The Wanderers

Text reprinted largely from C. Keller's Legion Help File

This group exists only in New Earth Legion continuity.

Celebrand	Dartalg	Elvo	Immorto	Orintho	Psyche	Quantum Queen

The Wandrers were a team of adventurers and heroes that was famous throughout the universe for several years prior to the formation of the Legion of Super-Heroes. The team consisted of seven people, about whom very little is known:

• Celebrand, their leader, who had no super-powers, but had a brilliant tactical mind and expertise with a ray gun,
• Ornitho, who could turn himself into avian forms of all sorts and could fly
• Elvo, a nimble master swordsman,
• Dartalg, a crack shot with a blowgun who carried specially-treated darts for all occasions
• Immorto, who could never be killed due to his body's ability to heal itself almost instantly,
• Psyche, the Mistress of Emotions, and
• Quantum Queen, who could turn herself into any form of quantum radiation.

In 2979, several years after the Legion rose to fame, a United Planets publicist came up with the idea of the new heroes meeting the old ones, and he arranged a meeting between the two teams, which was extremely amicable. But after leaving the meeting, they accidentally flew through the Nefar Nebula, which contained psychoactive radiation that caused them to turn evil, and they stole the legendary Seven Stones of Alactos. The Legion hunted them down, engaging in a sort of contest to determine who was the strongest Legionnaire, and eventually, they figured out what had happened to their friends. (Adventure Comics #375)

The two groups once again parted as friends, and the Wanderers have been invited to the Legion's happy events, such as the wedding of Bouncing Boy and Duo Damsel (Superboy #200), and called in to help in emergencies, such as the Daxamite invasion of Weber's World during the Great Darkness (Legion v.2 #294).

Then they disappeared for several years without a trace. Even a special team sent by the Legion (Legion v.3 #42) were unable to find them. The reason for this was that they had been murdered ... by creatures born of a Controller named Clonus and his cloned human wife, Velissa. The cloning process, as it turned out was deeply flawed, and any creatures born of a being created through it eventually turned into murderous monsters which savagely enslaved entire worlds' populations, a problem the Wanderers had been trying to investigate when they were killed by those very creatures. Clonus tried to make amends for this by cloning the Wanderers (except for Celebrand, who had been too far gone), manipulating their genes so that their powers would be more effective. When they woke up, Clonus (actually a clone of him) explained to them what had happened and four of them decided to take new names to reflect their increased powers.

Aviax	Dartalon	Elvo	Psyche	Quantum Queen	Re-Animage

• Dartalg, who was changed into an almost monstrous form, with quills coming out of his body and out of his hand like talons instead of his simply using them as weapons, was given the name Dartalon
• Elvo, who now owned a power-sword that fired emotion-triggered blasts became the Elvar
• Immorto, who now had the power to heal and revive other people called himself Re-Animage
• And Ornitho decided he liked the name Aviax better.

Together, they searched for their killers, aided by Clonus, whose body (both his prime body and his clone body) was killed by a Controller hunting him (because to them, cloning was a crime against universal nature due to the monsters it created ... something Clonus had not known), but whose mind survived in their ship's computer. Through a coded data-pyramid that Clonus's prime body left behind, they traced the creatures to a world on the galaxy's rim which was inhabited by reptilian bipeds. There they met several Legionnaires, who acquainted themselves with the new Wanderers and helped them eradicate the clone-creatures from that planet. (Wanderers #3)

The two teams then parted ways once again, with the Wanderers searching for, and eventually finding, the children of Clonus who killed them on a planetoid in the Naranga system. The Controller hunter, who had been possessed by one of these creatures, explained to Clonus and the Wanderers why the Controllers had forbidden cloning. With the help of another of the creatures (which Psyche later named Squink after the sound it made), who had formed a mental bond with Psyche and forsook its fellows for it, they finally tracked down the source of the creatures, who had formed a hive-mind with Clonus's wife, Velissa, who they had been keeping alive. The original creatures, the children of Clonus and Velissa, had been sent to a children's home to be raised while Clonus and Velissa continued their scientific work, and had kidnapped Velissa when they turned into monsters, feeding off her emotions and making her their queen. The monsters procreated by expelling crystal "eggs" from their foreheads, and thereby created an army with which to find other worlds that would join their group mind. Velissa originally wished to destroy Clonus, blaming him for her torment, but eventually she realized that Clonus still loved her, and that her true desire was to go to her eternal rest and stop her monster children from destroying all other life in the galaxy. She provoked Dartalon into expressing his hatred of Clonus for making him a monster, and the creatures picked up on this destructive emotion and severed their mental link with Velissa, killing her and causing a cave-in on the planetoid they were on, killing creatures. (Wanderers #1-5)

