Misplaced Mechanized Motorized Marvels in the Multiverse

The six members of the Crime Champions wielded wonderous weapons against their arch-foes of the Justice League and Justice Society. Three of these supervillains originated on Earth-One, and the other three resided on Earth-Two. Among their number, two of these felons possessed mechanized marvels which they employed in various capers throughout the years.

Chronos designed his Flying Sundial, a gigantic hover craft with a protective dome allowing him to traverse various environments. Aboard this vessel, he carried numerous time-themed gadgets along with smokescreens allowing him to travel undetected.

Fiddler designed the Fiddle Car, a custom-made automobile in the shape of a gigantic fiddle on wheels affording him high-speed travel across various terrains. Within this vehicle, he carried numerous music-themed gadgets along with exhaust pipes emitting thick smoke cover.

During the Crime Champions' inaugural case, Chronos brought his Flying Sundial to Earth-Two when he faced members of the Justice League*. Years later, following his Injustice Society's latest defeat, Fiddler retrieved his Fiddle Car left behind on Earth-One when he faced the Teen Titans. While both villains were captured by their opponents and returned to their native Earths, their vehicles were left behind, Chronos and Fiddler rebuilt their Flying Sundial and Fiddler Car, or had already possessed a second set of these vehicles back on their native Earths. 

Hence, Earths One and Two each had a Flying Sundial and Fiddle Car, although those motorized marvels left each other’s world evidently collected dust from disuse after their former owners left them behind.

* Interestingly, during this same adventure, the Batman and Wonder Woman of Earth-One were seen on piloting a Batplane and Invisible Plane on Earth-Two when they battled Doctor Alchemy of the Crime Champions. Alchemy transformed these planes into winged horses in an attempt to throw the Justice Leaguers to their death. Although this scheme was unsuccessful, it was not shown what became of these transformed horses. Did they stay in those forms or revert to their motorized versions? 

It seems likely that, in fact, these were solidified energy constructs created by Doctor Fate when he brought the Leaguers to Earth-Two, using his atomic restructuring powers (since there is no record of either hero/heroine meeting his/her counterpart on this occasion and borrowing their vehicles for this adventure). These planes allowed Wonder Woman and Batman to reach their destination.

Mechanical Motorized Marvels Meet Metal Men

Gold, Lead, Platinum, Iron, Mercury and Tin. Six elements in nature, and six malleable Metal Men created by robotics scientist Will Magnus to protect his world of Earth-One. While six other Metal Men, multiple copies of each In fact, also appeared on Earth-Two… these were actually menaces to mankind summoned by Hubert Crawford from the planet Jupiter-Two. 

Interestingly, there were other mechanized marvels who aided members of the Justice Society and All-Star Squadron, just as the Metal Men had aided members of the Justice League. Only these Earth-Two automatons were specialized vehicles, which the Metal Men mimicked on occasion when they also transformed into various cars. 

These were the following vehicles and their owner operators which they utilized on numerous cases:

• Goitrude driven by cab driver Doiby Dickles, which drove Alan “Green Lantern” Scott to numerous adventures. It displayed sentience and later was capable of flight powered by Q-Force.

• Black Widow driven by Tom “The Spider” Holloway and his chauffeur Chuck. Capable of traversing not only streets but other surfaces like walls and buildings.

• Esmerelda driven by Etta Candy which carried her and her Holliday College classmates to several adventures with Wonder Woman.

• Atomobile designed and driven by Al “The Atom” Pratt which could atomically transform from a normal car into a sleek convertible, inspired by his pal Percy's Atomobile made for the Boy Commando.

• Sand-Car driven by Wesley "Sandman" Dodds along with his fiancée Dian Belmont, with a state-of-the-art engine equipped with its owner's special silicon-based weaponry.

• Doll Plane designed by Professor Roberts and driven by his future son-in-law Darrel “Doll Man” Dane which operated on autonomous remote control.

These golden and silver age “Transformers”, either had their own personalities like Goitrude or reflected those of their human partners. This corresponded to the base Responsometers at the heart of the individual Metal Men on their various replacements bodies. Despite occupying new bodies, these were the same personalities and memories of the previous models, with their unique traits, characteristics, and quirks.

