Spider-Verse: Vintage Spidey Costume

Happy Halloween, everybody!

Canon immigrants are plentiful, with new ones coming all the time. That's the whole premise of this blog, after all. But for every one that gets media attention, three or four slip under the radar. Which is how it came to pass that I'm posting a new Spider-Verse spotlight YEARS after that event.

For those who don't know, Spider-Verse was an event that had "every" version of Spider-Man teaming up for reasons that aren't really important. I put "every" in quotes because there were a couple versions that were left out for legal reasons, and a couple more that just didn't appear. But overall it was surprisingly thorough, as this entry can attest.

I'm not sure we realize how lucky we have it as comic book fans these days. Just look at toylines like Hot Toys are Figuarts, which give us hyper-poseable action figures that look exactly like the character they're supposed to be, even if that character is from a live action movie. If you buy a Hot Toys Avengers: Infinity War Captain America figure, I hope you like Chris Evans's face because you're getting Chris Evans's face. It's like they shrunk him down and encased him in plastic.

But it wasn't always that way. Accuracy was more a suggestion than anything, and you need look no further than this Spider-Man Halloween costume to see the results.

This costume is from 1963 and made by a company called Ben Cooper. And this is surprisingly one of the more accurate ones of the era. As you can see from the below catalog, they were still selling this costume as late as 1986, and the general style of costumes - at least from this company - had not really improved in those 20 years.

Surely no one would be upset if this costume stayed in the past where it belonged, but when Spider-Verse said "every Spider-Man ever", they (mostly) meant it! So when we get a shot of the Spider-Army in Spider-Verse #2 (January 2015), there he is, in the bottom left corner:

The coloring isn't completely on-model, but it's closer to the Halloween costume than the Halloween costume is to the original character.

Spider-Gwen's New Alias: Ghost Spider

With Halloween just around the corner, I figured it was a perfect opportunity to talk about "Ghost Spider". So what is Ghost Spider, anyway?

To answer that question, we have to go back a few years to a little event called Spider-Verse. You may have heard of it. The premise was that a group of bad guys was traveling to all the different alternate universes to kill all the different Spider-Men and -Women, so a bunch of different Spiders teamed up to help defeat them. It was billed as featuring "Every. Spider-Man. Ever.", and although that isn't true, it came very close. It also introduced several new Spider-Men in the pages of a mini-series called Edge of Spider-Verse, and one of those new characters was Spider-Woman, aka Gwen Stacy. She debuted in issue 2 (September 2014).

This version of Spider-Woman had a great costume, and the issue had a punk rock sensibility, both of which greatly appealed to fans, so it didn't take long for her to get her own series, Spider-Gwen (February 2015), set on Earth-65. (Side note: although the series is called Spider-Gwen and that's what fans call her too, her superhero name has always officially been Spider-Woman.)

Spider-Gwen has quickly become one of Marvel's most popular characters, so she's started appearing in merchandise and adaptations as well. In December 2017, she was announced to be in a movie called Marvel Rising: Secret Warriors. Only in this movie, she goes by Ghost Spider.

In July 2018, Marvel announced she'd be getting a new series called Spider-Gwen: Ghost Spider, which released last week.

I dig the name. Not only does it play up her unique outfit, but it cleverly has the same initials as Gwen Stacy. And that's not the first time they've done it. It took me a while to notice, but she lives on Earth-65 because 65 looks a lot like GS.

Character Spotlight: Irma

The current run of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles comics by IDW is trying to more or less be the definitive TMNT story by synthesizing all the Ninja Turtles media that came before it. As such, that means it has had a ton of canon immigrants and will continue to have many more.

This week: Irma!

Irma was a mainstay of the 1980s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles cartoon. She first appeared in the episode "Return of the Shredder" (October 1988) as Burne's secretary and April's best friend, and is one of the few humans that knows about the Turtles.

In Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #83 (June 2018), Irma Langenstein appears as a Channel 6 news reporter.

For right now, as far as I know, it's just a cameo. But small details become important later on in this series all the time, so you never know!

NOT AN EXAMPLE: Josie and the Pussycats

Not An Example is a new, sporadic feature where I showcase characters and concepts that are commonly thought to be canon immigrants but really aren't. I've seen people mention canon immigrants that are flat-out wrong, and so far I've simply ignored them. But after so many years, I've decided I can no longer do that.

This week: we complete our Archie trifecta with Josie and the Pussycats!

Josie, as many people don't know has been around for a long time. She first appeared in Archie's Pals n Gals #23 (Fall 1962) and quickly moved into her own series, She's Josie (December 1962). Although she interacted with Archie and the gang every now and then, but mostly she was separate with her own cast of characters. So, the story goes, when Hanna-Barbera was looking to copy the success of The Archie Show, why not go to the source and adapt Archie's other group of teens? And since The Archie Show was all about The Archies, Josie and her friends would be a band too: the Pussycats. Then the comics followed suit and it's been that way ever since.

But just like with The Archies and Alan M, Josie and the Pussycats appeared in comics almost a year before they appeared on tv. She's Josie became Josie with issue 17 and then changed to Josie and the Pussycats with issue 45 (October 1969). The Josie and the Pussycats cartoon didn't premiere until September 1970.

