Superman obviously started the super hero genre in earnest. Before him there had been some 'close but not quite' heroes that brushed up against what we now think of as the super hero archetype, but Superman is truly the first widely accepted embodiment of the concept.
But he was pretty much alone in 1938. Sure, there were a couple of other heroes lurking around the edges, but no one with any real traction.
1939 would change everything. It was the year that saw every other comic book producing house jump on the super hero bandwagon. Most of the creations are only footnotes or forgotten entirely today, but some seminal names emerge from this early creative explosion in the genre.
Let's have a look and see who showed up in 1939 and how I might plan on using them in Public Domain Super Heroes!
Batman debuted in Detective Comics #27 and was an overnight success. If you've been here before, you well know my deep and abiding love for the Dark Knight. There is a plan in place for the Batman in Public Domain Super Heroes. I'm sure that comes as no surprise.
House of Justice? We've dusted the cave and washed the Batmobile, sir. Right this way.
House of Crom? Swashbuckling Batman? He does have Zorro roots...
House of Entropy? Sci-Fi Batman? Oh, I'm sure I'll find a way.
House of Dread? Batman in a horror tale? Yes, please!
Another DC Comics character with much more complicated and tangled history is the oddity of Ma Hunkel. She's basically a middle aged woman who puts on a garish costume, including a bucket on her head for a mask and somehow manages to fight crime. What's interesting is she eventually morphs into the first incarnation of Red Tornado. I don't have big plans for her, but I do love the ragged, weird edges of the DC universe, so I'll find a place for her.
House of Justice? Sure.
House of Crom? Bucket, mop, cape. Not exactly swashbuckler, more like swishbucketer.
House of Entropy? It's not out of the question.
House of Dread? I can see it.
Superman, being the first super hero, truly needed more than just mob bosses and racketeers to punch. Enter the first super villain, the Ultra-Humanite. Initially, he was basically your run of the mill mad scientist, but he found a way to transfer his brain into other people and take their lives. Eventually, he would take that to the next level and put himself in the body of a highly evolved white ape. There are also telekinetic and telepathic powers tied up with the character.
House of Justice? Hard to have justice without those who would defy it!
House of Crom? Not the best fit.
House of Entropy? Mad scientist? Brain transfers? Seems like a good fit.
House of Dread? See above!
Batman, too, needed a super villain and his first recurring one was Dr. Death. I don't know a ton about the character, but with a name like "Dr. Death" it'll be hard to NOT use him.
House of Justice? Yep.
House of Crom? Unlikely.
House of Entropy? Again, unlikely.
House of Dread? His name is Dr. Death. It's almost a rule.
An interesting addition to the 1939 DC roster is Sandman. These days, most folks know him from the Vertigo re-tooling that turned the character into the master of dreams and gave us a pretty great HBO show. The original Wesley Dodds, gas mask wearing adventurer has largely been forgotten. I love the character and have plans to bring back that original incarnation as soon as he hits the public domain in 2035.
House of Justice? This is where he belongs.
House of Crom? Not really.
House of Entropy? Not feeling it.
House of Dread? To avoid comparisons to the modern incarnation, it would have to be a special story, but I don't rule it out.
And now we leave the DC Comics nest and see super heroes in comics beyond the National Publications experiment. Popular culture has never been the same.
Timely Comics would eventually become Marvel Comics. Sub-Mariner is SO much a part of that story that his official debut was in Marvel Comics #1 from Timely in 1939. I'm not a fan of a lot about this character, but he does have great bones and I have plans for him!
House of Justice? Remarkably, I doubt it. Namor is not what I would call a 'super hero.' He's never really been a crime fighter.
House of Crom? I see him here, for sure. There's a very Robert E. Howard quality to him.
House of Entropy? This is where I have plans for him. Stay tuned!
House of Dread? Nothing planned, but any character can wind up in a horror tale.
There is a lesser known version of the Human Torch than the one most people know from the Fantastic Four comics, tv show and movies. He was actually an android who went by the name Jim Hammond when he wasn't flying around in a blaze of glory. A foundational stone in the Marvel wall.
