THEY ARE BACK! THE DIBNYS ARE FINALLY BACK!!

Well, it finally happened. It was a very pleasant surprise, a perfectly satisfying return and… I didn’t have the time to report it.
Anyway, the Dibnys are back and just as we remember them. Literally, since these are not the New 52 versions but the ones from the 80s Earth-One.
As part of the Convergence crossover, Ralph, Sue and the entire Justice League roster of the Detroit incarnation are back in  Convergence: Justice League of America #1,  written by Fabian Nicieza.

Convergence: Justice League of America #1

The issue is part of a longer story and doesn’t stand alone. Which means there will be more of our favorite couple. The best part of this is that Sue is the POV character, so, predictably, Ralph will be the hero of the whole story.
A great surprise is that Fabian gets the characters just right. They feel just like Nick and Nora Charles, which is actually a great improvement over most of their original appearances (Justice League Quarterly #6, being the most notable exception). If in the next issues he solves a mystery, we would have the full deal.
If this wasn’t good enough, according to the USA Today article about this issue “Fabian Nicieza is eagerly awaiting the call to do a monthly detective comic book featuring Ralph and Sue Dibny”. That would be great news. I don’t know how serious is that, but I found that so exciting that I even went to Dan DiDio´s facebook wall to congratulate him on the decision. Fabian clearly gets the characters and the current DC line could definitively use a book like that.
As soon as I read the whole JLA Detroit story in Convergence, I will write a review here.

UPDATE 

The mystery of how the actual heroes are not on the cover.

The second part of "Heroes Interrupted" in Convergence: Justice League of America #2 is even greater than the first. Well, at least for Ralph and Sue.

Finally a story that revindicates the Elongated Man as a JLAer!

...Just not on this panel.

The story make a nice showcase of Ralph's fighting abilities. He is basically all around stretching more than he ever did on a JLA book.

The issue also focuses on his skills; however, in this case, it isn't on him as a detective, but as a strategist and a field leader.
In addition to being the POV character, Sue also becomes the problem solver, along with an anachronistic Detective Renee Montoya (she debuted in 1992 as a regular cop in blue). Sue didn't actually started to take initiatives like that until Justice League Europe #9, when she helped save Power Girl.

The downside of so much Dibny focus, to be fair, is that the rookies are not really showcased. The story could have used about 5 pages to focus on the fight of the Justice Leaguers against the Secret Six after spreading. However, this isn't really a bad thing, the story is clearly about the Dibnys: it shows how Ralph and Sue can do a lot with very little. 

This image says it all!
Enlarge if you don't mind spoilers.

The Periodic Table of Superheroes

It's funny how as awesome as it is I can't help but nitpick minor details. Like The Atom, Speedy and Mr. Mxyzptlk so notoriously missing. They were popular during that era, as well as Cyborg, Starfire, Raven and Beastboy. Harley has nothing to do there (although, retroactively, it would have been a really cool thing to see), and I feel that the Scarecrow, Captain Cold, Grodd, Black Manta, Zod, Solomon Grundy, Sinestro, Sivana, Mr. Mind and Mordru were more popular than Two-Face. That being said, we have to note that whoever did this grouped heroes by families, which wouldn't have made easy to fit everyone there. It's fun to play with these ideas, anyway.

Know your Super Buddy

Continuing with the profiling here are the members of the Justice League International. Giffen and DeMatteis did an excellent job demonstrating the uniqueness of their personalities, still, it's always fun to review them. Tell me what you think about them.

Maxwell Lord: The true Maxwell is an opportunistic sleazeball with a great heart. He would manipulate and push so that his will is done; fortunately, he always has the greater good and the best interest of his friends in mind.  He sounds like a used car salesman, the difference is that he always delivers what he promises. He's the incarnation of the "Like a boss" meme; he works hard and he lives hard, always surounded by luxury. He's all charm, and yet, unlike the stereotypical sanguinean type, he gets the job done without disappointments. He has a thing for power and control, but his main reasons are his egocentrism and certain paternalist feelings he has towards the JLI. As the boss, he's always has his eyes on the ball and knows how to take charge without engaging (at least when it matters).

The Martian Manhunter: The leader of the oddest incarnation of the JLI also serves as its father figure; while he seems to have a peer relationship with Batman and Maxwell, he thinks of the rest as "the children".  He knows human nature better than humans so he’s very accepting and avoids engaging in nonsense and even most of the social situations of the team. His attitude and personality often places him as the straight man among the shenanigans of his team. As a leader he's calm, insightful and patient and knows exactly what to say to lead this weird wild crowd, always with his eyes on the ball.  

