Pre-Crisis As detailed in
Justice League of America #29 (August 1964), the Crime Syndicate of America originally lived on
Earth-Three, a world where history was "reversed" from the real world (e.g.,
Christopher Columbus discovered Europe, British colonists declared their independence from America, and President
John Wilkes Booth was assassinated by actor
Abraham Lincoln). It initially had no superheroes, only the supervillains of the Crime Syndicate, though this changed with the later introduction of the heroic
Lex Luthor who used his vast intelligence for good. In their first appearance, the Crime Syndicate, bored with the ease with which they are able to commit crimes on their Earth with no one to challenge them, discover the existence of
Earth-One and
Earth-Two after Ultraman is exposed to
kryptonite and gains the ability to see into other universes. Intrigued by the existence of superheroes, they cross the dimensional void and attack the
Justice League (JLA) and
JSA. The villains are at first defeated but when they said the word "Volthoom", they sent themselves into Earth-Three thanks to a fail-safe created by Power Ring. The CSA capture the JSA by transporting them to Earth-Three and imprisoning them, intending to fight the JLA on Earth-2 to prove their superiority. However, the JLA defeat the CSA by tricking the members into unleashing more power than they could control. Following this, the JLA imprison the CSA in
Limbo, where time has no meaning. The villains make several attempts to escape their prison, but are continually foiled. Earth-Three and the original Crime Syndicate are among the universes destroyed by an antimatter wave during the
Crisis on Infinite Earths event. The original Earth-Three Syndicate make several post-
Crisis appearances, when Ultraman and Power Ring appeared in the
Animal Man series, and then again in
Infinite Crisis, when Earth-Three is temporarily recreated. The Crime Syndicate also appears in the
Convergence storyline, where Earth-Three is among the universes and time periods captured by
Brainiac.
Early Modern Age A post-
Crisis version of the team, simply known as the "Crime Syndicate" (not 'of America'), was eventually introduced. This version is composed of
Qwardians, residents of the
antimatter counterpart of
Oa. They act as the second Conglomerate team of Claire Montgomery,
Maxwell Lord's ex-wife.
Post-Zero Hour . Following a further "soft" reboot of DC continuity in
Zero Hour: Crisis in Time! (1994), the Crime Syndicate was introduced once again, in 2000, in the
JLA: Earth 2 graphic novel by
Grant Morrison, which combined the Pre-
Crisis parallel Earth idea with the pre-
Zero Hour antimatter universe concept. The Crime Syndicate's Post-
Zero Hour antimatter Earth possesses a "reversed" history similar to Earth-Three's, but with a much darker tone to the team and its world.
JLA Secret Files and Origins 2004 provided additional history of this team, showing that even though they did partially resemble the Earth-Three Syndicate, they were still easily identifiable from their Pre-
Crisis Earth-Three incarnation. Unlike the Crime Syndicate of Earth-Three, this Crime Syndicate of Amerika are able to rule their world, though they allow governments to continue operating and honest people are able to continue operating in pockets such as Gotham City Police Commissioner
Thomas Wayne (father to Owlman and counterpart of the murdered father of Batman). Due to the events of the crossover
JLA/Avengers, the antimatter universe is rebooted, replacing Power Ring with a counterpart of
John Stewart. The Crime Syndicate journey to the matter universe to attack Earth, blaming the JLA for the changes. Meanwhile, the Qwardians rally behind a dimension-destroying weapon called the Void Hound and pursue the Syndicate to the matter universe, laying waste to hundreds of planets along the way. Reluctantly, the CSA team up with the JLA, but the Void Hound proves too powerful. The heroes defeat the Void Hound by using a former JLA foe, the Construct, to remove the artificial intelligence of the weapon and render it powerless. With the Void Hound defeated and the CSA owing the JLA a favor for saving them, the villains are sent back to the antimatter universe, where they discover to their horror that the Qwardians have also invaded their Earth. After the events of
Infinite Crisis, the pre-
Crisis Ultraman appears in the bottled city of