The Wanderers then headed for the nearest United Planets outpost, which happened to be Shakarta, and applied to become official U. P. agents, earning the job by busting up a ring of smugglers/terrorists. (#6) In recognition of their good deeds, the United Planets appointed them as official peace-keeping agents, and they carried out some tasks for the U. P., who assigned them a woman named Ahrane as their Contact. (#7) They attempted to set up a home base on Psyche's home planet, but this attempt ended in tragedy, as Psyche's parents, Korda and Shalleen, didn't recognize their daughter in her new, cloned body, and instead accused her of being their daughter's murderer. They called the police, who sent robotic Stalker robots against Psyche, who fled from them and let her emotions run wild, summoning anyone in the vicinity to her side, including her childhood acquaintances Darda and Shan and several other Wanderers. When she realized what she was doing, she withdrew her emotion and fled again, but she needed to feed off emotion and was in danger of dying. She went to the nearest human settlement, her parents' house, where she finally convinced them she was their daughter just as the Stalkers arrived. Her parents were killed for trying to stop the Stalkers, and Psyche, whose identity was later confirmed and was named heir to the estate she intended the team to use as a home base, no longer felt at home there. (#8-9)

After a few months of missions and wandering, the Wanderers were given the mission of saving the birds, or proto-birds, on Planet W-23. While there, they encountered a race of alien beings who, they came to believe, were responsible for the evolution and extinction of species on many planets, possibly by splicing their genes into those of native species. The Wanderers further theorized that they themselves might be these creatures' descendants, and their powers might have come from whatever parts of their genetic heritage these creatures were responsible for. At the end of this final mission (during which Elvar finally figured out what was wrong with previous attempts to clone Celebrand, and finally began a clone of Celebrand which should, logically, grow properly), the Wanderers flew through a space warp created by a black box — given them by the aliens, (#12-13) and were never seen again ... maybe.

Leland McCauley IV was, until mid-2995, in possession of a large collection of beings held in stasis through the power of an Emerald Eye and two of them, curiously, resembled Elvo and Dartalg in their pre-death state. What these are and how he got them is a mystery. (Legion v.4 #39, Legionnaires #4)

Quantum Queen actually appeared before her teammates in Adventure Comics #354 (4.67). In this Adult Legion ("imaginary") story, she was depicted among the statues of dead Legionnaires. This may have been part of the inspiration for Kid Quantum.

Adventure Comics #375 (December 1968)

Legion v.2 #294 (December 1982)

Wanderers, 13 issues (1988-89)

The Watchmen

+ The Minutemen + Crimebusters

Created by Alan Moore & Dave Gibbons

Adapted from Who's Who entries

The Minutemen were an organization of costumed super-heroes that existed from 1939 to 1949. Its members were the predecessors of the super-heroes of later decades called the Watchmen. The first costumed crime fighter of this reality was Hooded Justice, who first came to public attention in the fall of 1938. Hooded Justice's true identity was never publicly revealed, but it has been speculated that he was really circus strongman Rolf Müller. His debut inspired New York City policeman Hollis Mason to become the original Nite Owl in early 1939.

Former waitress and burlesque dancer Sally Jupiter had become the first Silk Spectre by the middle of January 1939. Unlike the other Minutemen, Jupiter did not conceal her true identity. Instead, she and her agent, Laurence Schexnayder, used her career as the Silk Spectre to bolster her modeling and acting career. A number of other costumed vigilantes arose in 1939, including the Silhouette, Mothman, the Comedian, and Captain Metropolis. Capitalizing on the faddish public interest in costumed heroes, a major national bank also hired a star college athlete from Kansas as its own super-hero, Dollar Bill. These heroes had no real or artificial super powers and relied on their wits and athletic prowess in fighting crime.