Blue Beetle: Ted is creative, optimistic, enthusiastic, adventurous, witty and a bit juvenile. He has a great, easy going temper, which is why he's normally in great mood. His friends would say that he's hyperactive and often too smart for his own good. He took the Blue Beetle mantle from his teacher, but the truth is that he's a superhero out of his optimism and sense of adventure. Like Ralph, he's a true example of emotional intelligence.

Fire: Bea is loud, fiery, flirty, fun loving and very hot tempered (a lot like Sofia Vergara or Eva Longoria). She's very street wise, has a quick wit, which helps her charm her way to get what she wants; however, she has no trouble calling things by their name.

In some stories, she has a Bart-Simpsonesque, devil-may-care attitude. She's a nudist who has worked in showbiz for men, yet she showed a smart taste in men (liking Oberon, hating Guy) and was quite protective of Ice's love life. Her deal in that sense seems to be that she uses her sensuality and charisma to get stuff but is very careful when it comes to feelings. Despite her hedonistic exterior she shows good, caring values when it comes to people. This is more evident with good kind people, like Ted, Ice, Mary or the Dibnys. By contrast she's tough on jerks (even if they are still her friends) and really tough on villains.

Booster Gold: He's basically a phony superhero that is perpetually redeeming himself. For some reason, his goals as a superhero are fame and fortune. He's shallow, shameless and often desperate; however, he always pulls through. He's not much of a thinker, which makes him the perfect bottom of the jokes (making him the perfect odd couple for Blue Beetle); however he has his heart in the right place and has an amazing deal of determination, which are the reasons that qualify him as a member.

Ice: She's sweet and caring; her borderline naive innocence contrasts with Bea's sharp eye. She's utterly honest, transparent and, despite certain shyness, she always shows her true emotions. However, she's not a bad judge of character as much as she prefers not to judge, often seeing the goodness behind rough exteriors like Guy's or even Bea's. Her sense of fun is very child-like and playful, which makes her able to enjoy the simple things in life.

Ralph: In JLI he became less of a Nick Charles superhero and more of a funny, paternalistic uncle; going to extremes he never went to get people to laugh. His behavior is more sanguine than ever, as if he decided to take the back seat and relax in this team. His usual wit is still there, but he starts relying on slapstick for humor. At the end of the day people always listen to him and Wally even seeks his approbation. And it figures, hiding behind a class clown surface he's indirectly mentoring and encouraging the new Flash, Power Girl, Mary Marvel and even his wife, who became a member of the team as well. Despite being acknowledged as the most experienced member of the European branch, he prefers being a good team member to being the leader, so he always respected Captain Atom's position as the leader.

Sue: She's the proof that sometimes spoiling works. Despite having everything and being able to get whatever she whims, she cares a lot about people. That's called vision of abundance. Her mood is usually great, she is very plucky, extroverted, chatty, witty and easy going; however, at times she can be high maintenance or show quite a temper, if the situation justifies it. Like Ralph, she is only able to see opportunities and she makes things happen with even less effort. She's a natural problem solver and her main weapons are charisma, charm a quick wit and tons of confidence. As much as she trusts and admires her husband as a superhero, she usually fears for him and the rest of the team when they are on the field, which is the reason she likes to get involved. Before JLI she used to me mostly a carefree, spoiled wife on an eternal honeymoon adventure, but then, a permanent duty as monitor led her to become a technology wiz dedicated to her new team and family, which she eventually lead as bureau chief.

Guy: Arrogant, overly confident, chauvinistic, short tempered, annoying, obtuse and immature: the embodiment of the American spirit gone wrong. He is only a hero because he believes in saving the day, and he's too stubborn not to get things done. He's too much of an action man to think things through. His m. o. seems to be all about bullying the bullies; the problem is that he normally a dick to the good guys, even if he's ultimately harmless and always gets losing. Ice is the only person that gets him to rethink his ways.

L-Ron: Despite being more intelligent than his bosses, he was created to be a servant, so he uses tongue-in-cheek, over-the-top flattery (and often just sarcasm) as a form release. L-Ron seems to be doomed to be an eternal witness to really bad ideas that he can’t prevent from being executed, in fact he normally has to help making them happen. However, little by little, he has moved to a position in which he can contribute to better causes. He will always be a servant, but he'll at least try to serve where it counts.  

