The Crime Syndicate of America is a fictional team of supervillains from one of DC Comics' parallel universes, and are the evil counterparts of the Justice League of America. The team first appeared in Justice League of America #29 in August 1964. DC Comics is one of the largest American companies in comic book and related media publishing. ... In comic books, first appearance refers to the date or issue of a characters first appearance. ... Gardner Francis Fox (May 20, 1911, Brooklyn, New York – December 24, 1986) was an American writer best known for writing comic books and co-creating numerous comics characters, especially for DC Comics. ... The cover of Brave and the Bold #28, 1960, featuring the first appearance of the Justice League and art by Mike Sekowsky. ... Ultraman is a supervillain who appears in stories published by DC Comics. ... Owlman is a fictional supervillain who appears in stories published by DC Comics. ... Superwoman is the name given to several fictional characters published over the years by DC Comics, most of them being, much like the more popular Supergirl, a woman with powers similar to Supermans. ... Johnny Quick is the name of two DC Comics characters, each with the power of superhuman speed. ... Power Ring is the name of several DC Comics supervillains-- counterparts of Green Lanterns Hal Jordan, Kyle Rayner and John Stewart. ... Doctor Doom, one of the most archetypal supervillains and his arch-enemies The Fantastic Four (in background). ... DC Comics is one of the largest American companies in comic book and related media publishing. ... Parallel universe or alternate reality in science fiction and fantasy is a self-contained separate reality coexisting with our own. ... For other uses, see Evil (disambiguation). ... The Justice League is a DC Comics superhero team. ...

Team history

The original Crime Syndicate

The Crime Syndicate originally lived on Earth-Three, a world where history was "reversed" from the world we knew (e.g. President John Wilkes Booth was assassinated by Abraham Lincoln). It initially had no superheroes, only the supervillains of the Crime Syndicate, though this changed with the advent of heroic Alexander Luthor (that world's counterpart of Lex Luthor). Earth-Three was the Earth of an alternate reality in the DC Multiverse. ... John Wilkes Booth John Wilkes Booth (May 10, 1838 – April 26, 1865) was an American actor infamous for the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. ... This is an incomplete list of persons that were assassinated for political and other reasons, and who have individual entries. ... Abraham Lincoln (February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865), sometimes called Abe Lincoln and nicknamed Honest Abe, the Rail Splitter, and the Great Emancipator, was an American politician who served as the 16th President of the United States (1861 to 1865), and the first president from the Republican Party. ... Lex Luthor is a fictional DC Comics supervillain. ... Lex Luthor is a fictional DC Comics supervillain. ...

In their first appearance, the Crime Syndicate, bored with the ease with which they were able to commit crimes on their Earth (and with no one to truly challenge them), discovered the existence of Earth-One and Earth-Two, and set out to challenge the JLA and JSA to a lengthy fight, after which the Syndicate was ultimately defeated. Following this defeat, they were imprisoned in an unbreakable bubble generated by Green Lantern's power ring, and placed in a "limbo" dimension between the Earths. Over the following years, the Syndicate or one of its members would occasionally escape and attempt to wreak havoc on Earth-One and/or Earth-Two. Cover to Green Lantern: Rebirth #6, art by Ethan Van Sciver. ... In religious terminology, limbo is the temporary status of the souls of good persons who died but did not go to Heaven. ...

Earth-Three and the original Crime Syndicate were destroyed along with the rest of DC's parallel worlds in the 1985 12-issue Maxi-Series Crisis on Infinite Earths. The inhabitants of that world were swallowed by an anti-matter wave, although Alexander Luthor managed to send his infant son, Alexander Luthor, Jr., to the safety of Earth-One. This was the last appearance of the Syndicate that decade until a new one appeared, apparently from the anti-matter universe. The limited series is a term referring to a comic book series with a set finite number of issues. ... Crisis on Infinite Earths was a 12-issue comic book limited series (identified as a 12 part maxi-series) and crossover event, produced by DC Comics in 1985 in order to simplify their fifty-year-old continuity. ... Alexander Luthor, Jr. ...