The group was formed when Captain Metropolis wrote to Sally Jupiter proposing that super-heroes band together as the Minutemen. Schexnayder adopted the idea and helped organize the group in the fall of 1939. Tragedy followed these heroes, however. In 1940 the Comedian attempted to sexually assault the Silk Spectre but was stopped by Hooded Justice; as a result, the Comedian was expelled. In 1946 the Silhouette was also expelled following a homosexual scandal; she was killed by an adversary shortly afterwards. Dollar Bill was killed while trying to stop a bank robbery. In 1947 the Silk Spectre left the group to marry Schexnayder. The Minutemen finally disbanded in 1949.

In the 1950s, rather than comply with a congressional committee's demand that he reveal his true identity, Hooded Justice vanished. A corpse tentatively identified as Müller's was later found. Mothman became an alcoholic and ended up in a mental institution. Nite Owl retired, opened an auto repair shop and published his autobiography, Under the Hood. Sally Jupiter now lives in retirement in California. After an unsuccessful attempt to organize a new super-hero organization, Captain Metropolis is said to have been decapitated in a auto accident. Hollis Mason was murdered in 1985.

Dr. Jonathan Osterman was a physicist who, in 1959, was accidentally locked inside a test chamber being used for an experiment to remove the "intrinsic field" that held together the atomic structure of a concrete block. As a result, Osterman's own intrinsic field was removed from his body, causing his body to disintegrate. However, in November of that year, Osterman succeeded in completely reconstructing himself physically as a superhuman being who was given the code-name Dr. Manhattan. Osterman could now manipulate the atomic structure of matter at will. Due to his enormous powers, Dr. Manhattan's very existence altered the balance of power between the United States and the Soviet Union in America's favor. He was responsible for America's victory in the Vietnam War. Dr. Manhattan's powers made possible amazing advances in science and technology. Osterman's transformation enabled him to perceive reality in ways that ordinary people could not; for example, he could see events in the past and the future as if they coexisted with events in the present. Osterman became increasingly detached from ordinary human concerns.

Daniel Dreiberg idolized Hollis Mason, the costumed crime fighter known as Nite Owl. When Mason retired, Dreiberg contacted him and asked if he could adopt his name since he wanted to follow in Mason's footsteps as a crime fighter. Mason agreed, and Dreiberg became the second Nite Owl. In addition to his own athletic ability, the new Nite Owl employed amazing technology, including his flying vehicle, the Owlship. Adrian Veidt, the world's most intelligent man, idolized Alexander the Great, who had unified much of the ancient world through wars of conquest. Veidt also greatly admired ancient Egyptian culture. Adopting the pharaoh RamsesII's Greek name, Ozymandias, Veidt set out to conquer the evils besetting humanity.

In 1964 Walter Kovacs, who had had a traumatic childhood, read about the murder of a woman and how many of her neighbors had heard her screams but had done nothing. Appalled, Kovacs afterwards became the masked crime fighterRorschach. He and the Nite Owl teamed up a number of times. In 1975, investigating the kidnapping of a six-year-old girl, Rorschach discovered that she had undergone a terrible fate at the hands of her captor. This incident caused Rorschach to believe that there was no innate meaning or moral order to existence. From then on, Rorschach was far more obsessive and violent in his crimefighting, and was perceived my many as not entirely sane. While she was still a teenager, Laurel Jane "Laurie" Juspeczyk became the second Silk Spectre on the urging of her mother, Sally Jupiter. Laurie became the lover of Dr. Manhattan. It was not until the 1985 that she learned that the Comedian had been her father.

In 1966 Captain Metropolis, a former Minuteman, unsuccessfully attempted to organize the then-active costumed crime fighters into a new team called the Crimebusters. In 1977 policemen went on strike in protest against the legal sanction given to the activities of costumed vigilantes. Protesters opposed to these adventurers used the slogan "Who watches the Watchmen?" On August 3rd of that year the Keene Act was passed, which made vigilantism illegal once more. Since they worked for the federal government, the Comedian and Dr. Manhattan were exempt from the act's restrictions. The Nite Owl and Silk Spectre, however, both retired as crime fighters. Rorschach, though, continued his vigilante activity in defiance of the law.

