| Wizard | |
|---|---|
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | DC Comics |
| First appearance | All Star Comics #34 |
| In-story information | |
| Alter ego | William I. Zard |
| Team affiliations | Injustice Society Secret Society of Super Villains |
| Abilities | Skilled magic user |
The Wizard is a fictional DC Comics Golden Age supervillain.
Born approximately 1913, William I. Zard grew up living a life of crime. As a gun man for various crime bosses, he ultimately ended up in jail. With the passage of time, he formulated a strategy to become a specialized kingpin. In order to accomplish this task, he moved to Tibet and trained under a proficient lama in the mystic arts of illusion and deception. Upon completion of his training, he proceeded to slay his master. Returning to the United States, he embarked on a career as a criminal magician.
Believing that the Justice Society of America was merely a cover for a criminal organization, he attempted several criminal acts which were thwarted one by one by members of the Society. Realizing his mistaken misconception, he jumped into a vat of acid. The vat was an illusion he had created, and he next set out to organize the world's first supervillain organization, The Injustice Society of the World.[1]
The Wizard helped to form the Injustice Society with Per Degaton, Vandal Savage, the Thinker, the Gambler, and Brainwave. Each member proceeded to steal some key item from the U.S. government, and collectively they were outmaneuvered by their heroic counterparts. The Wizard's escape was circumvented by some junior fans of the J.S.A.[2]
The Wizard proceeded to escape prison once more and reformed his gang with new members Icicle, the Fiddler, the Sportsmaster, the Huntress, and the Harlequin. The Harlequin, as it turned out, was actually not a criminal at heart...she merely kept up the pretense in order to attract the attention of Green Lantern. Along with aspiring Justice Society member Black Canary, she soon freed the heroes which then captured their foes.[3]
In the 1950s, the Wizard was contacted by Colonel Future to help get revenge on Superman by removing him from existence. Unfortunately, the Wizard accidentally eliminated only his memory. When Clark Kent married Lois Lane, Lois persuaded the Wizard to restore his memory (which was a success) and Superman battled The Wizard. Superman's memory was restored and the Wizard was sent to jail.[4]
Having fallen into hard times, the Wizard became a despondent street vagrant (under the alias Frederick P. Garth). He was then approached by a Metropolis criminal boss who offered him a wand of great power in exchange for his disposing of Superman, which he proceeded to do, although he only removed Superman from the world, not his alter ego Clark Kent. Eventually, with the help of his new wife Lois Lane Kent, Clark reasserted his Superman identity with the help of Wizard, who desperately wanted to display proof that he accomplished the unthinkable ... banishing Superman for an entire year.[4] The villain was once more captured, but soon escaped and visited the Black Canary, exacting revenge on her for interfering with his 2nd Injustice Society by granting the powers of a sonic scream to their baby daughter also named Dinah Drake. This girl eventually grew up to become the second Black Canary.[5]
The Wizard proceeded to form a new villainous organization known as the Crime Champions, which team up with their counterparts on Earth-1 to battle the Society and Justice League of America. Years later, he again reformed the Injustice Society which were temporarily victorious, enlisting the aid of extra-dimensional writer Cary Bates in killing several members of the J.S.A prior to their being revived.[6]
By the 1970s, Zard and the other Injustice Society members invaded the Justice Society headquarters, severely injured Hourman and staged a crime spree that spanned the globe. They were later apprehended.
Soon, he and the Injustice Society members went to Earth-1 to recruit younger villains to fight the Justice Society. The Wizard went there with the Fiddler with the unexpected side effect of reduced power. There, he was recruited into Darkseid's Secret Society of Super Villains which he later took over with other villains who revolted. The Wizard was later apprehended and sent to jail where, due to this reduction in his powers, the Wizard sought out and was able to trick the Secret Society into obtaining three magical relics which he wanted to help him increase his powers. They were The Cloak of Invisibility; The Power Glove and a jewel medallion, which were worn by the Wizard and incorporated into his new costume. The Wizard led the Secret Society back to Earth-Two in a plot to capture the JSA, which was a success when they captured the Atom, Doctor Mid-Nite, and Mr. Terrific. The JSA were alerted and defeated them.[7]
The Wizard was responsible for a coup in which his Secret Society, consisting of himself, Reverse Flash, Floronic Man, Blockbuster, and Star Sapphire, switched bodies with members of the JLA. This happened in Justice League of America #166-168, a storyline that was revisited in Identity Crisis (2004), where it was revealed that Zatanna wiped the heroes' secret identities from the villains' minds following their defeat.
The Wizard later returned to Earth-2 once again reassembling the Crime Champions with the help of Johnny Thunder of Earth-1, but was once more defeated by the combined might of the J.S.A. and J.L.A (Justice League of America #219-220). He later appeared briefly during the J.S.A.'s trial before congress for allegations of misconduct during World War II, but was quickly defeated by Doctor Fate.[8]
Sometime later, he moved to Canada and joined with the Fiddler and the Shade as well as new villains Icicle II, Artemis Crock (later called Tigress), Harlequin III and Hazard, to form the group Injustice Unlimited, the second incarnation of the Injustice Society, where they fought Infinity, Inc. and the Global Guardians. The Wizard was presumably killed by the second generation Hourman, Zard still had the trick of faking his death.[9]
Of course, this too was an illusion, and he had transported himself to the land of Faeries where he could recoup his power base. Once more, he was defeated by an assemblage of heroes and by his own ego.[10]
The Wizard appeared in the JSA All-Stars miniseries in which he disguised himself as the villain Legacy and captured the elder members of the Justice Society. He is then "killed" by the Spectre.
Shortly after Identity Crisis, Despero gave the surviving Secret Society members their memories back. In the JLA story, "Crisis of Conscience," the Wizard appeared as part of a reformed Secret Society of Super Villains looking to avenge themselves against the forced erasure of their memories. Aided by Felix Faust, they attacked the Daily Planet, and were stopped once again by the Justice League. After defeating Despero at Wayne Manor, the League was disbanded and Zatanna re-wiped the memories of all six Society members.
He has since appeared in JSA: Classified as part of a new Injustice Society that includes Icicle, Tigress, Solomon Grundy, Gentleman Ghost, Ragdoll, and Johnny Sorrow and gained possession of the key to the Ghost Zone.
During the Infinite Crisis, Wizard was also seen in the Secret Society of Super Villains. He will again show up in JSA All Stars #2, again fighting under the command of Johnny Sorrow, as part of the Injustice Society.
The Wizard is a skilled magic user capable of performing various effects. He recently came into possession of the key to the Ghost Zone allowing him access to another dimension and teleportation through it.