Whats up once more. I’m Alex Jaffe, your host of this month-to-month column and our weekly Trivia Tuesdays over within the DC Neighborhood, the place I am going by HubCityQuestion. On this function, I take all of the urgent questions that you just submit in regards to the huge scope of the DC Universe and all its inhabitants and historical past, and I do my degree greatest to ship the solutions you crave. This week is a very wild one, so let’s get to it.
For Queen and Kentry
Reaganfan78 asks:
I used to be watching season six of Smallville the opposite day, and was questioning: when did Superman and Inexperienced Arrow group up for the primary time and the way typically have been they seen collectively?
Superman and Inexperienced Arrow typically shared problems with anthology comics like World’s Best, Extra Enjoyable Comics and Journey Comics within the Nineteen Forties and ’50s, although by no means in the identical story. That modified in 1959, with Journey Comics #258. And, appropriately sufficient to your query, the assembly occurred to happen in Smallville.
In a lead story titled “Superboy Meets the Younger Inexperienced Arrow!,” Superboy’s time monitor reveals to him that his new classmate, Oliver Queen, will someday turn out to be the hero generally known as Inexperienced Arrow. Sadly, regardless of his greatest efforts, younger Oliver is a horrible marksman. The duty falls to Superboy to offer younger Ollie the boldness he must someday turn out to be a superhero.
By 1961, Inexperienced Arrow can be inducted as the primary new member of the Justice League of America after the group’s founding in Justice League of America #4. Superman and Inexperienced Arrow have counted one another as colleagues ever since. Particularly inside their capability as co-members of the Justice League, team-ups between the heroes are too quite a few to say in entirety. However right here’s a personally curated studying listing if you happen to’d prefer to see a few of their one-on-one time within the comics:
Unsolved Thriller in House
“EVERYONE SHUT UP, WHO’S THE SPACE DOMINATRIX RIDING THE T-REX??? …for analysis functions, clearly.”
-@AnneComics, Twitter
“Alex Jaffe we’d like your abilities.”
-@JohnVillari, Twitter
Usually, I solely settle for questions submitted to me by the DC neighborhood. However after this panel from 1990’s Animal Man #23 turned the topic of an internet-wide search this month, I felt it was my responsibility to the general public to resolve this thriller. It appeared to all available proof that this helmet-wearing, whip-wielding, two pistol-carrying adventurer driving bareback on a tyrannosaurus rex, who seems solely on this concern as a ghostly picture was a one-off background character. However a number of elements right here led many to imagine that this will likely not have been her first look. Most significantly, the context of the difficulty is that Psycho-Pirate, the super-villain pushed mad by his distinctive reminiscence of the Pre-Disaster universe, is unintentionally conjuring the ghosts of characters who not exist in Submit-Disaster continuity. The presence on this panel of Kole of the Teen Titans (backside left) and Beppo the Tremendous-Monkey (hopefully apparent) appears to point that the hanging girl who dominates the background will need to have some forgotten comedian ebook origin as nicely. However the place?
Like everybody else who encountered this panel, I needed to admit I wasn’t instantly aware of her. My first skeptical thought was preliminary impressions have been appropriate—she was from nowhere in any respect. Our thriller girl was merely a visible avatar for the mixing of retrofuturism and primal fantasy, which dominated Silver Age comics.
However that wasn’t adequate for me. In spite of everything, it was solely a idea. To do proper by all of you, I needed to get looking.
The primary clue for me was the design of this character’s uniform, which appears to a minimum of superficially resemble Adam Unusual. A Rannian warrior, maybe? I went by tons of of Silver Age points between Unusual Adventures and Thriller in House to search out our woman—who, at this level, I had taken to calling “Rextina.” I found that there have been many dinosaurs within the Silver Age area of Earth-One, however no dinosaur riders.
My subsequent thought was that it appeared prefer it may be the form of idea that William Moulton Marston or Robert Kanigher would conjure—a strong girl astride a prehistoric beast. Sensation Comics and Marvel Girl alike offered no solutions.