As for Ozymandias, at the 1966 Crimebusters meeting the Comedian had pointed out to him the alleged inevitability of worldwide nuclear war. Veidt believed that Blake was right; moreover, Veidt foresaw the turn of public sentiment against costumed heroes in the late 1970s. Veidt began to build a vast fortune and to work on his plan to prevent a nuclear holocaust. He retired as an adventurer in 1975 to concentrate on this plan. Veidt intended to fake an alien invasion of Earth in order to frighten Earth's governments into uniting against this new threat. His "alien" was actually a genetically engineered monster secretly created by scientists in Veidt's employ. Veidt cloned the brain of a deceased psychic and had scientists genetically engineer a more powerful brain for the monster from it. The monster's brain would act as a psychic resonator which, at the onset of the creature's death, amplify and broadcast horrifying psychic images. Veidt planned to teleport the monster to New York City, killing it and triggering a psychic shockwave that would kill half the population of New York City.

In October 1985 Veidt murdered the Comedian, because the latter had learned about his plan. Shortly afterwards, Dr. Manhattan left Earth after Laurie Juspeczyk left him and he was accused of inducing cancer in several people who had been associated with him. In fact, Veidt had caused these cancer cases in order to discredit Dr. Manhattan. Dreiberg and Juspeczyk returned to their costumed identities, and they, Manhattan, and Rorschach confronted Veidt in his Antarctic base early in November. However, Veidt had already teleported his monster and killed 3 million people. The atrocity did indeed bring about worldwide peace, at a point that Earth was on the verge of world war. Rather than disrupt this peace, all the heroes but Rorschach agreed not to expose Veidt's scheme. To prevent Rorschach's revealing it, Dr. Manhattan disintegrated him.

Dr. Manhattan left Earth once again, and Dreiberg and Juspeczyk, who have fallen in love, adopted the new identities of Sam and Sandra Hollis and intended to continue being costumed adventurers. However, it remains to be seen if Rorschach's journal, which exposes part of Veidt's scheme, will come to public attention.

Note: The Watchmen series is not a part of mainstream DC Universe continuity.

   Watchmen #1 (September 1986)

  Watchmen, 12 issues (1986)

White Martians

The Hyperclan

The Workforce

+ Presidential Oversight Watch

NOTE: This group was a part of post-Zero Hour Legion continuity. They do not exist in current Legion continuity.

When his rival, R.J. Brande formed the Legion of Super-Heroes, Leland McCauley formed his own group of lackeys to protect his own interests — the Workforce. Like the Amazers, the Workforce has lost its share of members to the Legion itself. This began in reverse, when Live Wire was ousted from the Legion and joined the Workforce. (Legion v.4 #64) Soon thereafter, the Workforce trailed a band of arms thieves, which led them to Planet Hell and the Legion's struggle to save the prison asteroid. (#65, Legionnaires #21-22) A growing romance between Ultra Boy and Apparition was tested when she accompanied the Workforce on a mission (which ended in Live Wire's resignation). (Legionnaires #26) When Apparition was believed dead, Ultra Boy left too. (Legion v.4 #76)

Inferno's tenure ended abruptly when the Workforce and Legion fought the evil Dr. Regulus on Gallan. Leviathan's death resulted in Shrinking Violet's violent manifestation of the Emerald Eye. In the furor, Inferno was teleported to Earth, and further, was thrust into the 20th Century alongside half of the Legion. (Legionnaires #39) With their numbers reduced, the Legion held a massive applicant screening. McCauley struck gold in the Legion's rejected applicants; he offered positions to Blast-Off, Particon, Radion and Splitter (though he apparently did not stay with them). (#43)

Evolvo	Inferno	Karate Kid	Spider Girl	Ultra Boy

The two teams clashed often, and joined forces to overthrow Mordru. During this fight, Blast-Off was killed, and Radion's face was injured. When R.J. Brande saw how callously McCauley regarded the Workforce's losses, he bought out Radion and Particon's contracts, thus freeing them from Workforce service. (Legionnaires #49-51) Evolvo's super-brain helped draw McCauley into alliance with the new Affiliated Planets (and the Dark Circle). Evolvo was able to harness the energies of a space-time anomaly, and use them for teleportation. McCauley then sold this technology to the A.P. Karate Kid quit over this, for ideological reasons, and sought asylum with the Legion. McCauley also became partners with the Khund female, Amilia Crugg at this time. (Legion #103-104) At the end of the Dark Circle conflict, the space anomaly was shut down, but McCauley was apparently able to invent a way to duplicate its teleportational potential.

