From: [scott hollifield] at [the-matrix.com] (Scott Hollifield) 
Newsgroups: rec.arts.comics.misc
Subject: Golden Age Annotation 5/5
Date: 18 Jan 94 23:50:00 GMT

BOOK THREE
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Page 1
The use of the term "politically correct" strikes me as an anachronism
here, although it does provoke thought as to exactly what it means.  In
other words, "politically correct" is not dependent on specific
politics, liberal or conservative, but rather who has the power to
enforce it.  Here, it's being used to describe a superhero who agrees
with Thompson's populist anti-Communism.

Page 2
Libby Lawrence is an established journalist in previous continuity, so
much so that her fellow All-Stars recognized her from television and
newspaper photos when she unmasked.  She worked as a war correspondent
on the radio during the war, and was also seen on television from time
to time.  She also attainted celebrity status when she swam the English
Channel to escape from Germans at Dunkirk.

Page 3
Carter Hall is seen in panel 8, caressing the cheek of a blonde woman
who is apparently supposed to represent his fiancee/wife Shiera Sanders.
(It was never clear exactly when the two got married.)  In the past,
however, Shiera has always been seen as having brown hair, not blonde.

Page 4
Joan Dale's picture appears on the cover of _Ladies Home Journal_, with
the caption "The Future Mrs. America", indicating that her engagement to
Tex Thompson is public.

Page 11
Johnny Chambers' remark to himself that his life has been such a rush,
he even forgot to kiss Libby on their wedding day, would be false if
this were in continuity; Johnny and Libby *did* kiss on the wedding
altar, at the appropriate time, as seen in the depiction of their
wedding in ALL-STAR SQUADRON #50.

Page 14
James Forrestal was really U.S. Secretary of Defense in actual American
history.  He was, in fact, the first man who hold the position of that
name, after the War Department was changed to the Defense Department.
See also Page 19 of this issue.

Page 15
Jonathan Law's book on costumed heroes is seen here with the title
_Behind The Mask_; in actual DC continuity, it was called _Altered
Egos_, as noted previously.  Compare _Behind The Mask_ with Hollis
Mason's _Under The Hood_, in WATCHMEN.

Page 17
The caption that refers to "Joan Davis" is a mistake, as she was
identified as Joan Dale last issue.  (It's possible that both names were
used in the old Quality Comics stories, as Golden Age writers weren't
nearly as worried about continuity as we are <g>, and that James
Robinson got his notes mixed up.)

Page 18
Daniel's interest in serving the Lord of Darkness here, is, of course,
new.  :-)

Page 19
Forrestal actually did commit suicide in real life, two months after
resigning from his post in 1949.  As far as I know, there was no
controversy or mystery surrounding his death; Forrestal was known to be
depressed and under heavy stress.  Compare to reports of him here, which
paint his mood as considerably upbeat, and his political ambitions
likewise.

Page 23
Libby's ability to flip Jonathan Law so easily isn't surprising; while
Law was an able hand-to-hand combatant, Libby, as Liberty Belle, was
known to be one of *the* most capable non-powered fighters in the
All-Star Squadron.  (Roy Thomas gave her sonic powers in a issue #46 of
that group's book, which I regard as one of his few major retcon
mistakes.  Thankfully, Robinson doesn't acknowledge them in this story.)

Page 29
Carter Hall's appearance, dress and attitude are fairly far removed from
any portrayal of him prior to this story.

Page 30
The friendship between Paul Kirk and Tex Thompson is new, although it
makes sense, given the similarity between the two heroes prior to
contemporary appearances.

Page 32
None of the Nazi superhumans pictured here have ever appeared before, to
my knowledge.  Notice that one of them appears to be a masked
Hitler-lookalike.  One of them, a masked man with a lightning bolt,
could theoretically be a new representation of Der Zyklon, a Nazi super-
speedster who appeared in ALL-STAR SQUADRON.  In any case, Kirk's
comment about he and Thompson killing "all the enemy's superhumans"
doesn't take into account, at least not on the surface, unmentioned but
established Nazi supervillains like Baron Blitzkrieg and the villain
group Axis Amerika.

Page 34,37
Tex Thompson is revealed to be the Ultra-Humanite!

The Ultra-Humanite, before the Crisis on Infinite Earths, was regarded
as an arch-foe of the Golden Age Superman.  He had the rather
ambiguously-handled super-power of being able to successfully transplant
his brain into other people's bodies, and did so to the actress Dolores
Winters in ACTION COMICS #17.  The Ultra-Humanite went unseen for forty
years until finally being brought back in a JLA/JLA team-up tale (in JLA
#195-197), in a new super-evolved ape body, as leader of the Secret
Society of Super-Villains.  He also appeared soon after in a SUPERMAN
FAMILY Earth-2 tale set in the 1950s, where he possessed the body of a
giant ant.  In ALL-STAR SQUADRON, the Ultra-Humanite was pitted against
the Squadron while in his Delores Winters body, the first time he was
depicted as having fought other Golden Age heroes besides Superman.  The
scene depicted here, then, showing him being pursued by the Justice
Society (including Black Canary?), is incongruous with mainstream
continuity in that the Ultra-Humanite never fought the JSA proper until
the 1980s.  (He has also been seen in INFINITY, INC. and the most recent
JUSTICE SOCIETY OF AMERICA series, the latter of which showed him in the
body of a specially evolved human male.)  The diary entry which dates
the Ultra-Humanite's takeover of Delores Winters in 1942 is also at odds
with DC continuity, where he took female form in those early ACTION
takes of 1938-9.


Coming soon:
Annotations on Book Four!
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