All-Star Squadron #65
All-Star Squadron #65
Cover Credits
Penciller: Arvell M. Jones
Inker: Tony DeZuniga

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Title: "The Origin of Johnny Quick"
Pages: 21

Feature(s):
All-Star Squadron (Post-Crisis)

Writer: Roy Thomas
Penciller: Don Heck
Inker: Tony DeZuniga
Letterer: David Cody Weiss
Colorist: Carl Gafford

Feature Character(s)

Supporting Character(s)

Villain(s)

  • An unnamed gunman (in flashback; no further appearances)
  • Sam Leroy (aka Caesar; in flashback; no further appearances)
  • Several criminal circus performers (in flashback; no further appearances)

Guest Appearance(s)

Other Character(s)

  • Ezra Gill (dies in flashback; no further appearances)
  • Thaddeus W. Morgan (a newsreel producer; in flashback to Johnny's origin; last appearance in All-Star Squadron #65; no further appearances)
  • Ethel Merman and Bert Lahr (in flashback; no further appearances)
  • Sinstro (a lion tamer; in flashback; no further appearances)
  • King George VI (in flashback to his visit to the World's Fair; no further appearances)
  • Queen Elizabeth (in flashback to her visit to the World's Fair; no further appearances)

Flashback Appearance(s)

Cameo Appearance(s)

  • Hawkman (pictured as an All-Star Squadron member)
  • Green Lantern (pictured as an All-Star Squadron member)
  • Firebrand (pictured as an All-Star Squadron member)
  • Robotman (pictured as an All-Star Squadron member)
  • Liberty Belle (pictured as an All-Star Squadron member)

Comments:
This story reveals the post-Crisis origin of Johnny Quick. It consists mostly of flashbacks recounted through a framing sequence. The flashbacks take place as follows:

  • Pg 2 (circa 1932) - Ezra Gill is appointed Johnny's guardian following the death of his parents.
  • Pgs 3-5 (circa Oct, 1936) - Shortly before his own death Ezra Gill discovers a speed formula and gives it to Johnny.
  • Pgs 6-7 (Summer, 1939) - Johnny meets Tubby Watts and they cover the World's Fair for the newsreels. The Sandman and Crimson Avenger meet the Phantom of the Fair.
  • Pgs 8-9 (circa Dec, 1940) - Johnny sees Flash stop a killer at a theatre.
  • Pgs 10-20 (circa May-June, 1941) - Johnny Quick debuts and stops a gang of circus crooks.
  • Pg 21 (Dec 7, 1941) - Johnny meets Liberty Belle and helps found the All-Star Squadron.
  • Pg 21 (March, 1942) - Johnny marries Liberty Belle.

This story is an adaptation of the third story of More Fun Comics #71.

Synopsis:
Johnny Quick tells Tarantula the story of how he gained his powers and became a super-hero.

Johnny Chambers's parents were killed in a car accident while he was still a boy. He was placed in the care of Ezra Gill, a genius mathematician who discovered a secret formula that unlocks time and space. Using the formula Gill is able to run at super-speed and fly, but he is dying. He passes the magic formula to Johnny who has trouble understanding it and making it work. Johnny is successful in using the formula only when Gill has died.

When Johnny reaches adulthood, he becomes a newsreel photographer and is teamed with Tubby Watts to cover the 1939 World's Fair. Johnny captures the battle between the Sandman and Crimson Avenger against the Phantom of the Fair on film. He also crosses paths briefly with the Flash, though the two never meet.

Sometime later, Johnny and Tubby are assigned to cover a circus. When a lion attacks the lion tamer, Johnny uses his speed formula to save the day. He then goes undercover as the circus strongman to expose the circus performers as crooks. Johnny, now calling himself Johnny Quick, then continues his crime fighting career and eventually helps to form the All-Star Squadron.

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They are used here for educational purposes within the "fair use" provision of US Code: Title 17, Sec. 107.
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