Issue Description

Doctor Fate and Spectre duke it out as a new enemy threatens the world.

The Atom, and Firebrand (holding an infant), wave farewell to the departing members of the All-Star Squadron. The Green Lantern transports the bulk of the team in a power ring-generated bubble. The Atom, and the Firebrand, discover that they have accidentally locked themselves out on the hospital roof. Passing the baby over to the Atom, the Firebrand melts their way back into the hospital. The Atom, and the Firebrand, discuss their encounter with Infinity, Incorporated. The Atom requests aid, for the infant, from a doctor. When he is ignored, the Atom gets rough with the doctor.

The doctor gives the infant a clean bill of health. Suddenly, the Atom collapses. Unbeknownst to the Atom, and the Firebrand, they have been watched, through Wonder Woman's Magic Sphere, by the Justice Society of America. The team debates going to the Atom's side, while they wait for their orders from the War Department. The Justice Society of America are on the verge of departing when their liaison with the War Department, General Brody, walks in. As Wonder Woman walks out with the Magic Sphere, the Justice Society of America inform Brody of their intentions to visit the Atom.

The Justice Society of America visit the Atom. The Atom inquires about Doctor Fate. Wonder Woman hooks the Atom up to the Magic Sphere, and asks him to focus on Doctor Fate. Through the Magic Sphere, the Justice Society of America observe Doctor Fate, as he departs the Perisphere. Doctor Fate makes contact with the corpse of slain police detective, James Corrigan. Through Corrigan's link with the Spectre, Doctor Fate is able to track the Ghostly Guardian through several mystic realms. Doctor Fate finds the Spectre standing guard, outside a floating edifice of stone.

The Spectre warns Doctor Fate away. Doctor Fate projects four images of himself, to bypass the Spectre. Doctor Fate discovers Kulak, the High Priest of Brztal, laid out on a slab. Doctor Fate probes Kulak's mind, bearing witness to all the evil Kulak has performed, over millennia. Spying the Ring Of Life on Kulak's finger, Doctor Fate is just about to remove it, when he is attacked by the Spectre. An epic battle ensues. Just when the Spectre has gained the upper hand, Doctor Fate opens a portal to another realm, unleashing an unspeakable horror on the Spectre.

The nightmarish creature, however, proves no match for the Spectre. The Specte fixes his unearthly gaze upon Doctor Fate, projecting Doctor Fate back to the dawn of time itself. Kulak awakens, and fells the Spectre. Kulak threatens to destroy the Earth. As if on cue, the Justice Society of America hear a sound, not unlike thunder, peeling through the sky. Looking out the hospital windows, the Justice Society of America bear witness to the hands of Kulak tearing the very fabric of space, to gain entry to the mortal realm.

All-Star Squadron

Publisher

DC Comics

Volume Description

"Come with us now to Earth-Two, and the awesome origin of the All-Star Squadron!"

Roy Thomas, Rich Buckler, Jerry Ordway (credited here as Jeremiah Ordway!) along with editor Len Wein, letterer John Costanza and colorist Carl Gafford begin the wartime adventures of the Golden-Age heroes of the DC Universe. Writer Roy Thomas is no stranger to World War II, or wartime comic book super-heroes having come off Marvel's WWII super-team, The Invaders.

The world of Earth -2 was at war. In a dimension not unlike that of the Justice League on Earth - 1, the greatest heroes of the 1940s had banded together to form the Justice Society of America, but even that wasn't enough to battle the Axis powers plaguing their society. So, at the behest of President Franklin D. Roosevelt, a new, larger team was created to help unite the war torn country. The massive All-Star Squadron was formed, setting up their headquarters in the Perisphere at the heart of New York's World's Fair.

The creative team of writer Roy Thomas and artist Rich Buckler on "All-Star Squadron" offered readers a nostalgic glimpse back in time, albeit through the slightly distorted lens of Earth-2's history. In this popular series that ran for 67 issues, readers were treated not only to the adventures of the more familiar Justice Society, but also to every other mystery man of the time and dozens of minor heroes from DC's Golden Age, including the speedster Johnny Quick, the patriotic Liberty Belle, power houses Robotman and Commander Steel, and the 1940s versions of Batman and Robin.

With Thomas'comprehensive knowledge of the heroes and history of World War II era Americana, the All-Star Squadron was a certifiable hit, even if the Earth - 2 shattering events of DC's tumultuous "Crisis on Infinite Earths" maxi series of the mid-1980s took a toll on the book's continuity.

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