Purple Rays: Mystery Energy that Heals and Harms

The purple ray, which manifested unique and opposing effects upon those exposed to it s mysterious form of energy. Understanding the nature of this radiation may uncover one of the fundamental forces with the DC Multiverse!

The first to discover this energy was the malevolent scientist known as the Ultra-Humanite. Unleashing its radiation upon citizens of the Earth-Two Metropolis, this led to multiple deaths labeled the "purple plague". Ultra's arch-enemy Superman tracked him down and, during a pivitol battle, between the two, was exposed its rays. Although this killed his body, the effects hadn't reached his brain as yet, which was preserved and implanted in the mind of his kidnap victim, actress Dolores Winters. In this form, Ultra tracked down the ancient Powerstone, last used by Alexie Luthor against their common foe until Superman defeated him and retrieved the stone. When Ultra soon after claimed the powerful object for himself, it manifested similar purple lights which the Humanite used to varying effect. This jewel seemed similar to another, that will be discussed later, from the 7th dimension.

On the Metropolis of Earth-One, a benevolent scientist named Frederic Fowe used his ultra-violet rays Steve Lombard to repair his knee, and unintentionally created a temporary energy duplicate of the football quarterback.

The second appearance of the purple ray was when Princess Diana developed it in order to revive airport Major Steve Trevor, who crashlanded on her homeland of the Earth-Two Paradise Island. Years later, Diana as Wonder Woman used this same purple ray on six of her male colleagues in the Justice Society, who like Trevor were thought dead... reviving them.

A version of the purple ray was also used on the Earth-One Paradise Island by that world's Wonder Woman, both to heal different individuals and to destroy a composite shadow creature attacking her homeland during the Crisis on Infinite Earths. Who developed this purple ray, predating Fowe's, is unknown.

It seems that this purple ray, or ultra-violet ray, is connected to the radiation generated by the star sapphires. These gemstones, created by the immortal Zamorans (who were a type of alien Amazonians, like the Wonder Womens' people), were similar to the Green Lanterns' emerald power rings (created by the Guardians of the Universe, male who were once of the same planet of Maltus as were the Zamorans). This purple energy also had the power of life and death, could create energy constructs, and seemingly bend reality to their user's will. This energy was tied in to their owner's feelings of love, hence if there was ill-will towards another it could be deadly, if a sense of nurturing it could heal.

While it was stated that the purple rays could revive the dead, this evidentally is not the case. As with both Earths' Steve Trevors, and the Justice Society of America members, they were in near-death like comas. Were this energy to actually restore dead ones to the living, the Earth-One Wonder Woman would have used it on her Justice League teammate Barry "Flash" Allen's late wife Iris, and the Earth-Two Wonder Woman would have used it on her former teammate Batman.

Others experimented with these revitalizing and regressive rays, such as those who’s science spawned Bag-O-Bones and the Skull.

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Twice-Told-Tales: Wonder Woman vs Flying Fighters

Princess Diana of Paradise Island, also known to the world at large as Wonder Woman, faced several foes throughout the years. Both women with that name, the Wonder Women of Earths One and Two, at times fought side-by-side together, either with team ups just between the two of them or larger Crisis-level events alongside their teammates of the Justice League and Justice Society. 

On one occasion, the legendary ladies were confronted with five “Heroes of History” of Earth-One, empowered by the temporal megalomaniac known as the Lord of Time who sent them against the League and Society to render the majority of those teams comatose. These five champions of the past consisted of three individuals with identical doppelgänger’s of Earth-Two, those being Viking Prince, Black Pirate and Miss Liberty. A fourth member of this informal group, cowboy bounty hunter Jonah Hex, had a counterpart known as Jeff Graham aka the Roving Ranger of Earth-Two. The final person in their midst was known as an Enemy Ace to the American’s flying over Europe during the mid to late 1910’s.

Enemy Ace was Rittsmeister (Captain) Hans Von Hammer of the German Air Force during World War I, a reluctant warrior and expert fighter pilot also known as the Hammer of Hell. His doppelgänger of Earth-Two was the American World War I fighter pilot Captain Thomas Cole aka Captain Desmo, later known as the Bombardier during the early days of World War II. Just as Von Hammer was employed as a pawn by the Lord of Time, Cole was likewise manipulated into service by the Lord of Mars. 

While the Hammer of Hell was empowered by his benefactor granting him superhuman abilities, Bombardier was likewise empowered with identical abilities. Both men could fly while projecting devastation energy bolts, which disabled the Wonder Woman of their respective Earths. Von Hammer’s four allies were also similarly empowered, while their counterparts experiencing something similar when they were drawn to 1985 of Earth-Two by Harbinger to battle Ultra-Humanite.

Interestingly, it was the Wonder Woman of Earth-Two who shortly thereafter stuck back at both men, first Captain Cole in 1942 on Earth-Two, then decades later against Captain Von Hammer in 1978. Despite this initial animosity, the pilots worked with the Wonder Women to defeat Lords of Time and Mars, along with their reality shattering schemes unleashed upon both Earths known as the Eternity Brain and the Disc of Mars. Following this, Von Hammer* as the Enemy Ace resumed his duties in Germany, while Cole officially retired following this and his lengthy career as Captain Desmo. 

* Along with the Earth-One Viking Prince, Black Pirate, Miss Liberty and Jonah Hex each of whom returned to their native time periods, just as had the Earth-Two Viking Prince, Black Pirate, MissAmerica and Roving Ranger following the Crisis event.

