"Emerald Knights" is a 6-part story that was originally published in Green Lantern vol. 3, issues #101-106. It is the story of Kyle Rayner teaming up with a pre- Parallax Hal Jordan .
159-397: This story was later collected by DC Comics in 1998 as the trade paperback Green Lantern: Emerald Knights ( ISBN 1563894750 ), which included the last pages of Green Lantern vol. 3, issue #99 and issue #100, as well as Green Arrow vol. 2, #136. Kyle had been battling his sometime nemesis Grayven when he fell into a time-warp and wound up in the 30th Century, where he met
318-494: A Zeta beam transporter accident while returning from space. Though Scott loses his daughter, he tells Kyle Rayner that he still has family both through relations and close friendships, among which he counts Kyle. Week 4 of the 52 maxiseries reveals that Scott lost his left eye during a period when he and several other superheroes were declared missing approximately 11 months prior to the events of Checkmate #1. The Zeta Beam that Adam Strange had hoped to use for teleporting
477-471: A mythical realm. Since the 1940s, when Superman, Batman, and many of the company's other heroes began appearing in stories together, DC's characters have inhabited a shared continuity that was later dubbed the " DC Universe " by fans. With the story " Flash of Two Worlds ", in Flash No. 123 (September 1961), editor Schwartz (with writer Gardner Fox and artists Infantino and Joe Giella ) presented
636-636: A Green Lantern named Yalan Gur, who was so favored by the Guardians of the Universe that they removed the yellow impurity from his ring (which the Guardians deliberately placed in all the GL rings to limit their power and could be removed at their discretion). However, Yalan Gur abused his power and interfered with the inhabitants of ancient China . The Guardians then substituted a weakness for wood that allowed
795-434: A March 1937 cover date. The themed anthology that revolved originally around fictional detective stories became in modern times the longest-running ongoing comic series. A notable debut in the first issue was Slam Bradley , created in a collaboration between Wheeler-Nicholson, Siegel and Shuster. In 1937, in debt to printing-plant owner and magazine distributor Harry Donenfeld —who also published pulp magazines and operated as
954-508: A Saturday morning live action TV adaptation and gained a prominent position in the mainstream continuity of the DC Universe . As the popularity of superheroes faded in the late 1940s, DC Comics focused on such genres as science fiction, Westerns , humor , and romance . The company also published crime and horror titles, although relatively tame contributions that avoided the mid-1950s backlash against such comic genres. A handful of
1113-545: A completely redesigned sleek, solid green suit with no cape. In the 2017-2019 Doomsday Clock event, Prime Earth Alan is unerased by Doctor Manhattan, and is merged back into Earth Prime during the 2020-2021 Dark Nights: Death Metal multiversal reboot event. The first appearances of the character from 1940, including in All-American Comics #16, will enter the American public domain on January 1, 2036 as
1272-476: A conceptual mechanism for slotting the 1930s and 1940s Golden Age heroes into this continuity using the explanation that they inhabited an other-dimensional "Earth 2", whilst the modern heroes exist on "Earth 1", consequently laying the foundations of what was later called the DC Multiverse . DC's introduction of the reimagined superheroes did not go unnoticed by their competitors. In 1961, with DC's JLA as
1431-488: A copy of Superman. This extended to DC suing Fawcett Comics over Captain Marvel , who was at the time the top-selling comic character (see National Comics Publications, Inc. v. Fawcett Publications, Inc. ). Faced with declining sales and the prospect of bankruptcy if it lost the lawsuit, Fawcett capitulated in 1953 and ceased publishing comics. Years later, Fawcett sold the rights for Captain Marvel to DC Comics, and in 1972
1590-568: A drug-fueled storyline in writer Dennis O'Neil and artist Neal Adams ' Green Lantern , beginning with the story " Snowbirds Don't Fly " in the retitled Green Lantern / Green Arrow No. 85 (September 1971), which depicted Speedy , the teen sidekick of superhero archer Green Arrow , as having become a heroin addict. Jenette Kahn , a former children's magazine publisher, replaced Infantino as editorial director in January 1976. As it happened, her first task even before being formally hired,
1749-469: A few years later, remaining a regular character. His villains tended to be ordinary humans, but he did have a few paranormal ones, such as the immortal Vandal Savage and the zombie Solomon Grundy . Green Lantern proved popular and was given his own series, Green Lantern , later that year. Most of his adventures were set in New York. In 1941, Alan Scott was paired with a sidekick named Doiby Dickles ,
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#17327832418161908-477: A few years, it yielded the popular animated series Static Shock . DC established Paradox Press to publish material such as the large-format Big Book of... series of multi-artist interpretations on individual themes, and such crime fiction as the graphic novel Road to Perdition . In 1998, DC purchased WildStorm Comics, Jim Lee 's imprint under the Image Comics banner, continuing it for many years as
2067-485: A green meteor, later revealed to be the legendary Starheart that gave Alan his powers. Sebastian Faust tells the two teams that the Starheart has been gradually taking control of people on Earth for some time. Now that it is on Earth, it is growing more powerful and driving metahumans all over the world insane. Jade states that the Starheart captured her in space and purposely brought her to Earth to find Alan and that it
2226-504: A handful of thematically-linked series he called collectively "The Fourth World" . In the existing series Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen and in his own, newly-launched series New Gods , Mister Miracle , and The Forever People , Kirby introduced such enduring characters and concepts as arch-villain Darkseid and the other-dimensional realm Apokolips . Furthermore, Kirby intended their stories to be reprinted in collected editions, in
2385-571: A leave of absence from the JSA, explaining why the character vanished from the roster for a time. Scott was a member of the Justice Society of America in 1951 when the team was investigated by the "Joint Congressional Un-American Activities Committee," a fictional organization based on the real-life House Un-American Activities Committee . They were accused of possible communist sympathies and asked to reveal their identities . The members declined
2544-456: A major slump, while manufactured " collectables " numbering in the millions replaced quality with quantity until fans and speculators alike deserted the medium in droves. DC's Piranha Press and other imprints (including the mature readers' line Vertigo , and Helix , a short-lived science fiction imprint) were introduced to facilitate compartmentalized diversification and allow for specialized marketing of individual product lines. They increased
2703-443: A massive wave of destructive energy to erupt over the post- Crisis Earth in 1945. Scott and the JSA, fresh from burying their Earth-Two comrades Robin and Huntress, enter into a limbo dimension to fight an eternally recurring Ragnarok . Green Lantern (vol. 3) #19 attempted to retcon Alan Scott's origin and power ring to accommodate the changes made by Crisis on Infinite Earths . In this story, Alan's ring originally belonged to
2862-558: A member of the Corps. John Stewart would eventually take the ring and return as a Green Lantern. Kyle would later be possessed by Ion , the willpower entity, granting him the vast power he needed to create a new generation of Guardians. During Green Lantern: Rebirth , Hal Jordan was resurrected and returned to his role as the Green Lantern of Sector 2814, along with Guy Gardner. Jordan's murderous activity during Emerald Twilight
3021-444: A parallel universe. For most of the 1960s and 1970s, Alan Scott made guest appearances in books belonging to Silver Age characters, visiting their universe through magical or technological means. In 1976, he appeared regularly alongside his Justice Society comrades in the revived All-Star Comics and later Adventure Comics in stories set in the 1970s. In 1981, DC Comics launched All-Star Squadron , which featured Alan Scott and
3180-480: A popular entertainment character who fought evil with the aid of a magic ring that grants him various supernatural powers. After debuting in All-American Comics , Alan Scott soon became popular enough to sustain his own comic book, Green Lantern . Around this time DC also began experimenting with fictional crossovers between its characters, leading towards a shared universe of characters. As one of
