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Last Days of the Justice Society Special (1986) #1

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"Last Days of the Justice Society": Following the Crisis On Infinite Earths, the remaining surviving members of the Justice Society along with Sandman's partner Sandy and [[Carter Hall (New Earth)|Hawkma

This is an eternal battle, my young friend... a struggle that can never really be finished-- never really be won.
— Doctor Fate (Kent Nelson)

Last Days of the Justice Society Special #1 is a one-shot with a cover date of July, 1986.

Synopsis for "Last Days of the Justice Society"

Following the Crisis On Infinite Earths, the remaining surviving members of the Justice Society along with Sandman's partner Sandy and Hawkman's wife Hawkgirl gather in the estate of Carter Hall in a funeral service for Helena Wayne and the Earth-Two Dick Grayson, whom they knew became the Huntress and the Earth-Two Robin. They also realize that with the merging of the universes, there is one single universe that has formed, with one Earth on which most of the surviving superheroes (from those universes) now coexist and their own team has become redundant and past their time. Earth-Two Hawkman calls for the Justice Society to be immediately disbanded when the Spectre appears unto them, crying out in pain before he collapses. Dr. Fate touches the Spectre and is immediately flooded with images of something that took place in 1945, something that is far different from what the rest of the Justice Society team that was active at the time remembers:

On the day of Franklin D. Roosevelt's funeral, the Justice Society sees a rip in the sky, which they surmise is another reality trying to enter into theirs. The members with the power of flight attempt to fly into the rip to investigate, but they are soon repelled. The Spectre reveals that the point of origin of the "rip in the sky" is from Germany, which makes the team as well as President Harry S. Truman realize that Adolf Hitler has a powerful mystical weapon that he intends to use not only against the Allied troops, but also against the whole world. The Justice Society travels as far as they dare outside the limits of the Sphere of Influence, then bravely enter into that zone without Superman and all superheroes with magic-based powers, only to be picked off one by one by Nazi troops as they enter into the bunker where Adolf Hitler is using the Ancient Spear of Destiny. Though Hawkman survives long enough to confront Hitler, it is too late: fire pours into the room and devours its inhabitants, then it spreads throughout the whole Earth, devouring everything on it and the planet itself, until nothing remains.

After revealing this alternate history to the Justice Society members of the present time, Dr. Fate shows them that the "rip in the sky" is now over them at this point in time: what Hitler had done in 1945 with the Ancient Spear of Destiny is now coursing its way through time. Dr. Fate now transports the team back in time to 1945, to the point where they see that Hitler has started using the Spear to cause a worldwide catastrophe, and he reveals that Hitler has tapped into the power of the Spectre, while he was lying dormant following his confrontation with the Anti-Monitor, to make the catastrophe happen. Dr. Fate takes the heroes to the world of Asgard, the home of the Nordic gods, also revealing that Hitler has linked the fate of their Ragnarok, the "twilight of the gods", to that of the universe.

Knowing that the only way to keep Hitler's linkage of the Ragnarok to the universe's destruction from taking place is to change the course of the Ragnarok's outcome, Dr. Fate merges the members of the Justice Society along with Sandy and Hawkgirl with the Nordic gods who are out to battle the demons come to destroy them. Team members Flash, Johnny Thunder, Green Lantern, Starman, Hawkman, Hawkgirl, and Wildcat perish in the battle, but as the Justice Society prevails until there is only Surtur the fiery demon left to battle, the perished team members are brought back to life and they all join together for the defeat of Surtur -- everyone except for Power Girl and the Star-Spangled Kid, who have been purposely withdrawn by Dr. Fate from this confrontation. As the Justice Society defeats Surtur, Power Girl and Star-Spangled Kid see that the whole battle is starting all over. Dr. Fate reveals that the battle must be repeated over and over in order to protect the universe from the intended fate of the Ragnarok. He transports them out of Asgard and back to the Hall Estate in the present time, then is soon transported there by the Spectre who now joins with his Master. Dr. Fate now informs the members of Infinity, Inc. what has transpired.

As the course of the Ragnarok is changed, Hitler sees that his plans to destroy the world have been defeated. He eventually marries his mistress Eva Braun and they retreat into their underground suite, where they both poison themselves and commit suicide.