Long Lived Lads & Lasses Leave Lasting Legacies

Vitamin L-3 was first discovered by Holliday College student Etta Candy, while chemically unlocking water derived from the Amazonian Paradise Island, which granted those who ingested its solution with immortality. At least in one potential future of Earth-Two, this is the method by which Etta and her fellow teenage Holliday Girls along with her family friends lived through the centuries. By the 30th century, she along with her best friend Diana "Wonder Woman" Prince and Diana's boyfriend Steve Trevor had a series of adventures.

A similar chemical compound, a serum developed by Doctor B'renlden, was invented several years later on Earth-One. This serum was then shared with all humanity, which then offered it to other worlds who joined Earth's planetary alliance. This was the means by which members of the 30th century's Legion of Super-Heroes were able to remain as "teenagers", as decreed in their bylaws. However, this was a simply a term adapted to categorized individuals at that time who were below the age of 50 years old!

While the Earth-Two Wonder Woman was aware of this serum, and presumably shared it with her own extended friends... perhaps including fellow members of the Justice Society... such was not the case on the Legion's world. There, the Legionnaires prevented their 20th century member Superboy from learning of this immortality compound, for fear of disrupting the Legion's on timeline from the past.

Undoubtedly concurrent to Diana, Steve and Etta's presence in the same era as Rokk Braddon's Space Legion, it's highly likely that they worked together with those 30th century protectors of Earth-Two. Whether they were part of their universe's version of the Legion of Super-Heroes is unknown, yet quite possible given their similar aims at maintaining order and securing the police.

However, further evidence throughout subsequent tales of Wonder Woman and Steve Trevor indicate that in the main 20th century timeline, Etta either did not discover this vitamin, or did not share it with them... as the couple aged rather than maintain their youth as in the L-3 timeline. In fact, in an early 1950's Justice Society case, Wonder Woman and her teammates were thrust forward a thousand years, where they aided the Space Legion versus an invasion of Chameleons (after resolving a misunderstanding between them as seen here). Had Wonder Woman still be alive in this future timeline, her 20th century version and the Society wouldn't have been recruited to oppose this threat.

Twice-Told-Tales: Wonder Women's Strange Substitutes

While the Princesses Diana was the preeminent Amazon and, as such, selected to becoming the ambassador for their respective Paradise Islands to the outside world... there were others who sought their esteemed position. The cosmic counterparts Tonia and Luria each vyed for the title of Wonder Woman, and through superior determination and indominable competitive spirit, they each nearly succeeded in claiming the mantle of the Amazing Amazon for themselves.

Tonia of Earth-One and Luria of Earth-Two bested their fellow Amazonians in a contest, and when Queen Hippolyta awarded them their hearts' desire, they expressed their wish to leave Paradise Island and enter "Man's World", following in Diana's footsteps as powerful protectors. Despite the adverse side effect of losing their immortality if they left the Island behind, both ladies unhesitatingly demanded their requests be granted. However, each Diana had a plan to fulfill these lasses' goals while safeguarding their lives.But how?

As Tonia and Luria journeyed the United States alongside each girl's respective Wonder Woman, they were tasked with handling three cases. These involved saving lives at a Ferris Wheel, subduing criminal motorcyclists stealing precious radium, and rescuening professors held captive by spies on submarines. During each trial, Tonia and Luria each gave it her best yet failed to accomplish the missions, and in the third instance both women seemingly perished underwater.

And yet, it wasn't these Amazonian doppelgängers who died. Rather, it was robot duplicates of Tonia and Luria, who the ladies themselves controlled remotely from Paradise Island. Seeing the futility in following the Wonder Womens' footsteps, they remained in the land that had been their home... safe and secure. Yet they were not the only fabulous females trying to be the next Wonder Woman. There was Earth-One Diana's twin sister Nubia and Earth-Two Diana's daughter Lyta. Then there was two Donna Troys, one raised by Hippolyta as her step-daughter and became Wonder Girl, and the other enroll in Holiday College as one of the Holliday Girls who on occasion wore a Wonder Woman outfit.

Then there was the tragic twin tales of Orana and Dalma, two Amazonians with less lofty ideals than either Tonia or Luria. Orana challenging her Diana to a contest where she won due to her ruthlessness and the Princess' self-sacrificing nature. Dalma hatched a plan a rebellion among her fellow Amazonians, who distracted the Queen and her Princess while she escaped, flying to America. In the United States, Orana assumed the mantle of Wonder Woman, although her rash nature led to her premature death which Diana avenged as she resumed her heroic alter ego. As for Dalma, she became a prominent female boxer until she attracted the attention of Wonder Woman, who eventually outmanuevered her... returning her to Paradise Island.

Twice-Told Tale: Mental Marauders & Menacing Man-Hawks

Among the greatest inventions of planet Thanagar, besides the discovery of anti-gravitational metal, are devices known as the Absorbacron and the Electromizer. These invasive mechanisms could mentally augment those connected to them, mentally implanting potentiallyl so vast quantities of information into an individual's brain. This allowed an individual to rapidly assimilate entire languages as well as culture information, which Thanagarians could use to integrate into societies alien to their own.

The Absorbacron was originally developed on Thanagar-One by the initially benevolent inhabitants of that world. When the malicous Man-Hawks invaded and pillaged their planet, a select number of Thanagarians were tasked and trained to become the Wingmen, a global police force employing the anti-gravity belts and winged harnesses developed by Paran Hol and used by his son Katar. Eventually, Katar and his wife Shayera were commissioned to travel to Earth-One, where they would learn the policing procedures of humanity as Hawkman and Hawkwoman, a concept foreign to those of Thanagar who had previously never experienced crime on their world.

