Crazy Crusading Comrades' Creepy Clones

Cloning technology has been a much conjectured as a future reality since the atomic age began. On parallel planets, themselves known for producing near identical doppelgängers on each world, this has become a reality. Case in point, the business-suit busybody boys Jimmy Olsen and Johnny Thunder, friends of Superman!

On Earth-One, photo-journalist Jimmy Olsen of the Daily Planet had hundreds of stories he pursued which led him into a myriad of zany adventures over the years. Moreso than his Earth-Two counterpart on Earth-Two who was employed with the Daily Star, this Jimmy frequently employed the aid of his best friend Superman, whom he summoned whenever in need with his emergency signal watch which broadcast a high-pitch frequency only his friend could hear and from time-to-time adopted the stretchy alter ego of Elastic Lad.

On Earth-Two, amateur adventurer Johnny Thunder had hundreds of wacky tales he was involved with throughout the decades. While his Earth-One counterpart was busy leading his Lawless League gang, this Johnny was the first new recruit of the Justice Society of America, whom he shared several adventures with. During most of his fanatical forays, Johnny employed the aid of his stretchy Thunderbolt, whose powers protected Thunder from various threats and whom he could summon by saying the phrase Cei-U (or "Say You").

On occasion, both young men encountered multiple copies of themselves. Jimmy met his clones created in Project Cadmus, who were tasked as guards of the government facility. Johnny spawned his own clones whom he unleashed upon the Black Dragon Society of Imperial Japan who were attacking America.

Of course, there were several other clones developed by various intellectuals for a variety of purposes, some for the betterment of man and some for ill-gotten gains. Some of these were:

• Supergirl's miniature clones merged to become Linda Danvers II, Power Girl's cloned cells extended her life and youth

• Clones of Manhunter agents Paul "Manhunter" Kirk and Molly "Harlequin" Mayne spawned to dominate their Earths.

• T.O. Morrow and Per Degaton's temporal clones whom they used as agents against the Justice League and Justice Society.

• Sinestro's clones whom he used as pawns of both Earths versus the Green Lanterns arch-foe Hal  Jordan and new foe Alan Scott.

• Solomon Grundy and his various clones on Earths One and Two.
  

• Bizarro and Funny Face clones of heroes and villains who bedevils the Supermen of twin Earths Kal-El and Kal-L.

• Clones of Justice League & Justice Society members who had short-lived costumed careers of their own.

Manhunter...Meet the Manhunter...And the Other Manhunter...Oh, and the Manhunters!

Paul Kirk began life as Rick Nelson, big game hunter turned crime fighter to avenge the death of his friend Inspector Donovan of Empire City of Earth-Two. Unaware that Donovan had himself been recruited into the fraternity of the Manhunters, secretly an armada of android troops originally created on the planet Oa in a parallel universe, Rick quickly assumed to new alter egos. Borrowing the identity of a former manhunter in civilian clothes named Paul Kirk, the adventurous Nelson also assumed the costumed career of those who recruited him. 

Given a special uniform modeled after the androids by the Grand Master who had originated in that other universe, Kirk as the Manhunter had a short lived yet prominent career, even joining the All-Star Squadron during the war time years in the 1940s. And then, Kirk hung up the red and blue and returned to his first love hunting in Africa, after he along with other heroes were recruited to Earth-One* when recruited by fellow former All-Star Robotman, these men becoming reacquainted with their long lost All-Star teammate Hank "Steel" Heywood".

However, while stalking one prey, Kirk let down his guard and was stampede. Fortunately, Heywood had set up an organization known as the Council to enforce order on this world as his Squadron had on Earth-Two, although without the moral factor in the equation. Kept in a coma for decades while his body was repaired, the Council scientists cloned Kirk's body to make duplicates of the hero to be their personal army. 

Back on his homeworld of Earth-Two, another Manhunter agent named Molly Mayne assumed the alter ego of the Harlequin. She was specifically assigned to test and torment her world's Green Lantern, Alan Scott, whom the android Manhunters felt was as much as threat as their former Guardian masters and their Green Lantern Corp in Earth-One's universe. In addition to the illusion-generating eyewear and special mandolin weaponry gifted her by her android benefactors, the Manhunters also gave her Harlequin clones who mindlessly followed her will during one adventure versus the Lantern. What became of these faux-femme fatales after the Harlequin was defeated is unknown.

When revived, Kirk was trained further in combat skills with the intent of leading these clones for the Council, and Heywood's, personal agenda. Instead, Kirk rebelled and joined Interpol agent Christine St. Clair and a man named Nitobe in defeating the Council, and destroy all the clones. All, that is, save one who would infiltrate and lead the Secret Society of Super-Villains in a battle to stem the tide of Darkseid's invasion of Earth-One. He perished trying to end the threat bend the Society in Darkseid.

