Twice-Told-Tales: Daring Damsels Destroy Destructive Dreams

Dinah "Black Canary" Lance and Helena "Huntress" Wayne were two women with remarkable parallels in their lives. Both ladies were born on Earth-Two, second generation superheroines, living up to the legacies of their parents. Each lass lost both her mother and father to tragic events, motivating them to adopt their heroic alter egos. While the Earth-One counterparts of Dinah and Helena, Helen "Silver Swan" Alexandros and Barbara "Batgirl" Gordon, were their own women with different backgrounds and motivations from this cosmic twins... Dinah and Helena were tied in crucial ways. And in one other key aspect: their destructive dreams!

Dinah was the first who became susceptible to dreams, when she fantasized while sleeping that Larry Lance was still alive. Seeking the assistance of her Justice League teammate Superman to help her access this "Dream Dimension" to find Larry, the two Leaguers journeyed through the barrier between realities where they indeed found a version of Lance. But was this the Larry Lance who perished while protecting his Earth-Two from a cosmic threat in Aquarius... or something else?

Helena would months after this also be consumed by dreams, as she dreamt of her father Batman and mother Catwoman. Each parent appeared in the form of a bat and cat avatar, seeking to consume Helena into their individual legacies. Unfortunately, she wasn't able to call upon her teammates of the Justice Society to assist her, only police detective Gary Minelli was able to support her from the outside world.

The villains behind our marvelous maidens' dream dilemmas were individuals resding in the Arkham Asylums outside of both Earth's Gotham Cities. The first was a skeletal cloaked criminal Doctor Destiny... a long-time Justice League adversary... who manufactured his Dream Dimension, which Black Canary found herself within, through his Materioptikon device.

Another skeletal cloaked individual* was a manifestation of the former foe of Batman and the Justice Society Doctor Elba, who used Solution K to cause his victims to go insane and which Doctor Tarr and Professor Fether used on the Huntress. Thankfully, through their sheer force of willpower, Black Canary and Huntress were able to destroy these Dream Dimensions from within and vanquish their foes.

* This skeletal nightmare might have been a subconscious manifestation of Helena’s recollection of an experience, related to her by her father of the “Painter of Death”, who ended up being a skull-masked Doctor Elba… inventor of the Solution K that was now injected in her body.

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, a crook 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.

__________________

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 an 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 so, we connect the dots that the Dark Knight gained immortality as Sir Traytor, eventually assuming the alias of Ezra Hawkins in the 1500s, and reappearing in the 1940s to battling Shining Knight!

__________________

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!

__________________

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 aka Professor Able, 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, Elba adopted another alias as he became the second "Painter of Death" who preyed upon painter Pierre Antal's victims for profit. Like the original Painter, a socialite named Wylie, Elba committed suicide after his scheme was exposed by the Dark Knight Detective!

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!

Twice-Told-Tales: Diabolical Duplicates Detour Defenders

Arch-enemies of the Justice League and Justice Society, Doctor Destiny and Brain Wave employed various schemes in an attempt to eliminate their foes. On one such occasion, during their second outing against these teams of Justice, the two devious doctors created demented duplicates of the heroes that would do their bidding. These twice-told-tales followed several similar events: 1.) doctors deploying dream dupes, 2.) these rogue replicas were evil versions of the originals, 3.) good and evil versions of each team battled one another, 4.) the girlfriends of the Atoms were involved in these tales.

Doctor Destiny created the Materiopticon, with the ability to materialize the dreams of others. Through this, he spawned a Super-Atom, Super-Aquaman, Super-Batman, Super-Flash, Super-Green Arrow, Super-Green Lantern, Super-J'onn J'onzz, Super-Superman and a Super-Wonder Woman. Each of these superior versions committed crimes, and were able to overpower the originals. Unable to proof in a court of justice that they weren't the culprits, despite being defended by Atom's girlfriend lawyer Jean Loring, the Justice League were exiled into space. However, the Leaguers returned to Earth-One under their civlian alter egos, except for Aquaman. Although still unable to overcome the duplicates, the Atom is able to enter their bodies causing them to lose control of their bodily movements. Once they prove their innocence, the Justice League reappear in costume, and Doctor Destiny was jailed.

