Shazam's Squadron of Justice
Encyclopedia
The Squadron of Justice was a name used by two superhero
teams of characters who originated from Fawcett Comics
. Each team only made one appearance in a single story.
#21, the name had been applied to the somewhat obscure Marvel Family
members known as the Lieutenant Marvels
. Three young men from different areas of the country (Texas
, the Ozarks and Brooklyn
) all named Billy Batson
were reading Captain Marvel
’s comic book adventures and happened to wonder if saying “Shazam
” would work for them as well. As it happened, Tall Billy, Hill Billy, and Fat Billy all said the word at the same time and were each transformed into one of the Lieutenant Marvels, having powers akin to Captain Marvel. They could only change if all three said the magic word at the same time along with real Billy(in later appearances of the Lieutenant Marvels such as Shazam #30, this limitation was ignored, though none of them operated singly as a Marvel).
The Squadron, which was based on the parallel Earth known as Earth-S
, was made up of the following super-heroes:
A summary of this storyline is as follows:
The team was gathered together by the god Mercury
to save the elder gods, goddesses and the wizard Shazam from an assault by King Kull
of the Beastmen (who had paralyzed them all) using a ray that slowed down their impulses after getting to the Rock of Eternity in a ship that travelled faster then light, although Shazam was able to telepathically contact Mercury. Mercury also gathered heroes from the Justice League of Earth-One
(Superman
, Green Lantern
, the Flash
, Green Arrow
, Hawkman
and Hawkgirl
) and the Justice Society of Earth-Two (Batman
, Robin
, Green Lantern, The Flash, Wonder Woman
and Johnny Thunder
) to deal with the situation, as with Shazam's paralysis, he was unable to send out the magic lightning that transformed Billy Batson, Mary Batson and Freddy Freeman into the Marvel Family.
King Kull planned to completely destroy Mankind on all three Earths, so that his subjugated Beast-Men could once again rule over all, as humanity had rebelled and killed most of then. Superman, Wonder Woman, Spy Smasher and Green Arrow headed to Earth-Two to battle King Kull’s agents there. Queen Clea
of Atlantis
, the Penguin
, Blockbuster and Ibac
, as Queen Clea was planning to take over the entire continent of Atlantis (on Earth-Two, Atlantis had recently risen from the depths and was inhabited by two nations ruled by women; the inhabitants also learned to survive without mutating into water-breathers, like the inhabitants of Aquaman
’s city on Earth-One did). The villains were dispatched with relative ease, Spy Smasher tricking Ibac into saying 'I back down from no-one' tiggering the transformation, while Superman easily defeated Blockbuster, but a strange cloud appeared over a nearby island and caused it to sink beneath the waves again in a very destructive fashion, which King Kull planned to have happen to every continent and island on Earth. Superman used his super-breath to freeze the cloud and threw the block of ice into the head of a passing comet, ending the threat. The heroes headed back to Earth-S as Atlantis disappeared beneath the waves again.
On Earth-S, a series of destructive and incredibly strange occurrences were happening all over the world. There was a very odd eclipse occurring that kept one side of the planet in perpetual darkness and the other side in continual light. There was volcanic activity in the Canadian Rockies
, as witnessed by Hawkman, Hawkgirl, Bulletman and Bulletgirl, and when Hawkman flew too near to one of the volcanoes, his shoulder began to petrify into stone. Off the coast of Atlantis, an iceberg was moving through the water at high speed and transforming anything that came near it into ice (including people). Rock formations came to life in the Garden of the Gods
in Colorado
and began turning people into stone.
Billy Batson, ace anchor at Station WHIZ
in New York
(and the alter-ego of Captain Marvel), also reported that the steel frame of a building being constructed downtown started walking away, after turning all the construction workers on it into iron. Batman, Robin, Mr. Scarlet and Pinky were investigating that situation, and Batman had gotten too close to the structure and part of his jaw had turned to iron (making it very difficult for him to talk). They examined the bodies of the
transformed workers and found they all had the unique grin usually associated with the effects of the Joker
’s poison gas. The Joker (from Earth-Two) was, in fact, working with an old enemy of Bulletman known as the Weeper
. The two sent more gas into a local jewelry store, which first acted as laughing gas then transformed the people inside into living diamonds, and the diamonds and jewels followed the two criminals out of the store to their hideout. Mr. Scarlet noticed the marks on the sidewalk made by the moving gems and the four heroes followed the trail and made quick work of the two villains and their thugs, with Mr Scarlet being immune to the Weeper's tear gas due to his goggles.
