Justice League of America #151-152

 Justice League of America #151-152

Originally released in 1978

Written by Gerry Conway

Art by Dick Dillin

Gerry Conway passed away today; he had a long and varied history with both Marvel and DC (among others, he created the Punisher and Firestorm), so I wanted to cover some of his DC work since I'm not as familiar with that. (I've read The Night Gwen Stacy Died at some point before, so I wanted to go with something that was new to me)

This issue is into the Satellite Era, where the Justice League operated out of (as the name suggests) a satellite orbiting Earth.  Hawkgirl just joined, so thankfully the idea that only one of them could join was removed. (The in-universe reasoning is that they don't want two people with identical powers, but that falls flat when Superman can do everything that Hawkman can and much, much more) The Atom is getting married, so the men are off to a bachelor party, leaving the women on monitor duty, which Black Canary gripes about.

Going by the roll call at the start of the issue, the League currently has thirteen members, which feels like a lot to juggle, even with Martian Manhunter's conspicuous absence.  Wonder Woman is hit by a bolt of electricity that seems to hypnotize her into going to the location of Amos Fortune (a gambler who found some kind of internal organ that regulates luck somehow and made himself incredibly lucky), who intends to use her as part of his plan to duplicate the Justice League. (in the original Silver Age comics, it felt like the biggest arch-enemies of the Justice League were evil duplicates of the team and the concept of hypnotism; I'm surprised that still holds true fifteen years later)

Using Wonder Woman's magically-created body as a power source, Amos Fortune somehow enhances the luck of seven of the luckiest people in the world so that they drain the powers of the Justice League for their own.  This extends to Batman, who loses his coordination, though the people of Gotham are used to bumbling playboy Bruce Wayne so they don't give it a second thought.

The seven people borrowed the powers of Superman (or at least his super strength), the Flash, Black Canary, Batman, Red Tornado, the Atom, and Aquaman, though in an extra bit of convoluted planning, they don't possess the powers directly; they have to be touching someone else for that person to use the power that the given member possesses. (if the person who borrowed the Flash's power touches someone named Bob with a figurine, Bob gains super speed)

All things considered, I'm surprised Amos Fortune didn't rig it so he got Superman's powers, but I guess he's not a compulsive gambler for nothing.  He sends his Luck League out to destroy the Justice League, hypnotizing them so they'll come to him in the first place and then hypnotizing them again so they'll follow his orders.

Gerry Conway seems to do a better job at justifying the heroes losing to much less experienced opponents compared to some of the older JLA comics that I've read.  Usually, the writing takes advantage of the heroes' traditional weaknesses even if they don't make sense for a given scenario, like having a diamond laced with tiny flames to keep Martian Manhunter trapped inside, or having every situation that Green Lantern enters involve a giant yellow object. Here, Barry (the Flash) had the bachelor party, and then a late night at work, and now he's immediately thrown into a fight on his way home, so he is exhausted.

I don't have much experience with the Red Tornado, but his portrayal here reminds me of the Vision (who was created about ten years earlier).  He seems to have a tendency towards depression, whether it's his supposed inability to find love or a sudden malfunction in the middle of battle making him feel useless.  I do like how the team is written more like individuals with conflicts between them, particularly when it comes to Green Arrow and Black Canary (GA is something of a chauvinist, treating the Atom's bachelor party like it's a funeral, while Black Canary is a feminist who seem the most frustrated about all of the women being stuck on monitor duty); it makes for a nice change from the Silver Age where it felt like the team largely spoke with one voice.

Wonder Woman manages to use one of the Justice League's arch-enemies against Amos Fortune, hypnotizing him into messing up his own plans.  In a weird way of handling the situation, Amos Fortune and his Luck League are all arrested even though the Luck League were hypnotized into acting the way that they did and Wonder Woman knows this.

Issue 152 is a Christmas special where a group of alien travelers drop three objects onto Earth while travelling through space.  The League thinks it's meteorites, while a villain named Major Macabre knows their true nature due to installing a surveillance system that cost one billion pesos. (though in 1978, this would be the equivalent to the slightly less impressive sounding $44 million US)

Upon realizing that the objects weren't just meteors, the Justice League members (or at least those in the satellite at the time, as it's Christmas Eve) divide into three teams in order to recover them in a classic JLA set-up.  The objects cause chaos, like taking a little girl's desire to end the fighting in her war-torn region and using it to create giant objects that smash planes (and Justice League members), or transforming a deer into some kind of centaur.

Despite bemoaning his state of being inhuman, the Red Tornado manages to get through to the girl and save Superman, while Hawkman and Hawkgirl drug the centaur and get him to drop the object that transformed him.  However, Major Macabre is immediately on the scene in both cases to pick up the fallen objects... somehow, even though they're happening at two different places on completely different continents and apparently at the same time.

He gets his hand on the third, allowing him to grow giant, fly, and (if he drinks from a flask) transform into something monstrous, though the Justice League challenges him before he gets that chance.  Red Tornado comes up with a plan to defeat Major Macabre by allowing him to defeat the Justice League. (I'm surprised that wasn't the dramatic piece of dialogue used on the cover, but the Justice League getting beaten up by a little girl is still an interesting hook)

It doesn't really have much to do with Christmas, aside from the first page and half of the last page, though it did get me more interested in Red Tornado. (if he moped for the entirety of these two issues, then it would have gotten old fast, but he did show a softer side)