Monday, November 28, 2011

Captain Marvel Not-So-Super Post!

Part 3 of our Not-So-Super Posts: Captain Marvel. (Fun Fact: Nearly all of these come from the Adventures of Captain Marvel serial, which is so old it actually has his name in it!)


John Malcolm

"Whitey" Murphy


Dr. Stephen Lang
Dr. Lang is a member of the Malcolm Expedition in The Adventures of Captain Marvel serial (March 1941) and appears in an adaptation of the first chapter of said serial in Captain Marvel Adventures #2 (Summer 1941).

Professor Luther Bentley
Prof. Bentley is a member of the Malcolm Expedition in The Adventures of Captain Marvel serial (March 1941) and appears in an adaptation of the first chapter of said serial in Captain Marvel Adventures #2 (Summer 1941).

Betty Wallace

Betty Wallace is a member of the Malcolm Expedition in The Adventures of Captain Marvel serial (March 1941) and appears in an adaptation of the first chapter of said serial in Captain Marvel Adventures #2 (Summer 1941).

Isis

The Scorpion Machine

Sunday, November 27, 2011

Wonder Woman Not-So-Super Post!

Part 2 of our Not-So-Super Posts: Wonder Woman.


Wonder Woman and Wonder Girl's costumes
Top Left: Cathy Lee Crosby as Wonder Woman in the Wonder Woman pilot (1974)
Top Right: Cathy Lee Crosby's Wonder Woman in DC One Million 80-Page Giant #1 (1999)
Bottom Left: Debra Winger as Wonder Girl in the Wonder Woman tv series (1976)
Bottom Right: Wonder Woman and Wonder Girl on Earth-462, in Infinite Crisis #6 (May 2006)

Wonder Woman's spinning costume change

Wonder Girl's Alter Ego
In the Wonder Woman tv show (1976), Wonder Girl appeared as Diana's younger sister, Drusilla.  In Wonder Girl #1 (November 2007), Wonder Girl uses Drusilla as an alias.

Saturday, November 26, 2011

Batman Not-So-Super Post!

We begin rounding up our Super Post series with three Not-So-Super Posts, because they're featuring basically whatever didn't fit anywhere else.  So today, we feature Batman:

Professor Gorilla

Alfred
Left: How Alfred originally looked (1943).
Middle: How Alfred looked in the Batman serial (1943). 
Right: How Alfred has looked since Detective Comics #83 (January 1944). 

Fun Fact: It was explained away by having Alfred go to a health spa.

Lord Death Man's name and location

The Batcave

Friday, November 25, 2011

Superman Super Post! (Part 2: Appearances and Stuff)

Today we continue our look at all the parts of the Superman franchise that originated outside of comics with a study of appearances and other things:


Lex Luthor's baldness
Left: Luthor's original appearance (from Superman #4 (April 1940))
Middle: Luthor's first appearance in the Superman daily strip ("Pawns of the Master", October 1940), due to an artist error
Right: How Luthor has looked ever since (starting with Superman #10 in May 1941)

Metropolis
Metropolis first appeared in the Superman newspaper strip in May 1939 ("The Most Deadly Weapon").  Before then, Superman just protected a nameless city.  The name transitioned to comics later that year in Action Comics #19 (September 1939).

The Daily Planet
Clark Kent originally worked for the Daily Star, but this was changed to the Daily Planet in the Superman newspaper strip ("Underworld Politics", November 1939); the change was made in the comics is Action Comics #23 (February 1940).  The building design first appeared in the Superman animated short "The Arctic Giant" (February 1942) and first appeared in the comics in Superman #19 (November 1942).  However, at first it was just a simple globe that adorned the building; it wouldn't gain a ring until Superman #25 (November 1943).

Krypton's name

Jor-El's and Lara's names
 Jor-El was just an unnamed scientist until the Superman comic strip ("Superman Comes to Earth", January 1939), where he was referred to as "Jor-L".  The spelling changed to "Jor-el" in the 1942 George Lowther novel The Adventures of Superman, which was introduced to comics as "Jor-El" in More Fun Comics #101 (November 1944).