The heroes took a sample of the Joker’s poison gas to Jim Barr (also known as Bulletman) for analysis, as now Pinky’s hair had also turned to diamond during the fight. Unfortunately, the analysis revealed that the gas was nothing by nitrous oxide, which meant there was some other force at work on all the inanimate objects. Bulletgirl and the Hawks caught up with the other heroes and had photographs from a news service of some more super-villains causing trouble on the dark side of the world. The heroes of Earths One and Two were able to identify them as Doctor Light
and the Shade. The flying heroes switched partners to hopefully confuse the villains, with Bulletman and Hawkman heading after the Shade, and Bulletgirl and Hawkgirl tackling Doctor Light.
The Shade was at the Louvre
Museum, where he was causing all the figures in the classical paintings to become real people and move off their canvasses. Bulletman found that as he got close to any of the figures, his hand began changing, becoming two-dimensional. Hawkman’s wings blew the painted people away, and the two heroes went after the Shade. Bulletman was able to use his Gravity Helmet to repel the Shade’s darkness cane out of his hands. As Hawkman attempted to use it to stop the darkness (which was being caused by an overhead satellite), even the Shade was surprised that nothing happened. Hawkgirl and Bulletgirl went to face Doctor Light at Yellowstone National Park. After Dr. Light’s holographic duplicates tricked them into the paths of some geysers, the two caught up with the villain, who was already petrified into solid stone. Bulletgirl’s arm was also turned to stone when she got too close. Light’s duplicates were sentient and told them to get Light’s weapon to make a satellite “turn day back into night”. One of the satellites is revealed to be acting as a second sun. Bulletgirl retrieved the weapon (apparently with her already petrified arm) and Hawkgirl shot the gun at the satellite in the sky above them, but again nothing happened. As the heroes got together again to discuss their options, they decided to use each weapon to move the satellites until they crashed together. The destruction of the two devices caused everything to revert back to normal, including the transformed body parts of our heroes.
The Green Lanterns, The Flashes, Ibis and Mercury headed to Earth-One, where an enlarged Mister Atom
and Brainiac
were attacking a futuristic model city called Tomorrow. A strange black feedback aura prevented the heroes from attacking the giant Mr. Atom directly, and the Green Lanterns were able to trace the source of the aura to Brainiac’s spaceship, hovering above the domed city
. While Ibis and both Green Lanterns went to stop Brainiac, with Ibis creating an aura around himself and other heroes to protect them, the three speedsters worked overtime repairing the damage and saving the people that Mr. Atom’s rampage was endangering. The Green Lantern of Earth-Two worked at saving people who were falling through the air (which made the Earth-One Green Lantern believe momentarily that Doctor Destiny, an enemy of the Justice League, was involved), the Green Lantern of Earth-One passed through the side of Brainiac’s ship and was subjected to the “Barium Effect”, which transformed him into a living skeleton. Ibis showed up in time to stop Brainiac from killing the hero, turning the robot dictator's own weapon against him. Ibis also changed Green Lantern back to normal, and the two heroes destroyed Brainiac’s machines, causing the black aura around Mr. Atom to disappear. It is revealed the falling people are really being caused by the rotation of the Earth being increased by the speedsters as they try to repair the city as fast as Mister Atom can destroy it. The two Green Lanterns then went to stop the device that was making gravity act strangely, while Ibis returned to the city of Tomorrow. Ibis was attacked by a blast from Mr. Atom and stunned before he could finish instructing the Ibistick how to contain the robot. Mr. Atom attempted to use the Ibistick to send the hero to a distant star, but a fail-safe in the magicks of the Ibistick caused Mr. Atom to suffer the fate he had wished on Ibis. (He was later returned by the evil alien worm Mister Mind.)