House of Justice? Yes. He allows me to play with Marvel's toys!
House of Crom? Hmm...swashbuckling robot....
House of Entropy? He's a ROBOT.
House of Dread? You never know.
Another one of those characters that Marvel went a different direction with later, the Angel started out as a non-flying crime fighter rather than the winged mutant most people know.
House of Justice? Thomas Halloway will be here before he's anywhere.
House of Crom? Unlikely.
House of Entropy? Again, unlikely.
House of Dread? One never, never knows.
And then there are those characters from 1939 who are already in the public domain. Any and all of these can and will show up in Public Domain Super Heroes adventures. One already has and another is on the way soon!
Hop Harrigan is one of those forgotten heroes of the WWII era that I love. He was big enough with his readers that they made a serial film about the character, yet very few people have heard of him these days.
Hop appears alongside Spy Smasher in the short story, Operation Paperclip, a bonus feature in Dr. Satan and the Element of Evil.
House of Justice? He's there already!
House of Crom? Not likely.
House of Entropy? He has a futuristic artificial limb. Oh, I should say so.
House of Dread? Anything is possible!
The Flame is one of those great 1939 heroes who is simply forgotten today. He will appear alongside Crash Corrigan in the upcoming The Marine Moons of Mongo.
House of Justice? Definitely.
House of Crom? Possible. He's an odd fit, but he already has been folded into a Crash Corrigan story involving space gladiators, so there's every likelihood!
House of Entropy? This is where he debuts.
House of Dread? Again, every chance.
Blue Beetle. Hey, wait, isn't he a fairly new DC Comics thing? No. He was created in 1939 for Fox Comics and that company folded without ever renewing the copyright. The Dan Garret (only 1 'T') version was a cop who wore a special suit that was bullet proof and gave him enhanced strength. He's on my list!
House of Justice? Absolutely!
House of Crom? Unlikely.
House of Entropy? The suit sounds like a sci-fi jumping off point to me...
House of Dread? Oh, I'd say so.
One of the best 1940s serial films is one called The Masked Marvel, based on the Centaur Publications character. The plot is basically that nobody knows which of four men is the actual Masked Marvel and the villain keeps guessing until the end. I think there's a story to be told in there.
House of Justice? Yep.
House of Crom? No, not much chance.
House of Entropy? Unlikely.
House of Dread? Masked heroes in horror is so underserved...
Dollman. I can't use the Silver Age Atom from DC Comics, since he'll be under copyright for years after I am long gone. The Golden Age Atom has no shrinking powers, so I'll be using Dollman in that place if I find a story that benefits from a tiny hero.
House of Justice? Yup.
House of Crom? With a teeny-tiny sword... Actually, the Sword of the Atom already did this idea. It's great! You should look it up. One of the best short run comics ever!
House of Entropy? Absolutely!
House of Dread? Oh, should think so!
And finally, we come to MLJ Comics. One day, the would become Archie Comics. They created a BUNCH of super heroes between 1939 and 1941. In 1942, they debuted Archie himself and by the time it was time to renew the copyrights on the super heroes, they just... didn't. I get it. Archie buttered their bread. The heroes they created have been largely forgotten, by all but hardcore comic fans. They're awesome and deserve a little love.
The Wizard. Most comic companies have a character with this name, somewhere in a filing cabinet. Most are still under copyright, but the MLJ version is a white suited stage magician, ala Mandrake and Zatarra. Not their greatest creation, but he may have his uses.
House of Justice? Sure!
House of Crom? Unlikely.
House of Entropy? Again, unlikely.
House of Dread? Mandrake, Zatarra, the Wizard teamed up in a horror tale? I can see it.
Finally, there's Bob Phantom. Another one of these oddball MLJ characters, Bob Phantom is a costumed crime fighter. For the moment, I know little more about him. Blank slates are my catnip.
House of Justice? Can't see why not.
House of Crom? See above.
House of Entropy? See above the above.
House of Dread? You get the idea.
Next week's article might actually be the next two or even three weeks. If 1939 was the year they began, 1940 was the year the FAWCETT got turned on full blast!
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