Secret Society of Super Villains
Secret Society of Super Villains is an American comic book published by DC Comics, created by writer Gerry Conway and artist Pablo Marcos, which first appeared in May–June 1976. The series' focuses on a titular group of supervillains, most of whom are foes of the members of the Justice League of America. The series was cancelled with issue #15 in July 1978, as part of the DC Implosion, a period when DC suddenly cancelled dozens of comics.
In the decades following the cancellation of the original book, the fictional group has returned in many forms.
Series conception
Editor Gerry Conway created the team to be "a kind of 'evil' Justice League", inspired by the "Rogues Gallery" that fellow editor Julie Schwartz created for the Flash. Since other editors were somewhat possessive towards the more popular DC Comics supervillains, Conway resorted to sifting through DC's back issues in search of members, finally selecting a lineup of relatively obscure and/or forgotten villains. Conway said: "Obviously, this was lifted from Dick Tracy, but having costumed villains with a shared goal — even if it was simply the destruction of their common enemy — seems to be something that was unique to DC".The first issue of Secret Society of Super Villains was drafted with artwork by Pablo Marcos. Then, according to Conway's assistant Paul Levitz: In the original story, Darkseid founds the group under the title of the Brotherhood of Crime in a bid to hold the world to ransom by stealing the world's deadliest nerve gas. The group, made up of Captain Cold, Gorilla Grodd, Clayface, Star Sapphire, and a clone of the Manhunter, turns on their benefactor when the Manhunter raises the issue of Darkseid's history of trying to enslave humanity. Darkseid is revealed to be an android. The Manhunter suspects Darkseid controls it from afar and suggests forming the Secret Society of Super Villains to combat Darkseid while pursuing their own goals.
In the revised first issue, the team's lineup included Captain Cold, Gorilla Grodd, Star Sapphire and the Manhunter from the original conception, and added Mirror Master, Copperhead, Sinestro, Shadow Thief and the Wizard.
Starting from the second issue, the comic's recurring hero is Captain Comet. Conway said that he wanted a regular 'lead hero' for the villains to interact with. The inclusion of a regular hero in the book helped to avoid Comics Code Authority concerns about presenting villains in a positive light.
Publication history
Due to the delays caused by having to redo the first issue from scratch, Conway assigned David Anthony Kraft to script the next three issues of Secret Society of Super Villains over his plots. After issue #4, both Conway and Kraft abruptly left DC, leading to a mad scramble to produce a fill-in issue.Jack C. Harris took over as editor, and Conway returned as writer only with issue #8, but artists on the series rotated nearly as often as the lineup of the titular supergroup, with Rich Buckler, Mike Vosburg, and Dick Ayers all contributing short stints as pencilers, while inkers changed from issue to issue. Harris felt that the series' mediocre sales might have been partly his fault: "The cover concepts were one of my editorial duties. Rich Buckler turned my ideas into the best he could do, but I never felt as if my ideas were good enough for his art. I think there was a 'sameness' to my ideas which might have hurt the title in that casual readers might have missed buying an issue because they thought they'd already seen it".
Secret Society of Super Villains was cancelled with issue #15 as part of the DC Implosion. Issue #16 was already at the printer at the time of the cancellation and would have been the final issue, but writer Bob Rozakis appealed to DC to pull the issue since it was the beginning of a three-part story and he did not want to leave the readers hanging. Issue #17 was near completion at the time, and both it and issue #16 would see publication in the privately printed Cancelled Comics Cavalcade #2. Issue #18, which concluded the three-part story, was scripted but never drawn. Rozakis later revealed where the story would have gone had the series not been cancelled in a weekly column for Silver Bullet Comics.
This series, along with the unpublished issues #16 and 17, were collected in a two-volume hardcover edition, with the volumes published in 2011 and 2012, respectively.
