Гродд принадлежал к различным злодейским организациям, таким как Anti -Justice League, Secret Society of Super Villains и так далее. Общество Супер-Злодеев (The Secret Society of Super - Villains), Тартар ( Tartarus), Анти-Лига Справедливости (Anti-Justice League).
Riddler, Signalman, Starro, The Monocle, Two-Face. Команды: Arkham Asylum Inmates, Arkham Asylum Staff, Secret Society of Super Villains, Suicide Squad. Принадлежность к Группам: Ранее Тайное Общество Суперзлодеев ( Secret Society of Super Villains); Лига Анархии Джокера (Joker League of Anarchy). Как член Тайного Общества Суперзлодеев ( Secret Society of Super - Villains), Убийца Фрост сражалась против Лиги справедливости.
DC Histories: Secret Society of Super-Villains. Posted on 05/08/13 at 9:00 AM in Articles. Features by Jeff Reid. Here at DC Histories, we try to make sense of the continuity that perplexes, befuddles, and intimidates. We discuss what worked and what didn’t. This week, we’re talking about the underground offenders known as the Secret Society of Super-Villains.
DC Special Series #6 (1977) Cover. With no real fanfare, the Secret Society of Super-Villains made their debut in the pages of their own self-titled comic series in 1976. Part of the so-called “DC Explosion” which resulted in fifty-seven new series launched between 1975 and 1978, the Secret Society was a group of rogues dedicated to taking over the world. Made up of various DCU villains, the team was brought together by a mysterious benefactor. Originally, the group’s membership included Captain Boomerang, the Wizard, Mirror Master, Captain Cold, Gorilla Grodd , Copperhead, Shadow Thief, a well-dressed Sinestro, and a brand new Star Sapphire. Catwoman was mentioned in a text box typo. She never was a part of the group.
From Secret Society of Super-Villains #1 (1976). The question of just who brought this group together hung over everything. As the group began its first adventure, a clone of Paul Kirk, an old hero named Manhunter, arrived and told them that he was working for the person who was funding their operation. From the beginning, the Secret Society’s roster was fluid.
Shadow Thief and Copperhead left after the first issue. An amnesiac hero named Captain Comet joined the group and eventually became their sworn enemy. Hi-Jack, a member of the Royal Flush Gang, came on board for an issue or two. The Creeper joined but only because no one realized he was a hero. Keeping track of who was who required readers to keep handwritten notes and a flow chart. The passable but uninspired art didn’t help matters any.
Shortly after the Secret Society formed, they learned of who had put them together. Darkseid, in one of his many plans to destabilize Earth and get it ready for his eventually takeover, had hired Manhunter to create the group. However, as the group members wanted Earth for themselves, they quickly set about working against the ruler of Apokolips. From Secret Society of Super-Villains #3 (1976). After Darkseid was ousted as the group’s leader, a power vacuum formed. The first to attempt to fill the role of leader of the Secret Society was Lex Luthor.
In a stunning coup, Lex just wandered into the Secret Society’s lair and declared himself to be in charge. Cooperhead, who had recently rejoined the Society, the Wizard, and a Jack Kirby creation named Funky Flashman, appeared startled. From Secret Society of Super-Villains #7 (1977). Lex Luthor was out of the group by the issue’s end.
No one liked the idea of Lex in charge and when he left the Society’s secret HQ, a small army of police officers took him into custody. Every leader of the Secret Society succumbed to rebellions from within the organization. It seems that villains like the idea of working together, but no one liked the idea of being told what to do. Eventually, it was the Wizard who took a small subset of the Secret Society under his control and gave them an actual mission: Return with him to Earth-2 and defeat the semi-retired Justice Society of America. There, they’re rule that alternate world. Alongside Professor Zoom, Star Sapphire, the Floronic Man, and Blockbuster, the Wizard attempted to jump the group straight to Earth-2. Unfortunately, a bit of a mix-up resulted in the group ending up on Earth-3.
Luckily, the Wizard was able to produce a useless chart that explained how they’d jump from Earth-3 to Earth-2. From Secret Society of Super-Villains #13 (1978). Meanwhile, back on Earth-1, the super-villains that had been left behind were getting antsy.
Not knowing that the Wizard had jumped across dimensions with a group calling itself the Secret Society of Super-Villains, someone named the Silver Ghost decided to use that name with the goal of destroying the Freedom Fighters, a pretty obscure group of super-heroes. From Secret Society of Super-Villains #15 (1978).
This meant that two groups were now using the Secret Society name. One group was comprised of mostly villains from Earth-1 who were currently on Earth-2 in an attempt to destroy the JSA, while the other was on Earth-1 attempting to kill the Freedom Fighters. Got that? Good. Now forget it because the Secret Society of Super-Villains series was cancelled at issue #15 right as these parallel plot-lines were being set up. Secret Society of Super-Villains ‘ sudden cancellation was a result of the DC Implosion. While DC had gone about publishing dozens of new series in the years prior to 1978, they suddenly found themselves in a tailspin.
