Wikipedia

Injustice Society

The Injustice Society (a.k.a. the Injustice Society of the World) is a group of supervillains in the DC Comics Universe. They are the main antagonists of the Justice Society of America.[1]

Injustice Society
Publication information
PublisherDC Comics
First appearanceAll Star Comics #37 (October/November 1947)
Created bySheldon Mayer
Bob Kanigher
In-story information
Member(s)See below

The Injustice Society first appears in All Star Comics #37 (Oct 1947) and was created by Sheldon Mayer and Bob Kanigher.[2] The original group brought together six popular villains from Flash Comics, Green Lantern and All Star Comics: Thinker, Gambler, Vandal Savage, Wizard, Per Degaton, and Brain Wave.[3]

The Injustice Society appear on the DC Universe and CW show Stargirl as the main antagonists of the first season, with some members also appearing in its second season.

Fictional team history

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Golden Age

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The Wizard's Injustice Society

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It is unknown under what circumstances the Injustice Society was formed. The group first appeared in the second half of the 1940s where they were led by the Wizard and planned to take over America.[4] Fragmenting into individual efforts, the ISW launched strikes against government facilities around the nation, each with his own private army of convicts due to five jailbreaks engineered by the ISW. In addition to furthering their primary aims, the villains were each assigned to capture a member of the JSA in anticipated resistance. To ensure that the JSA showed up, the villains notified the heroes of their plans. In due course, Hawkman was captured by Vandal Savage at an airport which the criminal army had surrounded. Doctor Mid-Nite was apprehended by Per Degaton who was attacking the Washington Monument. The Flash fell victim to his long-time foe the Thinker at the Governor's house where the Thinker was broadcasting fake demands by the Governor to make the armed forces stand down due to invisible wires. The Atom was snared by the Gambler. Green Lantern arrives in Uthorium Town just as the armed forces are closing in on the criminals that control the city. Suddenly, the town disappears in a flash of light. Green Lantern begins a search for the criminal army when he discovers the town has re-appeared a few miles away, and the felons are looting uthorium from a lab. Green Lantern zooms in for the attack when Brainwave appears on the scene, opening a canister of uthorium in his presence. Blinded, Green Lantern forms an energy bubble for protection while Brainwave and his men finish their job. Recovering later, Green Lantern discovers a radioactive trail left behind by the uthorium and follows it, discovering some of the thugs with an invention called the "Mirage-Thrower," which fools the Army tanks into crossing a frozen lake which really isn't frozen. Green Lantern saves the tanks and men, then follows the trail to discover Brainwave inside a weird glass box. Firing his power ring at it, the ray bounces back, knocking Green Lantern off a cliff, apparently to his death. Hearing of Per Degaton's capture of Doctor Mid-Nite in Capital City (evidently meant to be based on Washington), Wonder Woman and Johnny Thunder left JSA headquarters to intervene, only to be captured themselves. The JSA were held by a will-deadener beam, put on "trial" before Judge Thinker with the Wizard as Prosecutor. The JSA were sentenced to death, but it was then revealed Green Lantern had disguised himself as the Thinker. His ring saved him at the last moment and he captured the Thinker. He freed the others and they defeated the Injustice Society, with the Wizard being caught by a group of children who idolized the Justice Society called the Junior Justice Society.[5]

Second Injustice Society

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The second formation appeared in the late 1940s attempting "patriotic crimes" where it was formed by Wizard and consisted of Fiddler, Harlequin, Huntress, Icicle, and Sportsmaster. They stole national monuments, hoping the American people would vote for the best crime allowing that person to become the leader, and succeeding in erasing the Society's memories after capturing them by the Sportsmaster knocking them out with one of his bombs, but Harlequin turned against them and with Black Canary restored the Justice Society's memories, though a post-hypnotic impulse restores the JSA to their mindless states when they hear fingers snapping, causing them to be recaptured. But their memories are restored again after they are placed in a death chamber, leading to Black Canary becoming a proper member.[6]

