Last summer in Stargirl’s Earth Prime tv tie-in James Robinson had the original Blue Beetles’ sidekick Sparky make his first DC and first comic appearance in decades. They mentioned Fawcett hero Diamond Jack in the new issue of JSA. That caused me to wonder what was the longest time period to date between DC acquiring other companies characters and them actually using them?
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I was checking out your Trivia Tuesday posting today. One of the rules you laid out referred to a Speed Force Round. That reminded me of a query of mine some time ago. One which has thus far, gone unanswered. And, since it’s on my mind again, I figured, what the heck. So sir, again I ask, why have none of the Superman Family ever had any involvement with the Speed Force? Is there some kind of proprietary ownership by the Flash folks that doesn’t permit any “sharing” of the Force? Or is it something else?
Then again, I don’t follow these things on a regular basis anymore. Maybe there’s been a whole storyline or mini-series out there, I know nothing about. I guess, that’s where you come in, oh mighty Qmeister. 
Stay safe, be well.
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DC acquired the Charlton Comics heroes in 1983, from which DC inherited Sparky, previously of Fox Features Syndicate in the 1940s. From his acquisition to his first use by DC in 2022 would be a span of 29 years. As for Fawcett, DC first licensed their collection of characters in 1972, acquiring them fully in 1994. From 1972 to 2023, when Diamond Jack appeared just recently, is 51 years. Mathematically, no character from Fawcett or Charlton can beat that number based on when they were acquired.
But what about Quality Comics? Quality, the original home of Plastic Man and the Freedom Fighters, was purchased by DC in 1956. If there are any Quality characters who were first used by DC in 2007 at the earliest, that would beat Diamond Jack’s record.
We may have a surprising winner as of this January. Miss Murder, originally the name of a Doll Man villain from the Quality Comics years, appears as an enforcer of The Fraction in The Flash #791. Maybe the shared name is a coincidence, but until proven otherwise I’m counting it.
OK, quick lesson about how the Speed Force works. It’s not merely a matter of going really fast, but tapping into a subplanar realm of pure speed by establishing a connection to it. Barry Allen did this when he was struck by lightning while adjacent to an array of chemicals which coincidentally gave him the ability to tap into it. Bursts of the Speed Force into our own realm are what empowers The Flash and his allies. It’s not speedsters who initially access the Speed Force, but the Speed Force which chooses them… sort of like a more localized Green Lantern ring. There have been a number of villains who have tapped into the Speed Force by, well, force, but that’s never been a good thing. Messing with the fundamental underpinning forces of the universe for your own gain always spells catastrophic imbalance. Which could explain why heroes like Superman have never sought a way to connect to it.
That’s not to say it’s never happened before. Take, for instance, Batman, who seeks out the Speed Force in Dark Nights: Batman: The Red Death. As I stated earlier regarding Flash’s speedster villains… the results are less than ideal. Best to leave the Speed Force well enough alone, until the lightning comes for you.
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Veeeeery Good! I liked that!
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UPDATE: I have conferred with Jeremy Adams, writer of this issue, who informs me that the name usage is in fact a coincidence. For the TRUE answer… look for the next edition of the column on DC.com.
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Has Cyrus Gold ever been married?
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In the 2009 Solomon Grundy miniseries by Scott Kolins, we do briefly get to know Cyrus’s wife, Pearl. In 1870, Cyrus killed Pearl’s first husband, Jeremiah Newman, so they could be together. Before too long, Cyrus became violent and abusive towards Pearl, and her children from the previous marriage. The implication is present that Cyrus may have killed her, as well. But the truth, like so many details of Cyrus Gold’s life, is long forgotten.
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Very crucial detail, since he worked on the issue where he was brought up.
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Has DC ever crossed over with Star Wars?
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There have been Star Wars references in DC Comics practically since the film’s release – Beast Boy (or Changeling, as he was known at the time), for example, loved to make Star Wars jokes throughout Marv Wolfman’s New Teen Titans. But as far as an official crossover, the best answer I can give you is “almost.” According to Kurt Busiek, he and Alex Ross once worked in the early development stages of a SUPERMAN/STAR WARS crossover, while the Star Wars comic license was operated wholly by Dark Horse. Sadly, the project stalled out early on due to entanglements over which of the companies involved could claim how much of the ensuing profits and potential merchandise, and Disney’s buyout of Lucasfilm would kill the prospect altogether.
However, some of Ross’s art intended for the series is still available online… though few know the full story behind their purpose, for the crossover that never was.
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Man that would have been so cool,
Shame it never happened.
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Agreed.
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Too bad they did just agree on 50/50
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50/50 would be simple, if there were only two companies involved. The problem was that Dark Horse didn’t own Star Wars, and was licensing the rights to publish Star Wars comics from Lucasfilm. How much would Dark Horse get from the crossover, and how much would go to Lucas? And what about toys, and other non-comics merchandise that might spawn from it? Everyone involved saw the enormous financial potential, and the renegotiations were harrowing enough to keep it from happening altogether.
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When this DC/Star Wars thing came up, I remembered seeing some very well done, fan created, live action shorts on just this very topic. Specifically a Batman vs Darth Vader battle that I really enjoyed. They’re available on YouTube (or they were). One of many such inter company cross-over battles that these guys excel at. The fans vote for a winner, and the battles are set up accordingly. When the voting is close, an alternate ending is also shot, much to everyone’s enjoyment. The production values and special effects are surprisingly good (and not cheap). At least on the ones I’ve seen. Have you ever seen any, yourself?
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I know there are a lot of talented fan filmmakers out there, but I’ve got my hands full enough keeping up with the official material.
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No question here, only a comment. I just saw the latest Shazam: Fury of the Gods trailer. It looks AWESOME! Don’t know how it’s going to stack up against Black Adam at the box-office though. Personally, I hope it makes a Billion $$$, and forces Mr. Gunn to revise some of his exit plans for actors. I thought the manner in which WB/Discovery dismissed Henry Cavill was (shall we say) less than honorable. 'Nuff said!
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Speaking of the Fury of the Gods trailer, the “hunters of Atlas” (if I’m remembering correctly) are new, right? And if so, have we ever seen one Shazam’s six namesakes come to reclaim their power?
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The Hunters of Atlas are new! The plot of an organization who feels they have a stronger claim to the powers of Shazam competing against Billy’s family for the right to use it, however, is somewhat superficially similar to the 2006 Trials of Shazam! series by Judd Winick and Howard Porter. In that series, an organization of magi, the “Council of Merlin,” attempts to usurp Freddy Freeman’s quest to gain access to each of the six powers of Shazam as Billy takes up the role of the Wizard.
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Hello @HubCityQuestion 
,
It’s your friendly neighborhood Reaganfan78,
As I was writing my status, I soon realized that Penguin seem had it easy to steal or Takeover the Batmobile! To my knowledge he did it in 4 different time, The episode of 1966 Batman TV show, 1966 Batman The Movie, Batman Returns & Batman The Animated Series episode. My question to you is has the Penguin steal or Takeover the Batmobile more then four times & has any other villains also successfully stole or take over the Batmobile as well? Thankyou.
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