The Electromizer was originally developed on Thanagar-Two by the thoroughly malevolent Vulture King and his fellow Vultures, who sought to reclaim their people’s former glory as they ventured to Earth-Two in an attempt to conquer this world. Their avian ancestors failed to conquer humanity during the ages of Egyptian Prince Khufu and English protector the Silent Knight. Now equipped with winged harnesses enhancing their speed and maneuverability, Vulture King's minions sought to enslave human-kind into their forces.

When Thanagar-One experienced a devastating global Equalizing Plague which crippled their citizenry, followed by a conquest of the alien dictator Hyathis, the Thanagarians abandoned their Wingmen aliases and began a Shadow War on Earth-One. This led to repeated conflicts with Hawkman and Hawkwoman. 

Earth-Two experienced an invasion of Vulture King and his minions, following their fellow advanced Vulture scout Aiymer’s arrival, who had clashed with Doll Man years earlier. Although initially successful in forcibly recruiting residents of Earth into their winged forces, the Vultures were eventually defeated by Wonder Woman, the Justice Society teammate of Hawkman and longterm friend of his wife Hawkgirl.

Just as Thanagarian Vultures used the Electromizer to mentally manipulate humans, who wore enlarged bird-like winged suits, Thanagarian Shadow Warriors used the Absorbacron to mentally manipulate their former flying foes, the Man-Hawks, in an attempt to control Gotham City during the period of the Convengence (when that city and others of various universes was placed on an alien world for a year). Katar and Shayera defeated both Man-Hawks and Shadow Warriors.

Sinister Sharks versus Amazing Amazons

The Shark was a perpetual predator who not only plagued the Green Lantern of Earth-One, Hal Jordan, but also sought other powerhouse prey. After three clashes with the Emerald Crusader, the Shark diverted his attention to the Lantern's Justice League comrades Aquaman, Superman and finally Wonder Woman. Each time he faced these Leaguers, his mutated humanoid form was reverted back to his natural state as a tiger shark. However, the atomic radiation he was initially exposed to and which caused his mutation forever affected his genetic structure, and it was only a matter of time before he regained his former stature.

In his various altered forms, the Shark possessed not only superhuman strength and the power of flight, but also vast mental powers which included the ability to induce fear in his victims. His doppelgänger on Earth-Two was born a human who gained unspecified powers after his imprisonment, although this individual known as King Shark ended up allied with his world's Green Lantern, Alan Scott. Once his girlfriend's life was saved, he disappeared never to reappear, although another man named Shark Wilson seemed to fully mutate into a shark during a clash with his reality's Aquaman. Wilson's counterpart Shark Norton was a mere criminal and foe of the Justice Leaguers Aquaman and Green Arrow.

Interestingly, additional shark-human hybrids appeared on Earth-Two, spawned by the young scientist on Paradise Island named Gerta Von Gunther. These creatures were transformed into flying mermaids, led by the sinister Sharkette, whose Earth-One cosmic twin was the Global Guardian heroine named Little Mermaid. 

Just as the Earth-One Wonder Woman initially encountered the Shark and later battled him on Paradise Island, so too had the Earth-Two Wonder Woman first met Sharkette and her blonde haired "mermaid-sharks" whom she battled on Paradise Island. The mindless mermaid minions filled in for King Shark, who never interacted with Wonder Woman, and three of these ladies found corresponding creatures in the Shark's "Princes of the Prey, whom the Shark unleashed upon Wonder Woman and her Justice League allies on a later occasion. 

Whether the chemical concoction created by Gerta for Sharketta was the catalyst for Shark Wilson’s temporary transformation into a shark is unknown thought quite possible. The Shark’s initial mutations were caused by the radiation while subsequent transformations were the trials of genetic engineering such as that performed at S.T.A.R. Labs Florida. 

Unlike the Shark and his Prey Princes, who were irredeemably evil and transformed back to their natural states, Sharketta and her mermaidens were made docile and integrated into Amazonian society. While Sharkeeta remained the self-appointed “Queen” to her fellow mer-sharks, Shark only had a brief stint as self-proclaimed royalty when he attempted to usurp kingship of Atlantis from Aquaman under the human alter ego of Kershon. 

Dual Dream Dimensions Disorient Dogooders

The Dream Dimension was first discovered by the Flash when he perceived of its existence as a band within the velocity spectrum, which he physically entered while approaching and surpassing the speed of light. This reality had previously been accessed mentally through the Amazonian Memory Chair, a devise developed on the Paradise Island of Earths One and Two, as well as the Kryptonian Symbioship which Zor-L of Krypton-Two designed.

Sometime after the Earth-One Flash ventured there, scientist named Doctor Sanford Garrett developed equipment in conjunction with the United States government allowing him to physically travel within that dimension. Offering to test this himself in order to save a high ranking official trapped within through his dreams, Sanford adopted the alter ego of Sandman, with the mission of protecting humanity from nightmares manifested therein. Sandman could only return to his home world of Earth-One one hour each day. 

Sandman eventually met the Flash and his teammates in the Justice League of America, while battling the dream-themed villain Doctor Destiny (a similar tale  involved the Justice Society vs Brain Wave). Among those present on that case was Wonder Woman, whom Sandman had previously observed from his Dream Dome and cultivated romantic feelings for... which were not reciprocated.

