| Crime Syndicate of America | |
|---|---|
 The original Crime Syndicate of America, as they appeared on a splash page ofConvergence: Crime Syndicate #1 (April 2015).Art byPhil Winslade (pencils and inks) and Lovern Kindzierski (colors). | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | DC Comics |
| First appearance | Justice League of America #29 (August 1964) |
| Created by | Gardner Fox Mike Sekowsky |
| In-story information | |
| Base(s) | The Panopticon The Flying Fortress |
| Member(s) | Ultraman Owlman Superwoman Johnny Quick Power Ring |
TheCrime Syndicate orCrime Syndicate of America (CSA, with America sometimes spelledAmerika) is a team ofsupervillains featured inDC Comics. The team is composed of evilparallel-universe counterparts of theJustice League.[1] The team first appeared inJustice League of America #29 in August 1964 with membersUltraman,Owlman,Superwoman,Johnny Quick, andPower Ring, counterparts toSuperman,Batman,Wonder Woman,the Flash, andGreen Lantern respectively.[2]
The Crime Syndicate has undergone several revisions in its publication history. Its members were originally portrayed as being fromEarth-3, then anantimatter Earth in theJLA: Earth 2 graphic novel. Following theThe New 52 reboot, the team reverted back to an Earth-3 origin, where they appear inJustice League Volume 2 as the main focus of the crossover storylineForever Evil. An alternate version of the Syndicate, the Crime Society, a villainous version of theJustice Society, appeared in52, later featuring inCountdown to Final Crisis.
As detailed inJustice League of America #29 (August 1964),[3] the Crime Syndicate of America originally lived onEarth-Three, a world where history was "reversed" from the real world (e.g.,Christopher Columbus discovered Europe, British colonists declared their independence from America, and PresidentJohn Wilkes Booth was assassinated by actorAbraham Lincoln). It initially had no superheroes, only the supervillains of the Crime Syndicate, though this changed with the later introduction of the heroicLex Luthor who used his vast intelligence for good.
In their first appearance, the Crime Syndicate, bored with the ease with which they are able to commit crimes on their Earth with no one to challenge them, discover the existence ofEarth-One andEarth-Two after Ultraman is exposed tokryptonite and gains the ability to see into other universes.[4] Intrigued by the existence of superheroes, they cross the dimensional void and attack theJustice League (JLA) andJSA. The villains are at first defeated but when they said the word "Volthoom", they sent themselves into Earth-Three thanks to a fail-safe created by Power Ring. The CSA capture the JSA by transporting them to Earth-Three and imprisoning them, intending to fight the JLA on Earth-2 to prove their superiority. However, the JLA defeat the CSA by tricking the members into unleashing more power than they could control. Following this, the JLA imprison the CSA inLimbo, where time has no meaning.[5] The villains make several attempts to escape their prison, but are continually foiled.[6][7][8][9][10]
Earth-Three and the original Crime Syndicate are among the universes destroyed by an antimatter wave during theCrisis on Infinite Earths event. The original Earth-Three Syndicate make several post-Crisis appearances, when Ultraman and Power Ring appeared in theAnimal Man series,[11] and then again inInfinite Crisis, when Earth-Three is temporarily recreated.[12] The Crime Syndicate also appears in theConvergence storyline, where Earth-Three is among the universes and time periods captured byBrainiac.[13]
A post-Crisis version of the team, simply known as the "Crime Syndicate" (not 'of America'), was eventually introduced. This version is composed ofQwardians, residents of theantimatter counterpart ofOa. They act as the second Conglomerate team of Claire Montgomery,Maxwell Lord's ex-wife.