Power Girl: Kara’s super strength is not only physical but emotional. She’s confident, emotionally independent and very outspoken; however, her temper is short and might lose sight of what’s important in order to make a stand. Even though his views are always fair, she engages easily  and she can be quite opinionated, which put her at odds with the likes of Guy. She has little tolerance for shenanigans as well, especially when it comes to men objectifying her because of her notorious sex appeal  –she doesn’t flirt or dress for men, but she also refuses to hide her beauty. She’s normally cranky, but she can be quite generous and kind. When it comes to her work, PG has a great determination that makes her diligent, quick and effective.

Rocket Red: Dmitri is a big jolly man, optimistic and enthusiastic about everything. The type of person that rarely has anything negative to say. Always with a smile on his face, he enjoys about everything, and is loudly outspoken about it. He sees enough of everything for everyone, which is why he has a very generous philosophy and nature. When it comes to serious matters he’s very insightful and truly helpful to his friends. He has a very balanced life and has a loving family waiting for him after work.

Crimson Fox: We’re talking about two women, but in general, their behavior seems the same. They like to remain a mystery to their teammates, so they are barely socialize and come across as “a” cold peer. They inform themselves about any situation and become all business right away; pretty much like Batman, only without barking orders. This is how they manage to hide the fact that they are two people sharing the same superhero identity. Like Batman, they seem too self-aware and even melancholic, but their determination and dedication to an agenda against injustice makes them overachieving perfectionist forces.

Catherine Cobert: A diligent and independent career woman capable of great achievements. She’s such a straight man, she doesn’t even engage with the nonsense of her team. Even though she is really dedicated and hardworking, with her calm attitude and big picture sight she makes it seem as if her great achievements came with little effort. Her great perception and sensibility allows her to be as persuasive as Maxwell (which is probably why she e eventually wet from being his great discovery to his boss). It’s also clear that she’s very confident, and it also shows when she flits. While it’s clear that she liked Captain Atom from day one (and that it was mutual), she rather worked on him with friendship and teases without spoiling the tension.

Batman: A consumed pro with no time for nonsense. His perfectionism feels sharper than ever and he has a heaver reliance on fear as a weapon. He's playing on a really advanced level that few in the JLI can follow and only J'Onn does. It would appear as if his respect only went to his equals (J'Onn, Ralph, Fate, Canary) but he actually believes in all of them, so he serves as an outsider who  always knows what to do and what to say (his mind seems to go at light speed), so he arrives late, barks instructions and out he goes. He barely takes a few seconds to correct Guy's attitude problem. Tough love. His field instructions have a surgeon’s precision; however, after renouncing the leadership he decided to respect the authority of the new field commanders. And yet, the team can't help but feel as if he was the one pulling the strings (and he might be).

Other notorious members

Some members didn't really stayed that long but sitll became characteristic members of the Bwahaha era anyway.

Beefeater: Is a conceited, arrogant, phony, obnoxious, rude, inconsiderate, stubborn, pretentious and absolutely sarcastic jerk. He can’t help but show a neurotic behavior whenever he interacts; normally characterized by his excessive complaining and attention to unimportant details. His constant engaging prevents him from inspiring any real authority despite his confidence; people rather please him in hopes to get him to shot up or go away. I know, I’m basically describing Basil, but it’s the same, anyway.

Coming soon within this post: Captain Atom, Oberon, Mr. Miracle, Flash, Metamorpho, G'Nort,  and Animal Man.

For more character profiles, check out the following articles:

Know your Justice Leaguer!
Understand the personality of the early
members of the World's mightiest team.

Know your Bat-Villain! Part I - 
Probably the craziest supervillains in 
American comics, so it is a longer read.

Top 10 grounded DC characters.

Art by yours truly, Rafa Rivas.

For certain characters, who never had notoriety of any sort, its completely normal to get dry spells of publication. Nobody expects the likes of Angel and the Ape, Anthro, Prez or Detective Chimp to get their own regular series. However, since the 70s, every decade has a different set of previously prominent DC Comics character hidden under the rug. As if TPTB were ashamed of those properties. The Martian Manhunter, Firestorm, Zatanna, Red Tornado, Blue Beetle, Booster Gold, Adam Strange and even Aquaman have all been through that.

