# Have any TV shows based on DC or Marvel characters contributed anything to the canon? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 19, 2003, 7:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-any-tv-shows-based-on-dc-or-marvel-characters-contributed-anything-to-the-canon/149604 "2003-01-19T07:07:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**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:** [January 20, 2003, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-any-tv-shows-based-on-dc-or-marvel-characters-contributed-anything-to-the-canon/149604/21 "2003-01-20T02:01:50Z")
Johm Stewart had worked with the JLA before, as a sub for Hal Jordan. This was a Christmas story from the early 70s, probably by Len Wein and Dick Dillin. It’s been reprinted a couple of times. ---
**Author:** ![Fenris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fenris/32/498_2.png) [@Fenris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fenris)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2003, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-any-tv-shows-based-on-dc-or-marvel-characters-contributed-anything-to-the-canon/149604/22 "2003-01-20T02:35:25Z")
**Krokodil** : the story was in JLofA #110, and it’s one of the first I ever bought. 🙂 Fenris ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2003, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-any-tv-shows-based-on-dc-or-marvel-characters-contributed-anything-to-the-canon/149604/23 "2003-01-20T03:29:23Z")
Aunt Harriet appeared in the comics in the June '64 issue. The TV show begain broadcasting in 1966. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2003, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-any-tv-shows-based-on-dc-or-marvel-characters-contributed-anything-to-the-canon/149604/24 "2003-01-20T03:35:00Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by MGibson \* > Joker’s sidekick Harley Quinn got her start on the Batman Animated Series during the 90’s. Harlequin as a character has been around for decades. Her alter ego, Duela Dent, appeared way back in _Batman Family_ #6, (1976) and eventually the original incarnation of “Teen Titans” under the Harlequin name. The character, at various times, claimed to be the daughter of several different established Batman villians (including the Joker), with Two-Face eventually established as her parent. [Sample Pages](http://www.closetmonster.net/comics/batfamily.html), [Character Biography](http://www.keeffee.com/titans/duela.html) The modern “Harley Quinzell” version, though, is original to the cartoon as far as I know. ---
**Author:** ![caveman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/caveman/32/7242_2.png) [@caveman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/caveman)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2003, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-any-tv-shows-based-on-dc-or-marvel-characters-contributed-anything-to-the-canon/149604/25 "2003-01-20T04:27:01Z")
Did the live action _Shazam!_ TV show have any influence whatsoever on the comic version of Captain Marvel, the Big Red Cheese? ---
**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:** [January 20, 2003, 5:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-any-tv-shows-based-on-dc-or-marvel-characters-contributed-anything-to-the-canon/149604/26 "2003-01-20T05:39:51Z")
No. The new characters, the Winnebego and the new hairstyles were all shunned by the comics version (Still drawn at that pont by CC Beck and Kurt Schaffenberger). The spinoff companion show, Isis, was faithfully adapted as a DC comic, but one outside the DC canon (Isis was a licensed character). ---
**Author:** ![Fiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e274bd/32.png) [@Fiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiver)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2003, 6:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-any-tv-shows-based-on-dc-or-marvel-characters-contributed-anything-to-the-canon/149604/27 "2003-01-20T06:53:44Z")
You’re mistaken, **Krokodil**. There was indeed a _Shazam!_ comic that jumped off from the TV series. DC had a line of TV show tie-in comics, including _Shazam!,_ _Isis_ and _Welcome Back, Kotter._ These were recognized on the rack by a little box with the letters “TV” in it growing out of the DC “bullet” like a tumor. The _Shazam!_ comic melded the premises of the TV show with the comics. The comic included the Winnebago and the nomadic do-gooding, but “Mentor” was replaced by Uncle Dudley. And I think CC Beck was long out of the picture by that time. ---