Blast-Off	Particon	Radion	Lori Morning

After the Dark Circle battle the Legion's young ally, Lori Morning, grew angry with her friends. She stole back her H Dial and accepted the offer to join the Workforce. (Legionnaires #69) She grew close to Amilia (#77), but the team was severely crippled when the Blight invaded the galaxy. (#79) After this disaster, McCauley terminated Spider Girl and Evolvo's (Legion #124) employment and reformed the team with Repulse, Amber, Dune, Lori and Amilia. (#81)

After McCauley was murdered and replaced by Ra's al Ghul, the Workforce became known as the Presidential Oversight Watch. (The Legion #3) Gone were Amber and Dune; this team added the unwitting M'Onel along with Repulse, the villainous Mr. Venge, Brainstorm, Twine and Abyss. (Legion Worlds #3) The Legionnaires discovered McCauley and Amilia's corpses and helped to uncovered Ra's (#2); Mr. Venge disappeared while the remaining Oversight Watch members surrendered. (#8) Venge was ultimately revealed as Computo itself; in his evolution, he was enlightened and left Earth in peace. (#14)

Legion of Super-Heroes v.4 #64 (January 1995)

Workforce: Legion v.4 #64-65, 72, 103-108, 124 • Legionnaires #21-22, 26, 39, 43, 49-51, 62-65, 69, 77, 79, 81.
Oversight Watch: Legion Worlds #6 • The Legion #1-3, 6, 8.

Xenobrood

Created and owned by Doug Moench

The Xenobrood are alien workers who were brought to earth as crystals millennia ago by the Vimanians, an alien race that wished to strip mine the earth. The Xenobrood were never "processed" and remained crystals until they were found by Dr. Zecharia Leight on an archaeological dig. He and his ex wife Lorna processed them and in doing so became their masters.

This team only appeared in their own series. This was a creator-owned project, so they cannot appear in the DC Universe without Moench's approval.

• Dr. Zecharia Leight
• Dr. Lorna Comely
• Zapatak
• Thrasher
• Astra
• Blip

Xenobrood #1

 Xenobrood, 6-issue mini-series (1994-95)

Young All-Stars

Created by Roy Thomas

Dyna-Mite	Fury	Iron Munro	Flying Fox	Neptune Perkins	Tsunami

The Young All-Star Squadron's history is spread throughout the Justice Society Chronology.

Their membership is contained in the larger All-Star Squadron membership table.

Young All-Stars, 32 issues (1987-89)

 Old Justice • All-Stars

Young Heroes (in Love)

Created by Dan Raspler and Dev Madan

The Young Heroes were called together by Hard Drive, who used his telepathic powers, in part, to coerce them. He also funded and housed the team. His partner in "crime" was Monstergirl, who had an agenda of her own. During the Genesis event, Hard Drive's powers overloaded, and he was forced to publicly use his powers of persuasion against Kalibak. (YHIL #5) He again used his powers to gloss over this fact. Love triangles abounded among the Young Heroes and the relationships changed with every issue. Their personal lives were not revealed until issue #7. The team finally came to blows with Hard Drive, sent him away and tried to come to terms with his coercion. (#12-13)

In the end, Hard Drive was elected governor of Connecticut. Frost Bite was shown to be still alive in the 853rd century. (YHIL #1million)

 Young Heroes In Love #1 (June 1997)

Young Heroes In Love, 17 issues (1997-98)

The way, way, WAY UNOFFICIAL YHIL web page

Young Justice

Created by Peter David and Todd Nauck

Arrowette	Empress	Impulse	Robin
Secret	Superboy	Slobo	Wonder Girl

Young Justice was founded by Robin, Superboy and Impulse in response to a global crisis created by the boy-villain, Bedlam. (Earth's teens were stranded apart from all the grown-ups by Bedlam's magic.) Following this caper, the trio officially formed their own group, which remained unnamed for a bit. Soon, they adopted the name Young Justice and established their headquarters in the Justice League's former Secret Sanctuary (now the Justice Cave) in Happy Harbor, Rhode Island. There, they awakened the dormant Red Tornado, who came to serve as their advisor. (JLA: World Without Grownups #1-2, Young Justice #1)

Very soon thereafter, the trio freed a mysterious girl from imprisonment by the D.E.O. She was reluctant to reveal her true name, so they called her the Secret. Wonder Girl, Arrowette and the Secret soon joined the boys (YJ #4). Arrowette's career in costume was short-lived, however. When her high school counselor was murdered, she nearly slew the killer herself. Superboy managed to stop her just in time, but the guilt was already too much and she resigned from adventuring permanently. (#15-16)

Soon after Cissie's departure, a new young heroine called the Empress debuted, and the group was forced to relocate to an abandoned resort in the Catskill mountains. (#19) Strangely, the Empress boasted archery abilities (among others) and appeared in places near to the former Arrowette. The team soon learned that she was in fact Anita Fite, the daughter of their sometime enemy, Agent Fite of the All-Purpose Espionage Squad (APES). Empress officially joined the team shortly after the "Sins of Youth" event, wherein Klarion the Witch Boy turned all of Young Justice into adults.