3339-528: A primer. They would get artists ... and they taught them the ABCs, which amounted to learning Jack Kirby ... Jack was like the Holy Scripture and they simply had to follow him without deviation. That's what was told to me ... It was how they taught everyone to reconcile all those opposing attitudes to one single master point of view. Given carte blanche to write and illustrate his own stories, he created
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#17327832418163498-416: A principal in the magazine distributorship Independent News —Wheeler-Nicholson had to enter into partnership with Donenfeld to publish Detective Comics No. 1, and Detective Comics, Inc. (which helped inspire the abbreviation DC) was formed, with Wheeler-Nicholson and Donenfeld's accountant Jack S. Liebowitz listed as owners. As the company continued to experience cash-flow problems, Wheeler-Nicholson
3657-415: A publishing format that was later called the trade paperback , which became a standard industry practice decades later. While sales were respectable, they did not meet DC management's initially high expectations, and also suffered from a lack of comprehension and internal support from Infantino. By 1973 the "Fourth World" was all cancelled, although Kirby's conceptions soon became integral to the broadening of
3816-639: A ring and serving as an elder statesman to the Justice Society of America and to the superhero community in general. In Green Lantern: Rebirth , Alan and his daughter Jade, assist the surviving members of the Green Lantern Corps, Hal Jordan, who had been possessed by the ancient fear entity Parallax, John Stewart , Guy Gardner , Kyle Rayner , and Kilowog , in defeating the Parallax-possessed Ganthet . Alan
3975-658: A romantic interest for Batman named Julie Madison , as well as the Batarang weapon that Batman commonly uses, and the fictional aircraft called the Batplane . The story of Batman's origin was first shown in Detective Comics No. 33 (November 1939), which depicted the death of Thomas Wayne and Martha Wayne by a mugger . The origin story remained crucial for the fictional character after its inception. The Daily Planet (a common setting of Superman)
4134-496: A rotund Brooklyn taxi driver, who would appear on a regular basis until 1949. In 1948, Alan also got a canine sidekick named Streak. The dog proved so popular that he starred in his own solo side-stories, even appearing on the cover without the title hero multiple times. After World War II, superheroes declined in popularity. Green Lantern was cancelled in 1949 after 38 issues and All-American Comics dropped superheroes in favor of westerns. Alan Scott's final Golden Age appearance
4293-493: A state of euphoria. After the Atom and Starman break Eclipso's link to his brainwashed slaves, the combined heroes attack Eclipso together, defeating him. In the aftermath it is discovered that Jade and Obsidian can now be within proximity of each other again and their father has control of the Starheart again. Later, the JSA try to take down the villain D'arken who has broken free from imprisonment beneath Monument Point and absorbed
4452-433: A steel mill. After he and Saturn Girl save Johnny Thunder from some junkies, Rorschach (Reggie Long) asks Johnny Thunder what that lantern is. Later, it is revealed that Doctor Manhattan prevented Scott from becoming Green Lantern, preventing the Justice Society from forming. However, Manhattan eventually restores the timeline and Scott's existence. In Dark Nights: Death Metal , Alan Scott helps battle Perpetua and
4611-435: A string of lovers including Robbie and Jimmy. When Alan and Jimmy land a lucrative engineering project, Alan's rival Albert Dekker attempts to kill him, causing a train crash that kills Jimmy and activates Alan's Green Lantern powers. By 1941, Alan has been predominately working solo as a Green Lantern, with the support of his best friend Doiby Dickles. However, J. Edgar Hoover blackmails him into being an more active member of
4770-523: A subsidiary of Time Warner. In June, the first Tim Burton-directed Batman film was released, and DC began publishing its hardcover series of DC Archive Editions ; these were collections of many of their early, key comics series, featuring rare and expensive stories previously unseen by the majority of modern fans. Much of the restoration work was handled by Rick Keene, with colour restoration performed by DC's long-time resident colourist Bob LeRose . The Archive Editions attempted to retroactively credit many of
4929-469: A superhero origin story with the reveal of an unnamed planet, later known as Krypton , where he is said to have originated . The issue also contained the first essential supporting character and one of the earliest female characters in any comic, with Lois Lane as Superman's first depicted romantic interest . The Green Hornet -inspired character known as the Crimson Avenger by Jim Chamber
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5088-399: A superpowered terrorist named Scythe. Just before being defeated, Scythe snaps Alan's neck. In the subsequent story, it is revealed that Scythe is the product of Nazi genetic engineering, and that Alan and Jay had been tasked by the president with killing the experiment back when he was in infancy during World War 2. The two heroes could not agree on a course of action, and, as a result, Scythe
5247-569: A supporting character called James Gordon , the police commissioner of what would later become Gotham City Police Department . Despite being a parody, All-American Publications introduced the earliest female character who became the female superhero Red Tornado (though disguised as a male) in Ma Hunkel who first appeared in the "Scribbly" stories in All-American Comics No. 3 (June 1939). Another important Batman debut
5406-419: A time, the Starheart became part of Scott's body and he adopts the name Sentinel , becoming a founding member of a new JSA . Thanks to the rejuvenative properties of the Starheart, Scott's physical body is again temporarily revitalized so that he resembles a man in his 30s or early 40s. This drives his wife Molly, who has not been affected, to sell her soul to the demon Neron in exchange for youth. Alan enters
5565-429: A trainman's green railway lantern as his inspiration. After seeing this opera, Nodell sought to create a superhero who wielded a variety of magical powers from a magic ring, which he regularly recharged from a green lantern. Nodell wanted a colorful and interesting costume for his character, deriving from elements of Greek mythology. As Nodell recalled in an undated, latter-day interview, When I sent it in, I waited into
5724-455: A weeks-long adventure in space, Rayner attempts to rebuild the Green Lantern Corps, recruiting Magaan Van'n Intraktus of the planet Van'n, Hammeroon (a bounty hunter from Ilskado System), Anya Savenlovich (a lieutenant colonel from Soviet Union Air Force who was in suspended animation after participating in a space mission in 1964), Garl Rathbone (a miner from the debris belt over the planet Daffith), and Sool (a judge, also from Daffith). However,
5883-501: A wholly separate imprint (and fictional universe) with its own unique style and audience. As part of this purchase, DC also began to publish titles under the fledgling WildStorm sub-imprint America's Best Comics (ABC), a series of titles created by Alan Moore which included The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen , Tom Strong , and Promethea . Moore strongly opposed this move, and DC eventually stopped publishing ABC. In March 2003, DC acquired publishing and merchandising rights to
6042-405: A yellow power ring, fights with Hal, but winds up losing his power when his ring's charge fades - Guy needed to recharge from a Green Lantern power source). DC Comics This is an accepted version of this page DC Comics, Inc. (later simply known as DC ) is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment , a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery . DC
6201-612: Is again rebooted, filled out with new retroactive continuity. In 1936, Alan was in a secret romantic relationship with fellow engineer Johnny Ladd, with both working on a secret government project related to the Crimson Flame. However, Johnny is seemingly killed when the Crimson Flame attacks their ship and snatches Johnny. Once Alan's superiors realize he was in a relationship with Johnny, they force him to check into Arkham Asylum to undergo conversion therapy . However, he eventually escapes, becomes an engineer again, and hooks up with
6360-479: Is an initialism for "Detective Comics", an American comic book series first published in 1937. DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, the first comic under the DC banner being published in 1937. The majority of its publications are set in the fictional DC Universe and feature numerous culturally iconic heroic characters , such as Superman , Batman , Wonder Woman , Green Lantern ,