Here's what makes sense to me. I think 1969 was a rebuilding year for the Josie brand. I think they were trying to find a hook that made Josie more than just a female Archie, so they made a lot of changes throughout the year to try things out. In June they introduced Alan M. In July they revealed Alexandra's cat has magic powers. In October they introduce Valerie and create the Pussycats. They also phased out characters throughout the year (the main one - Pepper - last appeared in April, and others disappeared here and there). Then when H-B's "Mysteries Five" project dropped the band aspect and became Scooby-Doo, they decided to use the already existing band concept that Archie recently rolled out.

If anyone has evidence to the contrary, let me know!

The Joker's "Real Name"

With the recent news that the upcoming Joker movie will have his name be "Arthur Fleck", CBR gives a pretty comprehensive article about the history of the last name of his to be introduced by a movie: Jack Napier. I don't have much to add, so I'll just link to it...

https://www.cbr.com/joker-jack-napier-origins/

...but I'll mention a couple minor things.

1. Contrary to the explanation given in the article, the name Jack Napier comes from the word "jackanapes", which is another word for a mischievous person.

2. The first time Joker's name was hinted to be anything resembling Jack Napier was in Legends of the Dark Knight #50 (July 1993).

3. It's important to note, I think, that the only times his actual name is Jack Napier is in alternate realities. The few times it's used in the main DC Universe, it's as an alias.

Appearance Spotlight: Black Lightning

The second season of the CW's Black Lightning premiered last night, so today is a perfect time for this post.

Black Lightning getting his own show was a big deal. Not only because he's the first black superhero to headline his own show on tv, although that's certainly a big deal, but also because for a long time, DC wasn't able to use him in adaptations. There was a dispute between DC and Tony Isabella over royalties, so DC would ignore Black Lightning in adaptations or use a stand-in character (such as Black Vulcan). By 2009, the dispute was apparently resolved because he appeared on Batman: The Brave and the Bold and then numerous adaptations after that.

The show (which debuted January 2018) was a huge hit with both fans and critics, although it did get some flak for the bulky suit Cress Williams had to wear. I understand the criticism, although it does make sense within the world of the show; as an older superhero who's been out of the game for almost 20 years, he needs to wear a costume that gives him more protection than a younger hero would.

His most recent outfit in the comics prior to the show was the one he got during The New 52, which, like so many other New 52 re-designs, is pretty hideous.

To coincide with the show, DC released a miniseries called Black Lightning: Cold Dead Hands in November 2017 (cover date January 2018) that gave Black Lightning a suit that looks an awful lot like his tv version.

It's not exact, but it shares several elements in common: the goggles, the blue top/yellow bottom lightning bolts, the blue "belt buckle", the blue streaks on the forearms, the fingerless gloves, to name a few.

You're probably thinking right about now that the math doesn't add up. If this suit debuted in November and the show didn't premiere until two months later, what am I on about? Well, Black Lightning was in development for a long time, first at Fox and then at the CW. So the first time the public saw the suit was all the way back in March of 2017, almost a full year before the series first aired.

NOT AN EXAMPLE: Alan M

Not An Example is a new, sporadic feature where I showcase characters and concepts that are commonly thought to be canon immigrants but really aren't. I've seen people mention canon immigrants that are flat-out wrong, and so far I've simply ignored them. But after so many years, I've decided I can no longer do that.

This week: Alan M!

Last week I covered The Archies, and this week I'll be covering a related topic, namely Josie and the Pussycats. Interestingly, the story is very similar. Here's the way you'll read it on the internet:

Josie & The Pussycats was created by Hanna-Barbera to follow the success of The Archie Show. Originally they planned a show called Mysteries Five about a band that solves crimes, but the details of that series changed during pre-production, the band angle was dropped, and it became Scooby-Doo, Where Are You? But H-B still wanted a show like The Archie Show, so they went to Archie itself, took Josie, created Josie & The Pussycats, and added characters like Valerie and Alan M.

Again, that's the commonly accepted knowledge. But just like with The Archies, the dates just don't line up. Alan M (aka Alan M. Mayberry) first appeared in Josie #42, cover date August 1969 (actual date June 1969).

But Josie & the Pussycats wouldn't debut until September 1970. So again, just like The Archies, we have Alan M appearing in comics almost a year and a half before appearing on tv.

You might be thinking, "But Chad, maybe cartoons have a lot of lead time!" I considered that too. Thankfully, we have an idea of exactly how much lead time cartoons have. See, Scooby-Doo has been written about much more extensively than Archie or Josie have. So we know that the Mysteries Five concept didn't come about until "Sugar, Sugar" topped the charts. That song was released May 1969, Scooby-Doo premiered September 1969, so even with all the changes they made, it only took them four or five months to turn it around. Even if, for argument's sake, we say they started working on it when The Archie Show debuted, that would only give them a year. Still less than the gap between Alan M's appearances in comics and tv. It just doesn't make any sense.

If anyone has evidence to the contrary, let me know!

