DC Universe F.A.Q.

[LexLuthorMetropolis]

Ask all your questions about the DC Universe to others on the board here and get those hard to find answers.

[mvblacnyte]

Wow. I have seen a bajillion questions posted lately out on the boards, about this or that hero, this or that place, this or that Earth, etc, and now that there's a dedicated place for it, everybody runs and hides. LOL

[dsv100]

Yes, well, I'm not sure what places you frequent on the Net, but where I go, an F.A.Q. is already populated with questions and answers. This thread, titled simply "DC Universe F.A.Q.", is simply an invitation for others to post their questions and hope someone answers. It may be that people are clicking this thread expecting a thorough knowledgebase to be here, then leave when they see nothing.

[mvblacnyte]

Originally posted by dsv100
Yes, well, I'm not sure what places you frequent on the Net, but where I go, an F.A.Q. is already populated with questions and answers. This thread, titled simply "DC Universe F.A.Q.", is simply an invitation for others to post their questions and hope someone answers. It may be that people are clicking this thread expecting a thorough knowledgebase to be here, then leave when they see nothing.

Definitely a good point. Don't we need actual questions to be asked, before we can post answers to frequently asked questions, though?

Don't get me wrong, I'm sure I, and many others on the forum, could post various details of their "take" on the history of the DCU. Is that what people want here, or a place to ask a question and have someone with the knowledge answer it? I'm a comic geek, I have no problem either way. I keep checking back to see if there are questions here, but no one's asked. Would it be more useful if folks could pop in here and read a synopsis? I'm up for anything, answering questions if I can, or writing up my personal "History of the DCU". I just think that, aside from specific questions that may not be answered, the "History of the DCU" has already been done well other places on the web.

[dsv100]

If this thread is to depend on people with questions ready to ask (B.Y.O. Question format), then titling it "DC Universe F.A.Q." is not going to attract such people. It will attract only people looking for an F.A.Q. -- that's my only point.

[k18]

I think not many people have questions about the D.C. Universe. That's why this thread doesn't have any questions in it.

[j03superbat]

Perhaps people should simply post their DC questions here, and as soon as someone answers, a mod such as LexLuthorMetropolis can simply edit the first post of this thread to include the question and response.

And there are general, frequently-asked questions that should be immediately added before anyone asks it - such as, "I'm a newbie - what the hell is all this Pre-Crisis, Post-Crisis, Silver Age, Modern Age stuff?"

[mvblacnyte]

Well, being the anashamed geek that I am, I enjoy this sort of thing, so I don't mind getting the ball rolling.

So, what is all this Golden Age, Silver Age, Modern Age garbage everybody's always talking about?

In the DCU (DC Comics Universe), there are 3 or sometimes 4, and even 5, different "ages" or eras of comics that are generally referred to. These are the Golden Age, Silver Age, (sometimes Bronze Age), and the Modern and/or Post-Crisis Ages. The separation of these eras is due to several factors, from popularity of certain characters or genre, to major changes made in a character or the world in which he exists, or because of convoluted continuity.

Superman's debut, in 1938, gave us a Superman with specific powers. He was faster than a locomotive, able to leap about an eighth of a mile at a time, was strong enough to lift a car over his head, and "nothing short of a bursting shell would penetrate his skin". In the early 1940s, the idea of him having been raised by human parents from a young age was introduced, as was Kryptonite, and many other concepts. This was the Golden Age, in which Superman had adventures with the Justice Society of America and fought in WWII. The Golden Age saw the creation of Batman, Wonder Woman, the Spectre, Green Lantern, Green Arrow, and many others standards.

Superhero comics started to lose their popularity in the 1950's, and were gradually phased out for Westerns, horror, and detective stories. Only 3 DC superheroes of the time survived this: Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman. This was the end of the Golden Age of DC Comics.

The Silver Age began with the reintroduction of the Flash, in a newly-reimagined form. This is also the place where the first real distinction was made between the Golden Age and Silver Age. You see, the new Flash was a comic book fan, and was inspired by reading of the fictional adventures of Jay Garrick, the Golden Age Flash. It was made clear, then, that the adventures several years prior, of the Justice Society, Green Lantern, Flash, etc., were fictional as far as the "modern" comic books were concerned. After the Flash, DC began bringing back other Golden Age characters in new and re-imagined form for the new age. Green Lantern, Hawkman, Green Arrow, Black Canary, just to name a few. And, in an issue of the Flash, the DC Multiverse (which is playing a large role in comics today, despite its destruction 20 years ago) was created, when the Silver Age Flash accidentally crossed into an alternate universe and met his hero, the Golden Age Flash. Thanks to this, modern comics could now be written using the Golden Age characters, without screwing up the continuity of the newer and more popular Silver Age characters. The Silver Age also saw the rise of more science-fiction elements and less fictional elements in superhero comics, and the birth of the Justice League of America.

Some consider the Silver Age to be the final age before the Modern or post-Crisis age, but I like to throw in the Bronze Age. Beginning in between 1969 and 1972, there was a distinct change of tone in comics. This began with a storyline in which Superman became "depowered", because the writers thought he had become too godlike to be relatable as a character. However, this idea was tossed out in the very next issue, never to be referred to again.