Fictional team history
Darkseid's Society
First organized by Darkseid, the Secret Society of Super Villains were based in the Sinister Citadel in San Francisco. From early on, the team was plagued with power struggles. Lex Luthor, Wizard, Gorilla Grodd, and Funky Flashman all sought to control the powerful team; Manhunter and Captain Comet, on the other hand, sought to divert the villains' evil ways into a more positive channel. After discovering the true identity of their benefactor, the team rebelled against the alien overlord. To quash their uprising, Darkseid sent Mantis and Kalibak. At the end of the struggle, Manhunter sacrificed himself to seemingly kill Darkseid. After this, the team splintered, with Luthor, Wizard, Gorilla Grodd, and Flashman leading the team at different times. However, Wizard proved to be the most tenacious and created the definitive incarnation of the SSoSV. They went on to fight the original Crime Syndicate of America of Earth-Three and the Justice Society of America. While traveling between dimensions, back on Earth-1 the Silver Ghost, Mirror Master and Copperhead formed yet another team and fought the Freedom Fighters.Wizard's group eventually returned from Earth-2 and battled against the Justice League of America aboard their satellite headquarters. At one point in the battle, the two teams swapped bodies, allowing the supervillains to discover the true identities of their enemies. After gaining the upper hand, the Justice League wiped the memories of the supervillains, precipitating Identity Crisis and the formation of the current Society years later.
Also notable in this series' run is the first appearance of Captain Comet in over 20 years, as well as the introduction of a new Star Sapphire. Both were regular, recurring characters.
Ultra-Humanite's Society
The next incarnation of the Secret Society appeared in 1981, headquartered in a new Sinister Citadel in Nepal, and was created by Ultra-Humanite, who organized foes of both Earth-One's Justice League and Earth-Two's Justice Society. This version of the Society consisted of Ultra-Humanite, Brain Wave, Killer Frost, Cheetah, Signalman, Floronic Man, Monocle, Rag Doll, Mist, and Psycho-Pirate, and marked the first appearance of Ultra-Humanite's albino gorilla body. After capturing and sending 10 heroes of the JSA and JLA to Limbo, the Society was betrayed by Ultra-Humanite, who had his own agenda. In response, the betrayed villains of Earth-1 freed the 10 heroes and attacked the Ultra-Humanite. The entire Secret Society of Super-Villains was incarcerated in Limbo by the JLA and JSA.Ultra-Humanite contacted his younger self in 1942, who helped to break out the SSoSV using the power of Brain Wave. The white gorilla Ultra-Humanite attacked Infinity, Inc. in the modern day, while the rest of the SSoSV battled against the All-Star Squadron in 1942. The villains were defeated and returned to their proper times.
Underground
The SSoSV in time grew into a large underground group with dozens of villains. After the reformation of the JLA, the seven superheroes decide to infiltrate and shut down this new Society. Martian Manhunter lures the villains to one spot by disguising himself as the late Brain Wave, claiming to have returned from the dead. Brain Wave also claims that the Secret Society has members in scattered cells, with Captain Cold, Felix Faust, Goldface, Kobra, Metallo, Mister Mind, Ra's al Ghul, Two-Face, and Vandal Savage as their chairmen. All of the SSoSV are told to gather in Kansas to attack the Justice League Watchtower at midnight. Blockbuster twice questions if Brain Wave is supposed to be dead before Brain Wave asks him to hang back. When the villains leave their meeting place, they are confronted and defeated by the Justice League. The Justice League members find Blockbuster knocked out next to Martian Manhunter. As the tale was told by Rainbow Raider to Sonar, it is uncertain whether these events actually happened. At the very least, there may have been some embellishment.Alexander Luthor Jr.'s Society
After the defeat of the last incarnation of the SSoSV, a great amount of time would pass before villains would band together in any sort of large organization. Fueled by rumors of the mindwiping of Dr. Light, a new Society emerged. This Society was founded by Alexander Luthor Jr. posing as Lex Luthor, along with five other supervillains: Calculator, Doctor Psycho, Deathstroke, Talia al Ghul, and Black Adam.Alexander Luthor Jr.'s intent was to gather together a cadre of supervillains to retrieve several key superheroes who have ties to the Multiverse to harness their residual temporal vibrations to recreate the Multiverse. Only Psycho-Pirate, who remembered the Multiverse, knew of this plan, as Alexander Luthor Jr. lied to the members of his inner circle, telling them that he was building a massive mind-erasing machine to use against all of the heroes in the DC Universe.