6519-514: Is brought back into the mainstream continuity following the 2016 " DC Rebirth " initiative, and in 2020, comes out to his children as gay, retroactively establishing this incarnation of Alan as the first gay superhero . The original Green Lantern was created by an American artist named Martin Nodell . Nodell mentions Richard Wagner 's opera cycle The Ring of the Nibelung and the sight of
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6678-517: Is her fault that her father is now in danger. Just then, Alan awakens and his costume transforms into a suit of armor identical to the one he wears in Kingdom Come , and he then tells the assembled heroes that he intends on destroying the world. Starman is sent into space to search for Alan, and finds that Alan has constructed a massive fortress on the surface of the Moon. Before Starman can warn
6837-475: Is increasingly physically weakened due to Parallax's failed attempts to mind control him as it did with Jordan, Stewart, Gardner, and Kilowog, so it decides to kill him instead. However, Jordan, with the aid of The Spectre , breaks free from Parallax's influence, and saves Alan from the fear entity. During the Rann-Thanagar War , Kyle Rayner 's power ring revealed that Scott is an honorary member of
6996-419: Is replaced by a green glowing orb that, due to its mystical origins and connection to Jade, allows him to track astral and mystical energy forms such as ghosts. During the missing year of the "One Year Later" storyline, Scott has joined Checkmate at the rank of White King, with his JSA teammate Mister Terrific as his Bishop. Scott soon finds himself in a moral conflict with Black Queen Sasha Bordeaux over
7155-566: Is rooting himself into the Earth, and if he remains for one more day, the Earth will no longer be able to survive without him. The rest of the JSA arrive to kill Gog by separating his head from the Earth, which is the only way to save the planet. The Society members ally with Gog in an attempt to protect him until they see him attempt to attack a Society member. All of Gog's followers, including Magog , turn on him, causing Gog's blessing on them to be undone. The JSA are able to topple Gog and send him to
7314-516: Is still being used. The company created a second recurring title called New Comics , first released in December 1935, which was the start of the long-running Adventure Comics series that also featured many anthology titles. By 1936, the group had became Nicholson Publishing. Wheeler-Nicholson's next and final title, Detective Comics , was advertised with a cover illustration dated December 1936 but eventually premiered three months late with
7473-444: Is third. In 1934, entrepreneur Major Malcolm Wheeler-Nicholson founded National Allied Publications , intended as an American comic book publishing company. Its debut publication was the tabloid -sized New Fun: The Big Comic Magazine #1 (the first of a comic series later called More Fun Comics ) with a February 1935 cover date . An anthology title, essentially for original stories not reprinted from newspaper strips , it
7632-455: Is to somehow kill God. Eclipso then tortures Zauriel, causing his screams to attract the attention of the new Spectre, Crispus Allen, who he kills, absorbing the Spectre's powers upon his demise. With his newfound abilities, Eclipso reveals that God relies on the collective love of humanity to stay alive, and that by destroying the Earth, Eclipso will ultimately kill God once and for all. Just as
7791-539: The Infinite Crisis limited series. Immediately after this event, DC's ongoing series jumped forward a full year in their in-story continuity, as DC launched a weekly series, 52 , to gradually fill in the missing time. Concurrently, DC lost the copyright to "Superboy" (while retaining the trademark) when the heirs of Jerry Siegel used a provision of the 1976 revision to the copyright law to regain ownership. In 2005, DC launched its " All-Star " line (evoking
7950-634: The Darkest Knight . Following this, he reunites with Jade and Obsidian and comes out as gay. He is invited to join the Totality, a team of superheroes and villains dedicated to protecting Earth. In " The New Golden Age ", Scott is revealed to have a Russian counterpart in Red Lantern , who he fought on occasion and had a truce with when Nazis threatened both North America and Russia. In Alan Scott: The Green Lantern, Alan's early history
8109-841: The Flash , Cyborg , and Aquaman ; as well as famous fictional teams, including the Justice League , the Justice Society of America , the Teen Titans , and the Suicide Squad . The universe contains an assortment of well-known supervillains , such as the Joker , Lex Luthor , Deathstroke , the Reverse-Flash , Brainiac , and Darkseid . The company has published non-DC Universe-related material, including Watchmen , V for Vendetta , Fables , and many other titles, under
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#17327832418168268-667: The Green Lantern character, the introduction of the modern all-star team Justice League of America (JLA), and many more superheroes, heralding what historians and fans call the Silver Age of Comic Books . National radically overhauled its continuing characters—primarily Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman—rather than just reimagining them. The Superman family of titles, under editor Mort Weisinger , introduced such enduring characters as Supergirl , Bizarro , and Brainiac . The Batman titles, under editor Jack Schiff , introduced
8427-685: The Legion of Super-Heroes . When asking to get back, the 30th century Brainiac put Kyle in a time-machine, intending to send Kyle back to his regular time. However, Kyle wound up being transported 10 years further back, to a time when Hal Jordan, many years before he became Parallax, was battling Sinestro (set during Green Lantern vol. 2, #9, implied to be the result of either a time platform malfunction or simply lacking historical records of this time period). Kyle helped Hal defeat Sinestro, and Kyle and Hal both wound up being transported back to Kyle's own time when Sinestro accidentally shoved Hal into Kyle as
8586-483: The Phantom Stranger ) rose from art director to become DC's editorial director. With the growing popularity of upstart rival Marvel Comics threatening to topple DC from its longtime number-one position in the comics industry, he tried to direct DC's focus towards marketing new and existing titles and characters with more adult sensibilities, aimed at an emerging older age group of superhero comic book fans; this
8745-795: The Silver Age , the comics of the 1970s and 1980s became known as the Bronze Age, as fantasy gave way to more naturalistic and sometimes darker themes. Illegal drug use, banned by the Comics Code Authority , explicitly appeared in comics for the first time in Marvel Comics' story " Green Goblin Reborn! " in The Amazing Spider-Man No. 96 (May 1971), and after the Code's updating in response, DC offered
8904-577: The Source Wall , but Alan is unable to see his daughter. In Final Crisis , Alan led a resistance against Darkseid 's forces as one of the superheroes responding to Article X. He is shown defending Checkmate's Switzerland HQ from the Justifiers. Though Donna Troy tries to place the Justifier helmet on him, Hawkman saves him. In Blackest Night , Alan and the rest of the JSA battle
9063-571: The Spirit which it then used, along with some DC heroes, as part of the First Wave comics line launched in 2010 and lasting through fall 2011. In May 2011, DC announced it would begin releasing digital versions of their comics on the same day as paper versions. Alan Scott Alan Wellington Ladd-Scott is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics , and
9222-557: The line further, increasing the number of titles and story pages, and raising the price from 35 cents to 50 cents. Most series received eight-page back-up features while some had full-length twenty-five-page stories. This was a move the company called the "DC Explosion". The move was not successful, however, and corporate parent Warner dramatically cut back on these largely unsuccessful titles, firing many staffers in what industry watchers dubbed "the DC Implosion ". In September 1978,
9381-405: The American comic book market was shared by DC Comics and its long-time major competitor Marvel Comics (acquired in 2009 by Warner Bros. Discovery's main competitor, The Walt Disney Company ), though this figure may be distorted by the fact that sales of graphic novels are excluded. When all book sales are included, DC is the second largest publisher of comic books, after Viz Media ; and Marvel
9540-490: The Bible as the foundation of his own new company, EC Comics . At that point, "Liebowitz promptly orchestrated the merger of All-American and Detective Comics into National Comics... Next he took charge of organizing National Comics, [the self-distributorship] Independent News, and their affiliated firms into a single corporate entity, National Periodical Publications ". National Periodical Publications became publicly traded on