Among the various threats they faced included ones also created by their creator, as Mangus in some manor had a hand in spawned the Metal Men II aka the Robots of Terror, the Gas Gang, and the Metal Women along with their teammate Platinum Man. Each of these robots caused the original Metal Men and Tina some anxiety, although they each proved to be one-and-done inventions before they were scrapped. Only the original six Metal Men, and for a time Tin's own creation known as Nameless, endured throughout the years.


By the time the Jovian Metal Horde had arrived on Earth-Two in their insatiable attempt to consume various elements, which they transformed into, these vehicles had already rendered invaluable service to their human designers and drivers. Although their aid was behind-the-scenes, they were invaluable to the members of the Justice Society and Freedom Fighters during their periods of service, before each retired.


As there were multiple copies of the Metal Horde from Jupiter, it was theoretically possible for the each of the the four malevolent Metal Men within their five separate squads confronting Justice Society members could have themselves absorbed a variety of elements, yet they all solely transformed into the elements of Gold, Silver, Magnesium, Iron, and Copper... with a sixth regime remaining on Jupiter remaining as the element Metal-X, who Starman encountered years prior to the Horde's invasion of Earth-Two. Of course, the shark-like sentient spaceship which transported the Jovians to that world also posed a threat, as had its counterpart Starro the Starfish Conqueror who invaded Earth-One. As had the Metal-X ship versus the Justice Society, Starro was defeated by the World's Greatest Heroes, the Justice League.

Corrupt Criminal Cartels Confound Crimefighters

Metropolis was known for more than their greatest hero, Superman, and greatest newspaper, the Daily Star on Earth-Two and the Daily Planet on Earth-One. They were also known for attracting some of the most dangerous criminals on either world... the Luthors, the Toymen, the Pranksters... to name a few. 

Then, there were their criminal gangs, with sophisticated networks fueled by seemingly endless manpower and resources including state of the art technology. On Earth-One, the predominant syndicates were Intergang and S.K.U.L.L.... on Earth-Two, it was named the Future Gang. Still, there were other equally deadly gangs, such as the One-Hundred and Little Bohemia. Who???

The 100 consisted of one-hundred criminal heads, centering their operations in Metropolis of Earth-One. Originally ten gang boses connected to Inter-Gang, their organization grew to become a rival to them. The first leader of the 100 was Vince Adams, a consigilere who operated a front business as a funeral parlor. He would find consistent opposition in the heroine known as Thorn, the subconscious manifestation of Rose Forrest's anger towards the 100 due to their role in her father Detective Forrest's death. 

When Thorn along with Superman and Lois Lane helped bring down the known members of the 100, it was thought that this was the end of the gang. In fact, it continued to function behind the scenes, returning a few years later under the leader Tobias Whale, the albino skinned crime boss who became the arch-enemy of Black Lightning. There would be other operatives such as Joey Toledo and the assassin named Syonide who also assisted the 100 from time to time.

Their equivalent on Earth-Two resided in a location within Metropolis known as Little Bohemia. Consisting of artists supporting their creative endeavors through larcenous activities, the first of these was Rainbow Man. Obsessed with basing crimes around various colors, his top lieutenants were the verbose Billy Deegan aka Dictionary, and the misguided poet known only as Shakes. Immediately, they were opposed by Vigilante, the crimefighting alter ego of country singer Greg Sanders, and his sidekick Stuff the Chinese Kid.  

Shortly after first appearing, Rainbow Man's contemporary crook the Benjamin "Fiddler" Bowe took up the reigns of power of this local gang. On one occasion, even Shakes operated as the gang leader before ultimately returning to Rainbow Man’s gang once more.

While these two gangs plagued Metropolis off and on for years, they never rose to the infamy of their more famous bad-blooded brethren. Still, they were notable for their unique approaches to lawlessness and the strange characters who enlisted with them.

The February 1977 Invasion of Earth-One by the Injustice Society

February 1977 was a cold winter, and not just in the northern hemisphere of Earth-One. At the same time, an epic battle of the bands was occuring in a New York Colosseum, and an equally epic battle between Darkseid with the team of villains he sponsored!

