Green Arrow's New Look

Green Arrow had been around forever in DC comics. Although most comics fans know that Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman were the only superheroes to make it from the Golden into the Silver Age in their own magazines, how many remember the other two heroes that were published continuously from 1940-1960? The answer is Green Arrow, and the fellow who debuted in the same More Fun #73 as he did, Aquaman.

Green Arrow's entertainment value consisted chiefly in his amazing assortment of arrows. If he had to stop a crook's car, he had an oil-slick arrow. If he needed help, he had a flare arrow. And getting a constant workout was the reliable boxing glove arrow.

Green Arrow and Speedy appeared on more covers of More Fun than the Spectre or Dr. Fate, showing up on all but a few from #77-103. They were essentially Batman and Robin clones, down to the wealthy playboy and youthful ward identities. Like B&R they had gadgetry with names like the Arrowcar and the Arrowplane. One thing the former had over the Batmobile was a catapult seat that could get the Emerald Archer and Speedy to the top of buildings fast.

GA appeared in the Seven Soldiers of Victory series, a sort of poor man's JSA, in Leading Comics, and had long runs in Adventure and World's Finest after being dropped from More Fun when that magazine converted to comedy stories. DC appeared to give the feature some more legs when they allowed Green Arrow to join the Justice League of America, but he quickly became a neglected character. GA was dropped from Adventure in 1959 after 14 years; he was used alternately with Aquaman in World's Finest in 1963-64 after having appeared in over 20 years in that mag.

And so it seemed quite likely that GA was going to go the way of Johnny Quick, or any number of other DC characters who had their moment in the sun but then faded into obscurity.

Many people probably assume that GA's renaissance came in Green Lantern #76. But in fact it began a while earlier in Brave & Bold #85. The story is entitled The Senator's Been Shot!, and given that it appeared about a year after RFK was shot in Los Angeles, it seems (and seemed) a bit like a tacky attempt to be "relevant".

Written by Bob Haney and drawn by the incomparable Neal Adams, the tale beings with the title action. Bruce Wayne is horrified by the sight of his friend being shot down before his eyes at a campaign event. The senator, Paul Cathcart, is pushing a big crime bill that Bruce has backed and is in intensive care. The governor wants to appoint Bruce as Cathcart's replacement, but of course this causes problems. How can Batman track down the killer if he's tied up as a senator in his other identity?

Ironically, at the same time Oliver Queen/Green Arrow is experiencing the same conflict between his two personas. As OQ, he has a bid in on a huge construction contract, but as GA he's able to prevent an assassination attempt. Which identity is more important.

Then, in a bit too perfect coincidence, both Batman and Green Arrow confide their secret identities to the senator's son, himself a successful psychiatrist. We don't get much of a reaction on the first revelation, but the second, which comes only an hour or so later, obviously rocks the shrink.



The next sequence sees Minotaur, the man behind the shooting (and Oliver Queen's rival on the huge contract) kidnapping the psychiatrist. Bruce decides to take the job as senator, while GA pursues Minotaur. As you might expect, Minotaur leads GA on a quest to a maze on an island in the Mediterranean. Batman arrives but now they both are on a tight time budget--Bruce because he needs to make the crucial vote in the Senate and Ollie because of the large contract.

Fortunately, GA comes through with a gimmick arrow, perhaps the last he ever fired?



As must happen in all such dramas, Bruce arrives back at the Senate just in the nick of time:



Although the new Green Arrow became known as a firebrand of Leftist sentiment, it must be noted that there is not a hint of that in this story. Although Ollie now sports a Van Dyke, he's still obviously an enormously wealthy capitalist. The project he's working on is supposed to save the state from bankruptcy, but there's no sense that he's building it for charity. There is a note prior to the letters section:



I do remember that the new GA appeared in the JLA/JSA crossovers that introduced Black Canary to Earth-1. But I'll have to do some digging around to find out if they really explained his new circumstances in a JLA issue or if it was just hinted at in the first Green Lantern/Green Arrow crossover.

