Manhunter from Mars #161 (December, 1977)

Nearly a decade into the intermittent and irregular groupings of cosmic criminals from multiple planets aligned against the Alien Atlas, the various players remained informal, unnamed, and disconnected. That changed in the post-Star Wars landscape of comics catering to the science-fantasy audience. Among other things in George Lucas' blockbuster vision, editorial saw "a wretched hive of scum and villainy" and said to themselves, "we can do that, too." Reviving the "Secret Six" formula of the original gathering of space rogues with the largest collection of interstellar scoundrels to that date, to serve as a sort of Secret Society of Supervillains for the rocket ship set. And thus was finally born "The Solar Syndicate!"

A mysterious coordinator once again gathered alien crooks from across the solar system for a grand scheme, beginning on Earth with the Terran Tobias Manning enlisting the forces of Solo of Neptunia, for a trip to Mercury to remove of Venus Girdle from Queen Celerita. Next, Ghurkos of Phobos and Thas Bakkus of Deimos were sent to convince the ruling council of Titan that they had been tricked into believing all Earthlings were super-powered, bringing Kral with them to demonstrate human frailty. Meanwhile, Lord Uvo of Uranus reached out to Shrudlu of Pluto with the trajectory of a rocket carrying the subdued Moon-Beast using information stolen from Challengers Mountain.

These major moves did not go unnoticed, as Jovian Security Officers reached out to Roh Kar, Last Lawman of Mars, from his lonely post orbiting his dead homeworld. They had observed Jovian Metal Creatures departing their world under the guidance of the Crimson Centipede of his own Red Planet. Just as Roh Kar had relayed the message to J'Onn J'Onzz, he was assailed by The Face-Hunter from Saturn. Recognizing the expanded scope of these sol system sinisters, the Manhunter from Mars enlisted the aid of Saturnian Lawmen on his way from new Mars to old to investigate. However, their craft was ambushed, with only the Sleuth from Outer Space escaping with his life to the Earth's moon.

There, he uncovered the assembled Solar Syndicate, working under the direction of the Venusian Mister Mind in a bid to recreate the Solar-Brain and conquer the entire Milky Way Galaxy. Cut off from his friends and allies, the Martian Marvel manages to thwart the Syndicate's initial bid, but his sabotage of the cosmic forces summoned for the Solar-Brain has the unintended side effect of blasting J'Onn J'Onzz across space and time... to the year 2070! As proof of the longevity of this Solar Syndicate, one Manhunter would join another, Starker, as well as Ultra, the Multi-Alien, to face a future incarnation led by Doctor Dynamo and including his old foe B'enn B'urnzz!

Despite being groomed to take over from Jack Kirby through an Adventure Comics serial, Mike Nasser was already overcommitted on Challengers of the Unknown, Legion of Super-Heroes, and a Black Canary serial. Despite missing out on the conclusion of that trial strip, Nasser did return to the character for a string of covers to help The Manhunter From Mars ride out the DC Implosion as a newly christened monthly.

Credits
Script: David V. Reed
Pencils: Juan Ortiz
Inks: John Calnan
Cover: Mike Nasser
Price: $0.35 USD
Pages: 36
Indicia frequency: Monthly
Indicia Publisher: DC Comics Inc.
Editing: Tony Isabella