Cover: Arvell Jones & Tony DeZuniga

All-Star Squadron #59

Jul 1986 · DC · 0.75 USD; 0.95 CAD; 0.40 GBP

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About this Issue

All-Star Squadron #59 is the penultimate pre-Crisis chapter of Roy Thomas's sprawling WWII superhero saga, and it functions as the calm before the continuity-rewriting storm: the Mekanique story playing out across issues #58–60 is the narrative mechanism by which the Crisis on Infinite Earths' 'sweeping effects' are held at bay in the 1942 setting and then unleashed in the very next issue, erasing the Golden Age Earth-Two versions of Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, and Aquaman from the series' history. It also marks the only full appearance of the Earth-Two Aquaman in the entire All-Star Squadron run — a deliberate, bittersweet cameo for a version of the character who would be retroactively eliminated from DC continuity within months. The issue's Metropolis-inspired villainess Mekanique, whose deceptive time-travel mission drives the plot, is one of Thomas's most inventive original creations for the series, weaving Fritz Lang's silent-film imagery directly into Golden Age superhero lore. Together, issues #58–60 constitute the series' most ambitious Crisis crossover sequence and represent Thomas's effort to give the pre-Crisis Earth-Two universe a fitting, self-aware farewell.

Contains 2 stories

Out of the Ashes... Mekanique!

16 pp · Superhero

In the midst of the Crisis, the All-Stars gather to decide Mekanique’s fate while she lies in Robotman’s lab—her future uncertain as a vote leans toward sending her to the Perisphere. But when Robotman refuses to hand her over, a group sets out to retrieve her, unaware that thanks to his repairs, she’s already stirring awake, her intentions hidden even from those who thought they knew her.

"Shanghaied into Hyperspace!" Interlude Eight

7 pp · Superhero

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VERY FINE $3.99 NM · Variant $15.9 The All-Star Squadron Issue #59 (July 1986, DC Comics) $6.75

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History

Roy Thomas wrote All-Star Squadron from issue #21 through the series' end at #67 (1983–1987), and by issue #59 he was navigating the enormous editorial pressure of Crisis on Infinite Earths, which threatened to invalidate years of carefully constructed Golden Age continuity. The Mekanique storyline across #58–60 grew, according to the fan resource Cosmic Teams, from an earlier scrapped 'Bride of Robotman' concept that Thomas had planned for a much earlier slot in the series. Issue #59 was penciled by Arvell Jones — a frequent artistic collaborator on the title during this period — and inked by Tony DeZuniga, with Barbara Randall (later Kesel) stepping in as associate editor starting with this issue, replacing Janice Race who had held the role since #32. The secondary Spectre chapter in this issue is an adaptation of All-Star Comics #13, continuing Thomas's practice of retrofitting Golden Age source material into new narrative contexts.

Trivia · 8 facts

Cover date July 1986; written by Roy Thomas, penciled by Arvell Jones, inked by Tony DeZuniga, lettered by Gaspar Saladino; Barbara Randall credited as associate editor beginning with this issue.
Main story title: 'Out of the Ashes… Mekanique!' — the middle chapter of a three-part arc spanning issues #58–60, directly tied into the Crisis on Infinite Earths crossover event.
This issue is explicitly the last All-Star Squadron chapter set entirely within pre-Crisis Earth-Two reality; the sweeping continuity changes from Crisis on Infinite Earths do not take effect in the story's timeline until issue #60.
The Earth-Two / Golden Age Aquaman makes his first full appearance in the All-Star Squadron series here — confirmed by Roy Thomas in the letters page of a later issue — and his presence lasts only two issues (#59–60) before he is retroactively eliminated by Crisis continuity changes.
Mekanique — a time-traveling robot villain whose design and backstory are explicitly based on the Maschinenmensch from Fritz Lang's 1927 silent film Metropolis — is the central antagonist; Roy Thomas gave her a unique name rather than directly referencing the copyrighted source character.
Mekanique's true first appearance is Infinity, Inc. #19 (June 1985), where Roy and Dann Thomas and artist Todd McFarlane introduced her; her full origin as a deceptive agent from a dystopian 23rd-century future is revealed across the All-Star Squadron #58–60 arc.
The backup story is a Spectre chapter adapted from All-Star Comics #13, continuing Thomas's practice of re-presenting Golden Age source stories in new framing.
The issue — along with the full run of All-Star Squadron #50–60 — was reprinted in the Crisis on Infinite Earths Companion Deluxe Edition Vol. 1, collected alongside related Crisis tie-in issues from The Fury of Firestorm and Green Lantern.