by Libbylawrence
It began in 1977, after the Injustice Society of the World was defeated once again, like always, by the Justice Society of America. (*) The Wizard, the Fiddler, the Icicle, and the Thinker came to the realization that they would always meet with defeat against the JSA, that they were psychologically conditioned to lose to their noble foes. In short, they expected to be beaten by the JSA, so they were beaten every time.
[(*) Editor’s note: See “Injustice Strikes Twice,” All-Star Comics #66 (May-June, 1977).]
They needed to break this insufferable string of events, so they came up with a plan. One of them would travel to Earth-One, home of so many more super-villains, and recruit a few of them to defeat the JSAers one by one.
The Wizard was the one to make the journey via the vibrations the Fiddler created, which transferred the Wizard to Earth-One, where, thanks to the difference in the flow of time, it was the year 1981. Once there, the Wizard was soon offered membership in the Secret Society of Super-Villains along with a handful of others. (*) And even though his powers began to rapidly weaken after the journey to Earth-One, the Wizard schemed to take over as leader himself, so he could continue with the Injustice Society’s plan. It took several months, so it wasn’t until 1982, Earth-One time, that the Wizard began to succeed in his efforts.
[(*) Editor’s note: See “Attend or Die,” Secret Society of Super-Villains #1 (June, 1976).]
First, he managed to acquire the Sorcerer’s Treasure — four mystical objects encountered by the Superman and Batman of that Earth years earlier — to give himself new mystical abilities. (*) The dragon box contained a tiny dragon that grew to a dangerous and powerful size to do one’s bidding. The magic prism deflected all power directed at its bearer with equal and opposite force. The sorcerer’s glove could dissolve inert matter. And the sorcerer’s mantle could hide its owner from all sight through invisibility. The Wizard had new and deadly mystical powers once more. (*)
[(*) Editor’s note: See “The Secret of the Sorcerer’s Treasure,” World’s Finest Comics #103 (August, 1959) and “A Changing of the Guard,” Secret Society of Super-Villains #11 (December, 1977).]
Second, the Wizard took control of the Secret Society after several others had tried and failed to lead that group. Promising vast wealth to the Floronic Man, the Reverse-Flash, and a reluctant Star Sapphire, as well as a chance for revenge against Batman to the Blockbuster, the Wizard had these four super-villains break into STAR Labs in San Francisco and create a gateway to take them all to Earth-Two. (*)
[(*) Editor’s note: See “The Plunder Plan,” Secret Society of Super-Villains #12 (January, 1978).]
After a short detour on Earth-Three, the Wizard and his team reached Earth-Two, where it was now the year 1978. There, the Secret Society began taking down the Justice Society one by one, beginning with the second-stringers.
Using his mystical abilities, the Wizard lured the Atom to a deserted baggage area at Gotham International Airport, where that semi-retired hero was beaten by the Blockbuster after a short fight. A similar trick brought Doctor Mid-Nite to the Keystone City Botanical Gardens, where the Reverse-Flash and the Floronic Man teamed up to take down the JSAer. (*) Mister Terrific was also compelled to come out of retirement and visit a baseball field, where his defeat at the hands of the Blockbuster — who believed Terrific was Batman, thanks to the Wizard’s illusion-casting ability — was witnessed by a group of boys who didn’t even recognize the old mystery-man. (*) Finally, the Wizard sent the mind-controlled Star Sapphire to capture Johnny Thunder, keeping him drugged in order to keep him from calling upon the magical, genie-like Thunderbolt.
[(*) Editor’s note: See “The Wizard’s War of the Worlds,” Secret Society of Super-Villains #15 (July, 1978) and “Murder Times Seven,” Cancelled Comics Cavalcade #2 (Fall, 1978).]
It seemed that the Wizard and his Secret Society of Super-Villains were all set to defeat the Justice Society of America. And they might well have, had it not been for the fact that a great hero from Earth-One followed them through the same dimensional portal, vowing to take down the Secret Society in all of its forms. That hero was Captain Comet, and he would prove to be a valuable ally to the JSA in the upcoming conflict between the Societies.