Help:Ask a DCPedian

If he lost his powers....
If Martian Manhunter lost his powers (Much like how he lost his in Smallville) how can he get them back?

J. A. R. Head 04:06, December 29, 2009 (UTC)


 * I don't think he has ever lost his powers by natural means. Do you mean like the time he lost his powers because of exposure to the sun and his fire vulnerabilities? In the comics, fire weakens him significantly, but he still has his powers. His shape-shifting usually goes out of control, but he regains his abilities as soon as he's no longer being exposed to flame. Unless of course he's dead.
 * - Billy Arrowsmith (Talk), 04:52, December 29, 2009 (UTC)

So, he can't realy lose his powers? J. A. R. Head 04:59, December 29, 2009 (UTC)

The NEW Teen Titans in New Earth?
Is the comic series "The NEW Teen Titans", that started in 1980, considered part of Dick's Post-Crisis/New Earth history? I know Teen Titans: Year One goes back to the first days of the first team. What about the second team? With Robin, Kid Flash, Wonder Girl, Cyborg, Starfire, Beast Boy, and Raven? Is that comic series still in continuity?

J. A. R. Head 04:58, December 29, 2009 (UTC)


 * The whole thing is completely in continuity, unless something you've read recently directly contradicts something that happened back then. New Teen Titans was recent enough that they didn't have to completely revamp it for modern continuity, unlike the Year One story.
 * - Billy Arrowsmith (Talk), 05:08, December 29, 2009 (UTC)

With "Secret Origin" out...
Which is being effected? "Man of Steel" or "Birthright"?

J. A. R. Head 05:16, December 29, 2009 (UTC)


 * Both of them. They are both out of continuity. While the end result of him becoming Superman remains the same, the details of how he got there are totally up in the air, the official explanation being that this is his definitive origin in the post-Infinite Crisis continuity. As such, it's retconning a bunch of elements from both.
 * - Billy Arrowsmith (Talk), 05:30, December 29, 2009 (UTC)

IDk...

I'm a little skeptical. Reason being I read the discription of Birthright and it seemed that it took place more in Superman's adult life. And I own the first issue of Man of Steel and I think there could be a explination for both.

IDK... But thanks, anyway! :D J. A. R. Head 05:44, December 29, 2009 (UTC)


 * They all do that, though. All of them tell the story of Superman first coming to Metropolis as an adult, in addition to his childhood years. But there are important key differences. For example, The Man of Steel made it so that no other Kryptonians could have survived the exploding planet, but Superman: Birthright retconned that so that they could use characters like Supergirl and the Bottle City of Kandor. There's the issue of his relationship to Lex Luthor, who in one series is a ruthless businessman that Superman met for the first time in Metropolis, and in the other is his childhood friend, and one of the world's top scientists. They changed some of his powers, and even the explanation behind his costume. This is without going into Secret Origin, which changes his childhood from a brief footnote in his career, into an epic recorded history of costumed heroism 1000 years in the future.
 * - Billy Arrowsmith (Talk), 07:16, December 29, 2009 (UTC)

I looked through some recent Superman comics (Last year; 2008) and there's one that is based before the events of Man of Steel# 5, I beleive... Would there be a problem with "Secret Origin" if past comics refrence the other two?

Also, is the ORIGINAL Teen Titans comics (From the 60's) canon? I got into a convo about it on the DC Facebook page and I wasn't sure if it was still in continuity. Is it? Or is there something that changed that besides the first Crisis? J. A. R. Head 22:53, December 30, 2009 (UTC)

Superboy (Connor)
Is Connor dead? Or is he still in comics right now?

