All-Star Squadron #2 (1981)

Tyrant Out Of Time
On December 7, 1941, continued: The All-Stars run (with Robotman carrying most of them, in a Plastic Man howdah) from Washington to Norfolk Naval Air Station, at about 50 mph, with no interstate highways, so that has to take at least 4 hours. Also Hawkman stops by the Smithsonian to borrow a very hefty morningstar-type mace, which despite being a museum piece is in useable condition. They stop in Williamsburg to break up a heist by tommygun-wielding hoodlums in suits. Then on their coast-to-coast flight, they swap origin stories and secret identities, while flying to California in an anachronistic B-29 Superfortress, (described as "unarmed" but there are visible gun turrets on it), to defend the west coast against a possible Japanese follow-up attack. Given that a real-world B-29's top speed was 350 mph, that would be a 9-hour flight from Norfolk to San Francisco, so all together that's 13 hours from the White House to now, minus three for the time zones: it's still December 8 when they get to California. Hawkman and Liberty Belle are apparently both qualified multi-engine bomber pilots, and Belle is just now today experiencing the super-adrenal strength and speed that she'd never had before. And recall, she'd just called up Tom Revere "on a hunch" at the meeting with FDR. Meanwhile, Per Degaton launches a bogus Japanese air raid, from a submersible aircraft carrier, using a flight of erzatz Zeroes, commanded by the Sky Pirate, attacking San Francisco. Aboard his incredible vessel, Degaton regales his glowing captives, Sir Justin and Miss Reilly, with an outline of his big and evil scheme: This is all being done in an attempt to get America to fight Japan first, instead of Germany. His calculations have told him that this will cause a stalemate in Europe AND (somehow) a Japan vs US stalemate also. Degaton then figures to lay back, from 1941-Dec until 1947, THEN carve out his empire. Well, he's insane, and his logic would not work, but he still needs to be stopped. Per Degaton reveals that in November 1941 he was an assistant to the Time Trust, and was responsible for sabotaging the bomb defense formula (25th-century technology, obtained by the JSA in All-Star Comics #10), on its second test. He also reveals that the captured JSA members are held, in Wotan's magic auras, in a cavern beneath that same volcanic island where Justin and Danette were captured. Though carefully keeping the Shining Knight's enchanted sword out of his reach, Degaton has stupidly underestimated and neglected Miss Reilly, and she lunges for it, and poof, her glowing bonds vanish as soon as she touches it. She frees and arms Sir Justin, who then squares off against Solomon Grundy. Meanwhile two dozen highly-modified Zeroes, with hypnotized Japanese pilots, commanded in pidgin Japanese by the American Sky Pirate, are low-flying over the Mare Island Naval Base, then splitting up to attack two civilian areas. Sky Pirate's group (of 9) heads for San Francisco, where Senator Henry Knight and his debutante daughter Sandra are on a fact-finding trip. Sandra changes clothes and takes action as the Phantom Lady, but really, there's not much she can do about this. Just before the strafing starts, in flies that B-29 from Washington, with Robotman ripping through the fuselage to step out onto the wing. Hawkman has aimed the plane to crash in the bay, and flies free of it, while Robotman rips loose one engine and flies with that, aimed at Sky Pirate's lead Zero. Everybody else exits in a Plastic Man glider. Soon the Atom, Belle, Mid-Nite, & Plastic Man land in San Francisco, also with nothing much to do, there on the ground, when by sheer luck a robbery happens nearby and they start to take action, but the Phantom Lady has already blind-sided the crooks, who crash their car into a lamp post. Meanwhile aloft, Johnny Quick is definitely maneuvering in mid-air, thus NOT flying "on momentum" like he'd said a few pages earlier. And Robotman has managed to crash his engine nacelle into Sky Pirate's Zero, and demands some answers from him, while the plane is corkscrewing towards the bay. The Pirate spills his guts, then vanishes, (which he wasn't expecting to do or he wouldn't have squealed). Johnny Quick dismantles at least three Zeroes in mid-air, and Hawkman knocks a wing off of one with a mace, then notices the pilot's hypnotized condition, but that pilot is killed, by another Zero, who is shooting at Hawkman, who evades that attack, and snatches Robotman off the other falling Zero. Meanwhile on the submersible aircraft carrier, Per Degaton spots Hawkman & Robotman, now being joined by Johnny Quick, and decides to detonate his volcano, eliminating the rest of the JSA. He pushes the destruct switch.
Release Date: 1981