**Author:** ![audit1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ed8c4c/32.png) [@audit1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/audit1)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2003, 6:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-any-tv-shows-based-on-dc-or-marvel-characters-contributed-anything-to-the-canon/149604/28 "2003-01-20T06:57:39Z")
It was SHAZAM #26 that incorporated elements of hte TV series . Uncle Dudley even grew a mustache since Les Tremayne as Mentor had one . ---
**Author:** ![furryman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/furryman/32/99_2.png) [@furryman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furryman)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2003, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-any-tv-shows-based-on-dc-or-marvel-characters-contributed-anything-to-the-canon/149604/29 "2003-01-20T21:09:34Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Bryan Ekers \* > \*\*Harlequin as a character has been around for decades. Her alter ego, Duela Dent, appeared way back in _Batman Family_ #6, (1976) and eventually the original incarnation of “Teen Titans” under the Harlequin name. The character, at various times, claimed to be the daughter of several different established Batman villians (including the Joker), with Two-Face eventually established as her parent. > > [Sample Pages](http://www.closetmonster.net/comics/batfamily.html), [Character Biography](http://www.keeffee.com/titans/duela.html) > > The modern “Harley Quinzell” version, though, is original to the cartoon as far as I know. \*\* Don’t forget the golden age Harlequin. She was orginally a foe of the golden age Green Lantern. Later on she reformed and ended up marrying him. ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2003, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-any-tv-shows-based-on-dc-or-marvel-characters-contributed-anything-to-the-canon/149604/30 "2003-01-20T21:22:04Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Bryan Ekers \* > \*\*Harlequin as a character has been around for decades. Her alter ego, \*\* Other then having the same villain name they seem to be entirely different characters to me. Marc ---
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2003, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-any-tv-shows-based-on-dc-or-marvel-characters-contributed-anything-to-the-canon/149604/31 "2003-01-21T14:41:17Z")
And they don’t have the same name anyway, since one is “Harlequin” and the other is “Harley Quinn.” ---
**Author:** ![Terrifel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c68b51/32.png) [@Terrifel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terrifel)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2003, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-any-tv-shows-based-on-dc-or-marvel-characters-contributed-anything-to-the-canon/149604/32 "2003-01-21T17:28:44Z")
Dunno about the canon, but Harley Quinn is apparently gonna contribute something to the formative years of director Kevin Smith’s daughter. Word on the street is he named her after the character. That’s right, Harley Quinn Smith. Think about_that_ for a while. I have to say that although I read this in a capsule biography of Kevin Smith, I still kind of hope it’s a lie. Why would you do that to your own kid? One hopes for the sake of any future kids that he doesn’t become a fan of _The Smurfs_ at some point. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2003, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-any-tv-shows-based-on-dc-or-marvel-characters-contributed-anything-to-the-canon/149604/33 "2003-01-21T17:38:28Z")
I’ll back up **Fenris** on Aunt Harriet (and other monstrosities from the 1960’s **Batman** TV show) showing up in the omics. It burned me up, too. Just before the TV series they’d revamped Batman, introducing the “New Look”. The Batmobile changed from the clunky tank to a sleek and sporty speedster, and the Batcave and Batman’s devices were made sleeker and more probable. Then the campy TV series came along and everything in the comics got stupid again. Batman didn’t recover his credibility until the 1970s. As for Superman’s “More Powerful than a locomotive…” opening, it was used in the Fleischer cartoons , too. I’m not sure if the radio or the cartoons used it first. Later on the cartoons used an entirely different series of metaphors (“More powerful than the crashing surf…”) that no one seems to remember. And, as stated above, Jimmy Olsen was introduced in the radio show. He was there, essentially, to give Clark someone to talk to, since on radio you have to do your exposition verbally, and Clark/Superman was already schizo enough. ---