Interestingly, both the Wonder Woman of Earth-One and Power Girl of Earth-Two had partial existences within the Dream Dimension while mentally linked to the Memory Chair and Symbioship, wherein they had fabricated lives and adventures.  As virtual representations of themselves, these women experienced stories within the Dream Dimension that mirrored the real life tales of their cosmic twins, Supergirl of Earth-One and Wonder Woman of Earth-Two.

While the Earth-Two Sandman, Wesley Dodds, did not have direct access to the Dream Dimension as had his Earth-One doppelgänger Garrett Sanford, he did have a strong connection to dreams which he relied upon in his various adventures as a costumed crusader. Unlike Sanford, Dodds kept his relationship professional with his Justice Society teammate Wonder Woman. No doubt, his having a true love in his own dream-girl, Dian Belmont, helped him avoid looking at other women. Dian's own cosmic twin, Beautiful Dreamer of Earth-Two, also had a connection with the Dream Dimension from which she derived her powers.

Cunning Catwomen vs Amazing Amazons

Selina Kyle was an expert cat burglar, and in fact and expert in all things feline. As the Catwoman, she battled Batman on multiple occasions, with each firmly entrenched in opposite sides of the law while simultaneously succumbing to feelings of attraction for each other. And yet, despite all the crimes she committed, Selina never attempted killing someone. Although on occasion, there was the perception she may have crossed the line.

In fact, there were two Selina Kyles, two Catwomen, on two Earths. On Earth-Two, decades after she retired from crime and married the Bruce Wayne alter ego of her one-time adversary Batman, Selina was confronted with evidence that she in fact had inadvertenly slain someone. However, after being dying attempting to protect her secret by assisting her blackmailer, one-time henchman Silky "Catman" Cernak, it was discovered by Selina's daughter Helena that the photographic evidence was fabricated by Cernak. As the Huntress, Helena avenged her mother's death, and carried on her father's heroic legacy after his retirement and eventual death.

On Earth-One, a Catwoman seemingly sent a trained leopard to slay the ambassador of the African country of Sudaria*, in an attempt to sell the revolutionary "Peter Rabbit" computer's blueprints. This led to her not only facing Batman, but also Wonder Woman who in her Diana Prince alter ego was assigned by her employers at the United Nation regarding this diplomatic matter. After being appointed the new ambassador to Sudaria then seemingly perishing, it was soon revealed that her deceased "body" was a plant to cover her escape when her plans fell apart. But was this woman actually Selina Kyle?

On Earth-Two, a woman remarkably similar in facial appearance to Selina Kyle named Tigra Tropica** attempted to replensh her ill-gotten wealth by mentally manipulating men into purchasing her trained tigers. One such man proceeded to have a heart attack upon realizing he had purchased and was bound to a tiger. This led to Wonder Woman and her boyfriend Steve Trevor into confronting her, and after initially seeming to overpower the duo, Tigra was defeated by the pair. But was this woman actually Selina Kyle?

Two possibilites present themselves: 1.) the Sudarian Catwoman of Earth-One and Tigra Tropica of Earth-Two were separate individuals, inspired by the original Catwomen, or 2.) these two murderous women were split personas of Selina Kyle who on occasion took control.

* There is a proposed explanation that this tale, as with certain other stories in Brave and the Bold, occurs on Earth-B. However, this Earth has never been documented as having existed, and is not an Earth this website supports.

** While Tigra Tropica spoke in a French dialect, this may well have been part of her “disguise” to draw attention away from her similar appearance and modus operandi to Catwoman.

Sub-Atomic Synthetic Superhumans

Alternate Earths: Earth-1A and Earth-2A

While most tales involving the Justice League and Justice Society prior to Crisis on Infinite Earths have been relegated to Earths One and Two, respectively, there have been notable exceptions as to their members. Specifically, the "Big Five" plus two whose tales were continuously published on Earth-Prime (our world) since their inception in the late 1930s/early 1940s and through the decades between the Society's last Golden Age tale and the League's first Silver Age tale. 

The so-called Big Five, these were Superman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Batman and Robin. And it was this quintet who became the core group known as the Super Friends*, as four Justice Leaguers and one Teen Titan were selected to training aspiring heroes Marvin White and Wendy Harris. Shortly after, they would turn their attention to the extra-terrestrial shapechangers Zan and Jayna, the Wonder Twins. While reference within the Super Friends and Justice League tales assert that these two groups existed concurrently on the same Earth-One, some oddities in the Super Friends tales do not quite line up with the League's mainstream continuity. As such, their stories may have occured on Earth-One, but not quite as they were written within the comicbook published on Earth-Prime**. 

As mentioned after the Crisis by author Roy Thomas, the dispersed energy of the seven superheroes who departed the 1940's All-Star Squadron had to be compensated by newer heroes taking their place. While Neptune Perkins assumed the place of his fellow former Earth-Two All-Star colleague Aquaman and Dan the Dyna-Mite substituted for Robin, three new heroes from a third pre-Crisis Earth... quite probably Earth-Eight... in Iron Munro, Flying Fox and Fury took the place of Superman***, Batman and Wonder Woman****. While their tales as the Young All-Stars would not be exactly what would've been the All-Star Squadron's tales, were the "Big Seven" still active, many elements would be similar making the young heroes' adventures homages to untold Earth-Two Squadron tales*****.

Of course, the remaining duo of those seven characters included the Battling Bowmen known as Green Arrow and Speedy. While they were pulled from their native time period in the late 1940's due to their battle alongside the Seven Soldiers of Victory versus the Nebula Man, there were still stories told specially about the Earth-Two version through the late 1950s. We will consider this in the future.