Following a further "soft" reboot of DC continuity inZero Hour: Crisis in Time! (1994), the Crime Syndicate was introduced once again, in 2000, in theJLA: Earth 2 graphic novel byGrant Morrison,[14] which combined the Pre-Crisis parallel Earth idea with the pre-Zero Hour antimatter universe concept. The Crime Syndicate's Post-Zero Hour antimatter Earth possesses a "reversed" history similar to Earth-Three's, but with a much darker tone to the team and its world.JLASecret Files and Origins 2004 provided additional history of this team, showing that even though they did partially resemble the Earth-Three Syndicate, they were still easily identifiable from their Pre-Crisis Earth-Three incarnation. Unlike the Crime Syndicate of Earth-Three, this Crime Syndicate of Amerika are able to rule their world, though they allow governments to continue operating and honest people are able to continue operating in pockets such as Gotham City Police CommissionerThomas Wayne (father to Owlman and counterpart of the murdered father of Batman).
Due to the events of the crossoverJLA/Avengers, the antimatter universe is rebooted, replacing Power Ring with a counterpart ofJohn Stewart.[15] The Crime Syndicate journey to the matter universe to attack Earth, blaming the JLA for the changes. Meanwhile, the Qwardians rally behind a dimension-destroying weapon called the Void Hound and pursue the Syndicate to the matter universe, laying waste to hundreds of planets along the way. Reluctantly, the CSA team up with the JLA, but the Void Hound proves too powerful. The heroes defeat the Void Hound by using a former JLA foe, the Construct, to remove the artificial intelligence of the weapon and render it powerless. With the Void Hound defeated and the CSA owing the JLA a favor for saving them, the villains are sent back to the antimatter universe, where they discover to their horror that the Qwardians have also invaded their Earth.
After the events ofInfinite Crisis, the pre-Crisis Ultraman appears in the bottled city ofKandor posing as Kal-El (Superman).[16] It is also revealed thatSaturn Queen, last seen in "Absolute Power",[17] survived the reboot of the universe inInfinite Crisis and used her telepathy to convince Ultraman that he is Kal-El and that she is his mother. Saturn Queen further manipulates events to place him in charge of Kandor and controls Kara Zor-El (Supergirl) into marrying him. Kara eventually breaks free and in a blind rage beats him to a pulp. Ultraman is saved when Saturn Queen provides information to Supergirl about her lost home of Argo City in exchange for sparing his life.
Meanwhile, the antimatter CSA made their next appearance inTrinity.[18] Here, it is revealed that the Syndicate have gained control of their Earth again and have been abducting people from throughout the multiverse to use as slave labor to repair their damaged Earth. After the hyper-powered Trinity heroes of the story defeat and imprison the Syndicate and free the slaves, the antimatter Earth falls into chaos.[19]
InJustice League of America (vol. 2) #43,Doctor Impossible and his cohorts useBlue Jay to open up a gateway to the Multiverse. Owlman, Ultraman, and Superwoman are briefly seen standing atop a building, with shadows obscuring most of their identifying marks, thus making it unclear which versions they are. The full Crime Syndicate members later appear with the original pre-Crisis iterations of Power Ring and Johnny Quick replacing their contemporary counterparts as a mirror to the events ofGreen Lantern: Rebirth andFlash: Rebirth.[20] After arriving on New Earth following the destruction of their world at the hands ofAlexander Luthor Jr., the Syndicate attacks theHall of Justice, where Luthor's corpse was interred after theJoker killed him inInfinite Crisis. It is revealed that the Syndicate members were working with Impossible to create a machine that could resurrect the dead, hoping that they could revive Luthor and force him to undo the damage he had dealt to the Crime Syndicate's world. Just as the machine is to be activated, Impossible double-crosses the Syndicate and attempts to resurrectDarkseid rather than Luthor, but the machine malfunctions and creates a powerful villain called the Omega Man.[21]
In the ensuing storyline, Power Ring is killed and the members of the Justice League and the Crime Syndicate are forced to work together to stop the Omega Man. Realizing that the situation is hopeless, Owlman betrays the League and turns them over to the Omega Man, figuring that the Syndicate could take over the League's Earth after the Omega Man kills off most of the heroes. At the last second,Batman reveals that he anticipated the Syndicate's betrayal, and has theTangent Universe Green Lantern temporarily resurrect Luthor. Luthor builds a machine that returns the Syndicate to their world and seemingly destroys Omega Man.
