Justice League of America #75

Justice League of America #75

Originally released in 1969

Written by Dennis O'Neil

Art by Dick Dillin

The Justice League of America has been losing members lately; Wonder Woman quit the team in issue 69 due to losing her superpowers (this was during her ill-advised "kung fu superspy" phase), while Martian Manhunter left in issue 73 to find a new homeworld for the survivors of his race. (The Flash and Green Lantern are absent from this issue, though they're still on the team)  With Black Canary coming to Earth-1 after the Justice League's latest adventure on Earth-2 led to the death of her husband, they agree that she'd be a fine addition, though she'll need more than judo skills to be on the team.

Fortunately, the travel between universes or the magical opponent that they fought caused her to mutate and develop superpowers: her Canary Cry. (though she can't control it at first, as it sends sonic waves in all directions)  It feels a little shoe-horned in, but it's become an iconic part of the character, and it helps to set her apart from Batman and Green Arrow.

Speaking of which, Green Arrow is currently undergoing a mental crisis, between a business rival forging documents to remove his fortune and Ollie feeling like he's not doing enough as a costumed adventurer.  I don't think his identity is public knowledge at this point, though he must really trust his psychiatrist, because he tells him about everything, including his struggles in both identities.  The psychiatrist comes up with a radical solution, using a machine that he had built to determine which identity is the more dominant one.  This device combined with residual magic from the fight in the previous issue to create a physical version of Green Arrow's dark side.

The evil Green Arrow heads for the Justice League's headquarters, and by touching him, the other League members wind up getting evil doppelgangers as well. Ironically, the only exception is Superman; he's normally vulnerable to magic, but he was further away from the creature that they fought compared to the others, so he wasn't affected.

The only ones who can beat the evil doppelgangers are their good counterparts, but they're lacking in confidence. (I'm guessing this is meant to be part of the magic, since they've beaten evil clones, robots, shapeshifters who took on their form, and plenty of other evil duplicates of themselves before)  A pep-talk from Superman (and a quickly painted Superman robot who brags about being as strong as Zeus or Thor) snaps the rest of the team out of it and encourages them to track down their malevolent copies.

Most of the evil copies are dealt with surprisingly quickly.  Hawkman's copy says that his body is like iron, and that Hawkman's outdated while he's like modern technology, but he goes down quickly despite his boasting.

Batman's copy throws a trash can lid at him, but he's beaten in maybe half a page.

The Atom's copy either seems to have a better handle on the Atom's powers than the Atom himself does, or the Atom doesn't use the growth aspect of his powers all that often (I thought he could only shrink), but the Atom takes advantage of his surroundings.

Black Canary gets into a motorcycle chase with her duplicate, learning to control her newfound powers before knocking the copy out, which just leaves Ollie.  This has been the core of the issue, as Ollie has been doubting himself and wondering if he's making a difference.  He catches his clone in the act of robbing a jewelry store, where the copy plays on his insecurities by saying that he's just being a superhero for the thrill of it all.

After talking to the elderly couple that owns the jewelry store, he realizes that he's doing this to stand up for the people who have nobody to stand up for them. With his newfound confidence, he defeats his duplicate in an archery duel, causing all of the duplicates to fade away.

Superman's supposed copy saying that he has the strength of Thor, or Batman's copy fighting with a garbage can lid as a shield and thrown weapon, or Hawkman's copy making a clunky speech about being as strong as iron aren't a coincidence - apparently, it was suggested to Roy Thomas and Dennis O'Neil that they could find a way to sort of include the other company's super team in their respective comics (Avengers and Justice League), with both issues coming out at the same time.  The Justice League version of this felt like a bit of a stretch (I'm assuming that the comment about Dinah being a mutant was meant to hint that her copy is a stand-in for the Scarlet Witch; the Atom's copy is like Hank Pym, a.k.a. Ant-Man, Giant-Man, Goliath, or Yellowjacket (and that's just by 1969!), and while Green Arrow's copy is more specifically the embodiment of his internal struggle, it seems safe to say that he's meant to be Hawkeye), but the Avengers version would introduce a version of a recurring team in the Marvel universe: the Squadron Supreme.

Avengers #70

Originally released in 1969

Written by Roy Thomas

Art by Sal Buscema

As part of a contest between Kang the Conqueror and the Grandmaster (an Elder of the Universe who's obsessed with games and competitions), the Avengers are chosen to act as Kang's proxies.  Meanwhile, they're being pit against the Squadron Sinister, which consists of four members: Hyperion, Nighthawk, Doctor Spectrum, and the Whizzer, who are stand-ins for Superman, Batman, Green Lantern, and the Flash, respectively.  There's definitely more creativity being used here compared to the corresponding Justice League issue, which was a pretty standard "fight evil duplicates of yourselves" plot with some slight Avengers references thrown in. (both issues had a cover date of November 1969)

Iron Man isn't an active Avenger at this point, but he's brought in to serve as a fourth member alongside Captain America, Thor, and Goliath (who is Clint Barton rather than Hank Pym; Clint felt inadequate about being a guy that uses a bow and arrows, so he took some Pym Particles).  The Avengers had to save Tony Stark a few issues back, while Iron Man (his supposed bodyguard) was nowhere to be found, so Iron Man leaps into battle to avoid any awkward questions.

The Squadron Sinister are scattered around 20th century Earth, so Thor uses his hammer to transport the Avengers to their locations.  Captain America faces off against Nighthawk near the Statue of Liberty, and Nighthawk particularly earns Cap's ire when he tries to destroy the statue.

Cap stops him, though the contest seems rigged in the Grandmaster's favour, as the Avengers need to win all four rounds for it to count as a victory.  Iron Man defeats Doctor Spectrum (whose Power Prism is alive and berates him at every opportunity) at the Taj Mahal.

Meanwhile, Thor faces off against Hyperion in Egypt, where Hyperion claims to come from another world. (the other Squadron Sinister members are humans transformed by the Grandmaster)  Specifically, his world was the first atom that was split in the development of the atomic bomb, and he was its sole survivor.

Mjolnir has some rather abstract powers at this point in Marvel's history, and Thor uses some of them to secure the victory. (apparently, it can shrink people somehow?)  This leaves Goliath to face the Whizzer, whose bright yellow costume is particularly unfortunate given his choice of pseudonym. (I'm guessing it was intended to invoke lightning, though this guy is separate from the golden age Marvel hero the Whizzer who got his powers from a transfusion of mongoose blood)

The Black Knight (Dane Whitman, nephew of the evil Black Knight who menaced Ant-Man and the Wasp before joining the Masters of Evil) is in London when Goliath and the Whizzer are transported there, and his interference prevents a clear-cut victory for Goliath in the eyes of the Grandmaster.  Goliath unwittingly takes the Black Knight's Ebony Blade to the future with him, leading to the Black Knight swearing to get it back somehow as the issue ends.

This issue lacked any sort of internal conflict that Green Arrow had in Justice League, though the pastiche of the other company's super-team was handled in a more creative fashion, and the action scenes had more tension to them. (With most of the fights, there's the question of how the Avengers will win, whereas with the Justice League, the answer to that question is "with incredible ease") Still, looking at these two issues in context makes for a fun little bit of comic book history.