Update: Thanks to Tom Galloway in the comments who pointed out that the basic details of Oliver Queen's financial downfall are contained in Justice League of America #75,w which starts with Ollie being confronted by a financial rival with the claim that he made some money on some municipal bonds (shocking news no doubt to Oliver's investors). At any rate, this news destroys The Queen Funds and our man goes belly up (by the end of the story). Of course, this being 1969, he didn't have much of a parachute.

Previous Green Arrow Posts:

Worst. Swipe. Ever.

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Here's a Rarity

You don't see "It's Gametime" very often. This is a DC comic listed in Overstreet with four issues in 1955-56. A friend of mine came up with #4, and I noticed this little puzzle:



Uh, what exactly is that bird doing?

PS, before you go nuts trying to figure out which pictures are identical, they don't count the background color.

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Spiderman 20-27

This is a great set of stories, with at least four consecutive classic issues (#24-27), and only one significant clunker (#21).

The sequence starts with ASM #20's The Coming of the Scorpion. J. Jonah Jameson decides to create a superhero to defeat Spiderman. He knows a scientist (Dr Farley Stillwell) who can cause artificial mutations in animals. He pays Stillwell $10,000 to mutate a human being. Max Gargan, a small-time private detective is chosen to be turned into the Scorpion. Unfortunately for JJJ, Gargan becomes so powerful that after beating Spiderman in a fight, he decides to go criminal. Realizing that JJJ is the only person to know his real identity, he decides to kill the newspaperman. Fortunately Spiderman does better in this battle and saves his worst enemy.

ASM #21 features When Flies the Beetle. This is a pedestrian story featuring the Torch and his old foe, the Beetle. In the tale, the Beetle decides to take revenge on Johnny Storm by kidnapping his girlfriend Dorrie Evans. Meanwhile, Peter has accidentally met Dorrie and ends up having a battle with the Beetle. The Beetle gets away with Dorrie. When the Torch shows up at her place, he finds webbing and assumes Spiderman is responsible for kidnapping her. They have a battle during which Spiderman inexplicably doesn't simply tell the Torch that Dorrie was kidnapped by the Beetle, although eventually they come upon that pair, and team up now to defeat the villain. Peter also fails to recognize Dorrie despite the fact that he had met her while Spiderman in ASM #8, in an oddball short drawn by Jack Kirby.

ASM #22 features a return engagement against the Crime Circus, who had previously appeared in ASM #16. However, they have deposed the Ringmaster, their former leader, and have turned things over to the Clown. While hosting an exhibit of wretched modern art, JJJ is robbed by the Clown and his cronies and nearly killed. Spiderman tracks them down and defeats them despite the wiles of Princess Python.

In ASM #23, the Green Goblin returns. He is determined to take over the gang of Lucky Lobo, and apparently feeds information to Frederick Foswell. Foswell had appeared in ASM #10, as an apparently meek reporter for JJJ, but who in reality was The Big Man, a crime boss himself, whom Spidey had defeated. Spiderman is suspicious of Foswell, whom JJJ has rehired after his prison term elapsed.

The classic run begins with ASM #24. JJJ publishes a series in which the public are encouraged to share why they hate Spiderman. In an effort to get their names in the paper, the people come up with a variety of reasons for despising the wallcrawler. A psychiatrist shows up at JJJ's office and tells him that Spidey will no doubt go insane. Upon reading this dire prediction in the Bugle, Peter gets worried that it might be true. While trying to visit JJJ to check on the story, he hallucinates, seeing the images of his old enemies coming after him. He decides to visit the doc, but freaks out at this sight:



After running out at first, Spidey is brought back by the shrink to this room, which is now magically normal side up. The psychiatrist explains to him that his problem is his secret identity, that if he just went public with his name his psyche would be relieved and he wouldn't have the hallucinations anymore. But then JJJ bursts in; Foswell has discovered that the psychiatrist is a fraud. JJJ confronts the shrink in front of Spidey, who chases down the phony. It's Spiderman's old foe, Mysterio, whom we first encountered in ASM #13, once again using stealth and deception to try to defeat our hero.