* Paul Kirk and his eleven All-Star Squadron compatriots who migrated to Earth-One on or after 1945 had their places taken over in Earth-Two’s universe by the Justice Society of post-Crisis Earth-0, who protected that realm from the incursion of forces in an adjacent faux-Asgard dimension. In time, the Society were themselves replaced by the dozen Daemen of their home reality, so that Society could return to Earth-0.

Green Lantern Corps! 

Cunning Crystalline Creatures: The Green Lantern Connection

Hidden within the near-inaccessible Himalayas are ancient secrets tied to one thousand years of history... a history involving a pair of Emerald Crusaders! In the universe of the Guardians of the Universe, this ancient alien organization first attempted to protect the cosmos with their green plasma armed android army known as the Manhunters. However, these synthetic agents of order grew unbalanced, and were those removed of the weaponry and left on various planets, whilst the Guardians created another intergalactic peace-keeping unit, the Green Lantern Corps! 

Eventually, the Manhunters reunited with one another and exerted their influence on the worlds they had inhabited, including Earth-One. Initially setting up a covert base of operations on that world, the Manhunters' leader known as The Grandmaster tasked his forces into making an incursion into the parallel planet of Earth-Two. Having been informed by the Guardians during their inital construction of the androids as to the existence of this alternate reality, one of many errantly spawned by the renegade Malthusian named Krona, Grandmaster coveted the emerald energies exiled to that reality by the Guardians residing on that world. 

In order to track down and wrest control of the Guardians' Green Flame of Life from its current wielder, Alan  "Green Lantern" Scott, the Grandmaster employed agents such as Paul Kirk and Dan Richards as human Manhunters. However, before he could successfully manipulate them into battling their fellow superhero, who became teammates of Green Lantern as part of the All-Star Squadron. So the Grandmaster altered his approach, making one more attempt in 1946 by employing Molly Maynne as the Harlequin. Seeing the potential in this young woman with her rebellious streak, Grandmaster bequeather her with illusion technology in the former of special eyewear which the Manhunters developed. 

Mayne was also hestitant in causing lasting harm to the Lantern on her own, and even when given a battallion of female Manhunters in the form of duplicate Harlequins, she broke her ties with the Manhunters and ultimately retired from their ranks. And so, the Grandmaster returned to Earth-One's Himalayas, abandoning his plans to secure the Guardian's disgarded Flame. He then set forth to orchestrate the Manhunters versus the Corps and their Guardian masters, including Hal Jordan whom they would frame alongside the Guardians to usurp the power and reputation of their creators!

This led to a conflict between the Manhunters and Justice League, which was paralleled by the battle decades earlier on Earth-Two between the Justice Society and the Diamond Men, whose drive towards conquest rivaled their android doppelgängers under the Grandmaster.

One human who initially curried the favor of the Diamond Men was amateur geologist Charles Crillon, who was the unorthodox geological patterns over the years and advertised these in his published works. The Diamond Men’s leader  Exmam transformed Crillon into a being like himself as a reward for impressively discerning the existence of his people. However, Charles betrayed his crystalline benefactor, provided him the needed intel to expose the Diamond Men’s invasion as he guided the Justice Society into their conflict with the alien entities.

His counterpart on Earth-One was school teacher Iris Jacobs, who became acquainted with a time displaced Val “Karat Kid” Armour whom she accompanied on some of his 20th century adventures. Seeking to become more noticeable to Val, she agreed to be a test subject of S.T.A.R. Labs secretly funded by the Lord of Time, which transformed her into the crystalline supervillain named Dimaondeth. Unlike Crillon’s Diamond Man, Diamondeth was spurred on by madness, until Karate Kid subdued her and brought her to his native 30th century where she was cured of her mutation.

Meanwhile on Earth-Two, there was also a war transpiring involving two sides of emerald energies, with the Green Dragon Tong led by an evil lamp-maker named Chang... and a group of peace-keeping lamas located in the Himalayas who obtain Chang's old lamp and the meteor containing the Green Flame's energy. While Chang had a portion of the meteor, a globe of which he gave later to the Psycho-Pirate to advance his schemes after his Tong couldn't secure the emerald energy in its original form for their long-lived master. This Tong had earlier accompanied Chang to North America where he grew his organization under his warped principals, with the goal of subjugating the world one day, before returning to his home continent when opportunity presented itself. Knowing of this danger on the horizon, the lamas presented Alan Scott with the reshaped lamp, wherein he became the Green Lantern of his world. The Guardian's counterpart race in this universe, the Buddak, tried to control Earth-Two themselves before these events had transpired... and were soundly defeated themselves. Years later, the millennium-old Grandmaster and millennium-old Chang led their forces against Hal and Alan on separate occasions, both proved successful despite exploiting situations that seemed to show both Green Lanterns as criminals. And so, the lamas and the Corps remained, aloof from the affairs of mankind.