* The Super Friend's actual Earth-Two counterpart team would the Super Squad, consisting of a core group with the Justice Society who... like the Justice League... were tasked with training a second generation of younger heroes.

** One such example of this is when Red Tornado mentioned his used of time travel referenced Super Friends issue# 8, while engaging in this feat a second time in Justice League of America #155.

*** E. Nelson Bridwell among others postulated that the golden age Superman's stories referencing Daily Planet instead of Daily Star, and a bald Luthor instead of a red-haired Luthor, transpired on Earth-2A. If so, then these same stories were also told on Earth-Two, as referenced by the tale of the Powerstone... where both a bald and red-haired Luthor claimed the object for himself.

**** Other members of the Young All-Stars including Tsunami, Sandy, Tigress would be reflections of Jayna, Zan, Wendy and Marvin with the Super Friends.

*****As shown by the accompanying picture, at least briefly before the inception of the Young All-Stars, members of the Freedom Fighters took the places of the missing "Big Five" in the Squadron. Although curiously, in the retroactively altered picture, golden age Green Arrow and Speedy remained until later wiped from existence!

The Husband of Diana Prince: Not Steve Trevor... Dan White!

When the Wonder Women brought their respective Steve Trevors to the United States, where the injured majors could recuperate in military hospitals following their crash landing on the Paradise Islands, a bond formed between the heroines and the soldiers. Each woman sought to stay close to her new boyfriends, to nurse them back to health. They achieved this by meeting two distraught women named... Diana Prince!

Each Diana expressed her desire to accompany her fiancée to South America, where these men had taken engineering jobs. The Wonder Women provided the Dianas with funds to travel to their new homes, and reunite with their true loves. In exchange, both Dianas agreed to let the Wonder Women use their name as a civilian identity.

On Earth-One, the now Diana White returned to America, where she approached Wonder Woman to request her identity back since her husband Dan White had been lost during a mountain climbing expedition. Wonder Woman, accompanied by Diana, were able to rescue Dan from a malevolent local tribe on Tabu Mountain. The happy family resumed their normal lives in their new home.

On Earth-Two, the recently wed Diana White along with her husband returned to America when he lost his job. When Dan encountered the other Diana Prince, thinking this was his wife, he scolded her for secretly having a job outside of the home. When Dan tried to sell a disintegrator shell, his wife and young baby boy Marvin were held captive, the ransom being the deadly device in his possession! Wonder Woman saved Diana, the baby, and Dan while capturing the crooks. Dan and Diana reconciled following this.

Eventually, the Earth-One Dan and Diana's son Marvin would return to America and with his friend Wendy Harris joined the Super Friends. There in the Gotham City Hall of Justice, Marvin and Wendy trained to be junior superheroes under the tutelage of four Justice Leaguers and a Teen Titan. Among these was Wonder Woman herself! Following their graduating from this programs, the pair of youngsters presumably made their mark in society as positive role models.

It is unknown if the Marvin White of Earth-Two likewise pursued a heroic career, since his family was last seen in South America. However, he would have been the prime age in the late 1940s to have been a member... either in person or by mail order... of the Junior Justice Society. These were aspiring young men and women trained by the Justice Society members to become exemplary citizens, and in fact Wonder Woman had previously trained a couple of these young ones around this same time period.

Malevolent Moon Men Menaces

Unbeknownst to humanity below, the satellite orbiting their blue planet had reclusive civilizations, distant relatives of man possessing tremendous power. One sought to usurp their larger cousin, the other sought to control savage forces from within. On the moon of Earth-One, these people were known as the Lunarians and on Earth-Two's moon they are named the Selenites. While each race resembles humans, they have distinct differences, with the Lunarians having a brightly yellow skin hue, and with some... though not all... Selenites possessing only one eye!

The first indication of life on the moon was in the summer of 1942, when Superman and Wonder Woman of Earth-Two ventured there in order to resolve a conflict between them regarding whether America had the right to control the destructive power of the atom. Before battling one another, the pair of Justice Society members noticed grand architecture left behind by a mysterious people no longer present. Then a year later, while battling the 30th century villain Rajak, Green Lantern and his pal Doiby Dickles followed him to the moon. There, the peaceful Selenites King Shel-Don welcomed the visiting terrans to his underground city... and were later attacked by the rival Core-Men who opposed the Selenites. By vaniquishing Shel-Don's foe, the King gave Lantern the Moon Stone, although Raakj temporarily stole it. Later, Green Lantern and Doiby were pulled back to the moon during an eclipse, and met a different faction of Selenites who were former Atlanteans!

On Earth-One, Superman first encountered the Lunarians when natural disasters plagued the globe, originating from the moon. Kidnapped by agents of their Queen, Primor Trena, Superman was intended to be her King after he was led into battle with the current King. Meanwhile, all superheroes on Earth temporarily forgot about their costumed alter egos, leaving Earth-One unprotected. Superman was able to convince the Lunarians to leave the moon for an artificial planet he created rather than take over Earth.

Hidden Hemispheres of Hyperspace

Hyperspace is defined as four or more dimensions folded upon itself, creating a multi-dimensional universal plane of existence. 

On one occasion, four Krptonian prisoners of the Phantom Zone discovered the means to reach a planet with unusual properties in an adjacent dimension they also labeled an "alternate universe"*. From this world, they launched deadly robotic Anachroids to wreak havok in space and time, until the Superman and Flash of Earth-One tracked them to their source and defeated these creatures and their masters. This trans-dimensional world may have been the same as Rokyn, where the Kandorians resided once Superman and Supergirl enlarged them.