The first clear example would have to be J'onn J'onzz, the Martian Manhunter. When the Justice League of America was founded, outside the "super trinity" (Batman, Superman and Wonder), he was about as famous as any of the rest. Really. In fact, the weakest link was Green Lantern, who debuted some months before the team was created. After the debut of the JLA, all its members were editorially pushed with their own titles; the Martian moved from Detective Comics, where he was out-shined by Batman, to House of Mystery, where he became the lead. The Elongated Man replaced him in Detective Comics. However, that all faded by the late 60s; he was first taken out of House of Mystery, and then, he was written off the Justice League. By the 70s, he was known as the green bald dude who was somehow a funding member of the JLA. After over a decade of cameos, the Justice League title provided the best justification for his return: it needed full-time members, who wouldn't have adventures outside the book. Lacking options to make the team feel like the real JLA, writer Gerry Conway decided to bring the green dude back, and for similar reasons, the next creative team kept him as leader of the Justice League International. DC revamped the League once more in the mid 90s and, this time, the angle was going for the original founding members (or their available equivalents). Consequently, after all that, despite his long absence around the 70s, the Martian became known as "the heart and soul of the JLA". That's a happy ending, let's see how it continues now that he has been retroactively erased from the origins of the Justice League and shoehorned into a team called "Stormwatch".

Zatanna, for instance, was a steady member of the JLA after the late 70s. Like the Martian Manhunter and the Elongated Man, she stayed with the League during it's "Detroit era". However, once it was over, she went back to scarce cameos. The controversial and successful Identity Crisis limited series brought her back to the spotlight, she has a miniseries, joined the League for a while, appeared in Detective Comics, and got her own title. Now, she's with something called "Justice League Dark".

Firestorm popped up in '78 with a mini series, then, fully boosted by his creator (Gerry Conway), returned in 1980 to join the Justice League and get his backup feature in Flash. In 1982, he graduated from the backup to get his own title. Then, they got the popular characters out of the JLA title, they did some really weird stuff with him in his book, yadda, yadda, yadda, he didn't appear through the 90s. When I started reading comics, I often wondered whatever happened to the guy from Super Friends with fire instead of hair. He returned, but they keep doing odd things with the character.

Along with the Elongated Man, half the characters who were part of the Justice League International, were notoriously absent from 1996 to 2004. They revamped them as the "Super Buddies" in a couple of limited series that were critically acclaimed and sold very well. However, after the first series, for some reason, one by one, each of those characters was killed off (Sue Dibny, Blue Beetle, Rocket Red, the Elongated Man), horribly derailed (Maxwell Lord, Captain Atom, Mary Marvel) or went through hell because of that (Booster Gold, Fire).

Their absence is normally a bit more notorious once they return; however, I believe I can identify the missing people of this era. My criteria is how recurring they were in the past, compared to what they get now:

10. Zauriel and Aztek

Shooting stars like Ragman or Blue Devil, they were never really regulars of anything. However, their absense is odd, considering that their creator, one Grant Morrison, is one of the most influential forces of the current DC Comics authors. He tends to leave a trace of brilliantly conceived bastard children behind him.
9. The classic Teen Titans

Not really an endangered species, since we get to see them all around; however, they do lack a regular series. During the 70s, writers avoided using or creating sidekicks (children fighting crime are a dumb idea, anyway), so they kept them in the Teen Titans team (a team of teenagers with no adult supervision... sounds better, doesn't it?). In 1980, DC aged them, added new characters and it became a hit. Sidekick problem solved, right? Well, not really. They kept aging and, during the 90s, DC created a new wave of sidekicks... which eventually needed a team, and since the Teen Titans were no longer teenagers, they got the name as well. Now the original titans are too old to stay in the team and not popular enough to substitute their mentors. Some became part of the Justice League, but that didn't sit well with the title's fans at all. Without a team, most of these characters are doomed to be title-less, which puts them at risk of fading away.

8. Black Lightning

Black Lightning was created to be the main African American superhero from DC Comics, and yet the character has been blocked from every opportunity of exposure outside comics: for Super Friends, they had to create "Black Vulcan", for Static Shock, they created "Soul Power", and he was notoriously absent in Justice League. He got some recent prominence in comics, but it has been fading since he quit the Justice League. And now, with Static as the new and improved electric black dude, BL is even less likely to get some spotlight.