In52 #52, an alternate version ofEarth-Three is shown as a part of the new Multiverse. In the depiction are characters that are altered versions of the originalJustice League of America, plus theMartian Manhunter. The names of the characters and the team are not mentioned in the two panels in which they appear.[22]
Based on comments byGrant Morrison, this alternate universe is not the pre-Crisis Earth-Three, making these new characters unrelated to previous versions. InCountdown #31, the name of this team is revealed to be theCrime Society. The Society are said to be evil doppelgangers of the heroes of Earth-2, and make their first solo appearance inCountdown Presents The Search for Ray Palmer - Crime Society #1 written bySean McKeever and illustrated byJamal Igle.[23][24][25] In addition to the five known members, this version of the CSA includes evil versions ofGreen Arrow,Wildcat,Black Canary,Hawkwoman,Stargirl, andSpectre.[26] Later issues introduce Annataz Arataz (the counterpart ofZatanna),[27] and counterparts ofSupergirl (Kara Zor-El),Wonder Girl (Donna Troy), andBooster Gold.
Shortly after the Crime Society's introduction, they are offered a place amongMonarch's army. Already recruited into the Monarch's army, Johnny Quick wins a place in Monarch's elite squad when he defeats hisEarth-9 and Earth-2 counterparts in theCountdown: Arena miniseries.[28] All of the Crime Society members who are present in the Earth-51 dimension at the end battle with Superman-Prime and the Monarch are killed, as the entire dimension is destroyed with only Superman-Prime surviving.[29]
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In "The New 52", with the changes of this new timeline, Crime Syndicate was introduced as the true antagonists of the "Villains Month" event, and theForever Evil series.[30]
At the conclusion ofTrinity War, it is revealed that the leader of theSecret Society of Super Villains, previously known as "the Outsider", is theEarth-Three counterpart ofAlfred Pennyworth. He gains possession of Pandora's Box to open a portal to Earth-3, from which the Crime Syndicate emerges. The Crime Syndicate then proceeds to attack the fallen Justice League members and claims Prime Earth now belongs to them.[31]
The New 52 line-up of the Crime Syndicate consists of Ultraman, Superwoman, Owlman, Johnny Quick, Power Ring,Deathstorm,Sea King (who does not survive the trip to Prime Earth) and two new members:Atomica, who had posed as the Atom while working as a mole for the Secret Society, andGrid, a sentientcomputer virus in a robot body made fromCyborg's old prosthetic parts.[31] The Sea King, however, awakens after his body is placed at the bottom of the ocean.[32] After Power Ring fell in battle against Sinestro, Grid informs Ultraman and Superwoman about it at the time when they are looking for Batman's kryptonite ring. Grid also informs them that the ring has released a pulse that was sensed throughout the Multiverse. Knowing the creature that destroyed their world has found them, Ultraman orders the Syndicate to regroup and heads to Maine with them.[33] Batman, Lex Luthor and their team arrive at the fallen Watchtower and go in search of the kidnapped Dick Grayson (Nightwing) and the Crime Syndicate. Grid informs the Outsider of the intrusion and he goes to protect their hooded prisoner over Grayson, only forBlack Manta to intercept the Outsider and kill him. Batman, Luthor,Catwoman, andBizarro enter the room with Grayson and see he has been placed in a "Murder Machine" originally intended forDoomsday. They realize that the machine is a detonator for a bomb that can only be stopped if Grayson's heart stops. The remaining Crime Syndicate members return to the Watchtower and attack Sinestro, Deathstroke, and Black Adam. Johnny