Playing on the fear of superheroes, retaliation for refusal, and the desire for power, Alexander created a Society the size of which is larger than all previous incarnations combined. Out of all the villains in the DC Universe, the only one not even offered an invitation was Joker on the grounds that he was "too wild".
The group, referred to simply as the Society, was featured in the miniseries Villains United as background characters and foils for the new Secret Six. The follow-up one-shot issue Villains United: Infinite Crisis Special #1 focused on the Society itself as they enacted Alexander Luthor Jr.'s back-up plan to conquer Earth in the event that his main plan failed. This led to a final battle, referred to as the Battle of Metropolis, where the Society, led by Doctor Psycho and Doomsday, made their final battle against the various heroes of the DC Universe.
At the end of Infinite Crisis, Alexander Luthor Jr. was killed by the Joker who was brought to him by Lex Luthor. Lex let Joker kill Alexander Luthor Jr. as part of his revenge for not including him in the Secret Society. Black Adam, betrayed by Alexander Luthor Jr., fought the Society in the Battle of Metropolis, tearing off Amazo's head, and returned to Khandaq to rule full-time.
"One Year Later"
One Year Later, most of the Society's inner circle is either in prison or has resigned from the group. Doctor Psycho was captured by the authorities after the Battle of Metropolis and is on trial in the Manhunter series. He has also appeared in Secret Six and Wonder Woman. Deathstroke the Terminator was apprehended by Green Arrow, but escaped and started recruiting members for the Titans East.With Talia returning to rule the League of Assassins, the Calculator remains the only original member of the "inner council" left running the Society.
"Final Crisis"
Not long after the Society's dissolution, Checkmate instigated a crackdown on all villains in the DC Universe, who were captured and exiled to a prison planet as seen in the Salvation Run miniseries. The group included almost every villain in the DC universe, with rare exceptions. Though the villains escaped back to Earth, their desire for revenge drives the Society to depose Lex Luthor and replace him with a leader who promises them what they desire: the mysterious Libra.Libra, a follower of Intergang's "Religion of Crime" and secretly an agent of Darkseid, leads the Secret Society in their role as Darkseid's ground troops as part of the Final Crisis storyline. Promising to fulfill the hearts desires of his subordinates, Libra murders the Martian Manhunter for new recruit the Human Flame. He also arranges for Clayface to cause an explosion at the Daily Planet, killing and maiming dozens of Superman's closest friends and mortally wounding his wife Lois in the process, to try to seduce the disgruntled Luthor to his side and draw Superman to Libra.
With most of the Society, including Vandal Savage, behind him, Libra reveals his true self to Lex Luthor as the villain turns on the Human Flame by forcing a mind-control helmet onto the villain's face, exposing him to the Anti-Life Equation and turning him into a mindless slave warrior known as a Justifier. Faced with the threat of being forced to become a Justifier himself, Luthor agrees to become Libra and Darkseid's servant. With help from Doctor Sivana and the Calculator, Lex Luthor ultimately turns against Libra and forces him to retreat. With Sivana's help, Luthor and the mind-controlled legions of Justifiers helped Superman in battle against the last remaining forces of Darkseid, the Fury Riders. Luthor and Sivana then proceed to help Superman build the Miracle Machine to save the Earth, though the two are only allowed to work on sections of the machine due to the risk of them stealing the designs for future villainous schemes.
In Final Crisis: Revelations, the third Spectre kills Doctor Light and melts Effigy before trying to take on Libra. Sister Wrack of the Religion of Crime impales Vandal Savage with the Spear of Destiny, causing Vandal Savage to be reborn as Cain. Cain then seeks out the Spectre and easily overwhelms him, followed by Cain impaling the Spectre with the Spear of Destiny. It separates the Spectre from host Crispus Allen as Renee Montoya and Radiant carry his body into the church. Cain later controls the Spectre and has it recite the Anti-Life Equation to recreate the world in Darkseid's name. Cain manages to stab Renee with the Spear of Destiny. Renee manages to grab the Spear and use its powers to restore the world and Crispus' life. Reuniting with the Spectre, Crispus uses his judgement to kill Cain's followers, but could not kill Cain. The Spectre casts Cain out into the world with no chance of peace until God decides to grant him otherwise.
