All-Star Comics #54

Issue Details

Synopsis

CIRCUS OF A THOUSAND THRILLS! With no crimes to look into at their latest meeting, the JSA decide to hit a visiting circus instead. On their way the police commissioner calls them in, and shows them a chart indicating a crime wave is due to hit Civic City that day. They connect the dots that the circus they were going to visit always comes into town just before the crime wave begins, and go to investigate. After finding themselves in a trap-filled funhouse the JSA are sure their suspicions were right, and are told by "the man with the mechanical brain" where four daring crimes will be carried out soon. A high-wire artist and two clowns move a buoy so a cruise ship runs around so they can steal a valuable painting it's carrying in secret. Hawkman easily captures the high-wire artist, but is mystified when he makes it back to the circus and sees the same man doing his act even though he should be in jail. Atom and Flash intercept the lion tamer using trained elephants to steal jewels and furs at opening night of the opera, only to come back to the circus and see the same man doing his act. Wonder Woman and Dr. Mid-Nite catch the circus' trick motorcyclist robbing a coin collection from a museum. They catch up to him in Wonder Woman's invisible plane, but return to the circus to see the same man doing his stunts for the show. The Man with the Mechanical Brain and the circus' 9-foot-tall strongman steal a valuable miniature orchestra but their scheme's exposed by Green Lantern, who protects the owners of the orchestra with ring-conjured sandbags before snaring the perps with emerald ropes. Like the rest of the Justice Society, he gets back to the circus only to see the performers he just captured. The JSA storm the ring, but are shanghaied into joining the act. After escaping a fall off the high-wire safely, they spread out to find the criminals and get some answers. Hawkman sees a limousine with a police escort driving away and realizes it's a fake because of incorrect license plates. The JSA surround the car and find all the performers they'd battled earlier wielding tommy guns. Handing them crooks over to the cops, they find out all the circus performers had twin siblings, allowing them to be in two places at once. THE DARK HORSEMAN!