Johnny Sorrow


Johnny Sorrow

(pop culture)In the days of World War II, Jonathan “Johnny” Sorrow— created by writer Geoff Johns and artist Stephen Sadowski for Secret Origins of Super-Villains 80-Page Giant #1 (1999)—was a two-bit crook. Despite his insignificant status, he invented an amazing gadget that allowed him to flit in and out of reality. When the device overloads due to an attack by Sand—a member of the Modern Age Justice Society of America (JSA) and former sidekick to the original Sandman—Sorrow gets sucked into a strange nether dimension called the Subtle Realms. The Realms' inhabitants scheme to use Sorrow as an intermediary into this earthly plane, and disfigure Sorrow's face—which is invisible on the comic-book page—so that anyone who looks upon him dies instantly. Devilishly dapper in his red suit and gloves, Johnny Sorrow is reminiscent of the classic interpretation of the Invisible Man, but Sorrow's intangible form is hidden behind a red mask instead of bandages. His first attempt to allow the Subtle Realms' god, the King of Tears, to break through into humankind's world was thwarted by the JSA and the Spectre. That didn't stop Sorrow from returning as the brains behind the new Injustice Society of America, sending a team of villains—including Count Vertigo, Tigress, Icicle III, Blackbriar Thorn, Killer Wasp, and Geomancer— into battle against the hero Wildcat while he stole the King of Tears from JSA headquarters. Another effort to unleash the King was opposed by the JSA, who sent Sorrow back to the netherworld. Sorrow later returned and teamed with Despero against the combined forces of the Justice League of America and the JSA. Whenever Johnny Sorrow shows his face, the JSA can count on trouble.