By the dawn of 1944, most of the heroes and many of the villains that would define the next decade and a half of comics had been created. DC Comics was dominant and most of the really great stuff was already in their stables, making money for them.
Still, there were a few surprises yet to come.
Solomon Grundy. DC Comics did a great big scary zombie back in 1944. The concept of the zombie is an ancient one, but Grundy is one of the few that have a name.
Where to use a giant zombie?
House of Justice? Sure.
House of Crom? Sure.
House of Entropy? Sure.
House of Dread? Oh, that seems fairly certain.
Another BIG DC villain to emerge in 1944 was Giganta. Giving Wonder Woman a giant for an adversary is very Greek mythology, so I applaud the move.
House of Justice? Yes.
House of Crom? Sure.
House of Entropy? Sure.
House of Dread? She might not fit. See what I did there?
Mr. Mxyzptlk. Say that 3 times fast. Well, get him to say it backward, at least.
The 5th dimensional imp who loves to torment Superman. He's goofy. I think that needs to be fixed.
House of Justice? Sure.
House of Crom? No.
House of Entropy? Possible.
House of Dread? Yes. A seriously powerful being who likes to mess with people's heads. That's something too good to pass up.
And that was 1944. Like I said, the creative explosion was at a low point. Most of the good stuff was already out there.
But.
1945 had a couple of surprises in store.
First up, Superboy. A distinct creation from Superman. If you want to use Superman as a boy and have him wearing the costume, if you call him Superboy, you can't do that until 2041. You can use young Clark Kent after 2034, but the Superboy persona is off-limits for another 7 years from that date.
House of Justice? Yes. Obviously.
House of Crom? No.
House of Entropy? Oh, Superboy has a history with a 31st Century group, the Legion of Super Heroes. While time travel is a no-no in my universe, having Superboy interact with a group of alien super heroes for space adventures is totally in the cards. Totally. I won't be able to use any of the Legion, since they all got created in the 60s and won't be public domain for decades yet, there are plenty of other heroes I can do something similar with.
House of Dread? Sure!
Two of the Flash's villains got their start in 1945, Monacle and Turtle. Both are odd enough to offer some playful ideas. A villain who slows time (that's not time-travel!) and one with a laser shooting manacle? So fun!
House of Justice? Yes!
House of Crom? No.
House of Entropy? Yes!
House of Dread? Oddly enough, yes.
And then Fawcett created a truly great villain. They used him once and then he dropped off the face of the earth for decades.
Black Adam debuted in Marvel Family #1 and promptly got killed off. He totally vanished until the 1970s when DC revived the character. When Fawcett killed off a character, he stayed killed off.
House of Justice? Yes.
House of Crom? A 5000 year old super villain? Yes!
House of Entropy? A 5000 year old super villain? Yes!
House of Dread? A 5000 year old super villain? Yes!
Timely also gave us one more interesting hero. The Blonde Phantom, AKA Louise Grant, later Louise Grant Mason. Basically Batman in an evening gown and packing a .45 pistol. Love it!
House of Justice? You bet!
House of Crom? No.
House of Entropy? Unlikely.
House of Dread? Only if it's black tie.
And that was 1945. Fun stuff!
1946? Very, very lean. All of two entries.
Crazy Quilt is one of the first truly kooky Batman villains. I don't have much use for him, but you never know when inspiration will hit and I'll find some neat way to update him to something cool.
House of Justice? Sure.
House of Crom? No.
House of Entropy? Possible.
House of Dread? Maybe.
Finally, already in the public domain, The Octopus menaced The Spirit, starting in 1946. He's got a very creepy persona and I'm looking forward to using him soon!
House of Justice? Sure.
House of Crom? No.
House of Entropy? Sure, that could work.
House of Dread? One word. Tentacles.
In the next article, 1947 to 1949. Some of DC's great villains still to come!
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