Crime Syndicate of America (Earth-Three)

The Crime Syndicate of America is a team of supervillains from one of the parallel universes, and are the evil counterparts of the Justice League of America. The team first appeared in Justice League of America #29 in August 1964.

The original Crime Syndicate
The Crime Syndicate originally lived on Earth-Three, a world where history was "reversed" from the world we knew (e.g. President John Wilkes Booth was assassinated by Abraham Lincoln). It initially had no superheroes, only the supervillains of the Crime Syndicate, though this changed with the advent of heroic Alexander Luthor (that world's counterpart of Lex Luthor).

In their first appearance, the Crime Syndicate, bored with the ease with which they were able to commit crimes on their Earth (and with no one to truly challenge them), discovered the existence of Earth-One and Earth-Two, and set out to challenge the JLA and JSA to a lengthy fight, after which the Syndicate was ultimately defeated. Following this defeat, they were imprisoned in an unbreakable bubble generated by Green Lantern's power ring, and placed in a "limbo" dimension between the Earths. Over the following years, the Syndicate or one of its members would occasionally escape and attempt to wreak havoc on Earth-One and/or Earth-Two.

Earth-Three and the original Crime Syndicate were destroyed along with the rest of DC's parallel worlds in the 1985 12-issue Maxi-Series Crisis on Infinite Earths. The inhabitants of that world were swallowed by an anti-matter wave, it was the last appearance of the Syndicate that decade, until a new one appeared, apparently from the anti-matter universe.

The modern Crime Syndicate
A post-Crisis version of the Crime Syndicate was eventually introduced. This post-Crisis version, essentially identical to the Earth-Three group, was initially said (in 1992's Justice League Quarterly #8) to be from the antimatter universe of Qward, their appearance implying they come from the world of Qward.

The 1998 graphic novel JLA: Earth 2, established them as coming from a parallel Earth within the antimatter universe. Qward was retconned to be the center of the antimatter universe, rather than the entire universe itself.

The Crime Syndicate's post-Crisis antimatter Earth (named "Earth-1" in the JLA: Earth 2 graphic novel; not to be confused with the pre-Crisis Earth-One) possesses a "reversed" history similar to Earth-Three's and a much darker tone to both the team and its world. JLA Secret Files 2004 provided additional history of this team, showing that they did once resemble the Earth-Three Syndicate. This Crime Syndicate (with their name slightly respelled to "Crime Syndicate of Amerika") rule their world with an iron fist (a change from their pre-Crisis counterparts, who were unsuccessful in conquering their world); the modern Syndicate's motto is "Cui Bono?" ("Who profits?"). The only universally respected principle on their world is that of the "favor bank"---if someone does you a favor, you owe them a favor in return that must be repaid whenever the favor is called in.

In addition to the heroic Alexander Luthor, their opponents include the heroic H.I.V.E. (Hierarchy for International Virtuous Empowerment), the Missile Men, and the Justice Underground, a reversed analog of the Legion of Doom and Secret Society of Super-Villains consisting of Sir Solomon Grundy, General Grodd, Q-Ranger (Earth-1's version of Major Force), Lady Sonar, Star Sapphire, and the Quizmaster (Earth-1's version of the Riddler, who was the smartest man in the world).

In an early 2000s issue of Superman, Ultraman and Superwoman are shown to have had a child together.

2003's JLA/Avengers crossover written by Kurt Busiek seemed to involve the destruction of the Crime Syndicate's universe, but this was later reversed when the special's villain, Krona, was defeated. The Crime Syndicate later reappeared in Busiek's run on the current JLA series.

Other criminal organizations on the Crime Syndicate's Earth include the Crime Lodge (Justice Society) and Young Offenders (Teen Titans). They are mentioned at the end of the Busiek story as prepared to take advantage of the Syndicate's weakness, but not seen.

Infinite Crisis
It is yet to be seen whether the Syndicate or the anti-matter universe have survived the events of the 2006 limited series Infinite Crisis.

The original Syndicate made a post-Crisis appearance in Infinite Crisis when Earth-Three temporarily returned, and Ultraman, Superwoman, and Alexander Luthor were almost merged with Superman, Wonder Woman, and Superman of Earth-2

Ultraman recently made an appearance in Kandor in the pages of Supergirl, posing as Superman. Saturn Queen claims that she put him under mind control after Earth-Three was resurrected and subsequently destroyed. She was also able to put Supergirl under her control and initiated plans for the two to marry, but Supergirl was able to break free of her control. After viciously beating Ultraman, Saturn Queen offered information to Supergirl spare Ultraman (whom she considers a son). Supergirl accepted, and Ultraman and Saturn Queen remain in Kandor.

Members
In both versions of the Crime Syndicate, its members are:


 * Ultraman: the counterpart of Superman. Pre-Crisis, Ultraman came from a Krypton that hadn't exploded, and who depended on kryptonite to maintain his superpowers, rather than draining them (initially he received a new power through each exposure to kryptonite). Post-Crisis, Ultraman was a human astronaut (Commander Clark Kent) given Anti-Kryptonite-based superpowers after an encounter with aliens. If he is separated from Anti-Kryptonite long enough, his powers fade away; Ultraman combats this by inserting Anti-Kryptonite capsules under his skin which are released gradually over time.


 * Superwoman: the counterpart of Wonder Woman. Superwoman gained her powers from her world's Amazons, and thus has similar powers to Wonder Woman. Post-Crisis, she is the anti-matter Earth's version of Lois Lane; it is not revealed how she got her powers.  Her lasso does not compel others to tell the truth, but instead releases inhibitions, and forces a victim to reveal secrets which they find especially humiliating. The Post-Crisis Superwoman also has heat vision.


