At the climax of a fight between the Justice League and a giant robot remote-controlled byLex Luthor, it falls over, threatening to crushFlash,Green Lantern,Hawkgirl, andJ'onn J'onzz. In trying to stop the robot, Flash creates a tornado-like vortex just as the robot's energy core explodes, transporting the four heroes to Seaboard City, an idyllic 1950s locale in a parallel Earth.
There, they meet the Justice Guild of America members Tom Turbine, The Streak, the Green Guardsman, Black Siren, Catman, and their sidekick/mascot Ray Thompson. They first fight when Green Lantern and Flash stop a robbery by Justice Guild enemy Music Master and the Guild mistakes them for thieves. After the Streak sees Flash save Ray from pieces of a falling building, he realizes the League aren't criminals and stops the fight. The Justice Guild were comic book characters on the Justice League's Earth about whom Green Lantern read as a child. He claims without the comics, he may not have his ring today, as the comics taught him what it means to be a hero. J'onn J'onzz hypothesizes that theJGA writers had a subconscious link to their Earth during flashes of "inspiration" which were actually psychic memories of the Justice Guild's exploits; this is a nod to the explanationGardner Fox provided for theJSA/JLA link in his September 1961 storyFlash of Two Worlds in which theBarry Allen Flash of Earth-One encountersJay Garrick, his Earth-Two counterpart. They help the JGA fight a group of their enemies called the Injustice Guild of America, who are based on Golden Age DC supervillains, consisting of Music Master, Sportsman, Sir Swami, and Doctor Blizzard. The IGA engage in a scheme to pull off a series of crimes based on thefour elements of earth, air, water, and fire as part of a contest to see which of them can pull off the best crime related to those elements, and by doing so will lead the IGA in their next criminal activity. Doctor Blizzard wins when he takes Flash and Black Siren as hostages, and leads the IGA in robbing the Seaboard City Mint and escaping by blimp. The IGA are defeated by the JL and the IGA and are handed over to the police.
Meanwhile, Hawkgirl discovers graves of the JGA, prompting her and Lantern to probe deeper into inconsistencies found in the "perfect" Seaboard City, such as how some, if not all dangers in it happen to come from out of nowhere. The two question the driver of the local ice cream truck about their suspicions, but he only responds to their questions with unspecific answers before driving away. They go to a library, where they discover that all the books on the shelves have blank pages, and going to the basement, they find a brick wall behind the basement door. After Hawkgirl smashes through it, they find a battle-scarred subway tunnel, and an old newspaper dated to the same day as the final Justice Guild comic. The newspaper’s headline reveals that the Justice Guild had been killed in a nuclear war which destroyed Seaboard City forty years prior, causing the Justice Guild comic book to be cancelled on the Justice League's Earth.
Hawkgirl and Lantern show this knowledge to Flash, J'onn and the JGA; shocked, the JGA deny that their existence is nothing more than an illusion. J'onn suspects Ray Thompson is the key to the bizarre state of this reality. Ray denies knowing anything, but J'onn makes a telepathic link with him, causing him to reveal his true form: a disfigured mutant with reality-warping abilities that he used to recreate his destroyed town and resurrect the Justice Guild, making it look like the nuclear war never happened. Angrily, Ray goes on a rampage and tries to kill the JL, while distracting the JGA with a giant red robot. The Guild heroes are initially unsure of what they should do because they know that defeating Ray will undo the illusion and everything in it, including themselves. Ultimately, they decide to stop Ray, reasoning that if they could sacrifice themselves to save their world once, they could do so again. The Guild attack Ray, overwhelming his powers and ending the illusion; The Streak salutes as he and the Guild vanish from as existence as Green Lantern watches, aghast. Subsequently, the city's residents are freed from the illusion, thanking the League for giving them a future. The League then returns to their own Earth using a space-time machine created by Tom Turbine before his death and powered by Green Lantern's ring.
Back on his own Earth, John Stewart ponders of how much theJGA comics meant to him when he was young and the impact the comics' cancellation in 1962 (the year the actual Guild died) had on him. He remarks to Hawkgirl that the JGA taught him the meaning of the word hero, a commentary on the bright, optimistic Golden and Silver Age's contrast to theBronze andModern Age's grittiness and angst.
The Streak (voiced byDavid Naughton) — The leader of the Guild who possesses super-speed and wears a football helmet. The Streak resembles theGolden Age Flash. His role as leader of the Justice Guild mirrors the Flash's role as the first chairman of the Justice Society. "The Streak" was later used in thefirst season ofThe Flash as an early alias forBarry Allen / The Flash ofEarth-1.[2]
Cat Man (voiced byStephen Root) — A cat-themed member of the Guild who is a master martial artist. He additionally has a Cat-Cycle and sidecar, and possesses a grappling hook and gauntlets with retractable claws. Catman is a combination ofWildcat andGolden Age Batman with the personality ofAdam West's version ofBatman from the 1960slive-action TV series. His real name, T. Blake, is a homage to the villainCatman.