Appearing in "Last Days of the Justice Society"

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Notes

  • This issue contains an "Epilogomena", in which Roy Thomas explains the editorial choices behind the story and briefly racalls moments from the JSA's story.
  • This story takes place around late 1985, a few months after the events of Crisis on Infinite Earths #12.
    • Though the story follows on the aftermath of Crisis on Infinite Earths, there are still Pre-Crisis elements in the continuity of New Earth– particularly, in the 1945 flashback sequences, in which we still see the Golden Age versions of Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman among the gathered Justice Society heroes present. The "sweeping effects" of the Crisis have not yet taken hold at this point, and in the 1940s do not take hold until Mekanique releases them in All-Star Squadron #60.
  • The events of Sandman (Volume 2) #26 reveal that the world of the eternal Ragnarök is actually an alternate dimension created by the "real" Pre-Flashpoint Odin to simulate the Twilight of the Gods and find a way to prevent the Asgardians' deaths.
  • This story was originally intended to be a retirement of using the Justice Society in present-day stories, with the focus shifting on their continued Golden Age adventures in Young All-Stars (Volume 1), and those of their original Earth-Two successor group Infinity, Inc.
    • Infinity Inc. #30 deals with the members of that team mourning the disappearance of the Justice Society in this story. Prior to this, in issue #27, Brainwave Jr. helps ease the suffering of Lyta Trevor remembering her pre-Crisis past of being the daughter of the Golden Age/Earth-Two Wonder Woman by erasing her memories of such.
    • This story is also briefly recapped in Armageddon: Inferno #3, though instead of the Spectre being laid low by his confrontation at the Dawn of Time with the Anti-Monitor in Crisis on Infinite Earths #10, he was struck by the Ancient Spear of Destiny thrown by Kobra as he attempted to steal it from a museum.
  • With Dr. Fate's magic, the JSAers are fused with Norse gods during the Ragnarök battle. Green Lantern is fused with Thor; Flash, with Frey; Hawkman, with Odin; Starman, with Heimdall; Wildcat, with Tyr; Atom, with Vidar.
    • It is unclear who Hawkgirl, Power Girl, Sandman, Sandy, Doctor Mid-Nite, and Mister Terrific jumped into. Shiera and Kara's hosts are probably Frigga– wife of Odin, the host of Hawkman– and Freyja, who survived Ragnarok. The hosts of the male JSAers are more uncertain, but they could possibly be Vali, Móði and Magni, who also survived the Twilight of the Gods.
  • Some details from the continuity of Earth-Two are confirmed in this story:
    • 1928 is given as the birth year of Dick Grayson;
    • 1957 is given for Helena Wayne's year of birth;
    • The death of Earth-Two's Bruce Wayne is still confirmed occur in 1979.
  • There are several inaccuracies in this story:
    • Hawkgirl and Sandy the Golden Boy participate with the group in the Ragnarok battle, though at the time they were not officially members of the Justice Society;
    • During the battle, a caption mentions Canadian forces taking "Arnhem, Belgium", and American forces marching up to the Zuider Zee River. Arnhem is in The Netherlands, and there is no Zuider Zee River, as the Zuiderzee was a bay.
  • This issue is reprinted in Last Days of the Justice Society of America.

Trivia

  • The adventures of the four surviving heroes of the Justice Society continue in other angles of the DC Universe:
    • Power Girl becomes independent for a few years before she joins the Justice League International in the 1990s. She rejoins the Justice Society in the 2000s, learning that her post-Crisis history of being born the granddaughter of the Atlantean sorcerer Arion was a lie. She also briefly reunited with her Earth-Two cousin Kal-L during the events of the Infinite Crisis until he died at the hands of Superboy-Prime.
    • Star-Spangled Kid adopts the new identity of Skyman and continues as the leader of Infinity, Inc. until his death at the hands of Injustice Unlimited.
    • Doctor Fate gathers up heroes to deal with Glorious Godfrey during Darkseid's Operation Humiliation and becomes a member of the Justice League, dealing with a "change of personnel" during his time with the League. He rejoins the Justice Society during the time of Zero Hour, where Kent and Inza Nelson would perish at the hands of Extant. Their power is briefly wielded by Jared Stevens before the mantle of Doctor Fate is later passed on to a resurrected Hector Hall who becomes a member of the Justice Society.
    • The Spectre returns to active duty as a superhero, mostly going independent and going through changes in abilities as well as "changes in personnel", eventually switching from Jim Corrigan to Hal Jordan to final host Crispus Allen.
  • The bodies of both the Huntress and the Earth-Two Robin were claimed to never have been found at the end of Crisis on Infinite Earths #12.
  • The Spectre mentions an event that he and Doctor Fate recently took part in. This is a reference to the clash against the Great Darkness from Swamp Thing (Volume 2) #50.
  • The Naglfar will be the main focus of Lucifer's Naglfar storyline in the Vertigo continuity.
  • The death of Adolf Hitler in this issue is portrayed concurrently in Weird War Tales #50 and Unknown Soldier #268. That was one busy bunker on April 30, 1945.


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