Prime Justice - Justice League of America #207

Crisis Times Three

Justice League of America #207

Cover Date: October 1982

Released: 1st July 1982

This is the twentieth crossover between the JSA and JLA, though I've only done the last four, so we get an epic three-part series! We're still a good four years from the idea of the sprawling multi-part epic, so four issues will have to do for now.

Being an anniversary issue we start with all the usual beats with the two teams being excited about the annual team-up. We quickly cover that Zatana is the chairman of the JLA, Firestorm has a thing for Power Girl and a reminder that Helena is Bruce's daughter even if Batman isn't in this one. And as seems just as traditional the beam is intercepted and they're whisked away somewhere else.

We then get a lovely splash page as the JLA face the Crime Syndicate of Earth-3! Apart from the silly-looking costume of Owlman, and the obvious reason Batman and Green Lantern are elsewhere, we get a fairly good fight where the Syndicate wins and Supes and Zatana get hurled into the vacuum of space. They then steal a craft that looks remarkably similar to the Javelin to set themselves up on Earth-1.

We finally find out what happened to the JSA, transported to a force field bubble in Limbo where the Crime Syndicate were previously being held. They even bothered to put up little warning signs for those travelling the void! We then get the quick version of how the Syndicate ended up here, thanks to Power Girl not being in the know, with the traditional explanation for the multiverse explained after seven pages of buildup (though I think most people by now knew how these all worked). 

Apparently though in a slight oversight they only planned for the Syndicates power, which means Kara can't punch her way out despite trying, so the magical blasts of Dr Fate and Starman (oh yes Starman is back on the JSA with no explanation) allow's them to burst open the bubble. Alan Scott's ring then allows them to find a portal back to Earth, though what they find is a massive shock! For they find themselves not on Earth-1 or 2 but Earth-Prime itself, an Earth-Prime devastated by a massive nuclear attack. Earth-Prime is unusual in that it's meant to be our (as in the reader) world without any supers of any kind (except Superboy-Prime in twenty years or so, but we'll get there when we get there).

Exploring the devastating world Helena gets attacked by some form of mutant plant, not that she's in any kind of danger what with her besties Kara to get her free from the malicious vegetable. After a little scuffle we find out, thank to the plot-exposition ring that the Earth was devastated decades ago and apparently the ring can track who did this was someone called Per Degatron. We also get a weird aside from Helena about how psychic residues results in ghost, even though they fought and fought beside actual ghosts in the past. Per Degatron might now mean much to me, this is my first time meeting him, but he was a time-travelling villain who faced the JSA back in their original run of the 1940s.

We then cut back to Earth-1 where Superman rescues himself and Zatana from space and meets back up with the recovering JLAers on the satellite. Weirdly then decided not to chase the violent super villains from another world but to travel to Earth-2 to find out what has happened to the JSA. They find the headquarters in ruin, not occupied since 1942 and find the world outside ruled by someone who likes to build statues of himself and flag is his initial D...

Apparently being a hero has been made illegal by the planet's ruler, Per Degatron obviously, and asking around quickly draw the attention of his (secret?) police. Men with guns are no match for the JLA and they're quickly defeated, though it stops the JLA from poking around and attracting more attention. Instead, they decide to travel back to 1942 and stop all this before it happens. Instead of finding the JSA we instead get the surprise appearance, if you ignore the cover, of the All-Star Squadron!

As you'd expect after twenty of these the whole setup is masterful done, with each team and most of it's members getting something to do or say. Normally the weakest part is the back end with only a single issue to wrap up the storylines, hopefully, something that'll be avoided with extra issues!

 ⋅ Writers: Gerry Conway ⋅ Pencilers: Don Heck ⋅  Inkers: Romeo Tanghal ⋅  

 ⋅ Colourists: Carl Gafford ⋅ Letterers: Ben Oda ⋅ Editors: Len Wein ⋅