The History of Harley Quinn

Origin
Harley's origin was, for years, identical in the comics to the one seen in the Batman animated series.
But, in the comic series Harley Quinn, a quite different one was established.


Born Harleen Quinzel, Harley's mother is a somewhat harsh, but forgiving lady, who constantly calls Harley evil and compares her to other heroes. Harley's younger brother is a dead beat with children from at least two different women and still lives in his mothers house. Harley apparently sent him several large sums of money to get his life on track, but he squandered it. Harley's father is a criminal con-man, known for swindling women out of their money with his charm. Harley states that the main reason she became a psychiatrist was so she could understand why her father did what he did to their family.

Harley went to study psychology, but found doing so dull. She tricked her way in to a college.

She came up with a theory about being in love having similarities with being a criminal. About, how far can someone go for love and decided to use her boyfriend, Guy, as the test subject, pretending that she had committed various crimes, such as murdering a teacher, to Guy's surprise. Thinking he was looking out for Harley he shoots an innocent man believing him to be "murdered" professor who hadn't died yet.

Guy thinks that he can`t live with the guilt, and wants to die, but can't bring himself to suicide and asks Harley to kill him instead. And she does, for love, disguising the murder as a suicide.

Traumatized by these events, she begins to believe that universe is in a constant state of chaos, like Guy thought. She represses her feelings of sorrow, and feels connected with the Joker, who believes in some of the same things as Guy, and so finds a job at Arkham Asylum, demanding to speak to him.

During the very first session, she shows the Joker her blossoming insanity, and obsession towards him. Joker finds this appealing, and Harley helps him escape various times, before eventually becoming his henchgirl.

Eventually Harley was caught by Batman and put into a cell in Arkham - she is able to escape time and time again. During the events of No Man's Land she is finally able to escape, immediately choosing to rejoin with the Joker and help him in his crimes. Later, in another retelling of her origin it is explained that she was a psychology student working part time as a stripper to pay her bills.

She lies about Joker having seduced her, and making her gradually insane, later on.

DC's Animated Universe
Harley’s origin was told in Batman: The Animated Series episode and comic entitled Mad Love. The story starts off with Dr. Harleen Quinzel working as an intern in Arkham Asylum. She discovered the Joker and quickly became fascinated with his insane motives. She voluntarily asked for a chance to analyse him. During one of their sessions the Joker tells her about his tragic past and how his father abused him. She gained sympathy for him and quickly fell in love with him. She helped the Joker escape dressed up a the Harley Quinn. So, started her career as the Joker's sidekick.

Later, Harley finds out that everything the Joker had told her was most likely a lie or scam. He was deliberately telling her what she wanted to hear to endear himself to her. This is something that Joker does to Harley all throughout their relationship. She knows this and continually tries to leave him but like an abused spouse, she just keeps forgiving him and runs back into his arms all the time. Of course Harley gets her license revoked when her superior Joan Leland finds out she is the one who released the Joker.

Ever since the beginning of her relationship with the Joker, Harley has played a very submissive role. She has often been used and abused by the Joker to the point where her life has been threatened on several occasions. Yet she remains faithful to her man and stands by him when things go wrong. Quinn's relationship with the Joker is one of the most complex and twisted love affairs in comics. As with all people, Joker is abusive and manipulative towards Harley, but just as often there's evidence of camaraderie, playfulness, and affection towards her. She's the only person who's managed to become intimate on such a long term basis with the Joker and, while he generally accepts their relationship, we even see the Joker's occasional moments of confusion and discomfort which results in attempts to kill her.

Character Evolution
Harley's career as the Joker's sidekick consisted mostly of her being where he could not. He used her less recognizable face to get into places he could not so he wouldn't get arrested, and she was also usually a sort of field leader to Joker's henchmen when Joker himself decided to sit out on whatever they where doing. She was trusted with the intimate details of most of his plans, and as stated earlier, was also often betrayed by Joker when he needed a scapegoat. After a while Harley got fed up with Joker and set off on her own. She even started a gang of her own that didn't last very long due to many or all of the gang being killed shortly after it was formed. She also teamed up with Poison Ivy and had some run-ins with Thorn and Superman.