Quick and Atomica attackCaptain Cold and Black Manta, who have unmasked the prisoner and removed the tape from his mouth. Cold fires his cold gun on Quick's leg and then breaks it off. Back with Grayson, Luthor prevents Batman from saving Grayson, choosing to save the group's lives over Grayson's. As Grayson dies, Batman attacks Luthor for murdering him with Luthor trying to reason with him that he has everything under control. With the hooded prisoner now free, he reveals himself as Alexander Luthor and yells "Mazahs!" to access the dark lightning. Luthor transforms intoMazahs and kills the injured Quick, taking his power.[34] After the trapped superheroes are freed from the Firestorm Matrix, Superwoman reveals that the father of her child is actually Alexander Luthor. Mazahs destroys Deathstorm taking his powers as well as attacking Lex and Bizarro, where Mazahs defeats Bizarro. Mazahs is able to pin Lex, who says "Mazahs!", summoning the dark lightning as he sounds like Alexander Luthor. Luthor is able to defeat him once he is back to Alexander Luthor and then kills him. Ultraman begins attacking Lex. As he does, Black Adam and Sinestro move the Moon, causing Ultraman to be hit with the sun, weakening him. Atomica reappears from underneath the rubble, only for Lex Luthor to kill her by stepping on her. Luthor rejoins the heroes and saves Superman by removing the kryptonite placed in his brain by Atomica. In the aftermath, Ultraman and Superwoman are captured, with Owlman still on the loose. It is later revealed that the entity that destroyed the Crime Syndicate's world is theAnti-Monitor, who declares "Darkseid shall be mine".[35]
In the "Darkseid War" story inJustice League, Cyborg andJessica Cruz, who has partially learned to harness Power Ring's Ring of Volthoom, seek out Superwoman in her maximum security prison for guidance on how to deal with the Anti-Monitor, who has killed Darkseid and now threatens all of existence. Seizing the opportunity to reunite the Syndicate, Volthoom seizes control of Jessica's body and when Cyborg attempts to interface with the ring, has the "Grid" personality re-uploaded and placed in control of his armor. As the trio plot to reunite with Ultraman, the heretofore-missing Owlman shows up and declares that the League and Syndicate must work together to stop the Anti-Monitor.[36] At the climax of the story, Ultraman is incinerated by the Anti-Monitor, ignoring Superman's warnings that it was too powerful to fight alone. Superwoman gives birth to her baby and is shortly thereafter killed by the Anti-Monitor. Having abandoned his comrades, Owlman indicates he never cared for the Syndicate, and his ultimate goal was to sit onMetron's Mobius Chair, which would give him all knowledge in the multiverse. He strikes a bargain with Metron and sits in the chair, absorbing its secrets. Suddenly, he becomes aware of a presence but before he can react, he and Metron are seemingly vaporized by ablue light.
In 2016, DC Comics implemented another relaunch of its books called "DC Rebirth", which restored its continuity to a form much as it was prior to "The New 52". During the "Year of the Villain" event, the Crime Syndicate is revealed to still be alive and their universe has been restored following the events of "Doomsday Clock". They ally withPerpetua in her conquest of the multiverse, secretly planning to take power for themselves. However, Owlman learns fromJohn Stewart that there have been other versions of himself and thus he can never truly be erased as a version of Owlman will always exist. Upon this realization, Owlman betrays them and destroys his own world out of jealousy towardsThe Batman Who Laughs, and his belief that he will inevitably be reincarnated when the multiverse reforms.