Silver Age

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The Injustice Society reforms during the 1970s to try and eliminate the reformed Justice Society in 2 instances. The first attempt is during the annual JLA/JSA team-ups where the Wizard (leader), alongside Sportsmaster, Huntress, Gambler, Shade, and Icicle hypnotize Earth-Prime's Cary Bates into working alongside them as a villain after he accidentally arrives on Earth-Two after stepping on Flash's Cosmic Treadmill left behind by Earth-One's Flash when he visited there. It took Elliot S. Maggin and the JLA to find him after Elliot went to Earth-One to ask the JLA members Batman, Aquaman, Green Arrow, Black Canary, Flash, and Hawkman to help him find Cary. The JLA was defeated by the Injustice Society at first because they were tricked into "killing" JSA members Robin, Wonder Woman, Wildcat, Johnny Thunder, Hourman and Doctor Mid-Nite disguised as the Injustice Society after the JSA was defeated by Cary. It took the Spectre to revive the JSA using his Ring of Life and the JLA removing the mental block they received after the JSA deaths to defeat Cary and the Injustice sSciety and send Cary and Elliot home back to Earth-Prime, with the JSA taking the Injustice Society back to prison on Earth-Two.[7] The second attempt happens on Earth-Two itself. First, the Fiddler fetches Solomon Grundy and defeats Wildcat and Hawkman, but they are defeated by Superman of Earth-Two and Power Girl.[8]

Vandal Savage tricks the JSA into aiding a false Camelot while Icicle, Thinker, Wizard, and Brainwave capture Wildcat and the Hourman.[9] The Thinker and the Icicle are defeated by Doctor Fate, Hawkman, and Jay Garrick, while the Wizard and Brainwave are defeated by Power Girl and the Star-Spangled Kid. The Wizard then left the Injustice Society for Earth-One, where he joined the Secret Society of Super-Villains.[10]

Brain Wave captures Green Lantern, Jay Garrick, and Power Girl before being defeated in Power Girl's first solo adventure.[11] The Psycho Pirate is the final member of the Society after he brainwashes GCPD Police Commissioner Bruce Wayne into believing the JSA's recent actions, including Green Lantern(under his influence as well before the JSA defeats the Pirate)'s was the result of them going rogue. This leads Wayne to summon via Robin's JSA signaller Wonder Woman, Hourman, and Starman to fight the so-called rogue JSA members Power Girl, Hawkman, Flash, Green Lantern, Star Spangled Kid and Dr Fate, during which Power Girl was severely injured(and later recovered) by Wayne's actions. It took Fate using a spell on Wayne to shatter The Pirate's hold on him as The Pirate was imprisoned once more prior to this battle, as well as Superman appearing to end the battle between young and old JSA members.[12]

Post-Crisis

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Injustice Unlimited

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During what some described as the "anti-costumed-hero mania" (as chronicled in the DC miniseries Legends) in the pages of Infinity, Inc., the Wizard gathered both old comrades (consisting of Brainwave, the Fiddler, Gambler, Harlequin, Per Degaton, Shade, Solomon Grundy, Sportsmaster, Thinker, and Vandal Savage) and new super-criminals (consisting of Hazard, the Icicle II, and the Tigress III) into a new Injustice Society, which he called "Injustice Unlimited". Infinity, Inc. fought Injustice Unlimited, which led to the apparent death of the Wizard.[13] Indeed, the criminal group seemed to be a mirror image of Infinity, Inc., which itself was an offshoot of the Justice Society, at the time when the group was led by the Dummy. Later, this team returned to the original name.[14]

Johnny Sorrow's Injustice Society

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Johnny Sorrow appears in late 1999 as the leader of the new Injustice Society (consisting of Icicle II, Blackbriar Thorn, Count Vertigo, Geomancer, Killer Wasp, and Tigress III). Together they storm the headquarters of superhero team Justice Society of America, although JSA member Wildcat defeats them all (destroying Blackbriar Thorn) despite still recovering from a broken arm and the attack initially being launched while he was in the bathtub, with the exception of Sorrow, who uses the diversion to steal an unknown artifact.[15]

Sorrow returns with a larger version of the Injustice Society (having also recruited Black Adam after removing a brain tumour, Shiv, Rival, and the Thinker A.I.) to distract the JSA while he summoned the King of Tears, an other-dimensional entity. However, the JSA were able to fend off the Society, including killing the Rival and Black Adam defecting, with the fight culminating in the Flash drawing on Black Adam's speed to send the King of Tears to another dimension by striking him at near-lightspeed.[16]

