After their first meeting, the Secret Society of Earth-One quickly found themselves in conflict against their mysterious founder, Darkseid, thanks to the provocation of their leader the Manhunter. Seeing the insurrection and wishing to quell it quickly, Darkseid sent his henchman Mantis the Power Parasite to tame this terrible team in their headquarters. Facing off versus heroes Manhunter and Captain Comet as well as their erstwhile allies Gorilla Grodd, Star Sapphire, Captain Cold, Captain Boomerang and Hi-Jack... the Society finally overwhelms Mantis who retreats to recharge. Similarly on Earth-Two, the fourth incarnation of the Injustice Society had secretly maneuvered themselves into the headquarters of the Justice Society. This led to a pitched battled led by Hawkman with the Flash, Star-Spangled Kid versus the Injustice leader the Icicle and his allies Brain Wave, Thinker, and the Wizard. Yes, the same Wizard who sat out in the Secret Society's battle versus Mantis. So on both occasions on parallel planets, there were the following similar sets of players involved in these battles: two telepaths, a star-powered being, a cold-generating felon, two gifted gliders, a Flash and a Flash foe, and two Power players. Twice-told-tale, perhaps?
Himself a clone of the original and secretly a superhero, Manhunter felt that luring the leader of Apokolips to his world and having its villains combat him would kill two birds with one stone, so to speak. In fact, Darkseid beat a hasty retreat due to the Society's superior numbers, although their leader charged in try defeating the dark master and instead found his life extinguished. Darkseid would abandon his plan to utilized villains from this Earth, but would reserve the right to seek ones from its twin a universe away!
In fact, not long thereafter, it was Darkseid himself who seemingly was no more... when in fact he created a duplicate body on Earth-Two and recruited the Injustice Society to further his sinister schemes. While the Secret Society had more conviction and courage, due to their leader and fellow hero Captain Comet in their midst, the Injustice Society were willing dupes for Darkseid. And yet, his plan to transport Apokolips into Earth-Two's space in its universe was thwarted by the Justice League, Justice Society and New Genesisians who assembled to combat him.
Following the death of their leader and the severance from their creator, the Secret Society was left in a power vaccum from which several of its members would attempt to usurp its authority. First Lex Luthor and then the mysterious benefactor behind the Society's business manager Funky Flashman would send the group off into strange and uncharted courses for a supervillain organization. Comet and Hawkman quickly trounce a vengeful Sinestro who is attempting to destroy the Society's Sinister Citadel building. Captains Boomerang, Cold and Stingaree would go on a tangential crime spree whereby they kidnapped professional captains in space, in sports, on the sea... although they are defeated by Comet and the Black Canary. Luthor's own plan to recruit specific members to defeat Superman fails when its found out that their target isn't the real Man of Steel but an actor.
As for their counterparts at that time, the Injustice Society, the first of that incarnation's members to appear were the Fiddler and Solomon Grundy. These rogues attempted to sway Wildcat into eliminating his teammate Hawkmen in the streets of Toyko, however they themselves were defeated by the combined Justice Society that appeared on the scene. The other four members had formed an alliance with Ayrn the Underlord and his subterranean race to destroy critical oil pipelines while setting forth traps laid by their captured prey, Hourman and Wildcat (he didn't have much success going up against these guys!). This scheme would itself fail, although all four seemed to have backup plans in the works, with these cunning quartet committing one among them be sent to Earth-One to recruit members for a later conquest of Earth-Two. This is how the Wizard ended up amongst the Secret Society when it first founded. And he would make good on his promise, soon...
No comments:
Post a Comment