In Final Crisis: Rogues' Revenge, the Rogues withdraw from Libra's Society and plot to take revenge on a movement-restored Inertia before they retire. However, Libra uses his New Rogues to target the Rogues and forces them to join up with Libra by doing various things to those close to them. Even with the New Rogues slain by the Rogues, Libra does not give up that easily. They still turn down Libra even after Zoom is de-powered by Inertia, who is then killed by the Rogues.
From an idea by T. O. Morrow during and after Final Crisis, Cheetah assigned several scientific members of a new Secret Society to collect soil samples from various regions of Earth in which acts of genocide occurred. They plan to use the soil to form a new villain named Genocide. Genocide is brought to life through a combination of science and the magic of Felix Faust. They are successful in doing so, but soon after an enraged Wonder Woman defeats a small team of members consisting of Shrapnel, Firefly, Phobia and T. O. Morrow. After telling them to disband the team, Wonder Woman then destroys their home base skyscraper building.
The New 52
The Secret Society of Super Villains appears in DC's 2011 The New 52 continuity reboot, consisting of Professor Ivo, Outsider, Scarecrow, Blockbuster, Signalman, Copperhead, and Plastique.DC Rebirth
The Society reappears in DC's 2016 reboot, DC Rebirth, consisting of Vandal Savage, Hector Hammond, the Riddler, Professor Zoom, Black Manta, Ultra-Humanite, Deadline, Raptor, and Killer Frost, with Lex Luthor being established as a former member. They place Deathstroke the Terminator on trial while debating whether he is truly reformed or not; however, the Riddler proves via Hammond's telepathic abilities that Deathstroke is 'evil'.During the "Dark Crisis" storyline, Deathstroke leads an incarnation of the Secret Society of Super Villains. After mourning the apparent deaths of the Justice League, the Society attack Titans Academy before being repelled by Jon Kent. The Great Darkness later corrupts the Society's members into serving it.
Other versions
Justice Underground
The Justice Underground is a fictional superhero team in the DC Multiverse. The Justice Underground is an alternative version of the Secret Society of Super Villains from the Anti-Matter Universe.The Underground experienced some temporary victories in their battles with the Syndicate, both as a team and individually. For example, the Quizmaster's underground connections allowed him to interfere with the supplies needed by the Crime Syndicate for various operations, such as the speed serum that Johnny Quick requires to maintain his super speed.
One by one, the Justice Underground members were all defeated, captured or killed. For example, Ultraman rendered Sir Solomon Grundy inert on a Saturday, and Lady Sonar sustained massive injuries from having her sonic abilities reflected back to her by Power Ring. Lady Sonar was forced to replace much of her shattered body with bionic implants. It was in this form that she resided as the guardian of Modora, the final free nation of the Anti-Matter Earth.
Upon her home's invasion, Lady Sonar was successful in defeating Johnny Quick by temporarily shifting his body out of phase with reality. She was eventually destroyed by the Owlman and the rest of the Crime Syndicate when they finally conquered Modora. Lady Sonar was placed into cryogenic storage alongside her teammates, ready to be reanimated in a zombified state if the Syndicate decides it necessary. Their remains are located in the Crime Syndicate's Panopticon on the Moon's surface.
The Justice Underground was released by the Martian Manhunter as a team of associate JLA members reversed back into the matter universe. It is unclear how they were able to recover from their injuries, though it could be inferred that the Owlman healed their injuries while they were in stasis.
