The Secret Society of Super Villains (SSoSV) is a group of comic book villains that exist in the DC Universe. The SSoSV, first introduced in their own comic magazine with issue #1 (May, 1976), could be considered an enemy of the Justice League of America, whose magazine they made several appearances in during the late 1970s. 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. ... Gerard F. Gerry Conway (September 10, 1952 - ) is an American writer of comic books and television shows. ... Gotham Citys skyline, as it appears in the 1989 Batman movie. ... The Secret Society of Super Villains is a team of comic book supervillains in the DC Comics universe. ... A comic book is a magazine or book containing the art form of comics. ... The Justice League is a DC Comics superhero team. ... The 1970s decade refers to the years from 1970 to 1979, inclusive. ...

History

First organized by Darkseid, the Secret Society of Supervillains were based out of the Sinister Citadel in San Francisco. From early on, the team was plagued with power struggles. Lex Luthor, the Wizard, and Funky Flashman all sought to control the powerful team; Manhunter and Captain Comet, on the other hand, sought to divert the villains' evil ways into a more positive channel. After confusion over the purpose of the team, the SSoSV dedicated themselves to villainry and found a nemesis in Captain Comet. After discovering the true identity of their benefactor, the team rebelled against the alien overlord. To quash their uprising, Darkseid sent Mantis and Kalibak. At the end of the struggle, Manhunter sacrificed himself to stop Darkseid. After this, the team splintered, with Luthor and Flashman leading competing teams. However, the Wizard proved to be the most tenacious, by usurping power from Flashman and creating the definitive incarnation of the SSoSV. This page is a candidate for speedy deletion. ... Mantis is a DC Comics supervillain created by Jack Kirby as part of The Fourth World comic series in the 1970s. ... In comic books, Kalibak was the first son of Darkseid from Apokolips in Jack Kirbys Fourth World meta-series. ...

Cover to Secret Society of Super-Villains #3. Art by Ernie Chan.

This incarnation battled against the Justice League of America aboard their satellite headquarters. At one point in the battle, the two teams swapped bodies, allowing the super villains to discover the true identities of their nemeses. After gaining the upper hand, the Justice League wiped the memories of the super villains, precipitating Identity Crisis and the formation of the current Society years later. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (400x604, 79 KB) Summary Cover to Secret Society of Super-Villains #3. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (400x604, 79 KB) Summary Cover to Secret Society of Super-Villains #3. ... Ernesto Ernie Chan is a Filipino comic book artist. ... Identity Crisis #7, the conclusion. ...

Pre-Crisis, the history of the first incarnation of the SSoSV is different. After the Wizard gained leadership of his own branch of the SSoSV, he sought to travel to Earth-Two, where the superheroes would be ill equiped to battle against the villains of Earth-One. However, the SSoSV and Captain Comet found themselves on Earth-Three instead. After freeing the Crime Syndicate, the SSoSV made it to Earth-Two, where they were handily defeated by the Justice Society of America and Captain Comet. After escaping imprisonment, the Wizard and his team attacked the JLA, and from there the history is the same as the post-Crisis version. The Justice Society of America, or JSA, is a team of superheroes whose adventures have been published by DC Comics. ...

Also, pre-Crisis, there was a third splinter group of the SSoSV, formed by the Silver Ghost on Earth-One. This group traveled to Earth-X and battled against the Freedom Fighters. Post-Crisis, the post-war history of the Freedom Fighters is much different. Having never had to travel to Earth-X, the Freedom Fighters apperently broke up shortly after World War II, as Uncle Sam's American Talisman was shattered in 1946. Freedom Fighters #1 (April, 1976) Freedom Fighters is the name of a minor DC Comics comic book superhero team made up of characters acquired from the defunct company, Quality Comics, and the short-lived comic book series of the same name featuring those characters. ...

Ultra-Humanite's Society

The Secret Society on the cover to Justice League of America #195 by George Pérez.

The next incarnation of the Secret Society was organized by the Ultra-Humanite, who organized foes of both the Justice League of America and the Justice Society of America. This marked the appearance of the now-classic albino ape body of the Ultra-Humanite. This incarnation of the SSoSV was betrayed by the Ultra-Humanite, who had his own agenda. However, he was defeated, and the entire group was incarcerated (pre-Crisis, the SSoSV was placed in Limbo, the area between parallel Earths. Where the heroes incarcerated the SSoSV hasn't been explored post-Crisis, but an area of the Phantom Zone seems most likely). Ultra-Humanite contacted his younger self in 1942, who helped to break out the SSoSV using the power of Brain Wave. The ape Ultra-Humanite attacked Infinity, Inc. in the modern day, while the rest of the SSoSV battled against the All-Star Squadron in 1942. The villains were defeated, and returned to their proper times. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (400x611, 84 KB) Summary Cover to Justice League of America #195. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (400x611, 84 KB) Summary Cover to Justice League of America #195. ... New Teen Titans #1. ... The Justice League is a DC Comics superhero team. ... The Justice Society of America, or JSA, is a team of superheroes whose adventures have been published by DC Comics. ... The Phantom Zone is a fictional dimension in the Superman comic books used predominantly before the DC Comics shared universe retcon with Crisis on Infinite Earths in the 1980s. ... Infinity Inc. ...