This world had a counterpart in an "alternate universe"* of Earth-Two, a psuedo-Pluto which the Spectre had been exiled to, wherein the inhabitants spoke a language derived from that of the Andromedan Galaxy, the same galaxy where Krypton once resided! Could these have been long lost Kryptonian refugees? The domed city on this Pluto mirrored the once bottled city of Kandor. After quelling a civil war, Spectre later returned to this world, exiling Nazi agents there, no doubt out of revenge for their treatment of he and his Justice Society allies.

In face, six of his Justice Society colleagues had been simultaneously captured and also exiled into hyperspace via experimental rocketships by enemy Nazi agents. Hawkman was sent to a Saturn-like world named Arkania, a militant people like those of the extra-dimensional world Llorth, whom the Earth-One Hawkman once encountered. Later, the younger Hawkman traveled on twice through another dimensional warp to the world of Illoral, a mirror image of the Wingworld that Wonder Woman of the Justice Society visited more than once. Queen Desira and her daughter Princess Eve of Wingworld had counterparts in Dwyanna Ral of Llorth and Queen Maya of Floria.

The Atom of Earth-One and Doctor Mid-Nite of Earth-Two likewise visited other-dimensional worlds in Floria and Faux-Neptune (the Atom of Earth-Two visited a hyperspacial version of Mars like that of Mars II settled by the Martian Manhunter and his people in Earth-One's universe). 

Fellow Justice Society members Starman and Sandman visited worlds resembling Jupiter and Uranus with strange substance sentients as had the Metal Men of Earth-One , such as the alien Robot-spider Queen and minions of Metalus 5. Jimmy Olsen of Earth-One and Johnny Thunder of Earth-Two likewise ventured to alien dimensions on the same occasions as their peers Superman and Spectre above.

* The term "alternate universe" used for worlds visited by the individual Justice Leaguers and Justice Socialites as mentioned is different from that of planets in a "parallel universe". The alternate universe simply means an adjacent dimension attached to either the Earth-One or Earth-Two universe, respectively.

Twice-Told-Tales: Fabulous Females Fight Fantastical Fiends

In February of 1982, a full three years before the onset of the Crisis on Infinite Earths, another crisis beset four of those Earths in the form of the alien Adjudicator... and his four cosmic creations that would seek to purge this quartet of parallel planets of all life he deemed unworthy.

An exiled member of a powerful extra-terrestrial race, who journeyed to different world's within the universe of Earth-One, the Adjudicator first encountered Wonder Woman while attempting to appraise that world as to its value. After defending Washington D.C. from his potent prescence, and then retreating, Wonder Woman sought counsel from her allies of the Justice League of America... as well as Supergirl... as she ascertained that Adjudicator would return to threaten humanity.

In addition, she perceived that the Adjudicator learned of Earths in other universes, and that those worlds would also be in danger. Hence, fellow League member Black Canary traveled to her home world of Earth-Two through a transmatter device to enlist the aid of her old allies, the Justice Society of America. While most of the JLA were able to assemble on their Satellite headquarters high above Earth-One, where Wonder Woman explained the quandry they were facing, only a fraction of the JSA were able to meet together to hear a similar update from the visiting Black Canary.

After dispersing following these impromptu meetings, as had the League, only Society members Huntress and Power Girl remained with Black Canary at their Civic City brownstone headquarters. Why the JSA met there rather than their standard newer Justice Society base of operations, is unknown. What is known is that soon thereafter, Adjudicator dispatched an agent representing famine to Calcutta, India of Earth-One, and another agent representing pestilence to Atlanta, Georgia of Earth-Two. Thankfully, Wonder Woman and Zatanna protected India, while Black Canary along with Power Girl and Huntress defended Georgia... with both teams of heroines defeating their fiendish foes. Seeing that both Earths had plenty of protectors, Adjudicator ventured to two other worlds to test them out.

On Earth-X, Supergirl alongside that world's Phantom Lady... herself originally also native to Earth-Two... along with another ally defeated the agent of war. As Earth-X was a wartorn world for decades under Nazi rule, this was seen by the Adjudicator as an appropriate test. Finally, on Earth-I, the New Teen Titans Wonder Girl and Starfire of Earth-One guarded that world from the final agent, representing death. As all residents of that world are immortal, this would likewise be a test on that world's inhabitants, one they endured.

Following this, all these heroines that participate in these adventures were drawn together by the Adjudicator, who confronted them all. During the battle, the aggressive alien pondered at his own origins and that of his people, which drew members of his race to his space vessel where he and the wonder women were. Seeing him as insane, the Adjudicator's own people summoned him way to incarcerate him, thus saving humanity from a cosmic threat. At least, for a few more years until the Crisis on Infinite Earths brought all these superheroines and numerous others across time and space to deal with a threat that dwarfed even the Adjudicator, namely the Anti-Monitor of the Anti-Matter Universe of Qward!

While the Earth-Two Wonder Woman wasn't present during this tale, she likewise faced her world's version of the Adjudicator decades previous, and likewise proved victorious. This entity, which manifested via the mutated body of the Steve Trevor of that world, along with his myriad of clones were dispatched by the Amazing Amazon without the aid of either her Justice Society allies nor other heroines of her day.

Titantic Trevors Tackle Tremendous Tasks

Major Steve Trevor of Earths One and Two was more than just the boyfriend of a powerful superheroine. On occasion, each Steve gained superhuman abilities as well.