Captured by J. Jonah Jameson from ASM #25 is one of my all-time favorite comic stories. Jameson's editorials have gotten the attention of Smythe, an inventor who's convinced he's come up with a robot that can track down and capture Spiderman. Peter, feeling puckish, urges Jameson to try the device despite the newsman's initial skepticism. JJJ quickly sees that it's quite a powerful device, as does Peter. However, it appears to be malfunctioning as it attacks Parker briefly.

He knows that within a day or so the inventor will unleash his machine under the control of Jameson. Sure enough as the schoolday is ending, he spots the robot approaching, guided by Peter's spider nature. He dashes out a side door, chased by Flash Thompson, who had planned to beat him up. After a long battle, the robot traps Spiderman, and it looks like its all over as JJJ and Smythe travel to the site to unmask Peter. However, he's able to escape by prying off the chestplate of the robot and messing with the controls. As a gag, he leaves behind his costume to convince JJJ that his moment is at hand.

The reason I like this story so much is that since there is no supervillain introduced or returning, there is more space for the regular characters--Flash, Betty Brant, JJJ and Liz Allan all have significantly expanded roles in this story. We even get our first glimpse of Mary Jane Watson, although her face is unfortunately hidden:



We wouldn't see how MJ looked for another year and a half.

The two-part story in ASM #26-27 is another classic. The Green Goblin, having helped the Crime-Master become a big shot in the underworld, is disappointed to find his protege is now refusing to share the power. Who is the Crime-Master, and who is the Goblin? Spidey suspects strongly that one of them is secretly Foswell, the former crime boss and current reporter for JJJ. Of course, if he were using his head he'd know that Foswell was in prison during the Goblin's first two appearances.

The Crime-Master and the Goblin battle for control of the gangs. The Goblin seemingly takes the advantage when he shows up at a war council with Spiderman kayoed. But Spidey recovers and manages to fight his way to freedom. In the end, the Crime-Master is killed by the police. He turns out to be Lucky Lewis, a crime boss that Spidey has never heard mentioned. Foswell has a dual identity, but it's as Patch, a small-potatoes hood who's a stoolie.

One amusing bit is that because he had given up his costume to tweak JJJ, Peter has to buy a Spiderman costume from a store. It turns out to be low quality, so that constantly during his battle he has to stop and adjust his attire.

In this series of stories, Peter shows that the change he underwent at the end of ASM #18 was for real. He becomes much more confident and self-assured, to the point where Betty Brant even remarks on it. His romantic life seems a bit up in the air, with Liz Allan apparently settling for Flash Thompson, although still more interested in Peter. Betty and Peter seem to be on the skids, perhaps because he's turned out not to be the cowardly bookworm that he appeared they first met.

We had seen Betty on a date with Ned Leeds, a young reporter for the Bugle, in ASM #18, and Betty had introduced him to Peter in #19. In #20 she continues to see Ned, but in #21 he's seemingly out of the way in Europe for six months. However, she and Peter never really reconcile during this period, especially since he notices that she's getting letters from Ned.

Previous Spiderman Posts:

Spiderman--First Major Arc
An Unfortunate Error
Who's Liz Allen's Dad?

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Fury Against Racism and Bigotry

I never know where I will get the inspiration for a post. In Amazing Spiderman #23, there was a letter to Marvel commending them on Sgt Fury #6 as a fine example of standing up against racism. Given that this was a fairly early (March 1964) story to tackle the subject I thought I'd take a look at it.