9699-472: The Changing Man , as well as an increasing array of non-superhero titles, in an attempt to recapture the pre- Wertham days of post-War comicdom. In 1977, the company officially changed its name to DC Comics . It had used the brand "Superman-DC" since the 1950s, and was colloquially known as DC Comics for years. In June 1978, five months before the release of the first Superman film , Kahn expanded
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#17327832418169858-544: The DC Universe, especially after the major toy-company, Kenner Products , judged them ideal for their action-figure adaptation of the DC Universe , the Super Powers Collection . Obligated by his contract, Kirby created other unrelated series for DC, including Kamandi , The Demon , and OMAC , before ultimately returning to Marvel Comics in 1976. Following the science-fiction innovations of
10017-428: The Green Lantern Corps. During the Infinite Crisis , Scott and his daughter Jade , along with many others, travel with Donna Troy to the center of the universe to save it from Alexander Luthor, Jr. Though they manage to succeed in saving the universe, Jade dies on this mission. A year later , Scott is still active and relatively youthful compared to his true age, but now wears an eyepatch having lost his eye in
10176-582: The Guardians were sending him home. The main thrust of the story deals with a much younger Hal having to come to grips with the new reality he's in; specifically, the fact that he's (at that time) one of the most reviled villains, and that his friend Ollie Queen is dead. The other heroes are also unnerved at seeing their comrade back in prime condition and without any of the taint of the villainy his future self did. Kyle, for his part, mixes feelings of awe - at being teamed with 'the greatest Green Lantern' - and self-pity, as he now feels that he's being pushed out of
10335-460: The JSA fought the villain Ian Karkull , who inadvertently imbued them with life energy stolen from an innocent victim. The energy slowed their aging, allowing Scott and several other members, as well as their spouses, to remain active into the late 20th century without infirmity. The events of that incident also led Scott, who had failed to save the victim from whom the energy was stolen, to take
10494-492: The Justice League with Alan's location. Batman then assembles a small strikeforce consisting of himself, Jade, Hourman , Donna Troy , Jesse Quick , and Mr. America , all of whom have a low chance of being possessed by the Starheart. Mister Miracle arrives and informs the team that Alan has most likely installed Fourth World defenses in his base and offers to use his knowledge of such technology to guide them through
10653-476: The Justice Society in a World War II setting. In 1986, the editors at DC Comics decided that all its characters should exist within the same setting and effected this change with the Crisis on Infinite Earths miniseries. Alan Scott now shared the same fictional world as Hal Jordan. DC Comics decided to write the character out of continuity in a one-shot book entitled Last Days of the Justice Society , in which he
10812-556: The Silver Age Teen Titans led DC's editors to seek the same for the wider DC Universe . The result, the Wolfman/Pérez 12-issue limited series Crisis on Infinite Earths , gave the company an opportunity to realign and jettison some of the characters' complicated backstory and continuity discrepancies. A companion publication, two volumes entitled The History of the DC Universe , set out the revised history of
10971-501: The Starheart were to once again take over his body, it could result in the deaths of everyone in the city. Eclipso attacks the city, which results in Jesse Quick having to get Alan to safety. After taking over Jade, Eclipso has the power of the starheart then defeats and possesses the Justice League's reserve roster, and then badly injures the angel Zauriel. With the Justice League outnumbered, Eclipso then reveals his ultimate goal
11130-697: The TV series. This change in tone coincided with the prominent "Go-Go Checks" cover-dress that featured a black-and-white checkered strip at the top of each DC comic (all cover dates between February 1966 and August 1967), a misguided attempt by then-managing editor Irwin Donenfeld to make DC's output "stand out on the newsracks". In particular, DC artist Carmine Infantino complained that the distinctive cover made it easier for readers to spot DC's titles and avoid them in favor of Marvel's titles. In 1967, Infantino (who had designed popular Silver Age characters Batgirl and
11289-587: The accident. He also discovers his powers' weakness to wood when he is bludgeoned with a club. Alan is a founding member of the Justice Society of America , and is its second chairman. Scott uses his ring to fly, walk through solid objects by "moving through the fourth dimension", paralyze or blind people temporarily, hypnotize them, create rays of energy, melt metal as with a blowtorch, and cause dangerous objects to glow, among other things. It could also allow him and others to time travel. Occasionally, he uses it to read minds or create solid objects and force fields in
11448-676: The alternative imprint Vertigo and DC Black Label . Originally at 432 Fourth Avenue in Manhattan , New York City, the company offices have been located at 480 and later 575 Lexington Avenue , 909 Third Avenue , 75 Rockefeller Plaza , 666 Fifth Avenue , and 1325 Avenue of the Americas . DC Comics was located at 1700 Broadway in Midtown Manhattan until April 2015, when DC Entertainment transferred its headquarters to Burbank, California . DC Comics books are distributed to
11607-587: The antihero. These titles helped pave the way for comics to be more widely accepted in literary-criticism circles and to make inroads into the book industry, with collected editions of these series as commercially successful trade paperbacks . The mid-1980s also saw the end of many long-running DC war comics , including series that had been in print since the 1960s. These titles, all with over 100 issues, included Sgt. Rock , G.I. Combat , The Unknown Soldier , and Weird War Tales . In March 1989, Warner Communications merged with Time Inc. , making DC Comics
11766-405: The beginning of the " Brightest Day " storyline, Alan lies in the arms of Obsidian, convulsing and writhing as a green light pours from his body. His body possessed, Alan flies off with his JSA teammates in hot pursuit, eventually led the team to Germany. The JSA meet with Batman 's new Justice League and find that Jade, who had been staying on Oa since her resurrection, has returned to Earth in
11925-571: The bookstore market by Penguin Random House Publisher Services . The comics shop direct market was supplied by Diamond Comic Distributors until June 2020, when Lunar Distribution and UCS Comic Distributors (who were by then dominating direct market distribution on account of the disruption to Diamond caused by the COVID-19 pandemic ) replaced Diamond as the direct market distributor. In 2017, approximately 70% of
12084-413: The brand's popularity, like the presence of the color red or word balloons on the cover, or that the perceived crudeness of the interior art was somehow more appealing to readers. When Lee learned about DC's subsequent experimental attempts to imitate these perceived details, he amused himself by arranging direct defiance of those assumptions in Marvel's publications as sales strengthened further to frustrate
12243-424: The character was revived in DC's new title Shazam! , which featured artwork by Captain Marvel's creator C. C. Beck . In the meantime, the abandoned 'Marvel' trademark had been seized by Marvel Comics in 1967, with the creation of their Captain Marvel , preventing DC from using the name in the title of their own comic series. While DC's Captain Marvel failed to recapture his earlier popularity, he later appeared in
12402-429: The comic book limited series . This publishing format allowed for the deliberate creation of finite storylines within a more flexible publishing format that could showcase creations without forcing the talent into unsustainable open-ended commitments. The first such title was World of Krypton in 1979, and its positive results led to subsequent similar titles and later more ambitious productions like Camelot 3000 for
12561-482: The company. The resulting influx of sophisticated horror-fantasy material led to DC in 1993 establishing the Vertigo mature-readers imprint, which did not subscribe to the Comics Code Authority . Two DC limited series, Batman: The Dark Knight Returns by Frank Miller and Watchmen by Moore and artist Dave Gibbons , drew attention in the mainstream press for their dark psychological complexity and promotion of
