawkins... and the sinister Sir Oswald Bane who had opposed Clark "Superman" Kent's ancestor, Brian "Silent Knight" Kent! And so, we connect the dots that Sir Bane gained immortality as Sir Traytor, assumed the alias of Ezra Hawkins in the 1500s, and reappeared in the 1940s to battling Shining Knight!

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Then there was the benevolent Professor Potter, the inventive absent minds uncle of the Earth-One Lana Lang. He had developed a wide range of technologies and gadgets, including a version of the imperfect duplicator that could transform Bizarro clones into humans. He even spawned a Bizarro version of himself. On Earth-Two, the failed cartoonist Funny Face developed the bio-ray, which could animate comic strip characters bringing them to life. Both attempts at defeating his world's Superman with various fabricated foes... including a duplicate of the Man of Steel named Flying Tiger... met with defeat.

Decades later, a kindly physician who developed a duplication ray saved Jimmy Olsen's life, by cloning an organ provided to him by Jimmy's Earth-One counterpart. Connecting these two individuals with the similar bio-ray... Funny Face who wanted to bring cartoons to life and the physician who saved lives... we hypothesize that this former criminal turned doctor was the Phineas Potter of Earth-Two!

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Finally, we consider the counterpart to the most persistent foe the Justice League ever faced. That adversary, Doctor Destiny, was originally a sinister scientist who developed a device that could fabricate dreams into reality called the Materiopikon. After four failed forays versus the League, the Doctor was incarcerated for a number of years, before finally being released from prison in his skeletal state. Caused by his lack of dreams, taken from him by a psychologist employed by the League to strip Destiny of his deadly device, this left him criminally insane.

His doppelgänger was Doctor Elba, a rogue researcher mentally manipulated by fellow felonious scientist Doctor Henry “Brain Wave” King. Using his Solution K, which corrupted those injected with the chemical concoction, Elba hatched a criminal scheme that was ultimately thwarted by the Justice Society. However, soon after, another insane man garbed as Mister Ghool used a similar chemical cocktail to manipulate the minds of his victims. This criminal, who battled Star-Spangled Kid and Stripesy. had the same modus operandi as had Doctor Elba.

These are but a few examples of tying together lose ends throughout the history of Earth-Two, and seemingly one-time characters, to form a more complete picture given a modern lens. A persistent belief had been that this world, in contrast to its contemporary Earth-One, was devoid of many key characters. Upon further examination, there is a richer legacy to be drawn from carefully dissecting tales from the various decades of publishing within the DC Comics Multiverse!

Cosmic Inbalance: Story of the Sentinent Stellar Stones

Despite a variety of reality altering events throughout history, and specifically during the middle to latter half of the 20th century, the first occasion wherein Mallo the Cosmic Balancer intervened in his native reality and its cosmic twin was in 1981. This enigmatic entity deemed it necessary to intervene in the events of humanity, as he perceived an inbalance in his own reality of Earth-Two as well as its closest cosmic kin, that of Earth-One.

Specifically, upon analyzing the various superhumans populating both worlds, most costumed crusaders had correlating counterparts with compatiable capabilities. This included the Supermen, the Flashes, the Green Lanterns, and the Hawkmen... despite the fact that, aside from the Hawkmen, each doppleganger derived his powers from a separate power source. For Superman-One, it was a yellow sun and lighter gravity. For Superman-Two, it was genetic adaptation to his native Krypton. For Flash-One, it was immersion lightning charges chemics. For Flash-Two, it was by inhaling hard water fumes. For Green Lanterns One and Two, it was the specific types of green plasma compatiable with each of their universes.

Then there was the twin Tiny Titans, the Atoms also known as Ray Palmer and Al Pratt. While Al of Earth-Two possessed superstrength from Tholium radiation, Ray of Earth-One possessed size-changing abilities from a sentinent White Dwarf Star fragment. Tholium existed on both worlds, however the fragment was specific to Earth-One. Other techniques for shrinking, employed by Doctor Mid-Nite and Brain Wave, used magnetic contraction of atomic particles.

The reason Mallo intervened at this point, rather than years or even centuries before, is because the doppelgänger of the White Dwarf Star Core fragment was the the fragment of the Green Flame Starheart meteor which crashlanded at the same time a dimension away. However, while the Dwarf Star plunged onto the area that would become Ivy Town in the North American continent of Earth-One, the sentient Starheart plunged onto the Earth-Two continent of Asia in the area of a future Chinese village.

And in 1979, the alien entity named Zalaz stole the Starheart globe from the star which it resided within.* Bringing it to the Earth-One universe, its radiation was emitted from the globe throughout that reality. To balance this out, comparable (if compacted amount of) white dwarf** radiation was pulled from Ray Palmer’s equipment and transmitted into Al Pratt’s on Earth-Two***.