7. The Penguin

This guy is probably the most recurring and well known of the list. Ask anybody who's not a comics book fan - the Penguin is a popular character. He even appeared more often in the 60s TV show than the Joker. However, in the current comics, he's a mere supporting character. What happened? In the 80s all the popular Batman characters got their postmodern makeover. The Joker, Two-face, Poison Ivy and Catwoman went from silly gimmicky villains to complex characters. The Penguin (like the Riddler) never made the leap. Even though, in theory, he always had what it takes to be a spectacular villain with magnetic personality: An epic histrionic disorder. As the creators of South Park how far can a character get with that (yes, I'm talking about Cartman).

6. The Question

Between Alan Moore's Rorschach and the Fox Mulder-esque treatment the Question got in Justice League Unlimited DC had the perfect formula to make Vic Sage a hit character. On the other hand they had Renee Montoya, a minor supporting character getting quite popular thanks to Gotham Central. What was done? They killed off Vic and turned Montoya into the Question. Did it work? If the purpose was trading the lead status for a supporting one, I guess it did. Montoya is a lovely member of Batman's supporting cast, but she doesn't have the twisted mind that is required to be the Question and now she can't even fall back to her police role.

5. Garth

Aqualad's main roles were sidekick of Aquaman and member of the Teen Titans, but what happens when he becomes too old for either? Literally, not much. Garth was killed two years ago and a new Aqualad has replaced him on both fronts.

4. Green Lantern John Stewart.

John was always meant to be supporting, he was the original "fill-in Green Lantern" to Hal Jordan; however, by 1992 he was popular enough to get his own series - which was cancelled for no good reason. Later, in 2001 he became the Green Lantern of the Justice League TV series; the idea was to bring diversity to the show to reach a wider audience. The comics followed the trend for a while, but despite all the other media popularity, when DC resurrected Jordan and brought back Guy Gardner, Stewart hit the bench once again.

3. Lobo

Lobo was created in 1983 and by the late 80s he was appearing at least once every single month. He got a number of miniseries and then, after R.E.B.E.L.S. was cancelled, his own title. However, with the change of century, Lobo started fading. He became supporting character of Young Justice, some appearances in 52, and then, back to supporting R.E.B.E.L.S.

2. Wally West

Like Iris West (his aunt) and Ralph Dibny, the Kid Flash is one of the earliest and most recurring supporting characters of the Flash. In the silver age, he was also a Teen Titan. When Barry Allen died, Wally became the Flash (the character got the regular series) and has been part of three incarnations of the Justice League. Recently, DC decided to resurrect Barry. Now, we have two Flashes, but we only get to see the adventures of the original.

1. Elongated Man & Wife

Before the mid 90s, one way or another, the Elongated Man always had a decent amount of appearances. About once every month. After that, his appearances became scarce. In 2004, writers Keith Giffen and J. M. DeMatteis found the perfect home for the Dibnys in Formerly Known as the Justice League. Then, Brad Meltzer decided Sue could be the perfect victym for a thriller (Identity Crisis) and further than that, her death unleashed years of megacrossover events for DC (not even the Death of Superman caused such an aftermath). Ralph died in one of those spins (52) and they ended becoming "detective ghosts". As tragic as those stories were, at least it can be said that they put the Dibnys front center; however, it has been over four years since the end of 52 and those ghosts have only made 3 very brief cameos. Ralph used to be one of the most recurring characters of Flash, along with Iris West and Kid Flash; he had ties strong ties to Batman, was a member of the classic silver age Justice League of America and the Justice League International. However, now it'd seem that DC goes out of its way to avoid featuring them (in Justice League: Generation Lost and Flashpoint, for instance). And it's not only in comics: Sue has never been featured in other media, Ralph's animation time doesn't add up to even 5 minutes, and he's notoriously absent from the DC Universe Online videogame and the DC Universe Classics action figures.

The End of the DC Universe!

The other day, I saw a thread in the DC message boards that got me thinking about the kind of endings that I'd like for the characters of the current DCU. Here's what I came up with:

Green Lantern
Sinestro finally gets Oa destroyed, but he loses his own life in the process. Kyle, John, Kilowog, Soranik, Salaak, Arisia, Ch'p, Katma, Tomar Re, and Sodam become the new Guardians of the earth battery, which only survived because Hal merged with the light.

The Flash
Barry Allen returns after surviving the Crisis on Infinite Earths. Realizing that Central City has long moved on after he disappeared and that Earth is safer than ever, he moves to the future with Iris [so that his climax is CoIE but he still gets his happy "silver age" ending]. The Rogues retire and Wally remains the guardian of the city.

