The Elongated Man and the Silver Age Timeline!, pt. I: Pre-Classic

If the idea is to get to know the Elongated Man, it's important to provide a little context. He was created at the peak of the classic years of the Silver Age of comics, a period in which, after recovering from some really bad years (around 1949 - 1955), the industry started booming or the second time. 

During the the Golden Age of comics National Comics and All-American Comics created a number of superheroes, and with the creation of the Justice League of America, they established that all of them live in the same world sharing the same continuity. By the late 1940s, most of those characters disappeared from the publications.  

By 1956, DC decided to recreate one of the disappeared characters with different identity and background but the same hero name and super powers: the Flash. Gradually after that point, DC established that the characters that survived the golden age were living a different continuity along with the characters created after the late 40s.

Before we get to the classic period of the Silver Age of DC Comics, it's convenient to go through the early years. During the 50s, the themes of the stories moved from urban heroes, to space, sci-fi, legend, animals and celebrities. Batman and Superman started to walk dogs and fight aliens and imps. Their villains gradually started to have super powers instead of just gimmicks. New heroes were notoriously space themed: Captain Comet, Space Ranger and Martian Manhunter (the last notorious one of this kind was Adam Strange).



  1947

January: Tommy Tomorrow (Real Fact Comics #6).
June:

• Tomahawk (Star-Spangled Comics #69). 

1948

March:

• Binky (Leave it to Binky #1). 

1949

September:

Pow Wow Smith (Detective Comics #151, Sept. 1949).

1950

January: Orson Welles (Superman #62).
February:

• Bob Hope (The Adventures of Bob Hope #1).

June: Deadshot (Batman #50).
July:

• King Faraday (Danger Trail #1).

August: Darwin Jones, Chris KL-99 (Strange Adventures #9).
December: Perry Como (Superman  #67).


1951

January: Tom Sparks, Boy Inventor (World's Finest Comics #49).
February:

• Killer Moth (Batman #63).

June:

• Captain Comet (Strange Adventures #9),
• Firefly (Detective Comics #184).

1952

July:

Jerry Lewis and Dean Martin (The Adventures of Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis #1).

August:

• Phantom Stranger (Phantom Stranger #1).

1953

January:

Rex, the Wonder Dog (Rex the Wonder Dog #1).

February: Gorilla Boss (Batman #75).

July:

Detective Chimp (Adventures of Rex the Wonder Dog #4).

1954

August:

Space Cabbie (Mystery in Space #21).

1955

March:

• Krypto, the Super Dog (Adventure Comics #210).

June:

• Ace, the Bat-Hound (Batman #92).

September:

• Golden Gladiator, Viking Prince, Silent Knight (The Brave and the Bold #1),

• Mr. Mxyzptlk returns (Action Comics #208).

November:

• Martian Manhunter (Detective Comics #225).

1956

February: The Mole (World's Finest Comics #80).
April: The fake Mad Hatter (Detective Comics #230).
July:

Batwoman (Detective Comics #233).

The debut of Flash in November of 1956 is the starto of the clasic period of the Silver Age of DC Comics.

Notes: I used cover dates for this list (which means you have to subtract a couple of months).

Font types are modified according to the character.

• Important character,
• Character with an equivalent on Earth-2,
• Character with an Earth-2 double,
• Might have Earth-2 double, but their debut date makes it ambiguous,
• Crossed-over descendant of an Earth-2 character,
• Created in other media first.
• Not tied to the DCU yet,
• Related to the Elongated Man.  

Continue to:

• The Elongated Man and the Silver Age Timeline!, Part II: Classic (1956 - 1969).
• The Elongated Man and the Silver Age Timeline!, Part III: Post-Classic (1969 - 1973).  
• The Elongated Man and the Bronze Age Timeline! (1973 - 1985).

Related articles:

• Survivors of the Golden Age! - This article will help you identify character counterparts between Earth-One and Earth-Two.