Goggled Good Guys Gabbing

 

Spy Smasher and Captain Midnight were remarkably similar crimefighters who operated during the same period of World War II. Each were skilled aviators, masterful inventors, daring dogooders. 

In 1943, while testing out his new aircraft, Midnight was involved with clashes versus Imperial Japanese forces in the skies. Calling out to his Secret Squadron code named "SS" on the airwaves, his transmission is received by Spy Smasher's equipment in his amazing Gyrosub vessel. Thinking the message was for him, he tracks the source and meet the Captsin.

What follows is a race around the globe to see which aircraft is the fastest on Earth-S, and have further encounters with their Japanese foes. The goggled good guys ultimately prove victorious versus their foes, parting as friends and allies.

Spy Smasher's counterpart Mister Terrific and Captain Midnight's doppleganger Doctor Mid-Nite teamed up in a case of the Justice Society of America in 1945. The Doctor was a regular meeting of the Society while Terrific was first an honorary member then later a full-fledged one.

While these Society teammates on Earth-Two didn't have fancy aircraft.. that would be owned by the Batman and Green Arrow of their world... they were just as courageous and tenacious.

Dark Angels Dopplegangers

Dark Angel was an agent of the German Nazi regime who was enlisted to initiate attacks on the American government. This led to her confrontation with Spy Smasher. After this initial encounter in why she was defeated, she declared she would seek revenge against her adversary although if she reappeared she used a different alias. 

Dark Angel filled in a niche that was occupied by Nazi mastermind maidens Paula Von Gunther and Von Gunta, who had opposed the Wonder Women of other Earths. In fact, the alter ego of Dark Angel was Donna Troy, who was connected with the Amazing Amazons.

On Earth-One, Donna Troy was adopted by Queen Hypolyta of Paradise Island, raising the young orphans after the Queen's daughter Princess Diana aka Wonder Woman, who had saved the girl from a raging fire that had decimated the building her parents had resided within. This Donna would become Wonder Girl, a member of the Teen Titans.

On Earth-Two, that version of Donna Troy was rescued from a similar raging inferno by firefighters, and as an older teenage enrolled as a student in Holliday College. She would become a friend and ally of Wonder Woman and her sidekick Etta Candy, as one of the Holliday Girls that shared adventure with them. On one occasion, this Donna adopted a costumed alter ego of Wonder Womam in the fourth dimension.

However, the core Donna Troy of Earth-Seven adopted the alias of Dark Angel, who like her Earth-S was a villain through and through. She would be the basis for a multiverse myriad of malicious maidens. The ultimate fate of the Earth-S Donna aka Dark Angel was to die in a fire, similar to what her counterparts had faced as infants, but instead as an adult.

Team-Up Tuesdays: Finest Fawcett Friends Forever

Earth-S was very unique in the midst of the Multiverse. For one thing, there was no Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman or derivatives thereof. Indeed there were analogues to each of these, and other superheroes and heroines, both in the golden age starting in the 1940's like Earth-Two and the silver age 1970's such as on Earth-One. Nevertheless, there was also a lack of scientific principals, as this particular universe's particular laws of physics almost lent themselves as much to the whimsical as the wonderful. But that wasn't all that made it stand apart from the rest.

On this world, the greatest superhero team that ever existed wasn't the Justice League or the Justice Society... not the Justice Alliance nor Freedom Brigade. Not even a Crime Syndicate... well okay there was the Monster Society of Evil but... as it was, they were persistent if nor productive. However, on Earth-S, their premier team was a family! Yes, the Marvel Family, consisting of Captain Marvel along with his sister, his best friend, three namesakes, a lovable old fraud and the elder guardian who empowered them all. They mirrored the youthful Teen Titans and Blue Boys of parallel planets but more prominent.

That's not to say this world didn't have their share of costumed crusaders. Indeed, Bulletman and Bulletgirl were as prolific as protectors as were Hawkman and Hawkgirl. Mister Scarlet and Pinky were as gifted a dynamic duo as were Batman and Robin. Spy Smasher was evenly matched with Mister Terrific, as was Minute Man with the Star-Spangled Kid. That's just the tip of the iceburg.

And indeed, these various heroes teamed up informally throughout the years at social events, and they were all stuck together in Suspendium thanks to the machinations of Doctor Sivana after the Captain's long time friends showed up to support a ceremony in his and his Family's honor. Eventually, they would team up, well most of them, to form Shazam's Squadron of Justice. 

Still, this was a one-and-done scenario, as most of the members then proceeded to retire or at least semi-retire. Except for the Marvels. Regardless, this world was well protected, so much so that none of the various incarnations of the Monster Society were able to vanquish good from that planet. And so it would remain, until the Crisis on Infinite Earths. Or, in at least one timeline, into the uncharted future.

Fawcett Fridays: Goggled Gadgeteers

Another obvious parallel between Earth-S and Earth-Four wherein the Fawcett and Charlton characters resided were this pair of goggle-clad gadget-making geniuses. Not intent to rest on their considerable financial success, Alan Armstrong as a Virginian sportsman/weapons-maker and Ted Kord as a robotics scientist, they decided to do more. As Spy Smasher and Blue Beetle, respectively, they attempted to assert some order in a chaotic world. And wearing a brilliant flue and gorgeous green they stood out from the pack. They balanced physical skill with mental acumen like Mister Miracle of Earth-One and Mister Terrific of Earth-Two.

Each knew that they needed an edge, beyond their inherent athletic ability and acrobatic agility. So these two built amazing air/sea crafts unmatched by their peers in the superhero set. Spy Smasher's Gyro-Sub was part-airplane, part-auto gyro, part-submarine/speedboat. While Blue Beetle's Bug was either an air or sea vehicle, it had remarkable auto-pilot programming designed by Kord.

