@HubCityQuestion what is the dumbest thing Lex Luthor has ever done to date?
4 Likes
Two things come to mind. One is when he literally ran Superman’s identity through a computer when he suspected he was disguising himself as a human. The computer concluded he was Clark Kent. Luthor disregarded this because it couldn’t possibly be true.
The other is the end of the Black Ring Saga, when Luthor gains almost absolute omnipotence. He becomes a god, with the power to control and reshape reality however he likes… on the one condition that he doesn’t use his power to harm Superman. Luthor doesn’t last 30 seconds.
9 Likes
I have to go with him constantly creating super villains with vendettas against him meaning Superman has to save him. That is my biggest problem with The Animated Series
3 Likes
Just got done reading Ennis’ Hellblazer and had a question about a bit of Hell lore mentioned there. During one of his numerous monologues about his own backstory, the First of the Fallen mentions three upheavals that allowed him to take the infernal throne - the attack of the Great Darkness, Lucifer’s resignation, and an attempt by Etrigan to seize control after the preceding two. The former incidents are, of course, some of the most famous story arcs from Swamp Thing and Sandman respectively, but did the latter occur in an actual comic? If so, which?
4 Likes
The First of the Fallen here is referring to a then-recent arc in Action Comics at the time, during its year as a weekly anthology. 1989’s Action Comics #636-641 chronicle Etrigan’s rise through the ranks of Hell in a six-part story by Alan Grant, one which conflicted with Neil Gaiman’s own plans for Lucifer and Hell’s hierarchy – so Neil put a line into The Sandman #4 about how just because Etrigan declared himself Hell’s ruler didn’t make it so.
6 Likes
Ah, thank you!
3 Likes
Take that little creative “bump in the road” that Gaiman had to deal with, expand it out a thousand times, and we’ll all have a better picture of what enormous challenges are facing misters Gunn and Safran, in reshaping a more cohesive cinematic DCU, going forward. But, I digress.
In the past, I’ve made some inquiries about the original Vigilante, Greg Saunders. Thus far, you’re batting 1,000. Let’s see if we can maintain that average on another one. I just came across the cover of JLA #78, vol 1, 1970. An issue that had a few firsts in it, as I recall. The public announcement of Black Canary joining the team, and the introduction of their first Orbiting Satellite Headquarters. Tops for me though, was the first Silver Age appearance of the Earth One Vigilante. Shown on the cover, railing away at JLA members, apparently abandoning Earth, in it’s hour of need. Twenty two issues before the combined might of the JLA & JSA would rescue the Law’s Legionaries lost in time.
Whatever happened to him? Was he one of those heroically sacrificed in the first CRISIS of '85? The reason I ask, is because I also seem to remember a portly version of him (obviously retired) running a Bar & Grill (or something like that), post CRISIS. With the DCU Rebirth and all these past several years, I’m hoping you can put that memory to rest somewhere, one way or another. Thank you muchly!
Stay safe, be well.
4 Likes
We never see the Vigilante of Earth-One perish in the Crisis, but he’s presumably among the many characters extant on Earth-One and Earth-Two whose histories were composited into a single figure after Crisis on Infinite Earths. That was sort of the stated point of the whole thing after all, to condense these multiple versions of characters’ histories into one chronology. The older, retired restauranteur you’re thinking of was seen in the El Diablo miniseries of 1989-1990. You’re unlikely to find it on DCUI, though, due to the crimes of the author.
6 Likes
Originally, in the Golden Age, Alan Scott’s Green Lantern ring “merely” granted him superpowers, and shot out light beams and green flame, but he didn’t make imaginative constructs with it. So: when was the first time that a Green Lantern made a construct with their ring? And when was the first time that Alan Scott specifically made a construct with his ring?
5 Likes
He could go through walls with it in his first appearance
4 Likes
I think KSA is specifically asking about the ring generating something solid. In Alan Scott’s second appearance, All-American Comics #17, he uses his ring to generate a wall of light.
Alan uses the “wall of light” trick as a stand-by many times after that in his early adventures. The constructs get a little more advanced with 1942’s All-American Comics #43, when he generates cushions to catch the fall of a man carrying dynamite.
In 1943’s Green Lantern #7, Alan Scott uses his ring as a sort of rudimentary lightsaber:
Green Lantern #13 sees Alan use his ring to make an abstract light bridge:
In 1944’s Comic Cavalcade #8, Alan Scott uses his ring as a lasso to round up a group of criminals. Like his “wall of light,” the rope would become part of his ring’s repertoire from then on.
We get our first genuine, representational construct in 1945’s Comic Cavalcade #11, 88 issues after his first appearance in All-American Comics #16, where Alan projects fists to punch out some enemies. Alan continues to manifest hands, and eventually still further complex objects, from there.
11 Likes
Thanks for the thorough and well-researched answer, HCQ! 
7 Likes
I posted this in another thread but I wanted to get view or answer. In regard to Batman and the Batmobile, in the comics, has anyone tried tracking Batman back to his cave when he is driving? How exactly is Batman getting home or to his cave in the comics when using the Batmobile ?
I figured he must have some underground road system or a really tricky path too and from the Batcave. So your take and is there a comic issue that references this ?
4 Likes
Batman takes advantage of secret passageways built throughout Gotham City and its environs to keep the Batmobile hidden. This can be seen clearly in media like the 60s Batman series and the Arkham Knight video game, and throughout the comics.
4 Likes
There have been multiple hidden entrances I remember seeing in comics
- a waterfall
- a holographic mountain wall
- a road section that drops down into a ramp to an underground tunnel
6 Likes
Is Corey Mills from Superman The Animated Series based off somebody from the comics?
3 Likes
Not specifically. I believe he’s meant to be a device for the general concept of Luthor-created battlesuits to replace Superman.
4 Likes
Thanks. On a related note is Lex’s giant shark tank in the comics? It just seems that it makes killing him (and he gets attacked a lot) easier.
3 Likes
I don’t recall Luthor ever owning a shark in the comics, no. In Batman TAS, and Superman TAS, there was a guiding principle that every episode should have spectacular action set pieces the episode revolved around. The shark tank was likely a creation of necessity to that purpose.
5 Likes
Thanks. Sharks are spectacular creatures.
3 Likes