What is the 1st appearance of the SA Superman & Batman?

[Shadow]

Is there a "true" first appearance of the Silver Age Superman or Batman? Or did it just gradually happen?

[deathlok]

without looking in the OS, I would assume it would be right after Showcase #4 was published.

[Shadow]

I'll have to check the Guide out.

[Timely]

I'd suggest Superman #76 or World's Finest #71 as a good place to start. Those early team-ups may have helped form the JLA.

 

Timely~West

[Zonker]

Most would say it just gradually happened. (Personally, I felt the Silver Age never really arrived to Batman until Julie Schwartz added the yellow oval around the bat-symbol in Detective 327).

 

Now, if you're asking (in pre-Crisis terms) when were the first "Earth-One" Superman and Batman stories, well, many fanzine articles have been devoted to that debate... no one really has a consensus for when it occured.

[Aman619]

I cant think of a particular issue of Superman that was any differebnt from the previous issue.... so maybe one of the Action issues. But here too, it was a gradual accumulation of Weisinger additions to the mythos. Perhaps #252 introduction of Supergirl. But Brainiac in #242 was also a first appearance of a major SA character. Good question. Can the answer be "There was none?"

[samurai007]

I would argue that it's much earlier... Superman of Earth 2's main bald-headed scientist enemy was Ultra-Humanite, while Earth 1's was Lex Luthor. Earth 2's Clark Kent worked at the Daily Star, while Earth 1's worked at the Daily Planet.

 

From these 2 facts, I'd say Action Comics #23 was the switch-over to Earth 1. It was the 1st appearance of Luthor, and the 1st time Clark worked at the Daily Planet instead of the Daily Star.

[FlyingDonut]

For Batman, I've always thought Detective 327. Even late 310s and 320s Detectives have a totally different feel than post-"New Look" Detectives.

[Rob]

I agree with the Detective 327 for Batman. If you ever see depictions of "golden age Batman" or "silver age Batman", they're practically pre-327 and post-327.

 

I think the guide lists an actual "last golden age issue" for Batman. I thnk it's something like 103 for the Batman title. I know I have #99, which is the last golden age appearance of the Penguin.

[Mister_Comics]

For Batman, I've always thought Detective 327. Even late 310s and 320s Detectives have a totally different feel than post-"New Look" Detectives.

 

I somewhat agree. But then they kind of changed Batman again when the TV show came out. And then there's the re-appearances of some of the golden age villains that confuses things. Villains like the first Mad Hatter, Signal Man, Killer Moth, Kite-Man, and Tweedledee & Tweedledum (which we see/hear about but never a story with them). Its almost like they never really defined either BATMAN.

 

Whatever! I still like the Prof. Carter Nichols stories. Now who will know what I'm talking about.

[Aman619]

I would argue that it's much earlier... Superman of Earth 2's main bald-headed scientist enemy was Ultra-Humanite, while Earth 1's was Lex Luthor. Earth 2's Clark Kent worked at the Daily Star, while Earth 1's worked at the Daily Planet.

 

From these 2 facts, I'd say Action Comics #23 was the switch-over to Earth 1. It was the 1st appearance of Luthor, and the 1st time Clark worked at the Daily Planet instead of the Daily Star.

 

yeah but were looking for the first SA appearance. Theres no way 23 can be Silver!!

[samurai007]

I would argue that it's much earlier... Superman of Earth 2's main bald-headed scientist enemy was Ultra-Humanite, while Earth 1's was Lex Luthor. Earth 2's Clark Kent worked at the Daily Star, while Earth 1's worked at the Daily Planet.

 

From these 2 facts, I'd say Action Comics #23 was the switch-over to Earth 1. It was the 1st appearance of Luthor, and the 1st time Clark worked at the Daily Planet instead of the Daily Star.

 

yeah but were looking for the first SA appearance. Theres no way 23 can be Silver!!

Well, it's a fact that for DC comics, the "SA" characters were on Earth 1, and the Golden Age characters were on Earth 2. Although it wasn't called Earth 1 at the time, Action #23 was a radical shift for Superman. They renamed the paper he worked for, and introduced a new bald-headed mad scientist for him to fight. By the time the SA rolled around, in DC continuity, they declared the GA Superman of Earth 2 to be the guy that worked at the Daily Star and constantly fought Ultra Humanite. Therefor, by DC's own rules, the 1st Earth 1 Superman was Action 23. He was ahead of his time, but that's how DC did it. Since the Earth 2/ GA Supes never worked at the Daily Planet, how else could you possibly split it?

[Aman619]

well, remember that the whole Crisi inspired Earth 1 and Earth 2 idea was in th econtext of bringing together the long defunct JSA characters with the new SA JLA incarnations. There was great symmettry for the majority of both. BUT - - three superheroes never went away!! Supes Bats and WW.

 

This problem was written away later on in (what?) the 5th or 6th Annual Crisis when they told the stories of the Earth 2 Robin, etc right? So technically (for me anyway) there werent two SUpes and Bats. The SA Batman was a stylistic change credited to Infantino in Tec 327. That works. But unless we find a specific Supes SA departure point IN THE SILVER AGE, not in 1941), I guess Supes will be as you say: essentially a GA holdover with a very short incubation period (pre #23) that became written into the Earth 2 version.

[Rob]

But unless we find a specific Supes SA departure point IN THE SILVER AGE, not in 1941), I guess Supes will be as you say: essentially a GA holdover with a very short incubation period (pre #23) that became written into the Earth 2 version.

 

I say Superman 123, where he donned the flashy blue outfit.