# Weekly Comic Book Discussion 2/24/2005 **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 24, 2005, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weekly-comic-book-discussion-2-24-2005/291691 "2005-02-24T13:35:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 3
**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:** [February 28, 2005, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weekly-comic-book-discussion-2-24-2005/291691/41 "2005-02-28T20:31:28Z")
> [@Krokodil](#): > > What they have is the Knight Dependents Act (Introduced by Sen. Knight, aka Black Condor, in apparant reaction to the JSA’s treatment before HUAC), an Act of Congress that says established superheroes have a legal right to maintain secret identities and no authority can compel them to reveal them. Robert Ingersoll, a lawyer and columnist for the Comics Buyer’s Guide, wrote it and Roy Thomas shoehorned it into continuity sometime around _Infinity Inc._ Black Condor’s name is Knight, and he’s a Senator? I’m surprised, only because the Knight family name is very important in the DCU, thanks to the original Starman from the JSA, Ted Knight, his son Jack, the most recent Starman, and their cousin Sandra, the Golden Age Phantom Lady (who was a Senator’s daughter in the original Quality Comics). Is there any relation between Phantom Lady and Black Condor, or is this a new Condor, or a retcon I haven’t heard about? ---
**Author:** ![Scott\_Plaid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/258eb7/32.png) [@Scott\_Plaid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scott_Plaid)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2005, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weekly-comic-book-discussion-2-24-2005/291691/42 "2005-02-28T20:44:34Z")
> [@Big Bad Voodoo Lou](#): > > Black Condor’s name is Knight, I have no idea, but maybe, Knight is used by more then one family, like in RL. ---
**Author:** ![Fiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e274bd/32.png) [@Fiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiver)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2005, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weekly-comic-book-discussion-2-24-2005/291691/43 "2005-02-28T20:52:23Z")
> [@Scott\_plaid](#): > > Is he a relaitive of Robert Ingersoll, [1833 - 1899] author of > [Why I Am Agnostic](http://www.infidels.org/library/historical/robert_ingersoll/why_i_am_agnostic.html) ? I think he is. No cite, but I was in CAPA-Alpha with Robert Ingersoll many years ago and I seem to remember him writing something about his famous relations. ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2005, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weekly-comic-book-discussion-2-24-2005/291691/44 "2005-02-28T20:53:29Z")
> [@Big Bad Voodoo Lou](#): > > Black Condor’s name is Knight, and he’s a Senator? I’m surprised, only because the Knight family name is very important in the DCU, thanks to the original Starman from the JSA, Ted Knight, \ Not to mention the fact that Ted Knight was the announcer on SuperFriends, “Meanwhile, back in the Hall of Justice… (Aquaman summons a tuna fish sandwich, because he can’t do crap)!” ---
**Author:** ![Cliffy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/59ef9b/32.png) [@Cliffy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cliffy)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2005, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weekly-comic-book-discussion-2-24-2005/291691/45 "2005-02-28T20:59:42Z")
> [@Scott\_plaid](#): > > I have no idea, but maybe, Knight is used by more then one family, like in RL. This suggestion would be easier to accept if it had ever happened in comics before. 😉 –Cliffy ---
**Author:** ![E-Sabbath](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e19adc/32.png) [@E-Sabbath](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-Sabbath)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2005, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weekly-comic-book-discussion-2-24-2005/291691/46 "2005-02-28T21:19:11Z")
[Black Condor](http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Labyrinth/7393/wwblackcondor.html) is Senator Wright. I suspect strongly that the bill may, in fact, be named after [Sandra Knight’s](http://www.silverbulletcomicbooks.com/bobro/102671110528924,print.htm) father. Yes, it’s the same old law that let Babs be a congresswoman. Thought it was familiar. ---
**Author:** ![Noelq](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/noelq/32/16438_2.png) [@Noelq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Noelq)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2005, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weekly-comic-book-discussion-2-24-2005/291691/47 "2005-02-28T21:51:15Z")
> [@CandidGamera](#): > > Sure thing, glad to help. They relaunched the Swamp Thing series about a year ago - of course, it’s difficult to tell stories about an essentially omnipotent character, so they depowered him. The justification was, essentially, Sargon the Sorcerer was trying to usurp the Elemental’s power - John Constantine threw a wrench into the plan by reintroducing Alec’s spirit to Swamp Thing - whereupon Alec willingly dispersed the accumulated elemental powers, foiling Sargon’s plan. ::sigh:: So, instead of leaving a great ending to a great series ALONE, and simply following the established canon in the story of the “Swamp generates a protector” from someone new – they screwed up poor Alec’s life again. Dagnabit. Its the Phoenix-back-from-the-dead-again-again-again-cloned-again-daughter-again X-men thing. Darn that Constantine for screwing up Alec and Abby’s life again, too! Thank you kindly for your quick and thorough response. I greatly appreciate it! Now I’ll have to decide whether or not to pick the rest of them up and see how they’ll screw up Swamp Thing - or just hold on to my happy memories of the previous series. ---
**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:** [March 1, 2005, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weekly-comic-book-discussion-2-24-2005/291691/48 "2005-03-01T17:04:05Z")
> [@Noelq](#): > > Thank you kindly for your quick and thorough response. I greatly appreciate it! Now I’ll have to decide whether or not to pick the rest of them up and see how they’ll screw up Swamp Thing - or just hold on to my happy memories of the previous series. Might be worth picking up the first trade… have they TPBed it yet? Not sure. I was left unimpressed. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weekly-comic-book-discussion-2-24-2005/291691.md?page=2)