In Batman #147 (March 1962), a criminal gang and a renegade scientist use a ray to de-age Batman to the age of about four. DC’s fascination with their heroes in toddler-form continue, with Bat-Baby being added to the likes of Super-Tot and Wonder-Tot. Fortunately, little Brucey kept his mind and his strength, condensed into a […]
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Detective Comics #298 (October 1961) introduces a Silver Age counterpart to an old Golden Age Batman villain: Clayface. Batman and Robin are attending a charity benefit when suddenly a lumpy man in a trenchcoat appears. If I had a nickel for every time that happened. Suddenly Clayface turns into a giant snake, then an eagle […]
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In Batman #139 (Feb 1961), the creators try to improve the supporting cast of the Batman “family” by adding Bat-Girl. Betty Kane, the niece of Kathy Kane, discovers her aunt is actually Bat-Woman and decides to help out with crime-fighting. Batman encourages her to train her sidekick as a stalling tactic, but it actually seems […]
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In Superman #142 (Nov 1960), Superman encounters a “flame-dragon from Krypton”. The beast appears and breathes fire at Clark, incinerating his clothes in front of Lois. It’s mostly a cutesy-but-tired-and-unrealistic story about how Superman manages to yet again disprove her “Clark-is-Superman” theory (with the help of Batman and Supergirl this time). Superman wraps up the […]
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Remember that time Superboy met Oliver Queen and set him on the path to become Green Arrow? The plot is shamelessly copied in Adventure Comics #275 (June 1960) wherein Superboy reminisces about meeting Robin and then wonders if he’ll ever meet a young Bruce Wayne. Literally one panel later guess who shows up in Clark’s […]
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Batman #131 (February 1960) introduces the literary device of Alfred’s stories that he writes in his diary about the future of the Bat Family. In this first imaginary tale, Bruce Wayne marries Kathy Kane and reveals his identity to her. They eventually have a red-headed son, Bruce Wayne Jr. Batman announces his retirement and Dick […]
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Well here we are, at the last post from the 1950s, and it’s a milestone event for DC: The introduction of the Justice League of America in The Brave and the Bold #28 (Dec 1959). Written by Gardner Fox, who also created and wrote the Golden Age Justice Society of America, this new team features […]
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Another noteworthy event in Adventure Comics #266 (Sept 1959) was the establishment of Green Arrow and Speedy into the mainstream DC continuity. We already had an inconsequential story of Superboy meeting Oliver Queen as a boy, but this time we see not one, but two instances of DC weaving Green Arrow into their growing stable […]
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In “Superman’s Other Life”, a story in Superman #132 (August 1959), Batman and Robin bringing a special gift for Superman to the Fortress of Solitude. The Dynamic Duo bring Superman pictures he took from Krypton years ago and suggests he put them through his “Super-Univac” to see if it can answer the question: “What would […]
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Well we go from a nice little Silver Age moment to a cringe-worthy addition to the Batman mythos in Detective Comics #267 (March 1959) with the introduction of Bat-Mite. Like Mr. Mxyzptlk, Bat-Mite came from another dimension, but unlike Mxy, Bat-Mite actually adored Batman and tried to help him. Always with disastrous consequences. Was never […]
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