# Favorite Golden Age Comic Book Superhero? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 10, 2007, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-golden-age-comic-book-superhero/407464 "2007-06-10T15:16:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Hey\_It\_s\_That\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Hey\_It\_s\_That\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hey_It_s_That_Guy)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2007, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-golden-age-comic-book-superhero/407464/21 "2007-06-10T23:08:59Z")
[QUOTE=Bosda Di’Chi of Tricor] These are coming out in Trade Paperback format. > **[Amazon.com: Justice Society, Vol. 1: 9781401209704: Levitz, Paul, Conway, Gerry,...](https://www.amazon.com/Justice-Society-Vol-America/dp/140120970X)** > > Amazon.com: Justice Society, Vol. 1: 9781401209704: Levitz, Paul, Conway, Gerry, Various: Books > **[Amazon.com: Justice Society, Vol. 2: 9781401211943: Levitz, Paul, Staton, Joe,...](https://www.amazon.com/Justice-Society-Vol-Paul-Levitz/dp/1401211941)** > > Amazon.com: Justice Society, Vol. 2: 9781401211943: Levitz, Paul, Staton, Joe, Layton, Bob, Giella, Joe, Hunt, Dave: Books [/QUOTE] To clarify, those are reprints of All-Star Comics from the ‘70s, not Roy Thomas’ All-Star Squadron series from the '80s. ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2007, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-golden-age-comic-book-superhero/407464/22 "2007-06-10T23:33:46Z")
Plastic Man and Blackhawk are big favorites of mine. [Madam Fatal](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madame_Fatal) was a bit ahead of its time. I’d love to see reprints of [Gary Concorde, the Ultra-Man](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ultra-Man). The worst was one called “The Eye,” a huge disembodied eye that floated around smiting evildoers. “Injury to eye motif” indeed! ---
**Author:** ![BMax](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bmax/32/4267_2.png) [@BMax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMax)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2007, 4:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-golden-age-comic-book-superhero/407464/23 "2007-06-11T04:41:38Z")
[QUOTE=Push You Down] At one point in the serial Capt. Marvel shoots Turkish soldiers with a machine gun. Oh also these are retreating soldiers and he shoots them in the back. SHAZAM! indeed. For me Captain America cannot really be topped. [/QUOTE] The Captain Marvel movies I bought have him chasing the bad guys onto the roof of a building, picking up a big V8 engine block and throwing it at a bad guy, hitting him in the back of the head, knocking him off the roof. It was never explained why they had the garage on the roof of the building. ---
**Author:** ![Ranchoth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranchoth/32/1066_2.png) [@Ranchoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranchoth)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2007, 4:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-golden-age-comic-book-superhero/407464/24 "2007-06-11T04:48:54Z")
Hmm…does this include the version of Batman who killed people, occasionally? And—wikipedia tells me that [The Shadow](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Shadow#Comic_books) had some comic spinoffs in this time frame. That outta count for something. ---
**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2007, 5:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-golden-age-comic-book-superhero/407464/25 "2007-06-11T05:17:25Z")
The Spirit!!! ---
**Author:** ![cmkeller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmkeller/32/118_2.png) [@cmkeller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmkeller)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2007, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-golden-age-comic-book-superhero/407464/26 "2007-06-11T13:53:39Z")
> [@](#): > > I believe Iron Munro was an analogue for Hugo Danner, the main character from Phillip Wylie’s novel Gladiator, one of the first modern stories about a superhero as we know them (and in turn one of the inspirations for Superman). Yes and no. Iron Munro and the rest of the “Young All-Stars” (except Dan the Dyna-Mite) were meant to be analogues for the Golden Age heroes erased from existence by the Crisis. Iron Munro’s _backstory_, however, was tied into “Gladiator.” ---
**Author:** ![CandidGamera](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/candidgamera/32/2878_2.png) [@CandidGamera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CandidGamera)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2007, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-golden-age-comic-book-superhero/407464/27 "2007-06-11T20:02:13Z")
[QUOTE=Big Bad Voodoo Lou] To clarify, those are reprints of All-Star Comics from the ‘70s, not Roy Thomas’ All-Star Squadron series from the '80s. [/QUOTE] Yeah, dammit, Bosda nearly gave me a heart attack when he said All-Star Squadron was hitting TPB. Don’t tease a guy like that! 'Course, I’m about four issues short of the complete run of the series anyway.. ---