With the changes brought to the DC Universe by the launch of The New 52 following the events of Flashpoint, Harley has undergone further evolution, with a new look, origin and history. The architect of her changes being Adam Glass. The arc introducing set to introduce the new origin of Harley Quinn, which, according to the series' writer, is set to have a deeper psychological aspect to it, not necessarily changing familiar traits of the character, but adding more to her mythos. Glass has also expressed his belief in Harley being more than just a support character. "I think the difference between the Harley in my book and what Paul Dini did is that I’m writing a Harley that is not about the Joker. Now I’ll go on record for saying this, but I think that Harley Quinn will always be loyal and faithful to the Joker when he is around. But when the Joker is not around she’s a young woman who is very capable of doing many things, and she is her own person."

She appears in the ongoing series titled "Suicide Squad" along side of Deadshot, El Diablo, Black Spider, King Shark, and Sportsmaster. Most notable changes has happened to her wardrobe and general design, with the color scheme of blue and red replacing the most well known black and red combo. Her hair is now exposed, and changed to a half red and blue color, replacing the blonde. Overall her design has been heavily criticized for lacking familiar elements of the quirky clown, sacrificing her usual character qualities for sex appeal. The main issue with the new look is mostly agreed to be lack of jester appearance, which has initially been Harley Quinn's namesake. The only justification to the change from Bruce Timm's classic design given has been that "People liked her look in Arkham Asylum". No real further comment was provided.

Harley's origin was tweaked. She remained a doctor at Arkham Asylum where she "treated" the Joker, but knew from the get go that he was lying to her. Regardless, she still fell for him, and when she found out that her superior was stealing her research for a book, it drove Harley to help the Joker escape. Joker would bring her to the chemical plant where Batman caused the accident that bleached his skin, deforming him, and throws Harley into the same chemicals, causing a similar effect on her.

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The History of The Joker

Origin
The Joker is Batman's arch-nemesis and his origin is shrouded in mystery. His skin and joker smile are commonly attributed to accidentally falling into a chemical bath while he was under the persona of Red Hood.


Creation
Originally created to be an evil court jester, the Joker was originally rejected as a villain for being too clownish. Jerry Robinson is the original creator of the Joker, he talks openly about this and did do the original concept sketch of the clown faced villain. His trademark Joker Card (Jerry Robinson also drew) has been featured in many Batman movies, comics and animations. The original drawing of the card has also been featured on display in many museums across America. Jerry was also the creative consultant for The Dark Knight movie which closely followed Jerry's stylings of the villain. Bob Kane unfortunately finagled many legalities early on about Batman and fellow characters which made him look like the sole creator. The creation has been argued but Bill Finger may also share credit (as reported by Bob Kane). He was modeled after Conrad Veidt after his performance as Gwynplaine in the Man Who Laughs. Originally, he was a mass murderer in his first dozen or so appearances. He was set to die in his second appearance, however, the editor (Mr. Whitney Ellsworth-who was the editor on many DC Flagship titles) at the time saw the potential of the character and opted for his survival. So one more hastily drawn panel was added to the very end of the page by Bob Kane that showed the Joker had survived. Were it not for Whitney The Joker would not be here today.

Character Evolution
For his first appearance in Batman #1, the Joker was presented with no origin story, simply existing. Detective Comics #168 revealed that, before his transformation, the Joker was the criminal known as the Red Hood, later falling into a vat of chemicals, making him the Joker that everyone has known him to be.

Much of the Bronze Age and Iron Age Joker's depictions derive far less from the goofy Silver Age Joker than they do from Frank Gorshin's eerie depiction of The Riddler in the 1960s television series. Both the Bronze Age and Iron Age Joker and Gorshin's Riddler are obsessed with matching wits with The Batman, love to lecture other people about their personal life philosophy, and will shift from eerily calm to manic at a moment's notice -- none of these were signature traits in the Silver Age Joker. Heath Ledger once stated that his depiction of the Joker in the Dark Knight film was inspired to a large extent by Frank Gorshin's Riddler.