After this battle, everyone's true age was restored — except for the alien bounty hunter, Lobo. (Lobo arrived after the initial spell, so the reverse-spell made younger.) (Sins of Youth #2). It was also then that the main Y.J. members decided to take a breather and a group of reserve members volunteered for monitor duty. These reserves included CM3, Lagoon Boy, Beast Boy and Flamebird. In Gotham City, the reservists ran afoul of a battle between Klarion and Lobo. Ultimately, Flamebird convinced Lobo that he should content himself with his new age, as it would make everyone underestimate his prowess. The new Batgirl also stepped momentarily into the fray. (#20-21)

Empress and Lobo took part in their first Y.J. mission when the team agreed to escort Doiby Dickles back to his home planet of Myrg (#25-26). Meanwhile, back on Earth, Cissie became a part of the US Olympic archery team. (#21) During her Australian competition, the team encountered a rival Olympic team from Zandia (well-known as a safe haven for wanted felons). The Zandian team was overseen by the Brain and Monsieur Mallah and included Deadline, Tigress II, Merlyn, Black Thorn and Turk. Of course foul play ensued, but Cissie emerged as the gold medallist.

Darkness loomed over the team during the Earth's war with Imperiex. The teens were believed dead when they disappeared to Apokolips. There, Lobo's body was decimated (#36) and spawned dozens of duplicates (Lobo possesses the ability to form clones from his own tissue [#37]). The Lobo clones destroyed one another and the remaining adult Lobo left for parts unknown. He was unaware, however, that one duplicate survived. This shy-demeanored youth followed Young Justice back to Earth, where he was nicknamed Slobo. (#38)

Impulse decided to resign from the team after a traumatizing incident resulting in the death of one of his "scouts." He was followed by Robin, who had begun feeling uncomfortable in a team. But questions of trust had also arisen when Robin would not share his secret identity with the others. To help the team through this time, the Red Tornado called in Snapper Carr to lend a sympathetic hand. (#38) The team members themselves also invited the Ray to join, which he accepted. (#41) Secret was ultimately seduced by Darkseid, but she was convinced to turn against him. Darkseid's punishment against Secret was to restore her mortality — which also removed her powers. (#53-55) During this battle, Slobo began to go blind (#54) and he chose to sacrifice himself against Darkseid. (#55)

In the end, the members of YJ were called together by a mysterious conglomerate called Optitron, who offered to sponsor both Young Justice and the Titans. During this meeting, Indigo, a mysterious android girl from the future, appeared from nowhere. Indigo was battered and in search of a way to repair herself. After an unsuccessful assimilation of the Metal Men, she teleported to California and commandeered the body of the Titans' Cyborg. The combined might of the Titans and Young Justice barely drove her off and Empress was critically injured when she teleported away. This chain events led to the death of two Titans and shattered both teams of heroes, which disbanded. (Titans/Young Justice: Graduation Day #1-3)

Neither Robin nor Wonder Girl had any interest in continuing on as a team. Both were deeply affected by the death of Troia and by feelings of inadequacy. But the mentors of the remaining members of the Titans were quick to take them back under wing. Robin, Wonder Girl, Superboy and Impulse were encouraged to join a new "weekend" team of Teen Titans. This new team is guided by Cyborg, Starfire and Beast Boy. (Teen Titans v.3 #1) The Empress' final condition is uncertain. The Ray, Red Tornado and Snapper Carr chose to return to their own individual affairs.

 Young Justice #1

  Supergirl v.3 #?? • Young Justice Secret Files #1 • Young Justice: The Secret #1 • Young Justice Special #1

JLA: World Without Grownups, 2-issue limited series (1998)
Young Justice, 55 issues (1998-2003)
Sins of Youth, 2-issue limited series & event books (2000)
Titans/Young Justice: Graduation Day, 3-issue limited series (2003)
Teen Titans v.3, current (2003-)

Teen Titans • The Justice Cave

Captain Carrot and his Amazing ...