These events stem from what had previously transpired on Earth-Two, a few months earlier (despite publishing dates of these tales on Earth-Prime). There, the Injustice Society reunited in order to finally defeat their old foes. Instead, their enemies in the Justice Society of America handed them a decisive defeat. Fiddler was captured in Tokyo Japan, followed by his allies Icicle and Thinker in Abu Dhabi, then Wizard and Brain Wave in Alaska. These villains allied with a race of subterranean being led by Underlord, seeking control of Earth's oil resources.

Yet despite being subdued, four of the members escaped prison to collaborate on  a new scheme involving the parallel planet most of them first visited back in the 1960's. That world, Earth-One had supervillains they could recruit to assist them against the superheroes of Earth-Two. They previously had success doing this as members of the Crime Champions.

The Shade unleashed shadow creatures from his Dark Dimension upon the Central City of Earth-One (including fellow fiend the Dark, in pursuit of the Ray), foiled by the Flash of Two Worlds. Vandal Savage attempted to revive his immortality and his physical form after having been thrust into Earth-One briefly, where he hatched a scheme to lure that world's Flash and Green Lantern into using their energies to restore his form for a return to Earth-Two.

From 1965 through 1967, Hal “Green Lantern” Jordan of Earth-One and Alan “Green Lantern” of Earth-Two each encounter villains from their counterparts world, invading their own. This began with Krona coming to Earth-Two to siphon Scott’s emerald energy to free him from his celestrial prison. Then Prince Peril pursued Princess Ramia and her future husband Doiby Dickles to Earth-One where he faced Hal in battle. 

In 1966, three felons in Crazy Quilt, Captain Challenge and Gentleman Ghost were pulled over to Earth-One from Earth-Two during the invasion of the Anti-Matter Man on both worlds… while Blockbuster of Earth-One and Solomon Grundy of their world temporarily traded places.

A year later in 1967, three criminals recruited by Sinestro ventured from Earth-One to Earth-Two, where they were transformed into his clones. Two other cunning crooks from Earth-One who attacked Earth-Two’s Atlantis were the Penguin and Blockbuster… the second of three times the latter visited that planet. Around the time, Grundy visited Earth-One’s Metropolis, while months earlier Shade invaded Earth-One’s Central City. 

Of course, there were earlier examples of crisscrossing criminals between the two Earths. Other Injustice Society members had sought a reversal of fortune on a new world, unhindered by their former foes, yet still found further frustrations. This included the Thinker, who with his new improved helmet and costume briefly plundered Ivy Town on Earth-One, before that world's Atom along with his counterpart cornered him on Earth-Two’s Calvin City. Then there was the occasion when King Kull recruited Penguin and Blockbuster of Earth-One to invade Earth-Two’s Atlantis, while Earth-Two’s Solomon Grundy sought out his counterpart in  Earth-One’s Metropolis!

The first of the Injustice Society's 1970's incarnation to travel to Earth-One was the Wizard (although technically, Thinker preceded them during his encounter with the Atoms). There, he joined the newly formed Secret Society of Super-Villains. However, he needed time to obtain both weapons and supervillains from their midst to aid him back in his native universe.

While this was transpiring, Icicle and Fiddler also journeyed to Earth-One. There, Icicle teamed up with his counterpart Captain Cold and that world's version of Minister Blizzard while working for the Shadow-Thief, trying to start a new Ice Age starting in Equador. The Justice League of America defeated this frightful four, and saved the planet.

Simultaneously, the Fiddler began a crime spree involving a series of concerts, which drew the attention of the Teen Titans. This seemed to include kidnapping Peter McCarthy (an Earth-One Beatle?). The Teen Titans overcame the Fiddler. Around this time, Psycho Pirate hid out on Earth-One until the Justice Society tracked him down, returning him to Earth-Two!