* Because the chaotic Green Flame energy, projected from Earth-One's universe by the Guardians of that Universe into Earth-Two's reality, was entombed within the star deemed the Starheart, that star never condensed into a white dwarf star as had its doppelgänger which powered Ray Palmer's costume

** The sun which Zalaz and his love M’La’s planet once orbited around eventually became the condensed white dwarf which plummeted to Earth-One. That sun’s counterpart in the Earth-Two universe was the star within which the Green Flame Starheart resided. Other such meteors on parallel planets such as on Earth-S originated from that same star in Earth-Two's  universe.

Hardwater’s Heroic Helping Hands

Hard water is said to be "high in dissolved minerals, largely calcium and magnesium" according to the USGG.gov website. When heated, hard water can form solid deposits of calcium carbonate in confined areas, such as within water heaters. However, moderate intake in this type of liquid can have healthy benefits on humans.

In the DC Multiverse, hard water has different physical properties in each universe it exists within. Two instances of this are in the parallel planes of existence known as Earths One and Two. And the individuals who manifested divergent abilities from this particular property as Mera and the golden age Flash.

On Earth-One, the queen of adjacent Dimension Aqua known as Queen Mera possessed the power to solidify water particulars into various objects. While other inhabitants of her native realm likewise possessed this skill, including her twin sister Hela, it was Mera who mastered it.

On Earth-Two, college student turned police scientist Jay Garrick accidentally inhaled hard water fumes overnight, causing his metabolism to become superhumanly fast. While his counterpart Barry Allen gained his similar powers from lighting striking a plethora of chemicals within his police lab, it was hard water that altered Jay. Both men became Flash, the Fastest Men of their worlds.

Jay's Garrick Laboratories experimented with hard water years later. The lab's scientists concealed this substance, which inadvertently unleashed their hyper-accelerated stored kinetic energy, which proved fast enough to even challenge Garrick as the Flash. Whether Mera's Earth-Two counterpart Queen Eeras ever employed hard water weaponry in Atlantis is also unknown.

Interestingly, the Water Sprites of Earth-One had hard water based powers similar to Mera, who were allies of she and her husband Aquaman. Qwsp and his Sprite brethren’s doppelgängers on Earth-Two were the Thunderbolts with lighnting-based powers derived from sparks of electricity similar to that which empowering a Barry-Flash. They were of the Thunderbolt Dimension, the Earth-Two version of Earth-One’s Dimension Aqua.*

* While on Earth-One, lightning energy translates into speed force and hard water translates into solidified constructs, on Earth-Two it is the reverse with hard water translating into speed force and lightning energy into solidified constructs.

Ominous Ocean Overlord & Sinister Sea Sleuth

Orm Curry and Phineas Pike were two men fascinated with the world underneath the waves. Both were connected with the Aquaman of their respective worlds, with Orm being the Earth-One Aquaman's half-brother and Phineas being the Earth-Two Aquaman's best friend. Each used their genius intellect to device techniques to master the sea and the lives within it. And yet, tragedy struck, altering the behavior and personality of both Curry and Pike. Mister Marius and Mister Styx were born!

Orm as the Ocean Master and Pike as the Sea Sleuth had repeat encounters with the Kings of the Sea, second only to the Aquamen's arch-enemies, Black Manta and Black Jack. Each aspired to be like these marine marauders, yet didn't possess the necessary physique to match them. While Orm used his scientific acumen to devise specialized devices allowing him to breath underwater and survive its crushing depths, Phineas used his biological knowledge to help him control sea-life.

Due to some type of accident, Orm lost his memory and gained criminal attributes, fed by his jealously for his half-brother Arthur... now unaware of their relationship. Each time they met, Arthur as Aquaman attempted to persuade Orm to seek help which he refused. On one occasion, Orm inflicted amnesia on Arthur, manipulating him into being his minion. As Mister Marius founder of Marius Enterprises, Orm attempted to finance an undersea city, which Batman suspected was a criminal scheme. Together with Aquaman, who regained his memories, the pair of Justice Leaguers exposed Ocean Master's plot, although the villain escaped. He would later return to torment his sibling.

As for Phineas, after having a few adventures alongside Aquaman in 1949, he disappeared for three years. Then in 1952, a mysterious man named Mister Styx appeared with a scheme to hide high-profile criminals within his "Aqua-Lair", a facility undoubtedly inspired by Aquaman himself! Batman and Robin were able to track Styx and his minions back to their base, which was actually in a freighter rather than beneath the seas. 