Zoo Crew (Earth-26)

The Zoo Crew reside on Earth-26, although they refer to it as "Earth-C." Here, everyone is an anthropomorphic version of their counterparts on other Earths. Superman was the first to discover this parallel world. While battling Starro, he used a meteor which broke into six pieces. Each future member of the Zoo Crew was exposed to the meteorite's radiation (which included some of Superman's energies). (New Teen Titans #16)

• Felina Furr became Alley-Kat-Abra when her magic wanda became infused with mystical powers after exposure to her meteorite. But while she is great at teleportation and sending telepathic messages, her skills failed her during crises. But when she uses her brain instead of brute force, she can triumph.
• Rodney Roger Rabbit (the first name finally came about when Who Framed Roger Rabbit was being considered to made into a film) was the only one who didn't receive his powers directly. Instead, he had to eat a meteorite-irradiated carrot from his garden. Each carrot gives him about 24 hours of powers, depending on his exertion. As Captain Carrot, Rodney has super-strength, super-speed, super-senses, and (eventually) the power of flight.
• Fastback is Timmy Joe Terrapin, a slow turtle both in action and in thoughts, until his meteorite gave him the power of super-speed. He is by far the most easy-going hero of the Crew.
• Peter Porkchops had his own DC comic books before his meteorite turned him into Pig Iron, the Swine of Steel. He is virtually invulnerable, very strong, and very large (his former self was a bit of a runt).
• Actor Byrd Rentals became Rubberduck after he was exposed to his meteorite that fell into his hot tub. He became mostly water, which allowed him to stretch to incredible lengths and change into almost any kind of shape.
• Rova Barkitt, gossip columnist, turned into Yankee Poodle when her meteorite hit her in the head. It "caused her to see stars — and stripes!" and gave her the strange powers of "animal magnetism." Her right hand shoots blue stars that repel. Her left hand emits red and white stripes that attract. She is also sensitive to the auras emitted by others. She can fly by creating a striped bridge and propel herself with her shooting stars. She can also use her stars and stripes as concussive force.
• A while after their formation, they also welcomed Chester Cheese (Little Cheese). He did not share the others' origin. He gained the power to shrink in size after eating some moon cheese. He aided the Zoo Crew in capturing his father's killer.

The Zoo Crew met the JLA (Just'a Lotta Animals) when super-villains from both Earth-C and Earth-C-Minus (minus the Zoo Crew, that is) joined in an interdimensional conspiracy. Aquaduck, Batmouse, Crash, Green Lambkin, Super-Squirrel, and Wonder Wabbit helped to defeat Armadillo, Shaggy Dawg, Feline Faust, Dr. Hoot, Digger O'Doom, and Amazoo.

The Zoo Crew's swan song was during the Oz-Wonderland war when the former mystical land was taken over by an evil gnome. In this adventure Captain Carrot was reunited briefly with Wonder Wabbit and they met Hoppy the Marvel Bunny. However, truer feeling surfaced between he and Alley-Kat-Abra.

But … Whatever Happened to Captain Carrot?

After the Crisis on Infinite Earths, the Zoo Crew were lost to obscurity. Wherever they landed, their story turned tragic, with the murder of Little Cheese. After Chester Cheese had publicly revealed his secret identity as Little Cheese, he became a defense attorney. But his actions spurred public to demand for the rest of the Zoo Crew to reveal their identities as well. Only Alley-Kat-Abra complied.

Yankee Poodle was outed and eventually falsely arrested for an assassination attempt of President Mallard Fillmore. The others went underground. As for Captain Carrot, he killed the Armordillo in retaliation for the murder his partner, Carrie Carrot, then turned himself in. He was acquitted of the crime by Chester. Regardless, when Chester was murdered, the evidence implicated Cap. Yankee Poodle escaped from Pelican Bay prison and recruited Pig Iron and Rubberduck to investigate Cheese's death and clear their former leader. Alley-Kat-Abra declined their invitation to rejoin, but they were trailed by new ally, the American Eagle, who eventually found Captain Carrot in his civilian guise of Rodney Rabbit. (Teen Titans #30)

