a publication date of May 1941. He was a stage magician, dressed like a swami complete with turban, to disguise the fact that he wielded true mystical powers, passing off such feats as illusions. As a child, he came into possession of the mystic Ruby of Life which allowed him to control anything he touches (touching the ground lets him erect a wall, for instance). Taking his professional name from the ancient king of the same name, Sargon has had a checkered career, acting mostly as a hero during the Golden Age aided first by his lady assistant Flora Styles, and later by his cartoonish fat little comic relief sidekick / manager Maximillian O'Leary as he battled crooks, spies and his azure-skinned archenemy the Blue Lama, the Queen of Black Magic. He re-emerges in the Silver Age – as a villain, at least at first. It was later explained that his villainous activities were the result of certain side effects of possessing the Ruby of Life. He was brought back for occasional guest appearances in the Silver Age and was awarded with an honorary membership in the Justice League in Justice League of America #99 in 1972. Sargon later explained that he moved from his home of Earth-Two to take up residence on Earth-One in 1950. Sargon maintained contacts with several other mages in the DC Universe, notably Baron Winters, Zatara (a fellow faux stage magician), and the younger mage John Constantine. Sargon answered the summons of Constantine to participate in a ritual at the mansion of Winters to help deal with the effects of the Crisis on Infinite Earths, using the Swamp Thing as their portal into the war being fought in Hell. Locking hands in a circle of power, and using the psychic powers of Constantine's drunken acquaintance Mento, the group of sorcerers (which also included Zatara's daughter Zatanna) observed the events unfolding, and attempted in turn to channel their magical powers into several other mystical characters present in Hell, including Etrigan, the original Doctor Fate, and the Spectre. Their enemy, a primal form of evil (called the Great Evil Beast) that was surging upwards to obliterate everything in its path, sensed their interference and lashed out several times; its power raced around the circle, finding a weak link and incinerating it. The first to fall was Sargon. At first panicking and crying out for the others to