12720-488: The competition. However, this ignorance of Marvel's true appeal did not extend to some of the writing talent during this period, and attempts were made to emulate Marvel's narrative approach. For instance, there was the Doom Patrol series by Arnold Drake (who had previously warned DC's management about Marvel's strength), a superhero team of outsiders who resented their freakish powers, which Drake later speculated
12879-423: The copyright for the comic was renewed in 1967. Thousands of years ago, a mystical "green flame" fell to Earth in ancient China as a meteor . A voice in the flame predicted that it would act three times: once to bring death, once to bring life, and once to bring power. For the first prophecy, a lamp-maker crafted the green metal of the meteor into a lamp. In fear and as punishment for what they thought sacrilege ,
13038-434: The day with Connor's help, Hal preventing the plane from crashing into a mountain before capturing Hardy. The two later visit Ollie's grave, reflecting on how they each feel like they have lost him twice, given the limited time Connor spent with him and the fact that Hal comes from a time before his friendship with Oliver was as close as it would become later. The last two issues deal with Kyle vs. Hal vs. Hal. Parallax (before
13197-519: The demonic realm, with help from entities such as the Phantom Stranger and Zatanna , and, with Kyle Rayner's aid, manages to win Molly's soul back, reuniting Molly's essence with her soulless being. He has since been physically altered again so that he more closely resembles his true chronological age. He returns to using the name "Green Lantern" during the JSA's battle with Mordru . He continues to fight crime in his original costumed identity, rebuilding
13356-547: The direct market in 1982. These changes in policy shaped the future of the medium as a whole, and in the short term allowed DC to entice creators away from rival Marvel, and encourage stability on individual titles. In November 1980 DC launched the ongoing series The New Teen Titans , by writer Marv Wolfman and artist George Pérez , two popular talents with a history of success. Their superhero-team comic, superficially similar to Marvel's ensemble series X-Men , but rooted in DC history, earned significant sales in part due to
13515-512: The distribution of NPP's shows. A 1966 Batman TV show on the ABC network sparked a temporary spike in comic book sales and a brief fad for superheroes in Saturday morning animation ( Filmation produced most of DC's initial cartoons) and other media. DC significantly lightened the tone of many of its comics—particularly Batman and Detective Comics —to better complement the "camp" tone of
13674-723: The end of 2009. By 2007, DC was licensing characters from the Archie Comics imprint Red Circle Comics . They appeared in the Red Circle line, based in the DC Universe, with a series of one-shots followed by a miniseries that led into two ongoing titles that each lasted for ten issues. In 2011, DC rebooted all of its running titles following the Flashpoint storyline. The reboot called The New 52 gave new origin stories and costume designs to many of DC's characters. DC licensed pulp characters including Doc Savage and
13833-660: The end of his Golden Age adventures, he got a sidekick and companion pet in Streak the Wonder Dog – a heroic canine in the mold of Rin-Tin-Tin and Lassie – who was later retconned as a member of the Space Canine Patrol Agents , and the Legion of Super-Pets . In All-American Comics #38, it's revealed his middle name is Wellington . A part of Scott's early history is filled out with retroactive continuity . All-Star Squadron Annual #3 states that
13992-416: The events of Zero Hour #0) was jumping through space-time when he notices a disturbance and investigated. Sensing his past self in a time when he shouldn't have been there, Parallax intends to send Hal back to his proper time. Kyle fought against Parallax, but is unable to stop Parallax and Hal from squaring off against each other. After Parallax and Hal fight each other to a standstill - even travelling all
14151-450: The example of Atlas/Seaboard Comics and such independent companies as Eclipse Comics —DC began to offer royalties in place of the industry-standard work-for-hire agreement in which creators worked for a flat fee and signed away all rights, giving talent a financial incentive tied to the success of their work. As it happened, the implementation of these incentives proved opportune considering Marvel Comics' Editor-in-Chief, Jim Shooter ,
14310-676: The fact that he would be defeated - because Parallax was needed to stop the Sun-Eater during The Final Night . Acknowledging that he is proud to have him carry on the Green Lantern tradition, Hal hugged Kyle, whispering to him "You'll know what to do with it", before all three joined forces: Parallax would be responsible for returning everyone to their proper place in time, Hal's ring would wipe his and Parallax's minds of these events, and Kyle's ring acted to boost their power. With both Hal and Parallax back in their proper time - Hal having defeated Sinestro on his own and Parallax revealing himself as
14469-467: The father to the superheroes Obsidian and Jade , each with powers somewhat like his own, through Alan's first wife Rose Canton . Following the Crisis on Infinite Earths continuity reboot, Earth-Two is destroyed and Alan transported to the main universe. In 2011, " The New 52 " introduced a new Multiverse , depicting a young Earth-2 version of Alan who was an out gay man. The "original" version of Alan
14628-509: The fighter jet, which resulted in him being discharged due to the need for a scapegoat for the lost plane, since Hardy had escaped during the fight. Hardy now intends to send a plane to Seattle with a bomb supplied by The Eden Corps, a group of radical environmentalists who were responsible for Ollie's death. Teamed up with the current Green Arrow, Connor Hawke (although he is shocked to learn of Connor's connection to Oliver), Hal first loses his ring to Hardy, but eventually gets it back and saves
14787-495: The first character to bear the name Green Lantern . He fights evil with the aid of his mystical ring, which grants him a variety of powers. He was created by Martin Nodell and Bill Finger , first appearing in the comic book All-American Comics #16, published on July 10, 1940. Alan Scott was created after Nodell became inspired by the characters from Greek, Norse, and Middle Eastern myths and tales, including Aladdin from One Thousand and One Nights , and sought to create
14946-463: The first comic book to feature the character archetype later known as the "superhero", Action Comics was a sales hit that brought to life a new age of comic books, now affectionately termed the "Golden Age" . Action Comics #1 is credited as featuring the first appearance of Superman, both on the cover illustration and inside the issue, and is now one of the most valuable and sought-after comic book issues of all time. The first Superman tale included
15105-686: The first mention of Batman's utility belt by Gardner Fox . Outside of DC's publishing, a character later integrated as DC was introduced by Fox Feature Syndicate named the Blue Beetle released in August 1939. Fictional cities were a common theme of DC; the first revealed city was Superman's home city of Metropolis , originally named in Action Comics No. 16 (September 1939). Detective Comics No. 31 (September 1939) by Gardner Fox, Bob Kane and Sheldon Moldoff introduced
15264-639: The first recurring Superman enemy referred to as the Ultra-Humanite ; created by Siegel and Shuster, this is commonly cited as one of the earliest supervillains in comic books. The Superman character had another breakthrough when he was given his own comic book series , which was previously unheard of. The first issue, published in June 1939, helped directly introduce Superman's adoptive parents, Jonathan and Martha Kent , also created by Siegel and Shuster. Detective Comics No. 29 (July 1939) included
15423-520: The fortress. When they finally find him, Jade uses her powers to restore Alan to normal. With his sanity restored, Alan chooses to allow the Emerald City he created on the moon to stay and the city becomes populated by various magical creatures from throughout the DCU. After the events of the "Brightest Day", Alan and the rest of the JSA travel to the city of Monument Point, which has been attacked by
15582-546: The green metal, which were fulfilled). When Alan received the lantern, the spirit directed Alan to create the power ring and persona of Green Lantern, complete with the ring's weakness to wood. Through the machinations of Waverider , the JSA teammates are able to leave Limbo and begin living in the Post- Crisis Earth they had fought to save. The miniseries is followed by Justice Society of America (1992–1993), which shows how Alan Scott adjusts to his new world. In
15741-503: The groundwork for a full continuity-reshuffling sequel to Crisis on Infinite Earths , promising substantial changes to the DC Universe (and side-stepping the 1994 Zero Hour event which similarly tried to ret-con the history of the DCU). In 2005, the critically lauded Batman Begins film was released; also, the company published several limited series establishing increasingly escalating conflicts among DC's heroes, with events climaxing in