This Mister Styx looked suspiciously like the Sea Sleuth, although Phineas appeared a bit thinner. Might a similar head trauma, which had been inflicted on his counterpart Ocean Master, have also caused Sea Sleuth to develop an evil persona? The evidence seems clear. Unlike his doppelgänger Orm, Phineas never reappeared… as either Mister Styx nor as the Sea Sleuth.

As for Ocean Master, he would later battle Aquaman and his fellow Justice Leaguers, as a member of the Anti-Justice League, while also dueling with his brother’s sidekick Aqualad and his teammates in the Teen Titans.

Marine Marauders Menace Maritime Monarchs

While the Aquamen were most often the dominant Kings of the Sea, with their mastery of mentally motivating marine life, each faced a similar threat that nearly challenged their title. Marine Marauder and the Master of Marineland were inventive men who developed the mechanical means of telepathically controlling creatures of the depths with devices of their own design.

A former marine biologist, the mysterious man who would become the Marine Marauder, coerced various aquatic mammals to do his bidding. The Marauder captured a medical freighter in the Atlantic Ocean, holding it ransom. However, the timely intervention of the Earth-One Aquaman and his wife Mera freed the vessel. Marine Marauder escaped capture.

Tom Lariar was a relentless photographer, seeking to expose the Earth-Two Aquaman's lack of control toward underwater sealife. After an attack on a cargo vessel by subservient swordfish and a subsequent confrontation with sea cows, Aquaman notices that Lariar is present on both occasions and tracks him back to his secret hideaway. However, Aquaman used water ejected from the blowhole of a whale under the Master of Marineland's control to unbalance the criminal, separating him from his gadgetry.

While the unnamed man who was Marine Marauder incorporated his telepathic sending device within his mask, Tom Lariar in his Marineland Master alias incorporated his telepathic sending device within his camera. After these initial encounters, neither villain returned, although a robotic duplicate developed by the Ocean Master was later built as a tool to use against Aquaman.

Vile Vrangs & Just Jeyes: Foes & Friends of Superman

Unique quirks occur in the parallel planes of existence where Earths One and Two reside. Among these, some alien species are dramatically different, not just in their form but also in their function. Such is the case with the residents of parallel planets Vrang and Jeyes.

The Vrang were an intergalactic species of conquerors, who first visited Earth-One in the early 1980s. Centuries earlier, they had been invaders of Krypton-One, enslaving the Kryptonians until an uprising rebelled against these alien overlords. During the late 20th century, a Vrang vessel discovered the remained of Krypton's Argo City floating in space, with evidence that two Kryptonians... Superman and Supergirl... survived! As they approached, Earth-One, the invisible energy-wrath residents of the Phantom Zone.... who were criminals exiled from Krypton before it exploded... escaped that dimension to face the hated Vrang.

The Jeyes were an intergalactic species of explorers, who first visited Earth-Two in the early 1950s. While it is possible that centuries earlier they had journeyed to Krypton-Two, their presence would have remained undetected. This is due to the nature of their physical being, as invisible energy-wraths. When one of their vessels crash-landed on Earth-Two, the Jeyes telepathically contacted Susie Thompkins... niece of that world's Superman.

While Superman-One worked alongside four Phantom Zone criminals to vanquish the surviving Vrang, Superman-Two along with Susie and his wife Lois Lane Kent assisted the Jeyes in restoring their space craft and sending them back to their homeworld. Later, Superman-Two asked for their assistance in borrowing one of their spacecraft for a special mission, which they gladly agreed to provide.

While the four Phantom Zone criminals, now in solidified physical bodies, used their superhuman abilities to counteract the Vrang spaceship's massive weaponry, only the golden age Superman directly confronted the Jeyes spaceship's amazing armaments. Although for the greatest hero of Earth-Two, his wife and niece lent support from a protective bubble nearby.

It’s interesting that on Krypton-One, a large number of Kryptonian survivors were phantoms while their Vrang foes still had solid bodies, while the Vrang's counterparts the Jeyes were themselves phantoms. Quite likely, some of these Jeyes were the phantom rogues who battled some of Superman's Justice Society allies.

Hideous Headmen's Heinous Headquarters

Previously we had discussed the first headquarters of the Injustice Gang, as well as the later base of operations for the Injustice Society's Brainwave and his henchmen aboard a pair of orbiting satellites. However the more famous sinister citadels for these megalomical menaces were locales also frequented by their arch-enemies, the Justice League and Justice Society!

Throughout the formative initial years of the Justice League, they utilized a cave just outside the seaside town of Happy Harbor, which they refashioned into a stylized headquarters. Contained therein was a centralized meeting room, as well as a trophy room, gymnasium, library, kitchen, and hanger for the team's various aircraft. This fortress of solitude was used up until honorary League member Snapper Carr betrayed his teammates, revealing the cave's location to Batman's arch-enemy the Joker. The League abandoned the site, building their own satellite headquarters in its place, more inaccessible to their adversaries.