The modern Crime Syndicate

A post-Crisis version of the Crime Syndicate was eventually introduced. This post-Crisis version, essentially identical to the Earth-Three group, was initially said (in 1992's Justice League Quarterly #8) to be from the antimatter universe of Qward, their appearance implying they come from the world of Qward. Crisis on Infinite Earths was a 12 issue comic book mini-series produced by DC Comics in 1985 in order to clean up their 50-year-old, convoluted and confusing continuity. ... In particle physics, antimatter extends the concept of the antiparticle to matter, wherein if a particle and its antiparticle come into contact with each other, the two annihilate —that is, they may both be converted into other particles with equal energy in accordance with Einsteins equation E = mc2. ... Qward is a fictional world existing within an antimatter universe that is part of the DC Comics universe. ...

The 1998 graphic novel JLA: Earth 2, established them as coming from a parallel Earth within the antimatter universe. Qward was retconned to be the center of the antimatter universe, rather than the entire universe itself. This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...

The Crime Syndicate's post-Crisis antimatter Earth (named "Earth-1" in the JLA: Earth 2 graphic novel; not to be confused with the pre-Crisis Earth-One) possesses a "reversed" history similar to Earth-Three's and a much darker tone to both the team and its world. JLA Secret Files 2004 provided additional history of this team, showing that they did once resemble the Earth-Three Syndicate. This Crime Syndicate (with their name slightly respelled to "Crime Syndicate of Amerika") rule their world with an iron fist (a change from their pre-Crisis counterparts, who were unsuccessful in conquering their world); the modern Syndicate's motto is "Cui Bono?" ("Who profits?"). The only universally respected principle on their world is that of the "favor bank"---if someone does you a favor, you owe them a favor in return that must be repaid whenever the favor is called in. A motto (from Italian) is a phrase or a short list of words meant formally to describe the general motivation or intention of an entity, social group, or organization. ...

In addition to the heroic Alexander Luthor, their opponents include the heroic H.I.V.E. (Hierarchy for International Virtuous Empowerment), the Missile Men, and the Justice Underground, a reversed analog of the Legion of Doom and Secret Society of Super-Villains consisting of Sir Solomon Grundy, General Grodd, Q-Ranger (Earth-1's version of Major Force), Lady Sonar, Star Sapphire, and the Quizmaster (Earth-1's version of the Riddler, who was the smartest man in the world). The H.I.V.E. (stands for The Hierarchy of International Vengeance and Extermination) is the name of a DC Comics supervillain team. ... Doc Magnus 16:52, 31 December 2006 (UTC) Evil robot Z-1 had been dropped on an uninhabited planetoid used as a space junk dumping ground, lay there for centuries until a solar flare re-animated him. ... The Justice Underground was comprised of heroes of the Anti-Matter Universe in the DC Universe. ... The Hall of Doom, the Legion of Dooms headquarters The Legion of Doom was a group of supervillains led by Lex Luthor that appeared in Super Friends, a 1970s and 1980s animated series that starred superheroes from DC Comics. ... The Secret Society of Super Villains (SSOSV) is a group of comic book villains that exist in the DC Universe. ... Solomon Grundy is a DC Comics character, a large, strong zombie supervillain. ... Gorilla Grodd is a fictional character appearing in DC Comics, primarily as an opponent of The Flash. ... Major Force (Clifford Zmeck) is a fictional character, a comic book supervillain in the DC Comics universe. ... The son of deaf parents in the small European nation of Modora. ... Star Sapphire is the name of several female supervillains in DC Comics, all connected in origin. ... The Riddler, (Edward E. Nigma), is a DC Comics supervillain and an enemy of Batman. ...

In an early 2000s issue of Superman, Ultraman and Superwoman are shown to have had a child together.