Although there have been various efforts to create a single, established origin story, there has yet to be an official origin for the Joker. The most popular story, however, is in The Killing Joke, where he is referenced to have been an engineer at a chemical plant before quitting his job to pursue a career in stand-up comedy. His career change did not prove to be the correct choice, as he failed miserably. In desperate need to support his pregnant wife, Jeanine, he turned to a couple of criminals who planned to break into his previous place of work. The Red Hood persona is given to him, signifying him as the inside man of the operation and also seemingly making him the leader, who would take the fall in the event of the operation going wrong. In the middle of planning, the police call him, informing him that his wife and unborn child have died. Stricken with grief, he attempts to back out, but his hand is forced to continue the operation. When they arrive at the plant, however, security, had been increased unbeknown to him, are waiting for them; and, as the Red Hood runs away, the two other criminals were shot dead. Upon seeing the Batman, the Red Hood jumped over a rail, into a vat of chemicals. He washed up in a nearby waterway, where, upon the removal of his Red Hood, he saw his skin had turned chalk white, his hair green, and his lips ruby red. With this added to the previous misfortunes of his day, he had a psychotic breakdown, and as such the Joker was born. However it is suggested in The Killing Joke, by the Joker himself, that sometimes he remembers his past one way, sometimes another. This leaves the origins of the Joker, as ever, open to speculation.

In Batman: Gotham Knights 50-55 this version is supported as there was a witness, Edward Nigma, the Riddler, to the murder of the Joker's wife, who claimed that the criminals used this to force the engineer, in this version named Jack, into following through with the crime.
The latest, and by far longest origin story is "Batman: Lovers & Madmen" followed by "Batman: Dead to Rights," a compilation of several issues from the Batman Confidential series. This time around, the story is told from Batman's point of view and not the Joker's. There is nothing about him ever having a wife, a normal crime-free life, or ever having been the Red Hood. However this origin story does not contradict the heavy personality changes the Joker has been essentially revamped with.

Here Jack (no last name) is a perfectly sane but immoral gun-for-hire & bank robber with a few mental, emotional, & personality disorders, bored with the lack of challenge & excitement in his life, until Batman walks into it. He becomes obsessed with Batman and goes to violent extremes to get his attention, acting like a creepy romantic stalker.

In Dead to Rights, we learn how the Joker came to be in Arkham when found to be immoral & far too competent to be ruled as insane by a court of law; not too far off from " Joker: Devil's Advocate." It has yet to be seen whether the Batman Confidential series will retell Joker's crippling of Barbara Gordon.

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The History of Justice League

Origin
The origin of the JLA was revealed in Justice League of America Vol 1 #9 when seven heroes first came together to repel the Appelliax alien invasion. When the world's greatest heroes were unable to defeat this alien threat individually, the Martian Manhunter, the Flash (Barry Allen), Green Lantern (Hal Jordan), Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Superman and the Batman cooperated together as a team to defeat the Appelliax invaders. These heroes continued to work together as the Justice League of America, after realizing they worked well together and getting backing and support from the American government. Later on after Crisis on Infinite Earths, Black Canary was reconnected as a founding member in Wonder Woman's place. The new 52 version of the team has a new canonical origin, which is virtually the same except that it was Darkseid that was invading the Earth and that Cyborg has replaced the Martian Manhunter as a founding member.


Creation
After the successful revival of superheroes in the Silver Age, DC Comics tasked Gardner Fox and Mike Sekowsky with the job of reviving the Golden Age's Justice Society of America. Fox was inspired by the word League in various sports franchises at the time and decided to create a new name as well as a new team by replacing Society for League. Fox and Sekowsky created the Justice League of America in 1960 and crafted the story and pencils for the team's first appearance in the Brave and the Bold #28. Murphy Anderson was also the inker for this issue.

Although Superman and Batman made appearances as members of the JLA in this debut, they were not involved in the main story line or battle with Starro the Conqueror. The other five members of the League battled Starro seeking to free the citizens of Happy Harbor, Rhode Island from his mental influence. Lucas "Snapper" Carr who was immune to Starro's powers became an honorary member of the JLA.

Fox, Sekowsky and Anderson created two more stories starring the JLA in the Brave and the Bold #29 and #30 and then became the creative team for the early years of the JLA's on-going title.