My fellow columnist Josh Lapine-Bertone recommended making an attempt another locations within the Pre-Disaster world the place dinosaurs may be discovered, like “The Island That Time Forgot” in Star Spangled Conflict Tales, and the underground realm of Skartaris in Mike Grell’s Warlord. No space-age warriors may very well be discovered there both. (He did recommend an alternate identify for her: “Dinah Ryder.” Possibly that’s her civilian identify.)
At this level, having trawled by what felt like half the sequential artwork of the ’50s and ’60s for a personality that no encyclopedia, no comedian ebook archive, and no on-line useful resource had ever listed earlier than, I threw up my palms. The one method I used to be going to get solutions about this character who apparently seems solely as soon as within the background of 1 panel in a thirty-year-old comedian was to go to the creators themselves.
Animal Man author Grant Morrison, I discovered, was unavailable for remark. They’re most likely off on some treacherous imaginative and prescient quest in regards to the nature of the infinite that mere mortals like myself can scarcely comprehend. However by the correct social media channels, I used to be in a position to get in contact with the story’s artist: the penciler for all however a pair problems with Morrison’s legendary Animal Man run, Chaz Truog.
I didn’t have a lot in the way in which of expectations after I reached out to him. In spite of everything, this was a comic book he’d drawn earlier than Invoice Clinton was president. To my delight, nonetheless, I lastly caught a break. Chaz (whose first identify was spelled with an S within the precise concern) was very happy to speak to me about Animal Man and this concern specifically. I informed him my story and my theories. And Chaz gave me his reply:
“A few of these characters I made as much as fill within the area. Dinosaur Woman is considered one of them, until I’m mistaken. Simply an excuse to attract a dinosaur!”
At this level, I don’t suppose he’s mistaken in any respect. So right here we’re ultimately. Dinosaur Woman is an unique character created by Chaz Truog. I sit up for the upcoming twelve-issue Black Label collection exploring her wealthy historical past and traumatic previous by Tom King and Mitch Gerads.
Stage Names
a2.ton.51072 asks:
Within the newest concern of Flashpoint Past, DC could or could not have made the Joker’s “actual identify” canon. That began me questioning, what number of totally different names has the Joker had in DC comics?
Spoiler alert for anybody who’s behind, however in Flashpoint Past #5, Martha Wayne—the Joker of Flashpoint’s altered timeline—tells Thomas Wayne, Flashpoint’s Batman, a few man named Jack Oswald White—a failed comic employed at Wayne On line casino. It’s closely implied that had the timeline turned out otherwise, Jack White would have turn out to be the Joker we all know as we speak in the principle timeline. However there’s sufficient believable deniability with variations between timelines to dismiss this as a doable origin, and never a particular one, if you’re so inclined.
So far as different names go, what we principally have are apparent aliases or outright impostors. The primary alias the Joker ever assumed was “A. Rekoj,” posing because the proprietor of a music retailer in 1940’s Detective Comics #45. In 1948’s Detective Comics #148, Joker adopts the moniker of “J.O. Kerr” for the primary time, which he would use variations of for the remainder of his villainous profession.
1969’s Justice League of America #77 introduces us to John Dough, aka Mr. Regular—“probably the most regular man in America.” Dough convinces Justice League mascot Snapper Carr to grant him entry to Justice League headquarters. This, too, proves to be the Joker. In 1982’s Batman #353, Joker makes use of the alias “Harlan Quinn”—a full decade earlier than the arrival of Harley. In 1975’s The Joker #4, Joker adopts the identification of bus driver Harry Hack as a part of an elaborate scheme to marry Black Canary. That actually occurred, I promise. I can let you know don’t imagine me. Learn it, it’s on DC UNIVERSE INFINITE, I’ll wait.
See? I informed you. Transferring on, Grant Morrison’s Batman run has Joker undertake the identification of British detective Oberon Sexton, one other alias. In 2012’s Pink Hood and the Outlaws #14, Joker adopts the alias of “Jack Napier,” an allusion to his true identification within the 1989 Batman movie. Scott Snyder’s Batman comics additionally see Joker tackle the alias of Eric Border, an orderly at Arkham Asylum, whereas he lays low between the occasions of “Dying of the Household” and “Batman: Endgame.” Which is all to say that no canonical identify has ever been offered in predominant continuity earlier than.