Migrants of Multiple Earths: The Mekanique Method

Under mysterious events during the middle 1940s to the year 1950, several superheroes and their young sidekicks disappeared from their native Earth-Two, and later became the first wave of costumed crusaders of Earth-One.

From in-story references, we know that: a.) there was a connection between Hank "Commander Steel" Heywood... originally of Earth-Two and the first All-Star to migrate to Earth-One... and Per Degaton, the time travelling tyrant, b.) several heroes' "DC’s Who's Who" entries state both their affiliation to Earth-Two's All-Star Squadron as well as detailing their later lives on Earth-One, c.) Steel's recruitment of Infinity, Inc. to obtain assistance from Earth-Two heroes on what he viewed as hero-deprived Earth-One. Connecting the dots provides us with an idea as to the order of events that precipitated the migration of a dozen mystery men and their allies during 1946 from Earth-Two to Earth-One, as follows....

Steel had in his possession a futuristic transponder that a German scientist purchased from the Monitor in order to send the Justice Battalion into hyperspace. When he was accidentally shunted to Earth-One by this device in 1942, Heywood joined the military and then returned to the United States towards the end up World War II, Hank used this device to contact select individuals from his home world at some point between 1945 and 1946.

The robot-woman Mekanique had betrayed the Squadron in 1942, and although her body had been destroyed, her head with its time-space crystal was preserved at Project M by lab assistant Per Degaton, who was a colleague of Chuck Grayson. Thus, prior to starting his criminal career, Degaton formed a relationship through Grayson and his pal Robotman, and through them with Heywood… although on separate worlds.

Heywood was able to use the Monitor's transponder to communicate with his old ally Robotman aka Paul Dennis through the cybernetic head of Robbie’s former “girlfriend” Mekanique. Utilizing her ability to cross dimensional planes, Robotman initiated Mekanique's trans-dimensional capabilities and brought along with himself several former fellow All-Stars to Earth-One. Robotman and Steel recruited TNT, Dyna-Mite, Manhunter, Guardian among with Newsboy Legion and Guardian’s younger brother Will, Air Wave, and Zatara. Years later, as previously mentioned, Steel would do much the same thing when he temporarily recruited Infinity, Inc. of Earth-Two to battle the newest incarnation of the Justice League on Earth-One.

No doubt these heroes and their colleagues were inspired by the example a few years prior of Uncle Sam, a patriotic hero like Steel who recruited several members of the All-Star Squadron into forming the Freedom Fighters, protecting another earth in Earth-X that had no superheroes. And so, the first generation of superheroes on Earth-One were migrants from Earth-Two.

Heywood would secretly sponsor research on cloning technology through his Council and the young adept minds of the Newsboy Legion. These now adult Legionnaires became aspiring geneticists using perfect physical specimens such as Guardian and Manhunter, incorporating cybernetic technology Robotman utilized, while TNT and Dyna-Mite could add insight into atomic technology. Larry Jordan incorporated the Monitor's device into teleportation technology he would use as Air Wave. All of these great minds were orchestrated by Heywood in order to bring about a new world order on his adopted world, to model it after his home world of Earth-Two! But what became of these All-Stars later in life on their adopted world?

• Larry Jordan aka Air Wave and Zatara fathered their own counterparts in a son in Hal Jordan a and daughter in Zatanna Zatara! Air Wave perished in the prime of his life when his son was 3 years old, while Zatara journeyed throughout the Multiverse when his daughter was still a little girl, before reuniting with Zatanna when she was a young adult!

• Jim "Guardian" Harper and his little brother Will pursued civilian lives as had the four Newsboy Legionnaires. Eventually, Jim and the Newsboys were each cloned for a new generation, while Will died soon after his son Roy "Speedy" Harper was born, counterpart to his native world's Speedy!

• Paul Kirk retired his Manhunter alter ego, and during a big game hunt ended up in a coma for decades. When he awoke, he learned he had become the template for an army of clones of the Council. This Council attempted to rule the world, which Kirk would help defeat at the cost of his life, just as his surviving clone would do when facing Darkseid!