Following his first foray versus the Justice Society, Brain Wave transitioned his base of operations from a highend skyscraper condo into a lighthouse off the coast of Sharktooth Bay. This locale included a meeting room, laboratory and a dungeon. From this tower, Brain Wave launched to attacks against his arch-foes, first by capturing the Society members and later by shrinking the team.

Abra Kadabra, an adversary of the Flash from the 64th century, recruited the Injustice Gang into forming its third incarnation. He schemed that the League's now abandoned Happy Harbor cave would be the ideal location for the Gang. However, the Justice League along with Earth-Prime's sole superhero Ultraa tracked the supervillains to the old HQ and defeated them.

Similarly, while not an intentional headquarters for the Society, the Sharktooth Bay tower was more like their recurring prison. Their girlfriends, dressed up like the heroes themselves, helped free the Society members who then vanquished Brain Wave. Later, a return engagement with the Brain Wave led to his tower being permanently destroyed when Society ally Thunderbolt moved the criminal's bomb from where the heroes were to underneath the tower itself!

Twice-Told-Tales: enacious Tin-Soldiers Terrorize Twin Titans

Eric Knowles was a master craftsman and toymaker, who came to prominence in Gotham City on Earth-Two. While appearing to be a reputable businessman in public, even appearing on radio announcer Alan Scott's WXYZ program, Knowles was secretly the costumed criminal known as the Tin Soldier.

His counterpart on Earth-One was given the alias Key-Man #1 by his master, the Key... a recurring adversary of the Justice League of America. When Key and his Key-Man threatened the safety of Saint Louis, Missouri, the Justice League assembled. This included Green Lantern, though not the one who was their teammate!

The initial confrontation between Alan's alter ego Green Lantern and Tin Soldier ended with Scott being knocked unconscious by an exlarged yo-yo lauched from Knowle's hand. Before Hal Jordan could join his League teammates, he slipped on a bar of soap and was knocked unconscious. His power ring recruited one of Jordan's two backups, architect John Stewart, to substitute as the Green Lantern for this adventure.

Both John and Alan faced off against their tenacious foes, as Key-Man #1 sent Tin Soldier robots to deal with Stewart and the Red Tornado, while other gimmicks of the Key preoccupied the other Leaguers. Similiarly, Alan had a rematch with his Tin Solder, which once more saw his foe gain the upper hand. 

Thankfully, both the Tin Soldiers' master and Tin Soldier himself were defeated. Key-Man #1 had been secretly replaced by honorary Leaguer known as the Phantom Stranger, who saved the lives of his teammates. And Green Lantern Alan Scott eacaped Tin Soldier's tornado top and turned his automated minions against him.

The Key escaped the grasp of his Justice League adversaries, who turned his scheme of destroying a part of St. Louis into an opportunity to rebuild the city's dilapidated domiciles, with help from John Stewart's power ring coupled with his brilliant architectural mind. As for the Key of Earth-Two, he had no known connection to the Tin Soldier, and faced Green Lantern Alan Scott and the Justice Society members during their last case in 1951.

Evil Enigmas Engineer Elemental Endgames

Each universe within the Multiverse have common aspects, as well as divergent exceptions. Among these are unique elements to each reality. One such example was the mystery element known as Dexium, first discovered in the late 1940s on Earth-Two.

Research scientist and amateur archaeologist Carter Hall was tasked with discovering hidden aspects of this recently discovered element. Undoubtedly, he would have recruited his Justice Society teammate Jay "Flash" Garrick, who himself was a leading chemist, to assist him in dissecting this curious anomaly. However, before he could, the Dexium was stolen!

In fact, it was the criminal "Bulk" Mane who had sent his henchman to abscond with this revolutionary chemical concoction. which seemingly caused an ancient mace to move by itself through the air.  In fact, that mace was being held by Hall's fiancee Shiera Sanders in her Hawkgirl identity, as she attempted to prevent the theft while making herself invisible. The catalytic element causing this invisibility was the Dexium! Carter in his Hawkman alter ego tracked down both Hawkgirl and her captors, bringing Bane and his minions to justice.

A similarly menacing man-mountain named Java was given an ancient instrument known as the Orb of Ra, which contained a meteorite fragment which could unleash elemental transformations. This occurred when his employer Simon Stagg tasked Java with sealing his contracted employee Rex Mason within an Egyptian tomb. The meteor's radiation transformed Mason into Metamopho, the Element Man. On later occasions, Java would use manufactured duplicates of the Orb of Ra to attempt to vanquish Rex, whom he saw a rival to the affections of Stagg's daughter Sapphire.