On Earth-One, Trevor temporarily gained powers on par with his girlfriend and, as Patriot, teamed up with her to defeat the benefactor of his new physique... the criminal known as Angle Man. The crook sought to empower Trevor in order to motivate arch-foe Wonder Woman into retiring. She didn't, and he lost his amazing attributes.

On Earth-Two, Trevor became a massive monster, transformed by the Nazi agent known as Armageddon by a chemical concoction. This led to a battle between the super-Steve and the object of his affection, with Wonder Woman overpowering him and reversing his mutation by grabbing the antidote from the German. 

Years later, Trevor would be mutated once more, by aliens Cerberons who sought to transform wayward hmanity of Earth-Two into blue skinned aliens such as themselves. Although this new Cerberon hybid replicated his appearance upon other humans, Wonder Woman reversed the process. With Trevor once more restored, he and she continued to have adventures until years later they finally married.

Such would not be the case for the other Trevor, who perished at the hands of the evil Doctor Cyber. Years later, the Steve Trevor from Earth-Three accidentally pierced the dimensional walls from his universe to that of Earth-One, whereby he assumed the life of his deceased counterpart. Soon after, a wayward member of an blue skinned alien race named the Adjudicator came to threaten humanity of various Earths, opposed by Wonder Woman. Like the Cerberons, the Adjudicator's threat was only temporary. He, though, had no connection with Trevor... who still later married his Wonder Woman.

Metal Menaces Meet Men and Maiden of Might

The heroic members of the Justice League and Justice Society faced many and varied threats over the years, and among the most dangerous were robot rogues that wielded sufficient abilities to match and exceed their enemies.

For example, Amazo, the android built by Professor Ivo utilized his power absorbing abilities to defeat the Justice League and prolong his master's life. Amazo succeeded, although the cost to Ivo for immortality was inhumanity. Another example was military scientist Helmet Streicher who sought to see the future and harness futuristic technology to provide him a cybernetic armor. He triumphed although as the Red Panzer found continual defeat versus members of the Justice Society.

While the Panzer initially faced Batman, Flash and Green Lantern... it was Wonder Woman who was his most persistent opponent. Similarly, after a series of battles with the League... their most powerful member Superman became Amazo's primary foe. Each metallic menace faced off against the Man of Steel and Amazing Amazon on a couple of occasions, the last of which found decisive defeats from which they never truly recovered. (Amazo and Red Panzer’s counterparts on each other’s Earth, Akhet and Atomic Knight, were more “one-hit-wonders”)

Interestingly, the Wonder Woman of the Justice League twice journeyed to Earth-Two to aid her counterpart. Although the two twins initially fought, they soon reconciled and tackled Red Panzer together... then on the Earth-One Princess' return trip aided her Justice Society doppelgänger versus the Angle Man. 

A parallel event happened on her own world when she and her Justice League allies battled the automaton Super-Duper, created by criminal Joe Parry, on one brief occasion before it was recreated by T.O. Morrow once more. Super-Duper possessed several attributes of five Leaguers, with the head of Wonder Woman herself! This character was a minor footnote in history, and had a doppleganger in T.O. Morrow's cosmic rod energized cat statuette.

Thirtieth Century Adventures of Twentieth Century Adventurers

Thirtieth century adventures of twentieth century adventurers? How could this be? It is possible if you are Superboy of Earth-One, and Wonder Woman of Earth-Two, who along with three of their friends from their native time periods aided peoples far into the future. Superboy had first encountered three members of the Legion of Super-Heroes... Lightning Lad, Saturn Girl and Cosmic Boy... when they traveled to the 20th century in order to recruit him. He would later join the team, and countless times travel to the Legion's 30th century to share several adventures alongside the team which his own costumed career had inspired.

After several years as a Legionnaire, memories of how his future would probably develop began to overwhelm Superboy, leading to his choice to leave the 30th century... and his membership in the Legion... for good. However, years later as Superman he would visit his old friends both by himself and with his new teammates in the Justice League of America.

Wonder Woman had with her best friend Etta Candy discovered a "life vitamin" during the middle of the 20th century, which in one alternate future timeline would keep select humans immortal. As such, in the 30th century, Wonder Woman was still alive and operated both a superheroine and in her alter ego of Diana Prince. In that future, she had several adventures with others while protecting the united planet of Earth-Two.

Just as Superboy was not alone in his travels to the 30th century, as his friends Pete Ross, Lana Lang and Jimmy Olsen would themselves join the Legion of Super-Heroes as honorary members... so to would Wonder Woman be joined in the 30th century by Steve Trevor, Etta Candy and General Darnell who likewise thanks to the Life Vitamin retained their youth into the future.

And of course the similarities between the Boy of Steel and the Amazonian Princess don’t end there, they also faced similar foes. An example of this was Superboy’s female foil, Loretta York Grant aka the Yellow Peri and Wonder Woman’s femme fatale Sinestra aka the Purple Priestess. Each lethal lass could trick unwitting victims, leaving them in stunned superstitious disbelief.

While each bad blonde bombshell encountered the older Superman and Wonder Woman on two distinct occasions, they’d also caused trouble years earlier gaining the attention of the Justice Leaguer and Justice Socialite. Other colorful lady supervillains a thousand years in the future would imitate Peri and Priestess’ modus operandi, such as the Fatal Five’s Emerald Empress.

Prominent Princesses Protect Powerless

Nightshade was in actuality Eve Eden, the debutante daughter of a U.S. Senator. However she secretly had a family connection with a royal family in another shadow dimension through her mother. This mirrored the origin of Princess Diana, who grew up amongst the Amazons on Paradise Island and who would later move to another dimension when she was an adult. 