15900-416: The group later discovered Van'n Intraktus was a traitor. Van'n had used his ring to enslave his home planet and planned to invade and conquer other worlds. The Green Lanterns eventually stopped the renegade after a battle, but at the cost of one of their own, Hammeroon. This led Kyle to the realization that he was not the right person to choose the future corps members and took all of the power rings back, until
16059-399: The heroes away from the time-space ripple caused by Alexander Luthor, Jr. 's actions was splintered by the ripple itself, mutilating the heroes in various ways. In Week 5, Alan goes to the wife and daughter of Animal Man to tell them that Animal Man is missing in space. This gives Ellen Baker more hope that her husband is alive. In Week 29, Alan, Wildcat , and Jay Garrick (Flash) are
16218-462: The late 1960s that Scott marries the woman with the dual identity Rose and Thorn . They have a pair of children who would grow up to become the superheroes Jade and Obsidian of the team Infinity, Inc. In the 1980s, Scott married his reformed former nemesis, Molly Mayne , also known as The Harlequin , reconciling with his son and daughter. The Last Days of the Justice Society of America Special (1986) one-shot tells how Adolf Hitler caused
16377-489: The limelight. Hal winds up having some solo adventures in Kyle's time, including fighting Kalibak , another of Darkseid 's sons, when Kalibak tries to challenge Hal to prove his own skill, and Vince Hardy, an old acquaintance who Hal knew during his fighter-pilot days. Hardy had fought against Hal for control of a fighter jet they were test-piloting, which Hardy intended to sell to arms dealers, but Hal fought him off and crashed
16536-446: The line was dramatically reduced and standard-size books returned to 17-page stories but for a still increased 40 cents. By 1980, the books returned to 50 cents with a 25-page story count but the story pages replaced house ads in the books. Seeking new ways to boost market share , the new team of publisher Kahn, vice president Paul Levitz , and managing editor Giordano addressed the issue of talent instability. To that end—and following
16695-404: The local peasants to successfully attack and mortally wound Yalan with simple wooden clubs. Yalan flew into the sky and raged against the Guardians. His body burned in the atmosphere, becoming the green metallic meteorite that ultimately became Alan Scott's lantern. Yalan's spirit also possessed the metal, promising death in his rage and life when he realized his mistakes (the first two prophecies of
16854-423: The local villagers killed him, only to be destroyed by a sudden burst of the green flame. For the second, in modern times, the lamp came into the hands of a patient of a mental institution who fashioned the lamp into a modern train lantern. The green flame restored his sanity and gave him a new life. For the third, by 1940, after having already fulfilled the first two-thirds of this prophecy, the lantern fashioned from
17013-547: The long-running fantasy series Elfquest , previously self-published by creators Wendy and Richard Pini under their WaRP Graphics publication banner. This series then followed another non-DC title, Tower Comics ' series T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents , in collection into DC Archive Editions. In 2004, DC temporarily acquired the North American publishing rights to graphic novels from European publishers 2000 AD and Humanoids . It also rebranded its younger-audience titles with
17172-408: The main villain behind Zero Hour - Kyle reflects on recent events with Jen, his girlfriend... before revealing that Hal gave Kyle a copy of his Green Lantern ring. Kyle eventually copies Hal's power ring and gives it to Alan Scott 's daughter, Jennifer-Lynn Hayden , allowing her to follow in her father's footsteps as the first female Green Lantern of Earth. In Green Lantern: The New Corps , during
17331-562: The major DC characters. Crisis featured many key deaths that shaped the DC Universe for the following decades, and it separated the timeline of DC publications into pre- and post-"Crisis". Meanwhile, a parallel update had started in the non-superhero and horror titles. Since early 1984, the work of British writer Alan Moore had revitalized the horror series The Saga of the Swamp Thing , and soon numerous British writers, including Neil Gaiman and Grant Morrison , began freelancing for
17490-413: The manner usually associated with fellow Green Lantern, Hal Jordan . His ring could protect him against any object made of metal, but would not protect him against any wood- or plant-based objects. During the 1940s, Green Lantern seemed to alternate between serious adventure, particularly when Solomon Grundy , his nemesis, appeared and light comedy, usually involving his sidekick, Doiby Dickles . Toward
17649-449: The mascot Johnny DC and established the CMX imprint to reprint translated manga . In 2006, CMX took over from Dark Horse Comics ' publication of the webcomic Megatokyo in print form. DC also took advantage of the demise of Kitchen Sink Press and acquired the rights to much of the work of Will Eisner , such as his The Spirit series and his graphic novels. In 2004, DC began laying
17808-456: The members of the JLA prepare to wage a counterattack, Eclipso destroys the Moon, apparently dooming all life on Earth. With the Moon destroyed, Eclipso then seemingly kills Donna Troy, the physically strongest remaining member of the Justice League. However, it is ultimately revealed that Donna's death was an illusion conjured by Saint Walker, who used his blue power ring to temporarily trap Eclipso in
17967-401: The meteoric metal fell into the hands of Alan Scott, a young railroad engineer. Following a railroad bridge collapse, the flame instructs Scott in how to fashion a ring from its metal, to give him fantastic powers as the superhero Green Lantern . He adopts a colorful costume of red, purple, brown, yellow, and green. He becomes a crimefighter in his first adventure, defeating the crooks who caused
18126-408: The most popular superhero titles continued publication, including Action Comics and Detective Comics , the medium's two longest-running titles. In the mid-1950s, editorial director Irwin Donenfeld and publisher Liebowitz directed editor Julius Schwartz (whose roots lay in the science-fiction book market) to produce a one-shot Flash story in the try-out title Showcase . Instead of reviving
18285-522: The name "Alan Scott" by flipping through New York telephone books until he got two names he liked. The character of Alan Scott made his debut in All-American Comics #16 (July 1940), fighting crime under the masked identity of "Green Lantern". He also appeared as part of the superhero team Justice Society of America in All Star Comics #3 (Winter 1940). He served as the team's second chairman in #7, but departed following that issue and returned
18444-526: The old character, Schwartz had writers Robert Kanigher and John Broome , penciler Carmine Infantino , and inker Joe Kubert create an entirely new super-speedster, updating and modernizing the Flash's civilian identity, costume, and origin with a science-fiction bent. The Flash's reimagining in Showcase No. 4 (October 1956) proved sufficiently popular that it soon led to a similar revamping of
18603-472: The only members of the JSA present on Thanksgiving . They talk about the other members of the JSA and about the new Infinity Inc. , which is a new version of a team of which Alan's daughter, Jade, was a member. After being put into a comatose state during an attack by the Gentleman Ghost , Alan envisions Jade, who tells him goodbye and grants him another portion of her green energy. His missing eye
18762-437: The organization from being discontinued by political forces. After the rise of the being Gog , Alan Scott allies with the Justice Society members that oppose Gog's simplistic view of the world. However, after encountering a Justice Society from an alternate universe in which his daughter Jade is still alive, he considers asking the seemingly all powerful being to raise his daughter from the dead. Later, Sandman learns that Gog
18921-469: The other imprints was Impact Comics from 1991 to 1992 in which the Archie Comics superheroes were licensed and revamped. The stories in the line were part of its own shared universe. DC entered into a publishing agreement with Milestone Media that gave DC a line of comics featuring a culturally and racially diverse range of superhero characters. Although the Milestone line ceased publication after
19080-423: The others, Alan appears in front of him and tears his gem, the source of his abilities, from his chest, thus rendering him powerless. The Starheart uses its influence to corrupt various metahumans with magical or elemental abilities, which creates chaos across the globe. Realizing that the heroes must defeat Alan to end the chaos, Batman recruits Miss Martian to get a mental lock on Starman, which, in turn, provides
