Tuesday, August 5, 2008

Doctors in the House Tuesday!

The JSA had quite a turnover. Before even having half a dozen episodes as a team, Flash, Green Lantern and Hour-Man were put on "Honorary" status. I think the only team who lost more members in that short a period of time was the Suicide Squad.

This wasn't necessarily a bad thing. One of the best changes was that it gave us an actual Johnny Thunder comic instead of having Johnny as the main character the two-page text story required back in the day so that the comic could be mailed as a magazine (also known as "the pages you quickly flipped past without reading").

Also in the positive column was the addition of Dr. Mid-Nite. Let's take a look at his first appearance with the team in All-Star Comics #8, shall we?


This was something he learned in school? I thought he went to medical school! What kind of medical school teaches you that sort of thing? Did he go to clown college as an undergrad?
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Was Dr. Mid-Nite a real doctor? He sure was, in his secret identity! Need proof? Here it is:


That's right.... this is the plan, and if it doesn't work, it's because you're a hypochondriac! Payment is expected when services are rendered unless prior arrangements have been made! Give the receptionist a copy of your insurance card!
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The good doctor immediately fit in with the other Justice Society members:


Yup. Any confession is a good confession where the JSA was concerned. Hippocratic Oath? Civil rights? Never heard of 'em.
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Just for fun, let's check out the most awesome Dr. Fate panel ever:


Not only does it rule for having a magician resorting to just threatening to choke a guy as if he were a member of the Three Stooges, but also for the fact that his adversary was "Goopy Gus."

And what's making his cape fly straight up like that? And no one had better say "magic."...

8 comments:

Nick Danger said...

... Magic.

Jack Norris said...

And I can think of no better use for a character with mystic powers than getting to the bottom of a "bus franchise racket." Thrilling.

Captain Infinity said...

Man, that guy is huge!

Aaron Carine said...

Even the JSA heroes like Green Lantern or Dr. Fate,who didn't have super strength or (apparently)martial training seemed to be able to beat up a whole gang of thugs. Criminals must have been pretty dainty back then.

D.B. Echo said...

So Dr. Mid-Nite's superpower was the ability to inject drugs into his adversaries' bloodstreams? Even drugs he just found in their desk drawers? Dude!

Where the hell is the rest of Dr. Fate's helmet? I always liked the way the helmet covered his entire face and head, giving him an otherworldly appearance. Except for the ears. I suppose in the movie version of JSA, there would be rubber ears glued to the sides of the helmet.

SallyP said...

Ahh, the good old days, before Miranda Rights, and all that sort of nonsense. You could just pummel the bad guys into a confession. And look manly while doing it.

Dick Cheney grew up wishing that HE could be in the Justice Society.

Adam Barnett said...

mr. echo.... Dr. Fate swapped helmets from the full-face one to that cropped version for some reason I never cared enough to understand. Someone probably thought he just looked too dang awesome in the full-face version.

Adam Barnett said...

mr. echo.... Dr. Fate swapped helmets from the full-face one to that cropped version for some reason I never cared enough to understand. Someone probably thought he just looked too dang awesome in the full-face version.