Still called Johnny Thunderbolt as of June 1940, it is revealed in Flash Comics #8 that Johnny Thunder probably lives in the same universe as Superman (or at least in a universe that knows of Superman’s exploits). It’s somewhat interesting though that Johnny Thunder, Flash, Hawkman and Green Lantern are all published by All-American Publications, […]
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Up until now, Superman‘s insignia has usually drawn as an inverted yellow-bordered triangle surrounding an ‘S’ of first yellow, then red. Action Comics #25 (April 1940) shows the final major iteration of this symbol to a red-bordered diamond shape that is now recognized the world over. Note that the Wikipedia article on this states that […]
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In Detective Comics #38 (March 1940), Batman gains a youthful sidekick as he rescues the newly orphaned Dick Grayson and trains him to become Robin, the Boy Wonder. Robin was co-created by Bob Kane, Bill Finger and inker Jerry Robinson. This issue marks the start of shift to a lighter tone for Batman, one in […]
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February 1940 also brought another major character to the DC Universe with the introduction of Luthor, probably Superman‘s greatest villain. First appearing in Action Comics #23 (February 1940), Luthor was a mad scientist bent on world domination that used hypnotism to keep his lackeys in check. Later on in the month he also appeared in […]
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The “gadgeting” of Batman continues in Detective Comics #37 (February 1940) with Bruce adding a night-vision device to let him see in the dark. Note that this is only a couple months after Germans started experimenting with nightvision goggles in World War II!
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The Spectre‘s costume was revealed in-story during More Fun Comics #53 (February 1940). The original setup was that Detective Jim Corrigan is dead, but still walks the earth, and he made the costume in order to fight crime.
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The Flash gained a new power in Flash Comics #3 (January 1940) by learning how to vibrate rapidly to appear invisible!
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In December 1939, we finally get a new company, that is not DC, creating a superhero character that has an impact outside of comic books, with the introduction of Captain Marvel in Whiz Comics #1 (actually #2 because of the ash-can edition) by Fawcett Comics. Captain Marvel, sometimes confused with the wizard Shazam, who gave […]
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The Shield was the first over-the-top-patriotic superhero, arriving at least a year before Captain America. Debuting in Pep Comics #1 (November 1939), he was a G-Man who designed his own costume that gave him a dizzying array of powers: bulletproof, flameproof, super speed, super strong, he could scale walls and he had radio gadgets to […]
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Hawkman also debuted in Flash Comics #1 (November 1939). He was created by Gardner Fox and Dennis Neville. Carter Hall, a research scientist and collector of weapons, has a dream of a past life as Prince Khufu, he discovers the Ninth Metal, creates wings which defy gravity and decides to use “weapons of the past” […]
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