2003's JLA/Avengers crossover written by Kurt Busiek seemed to involve the destruction of the Crime Syndicate's universe, but this was later reversed when the special's villain, Krona, was defeated. The Crime Syndicate later reappeared in Busiek's run on the current JLA series. JLA/Avengers was a 4-issue comic book mini-series jointly published by Marvel Comics and DC Comics in 2003. ... In comic books, an intercompany crossover (also called cross-company, or simply company crossover) is a comic or series of comics where a character (or group of characters) published by one company meets a character published by another (for example, DC Comics Superman meeting Marvels Spider-Man). ... Kurt Busiek (born September 16, 1960) is a comic book writer. ... Krona is a fictional extraterrestrial villain in the DC Comics universe. ...

Other criminal organizations on the Crime Syndicate's Earth include the Crime Lodge (Justice Society) and Young Offenders (Teen Titans). They are mentioned at the end of the Busiek story as prepared to take advantage of the Syndicate's weakness, but not seen. The Justice Society of America, or JSA, is a DC Comics superhero group, the first team of superheroes in comic book history. ... Teen Titans redirects here. ...

Infinite Crisis

Main article: Infinite Crisis

It is yet to be seen whether the Syndicate or the anti-matter universe have survived the events of the 2006 limited series Infinite Crisis. Infinite Crisis was a seven-issue comic book limited series published by DC Comics. ... The limited series is a term referring to a comic book series with a set finite number of issues. ... Infinite Crisis was a seven-issue comic book limited series published by DC Comics. ...

The original Syndicate made a post-Crisis appearance in Infinite Crisis when Earth-Three temporarily returned, and Ultraman, Superwoman, and Alexander Luthor were almost merged with Superman, Wonder Woman, and Superman of Earth-2 Infinite Crisis was a seven-issue comic book limited series published by DC Comics. ... Kal-L is the Kryptonian birth name of the Earth-Two Superman, one of the most iconic comic book superheroes in the DC Comics Universe. ...

Kandor

Ultraman recently made an appearance in Kandor in the pages of Supergirl, posing as Superman. The explanation for his presence there comes from another evil duplicate of a hero. Saturn Queen, last seen in the "Absolute Power" arc of Superman/Batman, explains that when Alexander Luthor, Jr. brought the multiverse back in Infinite Crisis, her alternate reality was recreated on its own world. When the multiverse collapsed, she found herself stranded in the Phantom Zone, where she found Ultraman. She viewed Ultraman as a suitable replacement for the version of Superman who was her son in her reality, and placed him under mind control so that he would believe her to be his mother. She was also able to put Supergirl under her control and initiated plans for the two to marry, but Supergirl was able to break free of her control. After viciously beating Ultraman, Saturn Queen offered information to Supergirl in return for sparing Ultraman. Supergirl accepted, and Ultraman and Saturn Queen remain in Kandor. Ultraman is a supervillain who appears in stories published by DC Comics. ... Superman/Batman is a monthly comic book series published by DC Comics that features the publishers two most popular characters: Superman and Batman. ... Alexander Luthor, Jr. ... Infinite Crisis was a seven-issue comic book limited series published by DC Comics. ... The Phantom Zone is a fictional prison dimension featured in the Superman comic books and related media. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Supergirl. ...

It remains unknown if any other Syndicate members are still in the Phantom Zone, as Ultraman was.