Team Spotlight: Legion of Doom (for real this time)

The Legion of Doom is no stranger to this site. I've mentioned their name being used before, and we've seen an alternate reality version of them, but we've never seen the actual team...until now.

If you're not familiar, the Legion of Doom were the antagonists on Challenge of the Superfriends (September 1978). They were comprised of the Super Friends' greatest foes...

From left to right, we have Black Manta, Giganta, Toyman, The Riddler, Bizarro, Scarecrow, Lex Luthor, Captain Cold, Cheetah, Solomon Grundy, Gorilla Grodd, Brainiac, and Sinestro. If you're familiar with the characters, you'll notice some heroes are more represented than others. Batman, Flash, and Green Lantern all get two a piece. Wonder Woman also gets two but shares one with Apache Chief (Giganta, which is why she has size-changing powers). Aquaman only gets one, but Superman gets four. Samurai, Black Vulcan, and the Wonder Twins get none.

Challenge of the Super Friends is arguably the most well known season of the series, and the Legion of Doom is a major reason for that. They were big time villains with a cool team name in a cool headquarters. So why, if the name and headquarters have appeared in comics, hasn't the team? I don't know, but we don't have to worry about that anymore.

The Legion of Doom makes their debut in Scott Snyder's Justice League #1 (June 2018). They're a team put together by Lex Luthor to deal with the ramifications of the Source Wall breaking in Dark Knights: Metal.

As you can see, the team doesn't include everyone from the cartoon, but it's the closest we've gotten yet. I don't know how Joker sneaked in there, but DC can't seem to help themselves, I guess.

From what I gather, there were several previously undiscovered forces on the other side of the wall. Grodd has taken control of the Still Force, which is the opposite of the Flash's Speed Force, and there's also a new part of the Emotional Spectrum (Ultraviolet) that I can see Sinestro trying to control. With the also-recently-discovered Sage and Strength Forces being easily tied to the not-yet-Legion members Brainiac and Solomon Grundy, it wouldn't surprise me if each member has their own thing. But that's all speculation at this juncture.

(Honestly, Grodd should have the Sage Force and Captain Cold should have the Still Force, but I imagine they want to keep it to one villain per hero. Can't blame them for that.)

NOT AN EXAMPLE: The Archies

Not An Example is a new, sporadic feature where I showcase characters and concepts that are commonly thought to be canon immigrants but really aren't.

I originally created this blog to fill a niche. There was no definitive list of canon immigrants on the internet. But to be the definitive list, I wanted my information to be as specific as possible. There was a lot of vague and wrong information out there, so it wasn't enough for me to say "Harley Quinn was created for Batman: The Animated Series and then showed up in comics"; I wanted dates, titles, and pictures of those appearances to show my work and for other people to be able to correct me if my information was wrong.

I've seen people mention canon immigrants that are flat-out wrong, and so far I've simply ignored them. But after so many years, I've decided I can no longer do that. I will never be able to include every example, so not being featured doesn't necessarily mean it's not a canon immigrant, it could just mean I haven't come across it yet. So starting with this entry, I'll also be debunking ones that are cited as canon immigrants but aren't.

I can't think of a better example to start with than The Archies.

The Archies were a band made up of Archie Andrews and his friends, which performed each episode on The Archie Show (1968). The Archies are famous for having a real #1 hit that people still know today: "Sugar, Sugar".

There isn't much information about The Archie Show online, but most of it will tell you that the producers wanted to recreate the success of The Monkees, so Filmation turned the Archie characters into a band.

Here's the thing about that, though: The Archie Show debuted in 1968. Most sites say September, Wikipedia says June. No one ever cites their source. But for sake of argument, let's go with June.

When did The Archies first appear in comics? Life With Archie #60, cover date April 1967. And that's the cover date! So the actual date was really January or February 1967. Which means it was written in 1966.

The Archies debuted a year and a half before The Archie Show first aired on television. We've seen things immigrate to comics before their actual first appearance, but usually the window is a few months. Renee Montoya and White Tiger were six months. Aqualad and Nova were five. Others were shorter and maybe others still were a little longer (although I can't think of any). But a year and a half? That's just not believable to me. Even taking into account production lead time - writing, casting, animation, etc - this would mean The Archie Show was in pre-production for two years before it aired. There are blockbuster movies that aren't in pre-production for that long.

Here's another thing that's important to note: as I mentioned earlier, conventional wisdom states that they wanted a band on The Archie Show to replicate the success of The Monkees. They even hired the person behind The Monkees, Don Kirshner, to find the talent. But The Monkees didn't premiere until September 1966. Their first single, "Last Train to Clarksville", didn't hit the airwaves until October 1966. It debuted at #18 and hit #1 almost exactly a month later. Their next single, "I'm a Believer", was released a week after that but didn't hit the Billboard charts until December, and didn't reach #1 until the last week of 1966. I can't find Nielsen ratings for The Monkees, but since they would mostly go by November Sweeps, I would say December 1966 is the earliest they could've realized they had a bona fide cross-media hit on their hands. And again, the first appearance of The Archies was only a month or two after that.

In short, the time frame just doesn't make sense and The Archies are original to the comics.

If anyone has evidence to the contrary, let me know!