10 Strangest Justice League Comics From DC’s Silver Age

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The Justice League members are DC’s coolest, most powerful heroes––in the modern era of comics, at least. In the Silver Age, the Justice League of America title fell victim to the narrative structures of the times. Comics were a little goofier, a little lighter in tone, with simpler stories and brighter resolutions.

While the Justice League shared some strange experiences in the Silver Age, those weird, unconventional stories ironically served as the foundations for some of the best concepts in DC comics that future writers and artists would capitalize on or repurpose to fit new, stronger narratives. The Justice League meeting the Justice Society and Crime Syndicate was strange, but those universe-hopping adventures opened the door for hundreds of future stories involving multiversal travel.

10

“Crisis On Earth-Two!” & The Justice Society Of America

The idea of the multiverse is commonplace today. Superhero fans just can’t seem to escape the multiverse. It’s dominated by movies, TV shows and the comic worlds of DC and Marvel. Even Peacemaker season 2 might dabble in the multiverse, based on its latest trailer.

However, in 1963, the concept of a multiverse was rarely explored in comics. Barry Allen and Jay Garrick met in the iconic “Flash of Two Worlds” comic, and the Justice League soon met their Golden Age counterparts, the Justice Society, in “Crisis on Earth-Two!” a storyline that would spawn dozens of future multiversal comics with the “Crisis” title.

9

A Criminal Auctions Control Of The Justice League

Batman and Superman comics were especially strange in the Silver Age. Though the Justice League should handle intergalactic and abnormal threats, some of their earliest appearances featured weird villains and goofy conflicts.

In Justice League of America #8, a criminal gains control of a ray that turns whatever it touches into his puppets. The criminal first uses the ray on Green Lantern and takes control of his mind. He later uses the ray on the entire Justice League and begins auctioning control of them off to other crime bosses. It’s an interesting idea in concept, but strange in execution.

8

Black Canary & The Justice League Vs. Their Demonic Counterparts

Presently, virtually every superhero in the DC Universe has, at one point, been a member of the Justice League or some affiliated team. However, back in the late 1960s, when even Batman and Superman made rare appearances in the Justice League of America title, being a Justice Leaguer was a real honor.

Modern comic readers associate Black Canary as a longtime Justice Leaguer, and she is, but not in 1969. What should have been a deep, personal issue about Black Canary joining the team turned into a strange encounter with demonic counterparts of the Justice League. Black Canary’s membership got a little lost in the chaos.

7

The Flash Becomes A Cosmic Spectre

It’s strange to look back on the Spectre of the Golden and Silver Ages. In modern comics, the Spectre is a godlike being, more a force of nature than a character––the Hand of Vengeance. In the late 1960s, the Spectre grew in power, but was not quite as powerful as his modern counterpart.

Strangely, the Flash visited Earth-Two (just because) and was transformed into a cosmic phantom. Who better to battle a phantom speedster than the Spectre? This issue wasn’t strange at a base level, but it’s funny to think that the Flash vs. the Spectre would turn into a giant DC event in today’s world, with ramifications potentially altering the entire DC Universe.

6

The Justice League In A Cosmic Fun-House

The Silver Age Justice League only experienced a few very strange, ridiculous conflicts before writers and artists began expanding their world by sending them to other universes. Justice League of America #7 featured one of their more ridiculous stories as the team trapped themselves in a cosmic fun house with magical mirrors that warped their bodies.

The visuals were goofy, and the character transformations were just plain silly. Green Arrow’s shoulders and head were so wide that he couldn’t even properly pull his bowstring back to fire arrows. Thankfully, Aquaman was unaffected and returned the Justice League to normal. Otherwise, the previous six decades of Justice League comics would have looked very different.

5

The Original Origin Of The Justice League

The Justice League’s origin has been retold several times in comics, and those new versions are quite memorable. Darwyn Cooke provided one of their best origins in DC: The New Frontier, while the New 52 brought the Justice League together to defeat Darkseid and defend Earth.

The actual, original Justice League origin in the Silver Age is not nearly as memorable or impactful. The team was forced to work together to defeat an alien warlord who threatened to transform them into tree-like creatures. No Darkseid. No grand-scale team-up against the Center.

4

The Justice League Vs. The Anti-Monitor? No, The Anti-Matter Man

When the Anti-Monitor debuted in Crisis on Infinite Earths, the Justice League had finally faced their strongest foe––a being capable of not only destroying the universe but the entire multiverse. And he nearly succeeded. Many fans may not have known that the Silver Age Justice League faced a similar opponent: the Anti-Matter Man.

The Anti-Matter Man was not as memorable or powerful as the Anti-Monitor, and he didn’t debut in a legendary event like Crisis on Infinite Earths, but he did have a similar power set. The Anti-Matter Man threatened to turn everything into anti-matter. It’s just strange that he didn’t explode in popularity.

3

Robin Joins The Justice Society Of America

The Justice League of America title once again hopped over to Earth-Two to focus on the Justice Society of America and the Golden Age heroes. In this universe, Dick Grayson is an adult, fighting crime as an older Robin, who also wants to impress the Justice Society to join their ranks.

At the time, when the main universe Robin was still a teenager, it was strange seeing an adult Robin, especially one wearing a strange hybrid costume combining Batman and Robin’s suits. However strange it was, this issue opened the door for dozens of more issues that focused solely on the development of the Earth-Two universe.

2

Wonder Woman’s Diary Leads To The Justice League’s Doom

In just the second appearance of the Justice League ever, the team faced Xotar, a villain from the future. Many of these Silver Age Justice League adventures aren’t as strange as Batman participating in the space Olympics, but they’re interesting to compare to the deep, complex stories that DC will publish in the future.

A time-traveling villain reads Wonder Woman’s diary in the future, gaining intimate knowledge of the team. Nowadays, that type of story would make Xotar a household name, as dangerous as Brainiac or the Reverse Flash. Instead, Xotar fought the team with a giant robot and fell into obscurity.

1

“Crisis On Earth-Three!” & The Crime Syndicate

“Crisis” was the theme of the Silver Age Justice League of America title. Every few months or so, the Justice League would meet their counterparts from another world or travel to another universe. One of the strangest concepts was the Crime Syndicate from Earth-Three.

Up until now, evil dopplegangers have always been a little goofy and underdeveloped, but the Crime Syndicate debuted strongly and made a lasting impression, returning many times and becoming one of the League’s major antagonistic super-teams.

“}]] The Justice League that appeared during the Silver Age is quite a bit different from the current team, and they faced some strange foes and events.  Read More