 * Owlman: the counterpart of Batman. Pre-Crisis, Owlman possessed a limited range of mind control powers. Post-Crisis, Owlman's origin was fleshed out with his powers enhanced by a range of technological and physical skills, much like Batman. Pulling from that was eventually labled Earth-B history he is the brother of his Earth's Bruce Wayne, Thomas Wayne Jr. In addition, Owlman increased his IQ with a drug-enhancer for his cerebral cortex. He openly possesses plans to counter his teammates' powers, an action which Batman regrets resorting to in the "Tower of Babel" story arc in JLA. Owlman uses these counterattacks whenever he chooses, as he causes Quick to have a minor heart attack at the beginning of the "Syndicate Rules" storyline.


 * Johnny Quick: the counterpart of the Flash. In current continuity Quick maintains his superpowers with the use of "Speed Juice," a powerful narcotic stimulant. Grant Morrisson stated in an interview that the Speed Juice was derived from the blood of Quick's murdered predecessor. Quick is not to be confused with the Golden-Age/Earth-Two hero of the same name.


 * Power Ring: the counterpart of Green Lantern. Power Ring gained his ring of power from a Tibetan monk named Volthoom, and has powers similar to the Silver Age Green Lantern. The modern version had a younger Power Ring named Harrolds, counterpart to Kyle Rayner. His ring was inhabited by the spirit of Volthoom who often spoke on his own, making inane observations; all of which is considered a curse to the ring's welder. Harrolds' favorite tactic in battle was to use the ring to create living Boschian monstrosities capable of destroying whole city blocks. After the Anti-matter Universe was destroyed and reintegrated, Power Ring became a black man and a counterpart to John Stewart. This Power Ring was a Slave Marine for many years. He was tricked by Harrolds into taking the ring by telling him he was the chosen substitute to wield the ring when Harrolds couldn't.

The Justice League Adventures comic issue 6 featured a story of the Justice Leaguers assuming the identities of villains Chronos (Batman), Solomon Grundy (Superman), Catwoman (Wonder Woman), Parasite (J'Onn J'Onzz), The Warp (Flash), Roxy Rocket (Hawkgirl) and Count Vertigo (Green Lantern). They would keep those costumes in the Watchtower after that. The JLA: Earth 2 special featured those costumes in the CSA Watchtower, three of them labeled "Doctor Noon", "White Cat" and "Spaceman".

The Crime Syndicate does not have counterparts of traditional JLA members J'onn J'onzz, Aquaman, and Hawkman, though counterparts to them exist in the Crime Syndicate's universe:


 * White Martian, J'onn's Anti-matter counterpart, came to Earth and became Ultraman's chief rival. He was eventually killed by Ultraman.
 * Barracuda, Aquaman's counterpart, was seen at the end of the Busiek story, leading the armies of Atlantis against the surface world in Florida.
 * Blood Eagle was Hawkman's counterpart and was killed by the Crime Syndicate.

It has been suggested that the CSA cannot match the size of the JLA because extended cooperation and gratitude are completely foreign concepts to the Crime Syndicate members.

The CSA's post-Crisis world is primarily governed by the "favor bank"; unofficial but ironically the only rule that is not consistently broken. If any person should grant a favor for someone else, that person is entitled to compensation whenever they see fit, no matter what the cost or hardship to the latter. Failure to pay back a favor results in inordinately harsh consequences; as seen in the beginning of "Syndicate Rules". A mobster, Jackson "Rat-Eyes" Drake, who has failed to follow up on a favor owed was put on "trial" by Owlman, who then had him incinerated by Ultraman as a favor.

The Justice League Quarterly story featured a team based on the then current Justice League International line-up who identified themselves as Qwardians. This team was not the Crime Syndicate. Its members were:
 * Scarab (Blue Beetle counterpart)
 * Slipstream (Flash counterpart)
 * Fiero (Fire counterpart)
 * Frostbite (Ice counterpart)
 * Deadeye (Green Arrow counterpart)
 * Elasti-Man (Elongated Man counterpart)
 * Element Man (Metamorpho counterpart)

It is not clear if any of these characters exist in the current Anti-matter Earth setting.

Similar groups in other media

 * "Universe of Evil", an episode of the 1970s animated series The Superfriends featured the team encountering an evil version of the team from an alternate universe.


 * In the animated series Justice League, a team called the Justice Lords, who combined elements of the Crime Syndicate and Wildstorm Comics' the Authority (a morally-ambiguous take on the Justice League concept), appeared as the League's counterparts from an alternate universe. The Justice Lords' counterpart of the Flash had been killed in their world. Unlike the Crime Syndicate, the Justice Lords were not simply evil opposites of their good counterparts; rather, they ruled their world with an iron fist in order to end war and crime. The death of their Flash set a chain of events in motion that ended with the death of the alternate Lex Luthor at the hands of the alternate Superman. The United States government, fearing that the Justice League might one day become like the Justice Lords, secretly began Project Cadmus in case they did. The Justice Lords' first appearance was in the 2 part Justice League episode "A Better World".  Robotic doubles of the Justice Lords are created as a diversion by the newly combined Lex Luthor/Brainiac in the Justice League Unlimited episode "Divided We Fall".


 * "A Better World" was originally going to be a Crime Syndicate story.


 * A Justice League DTV was planned, called Justice League: Worlds Collide, in which the Crime Synidicate would have been the main villians and would have taken place during the gap between seasons 2 and 3.