Secret Society of Super Villains
Secret Society of Super Villains | |
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Publication information | |
Publisher | DC Comics |
First appearance | Secret Society of Super Villains #1 (May–June 1976) |
Created by | Gerry Conway (writer) Pablo Marcos (artist) |
In-story information | |
Base(s) | Gotham City |
Member(s) | List of Secret Society of Super Villains members |
Secret Society of Super Villains (SSoSV) is a DC Comics title that debuted in May–June 1976. The series presented a group of DC's supervillains, mostly foes of the Justice League of America.[1] The series was cancelled with issue #15 in July 1978, as part of the DC Implosion, a period when DC suddenly cancelled dozens of comics.[2]
In the decades following the cancellation of the original book, the fictional group has returned in many forms.
Series conception
Editor
The first issue of Secret Society of Super Villains was drafted with artwork by
In the revised first issue, the team's lineup included Captain Cold, Gorilla Grodd, Star Sapphire and the Manhunter from the original conception, and added the Mirror Master, the Copperhead, Sinestro, the Shadow Thief and the Wizard.[3]
Starting from the second issue, the comic's recurring hero is Captain Comet. Conway said that he wanted a regular 'lead hero' for the villains to interact with. The inclusion of a regular hero in the book helped to avoid Comics Code Authority concerns about presenting villains in a positive light.[3]
Publication history
Due to the delays caused by having to redo the first issue from scratch, Conway assigned David Anthony Kraft to script the next three issues of Secret Society of Super Villains over his plots. After issue #4, both Conway and Kraft abruptly left DC, leading to a mad scramble to produce a fill-in issue.[4]
Secret Society of Super Villains was cancelled with issue #15 as part of the DC Implosion.[2] Issue #16 was already at the printer at the time of the cancellation and would have been the final issue, but writer Bob Rozakis appealed to DC to pull the issue since it was the beginning of a three-part story and he did not want to leave the readers hanging.[4] Issue #17 was near completion at the time, and both it and issue #16 would see publication (of a sort) in the privately printed Cancelled Comics Cavalcade #2. Issue #18, which concluded the three-part story, was scripted but never drawn. Rozakis later revealed where the story would have gone had the series not been cancelled in a weekly column for Silver Bullet Comics.[4]
This series, along with the unpublished issues #16 and 17, were collected in a two-volume hardcover edition, with the volumes published in 2011 and 2012, respectively.
Fictional history
Darkseid's Society
First organized by
The Wizard's group eventually returned from Earth-2 and battled against the Justice League of America aboard their
Also notable in this series' run is the first appearance of
The Ultra-Humanite's Society
The next incarnation of the Secret Society appeared in 1981, headquartered in a new Sinister Citadel in Nepal, and was created by the
The Ultra-Humanite contacted his younger self in 1942, who helped to break out the SSoSV using the power of Brain Wave. The ape Ultra-Humanite attacked Infinity, Inc. in the modern day, while the rest of the SSoSV battled against the All-Star Squadron in 1942. The villains were defeated and returned to their proper times.[13]
Underground
The SSoSV in time grew into a large underground group with dozens of villains holding membership in various scattered cells. After the reformation of the JLA, the seven superheroes decided to infiltrate and shut down this new Society. Disguising himself as the deceased Brain Wave, Martian Manhunter lured the villains to one spot where they were defeated by the JLA. As the tale was told by the Rainbow Raider to Sonar III, it is uncertain whether this tale actually happened. At the very least, there may have been some embellishment.[14]
Alexander Luthor Jr.'s Society
After the defeat of the last incarnation of the SSoSV, a great amount of time would pass before villains would band together in any sort of large organization. Fueled by rumors of the mindwiping of
.Alexander Luthor Jr.'s intent was to gather together a cadre of supervillains to retrieve several key superheroes who have ties to the Multiverse, in order to harness their residual temporal vibrations to recreate the Multiverse through a giant "tuning fork" tower similar to the ones seen in Crisis on Infinite Earths. Only the Psycho-Pirate II, who remembered the Multiverse, knew of this plan, as Alexander Luthor Jr. lied to the members of his inner circle, telling them that he was building a massive mind-erasing machine to use against all of the heroes in the DC Universe.
Playing on the fear of superheroes, retaliation for refusal, and the desire for power, Alexander created a Society the size of which (over 500 members) is larger than all previous incarnations combined. Out of all the villains in the DC Universe, the only one not even offered an invitation was the Joker on the grounds that he was "too wild".
The group, referred to simply as the Society, was featured in the miniseries
At the end of to rule full-time.
