ASK... THE QUESTION! Column Submission Thread

Happy 30th BTAS Anniversary! I actually have an article coming this week about how great Batman Adventures is as a Batman comics starting point.

My three favorite episodes of BTAS episodes are Clock King, Joker’s Favor, and The Man Who Killed Batman. All episodes about a regular guy in Gotham pushed too far.

My favorite issue of Batman Adventures: hard to choose, but if we’re talking the original 1992 series, I’d go with issue #13, which really dives into Batman’s romance with Talia.

As for which character I’d like to hang out with: I have to say Alfred. He definitely has some stories to tell.

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Zack Snyder has been coy about this plot thread in the past, saying it was meant to be revealed in future installments of his film saga as he envisioned it, but that information has never been made public. If I had to venture my own theory however, based on some ancillary supporting material to Man of Steel, I would guess that it would have been Superman’s cousin, Kara. But that’s speculation on my part. We may never know.

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Awesome can’t wait to read your article and Thankyou, Couple of years ago I emailed to the former editor of The Batman Adventures Scott Peterson and he wrote back thanking me for a kind email and glad all his hard work was worth it, but his most favorite was Batman: Gotham Adventures. Probably cause he wrote so many great stories in the series.
Here’s my 3 answer to my questions…

  1. I would say Joker’s Favor & Almost Got’em are my favorites.

  2. The Batman Adventures #16 where Joker kidnapped a comic artist and share his crime story through a comic book.

  3. I’d probably would like to hangout with Harvey Bullock, maybe have coffee & Donuts to talk about Batman. :laughing:

Thankyou again so much, and have a great day. I’ll keep checking for your article. :grinning:

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Didn’t a digital comic kill off Kara?

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Didn’t Batman v Superman kill off Superman?

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Dang!!! What’s a one back

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Touche

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Is three Jokers Canon?

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That’s a complicated question, and the answer varies depending on who you ask. Three Jokers was published under DC’s Black Label imprint, which is designed not to affect continuity. However, certain writers- mainly, Three Jokers’ own author, Geoff Johns- will sometimes allude to the events and backstory it establishes in projects before and since it was published as if it were. What we can conclude is that some version of Three Jokers has occurred in continuity, but it may not have precisely gone down as it appeared in the Black Label book. The specific details, or whether it even took place at all as we recognize it, are left to speculation. Like The Killing Joke, Three Jokers’ lasting impact on continuity will ultimately be determined by its popularity with readers.

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Cool, Thanks for your reply.

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In the latest issue of Flashpoint Beyond DC may or may not have made the Jokers’ (real name) canon. That started me wondering how many different names has the Joker had in DC comics?

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This is a really good question. Earmarking this for next month’s column.

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Speaking of Mr. “J,” we all know how an (as yet) unknown, took a swan dive into a vat of chemical waste, which physically transformed his appearance. And apparently created a criminal genius, in the process. Gaining snow white skin, red lips and turning the hair on his body, a lovely shade of green. I’m curious though. Did it also destroy his fingerprints? Or have any detrimental effect on his teeth? Some of the most basic physicality on the human body (along with birth marks, tattoos, scars etc.), and used by law enforcement to I.D. bodies (dead or alive) in their custody.

Just what is it, that has made the Joker such an unidentifiable entity, all these years?

PS - Just read the column. Nice update on Ace. Likewise the coverage on L.L. and her spelling. Never use Spellcheck myself (as if that isn’t visibly evident). Still trying to master the language after all these years. So I’d be one of the last to call out someone for “an honest error.” Keep up the good work, o’ wise one!

Stay safe, be well.

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9-11, another date “that will live in infamy” is with us once again. I’ve debated how to honor those who died on that day, 21 years ago. And all those who have succumb to illness as a result of toxins and other poisons that literally arose from the ashes of that horror. Lord knows, I’m no John Stewart. A man who’s activism on behalf of the surviving First Responders, finally shamed our Congress enough to do the right thing for their well earned medical benefits! But this platform does give me a voice to squeeze some of that reality, into the fictional world of the DCU.

In looking back over my 9-11 DC Special Edition comic (the proceeds of which went to various charities), I’m reminded of times when DC has spotlighted first responders in the past. Not really identified as such, in those days. They were just the police officers, fire fighters and medical professionals that we all relied on (then, as now), in our times of need. The JL animated episodes titled “Fury” put the all female forces of those city services on stage. Showing viewers that men are not alone in giving their all for their fellow citizens.

All of which reminded me of the first issue of Showcase, back in March of '56. The title was simply " Fire Fighters." And before the Silver Age swept in, much of the 50s belonged to characters like the Suicide Squad, Blackhawks and the Challengers. Taking on the renegade robots, dinosaurs, giant insects and aliens from other worlds and dimensions. Normal, but highly trained specialists, who stepped up, when called. Very much reflecting the movie heroes of that time, who did the same thing, on the big screen.

Gotham Central and Metropolis S.C.U. did their bit to spotlight the flesh and blood cops who try to maintain order on the streets of their cities. But those titles are gone now. Returned to background characters in the cape 'n cowl world from whence they sprang. Maybe they’ll have their time on the stands again, someday. One can only hope.

Stay safe, be well.

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So I’m going through the who’s who #1 and there’s bo first Appearance for Atlantis the DC wiki said it’s Action Comics #18 (Golden Age) in a Zatara story but Wikipedia says Adventure Comics #260 (Silver Age), basically my question is which is the true first Appearance and what do you think was atlantis before or after namor??

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Is Martha Wayne related to the Arkham family?

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That connection is established in the Batman: Earth One graphic novel series written by Geoff Johns, which is set in a different continuity than the mainstream comics. However, Batman: Earth One was one of the main inspirations for The Batman film, hence the connection there.

In regular continuity, Martha is part of the Kane family, one of the founding families of Gotham. A very different origin of the Arkham family is currently being explored in Ram V’s Detective Comics.

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The true first appearance of Atlantis is in Plato’s dialogues, circa 360 BC. It’s a widely known mythological concept which many stories have borrowed from, and it would be fallacious to credit DC or Marvel with using them “first.” Both draw from the same inspiration.

That said: the reason for the discrepancy is that 1940’s Action Comics #18 is the first time Atlantis appears in any DC story, specifically featuring Zatara. The mythological Atlantis would appear in many DC comics between then and 1959’s Adventure Comics #260, but the Atlantis in that instance is the first time we see the city specifically associated with Aquaman, in a definitive way which would persist through comics since that point. Beginning with Adventure #260, Atlantis became specifically an Aquaman-related concept in DC comics as opposed to a reference to the long established myth of the sunken city.

To address the last part of your question: Namor first appeared in Marvel comics in 1939, before the first comic appearance of Atlantis or Aquaman. However, Namor would not be associated with Atlantis until 1962’s Fantastic 4 #4, years after DC connected Aquaman to Atlantis.

So you could really say that while Marvel had their aquatic hero before DC, DC had the Atlantis origins before Marvel. This sort of back-and-forth concept borrowing between companies is quite common, and persists to this day.

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Having just read everything Marvel Golden Age, I mean Timely and Atlas, if that’s true, how did I not notice that?

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I’m no Marvel expert, but I can surmise that early Namor stories didn’t focus too much on his origins, and when they did involve an undersea home, it wasn’t named.

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