Superman/Batman vs. Ultraman/Owlman

Superman/Batman Annual #1 (2006) details Superman and Batman's first encounter with Ultraman and Owlman. Set years ago, before Superman and Batman knew each other's identities, a vacationing Clark Kent, Bruce Wayne and Lois Lane meet Ultraman, Owlman, and Superwoman when their antimatter counterparts appear on a cruise ship. This story also features the first appearance of Deathstroke's unnamed antimatter doppelganger, a character similar in appearance and personality to Deadpool a Marvel character based on Deathstroke whose eponymous comic book series was Superman/Batman Annual #1 writer Joe Kelly's big break in comics. Superman/Batman is a monthly comic book series published by DC Comics that features the publishers two most popular characters: Superman and Batman. ... Deathstroke the Terminator (Slade Wilson), also called simply Deathstroke (and originally simply the Terminator), is a fictional character in the DC Comics Universe. ... Deadpool is a Marvel Comics anti-hero, although he is sometimes portrayed as a villain. ... Joe Kelly (1913 - 1993) was a Formula One driver from Ireland, born in Dublin, although he lived for much of his formative years in Gdansk, Poland, where he learned to drive. ...

Members

In both versions of the Crime Syndicate, its members are:

• Ultraman: the counterpart of Superman. Pre-Crisis, Ultraman came from a Krypton that hadn't exploded, and who depended on kryptonite to maintain his superpowers, rather than draining them (initially he received a new power through each exposure to kryptonite). Post-Crisis, Ultraman was a human astronaut (Lieutenant Clark Kent) given Anti-Kryptonite-based superpowers after an encounter with aliens. If he is separated from Anti-Kryptonite long enough, his powers fade away; Ultraman combats this by inserting Anti-Kryptonite capsules under his skin which are released gradually over time.

• Superwoman: the counterpart of Wonder Woman. Superwoman gained her powers from her world's Amazons, and thus has similar powers to Wonder Woman. Post-Crisis, she is the anti-matter Earth's version of Lois Lane; it is not revealed how she got her powers. Her lasso does not compel others to tell the truth, but instead releases inhibitions, and forces a victim to reveal secrets which they find especially humiliating. The Post-Crisis Superwoman also has heat vision.

• Owlman: the counterpart of Batman. Pre-Crisis, Owlman possessed a limited range of mind control powers. Post-Crisis, Owlman's origin was fleshed out with his powers enhanced by a range of technological and physical skills, much like Batman. He is the brother of his Earth's Bruce Wayne, Thomas Wayne Jr. In addition, Owlman increased his IQ with a drug-enhancer for his cerebral cortex. He openly possesses plans to counter his teammates' powers, an action which Batman regrets resorting to in the "Tower of Babel" story arc in JLA. Owlman uses these counterattacks whenever he chooses, as he causes Quick to have a minor heart attack at the beginning of the "Syndicate Rules" storyline.

• Johnny Quick: the counterpart of the Flash. In post-Crisis continuity Quick maintains his superpowers with the use of "Speed Juice," a powerful narcotic stimulant. Grant Morrison stated in an interview that the Speed Juice was derived from the blood of Quick's murdered predecessor. Quick is not to be confused with the Golden-Age/Earth-Two hero of the same name.

• Power Ring: the counterpart of Green Lantern. Power Ring gained his magical ring of power from a Tibetan monk named Volthoom, and has powers similar to the Silver Age Green Lantern. Post-Crisis, the original Power Ring (who still got the ring from a Tibetan monk named Volthoom) was an American named Harrolds, but JLA: Earth 2 established that the original Power Ring later gave the ring to a young blond man, the counterpart to Kyle Rayner. His ring was inhabited by the spirit of Volthoom who often spoke on his own, making inane observations; all of which is considered a curse to the ring's welder. The blond Power Ring's favorite tactic in battle was to use the ring to create living Boschian monstrosities capable of destroying whole city blocks. The Syndicate Rules series showed that after the anti-matter Universe was destroyed by Krona and recreated, certain elements of history had been changed, and now the second Power Ring was a black man and a counterpart to John Stewart. This Power Ring was a Slave Marine for many years. He was tricked by Harrolds into taking the ring by telling him he was the chosen substitute to wield the ring when Harrolds couldn't.