Underground

The SSoSV in time grew into a large underground group with dozens of villains holding membership in various scattered cells. After the reformation of the JLA, the seven superheroes decided to infiltrate and shut down this new Society.

The Society's council. Cover to Villains United #1 (2005). Art by J.G. Jones.

Disguising himself as the deceased Brain Wave, Martian Manhunter lured the villains to one spot, where they were defeated by the the JLA. As the tale was told by the Rainbow Raider to another villain, there may have been some embellishment. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (500x750, 188 KB) Licensing File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (500x750, 188 KB) Licensing File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ...

Luthor's Society

After the defeat of the last incarnation of the SSoSV, time would pass before villains would band together in any sort of large organization. Fueled by rumors of the mindwiping of Dr. Light, a new Society emerged. This Society was founded by Alexander Luthor, Jr. posing as Lex Luthor, along with five other supervillains. Luthor's intent was to gather together a cadre of supervillains to retrieve several key superheroes. These key superheroes were to power a device of his own design. While the Society believed this device to be a machine to mindwipe all the heroes of Earth, its true purpose was to warp reality and recreate the multiple Earths wiped out during the Crisis on Infinite Earths. Playing on the fear of superheroes, retalition for refusal, and the desire for power, Alexander created a Society whose size is larger than all previous incarnations combined, with over 200 members. The Society plays a key role in the limited series Villains United, as well as Villains United: Infinite Crisis Special. Alexander Luthor, Jr. ... Crisis on Infinite Earths was a twelve-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. ... A miniseries, in a serial storytelling medium, is a production which tells a story in a limited number of episodes. ... Villains United is a six-issue comic book limited series, written by Gail Simone with art by Dale Eaglesham and Wade von Grawbadger, published by DC Comics in 2005. ...

List of Appearances

• Secret Society of Super-Villains # 1-15
• Amazing World of DC Comics #11 (Contains alternate version of SSoSV # 1)
• DC Special Series # 6 (SSoSV Special)
• Super-Team Family # 14
• DC Special # 27
• Cancelled Comics Cavalcade # 2 (Contains 'unpublished' black and white version of SSoSV # 16-17)
• Justice League of America # 166-168, 195-197
• All-Star Squadron # 25-26, Annual # 2
• JLA # 115-119
• Villains United # 1-6
• Villains United: Infinite Crisis Special

Cancelled Comics Cavalcade was a tongue-in-cheek publication reproduced in the offices of DC Comics in very limited quantity following the DC Implosion in 1978. ... The Justice League is a DC Comics superhero team. ... The All-Star Squadron, featuring Doctor Mid-Nite, Star-Spangled Kid, Robotman, Uncle Sam, Phantom Lady, Commander Steel, Plastic Man, Starman, Sandman, Green Lantern, Atom, Flash, Liberty Belle, Hourman and Amazing-Man The All-Star Squadron was an American comic book (1981-1987) created by Roy Thomas and published by... Wikipedia does not yet have an article with this exact name. ... Villains United is a six-issue comic book limited series, written by Gail Simone with art by Dale Eaglesham and Wade von Grawbadger, published by DC Comics in 2005. ...

Other media

In Justice League, Gorilla Grodd and Giganta formed the Secret Society with Shade, Sinestro, Killer Frost, and Parasite. In its formation, Grodd took pains to encourage a more cohesive organization in order to avoid the infighting of Lex Luthor's Injustice Gang. His first plan was to rescue Clayface from Morgan Edge's mansion where Killer Frost froze Morgan. Grodd tells Clayface that he'll help him find a way to return Clayface to his true identity of Matt Hagen after they defeat the Justice League. The Secret Society defeated the League the first time, but the Secret Society was defeated in the second battle. Justice League is an American animated television series about a team of superheroes which ran from 2001 to 2004 on Cartoon Network. ... Gorilla Grodd is a fictional character appearing in DC Comics, primarily as an opponent of The Flash. ... Giganta (Real name Doris Zuel) is a powerful DC Comics supervillainess with the ability to grow into a towering, incredibly strong giantess. ... The Shade, as painted by Tony Harris on the cover of Starman #6 (1995) The Shade is a DC Comics character, a villain created in the 1940s who would fight against two generations of superheroes, most notably the Golden Age and Silver Age Flashes. ... Sinestro is a fictional character, a supervillain within the DC Comics universe. ... Killer Frost is the name of two DC Comics supervillain and one of Firestorms foes. ... The Parasite is a fictional character and supervillain who appears in Superman stories published by DC Comics. ... The Injustice Gang (also known as the Injustice Gang of the World) is a group of fictional supervillains in the DC Comics universe. ... The four Clayfaces, from Secret Origins #44, September 1989. ...

Subsequently, Grodd renewed his attempts to create a society and succeeded with the creation of a massive co-operative operation. Although based on the Legion of Doom from the Super Friends animated series, it is never referred to by this name in the series, and is treated simply as an expanded Secret Society. The Hall of Doom, the Legion of Dooms headquarters. ... The Title card for the first Super Friends series. ...

See Also

List of Secret Society of Super-Villains members The Secret Society of Super Villains is a team of comic book supervillains in the DC Comics universe. ...

External Links

• Index of the first incarnation of the Secret Society of Super Villains.
• Secret Society of Super Villains Index at DarkMark's Comics Indexing Domain.
• The Secret Society of Super Villains at DC Cosmic Teams.
• The Society at DC Cosmic Teams.