Welcome again! I’m Alex Jaffe, identified right here on DC.com and within the DC Neighborhood (the place you’ll discover me as HubCityQuestion) for this month-to-month column and our weekly Trivia Tuesdays. On this characteristic, I take the urgent questions that you simply submit in regards to the huge scope of the DC Universe and all its inhabitants and historical past, and do my stage greatest to ship the solutions you crave. Let’s clear up a thriller, or rewrite historical past.
A Deck of Aces
Wrightline1.42741 asks:
What number of totally different variations of Ace, the canine crimefighter, have there been? And with all of the totally different Supergirls who’ve come and gone over time, is Streaky even in continuity anymore?
There have been fairly a couple of Aces. The unique Ace, debuting in 1955’s Batman #22, was a German Shepherd who initially belonged to engraver and counterfeit ring kidnapping sufferer John Wilker. When Batman and Robin save Wilker with Ace’s assist, he asks Batman to carry onto Ace for safekeeping as he travels overseas.
In 1991’s Batman #462, we’re introduced with a brand new Ace, a Mastiff, who was previously a watchdog for a blind Native American in Demise Valley named Black Wolf. Batman takes this Ace dwelling with him, who turns into a companion within the Batcave to Bruce’s mechanic, Harold Allnut.
My private favourite incarnation of Ace was a black Nice Dane who saved Bruce firm as an outdated man within the 1999 animated collection Batman Past. This mannequin ultimately grew to become the premise for Titus, Damian Wayne’s pet canine in fashionable continuity.
The 2006 Krypto the Superdog animated collection presents a gray-furred, cowl-wearing Ace, probably a pitbull terrier, as a foil to the collection’ star canine. 2008’s Tiny Titans seems to current this identical Ace as a mask-wearing pet, for the collection’ personal revival of the Legion of Tremendous-Pets.
2020’s DCeased: Unkillables presents a attainable German Shepherd mixture of darker fur coloring, adopted by Jason Todd and Cassandra Cain after Batman’s loss of life.
Within the comics right this moment, Ace has returned to his German Shepherd roots, rescued from a dogfighting pit and domesticized by Alfred in 2016’s Eisner-winning Batman Annual #1.
After which there’s the brand new Ace within the DC League of Tremendous Pets animated movie, a german shepherd/pitbull combine granted the ability of invulnerability by orange kryptonite. He’s obtained a little bit of a Jessie from Toy Story 2 factor happening in his backstory.
As for Streaky the Supercat, she hasn’t been round an excessive amount of because the nice 2011 reshuffling of the New 52, however she’s nonetheless round. Streaky reviews for responsibility as a member of the trendy Legion of Tremendous-Pets in Tremendous Sons Annual #1, Darkish Nights Demise Steel: The Multiverse Who Laughs and ‘Tis The Season to be Freezin’, alongside fellow members Krypto, Ace and Flexi the Plastic Fowl.
Authorized Curren-Sea
MatthewHecht asks:
What’s the Atlantean foreign money? I’ve seen them pay floor dwellers with gold cash from sunk treasure ships, however I noticed these is likely to be thought-about nugatory in Atlantean shops.
That is…a very good query, really. Sure, we’ve seen Ocean Grasp bribing Black Manta with sunken treasure earlier than, however there’s no indication that Atlanteans use that foreign money amongst themselves. In fashionable comics, no less than because the New 52, there doesn’t appear to be any proof that Atlantis operates on any kind of foreign money system in any respect. With 70% of the world’s assets at their disposal, it will be good to say that Atlantis is successfully a post-scarcity society, the place the necessity not exists to alternate cash for items and companies.
Sadly, there nonetheless seems to be a really actual caste system in Atlantis, the place entry to assets in Atlantis’s striated society comes right down to the circumstance of 1’s delivery, as evident by the truth that it has existed for 1000’s of years as a monarchy. Because the final queen of Atlantis, Mera made a whole lot of progress in fixing that system, earlier than in the end abolishing the monarchy totally, so brighter days could also be forward.
I imply, it’s completely attainable there’s a 1962 Aquaman comedian the place they use “sand {dollars}” or no matter, however so far as any fashionable depiction of Atlantis goes, there’s merely no cash to be discovered. But another excuse for us all to embrace life beneath the ocean.
