Injustice Society

Injustice Society
Publication information
Publisher	DC Comics
First appearance	All Star Comics #37 (October 1947)
Created by	Sheldon Mayer Robert Kanigher
In-story information
Member(s)	See below

The Injustice Society (a.k.a. the Injustice Society of the World) is a group of supervillains in the DC Comics Universe. They are the main antagonists of the Justice Society of America. ^[1]

The Injustice Society first appears in All Star Comics #37 (October 1947) and was created by Sheldon Mayer and Robert Kanigher. The original group brought together six popular villains from Flash Comics , Green Lantern and All Star Comics : Thinker, Gambler, Vandal Savage, Wizard, Per Degaton, and Brain Wave. ^[2]

The Injustice Society appear on the DC Universe and CW show Stargirl as the main antagonists of the first season, with some members also appearing in its second season.

Fictional team history

Golden Age

The Wizard's Injustice Society

It is unknown under what circumstances the Injustice Society was formed. The group first appeared in the 1940s, where they were led by the Wizard and planned to take over America. The group consists of Vandal Savage, Per Degaton, the Thinker, the Gambler, and Brain Wave. ^{[3] [4]}

Second Injustice Society

The second formation appeared in the late 1940s attempting "patriotic crimes", formed by Wizard and consisting of Fiddler, Harlequin, Huntress, Icicle, and Sportsmaster. They steal national monuments, hoping the American people will vote for the best crime allowing that person to become the leader, and succeeding in erasing the Society's memories after capturing them by the Sportsmaster knocking them out with one of his bombs. Harlequin turns against the group and Black Canary restores the Justice Society's memories. ^[5]

Silver Age

The Injustice Society reforms during the 1970s to try and eliminate the reformed Justice Society, consisting of the Wizard, Sportsmaster, Huntress, Gambler, Shade, and Icicle. ^[6]

Post-Crisis

Injustice Unlimited

During what some described as the "anti-costumed-hero mania" (as chronicled in the DC miniseries Legends ) in the pages of Infinity, Inc. , the Wizard gathered both old comrades (consisting of Brainwave, the Fiddler, Gambler, Harlequin, Per Degaton, Shade, Solomon Grundy, Sportsmaster, Thinker, and Vandal Savage) and new super-criminals (consisting of Hazard, Icicle II, and Tigress III) into a new Injustice Society, which he called "Injustice Unlimited". ^[7]

Johnny Sorrow's Injustice Society

Johnny Sorrow appears in late 1999 as the leader of the new Injustice Society (consisting of Icicle II, Blackbriar Thorn, Count Vertigo, Geomancer, Killer Wasp, and Tigress III). Together they storm the headquarters of superhero team Justice Society of America, although JSA member Wildcat defeats them all. ^[8]

Sorrow later returns with a larger version of the Injustice Society, having recruited Black Adam, Shiv, Rival, and the Thinker. ^[9]

The Wizard's second Injustice Society

The demon Legacy (actually Wizard in disguise) formed another version in the miniseries JSA All-Stars. The lineup consists of Icicle II, Rival, Shiv, and Tigress III. ^[10]

Johnny Sorrow's Injustice Society

The Injustice Society resurfaced again in November 2005, in the pages of JSA Classified . The Wizard joins forces with Johnny Sorrow to form a new incarnation of the Injustice Society, consisting of Gentleman Ghost, Icicle, Rag Doll, Solomon Grundy, the Thinker, and Tigress III. ^[11]

DC Rebirth

In 2016, DC Comics implemented another relaunch of its books called "DC Rebirth" which restored its continuity to a form much as it was prior to "The New 52" reboot. The first incarnation of the Injustice Society is reintroduced, with the addition of Tigress. ^[12]

DC All In

In the "DC All In" initiative, a new incarnation of the Injustice Society appears. It is led by Scandal Savage and consists of Doctor Elemental, Fog, Gentleman Ghost, Johnny Sorrow, Lady Eve, Red Lantern (Ruby Sokov), Shadow Thief, Solomon Grundy, Wotan, and their associates: Kobra, the Demons Three, and Qwsp. The group plots to steal the Spear of Destiny and the Helmet of Fate to open the portal to the Subtle Realms and release the Unnamed Ones. Despite the Justice Society's efforts, the Injustice Society retrieve the Spear of Destiny from Blackhawk Island and use it to force the Justice Society into submission. ^[13]

Membership

Original team

• Wizard (William Zard) - Leader. An illusionist and powerful sorcerer.
• Brain Wave (Henry King Sr.) - A metahuman with great psionic powers.
• Gambler (Steven Sharpe) - A master of disguise and weapons.
• Per Degaton - A time-traveler with access to advanced technology.
• Thinker (Clifford DeVoe) - A former district attorney and enemy of the Flash (Jay Garrick).
• Vandal Savage - A ruthless caveman given immortality thousands of years ago.