Different comics exterior of the principle canon, reminiscent of could presumably be the case with Jack O. White, are a unique story. Discounting worlds reminiscent of Flashpoint the place an current character takes on the Joker’s identification, or these which assign an identification to a successor to the unique Joker, listed here are the names we all know:
- Jack Schadenfreude, in 1993’s Batman/Houdini: The Satan’s Workshop
- “Jack,” in 2000’s Batman Chronicles #21 story “Citizen Wayne”
- Joey Wayne, Bruce Wayne’s misplaced twin brother, in 2000’s Batman/Lobo
- Jack Napier, Joker’s 1989 movie alias, in 2001’s Batman: Gotham Noir
- Gamblin’ Jack “The Joker” Dent, in 2013’s Ame-Comi Women shoujo statue line tie-in comics
- “Lloyd,” within the 2016 Gotham Metropolis Storage greaser pinup mannequin statue line tie-in comics
- Jack Napier as soon as extra, in Sean Gordon Murphy’s Batman: White Knight comics universe
- John Kane, within the 2019 graphic novel Harley Quinn: Breaking Glass
- John Kelly, within the 2019 Black Label collection Joker/Harley: Legal Sanity
- John Napier, within the 2020 younger grownup graphic novel Gotham Excessive
As you’ll be able to see, “J” names are highly regarded for the Joker throughout the Multiverse, be it Jack, John or Joe. Possibly Harley’s been making an attempt to offer us a touch with that “Mr. J” nickname this entire time.
Home of Nursery
The Elizableez asks:
Did Zatanna and John Constantine have any children? I do know in Constantine: The Home of Thriller they’ve children, however do they in comics?
This 12 months’s Constantine: The Home of Thriller quick movie is certainly the primary time that we’ve seen John and Zee have children collectively in any model of continuity. “Jack” and “Della” seem right here for the primary time and it stays to be seen whether or not we’ll ever see them once more.
Contemplating John’s observe document, although, Zatanna may need the correct concept not beginning a household with him. In The Hellblazer #200, John had triplets with the demon Roscarnis—Adam, Maria and Saul. All three of them have been killed by the First of the Fallen, twelve points later.
However Constantine does have one surviving youngster: Tefé Holland. John conceived Tefé with Abby Holland, Swamp Factor’s spouse—although it needs to be famous that Swamp Factor was possessing John’s physique on the time. Tefé went on to be the protagonist of the 2000 Swamp Factor collection and he or she just lately performed a job within the just lately concluded The Swamp Factor as an ally to new Avatar of the Inexperienced, Levi Kamei.
Within the Injustice comics, set in a separate continuity, we uncover that John has a daughter named Rose. John joins up with the resistance in opposition to Superman’s tyrant regime so as to shield her in “Injustice: 12 months Three.” Rose’s mom is unknown, however as a younger girl of shade, it nearly definitely isn’t Zatanna.
However regardless of by no means having youngsters of their very own collectively, you’re in luck if you wish to learn a comic book the place John and Zatanna co-parent. In DC Comics Bombshells, the pair of them soak up an orphaned Raven as their very own foster daughter.
Effectively, have a look at the phrase depend! That’s on a regular basis and area we now have for this column. However till my subsequent piece, I’ll proceed to stay at your inquisitive disposal on-line on daily basis within the DC Neighborhood. I’ll go to any size essential to slake your curiosity. All you should do is ASK… THE QUESTION.
Alex Jaffe is the creator of our month-to-month “Ask the Query” column and writes about TV, motion pictures, comics and superhero historical past for DCComics.com. Observe him on Twitter at @AlexJaffe and discover him within the DC Neighborhood as HubCityQuestion.
NOTE: The views and opinions expressed on this column are solely these of Alex Jaffe and don’t essentially replicate these of DC Leisure or Warner Bros.