Brain Wave developed through his his own mutant mental abilities projected images to assist his minions in crimes, each thwarted by the Justice Society. While the male members were thus busy, Wonder Woman led the girlfriends of the team including Atom's girlfriend Mary James to Brain Wave's lair, where the ladies wore costumes modeled after their boyfriends. Arriving at the villain's lair, they were overcome by image clones of the Justice Society: faux-Atom, faux-Doctor Fate, faux-Doctor Mid-Nite, faux-Hawkman, faux-Johnny Thunder, faux-Sandman, faux-Spectre, faux-Starman. Soon after, the originals arrived, overpowered Brain Wave and freed the women.

Twice-Told-Tales: Devious Dreamers VS Sandmen and Justice

This week's Twice-Told-Tale stems from two temporal tyrants who mentally muscle their way into their opponent's lives, attempting to seize limitless power despite already having plenty. We present twin tales of Doctor Destiny and Brain Wave...

On Earth-One, after responded to disconcerting dreams focused at its members and a request by Commissioner Gordon, the Justice League investigates the whereabouts of Doctor Destiny who fleed his cell in Arkham Asylum. On Earth-Two, the Justice Society responded to a mental suggestion and their allies the All-Star Squadron to a broadcasted threat to appear at the World's Fair in New York. The search led the League to Ivy Town's Dream Research Institute and the Society to New York's Perisphere exhibit at the Fair. Utilizing Destiny's Materioptikon and the Brain's cerebral apparatus, the cranium criminals believed they laid the groundwork necessary to ensnare their enemies.

Aiding the League and Society are honorary allies the Green Lanterns, John Stewart and Alan Scott, who are also summonded to aid their Amazing Amazon allies the kWonder Women and the rest of their team. In the process, the assembled avengers face various threats to their sanity launched from the unstable minds of Doctor Destiny and Brain Wave who mercilessly assault their adversaries with images while safely held up in reclusive headquarters, for the former in the Dream Dome within the dream dimension while the latter was in his penthouse suite in midtown Manhattan.

Although John isn't able to tip the balance in his new-found friends' favor, Alan is thanks to his superior will power. Although the rest of the League are in cases as were the Society, it was the defender of the Dream Dimension known as the Sandman who was in position to overturn Doctor Destiny's designs while the golden age Sandman was no more than another prisoner besides his fellow Socialites. Just as the Sandman of Earth-One recruited Superman to free his fellow Leaguers, Green Lantern of Earth-Two overwhelmed King's mental control which freed the Society.

This was the last encounter Doctor Destiny would have against the Justice League, and the first direct confrontation the Justice Society had with Brain Wave. A later tale had Brain Wave as Doctor Forest Malone use a similar dream inducing equipment on the Justice Society, which mirrored a caper when Doctor Destiny invaded the Justice League's dreams. And still another encounter had both Doctor Destiny and Brain Wave creating evil image duplicates of the Justice League and Justice Society.  

It should be noted, however, that Brain Wave's initial pawn Doctor Elba, also known as Professor Alba, was the Earth-Two version of Doctor Destiny... as Elba battled the Justice Society and later as the "Painter of Death" he carried on the legacy of a previous villain, as the skull-faced foe of Batman and Robin.

As for Brain Wave's Earth-One twin, that was the mental madmen Psimon who like King displayed mental abilities. Both had a propensity to join supervillain teams in the Injustice Society and Fearsome Five, and were threats signficant enough that entire teams had to combat them.

Devious Doctors Devising Daring Dreaming

Dreams...what all men and women have... aspirations for good and for evil. On twin worlds, the course of history... two doctors desired to manipulate minds to feed their own demented desires.