This formation included the following additional members:

• Fiddler (Isaac Bowin) - A criminal who uses specially-made violins.
• Sportsmaster (Lawrence Crock) - A crook who uses sport-themed weapons, married to the Tigress.
• Tigress (Paula Brooks) - A tiger-themed mercenary, married to the Sportsmaster.
• Icicle (Joar Mahkent) - A scientist who invented a gun that drastically lowers temperature.
• Harlequin (Molly Mayne) - A villainess with hypnotic goggles.

Later members

• Shade (Richard Swift) - He was an additional member when a third formation formed during a team-up between the Justice Society and the Justice League, but later in the comic Starman (vol. 2) , he is shown in a flashback assisting a Golden Age incarnation of the Society. His actual time of joining is unknown, but he was a member during the Golden Age. He had a cane which enabled him to cast darkness.
• Solomon Grundy - A superstrong undead foe of Green Lantern who joined a fourth formation led by the Icicle.

Injustice Unlimited members

• Wizard - Leader
• Fiddler
• Shade
• Tigress (Artemis Crock) - The daughter of the Tigress I and the Sportsmaster.
• Hazard - The granddaughter of Gambler.
• Icicle (Cameron Mahkent) - The son of the Icicle I with cryokinetic powers.

Later members

These members were recruited after the Wizard was believed dead and both the Fiddler and the Shade were imprisoned:

• Dummy - A sentient ventriloquist's dummy and enemy of the Vigilante who became the second leader of Injustice Unlimited.
• Harlequin (Marcie Cooper)
• Solomon Grundy

Johnny Sorrow's team

Johnny Sorrow's team. Art by Alan Davis.

• Johnny Sorrow - Leader. A former thief whose face kills nearly anyone who looks at it.
• Count Vertigo - A Green Arrow villain who induces vertigo.
• Icicle (Cameron Mahkent)
• Geomancer (Adam Fells) - A geokinetic supervillain.
• Tigress (Artemis Crock)
• Blackbriar Thorn - A druid.
• Killer Wasp - A half-human, half-insect villain who is the son of the Yellow Wasp.

Later recruits included:

• Rival - A foe of the Golden Age Flash who developed a formula to endow himself with speed nearly matching that of the Flash.
• Black Adam - A rogue Marvel Family member with powers from the Egyptian gods. He was sent after Wildcat, but betrayed the team.
• Shiv - Shiv is the daughter of the supervillain Dragon King. She had a grudge against Stargirl.
• Thinker (A.I.) - An artificial intelligence version of the Thinker I which spied on the JSA.

Legacy's team

• Legacy - Leader. An alias of the Wizard.
• Kestrel - A supervillain created by M'Shulla and Gorrum of the Lords of Chaos to either subvert the Hawk (of the Hawk and the Dove) to the forces of evil or to kill him.
• Rag Doll - A contortionist supervillain.
• Tigress (Artemis Crock)
• Icicle (Cameron Mahkent)
• Solomon Grundy
• Shiv

Present formation

The fifth version of the Injustice Society, art by Joe Bennett.

The Injustice Society resurfaced again in November 2005 in the pages of JSA Classified, composed of:

• Johnny Sorrow - Leader
• Icicle (Cameron Mahkent)
• Tigress (Artemis Crock)
• Rag Doll (Peter Merkel)
• Thinker (A.I.)
• Solomon Grundy
• Wizard
• Gentleman Ghost - The ghost of a highwayman.

The Injustice Society resurfaced once more, this time in a plot to kidnap Stargirl and to face off against the JSA All Stars. The team was composed of the following members:

• Johnny Sorrow
• Tigress (Artemis Crock)
• Icicle (Cameron Mahkent)
• Wizard
• Killer Wasp
• Geomancer II - The unnamed successor of Geomancer I with the same abilities.
• Shiv

DC Rebirth version

• Wizard
• Brain Wave
• Gambler (Steven Sharpe)
• Huntress (Paula Brooks)
• Per Degaton
• Vandal Savage
• Doctor Elemental - A former academic advisor of Jay Garrick whose armor enables him to manipulate the classical elements.
• Ro-Bear - A cyborg bear created by Doctor Elemental.