Members
Quizmaster – Arthur Brown was a master quiz show host until he lost and turned to crime. The Quizmaster is the leader and the smartest man alive. He does not have any superpowers. His incredibly high IQ and knowledge of almost all disciplines enabled him to be as effective a fighter as any of his compatriots with superpowers. Quizmaster later adopted the alias of Enigma.Sir Solomon Grundy – Cyrus Gold was a Gotham city merchant until he was killed in a swamp and became a hulking zombie. Sir Solomon Grundy is a distinguished, poised mountain of a man. During an aerial bombardment of Dover, he was blasted to life out of the white rock. Sir Solomon appears to be identical in physical appearance to Solomon Grundy with the exception of a trimmed mustache and a small goatee. In keeping with his educated personality, Sir Solomon dresses himself as a 19th-century Englishman would and speaks accordingly. His super-strength and invulnerability made him a formidable hero.General Grodd – General Grodd is a renegade freedom fighter from a militaristic ape nation. Grodd is an extremely strong gorilla who has telekinesis and smarts to match his strength.Star Sapphire – This version of Star Sapphire is a knight-errant from the other side of the galaxy. Star Sapphire is a Violet Lantern and will do anything for it.Lady Sonar – Lady Sonar is a female version of Sonar.Q Ranger – The "quantum-powered dynamo".Collected editions
The original comic book series was scheduled to be collected into a trade paperback entitled Showcase Presents The Secret Society of Super Villains, but that project was cancelled. Instead, it was collected into two hardcover volumes. They are:The Secret Society of Super Villains Volume 1, August 2011,.The Secret Society of Super Villains Volume 2, March 2012,In other media
Television
- Three incarnations of the Secret Society appear in series set in the DC Animated Universe :
- * The first version appears in a self-titled two-part episode of Justice League, consisting of Gorilla Grodd, Giganta, Killer Frost, Sinestro, Parasite, Shade, and Clayface. With Grodd taking measures to encourage the group to work more cohesively to avoid the infighting of Lex Luthor's Injustice Gang, the Society defeat the Justice League in their first encounter. However, they are defeated in the subsequent rematch.
- * In the third season of Justice League Unlimited, Grodd rebuilds and expands the Secret Society to combat the expanded Justice League by recruiting Luthor, most of his original Society save for Clayface, Angle Man, Atomic Skull, Bizarro, Blockbuster, Bloodsport, Cheetah, Copperhead, the Cadre, Devil Ray, Doctor Cyber, Doctor Destiny, Doctor Polaris, Doctor Spectro, Dummy, Electrocutioner, Evil Star, Gentleman Ghost, Goldface, Heat Wave, Hellgrammite, Javelin, Key, KGBeast, Lady Lunar, Livewire, Major Disaster, Merlyn, Metallo, Mirror Master, Monocle, Neutron, Psycho-Pirate, Puzzler, Puppeteer, Queen Bee, Rampage, Shark, Silver Banshee, Sonar, Sportsmaster, Star Sapphire, Tala, Tattooed Man, Thinker, the Top, Toyman, Tsukuri, Volcana, and Weather Wizard. With this incarnation of the Society, Grodd created a massive co-operative wherein he manages its members and they provide backup for each other in exchange for Grodd receiving a portion of all profits made. To keep the Society secret, all members have their brains shielded from telepathy and wired to short out if they are interrogated. After discovering Grodd was using the Society to turn humanity into apes, Luthor ousts him and assumes leadership. In the two-part series finale "Alive!" and "Destroyer", Luthor has the Society convert their headquarters into a spaceship in an attempt to resurrect Brainiac. While en route however, Grodd joins forces with Tala to lead a coup and retake control, leading to a civil war until Luthor jettisons Grodd into space and Killer Frost freezes Grodd's loyalists just as they reach the site of Brainiac's defeat. There, Luthor forces Tala to restore him, but she resurrects Darkseid instead. He subsequently destroys the Society's base, killing most of its members, though Sinestro and Star Sapphire rescue Luthor, Atomic Skull, Bizarro, Cheetah, Evil Star, Giganta, Heat Wave, Killer Frost, Toyman, and Volcana. They rob Lightray of his Mother Box and return to Earth to warn the Justice League of Darkseid's return before joining forces with them to stop him.
