When I was a kid, I was a sucker for team books, and one of my favorites was the revamp of All-Star Comics in the late 70s, starring the Justice Society of America. However, the series had one drawback for me: it focused too often on Wildcat, a character I didn't care about at the time.
Now, the reasons I didn't like Wildcat were pretty clear: his costume was boring, he was powerless, and he was constantly written with this punch-drunk dialogue, with lost of "dems" and "ders."
But then I read All-Star 68 (1977). In this story, the Psycho-Pirate has used his emotion-influencing power to control the Golden Age Flash and Green Lantern. The rest of the Justice Society tracks Psycho-Pirate down, but the heroes are quickly dispatched by the villain and his two slaves.
Psycho-Pirate prematurely declares victory, however, when he discovers that one JSAer is still standing: Wildcat. As the bad guy says, "It appears least has been saved for last!"
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7fey_H5v_ZKTJwN0sAXkhIsFZJxGTJQigKO7Tz9msdy6u1wmO8KsZ7ZxhJYR6i3ZJZMfDvm_HFcYI3J9F4ppis6pXmoKZTDt8w7DDE6JB0XaAHm2aEi-vsJnX1KGT2keDrHZPzKx2m9Rg/s320/allstar68-1.jpg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWENGYvlxLO4FGHB25vBxxhbpMWc0OFY28VSulBdhyVwTG8ljvaTr0JvkTUc7xcsuawxqL_vip9wUft1fYMc78iCI6tpaR4zksFy_KbG_hA0u3Ns7hJ-Et_idb5HcN4EdpuY4xKXxEBHYm/s320/allstar68-2.jpg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5RoN3zLTailL5Avwsy-IWn9efaOjbqkr_-bZSC4xySa8mR-HCo5TIprDmmwr0x3JuENC-NqYvLUCUIYeFOwYgAB96eVCenulxc5yjK585IBF1JcSs0ZkzAqJ3ss8lPWPut00Xl5ptygCv/s320/allstar68-3.jpg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYcuSvf3MR61MzZ3vb_7PEn9PnGgcwgbtlHVDtpWt84XQxLMW8SLozMC4ImIOrrGvRkq093A5uU1g6pBji4enuhPZCKz2EVEHOSrRkGepkUaOkFZQPRae-69YHTDt_wB9oL5xXTwq29pSK/s320/allstar68-4.jpg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzuEqxRNTVzb-jG29lqae8nxmScXd3R0zRzCRGZS5QtUfD_5x45JsmVh8JYGsFNH-VNtFo0KRnatZZj_RAlApEXwqB6Ln4lpYT_PMr3rA8O1RQnGWZC12ZoQlQs2mywWMoiaxJAHEfzSUa/s320/allstar68-5.jpg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwVuG1d3TM3-CaF3K2_wA6T0BBKcYiJaRQ0KpCrw3V0FZYnkowwmjjr1iKtqjOVwxHDSk_n35T70j9DYDh8dOngUIqn5_WrP5FUCQxMCuFC_uYJRP67lcIaSMZsx_f8O4dp9pP5wV42tdK/s320/allstar68-6.jpg)
From that scene on, I was totally on board with Wildcat, and since then, Wildcat has always been a part of the Justice Society through several revamps, and even through several cullings of Golden Age heroes. Ever since then, too, I've been a sucker for the comic plots where the weakest member of a team is left standing, and the villain dismisses him or her to his regret.
1 comment:
You think the power of Emo can stop geriatric prizefighters?! Think again, Pirate!
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