Interestingly, Carter was a distant descendant of Prince Khufu, who was the counterpart of Rex Mason! While Mason... who had been transported to the same ancient Egyptian era that Khufu resided in... later found his humanity stripped away with his mind now within the Metamorpho body in the 20th century... Khufu's mind would merged with Hall in the modern day. It would be a colleague of Hawkman, Sandy Hawkins, who would transform into his own Metamorpho-style Silicon body. Meanwhile, Carter's Earth-One counterpart Katar "Hawkman" Hol was a teammate of fellow Justice League alum Metamorpho.

Senhorita & Senorita Sensations of South America

Damsel doppelgängers Beatriz Da Costa and Mariana De Las Cordelliras were near mirror-images of one another, legendary lasses of South America with divergent pasts. While Beatriz lived in Brazil, Mariana lived in neighboring Columbia. Despite their differences, each lady charted a course guided by internal drive and external opportunities to be heroines in their native lands.

Beatriz achieved her career goal as the president of Wayne Enterprises in native Brazil on Earth-One. Secretly, she had an alter ego as Green Fury, her country's powerful protector, using powers given to her as a child. These included the ability to create illusions with her dazzle effect, flame and ice breath, and the power of flight. When she briefly resided in Gotham City in the United States to train under the Foundation's CEO Bruce Wayne for her new position, she likewise became an auxiliary member of the Super Friend training with Wayne's alias the Batman. 

Mariana discovered her familial connection with Hop Harrigan, who was a part owner of All-American Avaition. When Hop journeyed to her homeland of Columbia on Earth-Two, he met his long-lost sister Mariana, who invited her back to the United States to join him in his business. Although Mariana never gained powers like her counterpart, as her world's version of the Green Fury was an extra-terrestrial Thunderbolt in Brazil, she still showed her courage when joining Hop in some of his adventures and was an adept pilot.

Beatriz as Green Fury eventually joined the Global Guardians as a founding member of this international group of superheroes. Mariana presumably settled down with Hop's best friend Tank Tinker, whom she dated soon after they met.

Ace Archers Battling Bowman Avenger Arrows: Life After Loss

The Battling Bowmen known as Green Arrow and Speedy on both Earths One and Two had long prestigious careers battling crime, supported by the wealth of Arrow's alter ego Oliver Queen. Their wards and sidekicks named Roy Harper faithful stuck to their mentors, both in their civilian identities and aliases as Speedy. And then, tragedy struck for each Dynamic Duo!

On Earth-One, Oliver and Roy gradually drifted apart. As Queen lost his business and millions of dollars, he reassessed his priorities and charted a new life course. With a brand new costume and focus in life, Green Arrow simultaneously began a long-term romance with Dinah "Black Canary" Lance when she migrated from Earth-Two to his world, and joined with hi in the Justice League.

Meanwhile, Roy gradually pulled away from even his close friends in the Teen Titans, and fell into a pattern of substance abuse. While eventually coming out of this, he no longer trusted Oliver as being there to support him, and started a solo crimefighting career.

On Earth-Two, Green Arrow and Speedy were members of the Law's Legionnaires, also known as the Seven Soldiers of Victory. When they were pulled from their native time period in the late 1940's due to their battle alongside their fellow Soldiers versus the Nebula Man, there were still stories told specially about them on through the late 1950s. 

These post 1948 tales can either be ascribed to untold adventures from the 1940s, or new cases upon their return to the 20th century in the early 1970s. There is logic in assuming that several of Arrow and Speedy's adventures took place after October of 1972, when they and their fellow Soldiers returned to the present. Their teammate Vigilante faced a similar situation, as his tales were still told until 1954, years after he disappeared.

The dynamic between this pair of archers remained familial, unlike that of the silver age archers of Earth-One, as a rift developed between Green Arrow and Speedy. Part of this may have been due to Arrow's alter ego Oliver Queen losing his fortune, which his counterpart evidentally never experienced. Then there is the fact that unlike their dopplegangers on Earth-Two who were members of the same team blending adult and teen heroes together, the Earth-One Green Arrow was heavily involved with the older Justice League, while Speedy centered his activities with the Teen Titans.

Father Time(s) 2: Temporal Tyrants Tyrannize Timelines

Future possible timelines for each individual universe seemingly spawn myriad variations of each Earth, similar to the Multiverse itself. Those who manipulate and master these temporal probabilities can cause drastic changes to occur. Among those who've attempted this was the Father Time of Earths One and Two.