One Year Later
One Year Later, most of the Society's inner circle is either in prison or has resigned from the group. Doctor Psycho was captured by the authorities after the Battle of Metropolis and is on trial in the Manhunter series; he has also appeared in Secret Six and Wonder Woman. Deathstroke the Terminator was apprehended by the Green Arrow, but escaped and started recruiting members for the Titans East.
With Talia returning to rule the League of Assassins, the Calculator remains the only original member of the "inner council" left running the Society.
Final Crisis
Not long after the Society's dissolution, Checkmate instigated a crackdown on all villains in the DC Universe, who were captured and exiled to a prison planet as seen in the Salvation Run miniseries. The group included almost every villain in the DC universe, with rare exceptions. Though the villains escaped back to Earth, their desire for revenge drives the Society to depose Lex Luthor and replace him with a leader who promises them what they desire: the mysterious Libra.
Libra, a follower of Intergang's "Religion of Crime" and secretly an agent of Darkseid, leads the Secret Society in their role as Darkseid's ground troops as part of the Final Crisis storyline. Promising to fulfill the hearts desires of his subordinates, Libra murders the Martian Manhunter for new recruit the Human Flame. He also arranges for Clayface to cause an explosion at the Daily Planet, killing and maiming dozens of Superman's closest friends and mortally wounding his wife Lois in the process, to try to seduce the disgruntled Luthor to his side and draw Superman to Libra.
With most of the Society, including Vandal Savage, behind him, Libra reveals his true self to Lex Luthor as the villain turns on the Human Flame by forcing a mind-control helmet onto the villain's face, exposing him to the Anti-Life Equation and turning him into a mindless slave warrior known as a Justifier. Faced with the threat of being forced to become a Justifier himself, Luthor agrees to become Libra and Darkseid's servant. With help from Doctor Sivana and the Calculator, Lex Luthor ultimately turns against Libra and forces him to retreat. With Sivana's help, Luthor and the mind-controlled legions of Justifiers helped Superman in battle against the last remaining forces of Darkseid, the Fury Riders. Luthor and Sivana then proceed to help Superman build the Miracle Machine to save the Earth, though the two are only allowed to work on sections of the machine due to the risk of them stealing the designs for future villainous schemes.
In Final Crisis: Revelations, the third Spectre kills Doctor Light and melts the Effigy before trying to take on Libra. Sister Wrack of the Religion of Crime impales Vandal Savage with the Spear of Destiny, causing Vandal Savage to be reborn as Cain. Cain then seeks out the Spectre and easily overwhelms him, followed by Cain impaling the Spectre with the Spear of Destiny. It separates the Spectre from host Crispus Allen as Renee Montoya and Radiant carry his body into the church. Cain later controls the Spectre and has it recite the Anti-Life Equation to recreate the world in Darkseid's name. Cain manages to stab Renee with the Spear of Destiny. Renee manages to grab the Spear and use its powers to restore the world and Crispus' life. Reuniting with the Spectre, Crispus uses his judgement to kill Cain's followers, but could not kill Cain. The Spectre casts Cain out into the world with no chance of peace until God decides to grant him otherwise.
In
From an idea by T. O. Morrow during and after Final Crisis, the Cheetah III assigned several scientific members of a new Secret Society (such as Professor Ivo and Doctor Poison) to collect soil samples from various regions of Earth in which acts of genocide occurred. They plan to use the soil to form a new villain named Genocide.[15] Genocide is brought to life through a combination of science and the magic of Felix Faust. They are successful in doing so, but soon after an enraged Wonder Woman defeats a small team of members consisting of Shrapnel, the Firefly, Phobia and T. O. Morrow. After telling them to disband the team, Wonder Woman then destroys their home base skyscraper building.[16]
The New 52
In September 2011,
At the start of the "
During the "
DC Rebirth
The Society reappears in DC Rebirth, where its members consist of Vandal Savage, Hector Hammond, the Riddler, Professor Zoom the Reverse-Flash, Black Manta, the Ultra-Humanite, Deadline, the Raptor, and Killer Frost, with Lex Luthor being established as a former member. They place Deathstroke the Terminator on trial while debating whether he is truly reformed or not; however, the Riddler proves via Hammond's telepathic abilities that Deathstroke is 'evil'.[28]
During the "Dark Crisis" storyline, Deathstroke led an incarnation of the Secret Society of Super Villains. After mourning the apparent deaths of the Justice League, the Secret Society of Super Villains proceeded to attack Titans Academy before they are repelled by Jon Kent. Then the Secret Society of Super Villains started attacking different superheroes.[29] The Great Darkness later corrupted the Secret Society of Super Villains into serving it.[30]
Members
Other versions
Justice Underground
Justice Underground | |
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Publication information | |
Publisher | DC Comics |
First appearance | JLA Secret Files and Origins 2004 |
Created by | Kurt Busiek Ron Garney |
In-story information | |
Base(s) | Undisclosed location in the nation of Modora (on an alternate Earth) |
Member(s) | Quizmaster Sir Solomon Grundy Lady Sonar General Grodd Q-Ranger Star Sapphire |
The Justice Underground is a fictional superhero team in the
Fictional history
The Underground experienced some temporary victories in their battles with the Syndicate, both as a team and individually. For example, the Quizmaster's underground connections allowed him to interfere with the supplies needed by the Crime Syndicate for various operations, such as the speed serum that Johnny Quick requires to maintain his super speed.