Eve was separated from her brother Larry, as he had been trapped in that other-dimensional world when she and her mother visited it during their childhood. It is unknown if Eve ever reunited with him on their native world of Earth-Four. 

Following the loss of both her sibling and mother to the shadow realm's new diabolical ruler, Eden was motivated to train alongside seasoned martial artist Tiger... the adult version of Judomaster's World War II sidekick... to become an adept hand-to-hand combatant. Similarly, the Diana Prince of Earth-One when she was de-powered was trained by her aged Asian mentor I-Ching in martial arts techniques. 

As Nightshade, Eve became a sanctioned governmental agent, which would lead to her working with its premier powered operative, Captain Allen Adam aka Captain Atom. A lasting friendship and budding romance would develop between this dynamic duo. 

While Wonder Woman had a superhuman physique including massive strength speed and agility, Nightshade's abilities differed in that she transformed into a shadow, allowing her to teleport from the third dimension. In each case, the gal was rendered immune to physical attack while in that form. 

On parallel planet of Earth-S, Nightshade's doppelgänger was Princess Taia of Thebes, an ancient Egyptian royal consort to the superhero known as Ibis the Invincible, both of whom ventured to the 20th century where they became frequent allies of their fellow Squadron of Justice member, Captain Marvel... as well as his fellow Marvel Family. 

And each provided a valuable skill set and ally for Superman and Captain Atom, respectively. While Superman and Wonder Woman had a long documented partnership in the Justice League and Justice Society, Nightshade and Cap only had a few recorded cases together and with their teammates in the Sentinels of Justice. And of course, Cap and Nightshade's frequent battles with their recurring foe, the Ghost.

Maddening Mer-Men Meet Amazon Amazons

Manno the Mer-Man... an oft-forgotten footnote in the history of Wonder Woman. Residing in an unknown part of the Atlantic Ocean, perhaps connected with Tritonis where Lori Lemaris originated... Manno first made his appearance known to the surface world as Mer-Boy with the alternate name of Ronno. It was on his first trip above the waves the he fell in love with the young Princess Diana, affectionately known to her fellow Amazonians as Wonder Girl. The pair had an on-again off-again courtship that precipitated into some startling adventures with one another. Years later, the now adult Diana as the superheroine known as Wonder Woman would fall in love with American Colonel Steve Trevor, although Trevor would find intense competition from Mer-Man who reappeared in his childhood sweetheart's life once more. 

Then, through a series of Impossible Tales which were tangentially tied to Earth-One's continuity, Mer-Man would be aided by his younger selves of Mer-Mite and Mer-Boy to aid Wonder Woman with her younger selves of Wonder-Mite and Wonder Girl. Within a couple years of his reappearance, Mer-Man would return to his life in the sea forsaking any future hope of ending up with the Amazing Amazon.

On Earth-Two, the golden age Wonder Woman had far worse experiences with her world's Mer-Men who were ancient adversaries of the Amazons. On one occasion, they kidnapped the Queen Hippolyte of Paradise Island, which led to Princess Diana nearly becoming the new Queen. Thankfully, Diana was able to track down her mother's kidnappers, restoring the Queen to her throne. During another recorded meeting between Wonder Woman and Mer-Men, she faced the deceptive Maqua and his brother, who during a competition with the Amazing Amazon cheated. The malicous Mer-Men's duplicitousness was eventually discovered, with the pair losing in that contest versus the Amazing Amazon.

This was later referenced as to past encounters with this troublesome race that tempered some bitter feelings Diana had for them. Besides being a more aggressive race than were those on Earth-One, the Earth-Two Mer-Men possessed either one or two fish tails, the latter breed adapted themselves in order to compensate for two legs of humans, whereas their counterparts all possessed only one combined fish tail.

Unlike the Mer-Men of Earth-One, who were citizens of a sister-city of Tritonis and this distant cousins of the Atlanteans of Poseidonis, the Mer-Men of Earth-Two were not connected to the sister-cities of Venturia and Aurania that originated on the lost continent of Atlantis. In that reality, the Atlanteans did not mutate into becoming water-breathing humans, but rather resided in submerged caverns beneath the Atlantic Ocean.

Among the residents of Earth-Two, Wonder Woman was a friend of Venturian Queen Eeras, just as her Earth-One counterpart was friends with the Poseidonis Queen Mera, wife of Wonder Woman’s Justice League teammate Aquaman. However, the Earth-Two had a more persistent undersea foe than Maqua, that being Queen Clea of Aurania. Their rivalry would last for decades, and spill out not only in the lost cities of Atlantis but even onto Diana’s Paradise Island.

Tara Terruna.... Wonder Woman of Earth-59

In 1953, over eleven years since her All-Star Squadron allies first encountered the hero-less Earth-X and then the Marvel Family's Earth-S, eight years after the Amazing Amazon last met her Earth-One counterpart, Wonder Woman, once finally herself traveled to a parallel world. Here, on Earth-59, she met her counterpart there named Tara Terruna who was princess of that planet's prominent country, a nation now controlled by Tara's arch-enemy Duke Dazam. The Duke was himself the terrible twin of Earth-Two's Duke of Deception who had plagued Wonder Woman for years. The dynamic duo of daring damsels dispatched this devious deviant decisely, at which point our heroine returned to her own world... this time remembering an encounter with her identical twin... since the last two times she met another like her from a parallel planet those memories were wiped from her. And so, in the Multiverse, somewhere Tara Terruna still rightfully reign.