All-Star Squadron

[mdr55]

Where do they exist in the DC universe now (if they still exist at all). I use to collect the comicbook and some of the members were also part of the JSA. They had some cool superheroes from what I remember that weren't part of the mainstream (or weren't as popular).

[rouge2]

The All-Star Squadron served in the 40's during the War. They were essentially the same as you remember: A loose knit group of heroes under presidential order, protecting the home front (Hitler & Dragon King effectively sealed off Europe and Japan from Super-powered invaders). Crisis moved everything to one Earth so certain characters were removed (Superman, Batman, etc.) and a lot of the Crossover events were changed to cross-time rather than "between Earths", but most of it's still there.

[Rokk_Krinn]

The All-Star Squadron was officially formed on Dec. 7, 1941 by decree of President Roosevelt. The more-or-less original members were: Hawkman, the Atom, Dr. Mid-Nite, Robotman, Liberty Belle, Johnny Quick and Plastic Man. However, the actual charter of the All-Star Squadron basically "drafted" each and every mystery man (or woman) within the United States, meaning each of them were members of the Squadron (and the core team quickly changed from the more JSA-related characters to less-known former Golden Agers like Belle, Shining Knight, and Tarantula as well as some new creations like the female Firebrand and the "first" African-American mystery man, Amazing Man). It existed until formal cessation of World War II hostilities at which point, being a government supported and military-linked entity, it was disbanded. As Rouge2 noted some of the characters from pre-Crisis stories are no longer considered part of canon (e.g.: Superman's fight with Mr. Mind's Monster Society) but overall the All-Star Squadron is definitely a part of DC's historic past.

[Briel]

Marv Wolfman and George Perez's History of The DCU is a good reference to add to your collection. Recently reprinted. There is also a TP if you can find it.

[JayThor]

I have the whole series, and many of the sequel Young All-Stars issues. This was a good series. The Freedom Fighters, with Uncle Sam, Ray, Black Condor, Human Bomb, were included. All JSA members, too. Johnny Quick was the lead speedster, and Commander Steel was prominent, too. Robotman got the origin treatment(as did most of the others) and affected many storylines.
My favorite story was when Green Lantern showed his awesome power in an issue where he annihilated the entire Japanese army, navy, and air force, in an illusion by Brainwave. The other JSA and AllStars had been defeated by these realistic illusions. If they killed you, you would die after a time. GL beat it and freed the others. His humanity showed at the end, when he collapsed from remorse for the brutal slaying of the Japanese hordes. It was my first issue, and hooked me on the series.