In 1985, DC Comics decided that their "Multiverse" was becoming too crowded, and that it was off-putting to too many readers, new and old. So they staged the first epic crossover event, the Crisis on Infinite Earths. Heroes and villains from several known universes in the Multiverse got together to fight a threat that intended to destroy the entire Multiverse. I won't go into great detail on that here, because it's deserving of another post at least as long as this one. Suffice it to say, the heroes won, and lost. The Multiverse was destroyed, leaving only the positive matter and anti-matter universes. The modern universe, however, suddenly had a new history, because the conflict had been resolved at the beginning of time. So the Golden Age characters now were all said to have existed on the main DCU Earth in the 1940's, with a few exceptions. There now was only one Superman, the modern, post-Crisis version, so there couldn't have been one in the JSA. He was replaced with a new character known as Iron Munro. Wonder woman was eventually explained as having been a time-lost Queen Hippolyta, the modern Wonder Woman's mother. There was no Batman, and no Robin, in the Golden Age JSA. Nor was there a Green Arrow, although there was a Green Lantern, since that character had been reintroduced in the Silver Age with a new name and backstory, as had the Flash. Hawkman... well, Hawkman was kind of screwed up for a while. I'll leave it at that.

Superman, Wonder Woman, and Batman were all rebooted with slightly altered histories to make them, and their timelines, fit into the new modern world. History itself was re-written, so that many of the events we were familiar with had never happened, and we watched these new-old heroes from the beginnings of their careers. And this was the post-Crisis, or Modern Age, of comics.

And now, we are experiencing Infinite Crisis. There are aspects of the Multiverse, references to Crisis on Infinite Earths, and much more, in this new Crisis. It's going to be another world-changing event in the DCU. You really should be reading it, you know.

So there's my attempt at a brief synopsis. There's a LOT more detail that could be explored, but that should be more than enough to get the idea across.

[David Ford, RPD]

I have a question; I keep on hearing, in the Bats comics, that he doesn't work with the JLA. Yet he's in the JLA comics. What gives?

[mvblacnyte]

Originally posted by David Ford, RPD
I have a question; I keep on hearing, in the Bats comics, that he doesn't work with the JLA. Yet he's in the JLA comics. What gives?

In the olden days, back before the JLA, there was the Justice Society in the Golden Age (Earth 2). Bats and Supes both declined to join, but were always available to help if needed. That tradition was kept in the early years of the JLA in the Silver Age (Earth 1).

The most recent incarnation of the JLA, however, had both Batman and Superman as full founding members.

What you may be seeing in the current Batman comics is fallout from Identity Crisis and the current Infinite Crisis, in which Batman has not only left the JLA but has insisted that the league itself be dissolved. Even in the current JLA title, there really is no Justice League. A few of the secondary heroes are trying to keep it together, but the League has pretty much disbanded. And Batman has definitely been insisting on this.

[ajax]

can someone give me info on the blue bowman

can someone give me info on the blue bowman , what are his powers, is he good or bad, what are his origins, i heard he was better with a bow and arrow than green arrow and hawkeye is this true

[mvblacnyte]

Re: can someone give me info on the blue bowman

Originally posted by ajax
can someone give me info on the blue bowman , what are his powers, is he good or bad, what are his origins, i heard he was better with a bow and arrow than green arrow and hawkeye is this true

Well, no, but maybe yes. I had to look up some history to be sure, since this is a very obscure character that I only had a vague knowledge of.

My first reaction was a straight no. DC Comics' Blue Bowman was actually another alias for another Batman villain, the Signalman. And while he used gadgets with a bow and arrow as the Blue Bowman, he was a failure in both incarnations.

But... here's where I'm unsure of your question. I found information on a second character known as the Blue Bowman. This information is all new to me, so I'll summarize.

Bang Comics introduced several heroes in their own version of the universe, including a character known as the Blue Bowman, Lance Stone. He had a later partner, Jiffy the Archer, and a female heroine love interest, Silver Songbird.

Any of this sound familiar? I mean, almost lawsuit-worthy familiar? lol

There were also such characters as Acme-Man, Acme-Lad, and Acme-Lass, who were all cousins, and who had all undergone scientific experimentation which left them with super powers. Paragon Princess was sent to Earth from another planet with powers and abilities far beyond those of mortal women. Speed Demon ran so fast he created sonic booms. Captain Fathom was king of the undersea world. Moonman stalked the night of his crime-ridden city, seeking out evil. There was a super-group known as the Freedom Front.

The more I read about this, the more I have to laugh. My God, was EVERYONE copying DC Comics back then?

[shadowcat20x]

Holy DC trivia, Mvblacnyte man You sure know your stuff!

I was always under the impression that Superman created the justice league, but from your previous responses it looks like this is not true. My question is - just who did form the JLA?

[raeble]

Ok this has really been bugging me - Is there some kind of future Dimension/Timeline Guardian in DC comics? Who is also Supeman's son? I don't know where I got this idea from. I can see the guy clear as day in my head - he's standing in this big white room surrounded by all these time streams. Can someone tell me if this actually happens or if it is just my feverish imaginings?

[HalJordan4184]

That was Jon Kent from the Kingdom and Kingdom Come timelines. He had the ability to control hypertime, so he was it's guardian, unless there is someone else you're thinking of.