The JLA: Earth 2 special featured several costumes in the CSA Watchtower, three of them labeled Doctor Noon (Doctor Mid-Nite's counterpart), White Cat (Black Canary's counterpart) and Spaceman (Starman's counterpart). Ultraman is a supervillain who appears in stories published by DC Comics. ... Superman is a fictional character and one of the most famous and popular comic book superheroes of all time. ... Lara, Jor-El, and Superman on Krypton. ... Superman, Phantom Zone criminals, and Jimmy Olsen, in front of a display of kryptonite models. ... Crisis on Infinite Earths was a 12 issue comic book mini-series produced by DC Comics in 1985 in order to clean up their 50-year-old, convoluted and confusing continuity. ... U.S. Space Shuttle astronaut Bruce McCandless II using a manned maneuvering unit (MMU) outside the Challenger in 1984. ... Superman, Phantom Zone criminals, and Jimmy Olsen, in front of a display of kryptonite models. ... For a scientific theory point of view, see extraterrestrial life. ... Superwoman is the name given to several fictional characters published over the years by DC Comics, most of them being, much like the more popular Supergirl, a woman with powers similar to Supermans. ... For other uses, see Wonder Woman (disambiguation). ... In Greek mythology, the Amazons () were an ancient legendary nation of female warriors, or a society dominated by women, at the outer edges of the world known to the Greeks. ... Lois Joanne Lane is a fictional comic book character who appears in DC Comics’ Superman stories. ... Owlman is a fictional supervillain who appears in stories published by DC Comics. ... It has been suggested that Skills and abilities of Batman be merged into this article or section. ... Location of the cerebral cortex Slice of the cerebral cortex, ca. ... A myocardial infarction occurs when an atherosclerotic plaque slowly builds up in the inner lining of a coronary artery and then suddenly ruptures, totally occluding the artery and preventing blood flow downstream. ... Johnny Quick is the name of two DC Comics characters, each with the power of superhuman speed. ... The Flash. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Superman, the catalyst of the Golden Age, from Superman #14, January-February 1942. ... Power Ring is the name of several DC Comics supervillains-- counterparts of Green Lanterns Hal Jordan, Kyle Rayner and John Stewart. ... Cover to Green Lantern: Rebirth #6, art by Ethan Van Sciver. ... Tibet (older spelling Thibet; Tibetan: བོད་; Wylie: Bod; pronounced in the Lhasa dialect; Chinese: ; pinyin: or Simplified Chinese: ; Traditional Chinese: ; pinyin: [the two names are used with different connotations; see Name section below]) is a region in Central Asia and the home of the Tibetan people. ... A monk is a person who practices religious asceticism, the conditioning of mind and body in favor of the spirit. ... Showcase #4 (September-October 1956), often thought the first appearance of the first Silver Age superhero, the Barry Allen Flash. ... Kyle Rayner is a fictional comic book superhero from the DC Comics universe, known for most of his publication history as Green Lantern, a member of the intergalactic police force known as the Green Lantern Corps. ... Hieronymus Bosch; alleged portrait (around 1560) Hieronymus Bosch, (also Jeroen Bosch or Jerome Bosch) (c. ... Krona is a fictional extraterrestrial villain in the DC Comics universe. ... John Stewart is a fictional comic book superhero in the DC Universe, and a member of the intergalactic police force known as the Green Lantern Corps. ... Doctor Mid-Nite is a DC Comics superhero. ... Black Canary is a DC Comics superheroine character. ... Several incarnations of Starman. ...

The Crime Syndicate's universe also included counterparts of J'onn J'onzz, Aquaman, and Hawkman, known as: Martian Manhunter Real name unpronouncable Publisher DC Comics First appearance Detective Comics #225 ( 1955) Created by Joe Samachson Joe Certa Jonn Jonzz, the Martian Manhunter, is a comic book hero appearing in DC Comics. ... This article is about the comic book character. ... Cover to Hawkman v4 # 1. ...