Team Evolution

Silver Age (1960s) & Bronze Age (1970s-1980s)
During the last decade of the Silver Age, DC Comics established that the JLA came from Earth-1. The JLA maintained their first headquarters in a cave called the Secret Sanctuary in Happy Harbor, Rhode Island. The JLA had an annual tradition of team-ups with their Golden Age counterparts, the Justice Society of America from Earth-2, that started in Justice League of America Vol 1 #21. During one of these team-ups, the JLA and the JSA encountered a villainous version of themselves called the Crime Syndicate of America from Earth-3. The JLA added other members to the original line-up to include Green Arrow, the Atom (Ray Palmer), Hawkman and Black Canary.

The membership of the JLA remained consistent from the Silver Age to the Bronze Age. The sole exception to this was with Wonder Woman, who left the League during her depowered phase in the late 1960s. She would rejoin a short time later however after regaining her powers. The JLA moved their headquarters to the Justice League Satellite when Snapper Carr unknowingly compromised the location of the Secret Sanctuary. The JLA Satellite had a geosynchronous orbit 22,300 miles above the Earth. The regular team-ups between the JLA and the JSA featured the return of other Golden Age heroes such as the 7 Soldiers of Victory and the Freedom Fighters. The JLA and the JSA had a time-travelling adventure with the Legion of Super-Heroes caused by Mordru.

During the 1970s, Elongated Man, Red Tornado, Hawkgirl and Zatanna officially joined the JLA. The Phantom Stranger officially joined the JLA during this time as well though his active status was hardly noticeable as the Stranger mostly appeared at events of a cosmic nature. In 1980, Firestorm was the final recruit to join this roster of the JLA. In 1983, the Batman resigned from the JLA due to the team's refusal to embark on a rescue mission into Markovia. The Batman then formed his own team called the Outsiders.

The roster of the JLA maintained this membership through the early 80s until the events of a Martian invasion in Justice League of America Vol 1 #228-230. In the aftermath of repelling the invasion, the JLA Satellite became severely crippled and current members demoralized and despondent about the team's future status. Aquaman decided to take a stand that the JLA needed full-time members who did not leave to fulfill obligations in their civilian identities. The result was the departure of several members and the end of this roster.

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The History of Wonder Woman

Origins
As one of the longest continually published comic book characters, Wonder Woman’s history has undergone some changes over the years, though a few elements remain consistent in all of her depictions. She is the princess of the Amazons, a race of women who live free of men on Paradise Island (later dubbed Themyscira). After growing up on this island, Wonder Woman (whom the Amazons named Diana) journeys to man’s world on a mission of diplomacy and peace.


Until DC's New 52 relaunch, there were a few other aspects of the origin story that remained consistent. Her mother, Hippolyta, created her out of clay, and the Greek gods bestowed her with life, making her the only Amazon who was not conceived by a man. She grows up among the Amazons who teach her the skills of a warrior as well as the lessons of peace and love. When Steve Trevor, an American pilot, crash lands on Paradise Island, the Amazons have a contest to determine who should receive the honor of taking him back to man's world and acting as an ambassador of all that the Amazons represent.

In the golden age this led to an infatuation with Steve Trevor that persisted throughout the golden and silver age versions of the character.