Soon after, all of the heroes headed to the Rock of Eternity, where King Kull had the Elder Gods and Shazam as prisoners. Superman took the lead and flew inside, and was surprised to find King Kull in possession of a hunk of Red Kryptonite
. The unpredictable element took over Superman’s mind, filling him with a rage and a desire to kill. In the meantime, Mercury had sent Johnny Thunder to find the alter-egos of the Marvel Family, though they were first worried he would reveal their identities. After Johnny inadvertently said his magic word “Cei-U”, his Thunderbolt appeared and transformed the three kids into Captain Marvel, Mary Marvel and Captain Marvel, Jr. The Thunderbolt then took all four heroes to the Rock of Eternity, where Captain Marvel knocked the King of the Beast-Men out, Junior destroyed the Red Kryptonite, and Mary freed the Elders. Superman was still in a murderous rage; this dose of Red Kryptonite had also made him immune to the deadly effects of Green Kryptonite, which the Green Lanterns had tried to use to stop him (manufacturing it with their power rings). Remembering that Superman was vulnerable to magic, Captain Marvel flew directly at Superman and said his magic word “Shazam” as he approached the Man of Steel. The magic lightning broke the spell of the Red Kryptonite and Superman returned to normal, saving Billy before he fell. King Kull was imprisoned with magic chains that supposedly even Hercules couldn’t break, and the heroes returned to their own worlds.
Superhero
A superhero is a type of stock character, possessing "extraordinary or superhuman powers", dedicated to protecting the public. Since the debut of the prototypical superhero Superman in 1938, stories of superheroes — ranging from brief episodic adventures to continuing years-long sagas —...
teams of characters who originated from Fawcett Comics
Fawcett Comics
Fawcett Comics, a division of Fawcett Publications, was one of several successful comic book publishers during the Golden Age of Comic Books in the 1940s...
. Each team only made one appearance in a single story.
First Version
In Whiz ComicsWhiz Comics
Whiz Comics was a monthly ongoing comic book anthology series, which was published by Fawcett Comics from February 1940 with issue #2 and stopping at issue #155 in June 1953, best known for introducing Captain Marvel. The first issue published of Whiz Comics was issue #2...
#21, the name had been applied to the somewhat obscure Marvel Family
Marvel Family
The Marvel Family is a group of fictional characters, a team of superheroes in the Fawcett Comics and DC Comics universes. Created in 1942 by writer Otto Binder and Fawcett artists C. C...
members known as the Lieutenant Marvels
Lieutenant Marvels
The Lieutenant Marvels are fictional characters, a team of superheroes in the Fawcett Comics and DC Comics universes. They first appeared in Whiz Comics #21 in 1941...
. Three young men from different areas of the country (Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
, the Ozarks and Brooklyn
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
) all named Billy Batson
Captain Marvel (DC Comics)
Captain Marvel is a fictional comic book superhero, originally published by Fawcett Comics and later by DC Comics. Created in 1939 by artist C. C. Beck and writer Bill Parker, the character first appeared in Whiz Comics #2...
were reading Captain Marvel
Captain Marvel (DC Comics)
Captain Marvel is a fictional comic book superhero, originally published by Fawcett Comics and later by DC Comics. Created in 1939 by artist C. C. Beck and writer Bill Parker, the character first appeared in Whiz Comics #2...
’s comic book adventures and happened to wonder if saying “Shazam
Shazam (comics)
Shazam is a comic book character created by Bill Parker and C. C. Beck for Fawcett Comics. He is an ancient sorcerer who gives young Billy Batson the power to transform into the superhero Captain Marvel...
” would work for them as well. As it happened, Tall Billy, Hill Billy, and Fat Billy all said the word at the same time and were each transformed into one of the Lieutenant Marvels, having powers akin to Captain Marvel. They could only change if all three said the magic word at the same time along with real Billy(in later appearances of the Lieutenant Marvels such as Shazam #30, this limitation was ignored, though none of them operated singly as a Marvel).
Second Version
The "modern" Squadron of Justice appeared in one storyline, in Justice League of America #135-137 in the 1970s. Though the team was never was called "Squadron of Justice" formally, it was referred to as "Shazam's Squadron of Justice" on the cover of Justice League of America #135.The Squadron, which was based on the parallel Earth known as Earth-S
Multiverse (DC Comics)
The DC Multiverse is a fictional continuity construct that exists in stories published by comic book company DC Comics. The DC Multiverse consists of numerous worlds, most of them outside DC's main continuity, allowing writers the creative freedom to explore alternative versions of characters and...
, was made up of the following super-heroes:
- Bulletman and Bulletgirl: Jim Barr was a police scientist who had invented the Gravity Helmet, which enabled him and his wife Susan to fly through the air as literal human projectiles and a formula which put his strength to humanity's peak.