The Wizard's second Injustice Society

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The demon Legacy (actually Wizard in disguise) formed another version in the miniseries JSA All-Stars. The lineup consists of Icicle II, Rival, Shiv, and Tigress III. The new team again confronted the JSA. Unknown to the JSA, their job was just to stick teleportation discs to the old-timers.[17] Legacy then teleported his successful team away. Legacy is then later "killed" by the Spectre.[18]

Johnny Sorrow's Injustice Society

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The Injustice Society resurfaced again in November 2005, in the pages of JSA Classified. The soul of the Wizard joined forces with Johnny Sorrow where they gathered a new incarnation of the Injustice Society consisting of the Gentleman Ghost, Icicle II, Rag Doll I, Solomon Grundy, the Thinker A.I., and Tigress III. They were tasked to steal Prometheus' Cosmic Key from JSA headquarters in order to free the Wizard and Johnny Sorrow. While noting to himself that the Rag Doll I would betray the group, the Wizard sets him up to take the fall.[19] The Injustice Society tried to enlist the Secret Society of Super Villains to help with the caper, which drew the attention of Talia al Ghul.[20] Rag Doll I took the Cosmic Key as Wizard had predicted and was killed when he activated it. Once Johnny Sorrow was brought back to Earth, he and the Injustice Society teleported to Prometheus' Crooked House. When it was discovered that Tigress III and Icicle II had started to fall in love with each other, Johnny Sorrow strong-armed them into sticking around.[21]

Another plot was to kidnap Stargirl and to face off against the JSA All Stars. The line-up here consists of Johnny Sorrow, Tigress III, Icicle II, Wizard, Killer Wasp, Geomancer II, and Shiv.[22]

DC Rebirth

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In 2016, DC Comics implemented another relaunch of its books called "DC Rebirth" which restored its continuity to a form much as it was prior to "The New 52". Hawkman and Hawkgirl recount their time with the Justice Society and the day that they fought the Injustice Society. In the flashback to the 1940s when the Justice Society stormed the Injustice Society's fortress in Austria, Hawkman fought Per Degaton, Hawkgirl fought Vandal Savage, Green Lantern fought the Wizard, the Sandman fought the Gambler, Wildcat fought the Tigress, and the Flash fought Brain Wave. After Brain Wave unleashes a powerful psychic attack that knocks everyone down, Per Degaton and Vandal Savage prepare to finish off Hawkman and Hawkgirl. Hawkman and Hawkgirl throw their maces enough for them to collide. This enables the Justice Society to turn the tables against the Injustice Society. Green Lantern then makes an airplane construct so that the Justice Society can deliver the Injustice Society to the authorities.[23]

In the pages of "The New Golden Age", it was mentioned that Doctor Elemental and his creation Ro-Bear had an association with the JSA at some point.[24]

DC All In

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In the "DC All In" initiative, a new incarnation of the Injustice Society appears. It is led by Scandal Savage and consists of Doctor Elemental, Fog, Gentleman Ghost, Johnny Sorrow (who was impersonating Obsidian), Lady Eve, Red Lantern II, Shadow Thief, Solomon Grundy, and Wotan.[25]

Membership

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Original team

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This formation included the following additional members:

  • Fiddler (Isaac Bowin) - A criminal who uses specially-made violins.
  • Sportsmaster (Lawrence Crock) - A crook who uses sport-themed weapons, married to the Tigress.
  • Tigress II (Paula Brooks) - A tiger-themed mercenary, married to the Sportsmaster.
  • Icicle I (Joar Mahkent) - A scientist who invented a gun that drastically lowers temperature.
  • Harlequin I (Molly Mayne) - A villainess with hypnotic goggles.

Later members

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  • Shade (Richard Swift) - He was an additional member when a third formation formed during a team-up between the Justice Society and the Justice League, but later in the comic Starman (vol. 2), he is shown in a flashback assisting a Golden Age incarnation of the Society. His actual time of joining is unknown, but he was a member during the Golden Age. He had a cane which enabled him to cast darkness.
  • Solomon Grundy - A superstrong undead foe of Green Lantern who joined a fourth formation led by the Icicle.

Injustice Unlimited members

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  • Wizard - Leader
  • Fiddler
  • Shade
  • Tigress III (Artemis Crock) - The daughter of the Tigress I and the Sportsmaster.
  • Hazard - The granddaughter of Gambler.
  • Icicle II (Cameron Mahkent) - The son of the Icicle I with cryokinetic powers.

