In All-Star Comics #11 (April 1942), members of the Justice Society of America decide to join the United States armed forces as civilians to help with World War II. Eventually, the generals decide that having super-powered civilians in the forces is too disruptive, so they decide to form the Justice Battalion of America. In the […]
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Wonder Woman gains her iconic weapon (?), the Lasso of Truth in Sensation Comics #6 (April 1942). But it was more than just forcing her enemies to tell the truth, it forced them to do her bidding.
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Also appearing in Star Spangled Comics #7 (February 1942) is the first version of DC’s Robotman. Created by Jerry Siegel and Leo Novak, Robotman was Robert Crane, a scientist who was fatally shot, but was lucky enough to have his brain placed into robot by a buddy. Everyone needs a buddy like that.
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Jack Kirby and Joe Simon jumped the Timely/Marvel Comics ship at the end of 1941 and landed at National/DC Comics just as the U.S. was entering World War II. in Star Spangled Comics #7 (February 1942), they debuted a Captain America-resembling hero named The Guardian who took a bunch of orphaned newsboys under his wing […]
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In Detective Comics #60 (December 1941), the Bat-Signal is used for the first time by the Gotham Police to summon Batman.
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In All-American Comics #35 (December 1941), for the first time, a superhero’s secret identity is revealed to one of the supporting cast. Doiby Dickles learns that Green Lantern is actually his friend Alan Scott.
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In Leading Comics #1 (December 1941), the marketing team at DC slung together a bunch of their other heroes that weren’t already in the Justice Society of America into a new team, later called the Seven Soldiers of Victory. It was the first superhero team to include sidekicks (Speedy and Stripesy), but about the only […]
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The other important hero that debuted in Sensation Comics #1 (November 1941), is Wildcat. Ted Grant was a heavyweight boxer who got embroiled in some organized crime and had to clear his name. In a cat suit. Works for me! Although his mentor is “Socker” Smith, who Ted accidentally kills in the championship bout, it […]
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In Sensation Comics #1 (November 1941), Wonder Woman arrives in America with Steve Trevor and proceeds to foil a bank robbery, come up with a secret identity as a military nurse named Diana Prince, save Steve from falling to his death in aerial combat, foil Nazis parachutists, and destroy an entire poison gas facility. Pretty […]
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Yet another iconic Batman villain makes his debut this year, with The Penguin in Detective Comics #58 (October 1941). Um… he looks like a penguin. He wears a monocle and a top-hat. He uses umbrellas to commit crimes. That’s about all I can really say about him from this story.
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