The Spear of Destiny allowed Hitler to control the heroes if they came to Europe.
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Yes, but that was not in All-Star 11. In addition it is just fun to imagine and ask stuff like could Green Lantern defeat Operation Barbarossa all by himself or how could the JSA end the war with the least amount of lives lost (and I do not think the answer is just capture Hitler).
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Or agreed, especially if the axis had its own set of superheroes to fight them
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I think it’s important to remember the heroism of those who have fought to protect the country and I think the focus on those normal soldiers was the right call in both cases.
It is also interesting to note that at the time All Star Squadron #7 was published tensions were high between the USSR and the US and there was a very real threat of nuclear war.
That’s very much due to the fact that the target audience of comics has changed greatly over the years. In the Golden Age comics were targeted more at kids.
Is this the first instance of continuity building @TheCosmicMoth? Or are there others?
My Grandfather was one such person. He desperately wanted to join his brothers in the service but he’d been in a mining accident years before that resulted in his lungs being severely compromised so he wasn’t deemed healthy enough to enlist.
I really appreciated the bit of realism there.
I really enjoy how much Thomas pays attention to continuity in his stories. It really helps solidify the history of the team.
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No prob! Jealous of that Golden Age Flash HC. I’m still hoping that much of that stuff is digitized sooner rather than later. But yeah… it’s easy to forget much Golden Age material came out prior to Pearl Harbor and America entering the war since so much of the GA is defined by WWII.
Yup! Yup! In All-Star Squadron #4, Hitler uses the Spear of Destiny and Tojo uses the Holy Grail to do some mystic ritual under the direction of Dragon King that makes it so any hero with magic based super powers (or who is particularly susceptible to magic- Supes) turns to the side of the Axis powers if they get too close to Europe or Japan.
Depends on what you mean. It definitely wasn’t the first ever instance of continuity building. The GA Superman stories had some pretty great internal continuity (meaning within other Superman stories), and others did as well. The Wonder Woman stories had really tight continuity for the Golden Age, and it did carry into the JSA stories of All-Star Comics which is why I love this moment.
It’s difficult for me to say if there were other examples of this in All-Star comics because, sadly, much of the Golden Age is not yet digitized. There are, of course, minor things like Dian Belmont or Inza Cramer showing up in Sandman and Doctor Fate solo stories, respectively, as well as in their All-Star Comics stories. But… that’s not quite the same thing as WW characters debuting in All-Star and then later appearing in her solo stories and referencing back to the JSA.
If there is another great example then it would be Hawkgirl. Shiera Sanders first dressed up as Hawkgirl in All-Star Comics #5. She did it a few more times in JSA stories like in All-Star Comics #8 and #15. I feel that it’s likely that means she was also becoming Hawkgirl in the Hawkman solo stories found in Flash Comics which, if true, would pre-date the Wonder Woman stuff. However, this is hard to confirm as I have not read the GA Hawkman solo stories.
It blurs the lines of history and superhero fiction, and I adore that…
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I guess I feel that these stories were all similar. JSA member goes into the service, does well to get promoted and then uses their ability to fight the Japanese.
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These guys would all ended blowing their identities to anyone in their ranks.
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I liked All-Star Squadron much better.
It’s hard to read comics from the early days without taking a nap or kinda losing interest. I appreciate them but they are so dated. I don’t mind reading old Marvel cause at least the characters had depth. Roy Thomas also conveys that in his run. The 40s are just a hard era for me to read.
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Sometimes I enjoy it more when I quit reading and just look at the pictures. The stories are normally simple enough that is all I need.
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I do have some more information regarding All-Star Comics #13 from my All-Star Companion Volume 1.
It would be highly unusual for Gardner Fox to write up a villain in All-Star Comics and have her show up later in Wonder Woman. But her chapter in this comic is actually written by Dr. William Moulton Marston himself! His pages were saved and they are the only surviving script pages from the Golden Age of All-Star Comics. He called Fox’s script a “routine disconnected series of fights.” He followed the general plot of getting Wonder Woman to Venus, helping the inhabitants and returning to Earth, but rewrote everything else. It should be noted that this is Wonder Woman’s last solo outing in All-Star Comics until #57.
On Hawkgirl…
The Grand Comics Database has Hawkgirl’s first appearance in Flash Comics #24 dated to October 12, 1941. All-Star Comics is dated to October 21. In All-Star Squadron #31, when the Hawks are flying to the big meeting, she says ,“I was a mystery woman first!” I have the story from my copy of Superman #252. Carter and Shiera are going to a masquerade ball, so they wear the Hawk outfits. Later that night Shiera is summoned to a case, because the birds think she is Carter. The birds talk in this series. She gets captured and the birds go get Carter. He saves the day and takes away the outfit. She never is referred to as Hawkgirl in the issue, but she does refer to herself as “Hawkwoman.”
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Yup! That’s why there is such good continuity between the Wonder Woman stories in All-Star Comics and Wonder Woman’s solo adventures. Supposedly, Marston was pretty protective of Wondy and wouldn’t let anyone else write her which is rumored to be why she ended up as the JSA’s secretary.
Really??? Because, as I mentioned in my earlier post, Shiera dressed up as Hawkgirl in All-Star Comics #5 which Grand Comics Database has dated at 4/25/41. That would predate Flash Comics #24.
Flash Comics #42 does predate the Wonder Woman/Desira connection in All-Star Comics #13, though. Thank you for confirming that! That would make Hawkgirl an earlier example of continuity between titles. Also, I’m now going to be on the lookout for a copy of Superman #252…
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Oh well, Gardner Fox lasted long enough to write Wonder Woman’s solo adventures on another team title.
I know. It even says in the comics.org post for All-Star Comics #5 that “technically” her first appearance is Flash Comics #24. I don’t know who decides these things. Roy Thomas probably formed a committee long ago.
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The Grand Comic Database entry for Flash Comics #24 also contains an indexer note that says:
“This is the 2nd appearance of Hawkgirl after All-Star Comics #5.”
So… this might be a question of indexer semantics…
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