DC All In version

• Scandal Savage - Leader and the daughter of Vandal Savage.
• Demons Three - A trio of demons who are associates of the ISA.
• Doctor Elemental
• Fog - An old enemy of Sandman who wears a black version of his outfit.
• Gentleman Ghost
• Johnny Sorrow
• Kobra / Lady Eve - A high-ranking member of the Kobra Cult. Some of her soldiers are also working for the ISA. Lady Eve later took on the Kobra name.
• Qwsp - A 5th Dimensional Imp who operated as "Light" in Obsidian's mind.
• Red Lantern (Ruby Sokov) - The daughter of the original Red Lantern.
• Shadow Thief (Carl Sands) - A criminal whose Shadow Vest enables him to tap into the powers of the Shadowlands.
• Solomon Grundy
• Wotan - An ancient sorcerer.

Other versions

Earth-3

An alternate universe iteration of the Injustice Society from Earth-Three appears in Hawkman (vol. 5) #18, led by Sky Tyrant. ^[14]

JSA: The Golden Age

The Injustice Society makes a cameo appearance in JSA: The Golden Age #4, consisting of the Fiddler, the Gambler, the Harlequin, and Psycho-Pirate. ^[15]

In other media

• A team based on the Injustice Society called the Injustice Guild of America appears in the Justice League episode "Legends", consisting of the Music Master, the Sportsman, Doctor Blizzard, and Sir Swami.
• The Injustice Society of America (ISA) appears in the first season of Stargirl , ^[16] led by Icicle and consisting of Brainwave, Gambler, Sportsmaster, Tigress, Wizard, Dragon King, and Solomon Grundy, with Fiddler and Shade appearing as former members. In the pilot episode, Brainwave, Gambler, Icicle, Shade, Grundy, Sportsmaster, Tigress, and Wizard fought the Justice Society of America (JSA) and killed most of its members, with Icicle fatally wounding their leader Starman. A decade after their victory, the ISA operate in Blue Valley under their civilian identities while Fiddler's wife Anaya Bowin fills in for him. After Courtney Whitmore finds Starman's Cosmic Staff and forms a new JSA, the ISA take up arms to stop her as well as enact Project: New America to brainwash the Central United States' citizens. However, the new JSA, the Shining Knight, Barbara Whitmore, and Mike Dugan foil their plans, with most of the ISA either being killed, incarcerated, or escaped.
  • In the second season, Cindy Burman and Eclipso form their own offshoot group called Injustice Unlimited, recruiting Sportsmaster and Tigress' daughter Artemis Crock and the Fiddler's son Isaac Bowin to their cause. After failing to recruit Icicle's son Cameron Mahkent, Injustice Unlimited fights Stargirl's JSA. In the process, Stargirl accidentally frees Eclipso from his Black Diamond. He subsequently sends Burman to the Shadowlands and consumes Isaac while Artemis flees.

References

1. Cowsill, Alan; Irvine, Alex; Korte, Steve; Manning, Matt; Wiacek, Win; Wilson, Sven (2016). The DC Comics Encyclopedia: The Definitive Guide to the Characters of the DC Universe. DK Publishing. p. 153. ISBN   978-1-4654-5357-0.
2. Cowsill, Alan; Irvine, Alex; Manning, Matthew K.; McAvennie, Michael; Wallace, Daniel (2019). DC Comics Year By Year: A Visual Chronicle. DK Publishing. pp. 51–52. ISBN   978-1-4654-8578-6.
3. Rovin, Jeff (1987). The Encyclopedia of Super-Villains . New York: Facts on File. p. 395. ISBN   0-8160-1356-X.
4. All Star Comics #37 (November 1947)
5. All-Star Comics #41 (July 1948)
6. Justice League of America #123-124 (October–November 1975)
7. Infinity, Inc. #32-37 (November 1986 - April 1987)
8. JSA #9 - 10 (April - May 2000)
9. "Review: JSA All-Stars: Constellations trade paperback (DC Comics)". collectededitions.blogspot.co.uk. 29 December 2011. Retrieved October 19, 2013.
10. JSA All-Stars #1 (February 2010)
11. JSA Classified #5 (January 2006)
12. Hawkman (vol. 5) #27 (November 2020)
13. JSA (vol. 2) #1-10 (January 2025-August 2025)
14. Hawkman (vol. 5) #18 (January 2020)
15. JSA: The Golden Age #4 (May 1994)
16. Boucher, Geoff (December 20, 2018). "'Stargirl' Casting: Meet Three Members Of Injustice Society". Deadline Hollywood . Retrieved January 13, 2019.