- Ibis The InvincibleIbis the InvincibleIbis the Invincible is a fictional character, a comic book superhero originally published by Fawcett Comics in the 1940s and then by DC Comics beginning in the 1970s. Like many magician superheroes introduced in the Golden Age of Comics, Ibis owes much to the popular comic strip character Mandrake...
: Prince Amentep was the son of an ancient EgyptianAncient EgyptAncient Egypt was an ancient civilization of Northeastern Africa, concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in what is now the modern country of Egypt. Egyptian civilization coalesced around 3150 BC with the political unification of Upper and Lower Egypt under the first pharaoh...
PharaohPharaohPharaoh is a title used in many modern discussions of the ancient Egyptian rulers of all periods. The title originates in the term "pr-aa" which means "great house" and describes the royal palace...
who had been resurrected in modern times, along with his wife Princess Taia after they both went into suspended animation, as Taia needed to recover from a poisoned arrow, and Ibis wanted to wake up with her. Ibis used the mystical Ibistick he had been given by the EgyptEgyptEgypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
ian god of wisdom ThothThothThoth was considered one of the more important deities of the Egyptian pantheon. In art, he was often depicted as a man with the head of an ibis or a baboon, animals sacred to him. His feminine counterpart was Seshat...
and its incredible powers in his fight against crime and sorcerous menaces.
- Mister Scarlet and Pinky, The Whiz KidPinky, The Whiz KidPinky the Whiz Kid is the name of a fictional character, a comic book superhero published by DC Comics. Pinky Butler debuted in Wow Comics #1 , and was created by France Herron and Jack Kirby.-Fictional character biography:...
: Attorney Brian Butler and his adopted son used their ace acrobatic skills and strange weaponry against all varieties of crime.
- Spy SmasherSpy SmasherSpy Smasher is the name of two fictional characters appearing in comics published by DC Comics. The first is a superhero that was formerly owned and published by Fawcett Comics...
: Alan Armstrong was a Virginia sportsman who battled crime and enemies of America with his superb fighting abilities and technical know-how.
A summary of this storyline is as follows:
The team was gathered together by the god Mercury
Mercury (mythology)
Mercury was a messenger who wore winged sandals, and a god of trade, the son of Maia Maiestas and Jupiter in Roman mythology. His name is related to the Latin word merx , mercari , and merces...
to save the elder gods, goddesses and the wizard Shazam from an assault by King Kull
King Kull (DC Comics)
King Kull is a comic book supervillain originally published by Fawcett Comics and now owned by DC Comics and appearing as a foe of Captain Marvel. Created by writer Otto Binder and artist C. C. Beck, Kull's first appearance was in Captain Marvel Adventures #125...
of the Beastmen (who had paralyzed them all) using a ray that slowed down their impulses after getting to the Rock of Eternity in a ship that travelled faster then light, although Shazam was able to telepathically contact Mercury. Mercury also gathered heroes from the Justice League of Earth-One
Earth-One
Earth-One is a name given to two fictional universes that have appeared in American comic book stories published by DC Comics...
(Superman
Superman
Superman is a fictional comic book superhero appearing in publications by DC Comics, widely considered to be an American cultural icon. Created by American writer Jerry Siegel and Canadian-born American artist Joe Shuster in 1932 while both were living in Cleveland, Ohio, and sold to Detective...
, Green Lantern
Green Lantern
The Green Lantern is the shared primary alias of several fictional characters, superheroes appearing in comic books published by DC Comics. The first Green Lantern was created by writer Bill Finger and artist Martin Nodell in All-American Comics #16 .Each Green Lantern possesses a power ring and...
, the Flash
Flash (comics)
The Flash is a name shared by several fictional comic book superheroes from the DC Comics universe. Created by writer Gardner Fox and artist Harry Lampert, the original Flash first appeared in Flash Comics #1 ....
, Green Arrow
Green Arrow
Green Arrow is a fictional superhero that appears in comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Mort Weisinger and George Papp, he first appeared in More Fun Comics #73 in November 1941. His secret identity is Oliver Queen, billionaire and former mayor of fictional Star City...