• White Martian, J'onn's Anti-matter counterpart, came to Earth and became Ultraman's chief rival. He was eventually killed by Ultraman.
• Barracuda, Aquaman's counterpart, was seen at the end of the Busiek story, leading the armies of Atlantis against the surface world in Florida.
• Blood Eagle was Hawkman's counterpart and was killed by the Crime Syndicate.

It has been suggested that the CSA cannot match the size of the JLA because extended cooperation and gratitude are completely foreign concepts to the Crime Syndicate members.

The CSA's post-Crisis world is primarily governed by the "favor bank"; unofficial but ironically the only rule that is not consistently broken. If any person should grant a favor for someone else, that person is entitled to compensation whenever they see fit, no matter what the cost or hardship to the latter. Failure to pay back a favor results in inordinately harsh consequences; as seen in the beginning of "Syndicate Rules". A mobster, Jackson "Rat-Eyes" Drake, who has failed to follow up on a favor owed was put on "trial" by Owlman, who then had him incinerated by Ultraman as a favor.

The Justice League Quarterly story featured a team of Qwardians based on the then current Justice League International, although they did not call themselves the Crime Syndicate. Its members were: Built in the 1987 company-wide crossover limited series, Legends, this new Justice League was given a less America-centric mandate than before, and was dubbed the Justice League International (or JLI for short). ...

• Scarab (Blue Beetle counterpart)
• Slipstream (Flash counterpart)
• Fiero (Fire counterpart)
• Frostbite (Ice counterpart)
• Deadeye (Green Arrow counterpart)
• Elasti-Man (Elongated Man counterpart)
• Element Man (Metamorpho counterpart)

It is not clear if any of these characters exist in the current Anti-matter Earth setting. The Blue Beetle is the name of three fictional comic book superheroes. ... Barry Allen as the Flash. ... Fire is a fictional character, a superheroine from Brazil in the DC Comics universe. ... Ice (Tora Olafsdotter) is a fictional character, a superheroine in the DC Comics universe. ... Green Arrow is a fictional character, a DC Comics superhero. ... The Elongated Man is a fictional comic book superhero in the DC universe. ... Metamorpho (Rex Mason) is a fictional character, a superhero appearing in comic books published by DC Comics. ...

Similar groups in other media

• "Universe of Evil", an episode of the 1970s animated series Super Friends features the team encountering an evil version of the team from an alternate universe, called the "Super Enemies". This universe's version of the Hall Of Justice is called the Hall Of Evil, and a demonic-looking face is on the outside of the building. The Super Enemies themselves appear almost identical to the Super Friends, although their version of Aquaman has an eyepatch, Batman's costume is red rather than blue, and Robin has a moustache (see the bottom of this page for images).

• In the animated series Justice League, a team called the Justice Lords, who combine elements of the Crime Syndicate and Wildstorm Comics' the Authority (a morally-ambiguous take on the Justice League concept), appears as the League's counterparts from an alternate universe. The Justice Lords' counterpart of the Flash had been killed in their world. Unlike the Crime Syndicate, the Justice Lords are not simply evil opposites of their good counterparts; rather, they rule their world with an iron fist in order to end war and crime. The death of their Flash set a chain of events in motion that ended with the death of the alternate Lex Luthor at the hands of the alternate Superman. The United States government, fearing that the Justice League might one day become like the Justice Lords, secretly began Project Cadmus in case they did. The Justice Lords' first appearance was in the 2 part Justice League episode "A Better World". Robotic doubles of the Justice Lords are created as a diversion by the newly combined Lex Luthor/Brainiac in the Justice League Unlimited episode "Divided We Fall".

• "A Better World" was originally going to be a Crime Syndicate story.[1]

• A Justice League DTV was planned, called Justice League: Worlds Collide, in which the Crime Syndicate would have been the main villains and which would have taken place during the gap between seasons 2 and 3.

• In JLA/Avengers 1, The Crime Syndicate can be seen taking over a planet, Qward, But they are killed by the Secret Seeker