19239-460: The powers of JSA members, but D'arken is too powerful. Due to this only non-superpowered and magical members fight D'arken. The JSA tells Alan that unleashing the Starheart is the only way to destroy D'arken. However, after releasing the Starheart energies, Alan's body begins to incinerate. Afterwards, the JSA attend a funeral for Alan, whom they believe to be dead. In Doomsday Clock , Johnny Thunder finds Alan Scott's Green Lantern power battery in
19398-658: The publisher's most popular heroes, Alan became a founding member of the Justice Society of America , one of the first such teams of "mystery men" or superheroes in comic books. Following World War II , the character's popularity faded along with the decline of the Golden Age of Comic Books , leading to cancellation. After eight years out of print, DC reinvented Green Lantern as science fiction hero Hal Jordan in 1959. Later, DC revisited Alan Scott, establishing that he and Hal existed on Earth-Two and Earth-One respectively. Later stories set on Earth-Two depicted Alan becoming
19557-464: The reanimated Kal-L and Black Lantern versions of dead Justice Society members. After Jakeem Thunder is knocked out, Alan is one of the heroes who adds his powers into a "Black Lantern Bomb" designed to mimic Jakeem's Thunderbolt abilities, destroying all of the Black Lanterns in New York. In the final battle of the event, his daughter Jade is resurrected by the power of white light. In
19716-603: The remaining Green Lantern ring. After meeting the young hero, he informs him of the situations with Jordan and the Green Lantern Corps . During the Zero Hour event, Alan witnesses the villain Extant incapacitate and kill several of his JSA teammates. After suffering defeat by the villain, Alan gives Kyle his original ring, passing the name "Green Lantern" to him. Alan's ring was later destroyed by Parallax. For
19875-407: The request, and many of the members retired in the 1950s. The team rebands in the 1960s with Scott as a member, though little is known of their adventures during this time, save for stories about their team-ups with the Justice League of America , the parallel world Earth-One, and cross-universe adventures Scott shares with Earth-One's Green Lantern, Hal Jordan. It was eventually revealed that in
20034-463: The second week before I heard the word to come in. I was ushered into Mr. [Max] Gaines ' office, publisher, and after sitting a long time and flipping through the pages of my presentation, he announced, "We like it!" And then, "Get to work!" I did the first five pages of an eight-page story, and then they called in Bill Finger to help. We worked on it for seven years [through 1947]. Nodell chose
20193-546: The short-lived series, the JSA fight the newest incarnation of the Ultra-Humanite as well as Pol St. Germain and Kulak the Sorcerer . Scott reconnects with his wife and children, stating in issue #1 that Molly "is pretty much handling things at the company..." and that Jade and Obsidian "... are fine off doing their own thing in Hollywood. Not too interested in being super-heroes." The series ends with issue #10, not with
20352-449: The specific inducement, Marvel Comics' writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby ushered in the sub-Silver Age "Marvel Age" of comics with the debut issue of The Fantastic Four . Reportedly, DC dismissed the initial success of Marvel's editorial change until its consistently strengthening sales—albeit also benefiting DC's parent company Independent News, as Marvel's distributor—made it impossible to ignore. This commercial situation
20511-511: The stability of the creative team, who both continued with the title for six full years. In addition, Wolfman and Pérez took advantage of the limited-series option to create a spin-off title, Tales of the New Teen Titans , to present origin stories of their original characters without having to break the narrative flow of the main series or oblige them to double their work load with another ongoing title. This successful revitalization of
20670-490: The stock market in 1961. Despite the official names "National Comics" and "National Periodical Publications", the company began branding itself as "Superman-DC" as early as 1940 and became known colloquially as DC Comics for years before the official adoption of that name in 1977. DC Comics began to move aggressively against what it saw as copyright-violating imitations from other companies, such as Fox Comics ' Wonder Man , which (according to court testimony) Fox started as
20829-498: The successful Batwoman , Bat-Girl , Ace the Bat-Hound , and Bat-Mite in an attempt to modernize the strip with non-science-fiction elements. Schwartz and Infantino then revitalized Batman in what the company promoted as the "New Look", with relatively down-to-earth stories re-emphasizing Batman as a detective. Meanwhile, editor Kanigher successfully introduced a whole family of Wonder Woman characters having fantastic adventures in
20988-436: The team disbanding, but with the members gathering together at their first formal meeting after returning home. Alan follows Guy Gardner and a small group of heroes to investigate a mysterious distress from Oa, only to be defeated by Hal Jordan, who now calls himself Parallax , having been driven mad after the destruction of his home, Coast City . After the confrontation, Alan discovers that an artist, Kyle Rayner , inherits
21147-420: The time was right for the Corps' rebirth. After erecting a memorial for Hammeroon, Rayner returned to Earth. The former "New" Lanterns, no longer having their power rings, decided to continue their intergalactic adventures. Jennifer eventually gave back the power ring Kyle had given her after she regained her Starheart powers and became the superheroine Jade once more. Even so, she is still considered to many as
21306-471: The title of the 1940s publication ), designed to feature some of the company's best-known characters in stories that eschewed the long and convoluted continuity of the DC Universe. The line began with All-Star Batman & Robin the Boy Wonder and All-Star Superman , and All-Star Wonder Woman and All-Star Batgirl was announced in 2006, but neither of these stories had been released or scheduled as of
21465-422: The use of non-traditional contractual arrangements, including the dramatic rise of creator-owned projects, leading to a significant increase in critically lauded work (much of it for Vertigo) and the licensing of material from other companies. DC also increased publication of book-store friendly formats, including trade paperback collections of individual serial comics, as well as original graphic novels . One of
21624-491: The violent nature of Checkmate, particularly after Bordeaux and her team slaughter dozens of Kobra operatives during a raid on a facility. Bordeaux contends that the ends justify the means, while Scott adheres to the principle that heroes should not kill unless absolutely necessary. Bordeaux responds by suggesting that Scott resign. Concurrent with this internal conflict, Scott and the White Queen ( Amanda Waller ) try to keep
21783-475: The way back to Coast City mere seconds before it was destroyed as Parallax attempts to win Hal over - Kyle intervenes yet again. Kyle explained that both men had to go back to their proper places in time - and what's more, they had to have no knowledge of these experiences. Hal refuses to go back if it meant that he would turn into Parallax, but Kyle explained that Hal had to go back - and Parallax had to go back, despite
21942-401: The writers and artists who had worked for DC without receiving much recognition during the early age of comic books when individual credits were rare. The comics industry experienced a brief boom in the early 1990s, thanks to a combination of speculative purchasing—mass purchase of the books as collectible items, with the intention to resell at a higher value (as the rising value of older issues
22101-456: Was retconned as being influenced by a fear entity, Parallax. After defeating and imprisoning Parallax, Ganthet and the reborn Guardians succeeded in rebuilding the Green Lantern Corps. The title is in keeping with some of the major storylines that have been told in dealing with Parallax, including Emerald Twilight (Hal going insane at losing Coast City and eventually becoming Parallax) and Emerald Fallout ( Guy Gardner , in possession of
22260-636: Was "forever" trapped in an extra-dimensional realm. The character was brought back in the 1990s due to fan interest. Rather than update Alan Scott as a contemporary young hero as had been done with Batman and Superman, Alan Scott was instead written as a veteran of World War II with a magically prolonged lifespan. To distinguish Alan Scott from Hal Jordan, his superhero codename was for a time changed to "Sentinel" and he lost his magic ring, manifesting his powers through his glowing hands instead. In JSA #50 (2003) he regained his classic codename and ring, though he remained apart from Hal Jordan's Green Lantern Corps. He