• TNT and Dyna-Mite had been recruited by Steel during the waning days of the Manhattan Project, only to find that their powers had increased and become unstable on their adopted world. They were kept in an underground bunker, and ultimately moved to the cities of Kandor and Atlantis to live out their lives after meeting Earth-One's Super Friends. TNT joined the Kandorians on the new trans-dimensional world of Rokyn while Dyna-Mite remained in Aquaman's city indefinitely.

• Robotman made several appearances on Earth-One from 1946 until 1953, then worked alongside the Justice League of America during their first case. Robbie was soon after trapped in suspended animation within a cave for over a decade. Once revived he migrated back to Earth-Two, and had his mind transplanted into the body of his now brain dead former colleague Chuck Grayson. Assuming his late friend’s identity, There he renewed his friendship with members of the Justice Society, even testifying at a congressional hearing they were involved in.
  
  
• In 1950, Sargon had himself traveled from Earth-Two to Earth-One and become reacquainted with these heroes and Hank Heywood. He left his native Earth at that time due to all superheroes (aside from a select few) being banned by the United States government, and his awareness as to where some of his fellow All-Stars migrated to within the Multiverse. Unfortunately over time, after a brief marriage failed (except for having a close relationship with his ex-wife’s niece), and Sargent turned evil. Seeking to gain more power for himself, Sargon ended up being a recurring foe of the Flash and later Wonder Woman, although he did end up helping the Justice League in their battle with Starbreaker.
  
  
• Decades later, Steel employed Degaton and charged him with the task of rebuilding Mekanique’s body after his initial plans with Steel's fellow All-Stars had failed, given their own individual life choices. During this occasion, Degaton retrieved Mekanique's head, attaching it to a new body and sent her to Earth-One to fulfill her mission before she returned to Degaton's side in a post-Crisis universe.

While the Justice Society of America* of post-Crisis Earth-0 assumed the place vacated by the above All-Stars, migrating to Earth-Two and its adjacent Apokolips Ragnarok notional dimension, this was only for a few years (with the exception of four additional teammates who joined them there**). When the JSA returned to their own Earth, an Earth-0 group known as the Daemen filed their roles and offset the departing All-Stars on Earth-One. Their membership included Arquoi, Blaquokar, Calabri, Dhaozan, Feth Sudol, Gulgak, Huromon, Inztuk, Kistimaak, Piztok, Tzingaas and Zhazor. These former villains redeemed themselves as they protected both Earth-Two and all other reality from then onward within Asgard.

* The Earth-O Justice Society members who migrated to Earth-Two's Asgard were Hawkman, Hawkgirl, Flash, Green Lantern, Hourman, Atom, Sandman, Sandy, Johnny Thunder (and his Thunderbolt), Starman, Doctor Mid-Nite, Wildcat. These individuals compensated for the loss of All-Stars Air Wave, TNT, Dyna-Mite, Sargon, Zatara, Robotman/Chuck Grayson (the brain of the former and the brain-dead body of the latter), Manhunter, Guardian, his brother Will Harper, and Guardian's four Newsboy Legionnaires: Tommy Tompkins, Big Words, Gabby, Scrapper.

** Four other Justice Society teammates also briefly resided in this Earth-Two adjacent dimension: 1.) the Spectre, 2.) Doctor Fate, 3.) Power Girl and 4.) Star-Spangled Kid. Similarly, four individuals briefly appeared in Earth-One’s universe: 1.) the original Spectre of Earth-Two, 2.) the former Earth-Two Lord of Chaos known as Doctor Chaos, 3.) Lesla-Lar, the Kara Zor-El/L of Earth-Three raised in Kandor, 4.) Chuck Grayson who accompanied his friend Robotman to Earth-One before ending up brain dead soon after.

Protectors and their Prolific Pooches

Pooches that are faithful to their masters... not so hard to fine. Canines that are courageous... also pretty common. Dogs that display mental acumen rivaling humans in intellect? That's very rare.

Rex the Wonder Dog was the star of Earth-One's K-9 Army Dog Training Corp operating during World War II. Working alongside red haired Lt. Dennis (later Major Dennis), eventually Rex was adopted into the Dennis family and befriended the Major's son Danny. The Wonder Dog had several adventures around the world with both his masters, and gained relative immortality drinking from a fountain of youth.

Streak the Wonder Dog was the pet of Alan Scott aka Green Lantern of Earth-Two. Having a series of adventures, both with his costumed owner and on his own when he was later separated from Scott, Streak proved as equally resourceful as was Rex. However, he never had opportunity to meet Dennis' counterpart on his world in Donald Richards. This was left to another pooch on his world.