Months later, the Wizard* finally amassed enough power and pawns to travel back to Earth-Two, and battle individual members of the Justice Society. However, despite a few victories, his Secret Society of Super-Villians (consisting of the Wizard, Star Sapphire, Floronic Man, Professor Zoom, and Blockbuster) were chased off world back to Earth-One.

As for the Brain Wave, he departed for Earth-One several months after his former teammates. Building a secret base outside Metropolis, Brain Wave brought Killer Frost, Floronic Man, Signalman and Cheetah back with him through a portal to Earth-Two, where they met the latest Secret Society of Super-Villians. Their teammate Psycho-Pirate had earlier retreated to his temporary Earth-One headquarters followed by the Justice Society.

Contemporaneous with these events, independent villains traversed the dimension divide, where these entire encounter individual heroes. These characters included the Earth-One rogues such as Angle Man, Bat-Mite and Mister Mxyzptlk, and Jroyy and the Earth-Two rogues such as Red Panzer, Captain Hawkins and Muchacho, and Atoman. These malcontents menaced the Wonder Woman, Supermen, Batmen and Flashes.

Prior to this, individual megalomaniacs each had separate yet consecutive incursions into the others universe, with Spirit King invading Earth-One while Darkseid invaded Earth-Two. While Darkseid pulled Shade, Fiddler and Icicle to his reality temporarily… these three remained on Earth-One for later capers (invading the Crime Champions, except for the Shade whose place was taken by the Wizard)… which mirrored when the Earth-One Crime Champions had a second engagement on Earth-Two years earlier. 

This last scheme of the Ultra-Humanite’s was the closest that the Injustice Society members came to triumph, however despite beating and capturing members of the Justice Society and Justice League, it was the Earth-One Super-Villians who attacked the Earth-Two Secret Society for their betrayal. And so, because these evildoers had no loyalty between themselves, they never had a lasting victory.

* The Wizard's reappearance back on Earth-One for a further Secret Society caper was offset by his counterpart Abra Kadabra's accidental journey to Earth-Two, where he battled both Flashes.

Twice-Told-Tales: Pied Pipers Perplex Winged Wonders

Several men have assumed the identity of the Pied Piper. Some were good. Some were bad.

The most famous modern day Piper was Hartley Rathaway, a wealthy lad born deaf, who gained an obsession for music once his hearing was restored. He developed wind instruments that emitted sonic frequencies that spawned a wide array of effects upon their listeners. As the Pied Piper, he used his innate musical aptitude as a supervillain in Central City. Repeatedly, Hartley clashed with the Flash of Earth-One, who defeated him time and time again. Despite his parents' riches, Hartley's second obsession towards crime and his desire to repair them for the money they invested in him over the years kept the Pied Piper active among Flash's Rogues Gallery.

One one occasion, the Piper created a horned instrument for a crook named Elmer, who along with his confederates used it for their crime sprees in Midway City. This attacted the attention of Hawkman. After devising the means to counteract the disorienting effect of their horns, the Winged Wonder brought both Piper, Elmer and their henchmen to justice.

On Earth-Two, that world's Hawkman and Hawkgirl met a mysterious man named the Pied Piper, who had in his possession a horn that exhibited similar disorientation effects when played by their owners. This Piper was benevolent, however, and was taken in by Hawkman's alter ego Carter Hall to be his valet. However, when a crook named Butch and his henchmen broke into Hall's house, they encountered both the Piper and Hawkman himself, who had been in his upstairs workshop. When the gangsters threatened the Piper with Hall's life, the horn player agreed to assist them in criminal pursuits. Soon after, the Winged Wonders captured Butch and his gangsters, and acquainted the Piper with a music band leader that he could play for professionally.

This modern day descendant of the Pied Piper, somewhat reminiscent of the original rat catching musician of fables, seemed to mirror a modern day rat catcher whom Earth-One's Zatanna encountered after seeking out the folklore original. Zatanna's father Zatara on Earth-Two also once encounted the original fabled Piper. 

Two other Pied Pipers on his world appeared: a gadgeter who battled Batman without sonic weaponry. The other faux Piper was a henchmen who bedeviled Mister America. Like Elmer, this latter Piper was merely a pawn of another criminal, the Queen Bee. Temporary clones of the Pied Piper also plagued both the Justice League and Jimmy Olsen of Earth-One on occasion.