The Atom
Ryan and Ray find a way to cure Jean from her Jimbaran relapses. Ray decided to retire as the Atom to focus on his marriage.

Justice League International
Booster Gold makes the ultimate sacrifice, which only a resurrected Ted will ever acknowledge. Ted becomes the new "Maxwell" of the last JLI [it's a switcheroo deal topped with a "Greatest story never told" situation], which also has Fire as its field leader. Ice retires to have a family with Guy... What none of them ever find out is that Maxwell's actual brain remains in his old cyborg body; he retired long ago and has lived with L-Ron and Wanda managing a Manga Khan space resort ever since.

Wonder Woman
Wonder Woman saves USA from the wrath of the Gods, her body becomes a statue at Washington and Zeus gives her soul, along with Steve's a place in Mount Olympus [CoIE + Greek tragedy].

Batman
The Joker and a small gang of old time criminals push Damian betray his father and Terry. Damian sacrifices taking the Joker with him. Eventually, Bruce dies by Selina's side surrounded by Terry, Barbara, Dick and Tim [It's a legacy thing, he made a difference]. He's buried by them, along with the remaining leaguers and the Batman Inc. Corps.

The Elongated Man
Ralph and Sue keep solving DC mysteries forever [Quantum Leap, anyone?]. Billy Warner becomes the best detective of his generation, the Detective Chimp invites him to join the Croatoan Society.

The Martian Manhunter
The Martian Manhunter retires to live with a single mother and her daughter [is, he embraces humanity]. They die at the same time from natural causes.

Green Arrow
Dinah and Ollie remarry, only to get divorce the next year after that. They remain a couple. They have a daughter; she becames a registered Republican and wants nothing to do with superheroes.

Hawkman
It took a thousand reincarnations, but Hawkman and Hawkgirl finally complete their lives without early tragedies.

Zatanna
Zee finally starts a drama-free relationship with a normal guy and retires [she got over her daddy issues]. She becomes a hot soccer mom. Her kid is teased because there are a lot of "glamour" pics of her mom all over the Internet.

Starman
Not an important character, but Starman sacrificed himself to save Earth from his own race [Ziggy style], which were actually mutants created by the Spiders from Vega.

Aquaman
After Aquaman achieves great peace between Atlantis and the rest of the World, and a lot of prosperity emanates from his county, he dies in a fight against One's son, who was then killed by Garth, who was, at the time, considered a traitor to the kingdom. This way, Garth gets this way his redemption, as well as the forgiveness of Meera and Atlantis. He is finally allowed to reunite with his Atlantean wife: Arthur's daughter.[something Arthurian without making Mera a **** or dragging swords and lakes into it].

Black Lightning
Black Lightning reveals his identity and becames Mayor of Metropolis [he finally made the difference. Would President be too much?]. The Suicide Slum becomes the Suicide District, the cultural center of the city (real state agents keep trying to push for "Simon Heights", but nothing). He puts on his wig for one more fight along the League after that.

Metamorpho
Java takes one of Simon's plan to the extreme, and kills Sapphire; Simon kills Java trying to save her. Although old habits die hard, Simon rejects his own selfishness for her and his grandson; Metamorpho accepts himself in order to provide a role model for his son, he gets Simon's frequent cooperation as a grandfather.

Justice League Unlimited
The Justice League is carried on by Terry.

Superman
Mr. Mxyzptlk puts Superman him through some ultimate test of morals and courage. He passes and the imp alters reality so that his enemies fade away. However, many years later, Luthor returns and things too far in order to destroy him (probably something involving the Anti-Monitor technology from Crisis on Infinite Earths). He is a shell of a man, merged with Brainiac, Amazon and Metallo technologies, and he makes Superman chose between sacrifice or the destruction of all reality. Superman chooses the former and dies. Right then, after realizing that he has lost his humanity and has almost destroyed everything he ever cared about in the process of eliminating him, Luthor commits suicide. It turns out this was Mxyzptlk's real test. He pops up again to restore everything, only this time he leaves Clark without his powers, thus lifting the overwhelming responsibility from his shoulders, so that he finally has no other choice than to spend the rest of his days living a normal life with Lois and their half Kryptonian son. Karen retires to lead her own life with her family. Kara married Jimmy and along with Krypto, she proudly carries Superman's legacy.
The Kents retire to live in the old Smallville farm. Every day Clark looks more like Jonathan. 

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.