Green Guardsman (voiced byWilliam Katt) — He wields a power ring which can create a variety of hard-light constructs. Green Guardsman resembles theGolden Age Green Lantern, with his ring not working on anything associated withaluminum being an homage to Alan Scott's ring not working on wood. He also shares his first name, Scott, with Alan Scott's surname.
Tom Turbine (voiced byTed McGinley) — The team's brains, he is a genius intellect specializing in nuclear physics and meta-physics. He possesses a button-activated turbine belt and thick metal wristlets and anklets, which grant him flight and super-strength. Tom Turbine is primarily an homage to theGolden Age Atom, possessing a similar color scheme, belt, and profession. His energy-charged punches reference the Atom's Atomic Punch, a power he acquired later into his career. The alliteration of Tom Turbine's name is also an homage to 'Atom Al', the nickname used to bully Al Pratt for his stature and which inspired his Atom moniker. Turbine also shares some of theGolden Age Superman's facial features.[1]
Black Siren (voiced byJennifer Hale) — The only female member of the Justice Guild, who takes it upon herself to handle the household chores and duties. She is often paired with Cat Man on missions and it is implied that they are also romantically engaged. Black Siren resembles theGolden Age Black Canary. The name "Black Siren" was later used in thefifth andsixth seasons ofArrow as the initial alias ofDinah Laurel Lance ofEarth-2.[3][4]
Ray Thompson (voiced byNeil Patrick Harris) — The team's mascot. After the Justice Guild died during a nuclear war that destroyed his own world, Ray survived and became exposed to the radioactive fallout that mutated his DNA, giving him psychic powers that he used to recreate what he had lost. When the Justice Guild find out their existence was a fake, they fight back and overcame Ray's powers, undoing the illusion and everything in it.Bruce Timm has commented that Ray Thompson is based on bothRoy Thomas, who collaborated on the animated series, due to his famous admiration of the Golden Age comics, and science-fiction writerRay Bradbury, because many of Bradbury's stories deal with nostalgia compared to the harshness of the present. The idea of Ray's special ability is based onMarvel Comics'Rick Jones summoning the Golden Age heroes in theAvengers'Kree-Skrull War, a story written by Roy Thomas.[citation needed]
The Injustice Guild, based on theInjustice Society, is a group of super-villains whose goal is to eliminate the Justice Guild and rule the world. They make their headquarters in a cave somewhere outside of Seaboard City. Among its members are:
Sir Swami (voiced byJeffrey Jones) — The Injustice Guild's leader, a turban-wearing man with powerful magic derived from his magic wand. Swami proposed a contest to see who can pull off the perfect crime related to the four elements of nature. He decided to steal the Flame of Rasputin, a jewel with power over fire, and escaped after a brief fight with Green Lantern and Streak. He later assisted Dr. Blizzard in his scheme which ended in failure. It is unknown if he survived the war or is just a projection of Ray's mind. Sir Swami is an homage to theWizard.
The Music Master (voiced byUdo Kier) — A member of the Injustice Guild. He possesses an accordion that emits high intensity sound waves. He was the first member of the Injustice Guild to encounter theJustice League. He tried to steal a priceless instrument, but was thwarted by the League. When Sir Swami proposed a contest to see who could pull off a crime related to the four elements, Music Master chose air and stole a replica of theWright brothers' glider plane. Hawkgirl and Green Guardsman gave chase but Music Master escaped with the plane. He was eventually defeated by both The Justice League and Guild. It is unknown if he survived the war or is just a projection of Ray's mind. Music Master is an homage to theFiddler.
Sportsman (voiced byMichael McKean) — A member of the Injustice Guild who uses sports equipment to commit crimes. When Sir Swami proposed a contest to see who could pull off a crime related to the four elements, Sportsman chose earth and stole a tennis trophy. He escapes capture and is eventually defeated by both the Justice League and Guild. It is unknown if he survived the war or is just a projection of Ray's mind. The Sportsman is an homage to theSportsmaster.
Doctor Blizzard (voiced byCorey Burton) — A member of the Injustice Guild. He possesses a special doctor's light-reflector that gives him ice powers. When Sir Swami proposed a contest to see who could pull off a crime related to the four elements, Doctor Blizzard chose water and planned to steal a new fountain during its dedication by the mayor. Flash and Black Siren intervened, but Doctor Blizzard froze them and took them to his hideout where he won the contest. Since he won, he got to pick their next move. He chose to rob the Seaboard City mint, then escape by blimp with help from his teammates. Cat Man single-handedly took down the entire Injustice Guild and foiled their plot. It is unknown if he survived the war or is just a projection of Ray's mind. Dr. Blizzard is an homage to the originalIcicle.
TheJustice League staff originally intended to use the Golden AgeJustice Society of America, but access to the characters was denied byDC Comics asPaul Levitz felt the story as written disrespected the JSA and the characters' portrayals clashed with the post-Crisis JSA's portrayal in current comics. However, Levitz agreed to a compromise: the producers could change the names and designs just enough to make the team not quite the JSA, but still get the point across.[5] The episode is dedicated toGardner Fox, who co-created both the JSA and JLA. Fox also wrote the first DC comic to feature the meeting of the Golden and Silver Age universes,Flash #123, "Flash of Two Worlds".