**Author:** ![Cliffy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/59ef9b/32.png) [@Cliffy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cliffy)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2003, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-any-tv-shows-based-on-dc-or-marvel-characters-contributed-anything-to-the-canon/149604/34 "2003-01-21T18:23:57Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Terrifel \* > \*\*Dunno about the canon, but Harley Quinn is apparently gonna contribute something to the formative years of director Kevin Smith’s daughter. Word on the street is he named her after the character. \*\* Yeah, it’s true. But I don’t think it’s a big deal – were I ever to have a daughter, I wanted to name her Harleen 'cuz I think it’s a cool name, but **Mrs. Cliffy** scotched it. –Cliffy ---
**Author:** ![Cliffy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/59ef9b/32.png) [@Cliffy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cliffy)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2003, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-any-tv-shows-based-on-dc-or-marvel-characters-contributed-anything-to-the-canon/149604/35 "2003-01-21T18:28:40Z")
Although Barbara Gordon got her start in the comics, she owes her identity as Batgirl to the TV show which wanted to revive the concept. –Cliffy ---
**Author:** ![SC\_Wolf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eb9ed0/32.png) [@SC\_Wolf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SC_Wolf)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2003, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-any-tv-shows-based-on-dc-or-marvel-characters-contributed-anything-to-the-canon/149604/36 "2003-01-21T18:33:11Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Terrifel \* > **I have to say that although I read this in a capsule biography of Kevin Smith, I still kind of hope it’s a lie.** [Well, it’s how her name is listed in the credits for _Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back_.](http://us.imdb.com/Name?Smith,+Harley+Quinn) She played the role of Baby Bob in the stroller when they had the flashback sequence of how Jay met Bob. ---
**Author:** ![Terrifel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c68b51/32.png) [@Terrifel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terrifel)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2003, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-any-tv-shows-based-on-dc-or-marvel-characters-contributed-anything-to-the-canon/149604/37 "2003-01-21T19:09:40Z")
Oh dear. Well, one shouldn’t be judgemental, I suppose. I’ll leave that to the future Smith twins, Daffy and Magilla. ---
**Author:** ![SC\_Wolf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eb9ed0/32.png) [@SC\_Wolf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SC_Wolf)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2003, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-any-tv-shows-based-on-dc-or-marvel-characters-contributed-anything-to-the-canon/149604/38 "2003-01-21T21:44:56Z")
Actually, if Kevin and his wife were ever to have twins, I’d half expect him to name them Luke and Leia. Even if they were the same gender. ---
**Author:** ![Fenris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fenris/32/498_2.png) [@Fenris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fenris)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2003, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-any-tv-shows-based-on-dc-or-marvel-characters-contributed-anything-to-the-canon/149604/39 "2003-01-21T22:43:20Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by CalMeacham \* > \*\*I’ll It burned me up, too. Just before the TV series they’d revamped Batman, introducing the “New Look”. The Batmobile changed from the clunky tank to a sleek and sporty speedster, and the Batcave and Batman’s devices were made sleeker and more probable. Then the campy TV series came along and everything in the comics got stupid again. Batman didn’t recover his credibility until the 1970s. \*\* Just as an aside, the utterly cool “New Look” Batman stories in Detective are about to be reprinted in DC’s Archive Format (Which is expensive, but beautiful). The title is _Batman: The Dynamic Duo Archives_. Volume 1 reprints the first 12 or so stories (#327-339 or so) along with at least one Elongated Man story and is due out the first or second week of Feb!!! 😃 Fenris ---
**Author:** ![Daniel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Daniel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Daniel)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2003, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-any-tv-shows-based-on-dc-or-marvel-characters-contributed-anything-to-the-canon/149604/40 "2003-01-21T23:53:48Z")
hey, anyone know if this sort of thing happened when Plasticman became a tv show? Honestly, he was my favorite reason for reading the current JLA books. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-any-tv-shows-based-on-dc-or-marvel-characters-contributed-anything-to-the-canon/149604.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-any-tv-shows-based-on-dc-or-marvel-characters-contributed-anything-to-the-canon/149604.md?page=3)