, Hawkman
Hawkman
Hawkman is a fictional superhero who appears in comic books published by DC Comics. Created by writer Gardner Fox and artist Dennis Neville, the original Hawkman first appeared in Flash Comics #1, published by All-American Publications in 1940....
and Hawkgirl
Hawkgirl
Hawkgirl is the name of several female fictional superhero characters, all owned by DC Comics and existing in that company's universe. The character is one of the first costumed female superheroes...
) and the Justice Society of Earth-Two (Batman
Batman
Batman is a fictional character created by the artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger. A comic book superhero, Batman first appeared in Detective Comics #27 , and since then has appeared primarily in publications by DC Comics...
, Robin
Robin (comics)
Robin is the name of several fictional characters appearing in comic books published by DC Comics, originally created by Bob Kane, Bill Finger and Jerry Robinson, as a junior counterpart to DC Comics superhero Batman...
, Green Lantern, The Flash, Wonder Woman
Wonder Woman
Wonder Woman is a DC Comics superheroine created by William Moulton Marston. She first appeared in All Star Comics #8 . The Wonder Woman title has been published by DC Comics almost continuously except for a brief hiatus in 1986....
and Johnny Thunder
Johnny Thunder
Johnny Thunder is the name of three fictional characters in comics published by DC Comics. A fourth character has the variant name Jonni Thunder.It is also the name of an unrelated Lego character.-Fictional character biography:...
) to deal with the situation, as with Shazam's paralysis, he was unable to send out the magic lightning that transformed Billy Batson, Mary Batson and Freddy Freeman into the Marvel Family.
King Kull planned to completely destroy Mankind on all three Earths, so that his subjugated Beast-Men could once again rule over all, as humanity had rebelled and killed most of then. Superman, Wonder Woman, Spy Smasher and Green Arrow headed to Earth-Two to battle King Kull’s agents there. Queen Clea
Queen Clea
see also Clea Queen Clea is a fictional character featured in various DC Comics titles, in which she is a nemesis of Wonder Woman and leads Villainy Inc.-Fictional character biography:...
of Atlantis
Atlantis
Atlantis is a legendary island first mentioned in Plato's dialogues Timaeus and Critias, written about 360 BC....
, the Penguin
Penguin (comics)
Oswald Chesterfield Cobblepot III is a DC Comics supervillain and one of Batman's oldest, most persistent enemies. The Penguin was introduced by artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, making his debut in Detective Comics #58 .The Penguin is a short, rotund man known for his love of birds and his...
, Blockbuster and Ibac
Ibac
Ibac is a fictional Fawcett Comics and DC Comics supervillain, and a foe of Captain Marvel. Created by writer Otto Binder and artist C.C. Beck, he first appeared in Captain Marvel Adventurs #8 .-Fictional character biography:...
, as Queen Clea was planning to take over the entire continent of Atlantis (on Earth-Two, Atlantis had recently risen from the depths and was inhabited by two nations ruled by women; the inhabitants also learned to survive without mutating into water-breathers, like the inhabitants of Aquaman
Aquaman
Aquaman is a fictional superhero who appears in comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Paul Norris and Mort Weisinger, the character debuted in More Fun Comics #73 . Initially a backup feature in DC's anthology titles, Aquaman later starred in several volumes of a solo title...
’s city on Earth-One did). The villains were dispatched with relative ease, Spy Smasher tricking Ibac into saying 'I back down from no-one' tiggering the transformation, while Superman easily defeated Blockbuster, but a strange cloud appeared over a nearby island and caused it to sink beneath the waves again in a very destructive fashion, which King Kull planned to have happen to every continent and island on Earth. Superman used his super-breath to freeze the cloud and threw the block of ice into the head of a passing comet, ending the threat. The heroes headed back to Earth-S as Atlantis disappeared beneath the waves again.
On Earth-S, a series of destructive and incredibly strange occurrences were happening all over the world. There was a very odd eclipse occurring that kept one side of the planet in perpetual darkness and the other side in continual light. There was volcanic activity in the Canadian Rockies
Canadian Rockies
The Canadian Rockies comprise the Canadian segment of the North American Rocky Mountains range. They are the eastern part of the Canadian Cordillera, extending from the Interior Plains of Alberta to the Rocky Mountain Trench of British Columbia. The southern end borders Idaho and Montana of the USA...