Later members

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These members were recruited after the Wizard was believed dead and both the Fiddler and the Shade were imprisoned:

  • Dummy - A sentient ventriloquist's dummy and enemy of the Vigilante who became the second leader of Injustice Unlimited.
  • Harlequin II (Marcie Cooper)
  • Solomon Grundy

Johnny Sorrow's team

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Johnny Sorrow's team. Art by Alan Davis.

Later recruits included:

  • The Rival - A foe of the Golden Age Flash who developed a formula to endow himself with speed nearly matching that of the Flash.
  • Black Adam - A rogue Marvel Family member with powers from the Egyptian Gods. He was sent after Wildcat, but betrayed the team.
  • Shiv - Shiv is the daughter of the supervillain Dragon King. She had a grudge against Stargirl.
  • Thinker II (A.I.) - An artificial intelligence version of the Thinker I which spied on the JSA.

Legacy's team

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  • Legacy - Leader. An alias of the Wizard.
  • Kestrel - A supervillain created by M'Shulla and Gorrum of the Lords of Chaos to either subvert the Hawk (of the Hawk and the Dove) to the forces of evil or to kill him.
  • Rag Doll I - A contortionist supervillain.
  • Tigress III (Artemis Crock)
  • Icicle II (Cameron Mahkent)
  • Solomon Grundy
  • Shiv

Present formation

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The fifth version of the Injustice Society, art by Joe Bennett.

The Injustice Society resurfaced again in November 2005 in the pages of JSA Classified, composed of:

  • Johnny Sorrow - Leader
  • Icicle II (Cameron Mahkent)
  • Tigress III (Artemis Crock)
  • Rag Doll I (Peter Merkel, deceased)
  • Thinker (A.I.)
  • Solomon Grundy
  • Wizard
  • Gentleman Ghost - The ghost of a highwayman.

The Injustice Society resurfaced once more, this time in a plot to kidnap Stargirl and to face off against the JSA All Stars. The team was composed of the following members:[26]

  • Johnny Sorrow
  • Tigress III (Artemis Crock)
  • Icicle II (Cameron Mahkent)
  • Wizard
  • Killer Wasp
  • Geomancer II - the unnamed successor of Geomancer I with the same abilities.
  • Shiv

DC Rebirth version

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  • Wizard
  • Brain Wave
  • Gambler (Steven Sharpe III)
  • Huntress (Paula Brooks)
  • Per Degaton
  • Vandal Savage
  • Doctor Elemental - In Prime Earth continuity, Professor Hughes was the academic advisor of Jay Garrick who operated as an armored criminal whose armor enables him to control the elements. He was revealed to have been associated with the Injustice Society at some point.
  • Ro-Bear - A cyborg bear created by Doctor Elemental. He was revealed to have been associated with the Injustice Society at some point.

DC All In version

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  • Scandal Savage - Leader and the daughter of Vandal Savage.
  • Doctor Elemental
  • Fog - An old enemy of Sandman who wears a black version of his outfit.
  • Gentleman Ghost
  • Johnny Sorrow
  • Lady Eve - A high-ranking member of the Kobra Cult.
  • Red Lantern II (Ruby Sokov) - The daughter of the original Red Lantern.
  • Shadow Thief (Carl Sands) - A criminal whose Shadow Vest enables him to tap into the powers of the Shadowlands.
  • Solomon Grundy
  • Wotan - An ancient sorcerer.

Other versions

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JSA: The Golden Age

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The Injustice Society makes a cameo appearance in issue #4 of the Elseworlds story JSA: The Golden Age, consisting of the Fiddler, the Gambler, the Harlequin, and Psycho-Pirate.[27]

Earth 3

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On Earth-3, the Injustice Society serves as the evil counterpart of the Justice Society of America, with Hawkman's counterpart Sky Tyrant as its leader.[28]

