225 – Superman Admits He is in Love

Lois Lane is proposed to by an obnoxious millionaire in Action Comics #61, (April 1943)… and she accepts. This forces Superman into the realization that he cares for Lois. He decides on a drastic step, to reveal his identity: … but she doesn’t believe him. In the end, it turns out Lois was only accepting […]

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223 – Lois, Super Woman!

Five years after the debut of Action Comics, we get the first time that Lois Lane gains super-powers in Action Comics #60 (March 1943). After a car accident in which Lois gets a head injury, Superman gives her a blood transfusion which results in her gaining all his powers. Lois decides on costumed adventuring. Note […]

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221 – Cousins Tweed

Batman’s rogue gallery of villains get two more additions in the form of Tweedledee and Tweedledum in Detective Comics #74 (February 1943), created by Don Cameron, who was busy in the DC Universe in 1942 and 1943! Dumfree Tweed and his cousin Deever Tweed look so much alike they are often mistaken for brothers… they […]

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220 – Susie Thompkins

Ok, time for some more comic relief. Clark Kent discovers that Lois’ niece Susie needs to be looked after. He reads her the story of Cinderlla, falls asleep, then dreams he is Superman and needs to help Cinderella. The obnoxious Susie keeps Clark and Superman a little busy, throughout her appearances and gives Superman something […]

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218 – Enter the Butler

In Batman #16 (February 1943), a third character is introduced to the “Batman Family”: Alfred the Butler. He was created by Don Cameron. Alfred starts out as an overweight aspiring criminologist who stumbles onto Bruce Wayne’s secret identity. Batman and Robin accept Alfred into their lives. Alfred is the beginning of what I will call […]

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217 – When Ollie Met Roy

I don’t know if DC decided to give origin stories to some of their superhero partners or if this was a coincidence, but Green Arrow and Speedy are given an origin story in More Fun Comics #89 (January 1943): Roy Harper is orphaned and marooned on a mesa while Oliver Queen chases after an archaeologic […]

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216 – Liberty Belle

Woops – one more post before we leave 1942 behind for good! I thought it would be a good time to skip back a month and cover at least one superhero debut that I missed: Liberty Belle makes her debut hiding out in Boy Commandos #1. Liberty Belle was a World War II heroine who, […]

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215 – Star-Spangled Origin

Well it’s 1943 – and the World War II rages on. In Star Spangled Comics #18 (January 1943), the Star-Spangled Kid and Stripesy are given an unlikely origin story: two strangers decide, at the same time, independently, to take up costumed adventuring, on the same case, and choose different parts of the flag as their […]

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213 – Female Justice Society

All-Star Comics #15 (December 1942) features Wonder Woman rallying all the girlfriends of the men of the Justice Society of America to save them. It’s a far cry from A-Force or the Birds of Prey… Wonder Woman is still just the “secretary” of the Justice Society, for crap sakes.. but it’s a start, at least!

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211 – The First Super-Villain Reforms

In December 1942, Wonder Woman #3 features the first time a recurring villain character goes through a reform and becomes an ally of a superhero. Baroness Paula von Gunther is revealed to have become a villain after Nazis kidnapped her child. Having restored her child, Wonder Woman sets out to reform her. And she stays […]

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