, as witnessed by Hawkman, Hawkgirl, Bulletman and Bulletgirl, and when Hawkman flew too near to one of the volcanoes, his shoulder began to petrify into stone. Off the coast of Atlantis, an iceberg was moving through the water at high speed and transforming anything that came near it into ice (including people). Rock formations came to life in the Garden of the Gods
Garden of the Gods
Garden of the Gods is a public park located in Colorado Springs, Colorado, USA.-Genesis of the park:Entrance to the park is free according to the wish of Charles Elliott Perkins, whose children donated the land to the city of Colorado Springs in 1909....
in Colorado
Colorado
Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
and began turning people into stone.
Billy Batson, ace anchor at Station WHIZ
WHIZ (comics)
WHIZ is the fictional radio station for which Billy Batson, who is also the superhero Captain Marvel, works. It appears in various Captain Marvel stories published by Fawcett Comics and DC Comics, the current publishers/owners of the Fawcett characters....
in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
(and the alter-ego of Captain Marvel), also reported that the steel frame of a building being constructed downtown started walking away, after turning all the construction workers on it into iron. Batman, Robin, Mr. Scarlet and Pinky were investigating that situation, and Batman had gotten too close to the structure and part of his jaw had turned to iron (making it very difficult for him to talk). They examined the bodies of the
transformed workers and found they all had the unique grin usually associated with the effects of the Joker
Joker (comics)
The Joker is a fictional character, a comic book supervillain published by DC Comics. He is the archenemy of Batman, having been directly responsible for numerous tragedies in Batman's life, including the paralysis of Barbara Gordon and the death of Jason Todd, the second Robin...
’s poison gas. The Joker (from Earth-Two) was, in fact, working with an old enemy of Bulletman known as the Weeper
Weeper
The Weeper is the name of two fictitious comic book supervillains, originally published by Fawcett Comics and today owned by DC Comics. The original Weeper first appeared in Master Comics #23 in February 1942....
. The two sent more gas into a local jewelry store, which first acted as laughing gas then transformed the people inside into living diamonds, and the diamonds and jewels followed the two criminals out of the store to their hideout. Mr. Scarlet noticed the marks on the sidewalk made by the moving gems and the four heroes followed the trail and made quick work of the two villains and their thugs, with Mr Scarlet being immune to the Weeper's tear gas due to his goggles.
The heroes took a sample of the Joker’s poison gas to Jim Barr (also known as Bulletman) for analysis, as now Pinky’s hair had also turned to diamond during the fight. Unfortunately, the analysis revealed that the gas was nothing by nitrous oxide, which meant there was some other force at work on all the inanimate objects. Bulletgirl and the Hawks caught up with the other heroes and had photographs from a news service of some more super-villains causing trouble on the dark side of the world. The heroes of Earths One and Two were able to identify them as Doctor Light
Doctor Light
Doctor Light is the name of various fictional scientists.* Doctor Light , the DC Comics supervillain* Doctor Light , the DC Comics superheroine* Doctor Light , the Mega Man character Thomas Light...
and the Shade. The flying heroes switched partners to hopefully confuse the villains, with Bulletman and Hawkman heading after the Shade, and Bulletgirl and Hawkgirl tackling Doctor Light.
The Shade was at the Louvre
Louvre
The Musée du Louvre – in English, the Louvre Museum or simply the Louvre – is one of the world's largest museums, the most visited art museum in the world and a historic monument. A central landmark of Paris, it is located on the Right Bank of the Seine in the 1st arrondissement...
Museum, where he was causing all the figures in the classical paintings to become real people and move off their canvasses. Bulletman found that as he got close to any of the figures, his hand began changing, becoming two-dimensional. Hawkman’s wings blew the painted people away, and the two heroes went after the Shade. Bulletman was able to use his Gravity Helmet to repel the Shade’s darkness cane out of his hands. As Hawkman attempted to use it to stop the darkness (which was being caused by an overhead satellite), even the Shade was surprised that nothing happened. Hawkgirl and Bulletgirl went to face Doctor Light at Yellowstone National Park. After Dr. Light’s holographic duplicates tricked them into the paths of some geysers, the two caught up with the villain, who was already petrified into solid stone. Bulletgirl’s arm was also turned to stone when she got too close. Light’s duplicates were sentient and told them to get Light’s weapon to make a satellite “turn day back into night”. One of the satellites is revealed to be acting as a second sun. Bulletgirl retrieved the weapon (apparently with her already petrified arm) and Hawkgirl shot the gun at the satellite in the sky above them, but again nothing happened. As the heroes got together again to discuss their options, they decided to use each weapon to move the satellites until they crashed together. The destruction of the two devices caused everything to revert back to normal, including the transformed body parts of our heroes.
