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For the concept of crime syndicates in general, see Organized crime.

Crime Syndicate of America
The antimatter Crime Syndicate of AmeriKa (and counterparts) feature on the JLA: Earth 2 cover. Art by Frank Quitely. Upside down characters, left to right: Martian Manhunter, Aquaman, The Flash, Green Lantern, Wonder Woman, Superman, and Batman. Right side up, left to right: Johnny Quick, Power Ring, Superwoman, Ultraman, Owlman.
Publication information
Publisher	DC Comics
First appearance	Historical Syndicate: Justice League of America (vol. 1) #29, 1964 Modern Syndicate: JLA: Earth 2, 2000 The Society: 52 Week 52, 2007
Created by	Gardner Fox (writer) Mike Sekowsky (artist)
In-story information
Base(s)	The Panopticon The Flying Fortress
Member(s)	Ultraman Owlman Superwoman Johnny Quick Power Ring

The Crime Syndicate are teams of fictional supervillains, from one of DC Comics' parallel universes, who are the evil counterparts of the Justice League of America.^[1] The original team was specifically known as Crime Syndicate of America and is sometimes abbreviated as CSA. This first superpowered Crime Syndicate team appeared in Justice League of America #29 in August 1964. The primary successive incarnation, known as the Crime Syndicate of Amerika (with the variant spelling of America), first appeared in the 2000 JLA: Earth 2 graphic novel.

A related successive group on Earth-3 is known as the Crime Society of America and first appeared in 52 Week 52.

Crime Syndicate of America

The Crime Syndicate of America originally lived on Earth-Three, a world where history was "reversed" from the world we knew (e.g. British colonists declared their independence from America, and 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 Lex Luthor who used his vast intelligence for good.

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, the JLA tricking the Syndicate members into unleashing more power than they could control. 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.

Earth-Three and the original Crime Syndicate were destroyed along with the rest of DC's parallel worlds in the 1985 twelve-issue maxi-series Crisis on Infinite Earths. The inhabitants of that world were swallowed by an anti-matter wave, with the Crime Syndicate, having decided to be heroic for once, charged straight into the wave defiantly, although Lex Luthor and his wife Lois Luthor managed to send their infant son Alexander Luthor, Jr. to the safety of Earth-One. This was the last appearance of the Crime Syndicate that decade until the post-Crisis version was introduced several years later.

The duplicates of the original Earth-Three Syndicate members have made a few post-Crisis appearances as in Animal Man series and most recently in Infinite Crisis when Earth-Three was temporarily recreated, and models of the Earth-Three Ultraman, Superwoman, and Alexander Luthor, Sr. were almost merged with Superman, Wonder Woman, and Superman of Earth-Two and Wonder Woman of Earth-Two to create so-called "perfect beings".

Crime Syndicate of Amerika

A post-Crisis version of the team, simply known as the "Crime Syndicate" (not 'of America'), was eventually introduced. This post-Crisis version (revealed in 1992's Justice League Quarterly #8) was composed of Qwardians (residents of the antimatter counterpart of Oa) as well as being "more powerful than their counterparts" and "long gone" and shown to be different from the Earth-Three incarnation by their enlarged eyes reflective of the Weaponers of Qward. This version of the Crime Syndicate is never mentioned again; it is quite possible this version was wiped out by Zero Hour or suffered some other fate.

The first appearance of a Crime Syndicate post-Zero Hour was in the JLA: Earth 2 graphic novel in 2000 by Grant Morrison, which combined the pre-Crisis parallel Earth idea with the pre-Zero Hour anti-matter universe concept. The Crime Syndicate's post-Zero Hour anti-matter Earth possesses a "reversed" history similar to Earth-Three's, but with 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. Unlike the Crime Syndicate of Earth-Three, this Crime Syndicate of Amerika are able to rule their world (a change from their pre-Crisis counterparts, who were unsuccessful in conquering their world) though allow governments to continue operating and honest people are able to continue operating in pockets such as Gotham City Police Commissioner Thomas Wayne Sr. (father to Owlman and counterpart of the murdered father of Batman). The antimatter Crime 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.

