From: [scott hollifield] at [the-matrix.com] (Scott Hollifield) Newsgroups: rec.arts.comics.misc Subject: Golden Age Annotation 5/5 Date: 18 Jan 94 23:50:00 GMT BOOK THREE ---------- Page 1 The use of the term "politically correct" strikes me as an anachronism here, although it does provoke thought as to exactly what it means. In other words, "politically correct" is not dependent on specific politics, liberal or conservative, but rather who has the power to enforce it. Here, it's being used to describe a superhero who agrees with Thompson's populist anti-Communism. Page 2 Libby Lawrence is an established journalist in previous continuity, so much so that her fellow All-Stars recognized her from television and newspaper photos when she unmasked. She worked as a war correspondent on the radio during the war, and was also seen on television from time to time. She also attainted celebrity status when she swam the English Channel to escape from Germans at Dunkirk. Page 3 Carter Hall is seen in panel 8, caressing the cheek of a blonde woman who is apparently supposed to represent his fiancee/wife Shiera Sanders. (It was never clear exactly when the two got married.) In the past, however, Shiera has always been seen as having brown hair, not blonde. Page 4 Joan Dale's picture appears on the cover of _Ladies Home Journal_, with the caption "The Future Mrs. America", indicating that her engagement to Tex Thompson is public. Page 11 Johnny Chambers' remark to himself that his life has been such a rush, he even forgot to kiss Libby on their wedding day, would be false if this were in continuity; Johnny and Libby *did* kiss on the wedding altar, at the appropriate time, as seen in the depiction of their wedding in ALL-STAR SQUADRON #50. Page 14 James Forrestal was really U.S. Secretary of Defense in actual American history. He was, in fact, the first man who hold the position of that name, after the War Department was changed to the Defense Department. See also Page 19 of this issue. Page 15 Jonathan Law's book on costumed heroes is seen here with the title _Behind The Mask_; in actual DC continuity, it was called _Altered Egos_, as noted previously. Compare _Behind The Mask_ with Hollis Mason's _Under The Hood_, in WATCHMEN. Page 17 The caption that refers to "Joan Davis" is a mistake, as she was identified as Joan Dale last issue. (It's possible that both names were used in the old Quality Comics stories, as Golden Age writers weren't nearly as worried about continuity as we are , and that James Robinson got his notes mixed up.) Page 18 Daniel's interest in serving the Lord of Darkness here, is, of course, new. :-) Page 19 Forrestal actually did commit suicide in real life, two months after resigning from his post in 1949. As far as I know, there was no controversy or mystery surrounding his death; Forrestal was known to be depressed and under heavy stress. Compare to reports of him here, which paint his mood as considerably upbeat, and his political ambitions likewise. Page 23 Libby's ability to flip Jonathan Law so easily isn't surprising; while Law was an able hand-to-hand combatant, Libby, as Liberty Belle, was known to be one of *the* most capable non-powered fighters in the All-Star Squadron. (Roy Thomas gave her sonic powers in a issue #46 of that group's book, which I regard as one of his few major retcon mistakes. Thankfully, Robinson doesn't acknowledge them in this story.) Page 29 Carter Hall's appearance, dress and attitude are fairly far removed from any portrayal of him prior to this story. Page 30 The friendship between Paul Kirk and Tex Thompson is new, although it makes sense, given the similarity between the two heroes prior to contemporary appearances. Page 32 None of the Nazi superhumans pictured here have ever appeared before, to my knowledge. Notice that one of them appears to be a masked Hitler-lookalike. One of them, a masked man with a lightning bolt, could theoretically be a new representation of Der Zyklon, a Nazi super- speedster who appeared in ALL-STAR SQUADRON. In any case, Kirk's comment about he and Thompson killing "all the enemy's superhumans" doesn't take into account, at least not on the surface, unmentioned but established Nazi supervillains like Baron Blitzkrieg and the villain group Axis Amerika. Page 34,37 Tex Thompson is revealed to be the Ultra-Humanite! The Ultra-Humanite, before the Crisis on Infinite Earths, was regarded as an arch-foe of the Golden Age Superman. He had the rather ambiguously-handled super-power of being able to successfully transplant his brain into other people's bodies, and did so to the actress Dolores Winters in ACTION COMICS #17. The Ultra-Humanite went unseen for forty years until finally being brought back in a JLA/JLA team-up tale (in JLA #195-197), in a new super-evolved ape body, as leader of the Secret Society of Super-Villains. He also appeared soon after in a SUPERMAN FAMILY Earth-2 tale set in the 1950s, where he possessed the body of a giant ant. In ALL-STAR SQUADRON, the Ultra-Humanite was pitted against the Squadron while in his Delores Winters body, the first time he was depicted as having fought other Golden Age heroes besides Superman. The scene depicted here, then, showing him being pursued by the Justice Society (including Black Canary?), is incongruous with mainstream continuity in that the Ultra-Humanite never fought the JSA proper until the 1980s. (He has also been seen in INFINITY, INC. and the most recent JUSTICE SOCIETY OF AMERICA series, the latter of which showed him in the body of a specially evolved human male.) The diary entry which dates the Ultra-Humanite's takeover of Delores Winters in 1942 is also at odds with DC continuity, where he took female form in those early ACTION takes of 1938-9. Coming soon: Annotations on Book Four! ------------------