J. A. R. Head 05:25, January 3, 2010 (UTC)


 * Well, he DID die (in Infinite Crisis) but he got better (in Final Crisis: Legion of 3 Worlds) and was the star of the relaunched Adventure Comics for a few months and is now active in the Blackest Night Limited Series. --WolfordMnemsis 14:06, January 3, 2010 (UTC)


 * All of which, I think, is reflected in his bio.
 * Roygbiv666 -- [[Image:Roygbiv666.jpg|25px|link=User talk:Roygbiv666]] 15:52, January 3, 2010 (UTC)

So, Connor is alive currently? J. A. R. Head 18:03, January 3, 2010 (UTC)


 * He's still the star of Adventure Comics. They've been spotlighting Superboy-Prime, but the titles revolves around Connor's adventures in Smallville. He's definitely active, and being published.
 * - Billy Arrowsmith (Talk), 18:22, January 3, 2010 (UTC)

Earth-Two/New Earth???
I was wondering...

Are comics from Earth-Two have anything to do with New Earth? Not Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman comics. I'm talking Flash Comics, Green Lantern, All-Star, you know the ones about the JSA members and the team?

Is there any possibility those are canon in any way???

I only ask this question because there seems to be no other comics based in the time other than the "Secret Origins" series that came out in 1986 that touched a lot of origins at the time and also some of the first encounters, like the Barry and Jay meeting and things like that. J. A. R. Head 01:39, January 6, 2010 (UTC)


 * Assuming you mean Earth-Two and not Earth-2, I imagine they are mostly considered canon, with the proviso that any appearance of Superman/Batman/Wonder Woman "didn't happen". So, basically, if you can imagine some simple fix in your mind to have one of those adventures happen then they did.
 * Roygbiv666 -- [[Image:Roygbiv666.jpg|25px|link=User talk:Roygbiv666]] 04:59, January 6, 2010 (UTC)


 * No, they're no longer canon. However, Hypertime dictates that they all still did actually happen, it's just that the current reality doesn't acknowledge them as exact history. And there are a lot of contemporary stories that explore the events of the Golden Age in current continuity. Particularly, anything this happens a lot with stories about the Justice Society of America. Most of it is actually preserved pretty well, and the stuff happened, but they usually retcon it to streamline a little bit more into present canon.
 * Also, Roy, if I'm not mistaken, I think they covered that one. They retconned in replacement characters, so that any stories directly involving any of the Big Three could still have taken place. Superman was replaced with Iron Munro, Batman with Flying Fox and Wonder Woman with Fury.
 * - Billy Arrowsmith (Talk), 07:14, January 6, 2010 (UTC)


 * So, doesn't that mean they are canon, with minor modifications that would make them fit continuity? What's the difference?
 * Roygbiv666 -- [[Image:Roygbiv666.jpg|25px|link=User talk:Roygbiv666]] 23:00, January 6, 2010 (UTC)

Actiually, I think the "Big 3" only apply to recent history, less than the 1940's.

I went scavagering through some of the older comics that some people have on this site. It seems to me, that the old 1940's Flash and Green Latner comics are more canon, possibly. I looked around in All-Star and found out Wonder Woman is a member of the team in the 1940's, which blows off a lot of what New Earth has already established. J. A. R. Head 21:37, January 6, 2010 (UTC)


 * It's the other way around. If new comics contradict something in old comics, that's a retcon. And the newer stuff takes precedent. Also, for the record, the Wonder Woman who was a member of the Justice Society is actually her mother Hippolyta.
 * - Billy Arrowsmith (Talk),

No, I was talking Earth-Two Wonder Woman was part of the JSA in the 1940's. Diana was this Wonder Woman I was speaking of. Her first appearance is in All-Star Comics#8 and she joins the team later in the series. Or, at least that's what I thought. Is the Earth-Two Wonder Woman still the same Diana (As in the name) or is it her mother like in current history?