One by one, the Justice Underground members were all defeated, captured or killed. For example,
Upon her home's invasion, Lady Sonar was successful in defeating Johnny Quick (the antimatter
The Justice Underground was released by the Martian Manhunter as a team of associate JLA members reversed back into the matter universe. It is unclear how they were able to recover from their injuries, though it could be inferred that the Owlman healed their injuries while they were in stasis.
Members
- Quizmaster (the antimatter Riddler) – Arthur Brown was a master quiz show host until he lost and turned to crime. The Quizmaster is the leader and the smartest man alive. He does not have any superpowers. His incredibly high IQ and knowledge of almost all disciplines enabled him to be as effective a fighter as any of his compatriots with superpowers. Quizmaster later adopted the alias of Enigma.
- Sir Solomon Grundy (the antimatter Solomon Grundy) – Cyrus Gold was a Gotham city merchant, until he was killed in a swamp and became a Hulk like zombie Sir Solomon Grundy is a distinguished, poised mountain of a man. During an aerial bombardment of Dover, he was blasted to life out of the white rock. Sir Solomon appears to be identical in physical appearance to Solomon Grundy, with the exception of a trimmed mustache and a small goatee. In keeping with his educated personality, Sir Solomon dresses himself as a 19th-century Englishman would and speaks accordingly. His super strength and invulnerability made him a formidable hero.
- General Grodd (the antimatter Gorilla Grodd) – General Grodd is a renegade freedom fighter from a militaristic ape nation. Grodd is an extremely strong gorilla who has telekinesis, and smarts to match his strength.
- Star Sapphire (the antimatter Star Sapphire) – this version of Star Sapphire is a knight-errant from the other side of the galaxy. Star Sapphire is a Violet Lantern ( Powered by love) and will do anything for it.
- Lady Sonar (the antimatter Sonar) – Lady Sonar is a female version of Sonar.
- Q Ranger (the antimatter Major Force) – the "quantum-powered dynamo".
Collected editions
The original comic book series was scheduled to be collected into a
- The Secret Society of Super Villains Volume 1 (collects SSoSV #1–10), August 2011, ISBN 1-4012-3109-8.
- The Secret Society of Super Villains Volume 2 (collects SSoSV #11–15, DC Special #27, DC Special Series #6, ISBN 978-1401231101
In other media
Television
- Three incarnations of the Secret Society appear in series set in the DC Animated Universe (DCAU):
- The first version appears in a self-titled two-part episode of Injustice Gang, the Society defeat the Justice Leaguein their first encounter. However, they are defeated in the subsequent rematch.
- In the third season of Shark, Silver Banshee, Sonar, Sportsmaster, Star Sapphire, Tala, Tattooed Man, the Thinker, the Top, Toyman, Tsukuri, Volcana, and Weather Wizard. With this incarnation of the Society, Grodd created a massive co-operative wherein he manages its members and they provide backup for each other in exchange for Grodd receiving a portion of all profits made. To keep the Society secret, all members have their brains shielded from telepathy and wired to short out if they are interrogated. After discovering Grodd was using the Society to turn humanity into apes, Luthor ousts him and assumes leadership. In the two-part series finale "Alive!" and "Destroyer", Luthor has the Society convert their headquarters into a spaceship in an attempt to resurrect Brainiac. While en route however, Grodd joins forces with Tala to lead a coup and retake control, leading to a civil war until Luthor jettisons Grodd into space and Killer Frost freezes Grodd's loyalists just as they reach the site of Brainiac's defeat. There, Luthor forces Tala to restore him, but she resurrects Darkseid instead. He subsequently destroys the Society's base, killing most of its members, though Sinestro and Star Sapphire rescue Luthor, Atomic Skull, Bizarro, Cheetah, Evil Star, Giganta, Heat Wave, Killer Frost, Toyman, and Volcana. They rob Lightray of his Mother Boxand return to Earth to warn the Justice League of Darkseid's return before joining forces with them to stop him.
- Additionally, the episode "Epilogue" includes a futuristic incarnation of the Secret Society known as the Iniquity Collective, consisting of Shriek, Stalker, and a monstrous future incarnation of the Parasite.