Poor sales were rampant across many titles and twenty series were gone in quick succession. Endings to various story threads in these cancelled titles were reworked into the pages of series that remained. This was true of the Secret Society’s Earth-2 story, which was wrapped up awkwardly in recap form when the Wizard and his crew battled the Justice League of America in 1979. From Justice League of America (Vol. 1) #166 (1979).
No one bothered to mention whatever happened to the Silver Ghost’s attempts to wipe out the Freedom Fighters. It was a good choice.
The Secret Society’s clash against the Justice League after their return to Earth-1 is best known as the story in which the minds of the biggest powerhouses in the JLA were switched with the members of the Society. Using his magic, the Wizard swapped minds with Superman, Zatanna and Star Sapphire switched bodies, and so on.
Only Superman’s weakness to magic saved the world from being destroyed. This mind-swapping tale influenced later stories such as 2004′s Identity Crisis and several of the events leading up to 2006′s Infinite Crisis.
These tales attempted to take seriously what was originally just a fun, weird Bronze Age tale. From Justice League of America (Vol. 1) #168 (1979). With their defeat here, the Secret Society broke apart again. The Wizard was out as the leader and no one seemed willing to take up the name. No one, that is, until the Ultra-Humanite.
The Ultra-Humanite was a Golden Age opponent of Superman. Older than even Lex Luthor, the Ultra-Humanite was the first reoccurring villain in super-hero comics. He was originally a mad scientist who had the knowledge to put his brain in another person’s body. In his original appearances, he hopped around from person to person. However, a regular looking man or woman in a lab coat was sort of boring to look at, so when he showed up to battle both the JLA and the JSA in a 1981 tale, his brain was now in the body of a giant albino ape with a freakishly large cranium.
Alongside a few choice residents of both Earth-1 and Earth-2, Ultra-Humanite reformed the Secret Society of Super-Villains in a bid to wipe out all super-heroes. He very nearly succeeded in his task. From Justice League of America (Vol. 1) #197 (1981). After the defeat of Ultra-Humanite’s Secret Society, the name fell into disuse. Other teams of super-villains came and went with names like the Injustice Gang and the Legion of Doom, but they didn’t stick around for very long.
It wasn’t until after Identity Crisis that the need for a large, amorphous group of super-villains became necessary. When it was revealed to the super-villain community that the Justice League had magically invaded their thoughts on more than one occasion, a sort of union formed. Realizing that calling themselves “super-villains” was a little silly, this new group simply called itself “The Society.
”. From JSA #70 (2005).
Headed by some of the major players in the DCU like Deathstroke, Black Adam, and someone pretending to be Lex Luthor, the Society quickly set about recruiting seemingly every single villain in the DCU. Only a few people refused to join Society. Dubbed the Secret Six, these rogue villains soon learned that people like Dr.
Psycho and Talia al Ghul don’t easily take no for an answer. While attempting to further their goals against the Justice League and its various heroes, the Society also sent a huge cadre of its members in an assault against the Six. From Villains United #5 (2005). Much of the Society fell apart after the events of Infinite Crisis. There it was revealed that the Lex Luthor in the Society was actually an alternate universe character named Alexander Luthor.
His plans for the Society differed greatly with everyone else’s, and the whole thing collapsed due to this conflict. The remnants of the Society were still in place after that particular Crisis resolved itself.
The Calculator, an old Batman villain, gained a new career when he became the information broker of the crooked set. Deathstroke cemented his place as the most dangerous bounty hunter in the DCU. The real Lex Luthor became the head of the remnants of the Secret Society. His control over the organization was challenged when a forgotten criminal named Libra showed up and killed the Martian Manhunter while everyone stared. Quickly, Libra became the Secret Society’s de facto leader.
From Final Crisis #3 (2008). As it was originally revealed during the very first Secret Society story in 1976, the power behind Libra was Darkseid. Again, Darkseid was attempting to take over the Earth and was trying to use villains to achieve his goals. Eventually, his plans were thwarted but it was as close a call as one could get. That’s where the Secret Society was left before Flashpoint.
The group was in pieces, having been used and abused by one too many massive egos, none of whom proved to be up to the task of successfully channeling the raw power and poor social graces of dozens of DCU villains towards a single goal. But recently, the New 52 wiped all the past away and a new Secret Society has formed. Shortly after the Justice League first debuted five years ago, some sort of shadow organization quickly followed. Only a few of the followers of this new group are known, one of which is the android expert Professor Ivo.
The true power behind the scenes remains illusive. From Justice League of America (Vol. 3) #1 (2013).
This new Secret Society of Super-Villains appears to be tied into the upcoming Trinity War. What their goals are and who their boss is remains to be seen. In any case, it seems like the Secret Society is going to be a major player in the New 52 for the foreseeable future. I’m looking forward to seeing who has tried to lead this completely unmanageable group this time. We’ll just have to find out together.
Jeff Reid hopes that the Ultra-Humanite is in charge of the New 52′s Secret Society. He misses that overdeveloped ape. Jeff discusses other things he misses on Twitter.