Also, I ment Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman could not be active since all recent retcons and material suggest they are way younger than 80. And that they've been active since, probably the 1970's (Guesstimation since Batman's early history is still incomplete). So, they couldn't have been original JSA members. So it can't be the other way around if they aren't active at that time... J. A. R. Head 01:03, January 8, 2010 (UTC)


 * What I'm about to write is admittedly long-winded and a vast oversimplification but hopefully it will make things clear. After the events in Crisis on Infinite Earths all previous earths (Earth-One, Earth-Two, Earth-X, etc.) were erased and their histories merged into a brand new Earth that I'll call "Earth-Confusing" for now.  In this new reality, Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman did not exist in the 1940's or 1950's and every story ABOUT them (i.e. Action Comics, Detective Comics) no longer happened.  Every story about everybody else (i.e. Flash #1, Hawkman #1) are still ASSUMED to have happened unless a new story contradicts it, in which case it either didn't happen or didn't happen as written.  Some writers took the opportunity to go back and retell classic stories to plaster (if you will) the big gaping holes in continuity (which is where JLA: Year One and JLA: Incarnations come into play).  Shortly after the Crisis occurred, several characters (as mentioned above: Iron Munroe, Fury #1, Flying Fox) were introduced to serve as substitutes for Supes, WW and Bats.  These characters were apparently not warmly received by fans as they haven't really been elaborated on since then (with a few minor exceptions - Iron Munroe was in the latest Manhunter series, I believe).  But the assumption can be made that if a 1940's Superman story needs to be canon then Iron Munroe may have been the hero in Superman's stead.  But I stress this is an assumption by us until it gets published in some future issue.  Later, still, another writer got the bright idea to have Wonder Woman's mother, Hippolyta, be punished by the gods and forced to take Diana's role as WW after Diana died and during one of her (Hippolyta's) early adventures, she travelled back in time, met the JSA, and stayed for a while thus changing yet again the history to re-establish a Golden Age Wonder Woman, just not Diana.  Thus some 1940-1950 stories may still be canon with Hippolyta while others may be canon with Fury #1 and still others never happened at all.  (Deep breath).


 * Then Zero Hour came and "tweaked" major character's histories in sometimes minor ways (like Batman never learning who killed his parents), sometimes major ways (like every version of Hawkman merging into one new Hawk-god-character-thing-person).


 * THEN Infinite Crisis came and changed "Earth-Confusing" into "New Earth" again rebooting the history but serving (intentionally or not) to make the New Earth MUCH more similar to the old Earth-One (such as the original version of the Legion of Super-Heroes being restored to continuity, the Big 3 (Supes, Bats, WW) are "supposedly" back to founding member status in the JLA, etc.). At this point, DC Comics really hasn't definitively listed what older comics are still canon - likely because they don't want future stories to be tied to specific "arbitrary" historical facts.  So nowadays it's really anybody's guess how much of the Golden Age stories have survived the repeated makeovers into current continuity.


 * All that said, I think our default assumption is that everything is still in continuity unless we can demonstrate via newer, contradictory comic story that it isn't. I realize this doesn't necessarily answer your questions, but hopefully it explains why none of us really CAN answer your questions.  --WolfordMnemsis 01:49, January 8, 2010 (UTC)


 * Oh. I heard that DC will be publishing a new "Who's Who" series which, hopefully, will clarify a lot of canon questions.  But I'm not holding my breath.  --WolfordMnemsis 02:05, January 8, 2010 (UTC)

Now, I'm confused on the Wonder Woman thing.....

Did her mother go by Diana when she went back in time???? I'm sure Wonder Woman in "All-Star Comics" was Diana since none of this had been established in the 1940's. - J.A.R. Head