In other media

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  • A team based on the Injustice Society called the Injustice Guild of America appears in the Justice League two-part episode "Legends", consisting of the Music Master, the Sportsman, Doctor Blizzard, and Sir Swami.
  • The Injustice Society of America (ISA) appears in the first season of Stargirl,[29] led by Icicle and consisting of Brainwave, the Gambler, Sportsmaster, Tigress, Wizard, Dragon King, and Solomon Grundy, with Fiddler and Shade appearing as former members. In the pilot episode, Brainwave, Gambler, Icicle, Shade, Grundy, Sportsmaster, Tigress, and Wizard fought the Justice Society of America (JSA) and killed most of its members, with Icicle fatally wounding their leader Starman. A decade after their victory, the ISA operate in Blue Valley under their civilian identities while the Fiddler's wife Anaya Bowin fills in for him. After Courtney Whitmore finds Starman's Cosmic Staff and forms a new JSA, the ISA take up arms to stop her as well as enact Project: New America to brainwash the Central United States' citizens. However, the new JSA, the Shining Knight, Barbara Whitmore, and Mike Dugan foil their plans, with most of the ISA either being killed, incarcerated, or escaped. It was later revealed that Shade didn't go along with Icicle's plan and saved Doctor Mid-Nite only to lose him in the Shadowlands.
    • In the second season, Cindy Burman and Eclipso form their own offshoot group called Injustice Unlimited, recruiting Sportsmaster and Tigress' daughter Artemis Crock and the Fiddler's son Isaac Bowin to their cause. After failing to recruit Icicle's son Cameron Mahkent, Injustice Unlimited fights Stargirl's JSA. In the process, Stargirl accidentally frees Eclipso from his Black Diamond. He subsequently sends Burman to the Shadowlands and consumes Isaac while Artemis flees.

References

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  1. ^ Cowsill, Alan; Irvine, Alex; Korte, Steve; Manning, Matt; Wiacek, Win; Wilson, Sven (2016). The DC Comics Encyclopedia: The Definitive Guide to the Characters of the DC Universe. DK Publishing. p. 153. ISBN 978-1-4654-5357-0.
  2. ^ Cowsill, Alan; Irvine, Alex; Manning, Matthew K.; McAvennie, Michael; Wallace, Daniel (2019). DC Comics Year By Year: A Visual Chronicle. DK Publishing. p. 51. ISBN 978-1-4654-8578-6.
  3. ^ Cowsill, Alan; Irvine, Alex; Manning, Matthew K.; McAvennie, Michael; Wallace, Daniel (2010). DC Comics Year By Year: A Visual Chronicle. DK Publishing. p. 52. ISBN 978-0-7566-6742-9.
  4. ^ Rovin, Jeff (1987). The Encyclopedia of Supervillains. New York: Facts on File. p. 395. ISBN 0-8160-1356-X.
  5. ^ All-Star Comics #37. DC Comics.
  6. ^ All-Star Comics #41. DC Comics.
  7. ^ Justice League of America #123-124 (October–November 1975). DC Comics.
  8. ^ All-Star Comics #63 (1977). DC Comics.
  9. ^ All-Star Comics #64-65 (March–April 1977). DC Comics.
  10. ^ All-Star Comics #66 (May–June 1977). DC Comics.
  11. ^ Showcase #97-99 (Feb.-April 1978). DC Comics.
  12. ^ All Star Comics #66-69 (May–June, July–August, September–October, November–December 1977. DC Comics.
  13. ^ Infinity, Inc. #32-37 (1987). DC Comics
  14. ^ Infinity, Inc. #51-53 (1988). DC Comics.
  15. ^ JSA #9 - 10 (April - May 2000). DC Comics.
  16. ^ "Review: JSA All-Stars: Constellations trade paperback (DC Comics)". collectededitions.blogspot.co.uk. 29 December 2011. Retrieved October 19, 2013.
  17. ^ JSA All-Stars #1. DC Comics.
  18. ^ JSA All-Stars #8. DC Comics.
  19. ^ JSA Classified #5. DC Comics.
  20. ^ JSA Classified #6. DC Comics.
  21. ^ JSA Classified #7. DC Comics.
  22. ^ "JSA Classified: Honor Among Thieves". www.goodreads.com. 24 January 2007. Retrieved October 19, 2013.
  23. ^ Hawkman (vol. 5) #27. DC Comics.
  24. ^ Jay Garrick: The Flash #2. Marvel Comics.
  25. ^ JSA Vol. 2 #1. DC Comics.
  26. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2011-10-06. Retrieved 2010-01-14.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  27. ^ JSA: The Golden Age #4. DC Comics.
  28. ^ Hawkman (vol. 5) #18. DC Comics.
  29. ^ Boucher, Geoff (December 20, 2018). "'Stargirl' Casting: Meet Three Members Of Injustice Society". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved January 13, 2019.
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