After Crisis on Infinite Earths, the character’s origin was slightly retold by George Perez. In this version the Amazons were in fact reborn from the souls of abused and murdered women from ancient days. In 1200 B.C. a debate occurred in Mount Olympus on how mankind should be made to believe in the Gods. Ares, the God of war wanted to descent upon the world with his army and force mankind into following the Gods. This was opposed by the others Gods present including Artemis, who wished in peace and wanted to make a new race that would lead men on the right path. Zeus turns his back on them and they decide to proceed without his blessing. With the aid of Charon the ferryman, the gods reach the Womb of Gaea, were the souls of women who were abused and murdered at the hands of men were preserved by Gaea herself. Artemis sends the souls to Greece were they form into adult women. Aphrodite observes that one soul still remains in the Womb to which Athena replies the time has not yet come for that one.The new race in Greece are approached by the Gods who bestow them with the skill of hunting and the purpose of leading humanity in the right path. They appoint Hippolyte and Antiope as the rulers while Menalippe is the Oracle. The civilization is named the Amazons. Stories of this civilization, named as Themyscira by the poets spread throughout Greece and reaches the ears of Heracles who is driven into attacking the city behind the scenes by Ares, who seeks to sabotage the gods' plan. Heracles approaches the Amazons but is defeated by Hippolyte upon which he fakes friendship and declares the Amazons as allies. When their guard is down he poisons Hippolyte and his army attacks the women in full force taking Hippolyte, Antiope and the other survivors captive. In his cells, Hippolyte is freed by Athena who reminds her of her purpose and asks her to avoid revenge and pursue peaceful means. Hippolyte escapes and frees the rest of the Amazons. She relies Athena's message to the women but blinded by their thirst for revenge, the Amazons slaughter the men ruthlessly. The Gods appear and tell them they have failed in their purpose and banish them to an Island known as Paradise to guard the terrible evil within as punishment. They are also granted Immortaility as long as they do not stray from their new purpose, which would eventually purify their souls. The Amazons build a nation and live there for Millennia. It is during this time that Hippolyte, leader of the Amazons feel an unexplainable yearning. She conveys this to the Oracle who tells her she was the only one pregnant during her death and thus the yearning she feels is the call of her unborn child. As per her advise, Hippolyte goes to the shore at sunrise and makes a clay form of a baby. She then cries out to Artemis. Seeing this the Gods decide it was time for the remaining soul in the womb of Gaea to depart. The soul is sent to the clay form, which then becomes a real child , blessed with Gaea's gift, life. Demeter grants the baby great strength, Aphrodite grants her great beauty and a loving heart, Athena grants her great wisdom, Artemis grants her the eye of the hunter and unity with beasts, Hestia grants her sisterhood with fire and Hermes gives her great speed and the power of flight. Hippolyte names her after a holy warrior Diana and she grows up knowing the love of a thousand mothers. Thus Diana of Themyscira was born.

The most recent version of the character’s origin (since the new 52) has not yet been told in totality, but certain things are known. It has been revealed how the Amazons replenish their numbers (they do so by kidnapping sailors and using them for procreation before killing them) as well as the fact of Wonder Woman’s divine lineage. Despite the fact that Zeus is her father it does not necessarily remove other facts about her origin from canon (for instance the blessings of the gods) though it remains to be seen how or if this will be incorporated into the ongoing stories. In the Zero month of the new 52 in which DC was planning to tell the origins of the character from the new 52, the story for Diana focused on the fact that she had been trained by Ares when she was a teenager though she eventually rebelled against him. It is as of yet unclear how this factors into her new origin. When Diana first came to man's world she encountered a group attacking the Pentagon. because of this she befriended Barbara Minerva who was working there on ancient antiquities and Barbara helped her acclimatize to man's world.

Creation
Wonder Woman’s appearance in the early golden age of comics made her the first prominent female superheroine. The psychologist William Moulton Marston created Wonder Woman somewhat as a counter reaction to the presence of prominent male superheroes (at this time Superman, Batman and Captain America) with the hopes that the character could serve as an inspiration for young children (though in certain ways it was geared more towards female readers.) Marston had been partially motivated to create this character because of the accomplishments of his own wife, who was also an accomplished academic at a time when it was difficult for women to fulfill this role. As a result, the first Wonder Woman series contained many complimentary articles and features which sought to provide guidance to a presumed female readership. There were articles for instance on the different career paths that women could pursue (according to the standards of the 1940s) as well as a series of stories on famous and accomplished women, called the Wonder Women of History. Marston introduced the character in All-Star Comics #8 in 1941. She became the lead character in Sensation Comics in 1941, and got her first solo book in 1942.