 * I don't know the answer to your Hippolyta question, because I didn't read any of those stories. She may have.  The larger picture here, I think, is that I don't think you can read any stories from the 1940's through the 1980's and assume the stories are still 100% true.  Ever since the first Crisis, it's been a bear trying to decide what still happened.  You really kind of have to read backwards assuming the 2000's stories are true and if they contradict the 1990's then the older issues didn't happen and then read the 1980s', etc.  If you make it to the 1940's without finding contradictions, you're golden...or you're sleep-deprived.  On a side note, I have Showcase Presents: Superman Vol 1 1, I think, maybe 2, where there's a story where Superman is forced to collect artifacts from around the solar system and it says 1) the Atlanteans are now extinct and were 2 foot tall (despite Aquaman being published simultaneously), and 2) Martians had elephant trunks (despite Martian Manhunter being published simultaneously).  I know early Wonder Woman stories had her fighting Venutians and Martians that can't possibly co-exist with other stories too.  So even before the Crisis, continuity was on pretty shaky grounds - because it wasn't a concern for writers at that time.  All they cared about was cranking out the stories - it was us fans, I believe, that made them start adhering to a single continuity.  Oops, I didn't mean to go on a ramble this time.  My point is you need to shift your mindset and look at older stories through a very fuzzy filter.  If the story kinda, sorta looks like it's generally consistent with what's being published today, there's a chance it's still canon.  But ultimately we don't make that call, the writers and editors at DC Comics do.  We just make our best educated guesses.  Hang in there, it's very tough to keep straight in your mind!!!!  --WolfordMnemsis 13:22, January 9, 2010 (UTC)


 * Wolfie, I heavily applaud your explanation.
 * - Billy Arrowsmith (Talk), 07:42, January 9, 2010 (UTC)


 * Why, thank you, kind sir!!!! --WolfordMnemsis 13:22, January 9, 2010 (UTC)

Thanks!

I've established, to myself, to only read comics from 1985/86/87 and onewards, since they are more probable for canon to today's comics.

I do plan on only reading some other comics, though. Mainly up to 1950's. Only the titles Flash Comics, All-Flash Comics, New/More Fun Comics, All-Star Comics, possibly those being the only ones, depending on who's in them. J. A. R. Head 21:38, January 9, 2010 (UTC)


 * Just out of curiosity, why does it matter if something is or isn't "canon"? They are all just made up stories. Is it just to keep everything straight? Also, I think my original answer still applies.
 * Roygbiv666 Sig 001.png 03:25, February 8, 2010 (UTC)

Template: Cast
What to do when, in a comic/episode/film/whatever, the 100-limit is surpassed? On pages with loads of characters (, for example), the automated categorization ends halfway through the locations. -- Tupka 217 21:57, January 6, 2010 (UTC)

JSA: All-Stars
What's the comic about???

I saw it when I looked up "All-Star" and I just noticed it there. I clicked on it and it had 7 issues but only 1 had any history on it.

What's JSA: All-Stars about???

J. A. R. Head 22:09, January 6, 2010 (UTC)


 * I haven't read them but my understanding is the JSA's older members and the younger members had a falling out over how to best be heroes. The younger team formed a second team and their adventures are in JSA: All Stars while the original are still in Justice Society of America.  --WolfordMnemsis 01:52, January 8, 2010 (UTC)

Adventure Comics/Blackest Night
Did the Adventure Comics blackest Night tie in redeem, or put Superman Prime on the path to redemption?

Clarkprime 22:40, January 8, 2010 (UTC)ClarkPrime Can lanterns belong to two Corps?


 * Presumably. He had some character development accepting his crimes and feeling bad about them in a serious way, but we won't really know where they're going with the story until they publish the rest of it. Lanterns can belong to two Corps at the same time. For example, Guy Gardner is currently a member of both the Green Lantern Corps and the Red Lantern Corps as of .
 * - Billy Arrowsmith (Talk), 07:46, January 9, 2010 (UTC)

Automatic category updates question
The Secret Files category box states This template will automatically categorize articles that include it into the Secret Files category but for some reason, this is not happening. I've added a few pages and changed a name or two but the box still shows the pre-edited versions. How do I go about updating it so the new changes are reflected in the category box. The best example is the Batman Allies Secret Files and Origins Vol 1 1 which is showing an older, nonexistent name Batman Allies Secret Files and Origins Vol 1 2005. Thanks! WolfordMnemsis 17:00, January 17, 2010 (UTC)


 * Check out my latest edit on Template:Secret Files and see if it is what you wanted to change. If it worked, then you just edit Template:Secret Files. Any page that uses it may need to be edited and re-saved for the change to appear on it.
 * Roygbiv666 -- [[Image:Roygbiv666.jpg|25px|link=User talk:Roygbiv666]] 20:15, January 17, 2010 (UTC)