- Additionally, the episode "Epilogue" includes a futuristic incarnation of the Secret Society known as the Iniquity Collective, consisting of
- The first version appears in a self-titled two-part episode of
- The Justice Underground appears in the Batman: The Brave and the Bold episode "Deep Cover for Batman!", led by the Red Hood and consisting of unnamed heroic versions of Black Manta, the Clock King, Doctor Polaris, the Gentleman Ghost, Gorilla Grodd, Sinestro, the Brain, and Kite Man. After a battle with the Injustice Syndicate, most of the group was captured, but the Red Hood contacts Batman's world to look for new allies. Batman soon arrives and helps free the heroes before helping them capture the Injustice Syndicate.
- A group based on the Secret Society called "The Light" appears in Brion Markov to convert Markovia into a metahuman nation and capture General Zod's army for use in their future endeavors.
Film
The Justice Underground appears in Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths, consisting of a heroic Lex Luthor, the Jester, and the latter's monkey sidekick Harley. After the Jester sacrifices himself to kill two Crime Syndicate members, Luthor evades the Syndicate's leaders and flees to the Justice League's Earth to seek out their help.
Video games
- The Secret Society appears in Circe, and the Joker. This version of the group is affiliated with various villains.
- An alternate reality version of the "Society" appears in Injustice 2, led by Gorilla Grodd and consisting of Bane, Poison Ivy, the Scarecrow, Deadshot, the Cheetah, Captain Cold, and the Reverse-Flash. Additionally, Catwoman works as a double agent within their ranks on behalf of Batman's Insurgency. The Society intend to fill the power vacuum left by the Justice League and Insurgency defeating High Councilor Superman and his Regime, though Grodd secretly works with Brainiac to help him destroy the Earth. Once the other members discover this however, they disband the group.[31]
- The Secret Society appears as a team bonus in DC Heroes and Villains, consisting of Vandal Savage, Cheshire, Livewire, Copperhead, and Ultra-Humanite.
Miscellaneous
A team based on the Justice Underground called the Brotherhood of Justice appears in Teen Titans Go! #48, consisting of heroic, alternate reality versions of General Immortus, Psimon, Mammoth, Doctor Light, and Madame Rouge, with Rouge serving as a double agent within the Teen Tyrants, posing as Blackfire. After the Teen Titans are defeated by their evil counterparts, Rouge reveals herself and brings in the rest of the Brotherhood to defeat the Teen Tyrants.
References
- ISBN 978-1-4654-5357-0.
- ^ a b Markstein, Don. "Secret Society of Super Villains". Don Markstein's Toonopedia. Retrieved 2 April 2020.
- ^ ISBN 978-1605490564.
- ^ a b c d e f Greenberger, Robert (August 2009). "The Secret Society of Super-Villains". Back Issue! (#35). TwoMorrows Publishing: 25–31.
- ISBN 978-1-4012-3109-5.
- ISBN 978-1-4654-8578-6.
- ISBN 0-8160-1356-X.
- ^ Secret Society of Super Villains #1-15. DC Comics.
- ^ Justice League of America #166–168. DC Comics.
- ^ Justice League of America #195. DC Comics.
- ^ Justice League of America #196. DC Comics.
- ^ Justice League of America #197. DC Comics.
- ^ All-Star Squadron #26. DC Comics.
- ^ JLA 80-Page Giant #1. DC Comics.
- ^ DC Universe #0. DC Comics.
- ^ Wonder Woman (vol. 3) #26. DC Comics.
- ^ Justice League (vol. 2) #17. DC Comics.
- ^ Justice League of America (vol. 3) #2
- ^ Justice League of America (vol. 3) #3. DC Comics.
- ^ Justice League of America (vol. 3) #4. DC Comics.
- ^ Justice League of America (vol. 3) #5. DC Comics.
- ^ Justice League (vol. 2) #22. DC Comics.
- ^ Justice League of America (vol. 3) #6. DC Comics.
- ^ Justice League Dark #22. DC Comics.
- ^ Justice League of America (vol. 3) #7. DC Comics.
- ^ Justice League (vol. 2) #23. DC Comics.
- ^ Forever Evil #1. DC Comics.
- ^ Deathstroke (vol. 4) #25. DC Comics.
- ^ Dark Crisis #1-4. DC Comics.
- ^ Dark Crisis on Infinite Earths #5-7. DC Comics.
- ^ Injustice 2: Gorilla Grodd
External links
- Secret Society of Super-Villains (DC, 1976 series) at the Grand Comics Database
- Secret Society of Super-Villains at Don Markstein's Toonopedia. Archived from the original on May 19, 2017.
- Secret Society of Super Villains at Comic Vine