On Earth-Two, an unidentified elderly gentleman apparently harnessed chrono- energies within a scythe he wielded, which could revert objects to earlier or latter forms within the timestream. Despite this awesome power at his fingertips, this Father Time lacked imagination and simply used this for simple thefts. Although having a dramatic edge against his masked opponent the Wildcat, he was defeated when the two clashed.

On Earth-One, another version of Father Time appeared, this one posing a significant threat to Superman! A Green Lantern from a thousand years in the future disguised himself as the villainous Father Time*, and sent Superman into his era but in the Great Disaster timeline. Battling a future champion with powers like his, Superman and his foe unleashed enough energy to revert the timelines into two unique futures. 

It was revealed by "Father Time" that the evil Time Trapper* manipulated energy from the future Green Lantern Corps in order to eliminate the 30th century prime timeline, thereby erasing from existence his old enemies the Legion of Super-Heroes. With that future now restored, it once more became the Earth-One unaffected by either the Great Disaster of Earth-AD or the Crisis on Infinite Earths, both of which occurred in two distinct futures.

* Time Trapper's Earth-Two counterpart, Doctor Doome, had ventured into the future following his defeat at the hands of Law's Legionnaires, and used his time machine to escape capture. It is possible that Doome's influence somehow created the branching future timeline of Earth-Two-A.

Avenging Auras Adversely Affect Antagonist Anomalies

When Batman first encountered the young amnesiac woman Violet Harper, he saw her manifest the ability project various colored auras around her body. Each of these manifested as a unique ability, which she used in her costumed career as the superheroine known as Halo.

However, this wasn't the first time he saw such auras projected from a human, granting a person mighty powers. In fact, Batman himself had similiar aura-based energies on one occasion, years earlier when confronting his old foe... Doctor Double-X. And then several months later, after encountering the alien entity known as Aquarius. However, each time there was a different manifestation of this process.

In order to defeat Doctor Double X, Batman used the same device which the doctor developed to created his aura-clone, Double X, and spawned Double Batman. This energy duplicate had superstrength, the power of flight and could emit electrical charges from its hands. Once victorious, this Bat-aura destroyed itself, which would later be replaced by another avenging ace. 

Later, while Batman and his allies in the Justice League traveled to Earth-Two to assist the Justice Society in defeating the aggressive alien Aquarius, a residual effect when returning to Earth-One led to the Leaguers inadvertently birthing negative aura-clones of themselves. These had powers similar to the originals, which the heroes quickly vanquished.

While the laws of physics in the Earth-One realm naturally included the ability to split one's aura from oneself with the proper mechanism, the physical laws of Earth-Two were the reverse, with such auras being absorbed within a person through devices such as Doctor Mid-Nite's cryotuber and Aquarius’ cosmic radiation. 

Years later, the counterpart of the Aurakle alien which Violet merged with to become Halo was able to create its own body, separate from that of Harper's Earth-Two counterpart Marcie Cooper. This being, Chroma, was a physically separate manifestation from Cooper... much as the Double X clones were to Doctor Double X and Batman. Unlike Chroma, Aurakle wasn’t capable of accomplishing this feat.

With his prior experience with related powers, Batman was able to successfully train Halo in harnessing her own aura-abilities.

Faux-Faces Facsimile Facades

The original Clayface was Basil Karlo, a once-famed movie star who's signature role in the film "Dread Castle" as the antagonist known as "the Terror" was recast. This caused the already mentally unhinged actor to adopt his new role, as a devious master of disguises. Seeking out the cast members of the new film, one-by-one Clayface attempts to take each actor's life. When millionaire Bruce Wayne's fiancée Julie Madison is threatened given her starring role, Wayne's alter ego as the Batman along with his sidekick Robin pursues Clayface. After defeating Karlo, he has to once more track down the villain  a year later when Basil escapes. Together, the Dynamic Duo once more bring Clayface to justice. These same events transpired on both Earths One and Two. At a certain point, the two Karlo's lives diverge.

While the Earth-Two Karlo nevermore resurfaces, the Earth-One Karlo escapes Arkham Asylum in order to confront movie producer John Carlinger who was screening Basil's films. In the conflict, Carlinger overcomes Karlo and slays him, then adopts the role of Clayface in order to eliminate three actors who attempted to audit John's production company. Batman uncovers this new Clayface's identity and defeats him.

Back on Earth-Two, a mysterious man known only as the Face tormented businessman Billy Winslow, a friend of millionaire Wesley Dodds. When reaching out to Dodds for help after breaking in his home, Winslow reveals his pursuit of the Face. This leads to Wesley's alter ego as the Sandman confronting the Face, discovering the villain was intent on securing Winslow's Oklahoma oil well holdings. In the ensuing battle, it was thought that the Face lost his life when crashing in a river.