Kandor posing as Kal-El (Superman). It is also revealed that
Saturn Queen, last seen in "
Absolute Power", survived the reboot of the universe in
Infinite Crisis and used her telepathy to convince Ultraman that he is Kal-El and that she is his mother. Saturn Queen further manipulates events to place him in charge of Kandor and controls Kara Zor-El (
Supergirl) into marrying him. Kara eventually breaks free and in a blind rage beats him to a pulp. Ultraman is saved when Saturn Queen provides information to Supergirl about her lost home of Argo City in exchange for sparing his life. Meanwhile, the antimatter CSA made their next appearance in
Trinity. Here, it is revealed that the Syndicate have gained control of their Earth again and have been abducting people from throughout the multiverse to use as slave labor to repair their damaged Earth. After the hyper-powered Trinity heroes of the story defeat and imprison the Syndicate and free the slaves, the antimatter Earth falls into chaos. In
Justice League of America (vol. 2) #43,
Doctor Impossible and his cohorts use
Blue Jay to open up a gateway to the Multiverse. Owlman, Ultraman, and Superwoman are briefly seen standing atop a building, with shadows obscuring most of their identifying marks, thus making it unclear which versions they are. The full Crime Syndicate members later appear with the original pre-
Crisis iterations of Power Ring and Johnny Quick replacing their contemporary counterparts as a mirror to the events of
Green Lantern: Rebirth and
Flash: Rebirth. After arriving on New Earth following the destruction of their world at the hands of
Alexander Luthor Jr., the Syndicate attacks the
Hall of Justice, where Luthor's corpse was interred after the
Joker killed him in
Infinite Crisis. It is revealed that the Syndicate members were working with Impossible to create a machine that could resurrect the dead, hoping that they could revive Luthor and force him to undo the damage he had dealt to the Crime Syndicate's world. Just as the machine is to be activated, Impossible double-crosses the Syndicate and attempts to resurrect
Darkseid rather than Luthor, but the machine malfunctions and creates a powerful villain called the Omega Man. In the ensuing storyline, Power Ring is killed and the members of the Justice League and the Crime Syndicate are forced to work together to stop the Omega Man. Realizing that the situation is hopeless, Owlman betrays the League and turns them over to the Omega Man, figuring that the Syndicate could take over the League's Earth after the Omega Man kills off most of the heroes. At the last second,
Batman reveals that he anticipated the Syndicate's betrayal, and has the
Tangent Universe Green Lantern temporarily resurrect Luthor. Luthor builds a machine that returns the Syndicate to their world and seemingly destroys Omega Man.
52 In
52 #52, an alternate version of
Earth-Three is shown as a part of the new Multiverse. In the depiction are characters that are altered versions of the original
Justice League of America, plus the
Martian Manhunter. The names of the characters and the team are not mentioned in the two panels in which they appear. Based on comments by
Grant Morrison, this alternate universe is not the pre-
Crisis Earth-Three, making these new characters unrelated to previous versions. In
Countdown #31, the name of this team is revealed to be the
Crime Society. The Society are said to be evil doppelgangers of the heroes of Earth-2, and make their first solo appearance in
Countdown Presents The Search for Ray Palmer - Crime Society #1 written by
Sean McKeever and illustrated by
Jamal Igle. In addition to the five known members, this version of the CSA includes evil versions of
Green Arrow,
Wildcat,
Black Canary,
Hawkwoman,
Stargirl, and
Spectre. Later issues introduce Annataz Arataz (the counterpart of
Zatanna), and counterparts of
Supergirl (Kara Zor-El),
Wonder Girl (Donna Troy), and
Booster Gold. Shortly after the Crime Society's introduction, they are offered a place among
Monarch's army. Already recruited into the Monarch's army, Johnny Quick wins a place in Monarch's elite squad when he defeats his
Earth-9 and Earth-2 counterparts in the
Countdown: Arena miniseries. All of the Crime Society members who are present in the Earth-51 dimension at the end battle with Superman-Prime and the Monarch are killed, as the entire dimension is destroyed with only Superman-Prime surviving.
