All-Star Squadron No. 3 The Dooms of Dark December
The last time we saw Danette Reilly and the Shining Knight, Sir Justin was about to square off against Solomon Grundy. As if that wasn't bad enough the awesome Wotan joins Grundy in the attack.
I wish I knew the name of Sir Justin's sword (Excalibur?). It must have a name since it is no ordinary metal weapon as can be seen here. You know what? The sword does NOT have a name - I checked.
In a daring gamble, Sir Justin uses his sword to destroy the hull and make a try for the ocean surface.
Once again Wotan demonstrates the advantage of having a sorcerer on the team.
Both the Shining Knight and Danette Reilly are now in the open ocean.
They are rescued by the flying steed Victory.
It's good that the Knight was not included in the FDR meeting with the All-Star Squadron because, on his own, he has chosen to take on a mission that they have de-prioritized: the rescue of the JSA.
As he flies off, he is followed by the strange craft of Professor Zodiak. I love the reference to Wotan as a 'refugee from the Elder Edda'. I haven't seen the Norse gods anywhere in the DC universe. Unfortunate, would love to see the real Wotan - more popularly known as Odin - confront this sorcerer.
Per Degaton reviews his plans and has some regret regarding the inclusion of his intractable "associates". His thoughts about Wotan bear reviewing.
I've said it before and I'll say it again, anybody who can handle both the Spectre and Dr. Fate is extremely powerful. Wotan should have reduced Per Degaton into a mindless lump a long time ago.
And now back to the action. When you travel with Plastic Man there will always be that little bit of a Saturday morning cartoon feel to it.
Unbelievable! Even Reed Richards can't do this. Plastic Man shapes himself into a drill and drills through a steel hull all the while keeping the other Squadron members safe inside him.
And now we have All-Star Squadron meets Solomon Grundy.
Count on the JSAers to be first in the attack. Atom punches Per Degaton while Dr. Mid-Nite makes sure that Grundy can't interfere.
Unfortunately, Degaton will walk away from that punch.
Here's an attack that is not very hopeful: Dr. Mid-Nite against Solomon Grundy.
At least Mid-Nite can hide within the black cloud of his blackout bomb.
Phantom Girl does an impressive Jiu Jitsu move.
Just did a quick check on whether Jiu Jitsu was already around in the 40s. Yup, it started in 1914.
Back to the skies, the remaining Zeroes are nearing Monterey, California.
Fortunately they're being tailed.
And disrupted.
Robotman makes like a rocket launcher and Johnny Quick is the rocket.
Quick begins dismantling the Zeroes in mid-air.
The landbound Robotman has an idea.
Simple and effective.
Looking in on the JSA rescue mission, Shining Knight and Danette Reilly near the volcanic isle.
The pair come upon the heroes. Shining Knight very wisely tries to free the most powerful one first but his sword isn't working as expected.
Once again it's Wotan vs. the Knight.
And once again the sword stops the spell. But a continuous series of blasts gets past Sir Justin.
Danette runs for it, the panel is wonderfully rendered.
It seems that Danette has perished.
In the middle of all this, the flow of action suffers an abrupt halt as Per Degaton causes the volcanic isle to explode. With this explosion, both Wotan and Professor Zodiak disappear back into the timestream.
At the moment of Degaton's triumph the most powerful DC hero of them all appears.
And just like that everybody is saved, including Danette.
.
Degaton is forced to retreat with surprising results. Namely, all he did will be reversed and he will have no memory of them like so . . .
The leader is gone but some of the minions are still here - Grundy and the submarine crew.
Looking in, Solomon may have at last met his match.
Spoke too soon, Grundy - and I assume everyone else that Degaton brought along - disappears too.
I love the tie-in to Showcase No. 55. Thomas interweaving his tale to older stories, always a treat.
Lastly, the entire submarine disappears, leaving the All-Star Squadron in the middle of the ocean from which they make it to the surface.
JSA meets ASS (note: let's never abbreviate 'All-Star Squadron').
An awe-striking assist from the Spectre
The issue ends with a wonderful "fact file" of the villians featured in the story arc. Note the Golden Age origins of these brilliant baddies.