Along with the heroic analogue Alexander Luthor, other 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 Secret Society of Super Villains consisting of General Grodd, Lady Sonar, Quizmaster, Q-Ranger, Sir Solomon Grundy, and Star Sapphire.

In an early 2000s issue of Superman, Ultraman, and Superwoman appear to have had a child together, but the child actually turns out to be a rogue Brainiac.^[2]

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 the Syndicate Rules arc where they learn of the 'reboot' of their universe which shows the blonde haired Power Ring being replaced by a John Stewart marine counterpart.

Other criminal organizations on the Crime Syndicate's Earth include the Crime Lodge (anti-matter analogues to the Justice Society) and Young Offenders (anti-matter analogues of the Teen Titans and Young Justice). They are mentioned at the end of the Syndicate Rules arc as prepared to take advantage of the Crime Syndicate's weakness, but are not shown.

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. The Ultraman, Owlman, and Superwoman presented in the story have the same costumes as the anti-matter universe version of the Syndicate. However, it should be noted that this tale is being told by Mister Mxyzptlk and as such, may not actually be canonical.

The antimatter Clark Kent appears in Kandor, posing as Superman.^[3] Saturn Queen, last seen in the "Absolute Power" arc of Superman/Batman, explains how Ultraman and she arrive in the city. When Alexander Luthor, Jr. brought the multiverse back in Infinite Crisis, her alternate reality (the Earth featuring the original Legion of Super-Villains) was recreated briefly. 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 and viciously beat Ultraman. Saturn Queen gave information regarding Argo City to Supergirl in exchange for Ultraman's life.

Ultraman and Saturn Queen remained in Kandor, until it was discovered that the bottled city was not the true Kandor. Though it is not known where Saturn Queen went upon the city's abandonment, Ultraman somehow returned to the Anti-matter Universe — which, not being part of the Multiverse but a reflection of it, was not destroyed in Infinite Crisis — and later appeared in The Brave and the Bold (inexplicably depicted wearing the costume of the then-recently-introduced Crime Society's Ultraman), where he was forced to briefly team up with Superman and Final Crisis: Superman: Beyond!, where he was recruited by Superman to be part of a team of Supermen looking for a way to save the Multiverse.

The full five base members of the anti-matter Crime Syndicate, including the aforementioned Kent (his return to his source reality is unrevealed at this point along with the mentioned Justice League team up with the anti-matter Crime Syndicate to drive off the Weaponers of Qwards attack) next appear in Trinity #9. It is revealed that their world was badly damaged by an attack from the Weaponers of Qward. The antimatter Crime Syndicate have adopted open active control of their Earth and have been abducting people from throughout all of the individual fifty-two universes in the current positive matter Multiverse to use as slave labor in their source Earth's repair. After the Trinity defeat and imprison their anti-matter counterparts and free the slaves, the anti-matter Earth falls into even worse chaos than their first visit, without the controlling influence of Ultraman, Owlman, and Superwoman to watch over it.

Crime Society of America

Crime Society of America from 52 Week 52, art by Justiniano.

In 52 Week 52, an alternate version of Earth-Three is shown as a part of the new Multiverse. In the depiction are characters that are altered versions of the original Justice League of America, plus the Martian Manhunter. The names of the characters and the team are not mentioned in the two panels in which they appear.^[4]

Based on comments by Grant Morrison, this alternate universe is not the pre-Crisis Earth-Three, making these new characters unrelated to previous versions. In Countdown #31, the name of this team is revealed to be the Crime Society of America. The Society are said to be evil dopplegangers of the heroes of Earth-2, and make their first solo appearance in Countdown Presents The Search for Ray Palmer: Crime Society #1 written by Sean McKeever and illustrated by Jamal Igle,^[5][6][7][8] Appearing in Countdown, the Crime Society's greatest parallel to the Justice Society is their larger roster (which is not strictly limited to Justice Society counterparts), featuring evil versions of Green Arrow, Wildcat, Black Canary, Hawkwoman, Doctor Fate, Stargirl, and the Spectre alongside better-known CSA members Ultraman, Owlman, Superwoman, Power Ring, and Johnny Quick.^[9] Later issues introduce Annataz Arataz (the evil counterpart of Zatanna),^[10] and counterparts of Supergirl (Kara Zor-El), Wonder Girl (Donna Troy), and Booster Gold. However, although villains are the majority of Earth-3, there are a few heroes that are active on this earth as well. Most of the heroes revealed-to-date are good versions of Batman's famous enemies such as the Joker (known as the Jokester), the Riddler, and Two-Face (Three-Face, a woman named Evelyn Dent).^[11]