The New 52 . In "
The New 52", with the changes of this new timeline, Crime Syndicate was introduced as the true antagonists of the "
Villains Month" event, and the
Forever Evil series. At the conclusion of
Trinity War, it is revealed that the leader of the
Secret Society of Super Villains, previously known as "
the Outsider", is the
Earth-Three counterpart of
Alfred Pennyworth. He gains possession of Pandora's Box to open a portal to Earth-3, from which the Crime Syndicate emerges. The Crime Syndicate then proceeds to attack the fallen Justice League members and claims Prime Earth now belongs to them.
The New 52 line-up of the Crime Syndicate consists of Ultraman, Superwoman, Owlman, Johnny Quick, Power Ring,
Deathstorm,
Sea King (who does not survive the trip to Prime Earth) and two new members:
Atomica, who had posed as the Atom while working as a mole for the Secret Society, and
Grid, a sentient
computer virus in a robot body made from
Cyborg's old prosthetic parts. After Power Ring fell in battle against Sinestro, Grid informs Ultraman and Superwoman about it at the time when they are looking for Batman's kryptonite ring. Grid also informs them that the ring has released a pulse that was sensed throughout the Multiverse. Knowing the creature that destroyed their world has found them, Ultraman orders the Syndicate to regroup and heads to Maine with them. Batman, Lex Luthor and their team arrive at the fallen Watchtower and go in search of the kidnapped Dick Grayson (
Nightwing) and the Crime Syndicate. Grid informs the Outsider of the intrusion and he goes to protect their hooded prisoner over Grayson, only for
Black Manta to intercept the Outsider and kill him. Batman, Luthor,
Catwoman, and
Bizarro enter the room with Grayson and see he has been placed in a "Murder Machine" originally intended for
Doomsday. They realize that the machine is a detonator for a bomb that can only be stopped if Grayson's heart stops. The remaining Crime Syndicate members return to the Watchtower and attack Sinestro, Deathstroke, and Black Adam. Johnny Quick and Atomica attack
Captain Cold and Black Manta, who have unmasked the prisoner and removed the tape from his mouth. Cold fires his cold gun on Quick's leg and then breaks it off. Back with Grayson, Luthor prevents Batman from saving Grayson, choosing to save the group's lives over Grayson's. As Grayson dies, Batman attacks Luthor for murdering him with Luthor trying to reason with him that he has everything under control. With the hooded prisoner now free, he reveals himself as Alexander Luthor and yells "Mazahs!" to access the dark lightning. Luthor transforms into
Mazahs and kills the injured Quick, taking his power. After the trapped superheroes are freed from the Firestorm Matrix, Superwoman reveals that the father of her child is actually Alexander Luthor. Mazahs destroys Deathstorm taking his powers as well as attacking Lex and Bizarro, where Mazahs defeats Bizarro. Mazahs is able to pin Lex, who says "Mazahs!", summoning the dark lightning as he sounds like Alexander Luthor. Luthor is able to defeat him once he is back to Alexander Luthor and then kills him. Ultraman begins attacking Lex. As he does, Black Adam and Sinestro move the Moon, causing Ultraman to be hit with the sun, weakening him. Atomica reappears from underneath the rubble, only for Lex Luthor to kill her by stepping on her. Luthor rejoins the heroes and saves Superman by removing the kryptonite placed in his brain by Atomica. In the aftermath, Ultraman and Superwoman are captured, with Owlman still on the loose. It is later revealed that the entity that destroyed the Crime Syndicate's world is the
Anti-Monitor, who declares "
Darkseid shall be mine". In the "
Darkseid War" story in
Justice League, Cyborg and
Jessica Cruz, who has partially learned to harness Power Ring's Ring of Volthoom, seek out Superwoman in her maximum security prison for guidance on how to deal with the Anti-Monitor, who has killed Darkseid and now threatens all of existence. Seizing the opportunity to reunite the Syndicate, Volthoom seizes control of Jessica's body and when Cyborg attempts to interface with the ring, has the "Grid" personality re-uploaded and placed in control of his armor. As the trio plot to reunite with Ultraman, the heretofore-missing Owlman shows up and declares that the League and Syndicate must work together to stop the Anti-Monitor. At the climax of the story, Ultraman is incinerated by the Anti-Monitor, ignoring Superman's warnings that it was too powerful to fight alone. Superwoman gives birth to her baby and is shortly thereafter killed by the Anti-Monitor. Having abandoned his comrades, Owlman indicates he never cared for the Syndicate, and his ultimate goal was to sit on
Metron's Mobius Chair, which would give him all knowledge in the multiverse. He strikes a bargain with Metron and sits in the chair, absorbing its secrets. Suddenly, he becomes aware of a presence but before he can react, he and Metron are seemingly vaporized by a
blue light.