Other men would succeed Karlo, using the same method of operations versus the Batmen. On Earth-One, the second Clayface was treasure hunter Matt Hagen... while on Earth-Two, there next appeared Doctor No-Face also known as criminal Bart Megan. These men discovered the means to radically alter their appearance through scientific means beyond anything either Basil Karlo was able to achieve.

Policemen Portray Powerfully Prominent Protectors

Wealthy playboy Dirk Giles sought to attract the attention of the girl he loved Hazel. Although she had no feelings for Giles, she was an avid fan of the Martian Manhunter, and so Dirk hatched a scheme whereby he disguised himself as the hero. After a series of feats that replicated some of the abilities of the Manhunter of Mars, he encountered the real alien atlas who attempted to ascertain the motivation for the impersonation. 

However, both J'Onn and Dirk also attracted the attention of a gang set on defeating the resident hero(es), although the pair worked side-by-side to defeat the crooks instead. Hazel did indeed fall in love with Giles, although she made him swear to give up his caped crusader career once and for all.

These two Manhunters, J'Onn/John and Dirk, matched that of Earth-Two's Roh Kar and a Larry Trent, known for his prominent role as part of the Radio Patrol. Roh Kar was a native Martian who was himself a Manhunter, and once journeyed to Earth-Two to team up with Batman and Robin. He never adopted an alias as a human police detective, that role would be filled by Trent.

Police officer Larry Jimmy Trent worked alongside his partner Sandy Keane as the "Radio Patrol", capturing various unusual criminals in New York City during the early 1940's on Earth-Two. Possessing a peak physique and intuitive investigative skills, Officer Trent even brought a young Alexie Luther to justice, shortly before that villain met his arch-foe Superman.

Trent was inspired towards this crimefighting career due to the influence of Superman, who saved him from a suicide attempt. Larry had previously been a professional boxer until a corrupt manager ended his career, and the Man of Steel impersonated Trent in order to restore his reputation. Once this was accomplished, Larry decided to pursue a new life, like that of another superstrong alien officer in John Jones*.

* While only the "Larry Trent" portrayed by Superman had superstrength, the individual who actually possessed equivalent physical might to that of the Justice League‘s Martian Manhunter  was the Justice Society’s Doctor Fate. And at least in one instance, the Manhunter's strength was controlled by the League's arch-foe Felix Faust, counterpart to Doctor Fate!

Devious Dust Devils Deemed Decidedly Destructive

The Dust Devils of the planet Rhynthar were a marauding species in the Alpha-Centari solar system, feared by the inhabitants of Rann-One and enlisted by the sinister scientist named Kaskor into becoming his unwitting minions. When his Zeta-Beams first transported Adam Strange, his fiancee Alanna and other residents of Rann to their world, they immediately came into conflict with these other-world invaders. Using his mastery of science to solidify all save one Dust Devil into immobile glass, Adam and his people returned to Rann to confront and defeat Kaskor.

However, the sole survivor among the Dust Devils named Jakarta traveled back to Rann-One and eventually Earth-One, hiding within Strange's gun holster. Studying both worlds and his people's foe, Jakarta and Adam Strange had two more encounters with one another, resulting in Adam rendering Jakarta inert back on Earth-One. Shortly after this*, two entities from the dimension of Quarm were drawn to Earth-One, inhabiting silicon-based bodies. One of these became a Sand Superman duplicate of the original Man of Steel, battling the hero repeatedly before the two resolved their differences.

As previously mentioned, a rare breed of partially silicon-based creatures were native to Earth-One, that being the Metamorphs who were formerly the ancient Roman soldier Algon, explorer Rex "Metamorpho" Mason and his ally government agent Urania "Element Girl" Blackwell. 

On Earth-Two in a parallel universe, a species of metamorphic silicon-based creatures resided in the Gobi Desert, led by their leader Ben Otan who along with his chief lieutenant and a small army of sand-beings sought to eliminate from their world all humanity. Having once been humans themselves during the time of Genghis Khan, these former soldiers of the Mongolian warlord were transformed into their current forms by a weapon devised by the Sandman and Metamorpho, who teamed up when traveling back to that era from the 20th century. The same process would centuries later transform Sandman's sidekick Sandy Hawkins into a Silicon Creature himself, who would aid his former mentor before eventually regaining his humanity once more. Unlike the Dust Devils, these Sand Beings could transform from malleable sand to a form of animated glass.

While the Sand Beings were all wiped out during a conflict with the Flash of Earth-Two, its seems a few Dust Devils escaped extinctions from their species' encounters with Adam Strange, as they later once more menace men as pawns during the Kanjar Ro and Hyathis war of worlds between Rann-One and Thanagar-One.