Thor the Thunder Dog was a canine assigned by the alien androids known as the Manhunters to their first human recruit of Earth-Two, Donald Dan Richards. A police officer wanting to make a difference, the red haired Richards found as the Manhunter not only a reliable ally in Thor but an intelligent and seemingly immortal companion. Turns out the Thunder Dog was an android himself working secretly to monitor his master for his creators. When both crimefighter and canine left for Earth-X, Dan unwittingly played into the hands of his former robotic masters. 

Thor and his fellow Thunder Dog models mirrored the robot duplicates of Krypto the Super Dog, whom his master Superboy built. The original Krypto had adventures by Superboy's side or on his own, in the 20th Century and the 30th Century with his fellow Legion of Super-Pets. His Earth-Two counterpart Thor was later given to Clark and Lois Kent by Clark’s former fellow All-Star Squadron teammate Dan Richards. Thor traveled with the Kents to the planet Telos during their stay on that alien world for a year during the Convergence event effecting cities from multiple Earths of the Multiverse.

Migrants of Multiple Earths Thesis: Part 5

Several golden age characters first appeared in the context of the silver age world of Earth-One, wherein it was thought that Superboy was that world's first hero approximately twenty-some years prior to the presently published tales. For instance, the Guardian appeared with his Newsboy Legion aiding that world's Jimmy Olsen, Manhunter teamed up on one occasion with the modern Batman, and Air Wave was identified as the cousin of Hal Jordan, the Green Lantern. Both were Jordans, after all, so why not tie them together?

Then the decidedly different All-Star Squadron was published, and all these characters were members of that team back in the 1940's when their tales were published. Further, the series Who's Who which was published concurrent with the Crisis on Infinite Earths listed each character's history (as well as that of Zatara, Sargon, and Commander Steel) from their joining the All-Stars to their modern-day meetings of Earth-One's heroes. This was then explained in an All-Star letter column as individuals who migrated from Earths Two to One (and this was further solidified during a team-up of the Justice League and Justice Society by a comment Flash made to teammate Power Girl when she met Sargon)

Yet how could Air Wave be cousins with Mr. Jordan? Further, how could Jim Harper, the Guardian, be the uncle of Roy Harper aka Speedy? We can explain this quite simply. When he moved to Earth-One, Larry Jordan sought out familial connections. Instead, he met Helen Jordan and fell in love with her. She was the actual cousin of Hal, Larry was but an in-law. And the Guardian? Remember there were TWO Roy Harpers who would become Green Arrow's sidekick Speedy. While uncle to the Earth-Two version, Jim Harper himself sought out family when moving to Earth-One and was the "long lost" uncle of the orphaned lad. This is not unheard of, for Earth-Two's Huntress referred to her father's Earth-One counterpart Bruce Wayne as "Uncle Bruce". Earth-One's Superman and Earth-Two's Power Girl affectionately called one another cousins on occasion.

Interestingly, the five characters pictured in this entry, along with the four members of the Newsboy Legion, had counterparts that were their very spawn! Zatara' daughter Zatanna* , Larry Jordan's son Hal, Commander Steel's grandson Henry III... not to mention the clones of the Jim Harper... the Golden Guardian of Cadmus Project... and the younger Newsboy Legion clones, and the clone of Paul Kirk who as the next Manhunter assumed his "father's heroic legacy while attempting to undermine the Secret Society of Super-Villains.

In fact, Project Cadmus on Earth-One mirrored Project M of Earth-Two, which was a top secret government agency operating in America during the early days of  World War II. Project M (for Monster) was founded by Professor Mazursky, who like Cadmus founder Dabney Donovan, was a "mad scientist" type and thus very unethical in his approach towards science. Both Projects specialized in creating clones and synthetic monsters, with some being successful such as Dubbilex the DnAlien (whose Monster doppleganger never successfully awoke from its hatching chamber) as well as Miss America (whose Earth-One twin Element Girl may have been given her powers by an earlier incarnation of Cadmus). 

In fact, the latter would herself be another migrant to a third parallel planet known as Earth-X alongside the Freedom Fighters where she perished. Other creations of Mazursky and his colleague Chuck Grayson, who was the assistant to robotics scientist Robert "Robotman" Crane, were the Creature Commandos and G.I. Robot. The fact that both Grayson and Miss America were a part of Project M solidifies that it was the Earth-Two analogue to Project Cadmus. And Crane would also coincidentally be a migrant to Earth-One, establishing his alter ego of the Paul Dennis of that world before returning to his native world and universe with his mind now housed in Grayson's body! More migrants tied to these individuals will be revealed henceforth...