Doctor Destiny aka John Dee was originally a scientist devising anti-gravity discs and will-deadening devices, which he employed versus the Justice League. When his elaborate scheme impersonating Green Lantern had failed, the Doctor employed his greatest creation in the Materioptikon. This mechanism allowed him to materialize the dreams of his opponents. Teaming up with various foes of the League on more than one occasion, he attempts to mentally manipulate his opponents into defeat. He failed each time, even when creating a replica of the heroic team.

After a series of confrontations, the League placed mental blocks in place so that Dee could no longer dream, and thereby activate his virtual Materioptikon stored within his mind. This caused his body to wither and resemble a skeletal husk. At this point, Destiny adopted a costume much like that of other supervillains. On one occasion, he actually projected an image around his prison psychiatrist* to take his place in jail, while he pursued the League once more.

Professor Elba aka Doctor Alba was a psychologist and inventor of an insanity formula known as Solution K, with which he would inject this into the bloodstreams of key witnesses of crime to cause madness. Several members of the Justice Society dealt with the after effects of this formula, and were assisted by non-member Doctor Mid-Nite in determining the root cause and the culprit behind this crime wave. 

Elba had himself been mentally manipulated by Henry King aka Brain Wave from behind the scenes, and after Able "met his doom" when accidentally injecting himself with Solution K. Brain Wave decided to become personally involved in the heroes' defeat, even creating a fake Society, and later with fellow foes as the Injustice Society. As for Doctor Elba, he survived and later pursued another Justice Society member.

Doctor Elba/Able took inspiration from a financially indebted socialite named Wylie*, who hatched a scheme whereby he formed a partnership with painter Pierre Antal. When the subjects of Antal's portraits ended up murdered by a mysterious menacing man in a redish overcoat and a skull face known as the “Painter of Death”, Batman and Robin** investigated further. The Dynamic Duo discovered that Wylie used his skeletal alter ego to slay Pierre's clientele, causing his paintings to increase in value. Once cornered, Wylie committed suicide. Elba adopted Wylie's skull-faced guise, trying to drive Batman into a mental breakdown. Despite his analysis of Wylie’s strategy and failure, when outwitted by the Batman, the psychiatrist likewise committed suicide.

* The prison psychologist who Doctor Destiny made others perceive as the Doctor, taking his place in his prison cell, was Wylie's counterpart... the original “Painter of Death” who first faced Batman.

Hawkman's Hatchery of Hate: Cloaks and Fadeway Men

When Anton Lamont first appeared in Detective Comics back in 1979, perhaps readers had assumed this was the first appearance of the cloak of Cagliostro. In fact, it was not for in Flash Comics #82 in 1982, an Earth-Two twin of that same cloak first appeared. In that instance, it was Jabez Malone who succumbed to the power exuding from it. Allowing its wearer to disappear, with the Earth-One version providing an additional attribute of dimensional travel, both Jabez and Anton faced their world's Hawkmen. After one such clash, Jabez retired while archeologist turned criminal Anton returned to plague the winged warrior and his pal Batman. Not a good idea.

Much like a certain Gentleman name Jim Craddock, a charlatan with a flair for the flamboyant, there were many parallels between the rogues gallery of Carter Hall and Katar Hol. While Craddock originated on Earth-Two and, after four battled versus that world’s Hawkman and Hawkgirl aka Carter and Sheila Hall during the late 1940s.  This so-called “Gentleman Ghost” had subsequent clashes with Superman as well as Batman and Wonder Woman in 1951 following the dissolution of the Justice Society, which had been led by Hawkman.

Craddock then journeyed to Earth-One to battle the Thanagarian Hawkman and Hawkwoman aka Katar and Shayera Hol. Following three encounters with the Winged Warriors, he shifted his focus to Gotham City where he repeatedly matched wits with a younger Batman. 

James never had opportunity to meet his actual Earth-One counterpart, Frenchman Doctor Archille Destinee aka Doctor Destiny and the Phantom of Washington. Destinee had ties to ancient Egypt and battled Metamorpho in the late 1970s. Unlike Craddock, the Phantom would ultimately perish persisting in his problematic pursuits.