Lara first appeared as "Lora" in the Superman comic strip ("Superman Comes to Earth", January 1939). She was first called "Lara" in the Superman radio show ("The Baby from Krypton", February 1940), which was also the name used in Lowther's The Adventures of Superman, and she was brought into comics with that name in More Fun Comics #101 (November 1944).

Kal-El's name


George Taylor's name
 Although George Taylor first appeared in Action Comics #1 (June 1938), he did not receive a name until the Superman newspaper strip gave him one ("The Most Deadly Weapon", May 1939).  The name first appeared in comics in Superman #2 (Fall 1939).

The Phantom Zone

Fortress of Solitude
Top Left: The Fortress of Solitude's original appearance
Top Right: How it appeared in Superman: The Movie (1978)
Bottom: The Fortress of Solitude in comics, beginning in Superman #653 (August 2006).

Superman's Flight

When Superman first appeared, he was super-strong, bulletproof, had super-hearing, and could jump an eighth of a mile. In the Superman animated shorts by Fleischer studios, he was given the ability to fly because it looked less goofy than having Superman jump everywhere.  Technically, he flew from the very first short ("Superman", September 1941), but in the first couple of shorts (the second one, especially), he travels in arcs that make it look like he's jumping, and you can see just how silly it appears.  Regardless, flight made the jump to comics in Action Comics #65 (September 1943).


"Look, up in the sky!  It's a bird!  It's a plane!  It's Superman!"
This phrase first appeared in the introduction to the Superman radio show (1940).  When it first appeared, however, the word "look" came after "up in the sky" (the order was changed after only two weeks).

"A strange visitor from a distant planet"
This phrase first appeared in the introduction to the first episode of the Superman radio show ("The Baby From Krypton", 1940).

Sidenote: This phrase is popular enough that it got an actual character named after it, "Strange Visitor" (first appearance: October 1999), who wore Superman's electric suit after he got rid of it.


"This looks like a job...for Superman."
This first appeared in the Superman radio show (1940).

"Up, up, and away!"
First appeared in the Superman radio show (1940).

"Faster than a speeding bullet, more powerful than a locomotive, able to leap tall buildings in a single bound"
This phrase first appeared in the revised introduction to the Superman radio show (1940).

Superman's changing in a phone booth
The first time Superman used a telephone booth to change into his costume was in the Superman animated shorts, specifically "The Mechanical Monsters" (1941).  This isn't something that was specifically adapted to comics, so much as became a standard part of the Superman mythos, but the earliest I can find its being referenced in comics is Action Comics #345 (January 1967).  More can be read at Superman Homepage.

"A mild-mannered reporter for a great metropolitan newspaper"
This phrase was first used in 1941, though I can't tell if the Superman radio show or animated shorts used it first.

"A never-ending battle for truth and justice" 

 This phrase was first used in 1941, though I can't tell if the Superman radio show or animated shorts used it first.

"Truth, Justice, and the American Way"
This phrase was first used in Autumn 1942 on the Superman radio show, although it wouldn't be codified as such until the Adventures of Superman tv show in the 50s.

Kryptonite

Kryptonite first appeared in the The Adventures of Superman radio show ("The Meteor from Krypton", June 1943) as a way to give Superman actor Bud Collyer some time off.  Although a similar substance first appeared in the unpublished 1940 story "The K-Metal From Krypton" by Jerry Siegel, Kryptonite proper was introduced in Superman #61 (December 1949).

Smallville's location
In Superman: The Movie (1978), Smallville was said to be located in Kansas.  In the comics at the time, Smallville's location was as variable as any other DC Comics city, but it was generally located on the eastern seaboard near Metropolis.  For instance, in New Adventures of Superboy #22 (October 1981), Smallville was said to be located in Maryland, and in Legion of Super-Heroes #313 (July 1984), it was thought to be located in either Pennsylvania or New Jersey.  It wasn't until Man of Steel #1 (or Action Comics #596, depending on your point of view) that it was first placed in Kansas in the comics.