 * Thanks, Roygbiv!!! --WolfordMnemsis 22:08, January 17, 2010 (UTC)


 * Whoops, when I made that template I might've dropped the ball. Also, they don't need to be resaved, but it might take a day or two for the servers to parse through them.
 * - Billy Arrowsmith (Talk), 02:37, January 18, 2010 (UTC)

indigo tribe is really strongest lanter corps in the universe
does anyone think that the indigo tribe is the strongest lanterns then the blue lanters corps thus making them the strongest lanterns corps ever. since the they can use other lanterns power against them.

Justice teen 23:21, January 17, 2010 (UTC)

Going Bats for Kory
As I was perusing around the internet, I happened upon this photo and I'm very curious about it. I'm wondering where it came from, it doesn't look like fan art and it looks like it might be from recent comics. So, where's it from and what's going on in this picture? Brookerthehooker 05:27, January 18, 2010 (UTC)


 * Amusingly, the image you found was taking from one of our uploads... we have all the information for it. It's from Titans Vol 2 16. I'll ask the original uploader what the context was, and if it was a dream sequence. Either way, that's not Bruce Wayne, that's Dick Grayson.
 * - Billy Arrowsmith (Talk), 05:50, January 18, 2010 (UTC)


 * Yessir, that's Dick. In Titans #16 Kory goes to see a psychologist who asks her about her dreams. Apparently this is a recurring dream where Kory confronts her feelings about Dick but is challenged by the Batman and Nightwing costumes. The entire issue is dedicated to her and this picture is expanded upon so I suggest searching around and grabbing it, it's got much juicer images in it as well. >=D
 * --Midoki24 15:06, January 18, 2010 (UTC)

Who is the new Bruce Wayne?
In the aftermath of Final Crisis and Battle for the Cowl, I know that the new Batman is Dick Grayson, but in the recent Batman comics I am reading, 'Bruce Wayne' makes several appearances? Who is the new Bruce Wayne? Is he a double? Hasn't anyone suspected anything about this 'new Bruce Wayne'?

Samitabbara 16:31, January 21, 2010 (UTC)


 * That's an easy one. It's Hush. He went under plastic surgery to look exactly like Bruce Wayne during the Heart of Hush storyline, and now he's been impersonating him. The Batman Family is very aware of this, however. To prevent Hush from doing anything crazy, he is constantly followed everywhere by an escort, one of Batman's allies disguised with magic as an executive advisor. I think the story was explained in .
 * - Billy Arrowsmith (Talk), 17:04, January 21, 2010 (UTC)

GunPowderKegdoes anyone know what ever happened to Ynar and Vandeamon? would that make them surviving lords of chaos and order in the new age of magic?

How did Crisis on Infinite Earths affect Zatanna?
I was wondering if Zatanna was explicitly affected by COIE like say, Superman or Wonder Woman was? Did her power set get drastically reduced and alot of her stories retconned? Also, any specific issue numbers which could answer this question one way or the other would be greatly appreciated.

JaketheBank 23:39, January 28, 2010 (UTC)


 * As far as I can tell, Zatanna was NOT directly impacted by the Crisis. There was a John Zatara on Earth-Two (because he was in the pre-crisis All-Star Squadron) so that history I guess was merged but I don't think there was any direct result to Zatanna.  Having said that, shortly after the Crisis (meaning 3 years or so), her origin, as well as her father's, were altered in the pages of Secret Origins Vol 2 27 to have been tied to Dr. Mist's creation of a magical race (i.e. Homo Magi) but I think of that as an independent and minor retcon in the grand scheme of things.  --WolfordMnemsis 00:20, January 29, 2010 (UTC)

Wyoming Kid
What ever happened to Wyoming Kid? Did he die? Did he live up to the 20th Century? Also, what years in the 19th Century did he live in?