One other point of similarity was that both genius good guys were chased by the law. In the Smasher's case, it was due to brainwashing inflicted upon him by arch-foe the Mask turning him into a foreign spy, until Captain Marvel finally shook the influence off his future ally. For the Beetle, it was due to his association in his civilian identity with Dan Garrett aka the original Blue Beetle, who disappeared and was presumed murders by Kord (he was but not by Ted, rather by his uncle Jarvis Kord). After vindicating themselves, they resumed their careers.

In 1954, aspiring comic book publisher Charlton purchased the rights to several prominent characters from the expiring Fawcett Comics, such as Ibis, Golden Arrow and Lance O'Casey. In 1980 and 1985, DC Comics purchase Fawcett's Marvel Family then Charlton's Action Heroes, and the two were linked once more, now on parallel Earths, Four and Shazam.

Fawcett's Finest: Whiz-Bang Gang #2

Throughout the golden age, it was evident that Captain Marvel pretty much got along with all the other courageous crusading chaps on his native Earth-S, must as the Supermen had on their own worlds. However, for Cap it was a bit more personal with a few as evident on this occasion when he met up with Ibis the Invincible and Golden Arrow in the offices of Whiz Comics. Apparently, the publishers were tipped off on an important adventure that would reveal prominent spies of the Axis Powers which would be revealed in the next issue. Joined by Spy Smasher, this foursome would protect Fawcett Comics of their dimension and insure the next issue was published. Also, Ibis and Arrow teaming up foreshadow the Green Lantern/Green Arrow pair.

Two more recorded occasions were chronicled when our Whiz-Bang Gang would bump into each other, once when Marvel played an advice columnist and another time when they support Cap's attempt to ascertain the age of his grown up version in order to help his boss out of a pinch.

Fawcett's Finest: Whiz-Bang Gang #1

Although the dominant team of superheroes during the 1940's... really during any era on Earth-S... were the Marvel Family, they weren't alone In fact, the Marvels themselves mixed company with their costumed compatriots from time to time. During a gala in Fawcett City, the Big Red Cheese drew a courageous quartet as featured guests, proving the Captain Marvel wasn't the only game in town  From the high seas to the high plains came Lance O'Casey and Golden Arrow.  And, drapped over their arrms by their lovely girlfrends Eve Corby and Princess Taia were Spy Smasher and Ibis the Invincble. Alas, there was to be a couple more guests, of the nefarious kind, to spoil this occasion.

The ever scheming Doctor Sivana, wishing to quell his daughter Beautia's heartbroken state from being rejected by his arch-foe Captain Marvel, transformed crackpot scientist Professor Edgewise into a younger version of himself. Unfortunately, an unintended side effect was turning the now chiseled charlatan into a stark raving lunatic. Nevertheless, Sivana used this to his advantage, strapping explosives to Edgewise and sending him into the auditorium where Fawcett's Finest were performing for their patrons. Hoping this would finally remove him of his good-two-shoes enemies, instead he found his potential son-in-law defeated and reverted back to his normal age after confronting this awesome assemblage of awesome avengers. While this would be a footnote on Earths One and Two, where massive amounts of metahumans like the Legion of Super-Heroes and All-Star Squadron met up at the drop of a hat, the Earth-S folks were a bit more modest.

Fawcett's Finest: Caped Crimefighters

Born into wealth, perhaps bored with his life, a millionaire playboy named Alan Armatrong decided to follow the budding trend of adopting an alias as a costumed crime fighter. And so was born the Spy Smasher of Earth-S during World War II, and after the war as Crime Smasher. His counterpart on Earth-Two was Mister Terrific aka Terry Sloans while his cosmic twin on Earth-One in Mister Miracle.

Spy Smasher like Mister Terrific was a genius inventor, all-star athlete and  successful businessman. Armstrong piloted his engineering marvel, the Gyrosub, capable of traversing the skies as well as land and sea, which the goggled guardian flew. And similar to Mister Miracle, Smasher fought government oppression from authoritarian regimes during his costumed career.

Alan's fiancee Eve Corby was his alter ego's partner, just as Wanda Wilson was the girlfriend and confidant of Terry while Barda was the wife and powerhouse partner of a Scott. After several years as Spy Smasher, Armstrong adopted the alias of Crime Smasher and battled local threats instead of foreign ones as he had in the past. 

Early in his costumed career, Armstrong had several confrontations with the sinister Mask who headed a spy syndicate. Eventually, the Mask succeeded in ensnaring his arch enemy in a device that mental brainwashed Spy Smasher into becoming a spy himself. However, the effect of this device led to him becoming an anarchist against all spies including the Mask, whom he stayed. Following this, Spy Smasher had a series of confrontations versus Captain Marvel, who eventually helped restore Armstrong's mind to its natural heroic disposition. 

The Mask's counterparts on Earths One and Two were the Sandmen aka Garrett Sanford and Wesley Dodds, themselves masters of mental manipulation as they like the Mask inflicted nightmares upon their opponents' psyche. Only they were fighting for right unlike the Mask. During Spy Smasher's brown bodysuit clad adventures while opposing and then later aiding the Mask, this correlated with Dodd's adventures after abandoning his green business suit for a purple and yellow spandex uniform. 

Towards the early 1950's, Alan resumed his Spy Smasher career and while attending a rally for the Marvel Family, became ensnared in a trap set by the Sivana Family on all of those present. ;Armstrong was kept in Sivana's Suspendium bubble with the others present for decades, being revived in the modern day to become a member of the Squadron of Justice, his world's version of the Justice Society which Terrific was a member of and of the Justice League which Miracle was a frequent ally of throughout the years.