Shortly after the Crime Society's introduction, they are offered a place among Monarch's army. Already recruited into Monarch's army, Johnny Quick wins a place in Monarch's elite squad when he defeats his Earth-9 and Earth-2 counterparts in the Countdown: Arena miniseries.

Multiversity

The Crime Syndicate will reappear in the 2010 Multiversity miniseries written by Grant Morrison. It is unknown which version of the team will appear.^[12]

Members

In both the Crime Syndicate and Crime Society, the five permanent members are:

• Ultraman: the counterpart of Superman. Pre-Crisis, the Earth-Three Ultraman came from a Krypton that hadn't exploded. This Ultraman also depended on kryptonite to maintain his superpowers, rather than draining them (originally receiving a new power through each exposure to kryptonite). Post-Crisis, the anti-matter Earth's Ultraman was a human astronaut (Lieutenant Clark Kent) given Anti-Kryptonite-based superpowers after an encounter with aliens.^{[citation needed]} If he is separated from Anti-Kryptonite long enough, his powers fade away; originally the anti-matter Kent combats this power loss by inserting Anti-Kryptonite capsules under his skin which are released gradually over time, as shown in the JLA: Earth 2 hardcover. Later books state that his increasing resistance levels has made this process impractical and wears the anti-kryptonite in the silver colored containers along his costume. The anti-matter Clark Kent has an unhealthy obsession with his universe's Lois Lane who is his Crime Syndicate teammate Superwoman, having forced her to marry him and bear him a son, who was later possessed by their version of Brainiac.
• Superwoman: the counterpart of Wonder Woman. Pre-Crisis, 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, though she looks like Wonder Woman's alter-ego of Diana Prince. 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.^{[citation needed]} The Post-Crisis Superwoman also has heat vision and continues a furtive relationship with Owlman, much to the anger of her husband Ultraman.
• 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. Post-Crisis antimatter Owlman is Thomas Wayne, Jr., the older brother of his Earth's Bruce Wayne who was killed along with his mother. Wayne, Jr. blames his father, Police Commissioner Thomas Wayne, Sr., which since started a personal conflict between them to the point that Thomas, Sr. is determined to kill his own son. Wayne, Jr. also increased his IQ with a drug-enhancer for his cerebral cortex as stated in the JLA Earth 2 hardcover. Wayne, Jr. openly possesses plans to counter his teammates' powers. Wayne, Jr. uses these counterattacks whenever he chooses, as he causes Quick to have a minor heart attack at the beginning of the "Syndicate Rules" storyline. Wayne, Jr. has a number of illicit liaisons with Superwoman, though it is not clear whether this is a genuine attraction or just another way of showing her independence from the obsessively jealous and ever-watchful Ultraman.
• 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.^{[citation needed]} Not to be confused with the Golden-Age/Earth-Two hero of the same name.
• Power Ring: the counterpart of Green Lantern. Pre-Crisis, 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 the JLA: Earth 2 hardcover 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 and taking up residence in the ring wielder's mind; all of which is considered a curse to the ring's wielder. 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" storyline 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 graphic novel 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).^{[citation needed]}

The Crime Syndicate's universe also included counterparts of Martian Manhunter, Aquaman, and Hawkman, known as:

• White Martian: Martian Manhunter's antimatter counterpart. After arriving on Earth, he became Ultraman's chief rival. Ultraman eventually killed him.^[13]
• Barracuda: Aquaman's counterpart though has a non-human merman appearance (fish head and blue skin) as shown in Trinity #12. He is usually seen leading the armies of Atlantis against the surface world in Florida.^[14]
• Blood Eagle: Hawkman's counterpart. Killed by the Crime Syndicate.^[15]

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 failed to follow up on a favor owed was put on "trial" by Owlman, who then had him incinerated by Ultraman as a favor.