Following the reboot of the Multiverse at the end ofDark Nights: Death Metal as seen duringInfinite Frontier, a new Earth 3 is created with a new Crime Syndicate with a different origin like Superwoman being Donna Troy, Owlman still being Thomas Wayne Jr. whose parents were killed by a mugger namedHarvey Bullock under orders fromBoss Gordon who considered them rival crime lords, Ultraman being Kal-El who was exploited byJonathan and Martha Kent, John Stewart being a former beat cop before becoming Emerald Knight, and Johnny Chambers is a criminal who was raised by a father who trained dogs for dog fighting. The Syndicate is brought together to fight off an invasion by theStarros, paralleling the original origin of theJustice League of America where they possessed characters like Black Siren, Doctor Chaos, Miss Martian, Red Beetle, and Sky Tyrant. The Starros claimed they were not invading but were seeking refuge from theOverlords of Oa, but were nevertheless killed by the Syndicate. Lex Luthor starts to put together a resistance against them called the Legion of Justice that include New God Lonar, her horse Thunderer, Power Tower, Red Hood (Earth 3's Harley Quinn), Savanna, Sinestro, and Venus where their first mission results in the death of Johnny Quick before he can be recruited into the Crime Syndicate. The Legion of Justice were aided by Ultraman's cousin Ultragirl in their fight against the Crime Syndicate of America. During the fight, Sinestro is killed by Emerald Knight, Atomica causes Ultragirl to die from a brain haemorrhage, and a badly-injured Lex Luthor is taken prisoner. One week after the battle, the remaining members of the Legion of Justice ally with Jester and the Crime Syndicate, setting up their base in the Legion of Justice's former satellite base. The Crime Syndicate holds a press conference advising all metahumans to serve them or else. While Ultraman is upset over Atomica causing Ultragirl's death, Atomica holds Emerald Knight accountable for Johnny's death, and Emerald Knight criticizes Ultraman's withdrawal weakness to Kryptonite and concern over Owlman's duplicity.[37]
Later, the Crime Syndicate comes into conflict with theSuicide Squad, culminating in the "War for Earth-3" storyline, which sees Owlman and Ultraman defeated, with Superwoman, Johnny Quick, and Emerald Knight (now the new Power Ring) now working forAmanda Waller, who converted the Crime Syndicate into a new Justice League alongside operatives in her squad.[38]
InTitans Vol 4,Deathstroke would create his own version of the Crime Syndicate, unrelated to the Earth 3 team, as a successor group to theSecret Society of Super Villains, joined byTerra,Mammoth,Clock King,Psycho-Pirate, and a brainwashedFrost. This version of the team was formed to combat the growingJustice League Unlimited, starting off with fighting Deathstroke's old enemies theTitans. Deathstroke's Crime Syndicate would also recruit the android Vanadia, a recent addition to the Titans, but she would then betray them and rejoin the Titans.
The following five members founded the original Crime Syndicate of America and have appeared in all additional iterations of the team:
A team of Qwardians based on the then-currentJustice League International roster appeared on the Post-Crisis/Pre-Zero Hour Earth, although they did not call themselves the Crime Syndicate, even through their predecessors (Qwardian versions of the original Syndicate) did.[42] Its members were:
It is not clear if any of these characters exist in post-Zero Hour or post-Infinite Crisis continuity.
TheJLA: Earth 2 graphic novel featured several costumes in the Syndicate Satellite (the CSA Watchtower).
The Crime Syndicate's members included also:
The Society also contains unnamed counterparts ofMartian Manhunter,Stargirl,Hawkgirl,Wildcat, andSpectre.
In addition to the five founding members,The New 52 version of the team introduces five new members:
When Pandora was transported to Earth-3, she meets an unnamed counterpart ofMartian Manhunter.
Following Death Metal, the new lineup features Ultraman, Owlman, Atomica,Donna Troy as Superwoman, Jonathan Chambers as Johnny Quick, andJohn Stewart as Emerald Knight / Power Ring. AfterAmanda Waller takes over, Atomica disappears, Ultraman is imprisoned in the Phantom Zone, and Owlman's back is broken. Superwoman, Quick, and Power Ring are then joined by theNocturna of an unknown reality, the Superboy cloneMatch serving as a new Ultraman, fellow Earth 3 native andBlack Canary counterpart Black Siren, and an alternateEtrigan known as Etrigan the Brainiac 666.
Writer Gardner Fox and artist Mike Sekowsky crafted a tale in which the Crime Syndicate...ambushed the JLA on Earth-1.
