All-Star Squadron Vol 1 1
From DC Database
There's something wrong here -- something horribly, inexplicably wrong -- and it may be that only the Justice Society has a prayer of setting it right again -- in time!!
- -- Hawkman
Appearing in "The World on Fire!"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
- Danette Reilly (First appearance)
- Firebrand (Rod Reilly) (Apparent Death)
- J. Edgar Hoover
- Franklin Delano Roosevelt
- Shining Knight & Winged Victory (Also in flashback)
- Tubby Watts
- Justice Society of America (In flashback only)
- Seven Soldiers of Victory (In flashback only)
Villains:
- King Bee (Apparent Death)
- Per Degaton
- Professor Zodiak
- Sky Pirate
- Solomon Grundy
- Wotan
Other Characters:
- Harry Hopkins
- Ed Simmons
- Tom Revere
- Sammy Baugh
- Slugger Dunn (Final appearance; Dies)
Locations:
- Earth-Two (1941)
- California (In flashback only)
- Gotham City (In flashback only)
- Hawaii
- Massachusetts (In flashback only)
Items:
- Cloak of Destiny (In flashback only)
- Nth Metal Wings
Vehicles:
- Professor Zodiak's hover-ship
- The Sky Pirate's galleon
- USS Arizona
Synopsis for "The World on Fire!"
Hawkman returns to JSA Headquarters, but finds no evidence of his teammates' presence. Instead he finds F.B.I. detective Plastic Man. The two heroes discover that the other members of the Justice Society have been abducted by villains known as Professor Zodiak, the Sky Pirate, Solomon Grundy and Wotan. At Plastic Man's urging, they decide to go to Washington, D.C. to answer a summons from the President. En route, they run afoul of a horde of winged villains led by a strange man known as the King Bee. Hawkman defeats the King Bee, but after doing so is shocked to see his foe vanish into thin air, seemingly dead.
Elsewhere, the time-displaced swordsman, the Shining Knight lands on one of the Hawaiian isles. He meets vulcanologist Danette Reilly who tells him about strange seismic activity taking place on the island. Even more disturbing is that up until a few days ago, the island didn't even exist. The Shining Knight and Danette investigate a cavern at the base of the volcano. They discover that this is the secret lair of Per Degaton - the mastermind behind the recent attacks against the JSA. Per Degaton reveals that he has traveled backwards in time from the year 1947 and plans on conquering the world. The Knight and Danette try to fight him, but they are defeated Degaton's accomplice, Professor Zodiak.
At the nearby naval base at Pearl Harbor, Danette's brother ensign Rod Reilly and his friend Slugger Dunn are on their way to the USS Arizona when suddenly, a squadron of Japanese fighter planes comes out of the sky and attacks the base. Both Reilly and Dunn are killed in the strafing runs.
Back in the United States, Doctor Mid-Nite and the Atom attend a Washington Redskins game when they become alerted to something major taking place in Washington. They go to the White House where they meet three other lesser-known mystery men, Johnny Quick, Liberty Belle and Robotman. Just arriving at the scene are Hawkman and Plastic Man. After introductions are made, the heroes meet President Roosevelt who tells them about the attack on Pearl Harbor. He instructs the members of the Justice Society to gather as many costumed heroes as they can find and unite them under the banner of the All-Star Squadron.
Notes
- This storyline continues from Justice League of America #193.
- The events from this issue take place on December 7th, 1941, the day the Japanese attacked the U.S. naval base at Pearl Harbor.
- Danette Reilly will soon become the new Firebrand. [1]
- The Shining Knight & Winged Victory chronologically appeared last in Adventure Comics #76.
- Per Degaton explains that he time-traveled from the year 1947 in this issue.
- Solomon Grundy's presence in this issue is later explained as an act of time-travel on the part of Per Degaton. At this point in time, Grundy is still lying inert at the bottom of Slaughter Swamp and will not make his debut until 1944. [2]
- Tom Revere appeared last in Boy Commandos #2. He appears next in All-Star Squadron #33.
- Slugger Dunn was a regular supporting character featured in the Firebrand vignettes in Police Comics. He appeared last in Police Comics #4; dies in this issue.
Trivia
- Issue includes an advertisement for Hostess Fruit Pies featuring Batgirl in "Fruit Pies for Magpies".
- Rod Reilly was stationed aboard the USS Arizona, a Pennsylvania-class battleship that was sunk during the attack on Pearl Harbor.
- Sammy Baugh was an actual quarterback for the Washington Redskins. He passed away on December 17th, 2008.
- The cover format is homaged in Justice Society of America Vol 3 1.
See Also
- Discuss All-Star Squadron Vol 1 1 on the forums
- Cover gallery for the All-Star Squadron series
- Images from All-Star Squadron Vol 1 1
Recommended Reading
Links and References
- All-Star Squadron at Wikipedia
- All-Star Squadron at Toonopedia
- All-Star Squadron at DCU Guide
- All-Star Squadron at DC Indexes
- All-Star Squadron at Cosmic Teams
- All-Star Squadron at Comicbookdb.com
- All-Star Squadron series index at Comicbookdb.com
- All-Star Squadron series index at the Grand Comics Database Project