How Many “E”s in “Reporter”?
Reaganfan78 asks:
Earlier than Superman: The Film, did Lois ever had a spelling downside with typos? I don’t bear in mind her having typo issues in The Adventures of Superman.
If this was simply in a film, I must say that’s a bit insulting to her character since she’s alleged to be a gifted author for a newspaper.
The operating gag of Lois Lane’s spelling points does certainly originate within the 1978 Superman film! I perceive why you would possibly really feel that manner, however correct spelling is way from crucial a part of what makes an important reporter. What makes Lois nice is that she’ll go to any lengths to get her story, irrespective of how harmful. Her drive to search out the reality, her indomitable braveness and willpower, and her skill to face as much as everybody from Lex Luthor to Oracle is what makes her such an admirable reporter.
So why the typo gag? Superman: The Film is the story of an ideal, invincible, unbeatable superhuman, in seek for a spot amongst humanity. Lois’s little character flaws—her mood, her low impulse management, and sure, her cavalier perspective in the direction of spelling—are all there to reveal precisely what Clark Kent loves about her: Lois Lane is essentially the most human girl he’s ever met.
As a journalist myself, I can inform you that I’ve loads of colleagues who’ve points with spelling, together with however not restricted to a historical past of dyslexia. I occur to know many neurodiverse followers of Lois who establish along with her skill to inform nice tales, however have problem holding letters in the appropriate order. It means a complete lot to them that Lois Lane, for all her ability and expertise, isn’t essentially the perfect in relation to getting the appropriate variety of letters collectively. However when the paper goes to print, the good storyteller beats the correct speller each time. Spell-checker doesn’t win Pulitzers—individuals do.
Saving the Date
Row.Harper asks:
When is Damian Wayne’s birthday? It appears to be fairly straightforward to search out all the opposite Robins’ birthdays however I can’t work out Damian’s.
It’s really fairly uncommon for a comic book to checklist a selected character’s birthday, however the Rosetta Stone for this kind of factor is a 1976 piece of merchandise from Warner Books titled the “SUPER DC CALENDAR.” Most character birthdays we acknowledge right this moment come from this supply. From right here, as an illustration, we all know that Bruce Wayne’s birthday is February nineteenth, Dick Grayson’s is March twentieth, Alfred Pennyworth’s is April eighth, Commissioner Gordon’s is January fifth, and Barbara Gordon’s is September twenty third. (I personally share a birthday with Donna Troy.)
For dates on characters who’ve debuted since 1976, you simply should hope some author mentions it in a comic book. For example, in 2004’s Detective Comics #790, Bruce commemorates what would have been Jason Todd’s 18th birthday on August 18th. In 2003’s Robin #116, we be taught that Tim Drake’s birthday is July nineteenth when the poor boy is so overworked that he forgets to rejoice it. And in 2002’s Batgirl #33, a standard milestone-deprived Cassandra Cain lastly learns from her father that her birthday was on January twenty eighth.
Damian, apparently, has celebrated his birthday in comics a number of occasions—most notably in DC Universe: Rebirth #1, Fact & Justice #16 and WEBTOON’s Batman: Wayne Household Adventures, Episode 13. However on none of those events was the precise date specified. Now that his newest solo collection has come to an finish, we’ll simply have to attend for whoever takes on Damian subsequent to see in the event that they’ll inform us when to ship Batman’s most irascible Robin cake and items. I hear he has requested donations on his behalf to your native animal shelter.
That’s on a regular basis we have now for now. However my doorways are at all times open within the DC Neighborhood, the place I’ll be amassing your circumstances for my subsequent campaign for the reality, typos (typoes?) be damned. However each journey at all times begins with you once you ASK… THE QUESTION.
Received one thing that is holding you up nights? When you have a query in regards to the DC Universe that you simply’d like to get answered, you may head on over to the DC Neighborhood and ask it right here.
Alex Jaffe is the writer of our month-to-month “Ask the Query” column and writes about TV, films, comics and superhero historical past for DCComics.com. Comply with 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 mirror these of DC Leisure or Warner Bros.