- ** Additionally, the episode "Epilogue" includes a futuristic incarnation of the Secret Society known as the Iniquity Collective, consisting of Inque, Shriek, Stalker, and a monstrous future incarnation of the Parasite.
- The Justice Underground appears in the Batman: The Brave and the Bold episode "Deep Cover for Batman!", led by Red Hood and consisting of unnamed heroic versions of Black Manta, Clock King, Doctor Polaris, Gentleman Ghost, Gorilla Grodd, Sinestro, Brain, and Kite Man.
- A group based on the Secret Society called "The Light" appears in Young Justice. The group was founded by Vandal Savage to counteract the Justice League's preserving of society's "calcified status quo", believing they directly inhibit mankind by protecting them from disaster, crime and tragedy — factors he believes are needed for humanity to evolve. To counteract this, the Light works to create or co-opt networks of recruited operatives, place various key individuals into key positions, and explore the boundaries of any and all new technologies across the globe to expose mankind to the aforementioned factors and accelerate their evolution with as little resistance as possible from the League. In the first season, the Light is led by Savage, Ra's al Ghul, Lex Luthor, Queen Bee, Ocean Master, Brain, and Klarion the Witch Boy, with Sportsmaster serving as their primary enforcer. In the second season, Black Manta and Deathstroke replace Ocean Master and Sportsmaster respectively while the Reach and Darkseid become their silent partners, though the Light allow the former to be defeated by the Team by the end of the season while Darkseid and Savage agree to accumulate power until they are evenly matched and eventually face each other for control of the Milky Way Galaxy. In the third season, Deathstroke, Ultra-Humanite, and Granny Goodness have replaced Ra's al Ghul, the Brain, and Black Manta respectively while Lady Shiva takes Deathstroke's place. Ocean Master tries to rejoin the Light, only to be killed by Lady Shiva for insubordination. Near the end of the season however, Granny helps Darkseid act against the Light to fulfill his ultimate goal of acquiring the Anti-Life Equation and spreading his influence across the universe. After Victor Stone and the Outsiders foil Granny's plan, the Light and Darkseid seemingly agree to reconcile their partnership, though Savage secretly confirms Darkseid as a potential threat, while Markovian ambassador Zviad Baazovi replaces Granny, using his psionic powers to assist the Light in future endeavors. In the fourth season, Savage attempts to form an alliance with the Lords of Chaos and Order to "keep the cosmic balance" and give himself an advantage over Darkseid as well as works with the Ultra-Humanite to resurrect Ocean Master and place his mind in a clone of Atlantis' first king Arion while also making use of a clone of Ocean Master. However, the Lords of Order kill Ocean Master once more. Nonetheless, Baazovi influences King Brion Markov to convert Markovia into a metahuman nation and capture General Zod's army for use in their future endeavors.
Film
The Justice Underground appears in Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths, consisting of a heroic Lex Luthor, the Jester, and the latter's monkey sidekick Harley. After the Jester sacrifices himself to kill two Crime Syndicate members, Luthor evades the Syndicate's leaders and flees to the Justice League's Earth to seek out their help.Video games
- The Secret Society appears in DC Universe Online, led by Lex Luthor, Circe, and the Joker and consisting of Catwoman, Deathstroke, Black Adam, Metallo, Harley Quinn, Giganta, and Poison Ivy.
- An alternate reality version of the "Society" appears in Injustice 2, led by Gorilla Grodd and consisting of Bane, Poison Ivy, Scarecrow, Deadshot, Cheetah, Captain Cold, and Reverse-Flash. Additionally, Catwoman works as a double agent within their ranks on behalf of Batman's Insurgency. The Society intend to fill the power vacuum left by the Justice League from the other reality and the Insurgency defeating High Councilor Superman and his Regime, though Grodd secretly works with Brainiac to help him destroy the Earth. Once the other members discover this however, they disband the group.
- The Secret Society appears as a team bonus in DC Heroes and Villains, consisting of Vandal Savage, Cheshire, Livewire, Copperhead, and Ultra-Humanite.