The Superman Shield as El Family Crest
For the longest time, the "S" simply stood for "Superman" and was created by the Kents (usually designed by Jonathan and/or Clark (see Superman: The Man of Tomorrow #9 (September 1997), among others)).  But in Superman: The Movie (1978), the shield was worn by Jor-El as well, and assumed to be the El family crest.  This made the transition to comics in Superman: Birthright (2004), where it was not only the El family crest, but a Krypton-wide symbol of hope.  Although Birthright has been replaced by Superman: Secret Origin (2008), the family crest aspect has remained.

Thursday, November 24, 2011

Superman Super Post! (Part 1: Characters)

I think something a lot of people don't realize about the Superman is just. how. MUCH of it originated in adaptations before appearing in the comics themselves.  It's staggering, really.  Let's put it this way: it's so much that I have to split it into two parts.  So today we'll look at which of Superman's supporting cast are immigrants, and tomorrow we'll take a look at character appearances and other things.  (And keep in mind that these two parts aren't even counting the things that have already been discussed in previous posts.)

Sergeant Casey

Perry White

Jimmy Olsen

Jimmy Olsen first appeared in the The Adventures of Superman radio show during the serial episode "The Emerald of the Incas" (April 1940).  His first comics appearance was in Superman #13 (December 1941).  Like Perry White, he has become a staple of the Superman mythos, and has appeared in most adaptations.

Atoman
Atom Man (note the different spelling) first appeared in the Superman radio serial "Atom Man" and its immediate sequel "Atom Man vs. Metropolis" (October 1945), which was later adapted into the movie serial Atom Man Vs. Superman (1950). His first comics appearance was in World's Finest #271 (September 1981). Please note that Atoman has much more in common with the radio version than the serial version, who is just a disguise for Lex Luthor.

Inspector William Henderson

Professor Pepperwinkle
Professor Pepperwinkle first appeared in the The Adventures of Superman radio show during the 1940s.  He made his first comics appearance in Action Comics #442 (December 1974), Like Inspector Henderson, he also appeared in the Adventures of Superman tv series before making it to the comics.

Mr. Mxyzptlk
Mxyzptlk, a mischievous imp from the 5th Dimension, first appeared in the Superman comic strip in February 1944 (strip name: "The Mischievous Mr. Mxyztplk").  He later appeared in comics in Superman #30 (September 1944).  It's interesting to note that when he first appeared, his name was spelled "Mxyztplk"; it wasn't until Action Comics #208 (September 1955) that it was changed to the current spelling.

Metallo
Metallo first appeared in the Superman comic strip in December 1958.  The story would later be retold in Action Comics #252 (May 1959), his first appearance in comics.

Ben Hubbard
Ben Hubbard was first mentioned in Superman: The Movie (1975) as a neighbor of the Kents, and hinted to be in a relationship with Martha after Jonathan died.  He made his first real appearance in Superman Returns (2006) in deleted scenes, and then his first comics appearance is Action Comics #855 (March 2007), although I've heard he's been mentioned before that.

Ursa and Non

Ursa and Non first appeared in Superman II (1980) as General Zod's lieutenants, roles that were formerly filled in the comics by Jax-Ur and Faora Fu-Ul.  They first appeared in comics in Adventure Comics #845 (January 2007).

Superwoman

Superwoman (aka Kristin Wells) first appeared in the Elliot S! Maggin novel, Miracle Monday (1981); she was a person from the 29th century - a descendant of Jimmy Olsen - who travelled back in time to figure out the secret identity of Superwoman, only to discover that it was actually her.  She later appeared in comics, starting with DC Comics Presents Annual #2 (January 1983), but the Crisis on Infinite Earths wiped her character from continuity.

She was later reintroduced to comics in the 2000s, but as two separate characters.  Kristin Wells showed up in Superman #668 (December 2007) and was revealed to be Karsta War-Ul, a Kryptonian living on Earth, while the new Superwoman first appeared in Supergirl #35 (January 2009) and turned out to be Lucy Lane.