Character Evolution

Golden Age
Fans of modern day comic book characters would have some difficulty relating to characters from the early golden age, and Wonder Woman is no exception. As a superhero the character obviously fulfilled the role of an icon for readers, but so too did her secret identity, Diana Prince. The character was created in a time when different cultural and societal norms existed in North America. Thus although by the modern depiction her accomplishments at the time seem ordinary, in that era they were more so. Diana Prince was originally an army nurse, but quickly attained the rank of lieutenant in Army Intelligence. This was partially a creative convenience so that she could be close to both Steve Trevor and received information which she needed to pursue her superheroics. In the real world though, this role in Army intelligence, even as the secretary to General Darnell, was still a rare position for a woman to hold in society. At this time as well, the character had her only real sidekicks in her history in the form of Etta Candy and the Holliday Girls. These characters gave the Wonder Woman a degree more of levity while also allowing the writers to focus on some issues which were more related to women. When Marston left the character, the strong driving force of the character to act as a strong moral guide and role model for female readers left as well and the character became more sensitive to the forces driving the industry as whole. Thus Wonder Woman changed somewhat to a more stereotypical woman. Her main interest was not always fighting crime, but for a time it became all in the interest of keeping Steve Trevor happy and interested in her for marriage. Also the backup stories featuring the Wonder Women of History were slowly phased out and replaced with features on marriage customs from around the world and trivial facts on random household objects. By the time that Robert Kanigher took over the character, a change away from traditional comics as a whole was accomplished. He eventually veered completely away from superheroism and essentially only told stories involving the Wonder Family, which consisted of Wonder Woman, her teenage version Wonder Girl, her baby version Wonder Tot and her mother. This eventually proved not very popular and Kanigher was forced to rethink the character and cast her in a more traditional superhero context (he actually explained this decision in comics to the reader with his various creations vying to remain in continuity against his wishes). It was at this time for instance that Wonder Woman saw the return of some characters that had been missing for some time such as the Cheetah or Doctor Psycho. It was also at this time that she became a founding member of the original Justice League of America.

Silver Age
This superhero era led by Kanigher didn’t last long though. The character was mired in the story lines from the golden age and especially her attachment to Steve Trevor. At the same time across the DC lineup characters were being revitalized with a new focus on science fiction. The silver age at DC is often attributed to having been started by the appearance of the re-imagined Flash in Showcase #4 in 1956. This led to a number of DC characters being reinvented such as Green Lantern and Hawkman. The difference with Wonder Woman though is that the character had managed to stay continually published since the golden age and did not get a science fiction retelling in the 1950s and 1960s. This left the character somewhat stilled mired in the past and eventually it was decided that something would be done to break her free of it. When the decision was made though it was decided that she would not have a science fiction background as it would break too much from her background as an Amazon, but that she would be slightly re-imagined as a martial arts based character, more along the lines of Batman. This would allow her to keep her somewhat unique background story, while also being more contemporary and popular. A much stronger emphasis was also placed on her appearance, as her somewhat drab civilian clothes and costume from the golden era were replaced with contemporary fashions of the time. In addition she opened a fashion boutique in trendy Greenwhich Village. This has led some to describe this era of the character as the “Mod Girl Wonder Woman.” While this version of the character did not prove to be consistently popular over the course of her brief run, it did leave some lasting impact on the character once she returned to her usual appearance. Following this she sought out more ambitious careers, for instance as a translator for the United Nations, or as a NASA astronaut and eventually moved back to Army Intelligence where she eventually got promoted to major. Also this period provided the opportunity to sever her from a dependence on Steve Trevor for her stories and her stories for the first time in her publication history became much more in line with what is considered typical of the super hero medium. The introduction of the multiverse made it such that there became two Wonder Womans, the modern version on Earth 1, and the golden age version on Earth 2. For a short time her appearances in her own comic were those of Earth 2 until the contemporary Angle Man accidentally visited her and subsequently the series was returned to modern day. The stories continued much like this for the remainder of the silver age until the end of the first Wonder Woman series with the events of Crisis on Infinite Earths. To provide closure to the character which was destined for a reboot, Steve Trevor returned and following the defense of Paradise Island from Shadow Demons, the two were finally married, though in continuity this lasted less than an issue.

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The History of The Flash

Origin
When Barry Allen was only eleven, his mother was killed. His father was wrongly tried and convicted for the murder, and later died in prison where Barry watched him. However, the young Allen refused to believe that his father was guilty of the crime. His life ground to a halt as he dedicated himself to finding the real murderer and, more importantly, finding the motive behind the murder. Because of this, Allen studied forensic science, and dedicated himself to solving not only his mother's case, but those of other people in his situation.


