“One punch!”

“One punch!”

Quote the two-word sentence to any Justice League fan and it instantly brings a smile.

“One punch!,” was Blue Beetles’ explanation, exhortation and exhalation for Guy Gardner’s come upence in Justice League (1987) five.

Further, it was continued reason why the book was gaining traction in the comic book community with each publication.

Keith Giffen and J.M. DeMatteis, with artist Kevin Maguire, were responsible for recreating one of DC Comics cornerstones, the Justice League, following the Crisis on Infinite Earths. However, the rest of the DC Universe was starting over, too.

This left the team hamstrung with a limited roster of heroes to choose from. John Byrne was reimagining Superman. George Perez was overseeing Wonder Woman.

Batman was the last of the original trinity and Bat-family editor Denny O’Neil took pity on the new league allowing the Dark Knight to be used in the book.

Other team members included Black Canary, Blue Beetle, Captain Marvel, Doctor Fate, Doctor Light, Guy Gardner, Martian Manhunter and Mister Miracle and camp (wife, Big Barda and manager, Oberon).

The roster would change over time, growing to flesh out various leagues once it reached international status, but Giffen and DeMatteis kept the group grounded while giving the readers a behind-the-scenes look at the team.

The writing duo focused as much on the in-house fighting as they did with the villains who cropped up.

Which, led to issue five’s fisticuffs.

Green Lantern Guy Gardner proved to be grating enough to the other members that by the time he challenged Batman for leadership, they were all too happy to see him splayed on the floor after, “one punch.”

The punch would indirectly lead to today’s non-holiday focus.

Picking himself up, Guy finds his ring where Beetle had thrown it earlier, which leads to him to bang his head causing a personality change that would last till issue 18.

Though Giffen and DeMatteis were responsible for many laughs over the course of their Justice League run, there’s nothing funny about National Brain Injury Awareness Day.

Dating back as far as ancient Mesopotamia, head injuries have been recognized as having side effects such as seizures, paralysis, loss of sight, speech and hearing. By the Middle Ages the term concussion was in use.

Yet, it wasn’t until post World War I brain injuries were recognized as health problems.

Over time treatment and management have improved. Standardized guidelines to treat brain injuries have been established, multiple drugs have come into use and survival rates have improved greatly.

The 1990s were dubbed the Decade of the Brain following the amount of study devoted to the organ.

This year’s National Brain Injury Conference and Awareness Day will be held March 3-5 in Washington, D.C.

It’s too late to really make plans to attend, but some study can be done, prevention prepared and, as always, use the excuse to relive a wonderfully bright – though brief – period in the DCU.