It's a surprisingly underplayed story. The Howlin' Commandos lose one of their members to injury and must take on a new recruit, named George Stonewell. Stonewell seems somewhat reserved around some of the men, particularly the Italian and the Jew. And when he meets the black bugler, it becomes obvious that he's prejudiced:



However, in a semi-suicidal mission, Stonewell is forced to rely on Izzy Cohen. In the end Cohen pulls him out alive but wounded. He needs a transfusion, and of course only Gabe Jones has the proper bloodtype. We are led to believe that Stonewell is unchanged, but in the end he leaves a note to Izzy and Gabe with his new address. The story closes with an admirable sentiment:



Marvel was miles ahead of DC in terms of diversity. Although it took a long time before black characters with substantial roles other than Gabe appeared, they did make an effort to include blacks in crowd scenes. If there were three cops in a scene, quite frequently one of them was a black man.

Previous Post on Nick Fury

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Fantastic Four: The Inhumans

The first member of the Inhumans to appear was Madame Medusa (later mostly referred to simply as Medusa). In FF #36, three villains team up. Paste-Pot Pete and the Wizard, two Human Torch villains from his series in Strange Tales, align themselves with a former Spiderman nemesis, the Sandman. The Wizard suggests calling themselves the Frightful Four, but obviously they are one female member short of matching up with the Fantastic Four. He knows of a woman they can recruit, who has the amazing power of using her long, red hair as a weapon:



Sue and Reed wonder where she came from here:



But although the Evil FF are featured quite prominently over the next several issues, appearing in FF #38, 41, 42 and 43, we do not find out any more about the background of Madame Medusa until #44. At the end of FF #43, the three male members of the Frightful Four are captured and turned over to the police. But Johnny inexplicably lets MM escape here:



The next issue occurs following the marriage of Reed and Sue (which took place in FF Annual #3). Madame Medusa is being chased by a new character named Gorgon, who has immense power in his hoofed feet. Gorgon gives us a bit of an explanation here:



At the end of the story, Gorgon has apparently captured Medusa and vanished. The story picks up again in FF #45. Johnny, upset that his girlfriend, Dorrie Evans, has a date with another man, finds himself walking aimlessly through a deserted neighborhood of the city:



The girl turns out to be a member of the Inhumans. Believing Johnny to be one of them due to his superpowers, she confides in him:



But she quickly learns that Johnny is not among her race when they encounter Gorgon and Medusa. The Torch is briefly imprisoned, but he escapes and calls for his buddies.

The battle spills over into FF #46, where Black Bolt tangles with the Thing. At first we are unaware of BB's power. He's clearly a good fighter, as he's able to battle Ben to a standstill. Reed deduces that the tuning fork on Black Bolt's forehead converts energy into strength and speed. Oddly enough, the only member of the Inhumans who doesn't burst into fighting the Fantastic Four is Madame Medusa.

The next part of the background of the Inhumans is revealed here:



The Seeker? Hmmm, the Who had a song about this time (1966) called The Seeker:

They call me the Seeker,
I been searching low and high.
I won't get to get what I'm after
Till the day I die!

Anyway, we meet the Seeker here:



The FF eventually catch up to him, and he explains their history. They were an advanced race on Earth, with the ability to manipulate genes at will. As a result, they set up a super-powered society. However, the humans multiplied faster and battled against the Inhumans upon sight. So the Inhumans hid themselves away in the Great Refuge.

Black Bolt should rule the Inhumans, but his brother Maximus the Magnificent has usurped the throne. An aside: Ever notice that in the DC universe, other societies frequently are run by some sort of Science Council-e.g., Krypton, the future Earth of the Legion of Super Heroes, while in the Marvel universe they tend more towards dictatorships (benevolent or otherwise), like Asgard, the Inhumans, the Skrulls and Latveria?