**Author:** ![photopat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e95f7d/32.png) [@photopat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/photopat)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2007, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-golden-age-comic-book-superhero/407464/28 "2007-06-11T20:21:10Z")
Superman, Green Lantern, Flash and Johnny Thunder. I always liked that guy. And my favorite Golden Age parody, “The Green Lampshade, star of All Ukrainian Comics,” from E-Man. ---
**Author:** ![cbawlmer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/71e660/32.png) [@cbawlmer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cbawlmer)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2007, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-golden-age-comic-book-superhero/407464/29 "2007-06-11T21:33:18Z")
No love for the Spectre? He’s my favorite. Such a bizarre concept for a character! ---
**Author:** ![JThunder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e95f7d/32.png) [@JThunder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JThunder)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2007, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-golden-age-comic-book-superhero/407464/30 "2007-06-11T22:04:37Z")
[QUOTE=photopat] Superman, Green Lantern, Flash and Johnny Thunder. I always liked that guy. [/QUOTE] Excellent choice. ---
**Author:** ![JThunder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e95f7d/32.png) [@JThunder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JThunder)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2007, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-golden-age-comic-book-superhero/407464/31 "2007-06-11T22:05:42Z")
[QUOTE=cmkeller] Yes and no. Iron Munro and the rest of the “Young All-Stars” (except Dan the Dyna-Mite) were meant to be analogues for the Golden Age heroes erased from existence by the Crisis. [/QUOTE] Excelt for Dan the Dyna-Mite and Sandy the Golden Boy, that is. Of course, Sandy didn’t figure prominently in those stories, and he was basically dropped after the first few issues. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2007, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-golden-age-comic-book-superhero/407464/32 "2007-06-11T22:09:21Z")
[QUOTE=cbawlmer] No love for the Spectre? He’s my favorite. Such a bizarre concept for a character! [/QUOTE] And the early art reminds me of Ditko. I wonder if it was an influence? ---
**Author:** ![Don\_Draper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b2d939/32.png) [@Don\_Draper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_Draper)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2007, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-golden-age-comic-book-superhero/407464/33 "2007-06-11T22:15:30Z")
Gotta put in a plug for Wonder Woman, in all her original thinly-veiled B&D, S&M kinky, ever-so-slightly-Sapphic, mistress & slave-lovin’ glory! ---
**Author:** ![Sir\_Prize](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d2c977/32.png) [@Sir\_Prize](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sir_Prize)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2007, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-golden-age-comic-book-superhero/407464/34 "2007-06-12T00:16:49Z")
Lot’s of great choices listed here but for me the top is split between Captain Marvel and The Spirit. ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2007, 5:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-golden-age-comic-book-superhero/407464/35 "2007-06-12T05:39:14Z")
[QUOTE=The New and Improved Superman] Gotta put in a plug for Wonder Woman, in all her original thinly-veiled B&D, S&M kinky, ever-so-slightly-Sapphic, mistress & slave-lovin’ glory! [/QUOTE] Yeah, Golden Age Wonder Woman is the very bestest Wonder Woman of them all! ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2007, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-golden-age-comic-book-superhero/407464/36 "2007-06-13T17:20:44Z")
I like the Golden Age versions of Green Lantern and Hawkman much better than later incarnations. I like the original Human Torch much better than Johnny Storm. ---
**Author:** ![RikWriter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/49beb7/32.png) [@RikWriter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RikWriter)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2007, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-golden-age-comic-book-superhero/407464/37 "2007-06-13T17:36:21Z")
As an aside, did anyone ever read the DC miniseries (and graphic novel collection) “Golden Age?” All in all, one of my favorite comic books ever. ---
**Author:** ![cbawlmer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/71e660/32.png) [@cbawlmer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cbawlmer)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2007, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-golden-age-comic-book-superhero/407464/38 "2007-06-13T20:51:37Z")
_The Golden Age_ by James Robinson? It’s excellent, and was a non-continuity precursor to his _Starman_ series, aka the bestest comic ever. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-golden-age-comic-book-superhero/407464.md?page=1)