The actual counterpart of Hartley Rathaway was Isaac Bowlin, who utilized similiar sonic science but through a string instrument as the Fiddler. Both were the preeminent malevolent musicians of their Earths. Each would be frequent collaborators of supervillain teams and fellow Flash foes. Finally, there was the Pied Piper of Earth-S, a recurring rogue of Captain Marvel Junior's.

Crime Champions Create Criminal Chaos Cunningly

The Crime Champions were the first of its kind, two separate supervillain teams that merged into one combined group, with three members in each unit plundering their own worlds while spending their ill-gotten loot on a parallel planet. Although they caused the Justice League and Justice Society considerable grief on both worlds, they were eventually defeated.

The members would disperse, with the Earth-One Felix Faust and Doctor Alchemy hatching separate schemes before both seemingly repenting of their criminal lives, and their ally Chronos joining the Injustice Gang, while the Earth-Two Wizard, Icicle and Fiddler would each join later incarnations of the Injustice Society.

Then years later, the Johnny Thunder of Earth-Two requested that his Thunderbolt take him to meet his criminal counterpart on Earth-One, however as with their first encounter (which both forgot due to the T-Bolt) the crook waylaid his innocent natured twin and commandeered his powers. Orchestrating a scheme whereby the Thunderbolt cause all Leaguers to be rendered unconscious while the reconstituted Crime Champions each take over portions of Earth-One, the Society intervened yet nearly all perished until the Leaguers were revived and aided their dopplegangers. This due to the clever actions of the heroic Johnny versus his villainous twin, and at the end of the tale there would no longer be a Crime Champions evermore! 

Between these two occasions, the Wizard and his five criminal compatriots had attempted to stage a coup on Earth-Two after their initial defeats in an attempt to avoid capture. The Justice League and Justice Society employed the teamwork necessary to capture their amoral adversaries. This would be repeated years later on Earth-One during a similar plan by these costumed crooks.

One of the Crime Champions, Felix Faust, encountered his counterpart Kent Nelson in battle during this initial team up of the twin Justice teams. Nelson as Doctor Fate defeated Faust, which would later motivate Felix into adopting the costumed identity of his world's Doctor Fate that battled Superman and Green Lanterm of Earth-One. This same enmity between these two was replicated with their recurring foes, which they encountered on at least two occasions. These adversaries were Phantom Strange and Lando the Unknown, men of mystery and means.

Phantom Stranger and Faust first fought when Stranger was made an honorary member of the Justice League during a case. Later, the two opposing forces came to blows when the Stranger was allied with various unaffiliated heroes like himself. Both times, the Stranger gained the upper hand on Earth-One's faux Fate, Felix.

The once "heroic" Lando the Unknown adopted the alter ego of Krishna Das, pretending to predict the future for his own greedy goals. Doctor Fate had initially been bested by this turbaned tyrant, but turned the table on his foe in March of 1943. 

However, Das escaped using his abilities, and in May of 1943 adopted another alias...as Mister Fortune! Lando's true allegiance was finally revealed as a Nazi collaborator seeking to undermine trust in democracy and influence Americans into placing their trust in a German empire. In this role, Lando once more ran afoul of Doctor Fate during a case involving the Justice Society.

The connection between the Earth-One Johnny Thunder and his Crime Champion ally Felix Faust would be similar to that between the Johnny of Earth-Two and his Justice Society ally Doctor Fate... as both worked together only on the opposite side of the law from their doppelgängers. However, Faust would eventually turn to the side of good after extensive therapy, something that Lando no doubt would have benefited from following his fall from grace.