American Eagle convinced Rodney to eat the special carrot that transformed him into Captain Carrot once again. They joined with the rest of the Zoo Crew. They note that inter-species relations have grown more volatile in their world and that in reassembling, the Zoo Crew might stand as an example of unity. Yankee Poodle deduced that President Fillmore knew who killed Little Cheese, and the team left in search of their most powerful member: Alley-Kat-Abra. To their horror, they discover that Felina was the murderer! She'd taken money from the President to expose the Crew's identities. Then when Fastback discovered this, she zapped him into the future. She tried to frame Rodney for the murder and hired the Armordillo to kill him. Why did this former hero turn so murder? In her confession, she said that for all her efforts, there was no fighting instinct: cats would always hate mice.

Afterwards, the Crew accepted American Eagle as a member and set out to rescue Fastback from the future. (#31)

After their absence from the limelight, the Crew found it difficult to reestablish themselves as credible crime fighters. Their appearance at a pop culture festival drew little fanfare. But it was here that their old foe, the Salamandroid, struck again. The villain was sent by Starro, who had masterminded a new conspiracy. Starro was allied with the diplomat "Vicuña Pacos" of Nepal — who was, in fact, the nefarious Rash Al Paca. Their goal was to drown the Earth and create strife between land- and sea-dwelling peoples. (CC: The Final Ark #1)

Next, they sent Frogzilla to attack Gnu York. In subduing this giant beast, the Zoo Crew inadvertently freed the real Alley-Kat-Abra from a mystical prison! Felina explained to her teammates that she'd been duplicated by Feline Faust. The doppleganger, Dark Alley, was the one who killed Little Cheese. The Crew were still wary of her and allowed her to join them on a probationary status. The added might of Alley's powers were not enough to stem the oncoming catastrophe — Al Paca activated a satellite that melted the planet's icecaps. And, the Zoo Crew found they'd lost their powers! (#2)

The planet soon flooded and the Zoo Crew decided to try to contact Just'a Lotta Animals. To do so, Rodney created a full comic book starring the JLA. (The sale of this comic constituted "unlawful manufacture," which prompted the JLA's lawyer to intervene.) The plan worked, and the Animals (GL, Crash, Elongator, Hawkmoose, Zapanda, Batmouse) arrived to help the Zoo Crew herd people onto Barton Boa's Ark. The Ark was intended to shuttle refugees to Earth C-Minus, but an intervention by the New Dogs (Orihound, Lightstray and Muttron) caused the Ark to be diverted to New Earth. On New Earth, the once fully sentient animals manifested as normal New Earth animals. The drew the attention of the Justice League, and Zatanna adopted Rodney to be her stage rabbit. All the animals on the Ark remain on New Earth, unable to communicate their predicament. (#3)

• The Zoo Crew originated, at least in part, in the 1940s Peter Porkchops strip, which debuted in Leading Comics #23 (1947). The series changed to Leading Screen Comics (1950-55), and continued to feature Porkchops. The character of Pig Iron did not debut until Zoo Crew.
• Issue #7 has a nice little Who's Who type deal in the back.
• Issue #12 prints an illustration of "Farrah Foxett" — by a young Arthur Adams!
• Issues #14-15 parody the covers of Justice League of America #207-209.
• In the final issue of the series, Roy Thomas wrote that the book was discontinued because of difficulties in arranging a creative team. It was intended to become a series of mini-series. He even mentioned a proposed Just'a Lotta Animals mini-series.
• Remnants of Captain Carrot can be seen in the modern day DCU, usually as cartoons on TV or in the form of stuffed toys. Superman/Toyman one-shot from the 90s is one place where a Captain Carrot stuffed doll plays a role.
• The Zoo Crew narrative that appears in Teen Titans #30-31 is presented as a comic story read by various Titans characters. It's also drawn by their original artist, Scott Shaw!
• Cap and Poodle make an appearance on Black Canary's Zoo Crew glassware in Birds of Prey #100

New Teen Titans #16 (February 1982)

Captain Carrot, 20 issues (1982-83)
The Oz/Wonderland War, 3-issue mini-series (1985)
Peter Porkchops, 62 issues (1949-59)
Captain Carrot and the Final Ark!, 3-issue limited series (2007)

Just'a Lotta Animals • Annotated Captain Carrot • Captain Carrot Makes His Return!

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