Chapmen84 01:10, February 18, 2010 (UTC)

Orb of Ra
Both Marvel and DC have an "Orb of Ra" - is there a real-world mythological one? 19:29, February 28, 2010 (UTC)

The Lightning Rod
I would like to ask about the concept of The Flash's lightning rod. What has it to do with being in love or in relation to the Flash's wife? Knightman 06:53, March 4, 2010 (UTC)


 * It's symbolic. Lightning is a wild and uncontrollable force, unless you have a suitable conductor, such as a lightning rod. The greatest difficulty that the Flash has, as a man who moves thousands of times faster than the world around him, is remaining tethered to the real world instead of giving into the speed and losing himself to it. This is a very literal danger at their extreme velocities, they could run themselves so hard that they disappear into the Speed Force. So they need a lightning rod. In this case, Barry Allen's love for Iris West keeps him from losing himself in even the most intense situations. Does that make sense?
 * - Billy Arrowsmith (Talk), 08:22, March 4, 2010 (UTC)

Ok I get it thanks... Knightman 08:07, March 8, 2010 (UTC)

superman # 1
how much is superman #1 is worth

Joshpool 14:18, March 9, 2010 (UTC)

Aquaman's Hand
How did he lose his hand? Was it well taken from readers? Also wasn't he kind of skinnier from the older comics with him? Now he's all big and buff, any reason behind that other then an update to the character? :)
 * Midoki24 02:02, March 10, 2010 (UTC)


 * Aquaman lost his hand in a fight against Charybdis. His hand was eaten by piranhas, and then he replaced it with a harpoon. (Aquaman Vol 5 2, 0) It is my understanding that people generally liked seeing him take a level in badass, but they did eventually bring him back to his original costume. As for his increase in muscle, I believe he got a bowflex.
 * - Billy Arrowsmith (Talk), 06:44, March 10, 2010 (UTC)

No Flash Archives?
I noticed there were no Flash Archive books in the cover art gallery while Green Lantern has 6 volumes. That just does not seem right to me. Can you give me a complete list of all the Archive books or tell me where I can find such a list and maybe a history of that series please? Thank you. Michaellee 04:37, March 20, 2010 (UTC)

Michaellee 04:37, March 20, 2010 (UTC)

Category:DC Archive Editions

Superman's Crimes
Is the story about Superman killing Kryptonians in a pocket universe still canonical with the advent of Secret origins? Knightman 06:07, March 22, 2010 (UTC)

Red Flags!
Is there anywhere on an article where users can flag it for fixing and some such? Like if we notice something wrong and we can't fix it ourselves how can we get the article in touch with an admin? Midoki24 23:40, March 26, 2010 (UTC)


 * Yes. Click here for a partial list of template names you can add to an article. It then gets added to the site "To Do List".
 * Roygbiv666 Sig 001.png 16:08, March 27, 2010 (UTC)

Wonder Woman/Secret Identity and Flash origin stories...
I notice a lot that Wonder Woman likes to say her name out loud "I'm Princess Diana...". Does she have a secret identity?

Also, are there any stories out there based on Barry Allen's origin? Like books like Secret Origin (1980's)? Cuz it seems like Barry's origin hasn't been told in Post-Crisis or New Earth, like Wonder Woman did (WW vol. 2, #1-6), Superman (Man of Steel/Birhtright/For All Seasons/Secret Origin), Batman (Year One), and Green Lantern, too (Emerald Dawn).

J. A. R. Head 22:05, April 24, 2010 (UTC)


 * Her identity is public as an Amazon princess, Wonder Woman is actually a political figure... she's an emissary and an ambassador. During One Year Later she adopted the secret identity of Diana Prince, an agent of the Department of Metahuman Affairs, because she wanted to get closer to humanity instead of living above them. But that's only been for the past several years. Barry Allen's origin story was retold in Flash: Rebirth.
 * - Billy Arrowsmith (Talk), 22:52, April 24, 2010 (UTC)

So, as far as her identity goes, she's just Princess Diana to the public? J. A. R. Head 01:35, April 26, 2010 (UTC)