Medusa is betrothed to Maximus, although she really loves Black Bolt. We also learn that Black Bolt is a mute due to some "accident". But Black Bolt seizes back the crown from his brother. Meanwhile, the FF has found the great refuge, hidden high in the Andes of South America. Maximus uses his Atmo Gun in an attempt to destroy the FF and all humanity, but it fails. This convinces Medusa that the Inhumans are not a separate race, but are related to humans. However, before we can absorb that, Maximus pulls the ultimate gambit. He seals off the Great Refuge from the rest of the world with a "Negative Zone". The FF, despite Johnny's attempt to remain with Crystal, escapes before the Zone can become hardened.

This takes us midway through Fantastic Four #48, but the story shifts abruptly to the Silver Surfer and Galactus' first appearance, followed by the introduction of the Black Panther in FF #52 and 53. There are abortive attempts to free the Inhumans in several issues that follows, but it is not until FF #59 that Black Bolt himself finally shatters the barrier.

Previous Posts on the Fantastic Four:

Another Embarrassing Mistake
The Fantastic Four

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Another Embarrassing Mistake

Why would Ben ask the blind Alicia who somebody is, "over there"?

Previous Posts on the Fantastic Four:
The Fantastic Four

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Robin's Romance With Batgirl

The first Batgirl was the niece of Kathy Kane, who had become Batwoman in Detective #233. When Betty Kane comes to visit for a vacation, the young girl quickly realizes that her aunt is secretly Batwoman. She decides to emulate Kathy and quickly designs a uniform:



Kathy is of course worried for the youngster, and after consulting with Batman, decides to require that Betty receive significant training before she can start crime-fighting, with the idea that this will discourage the young lady. Inevitably, Betty decides that she's ready on her own and attempts to capture the criminal gang Batman, Robin and Batwoman are hunting at the time. She gets caught instead, but is able to signal her location, which results in the gang getting caught. In the end, she displays some rather obvious affection for Robin despite his obvious embarrassment:



Over the next couple of years, this relationship was always a part of the Batgirl appearances. The next time Batgirl popped up in a story was in Batman #141, and she started pushing forward the romance a bit, still despite Robin's obvious timidity:



Batwoman knows a good thing when she sees it.

Batgirl returns in Batman #144, and this time she's determined to let Robin know how she feels:



Batgirl is upset that there's another woman in Robin's life. Batmite appears and offers to help her win the Boy Wonder's heart. Through a series of incidents, we see that Robin really does care for her, and that the other "woman" is the statue in the background of the panels above: Lady Justice. He explains:



After that it was a full year before Batgirl appeared again, in Batman #153. But DC made up for the lapse by making this Batman's first ever book-length story, and one that featured prominently the continuing romance between Robin and Batgirl:



As usual, Batgirl makes the move, but this time Robin seems noticeably less resistant, especially considering this sequence later in the story:



And we can see that Robin is quite pleased to see Betty in this sequence:



Even Auntie Batwoman feels that Betty pours it on a little thick here:



The story ends with Robin expressing his appeciation for Batgirl here:



I'd love to say that DC developed this romance throughout the decade, but in fact Batgirl was basically through. She popped up in Batman #163 but this was one of Alfred's fantasy adventures of Batman II and Robin II. In Batman #164 DC inaugurated the "New Look" Batman, in which most of the characters who had become the Batman Family were killed off either literally (in the case of Alfred) or politically (like former Soviet heroes who disappeared from official photos).

Betty was disappeared, as was her aunt Kathy. This whole terrific little romance that DC had built up over time simply blew away like autumn leaves. It was a sweet little sequence that deserves to be remembered among the general mediocrity of the Silver Age Batman.

Previous Posts on Batman & Robin:
Worst Batman Story of the Silver Age
A Salute to Batman Annual #1
The Disappearance of the Catwoman
Gay Batman?
Favorite Covers of the Golden Age: Batman #23
The Horrifying Batman Era in Covers: Detective
Batman 1957
Batman and Guns
Batman 1956
Batman 1955
Classic DC Sagas of the 1960s
The New Look Batman

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