DC Rebirth In 2016, DC Comics implemented another relaunch of its books called "
DC Rebirth", which restored its continuity to a form much as it was prior to "The New 52". During the "
Year of the Villain" event, the Crime Syndicate is revealed to still be alive and their universe has been restored following the events of "
Doomsday Clock". They ally with
Perpetua in her conquest of the multiverse, secretly planning to take power for themselves. However, Owlman learns from
John Stewart that there have been other versions of himself and thus he can never truly be erased as a version of Owlman will always exist. Upon this realization, Owlman betrays them and destroys his own world out of jealousy towards
The Batman Who Laughs, and his belief that he will inevitably be reincarnated when the multiverse reforms.
Infinite Frontier Following the reboot of the Multiverse at the end of
Dark Nights: Death Metal as seen during
Infinite Frontier, a new Earth 3 is created with a new Crime Syndicate with a different origin like Superwoman being Donna Troy, Owlman still being Thomas Wayne Jr. whose parents were killed by a mugger named
Harvey Bullock under orders from
Boss Gordon who considered them rival crime lords, Ultraman being Kal-El who was exploited by
Jonathan and Martha Kent, John Stewart being a former beat cop before becoming Emerald Knight, and Johnny Chambers is a criminal who was raised by a father who trained dogs for dog fighting. The Syndicate is brought together to fight off an invasion by the
Starros, paralleling the original origin of the
Justice League of America where they possessed characters like Black Siren, Doctor Chaos, Miss Martian, Red Beetle, and Sky Tyrant. The Starros claimed they were not invading but were seeking refuge from the
Overlords of Oa, but were nevertheless killed by the Syndicate. Lex Luthor starts to put together a resistance against them called the Legion of Justice that include New God Lonar, her horse Thunderer, Power Tower, Red Hood (Earth 3's Harley Quinn), Savanna, Sinestro, and Venus where their first mission results in the death of Johnny Quick before he can be recruited into the Crime Syndicate. The Legion of Justice were aided by Ultraman's cousin Ultragirl in their fight against the Crime Syndicate of America. During the fight, Sinestro is killed by Emerald Knight, Atomica causes Ultragirl to die from a brain haemorrhage, and a badly-injured Lex Luthor is taken prisoner. One week after the battle, the remaining members of the Legion of Justice ally with Jester and the Crime Syndicate, setting up their base in the Legion of Justice's former satellite base. The Crime Syndicate holds a press conference advising all metahumans to serve them or else. While Ultraman is upset over Atomica causing Ultragirl's death, Atomica holds Emerald Knight accountable for Johnny's death, and Emerald Knight criticizes Ultraman's withdrawal weakness to Kryptonite and concern over Owlman's duplicity. Later, the Crime Syndicate comes into conflict with the
Suicide Squad, culminating in the "War for Earth-3" storyline, which sees Owlman and Ultraman defeated, with Superwoman, Johnny Quick, and Emerald Knight (now the new Power Ring) now working for
Amanda Waller, who converted the Crime Syndicate into a new Justice League alongside operatives in her squad. In
Titans Vol 4,
Deathstroke would create his own version of the Crime Syndicate, unrelated to the Earth 3 team, as a successor group to the
Secret Society of Super Villains, joined by
Terra,
Mammoth,
Clock King,
Psycho-Pirate, and a brainwashed
Frost. This version of the team was formed to combat the growing
Justice League Unlimited, starting off with fighting Deathstroke's old enemies the
Titans. Deathstroke's Crime Syndicate would also recruit the android Vanadia, a recent addition to the Titans, but she would then betray them and rejoin the Titans. ==Members==