Phantom Stranger would assist the Justice League in several adventures following his initial clash with Felix Faust. These included the League’s battles with:

• Versus the Key
• Versus the Shadow Thief and his allies Minister Blizzard, Captain Cold and the Icicle of Earth-Two
• Versus Count Crystal (while Crystal’s counterpart Frederic Vast faced the Justice Society alone)
• Versus The Red Tornado Construct entity
• Versus the Key once more, along with Star Tsar and the Privateer
• Versus the “Fiend with Five Faces”
• Versus the alien War-Kohns
• Versus the Appellaxians

Lando eventually returned when he and Ian Karkull traveled from the past to recruit Vandal Savage, who was fleeing the combined might of the Justice Society following their invasion of Savage’s artificial world Colu-Two. What became of Lando/Krishna Das/Mister Fortune following this final appearance was his transformation into a shadow being like Ian, who was eradicated from existence when Karkull’s plot to assassinate future presidents of the United States was thwarted by the Justice Society. Doctor Fate and his teammates ended up absorbing the abilities of Lando and Karkull.

Strange Stringed Soloists: Super-Drip Dudes

Ferlin Nyxly was the curator of the Metropolis Music Museum, when he found a mysterious harp that had been unearthed from an ancient city during an archaeological dig. Playing this instrument, Ferlin's desire to become the greatest pianist on Earth-One was fullfilled as the device siphoned the abilities from the then-most prominent pianist in the world. However, after months as a celebrated musician, Nyxly became jealous over te attention Superman garnered, and used the harp to steal the hero's superspeed, then invulnerability and finally his strength while the two battled. Thanks to the assistance of Superman's "Sand Superman" clone which existed at the time, Ferlin was defeated and his harp was confisgated. 

Benjamin Bowe was a nefarious criminal mastermind, using his fiddle both for coded messages to his gang, and to control animals such as birds on occasion. His claim to fame was as one of the most relentless foes of the Prairie Troubedour, leading various artsy goons like himself into a variety of conniving capers.

Ferlin would twice more seek revenge against Superman. On that occasion, he ventured to the ancient city and found a suit of armor as well as an advanced technological slingshot. After his loss and incarceration, Nyxly later returned and hijacked an alien's spacecraft which you used against his foes. For the third time, Superman vanquished his Ferlin.

Within the Earth-Two Metropolis was a section of the city known as Little Bohemia. Consisting of artists supporting their creative endeavors through larcenous activities, the Fiddler found fellow fiends in his henchmen the verbose Billy Deegan aka Dictionary, and the misguided poet known only as Shakes. Immediately, they were opposed by Vigilante, the crimefighting alter ego of country singer Greg Sanders, and his sidekick Stuff the Chinese Kid.  He could never outwit the duo.

Flash Foils Freezing Foils

Len Snart aka Captain Cold was among the most frequent of adversaries for the Earth-One Flash. The freezing rays of his cold gun were diametrically opposed by the heated friction generated by his fleet-footed foes. On his own and alongside other supervillains, with his fellow Rogues Gallery allies in Central City and as a member of the Secret Society of Super-Villains, the Captain and the Crimson Comet battled dozens of times... with the Flash coming out on top each time.

Even side-by-side with another formidable foil of the Flash like the Pied Piper, with his hyper-sonic flute, Captain Cold was unable to permanently vanquish his enemy.

This mirrored his doppleganger, the cold-creating crook known as the Icicle, who was primarily a persistent pest for the Green Lantern on Earth-Two. During the second appearance of the Injustice Society while battling their opposite numbers the Justice Society, the Flash of that world finally had an opportunity to face off against the Icicle. And the weapon of choice he used to defeat the cryogenic crook? Why the violin bow employed by its owner, the Fiddler, who's hyper-sonic violin was used to great effect repeatedly versus the Flash.

Joar Mahkent aka the Icicle would decades later have a rematch with the Flash, once more as a member of the Injustice Gang, while Captain Cold would meet the Earth-One Green Lantern as well during his encounters with the Justice League throughout the years.

The reason why Captain Cold wasn’t an initial enemy of Green Lantern as well as why Icicle and the Flash weren’t opposite numbers, was simply due to circumstances that led these felons to their costumes careers. The vessel which carried Makhent to America arrived at Gotham City harbor, the city where Green Lantern of Earth-Two operated. And Snart was a local criminal incarcerated in Central City, where the Flash of Earth-One resided.