* The two Quarmer creatures entered the "Earth-One universe" shortly after the Dust Devils will eliminated. Once these two beings returned to their native realm, new Dust Devils once more appeared on Rann. Whether new Sand Beings were spawned on Earth-Two after their meeting with the Flash is unknown.

Justice like Lightning Should Ever Appear

"Justice, like lightning, should ever appear... to some men hope, to other men fear". This was the adage upon which 1976 Olympic Medialist turned school teacher Jefferson Pierce centered his life around. Motivated to do more for his community in Metropolis' Suicide Slum on Earth-One, Pierce adopted the alter ego of the Black Lightning to stem out the evil that infected it, inflicted upon it by the criminal cartel known as the 100. On the parallel planet of Earth-Two, Pierce's doppelgänger Will Everett likewise sought justice from racial oppression, following his Olympic medalist performance in the 1936 Olympics. This led to his costumed crusade as Amazing Man, seeking more from life than his current custodial career.

Both men were crafted with electrical-based powers, developed by Jefferson's friend Peter Gambi and Will's employer Terry Curtis. Will Everett. Gambi developed an electric power belt which could envelope its owner in an electro-magnetic force field, allowing its wearer the ability to discharge electrical blasts while augmenting his strength to superhuman levels. Curtis constructed his electro-generator which transformed humans into becoming living electricity emitting batteries. 

Over time, Gambi's belt genetically altered its new owner, as Pierce eventually internalized its energies and no longer needed the belt. However, while the first recipient of Curtis' generator likewise internalized its energies and became the supervillain named Deathbolt, the second person exposed to it did not. When it was Everett's turn, the device exploded and genetically altered Everett into gaining the ability to transform his body into any substance he touched. This is probably due to the source of the generator's power, the ancient artifact which Curtis' employer the Ultra-Humanite had obtained from his henchman, "Fairytales" Fenton. Like the Orb of Ra of Earth-One, this Hammer of Thor had transmutation properties*. Thus, Amazing Man's electrical-based abilities were more similar to those of Black Lightning's Outsiders teammate Metamorpho than to his own.

* Notice that the electrical energy surrounding Deathbolt while on the electo-generator machine was yellow, while the energy surrounding Amazing Man was pinkish-red like Johnny Thunder’s Thunderbolt. When Will was exposed to the machine, Fenton’s hammer apparently pulled energy from Thunderbolt into it, granting Everett its metamorphic abilities! 

Syndicate Superheroes: Criminals No More

The Crime Syndicate were the preeminent team of superhumans on Earth-Three, there world's version of the Justice League, Justice Society, Squadron of Justice and Sentinels of Justice. However, unlike those mightiest heroes of Earths One, Two, S and Four... the Syndicate weren't heroes. At least, that's not how they began, nor how they portrayed themselves throughout most of their existence on Earth-Three. They were a highly successful quintet of supervillains who plundered their planet, successfully defeating every threat who opposed them from their world. The Rogue Hunters, and perhaps other similarly stylized high-tech bounty hunters, provided them a challenge throughout the years. Still, only the League and Society were able to vanquish these felons, exiling them for years within interdimensional limbo.

When they eventually escaped their prison and returned home, they each met Earth-Three's first native born superhero, Alex Luthor. The genius inventor, armed with his technologically advanced suit of armor, was able to temporarily stave off the plans of the individual Syndicators. Nevertheless, the five villains were able to repeatedly build upon their ill-gotten gains. Yet something had seemingly changed.

Perhaps it was years of reflection, as to the admiration the League and Society earned by their Earth's inhabitants for their heroic exploits. Perhaps it was due to Alex Luthor's timeless persistent had opposing them. Or perhaps, it was the threat of their world ending during during the Crisis on Infinite Earths. Regardless, by the time the anti-matter waves of destructive energy threated Earth-Three during the Crisis, it was the Syndicate who attempted to save as many lives as possible. As the Monitor mentioned, these five were now heroes which he planned to recruit in his strategy to defeat his arch-enemy, the Anti-Monitor... and save the Multiverse.

However, as each Syndicators as well as Alex and Lois Luthor perished with their universe, Monitor recruited replacements to take their place in his mission. Instead of Ultraman, it was his counterpart Superman of Earth-Two. In place of Power Ring, it was another emerald gladiator in the Green Lantern named John Stewart of Earth-One. Rather than the dark knight mental manipulator Owlman, it was the the emotional shadowcast Obsidan of Earth-Three. And substituting for Amazonian Super Woman and super-speedster Johnny Quick was Outsider Geo-Force and Teen Titan Cyborg.