Twice-Told-Tales: Green Growths Grip Globes

The Justice Society of America’s epic battle with the Iron Hand was legendary. The Hand utilized energy from his old enemies’ deadliest adversary, the Nebula Man, to ensnare Earth-Two within a gigantic glove-encircled energy hand in its grip. Nearly the entire JSA membership was present when they recruited their Earth-One counterparts to assist them. Yet, five key members weren’t with them on that occasion: Superman, Flash, Atom, Batman, and team leader Hawkman. Or were they?

Simultaneous to this 1972 encounter with the insidious green hand, the Justice League of America faced the threat of an extraterrestrial father-and-son who were galactic gardeners attempting to terraform Earth-One from its polluted state. Despite their benevolent motivations, their alien plants were having an adverse effect of the climate on the humans’ world. The League were able to outsmart the pair, ensnaring the staffs which gave these gardeners their abilities.

Amongst the League members present, both to vanquish the green gardeners and assist the Society versus the heinous hands, were the doppelgängers of those five missing Socialites. However, years later the Flash of Earth-Two was shown as present with his teammates during the Iron Hand case, while Hawkman also speaks as to having been present on this adventure.  After both teams helped recover Iron Hand’s original adversaries the Seven Soldiers of Victory from past eras, the heroes thwarted the Hand’s scheme.

And in fact a picture of one of the two initial encounters with the nebula hand shows a Hawkman and Superman present… before the League with their versions of these heroes…had arrived on their world. These three may well have been either injured on sent off to explore other options in defeating their implacable foe. A footnote to this adventure (in All-Star Comics #58) refers to the conclusion of the Hand-Saga (in Justice League of America #102), wherein pictures of those who welcomed back Star-Spangled Kid and his fellow Soldiers included the aforementioned golden age Flash. The Society’s Atom, he had been injured in the previous year’s crossover with the League, while dealing with an alien boy and his symbiotic dog.

As for the Batman, he had remained an honorary Justice Society member… and so only rarely participated in their missions. Although he did participate in some capacity when Creator2 attempted to destroy Earth-Two, and later when King Kull of Earth-S also attempted to end his planet, at least on this occasion he evidently felt the fate of the world was in good hands. Also at this time, he was mostly retired from crimefighting, having turned over his mantle to his ward and former sidekick Robin, now a grown man.