22419-543: Was a regular character in JSA and Justice Society of America . In 2011, DC Comics again rebooted their fictional properties, erasing Alan from Earth Prime and instead having a new version of Alan Scott that once again exists on Earth-2, where Hal Jordan and his Green Lantern Corps do not exist. This new Alan Scott is no longer a grizzled veteran of World War II, but a fresh young superhero. He first appears in Earth 2 #3 (2012) with
22578-412: Was alienating much of his company's creative staff with his authoritarian manner and major talents there went to DC like Roy Thomas , Gene Colan , Marv Wolfman , and George Pérez . In addition, emulating the era's new television form, the miniseries while addressing the matter of an excessive number of ongoing titles fizzling out within a few issues of their start, DC created the industry concept of
22737-432: Was allowed to live. Doctor Mid-Nite discovers that the injuries Alan sustained have rendered him paralyzed, and that any attempt to heal himself could break his constant concentration, which could result in the Starheart once again regaining control of his body. Jade visits her bed-ridden father in the Emerald City, and offers to use her abilities to help him walk again. Alan declines his daughter's offer, reasoning that if
22896-444: Was charging fifteen cents. At this time, the senior DC staff were reportedly unable to explain how this small publishing house was achieving its increasingly threatening commercial strength. For instance, when Marvel's product was examined in a meeting, the emphasis on more sophisticated character-based narrative and artist-driven visual storytelling was apparently overlooked. Instead, superficial reasons were put forward to account for
23055-628: Was featured in Detective Comics No. 20 (October 1938). This character is known to be the first masked vigilante published by DC. An unnamed "office boy", retconned as Jimmy Olsen 's first appearance, was revealed in a Superman story by Siegel and Shuster in Action Comics No. 6 (November 1938). Starting in 1939, Siegel and Shuster's Superman was the first comic-derived character to appear in other formats, later featuring in his own newspaper comic strip , which first introduced his biological parents Jor-El and Lara . All-American Publications' debut comic series, All-American Comics ,
23214-740: Was first named in a Superman newspaper strip around November 1939. Doll Man was the first superhero to be produced by Quality Comics , which DC now owns. Fawcett Comics was formed around 1939 and became DC's original competitor company over the next decade. At the end of 1944, All-American titles began using its own logo to distinguish it from the National comics. All-American Publications , an affiliate concern co-owned by Gaines and Liebowitz, merged with Detective Comics, Inc. on September 30, 1946, forming National Comics Publications . The previous year, in June 1945, Gaines had allowed Liebowitz to buy him out and had retained only Picture Stories from
23373-573: Was first published in April 1939. The series Detective Comics made history as being the first to feature Batman —a Bob Kane and Bill Finger creation—in issue No.27 (March 1939) with the request of more superhero titles. Batman was depicted as a masked vigilante who wore a caped suit known as the Batsuit and drove a car that was later referred to as the Batmobile . The Batman story also included
23532-581: Was forced out after the first year. Shortly afterwards, Detective Comics, Inc. purchased the remains of National Allied (also known as Nicholson Publishing) at a bankruptcy auction and absorbed it. Meanwhile, Max Gaines formed the sister company All-American Publications in 1939. Detective Comics, Inc. soon launched a new anthology title called Action Comics ; the first issue , cover dated June 1938, featured new characters such as Superman by Siegel and Shuster, Zatara by Fred Guardineer , and Tex Thompson by Ken Finch and Bernard Baily . Considered as
23691-418: Was highlighted by Marvel's superior sell-through percentage numbers which were typically 70% to DC's roughly 50%, meaning that DC's publications were barely making a profit after returns from the distributors were factored in, while Marvel was making a healthy profit by comparison. Also in 1961, both DC and Marvel increased their cover price from ten cents to twelve cents, while the rival publisher Dell Comics
23850-507: Was in All-Star Comics #57 (1951). He remained out of publication for 12 years, and after his revival he did not get another solo series until 2023. In 1959, DC Comics editor Julius Schwartz reinvented Green Lantern as a science fiction hero. The new Green Lantern, named Hal Jordan , was empowered by alien masters to serve as an interstellar lawman and had many adventures set in outer space. His powers were similar to Alan's but he
24009-457: Was in response to Marvel's efforts to market their superhero line to college-aged adults. Infantino also recruited major talents such as ex-Marvel artist and Spider-Man co-creator Steve Ditko , and promising newcomers Neal Adams and Denny O'Neil , and he replaced some existing DC editors with artist-editors, including Joe Kubert and Dick Giordano , to give DC's output a more artistic critical eye. In 1967, National Periodical Publications
24168-538: Was otherwise completely unrelated—Alan Scott never existed as far as the new stories were concerned. Hal Jordan proved popular, but readers still had an interest in the old Green Lantern. Some years later, Alan Scott reappeared as a guest star in The Flash #137 (1963). To avoid continuity conflicts with the Hal Jordan character, Alan Scott and all his old stories were retconned as having existed on Earth-Two , in
24327-470: Was plagiarized by Stan Lee to create The X-Men . There was also the young Jim Shooter who purposely emulated Marvel's writing when he wrote for DC after studying both companies' styles, such as for the Legion of Super-Heroes feature. In 1966, National Periodical Publications established its own television arm, led by Allen Ducovny, to develop and produce TV projects, with Superman TV Corporation handling
24486-456: Was purchased by Kinney National Company , which purchased Warner Bros.-Seven Arts in 1969. Kinney National spun off its non-entertainment assets in 1972 (as National Kinney Corporation ) and changed its name to Warner Communications Inc. In 1970, Jack Kirby moved from Marvel Comics to DC, at the end of the Silver Age of Comics , in which Kirby's contributions to Marvel played a large, integral role. As artist Gil Kane described: Jack
24645-475: Was the introduction of the fictional mansion known as Wayne Manor first seen in Detective Comics No. 28 (June 1939). The series Adventure Comics followed in the footsteps of Action Comics and Detective Comics by featuring a new recurring superhero called Sandman who first appeared in Adventure Comics No. 40 (July 1939). Action Comics No. 13 (June 1939) introduced
24804-417: Was the single most influential figure in the turnaround in Marvel's fortunes from the time he rejoined the company ... It wasn't merely that Jack conceived most of the characters that are being done, but ... Jack's point of view and philosophy of drawing became the governing philosophy of the entire publishing company and, beyond the publishing company, of the entire field ... [Marvel took] Jack and use[d] him as
24963-464: Was thought to imply that all comics would rise dramatically in price)—and several storylines gaining attention from the mainstream media. DC's extended storylines in which Superman was killed , Batman was crippled , and Green Lantern turned into the supervillain Parallax , resulted in dramatically increased sales. However, the increases were temporary, and sales dropped off as the industry went into
25122-421: Was to convince Bill Sarnoff, the head of Warner Publishing, to keep DC as a publishing concern, as opposed to simply managing their licensing of their properties. With that established, DC had attempted to compete with the now-surging Marvel by dramatically increasing its output and attempting to win the market by flooding it. This included launching series featuring such new characters as Firestorm and Shade,
25281-449: Was unlike many comic book series before it. While DC Comics is now primarily associated with superhero comics , the genres in the first anthology titles consisted of funnies , Western comics , and adventure-related stories. The character Doctor Occult —created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster in December 1935 and included in issue No. 6 of New Fun Comics —is considered to be the earliest recurring superhero created by DC that
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