Superman Defects to the Axis? Say It Ain't So!

A few years ago, I reviewed All-Star Squadron #1-3, which I think did an excellent job of jugggling a lot of characters within a complex and multi-faceted story. Recently, I was feeling kind of Golden

Age-y again and I thought it might be fun to visit the 4th issue of that series (cover-dated December 1981).

Roy Thomas is still in his Golden Age Comfy Zone as writer and Rich Buckler continues to supply excellent art work, but this issue is a little bit of a let-down from the excellent trilogy that started off the series. This time, the story feels too crowded, with too many heroes jammed into something that might have worked better with a smaller group of good guys.

The issue starts out a little slow because we get several pages following along with the heroes as they fly to Pearl Harbor, which is still reeling from the surprise attack one day earlier. This allows Thomas to get in some character interaction and small bits of characterization, but it does set a slow pace.

After avoiding some anti-aircraft fire from nervous troops, the heroes finally meet with an army general and soon decide to fly after the Japanese fleet. If they can take out the enemy carriers, they'll win the war in one fell swoop.

And that is why this story exists. Superman--even the slightly under-powered Earth 2 Superman--could easily take out most of the Axis military. With other heroes such as Wonder Woman and Green Lantern helping out as well, why wasn't World War II over by December 8, 1941?

The DC Universe had an explanation for this that is actually quite reasonable in terms of Comic Book Logic. Hitler had the Spear of Destiny, which kept superheroes from entering territory he controlled. The Japanese, it turned out, had the Holy Grail. A villain named the Dragon King explains this to his minions just before the Grail is activated.

The most powerful heroes--who happen to also be the ones powered by magic or vulnerable to magic--are quickly affected by the Grail's power, causing them to instantly change sides. 

The action stuff that follows is good, though once again it is overcrowded with too many heroes. The first three issues had a lot of stuff going on in different locations, allowing Thomas to use a large cast of characters effectively. This issue has a fairly straightfoward plot and simply doesn't need a huge cast.

Despite my complaints, the story does have fun moments and Buckler's art looks great from start to finish. Green Lantern lands the "weaker" heroes on a Japanese-controlled island, but Liberty Belle knocks him out with a piece of wood (wood being the Golden Age GL's rather unusual "kryptonite") and the B-team gets to prove their worth by taking out the enemy troops. 

Hawkman, in the meantime, manages to lure the "traitors" out of range of the Grail's influence. The good guys "win" in that they don't kill each other. But the ground rules for the war are set--no superpower heroics aimed directly at the Axis powers. The heroes will have to watch over the home front while the Allied military actually wins the war at the front lines.

I really did like the issue and I do get that establishing why Superman and Wonder Woman don't simply win the war on their own was necessary. But there are simply too many ingredients in the pot to make this a gourmet meal. 

It's interesting to compare this series to Thomas' Invaders, in which he got to throw Marvel's Golden Age heroes at the Nazis. Marvel's good guys simply didn't have the same level of raw power, so by adding a few Axis supervillains and some science fiction elements, you can then toss the Invaders anywhere inside enemy-controlled territory without wondering why they didn't simply win the war on their own. The DC Universe, on the other hand, had to set up different conditions for their version of the war. Both versions are fun and worthwhile, though, and (my complaints about this issue notwithstanding) Roy Thomas was the perfect writer for both of these series. 

Next week, we'll visit with Cave Girl once more.