The Secret Society
Recruited by Gorilla Grodd, this team of supervillains was specifically chosen and trained to combat the Justice League. Consisting of Grodd, The Shade, Giganta, Sinestro, Killer Frost, Clayface, and The Parasite; the team came dangerously close to destroying the League both physically and in spirit.
Cartoon Network on The Secret Society (circa 2001): "Founded by Darkseid to rid the Earth of any heroes capable of opposing him, [The Secret Society] includes Lex Luthor, Gorilla Grodd, Felix Faust, Sinestro, Poison Ivy, Ultra-Humanite, Chronos, Cheetah, and Star Sapphire. Fortunately, these egocentric villains can't get along long enough to unite against their enemies (courtesy of Toon Zone)."
DarkLantern on The Secret Society: "I can drop hints to the entire membership: two members have previously appeared in Justice League, three members have appeared on Superman or Batman, three members were members of the Secret Society of Supervillains in the comics, three members were part of the Legion of Doom on Superfriends, and one member has never appeared in animated form…ever (courtesy of Toon Zone).”
When
the original press materials for Justice League were released, The Secret
Society was listed alongside the Injustice Gang, which caused some confusion
among fans who couldn’t tell the two teams apart, much less figure out which
team would appear first. This is
understandable, considering that, on the surface at least, the concept of both
teams are virtually identical: a
group of supervillains that team up to face their heroic counterparts.
In addition, the original list for the Society listed several members
that overlapped with the Gang’s roster—with Lex Luthor, Star Sapphire,
Cheetah, and the Ultra-Humanite appearing on both teams—so their was a
definite air of confusion as to when the Society was to appear and in what form
it would take.
Like
the Injustice Gang before it, The Secret Society is an organization that stems
from the comics; in this case the Secret Society of Supervillains—a
comic book in which Darkseid organized a team to aid in his conquest of Earth.
The team, however, rebelled when they realized who they were working for,
reasoning that the Lord of Apokolips would betray them when they were no longer
of use. Striking out on their own,
the team’s roster bolstered thirty-six members at different times (and in
different incarnations), with virtually every major DC supervillain at the time
appearing at some point in the team's history.
In
designing the Society for the Second Season, the creative team changed the
roster significantly from the one mentioned in the press materials.
This was just as well, as there were many redundancies present in the
choice of characters used (for example, Star Sapphire and Sinestro possess
abilities that are identical, and the Ultra-Humanite and Gorilla Grodd are both
super-intelligent apes). Nevertheless, the
characters decided upon for the final roster were quite surprising.
Of the seven members only Gorilla Grodd, Sinestro, and Killer Frost were
members of the comic book version of the team; of the remaining four Giganta is
best known for her stint in the Legion of Doom from Superfriends, The
Shade was a member of the Golden Age Injustice Society of the World, and,
historically speaking, Clayface and The Parasite have never allied themselves
with any such team. Overall, the
creative team’s decisions regarding the organization was a major departure
from the norm, as they tend to hew to the source material as closely as
possible.
However,
in context with their actual appearance on the series, the roster of The Secret
Society made perfect sense. In
picking his teammates, Grodd chose six individuals that he could actually rely
on (whereas the Injustice Gang's members were motivated by money, The Secret
Society’s members were motivated by more reliable and trustworthy goals such
as loyalty, lust for power, and simple revenge).
In addition, the membership was chosen specifically to counter the
individual members of the Justice League: Giganta’s
strength, The Shade’s experience, Sinestro’s power ring, Killer Frost’s
bloodlust, Clayface’s shape-shifting, and The Parasite’s power absorption
complimented Grodd’s own mental powers, technological skill, and formidable
strength quite well.
In
dropping the “of Supervillains” from the team’s name, Bruce Timm and the
creative team have stripped away a bit of the team’s inherent corniness and,
in turn, made it sound creepier—more like an Illuminati Society or Masonic
Order than a team of supervillains. In
addition, their debut episode The Secret Society presented the
organization as a dark reflection of the Justice League; featuring similar story
threads involving trust and teamwork, a black aircraft that mirrored the
League's Javelin-7, and the visual imagery that resembled the League’s dramatic pose
featured during the series’ opening credits (compare this
image to the picture above).
It
is unknown whether or not The Secret Society will make another appearance on Justice
League but, all things considered, they have a much better chance of
returning than the Injustice Gang does. Perhaps
a future episode may incorporate Darkseid’s presence into the team, as his
initial role as the team’s facilitator is a vital part of the their history.
Images courtesy of The World’s Finest.
