All-Star Comics #31

Issue Details

Synopsis

THE WORKSHOP OF WILLIE WONDER The Justice Society of America are contacted by the Duna, a race of immaterial beings composed solely of mental energy. The Duna warn the JSA about Zor, a renegade member of their race who has taken possession of an old toymaker named Willie Wonder and is using him to facilitate a series of seemingly impossible crimes. The JSA split up to intervene in Zor’s planned crime wave. Members of the Duna secretly follow each member on their separate adventures.  Hawkman investigates a spate of flying robberies, where objects and buildings just fly away. He meets up with the local police, who are currently guarding a shipment of diamonds. Hawkman stops some flying robbers in the act, but notices that they still float in midair when he knocks them out. Suspecting that some device is holding them up, he tracks down the operator of the gadget, who gives up Willie Wonder as the mastermind of the robberies.   Doctor Mid-Nite attempts to stop a series of robberies where valuables just disappear into thin air. He sees a painting disappear and launches himself at the spot it vanished, tackling an invisible crook. There’s more than one invisible thug on the scene, however and they knock him out. When Dr. Mid-Nite wakes up, he finds a scrap of invisible cloth clutched in his hand. Enlisting help from the police, he tests the cloth and determines that high-frequency radio waves will make it visible. The police arrange for local radio stations to broadcast the correct frequency and Mid-Nite finds the crooks, defeats them and finds out that Willie Wonder created the invisible cloth.   Green Lantern learns of a series of robberies that would require superhuman strength, each of them occurring near a statue of a mythological god. The Lantern and the police stake out a museum that is preparing for a major art purchase. Three thugs drink a strange liquid and are transformed into the statues they were looking at: Thor, Samson and Achilles. Green Lantern fights them to a stalemate and finally defeats them when he targets Thor's hammer, Samson's hair, and Achilles' heel. Using his power ring, he turns them back into humans and makes them reveal that Willie Wonder was the creator of the strange liquid.   Atom can't solve a series of robberies in high-rise buildings committed with no evidence of anyone entering or leaving. To try to crack the case, he baits a trap with the help of a millionaire businessman, who agrees to store all of his assets in his own home atop a cliff. While on the stakeout, Atom finds and knocks out two members of the gang on lookout. The other member of the gang gets away by walking straight down a cliff! Atom leaps on his back and subdues him, forcing him to reveal that he got his trick boots from Willie Wonder.   Johnny Thunder is in pursuit of the water-rat gang, who are behind several acts of piracy. He stubbornly refuses police help, wanting to capture the gang alone. The gang overhears Johnny sending the police away and tricks him into coming with him. Once they get to their submarine, they lock Johnny out and submerge it, attempting to drown him. Johnny calls for his Thunderbolt, who rescues him. The Thunderbolt then rounds up the gang and forces them to reveal that Willie Wonder made the submarine. The Thunderbolt turns the gang over to the police and delivers the submarine to the navy.   The Flash works with police to solve a series of break-ins from underground. Working quickly, he examines all the soil samples from the crimes and finds a unique speck of clay, leading him to the gangs' hideout. He then deals with two gangsters and follows the underground tunnel to a robbery in progress. He captures the crooks and learns Willie Wonder built their tunnel borer.   In the end, the JSA converges on Willie Wonder's workshop. Inside it, the Justice Society deals with Wonder's gang and the Duna capture Zor. Willie Wonder recovers and goes back to crafting toys, including a new line of figurines to honor the JSA members who saved him.