A team of Qwardians based on the then-current Justice League International roster appeared on the Post-Crisis Pre-Zero Hour Earth, although they did not call themselves the Crime Syndicate.^[16] Its members were:

• 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 post-Zero Hour or post-Infinite Crisis continuity.

Other versions

• In the Elseworlds JLA: Another Nail limited series, the Flash and Atom accidentally teleport to an alternate Earth. They are subsequently captured and questioned by the Crime Syndicate who believe them both to be the cause of the temporal disruptions affecting the Syndicate's Earth. This Earth is presumed to be a variation of Earth-Three since the villains wore their pre-Crisis costumes.

• In the JLA/Avengers crossover limited series, the antimatter Crime Syndicate is shown attacking the planet Qward when Krona appears, demanding the answers of creation. After no one answers, Krona destroys Qward, killing the Crime Syndicate along with it.

• There was a Crime Syndicate from Qward shown after the Crisis on Infinite Earths, that were able to be identified as separate from the Earth-Three Crime Syndicate due to their enlarged eyes. This Qwardian Crime Syndicate appeared only one time and has never been seen again.

In other media

Television

• The World's Greatest Super Friends episode "Universe of Evil" features Superman encountering evil versions of the rest of the team from an alternate universe, called the "Super Enemies" (he temporarily swapped places with his own evil counterpart, who wrought havoc and almost defeated the rest of the Super Friends until they swapped back just in time) when trying to stop Mount Vesuvius from erupting (which their Superman was causing). 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.

• In the animated series Justice League, a team called the Justice Lords (who combine elements of the Crime Syndicate and Wildstorm Comics' The Authority) appears as the League's counterparts from an alternate universe. They first appeared in the two-part Justice League episode "A Better World", which was originally to feature the Crime Syndicate.^[17] Unlike the Crime Syndicate though, 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. It was the government's fears that the Justice League might one day become like the Justice Lords that sparked Project Cadmus. 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".

• The Crime Syndicate is featured in the Batman: The Brave and the Bold episode "Deep Cover for Batman," but referred to as the Injustice Syndicate.^[18] Owlman is focused on more than the others. They are alternate world counterparts of the main six heroes of the show and four minor heroes: Batman (Owlman), Green Arrow (Blue Bowman), Blue Beetle (Scarlet Scarab), Atom (Dyna-Mite), Red Tornado (Silver Cyclone), and unnamed alternate versions of Fire, Aquaman, and Plastic Man (alternate versions of B'wana Beast and Wildcat were only seen in flashbacks). With the help of Red Hood and heroic versions of the series' recurring bad guys, the Injustice Syndicate was defeated and imprisoned. With Silver Cyclone destroyed, the bomb they planned to launch to Batman's Earth is sent to Earth-161, a reality of Earth where everyone is a zombie. While this team was not the Crime Syndicate, it was the first time a member of the Crime Syndicate (Owlman) appeared in any medium outside of the comics.

Film

• 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.^[19]
• The Crime Syndicate appeared in the 2010 DC animated film Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths. The film is based on the abandoned Justice League: Worlds Collide project. The heroic Lex Luthor flees to the Justice League's reality to seek their help after the Crime Syndicate decimated his group of heroes. The heroic Lex Luthor explains that the CS has six main bosses and several lower thugs ("Made Men") who were granted powers in exchange for serving the CS. The bosses consisted of Ultraman ("Boss of Bosses"), Superwoman, Owlman, Power Ring, Johnny Quick, and J'edd J'arkus. The Made Men consisted of Angelique, Black Power, Breakdance, Extruded Man, Vamp, Model Citizen, Sai, Gypsy Woman, Aurora, Olympia, Warwolf, Scream Queen, Archer, Mr. Action, Captain Super, Captain Super Jr., and Uncle Super.

Miscellaneous

• In Teen Titans Go! #48, the Titans battle their evil counterparts, the Teen Tyrants.

References