After graduating, Allen found work with the Central City Police Department as a police scientist, with a well-known habit for slowness and lateness. Working late in the lab one night, a rack of chemicals that he was working next to was struck by lightning, and Allen was doused in chemicals. Surprisingly unharmed, Allen cleaned up the mess and returned to work, but soon noticed that the world appeared to be moving much slower than normal. He soon realized that it was not the world that had slowed, but himself who had sped up. An avid fan of comic books, especially the adventures of the Jay Garrick Flash, Barry decided to follow in his hero's footsteps and fight crime, taking Garrick's superhero name as a form of tribute. Experiments with his powers revealed that not only was he super fast (faster than time when he tries), but he could vibrate his molecules, allowing him to appear invisible and phase through solid objects. He could also think and process information at light speed. His girlfriend's adoptive father, Ira West, created a suit that could deal with his powers, and chemically shrunk it so it could fit into a ring for ease of portability. Though much of his crime fighting was limited to Central City, Allen constructed a Cosmic Treadmill to allow him to travel to alternate dimensions.

After Flashpoint, The Flash is partly responsible for the creation of a new timeline in which the entire universe has been compressed and altered into a five year timeline. For Barry Allen, his origin is only slightly altered. As it was originally, Barry's father is blamed for the death of Barry's mother. After his father goes to prison for the murder, Barry is placed in the hands of Darryl Frye, a police officer that may have had a relationship with Barry's mother. Barry is raised by Frye and because of his connections to the police force Barry becomes interested in working for law enforcement. During his college years Barry would meet with Manuel Lago at a party and soon become close friends until Manuel went into a military program, where the two would lose touch. For years Barry would visit his father in prison, much to his fathers pleads to stop and move on. Barry would do no such thing and would in his spare time at the science lab try to figure out his mother's murder and prove his father's innocence. One such night, Barry would get angry and throw one of the machines out the window, allowing an opening for a lightning bolt to shoot into the lab, hit Barry, and dose him in chemicals, connecting him to the Speed Force. After this, we would become The Flash. Some time later, Barry would be forced to join the Justice League during Darkseid's attack on planet Earth, locking himself in as a founding member.

Creation

Barry Allen was created by Robert Kanigher, John Broome and Carmine Infantino. He made his first comic book appearance in October 1956 in the pages of Showcase #4.

Character Evolution

Golden Age
Allen and a group of other heroes decided to form a crime fighting team after they banded together to defeat an attempted alien invasion. This team became an important part of Barry's development as a hero, as Barry, already immensely popular with the public, became close with other member's of the superhero community, especially Hal Jordan, who would become his close friend. An accidental trip to another dimension brought Allen face to face with his childhood hero, Jay Garrick, with whom he foiled a villainous plot.

Barry's girlfriend and later wife, Iris West, had a nephew named Wally. The son of distant and unloving parents, Wally longed to escape his home of Blue Valley and travel to Central City where the only family member he was close to lived, as well as his hero, the Flash. One summer Iris invited Wally to stay with her and Barry. Allen took Wally to the lab and, in an amazing coincidence, the sequence of events that gave Allen his powers occurred again, leaving Wally with the same powers as his uncle. Wally joined Allen in his crime fighting, becoming the sidekick Kid Flash.

During the 1980s, Allen suffered a series personal tragedies. His wife, Iris, was murdered by Professor Zoom. Allen eventually planned a marriage to another woman, but she was also targeted by Zoom. Allen was able to save her, however in so doing he failed to appear at their wedding, and his fiancee eventually went insane. Zoom, meanwhile, was dead by Allen's hand. Allen was put on trial for Zoom's murder, and found guilty, though it was revealed that brainwashing carried out by Abra Kadabra, disguised as the Reverse Flash, was the reason for this verdict. Allen fled to the future, and was able too defeat Kadabra. He was also reunited with Iris, whose spirit had been drawn forwards in time and reincarnated. He retired and moved to the 30th century with Iris.

His retirement did not last long, however; the Crisis on Infinite Earths disrupted his happiness. He was captured by the Anti-Monitor and dragged back to 1985. He was able to escape the Anti-Monitors' clutches, and destroyed the anti-matter cannon that was intended to destroy earth by creating a speed vortex. He was unable to handle the power of the vortex, however, and perished. His soul was absorbed into the Speed Force, and Wally took up the mantle of the Flash.

