Justice League of America #48

Issue Details

Synopsis

CHALLENGE OF WEAPONS MASTER! In the year 11,960 A.D. the super-criminal Xotar's lair is sieged by the interstellar police. Having found the tattered remains of Wonder Woman's diary which documented the adventures of the Justice League, Xotar knows that he is destined to travel into the past and battle them where he believes that at least one of his super-weapons from the future will defeat the Justice League.   Traveling to the past, Xotar targets the Leagues honorary member, Snapper Carr, and uses him as a pawn to draw the League to their headquarters. The arriving members are Aquaman, Green Lantern, the Flash, Batman, Martian Manhunter and Wonder Woman. Xotar immobilizes the group at their meeting table, and challenges them to defeat him.   He first challenges the Flash, who is able to destroy Xotar's shrink ray. Next he challenges Aquaman and Martian Manhunter and they destroy his de-evolution ray. Next Xotar challenges Batman, Wonder Woman and Green Lantern to try and stop his magneto-bubble device, which Wonder Woman and Green Lantern succeed in destroying while Batman seeks out Superman. Believing that his final weapon, an illusion caster will destroy the Justice League, he allows them all to attack at once.   Xotar initially has the upper hand in this battle, the timely arrival of Superman turns the tide, and the Man of Steel destroys Xotar's final weapon. Superman then sets Xotar's robot time machine to return Xotar to his own time, and damages the controls so they cannot be manipulated before Xotar arrives in 11690. As history would have it, the words in Wonder Woman's diary which were rubbed out over the centuries indicated that none of Xotar's weapons would defeat the League. SECRET OF THE SINISTER SORCERERS! When all man-made machines on Earth stop working, the Justice League of America band together to try and figure out the cause of this latest crisis and soon learn that magic has become the dominant force in their universe. Meanwhile in the other worldly dimension known as Magic-Land, evil magicians Simon Magus, Saturna, and the Troll King have used their combined magic to transport items of science to that realm to try and over throw it's ruler and his great magician Merlin.   While back in the Earth dimension, the JLA realize that magic spells now work, and so they get a number of books on sorcery to summon Merlin to aid them. When they realize what has happened, Merlin uses his now restored magical powers to transport the Justice League members to the realm of Magic while Snapper Carr and Merlin stay behind on Earth.   The Justice League pair off into groups to stop Magus and his two cohorts, using their super powers and cunning to get past all their traps and easily destroy whichever scientific device they are using as defense. Afterwards, they capture Magus and demand that he return to their world and restore everything to normal. However, before traveling through the gate between worlds it appears that they have to contend with a giant. Before the battle begins the giant reveals itself as Snapper Carr. Apparently as the JLA was capturing the trio of magicians, Snapper experimented with some of Merlin's Magic and transformed himself into a giant. Luckily, Merlin's magic is restored, and he transforms Snapper back to his original form. Merlin returns to Magic Land, and the JLA returns to Earth with the sorcerers' spells reversed. THE SLAVE SHIP OF SPACE! As the various members of the Justice League of America are out stopping various natural disasters on Earth, their JLA contact devices suddenly break down prompting them all to return to their headquarters and find out what's going on. There they are all immobilized by the space tyrant known as Kanjar Ro, who has also immobilized the entire planet. In order to free their world, the Justice League is forced into helping Kanjar Ro defeat his enemies: Hyathis, Kromm and Sayyar.  Using Batman and Snapper Carr as bait to trap Superman in Kryptonite gas, Kanjar Ro has Aquaman, Martian Manhunter, Wonder Woman, Flash and Green Lantern board his space boat to stop his enemies. Martian Manhunter captures Kromm, while Aquaman and Wonder Woman are used to capture Hyathis, and finally Green Lantern and Flash are used to capture Sayyar.   With his opponents captured, Kanjar Ro refuses to free the Justice League unless they promise not to attack him. However, the League members have recorded all of Ro's foes saying his name (having all three say his name at once would free the people of Earth from Kanjar Ro's power) and manage to free themselves, capture Kanjar Ro, and save Superman before the Kryptonite gas kills him. After the battle has ended, the group banish Kanjar Ro and his opponents on a meteor planet, with Green Lantern using his power ring to make it impossible for them to escape.