And in fact, counterparts Captain Cold and Icicle would work together with Minister Blizzard, unknowingly used as pawns by the Shadow-Thief to plunge Earth-One into a deep freeze. Those plans were put on ice, with the frigid foes being put on ice by the timely intervention of the Justice League, with Flash and Green Lantern among them.

Flash of Two Worlds: Their First Meeting

Shortly after Barry Allen first gained his miraculous powers, and decided to model his alter ego the Flash after his childhood comicbook hero, he accidentally stumbled upon the means to venture to a parallel planet from his own. Naming this world, perhaps erroneously, as Earth-One... he sought out the Flash of this other world... Earth-Two. Knowing the secret identity of the original Flash, Barry introduced himself to Jay Garrick and his wife Joan. It would seem that his journey to Jay's world was well timed, as a new crime wave afflicted his Keystone City, from three of his old foes. Together, the pair set out to capture these three fiendish felons.

While Jay faced his most frequent foe of the golden age, the Thinker... sporting a thinking cap allowing him to emit mental energy to control the actions of others... Barry fought Jay's least common adversary at that period, the Shade. Together, the Scarlet Speedsters faced the Fiddler, and were able to overcome the malevolent maestro's manipulations. In turn, all three crooks were summarily defeated, with Keystone regaining its long held peaceful state. And Barry returned to his own Central City, comforted with the knowledge that his hero actually existed elsewhere in the Multiverse.

Fiends Face Fleet-Footed Week: Musicians

This comparison is quite simple, given how much this pair has in common with one another.

Hartley Rathaway and Isaac Bowin were the sons of affluent parents. Each possessed musical talent and a greedy heart. Each were disadvantages, Hartley by his early-childhood deafness (eventually cured thanks to his father's money poured into research on his condition) and Isaac by his young manhood's inclination towards crime (finding himself in an Indian prison accompanied by his instrumental instructor).

Hartley developed a pipe and became Earth-One's Pied Piper, while Isaac created a fiddle and debuted as Earth-Two's Fiddler. With the mesmerizing abilities generated by their devices, they were able to control the actions of others, yet each repeatedly faced their own Flash and continual defeat. Even when they joined teams, the Piper's Rogues Gallery and Fiddler's Injustice Society, it always ended for them on a sour note.

Twice-Told-Tales: Musical Menaces Meet Men-Children

Today's Twice-Told-Tale has many common elements which, while not exactly a carbon copy of the other, merits some consideration.

We had previously mentioned Earth-Two's Fiddler, who's  the counterpart is the Pied Piper, and Earth-Two's Chroma, who's the counterpart of Halo. This time we consider their brief influence on the psyche of their era's youth, in and out of costume.

After a failed campaign vs the Justice Society with his Injustice pals, the Fiddler migrates to Earth-One to plunder the crowd at a Coliseum music venue using his mind-control musicality. After a couple encounters with the Teen Titans, first dueling against the young black Titan Mal's Hornblower and then the combined team, he quickly is undone by the groovy gadgets of villainess turned heroine Joker's Daughter. Whether or not he ever met his own world's Joker, the Fiddler definitely much have felt humiliated at being taken down so quickly by a rank amateur despite his decades of experience.

While the Fiddler soon escaped and retreated back to his own universe, he would once more be pulled back to aid Darkseid's plans to move Apokolips to Earth-Two. 

When we previously considered Chroma, we learned that his race's sound and light show was used to determine a civilization's determination towards self-preservation. During is one documented encounter with Earth-Two's population, he appeared to a crowd at a televised concert at the Los Angeles Coliseum and used his own mind-controlling music to intoxicate the crowd into a state of bliss. Even the hired help, Infinity, Inc., is mesmerized by this alluring alien.

There was a fly in the ointment, however, against the darkened skinned Obsidian, whose powers insulated him from the effects of Chroma's song. Awakening the crowd including his allies, much to their chagrin, to the reality rather than this persuasive performers illusion... public outcry resulted against the teen hero. In a second encounter, the young group fended off the influence of Chroma and sent him backing for the cosmos whence he came, never to return.

Two menacing maestros manipulating men through mysterious musicality. And two teen teams triumph. That about sums it up!