The Green Lanterns, The Flashes, Ibis and Mercury headed to Earth-One, where an enlarged Mister Atom
Mister Atom
Mister Atom is a fictional comic book supervillain, a radioactive robot who is regularly seen as an enemy of Captain Marvel. He first appeared in Captain Marvel Adventures #78 in November 1947.- Golden Age and pre-Crisis version :...
and Brainiac
Brainiac (comics)
Brainiac is a fictional character that appears in comic books published by DC Comics. The character first appeared in Action Comics #242 , and was created by Otto Binder and Al Plastino....
were attacking a futuristic model city called Tomorrow. A strange black feedback aura prevented the heroes from attacking the giant Mr. Atom directly, and the Green Lanterns were able to trace the source of the aura to Brainiac’s spaceship, hovering above the domed city
Domed city
A domed city is a kind of theoretical or fictional structure that encloses a large urban area under a single roof. In most descriptions, the dome is airtight and pressurized, creating a habitat that can be controlled for air temperature and quality...
. While Ibis and both Green Lanterns went to stop Brainiac, with Ibis creating an aura around himself and other heroes to protect them, the three speedsters worked overtime repairing the damage and saving the people that Mr. Atom’s rampage was endangering. The Green Lantern of Earth-Two worked at saving people who were falling through the air (which made the Earth-One Green Lantern believe momentarily that Doctor Destiny, an enemy of the Justice League, was involved), the Green Lantern of Earth-One passed through the side of Brainiac’s ship and was subjected to the “Barium Effect”, which transformed him into a living skeleton. Ibis showed up in time to stop Brainiac from killing the hero, turning the robot dictator's own weapon against him. Ibis also changed Green Lantern back to normal, and the two heroes destroyed Brainiac’s machines, causing the black aura around Mr. Atom to disappear. It is revealed the falling people are really being caused by the rotation of the Earth being increased by the speedsters as they try to repair the city as fast as Mister Atom can destroy it. The two Green Lanterns then went to stop the device that was making gravity act strangely, while Ibis returned to the city of Tomorrow. Ibis was attacked by a blast from Mr. Atom and stunned before he could finish instructing the Ibistick how to contain the robot. Mr. Atom attempted to use the Ibistick to send the hero to a distant star, but a fail-safe in the magicks of the Ibistick caused Mr. Atom to suffer the fate he had wished on Ibis. (He was later returned by the evil alien worm Mister Mind.)
Soon after, all of the heroes headed to the Rock of Eternity, where King Kull had the Elder Gods and Shazam as prisoners. Superman took the lead and flew inside, and was surprised to find King Kull in possession of a hunk of Red Kryptonite
Kryptonite
Kryptonite is a fictional material from the Superman mythos —the ore form of a radioactive element from Superman's home planet of Krypton. It is famous for being the ultimate physical weakness of Superman, and the word kryptonite has since become synonymous with an Achilles' heel —the one weakness...
. The unpredictable element took over Superman’s mind, filling him with a rage and a desire to kill. In the meantime, Mercury had sent Johnny Thunder to find the alter-egos of the Marvel Family, though they were first worried he would reveal their identities. After Johnny inadvertently said his magic word “Cei-U”, his Thunderbolt appeared and transformed the three kids into Captain Marvel, Mary Marvel and Captain Marvel, Jr. The Thunderbolt then took all four heroes to the Rock of Eternity, where Captain Marvel knocked the King of the Beast-Men out, Junior destroyed the Red Kryptonite, and Mary freed the Elders. Superman was still in a murderous rage; this dose of Red Kryptonite had also made him immune to the deadly effects of Green Kryptonite, which the Green Lanterns had tried to use to stop him (manufacturing it with their power rings). Remembering that Superman was vulnerable to magic, Captain Marvel flew directly at Superman and said his magic word “Shazam” as he approached the Man of Steel. The magic lightning broke the spell of the Red Kryptonite and Superman returned to normal, saving Billy before he fell. King Kull was imprisoned with magic chains that supposedly even Hercules couldn’t break, and the heroes returned to their own worlds.