This was not the end of Barry Allen. He returned on three separate occasions to aid his nephew Wally West, helping him to deal with the worst days of his life. During the Infinite Crisis Allen, still residing in the Speed Force, entered into the regular universe along with other speedsters to combat Superboy Prime, dragging him into the Speed Force in attempt to cease his destructive rampage. Barry Allen was permanently resurrected during the Final Crisis, during which he was instrumental in bringing about the defeat of Darkseid. Unsure of why he is alive, Allen contemplates his duties in the universe. It is soon revealed that he is becoming the new Black Flash, and that his resurrection was part of the machinations of Professor Zoom. Zoom was also responsible for all the tragedy in Allen's life, including the murder of his mother. He was able to defeat Zoom with the help of the other Flashes and several other super teams.

During the Blackest Night, Allen, a beacon of hope for the entire planet, was selected as a Blue Lantern. He briefly becomes a member of the White Lantern Corps. After these events, Allen returns to his job in the police department, his life in Central City, and his job as the Flash. He is soon confronted by the Renegades, Rogues from the 25th century, and accused of murdering one of their members, the Mirror Monarch. Allen, determined to find the real killer, eventually uncovers a plot by the future version of the Top.

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The History of Batman

Origin
A wealthy philanthropist, Thomas Wayne, his wife, Martha, and their 8 year-old son, Bruce Wayne, were coming out of a movie theater at 10:47 p.m. As they stepped onto Park Row (now called Crime Alley), a thug named Joe Chill armed with a gun approached them from the shadows to steal the pearl necklace Martha was wearing. Thomas, moving in to protect his wife, was shot by Chill, causing Martha to scream. Chill then shot her, while shouting, "this'll shut you up!". Bruce, traumatized by the deaths of his parents, would never be the same again. Afterward, Bruce was raised by his wise and loyal butler, Alfred Pennyworth, and inherited his family's vast fortune as well as his father's company, Wayne Enterprises. Standing at his parents' gravestones, Bruce made a solemn oath to avenge their deaths.


Despite fiscal security, happiness eluded Bruce. Young Bruce was comforted by Dr. Leslie Thompkins, who helped him to mourn his parents and find a purpose in life. At age fourteen, Bruce started a twelve year walkabout around the world seeking experts in many fields, training himself mentally and physically. From an academic standpoint, he studied at Cambridge in England, the Sorbonne in France, and other famous European universities. A Frenchman named Henri Ducard taught him man-hunting, a ninja named Kirigi taught him stealth, an African bushman trained him in the art of the hunt, and Nepalese monks taught him healing.

Bruce returned to Gotham City, where he became a vigilante. But despite all his honed skills, he knew something was missing. Bruce believed criminals to be a "superstitious and cowardly lot," and in order to rid Gotham of evil, he needed to reinvent himself to become a terrifying symbol that would strike fear into the hearts of criminals. While in his father's study, a large bat crashed through the window. Bruce saw this as an omen and recalled his fear of bats as a child. This would be his symbol; the Bat would strike terror into the Gotham underworld. Using his vast wealth, Bruce designed a costume and state of the art equipment, thus beginning a difficult double life: by day, he would be the billionaire playboy and businessman, Bruce Wayne, and by night, he was The Batman.

Creation
Batman, one of the most influential comic book characters to be penned, was created by artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, though Kane, who designed the character, often receives credit as the sole creator. After the success of Superman in early 1939, DC comics started requesting more superheroes for its titles. Bob Kane had an idea for a character called "Bat-Man." There is a large controversy that suggests Kane came up with a "Birdman" and Finger is the one who actually suggested the name "Bat-man." The character's alter-ego's name was influenced by the names of the Scottish patriot Robert the Bruce and revolutionary U.S. Brigadier General Mad Anthony Wayne (who, in the comics, is an ancestor of Bruce). For the character's costume, Kane drew inspiration from a flying device designed by Leonardo da Vinci: the ornithopter, a glider that had bat like wings.

Most of the Bat costume designs were suggested by Bill Finger. Kane initially drew Batman with a red and black costume, a domino mask, and wings. Finger suggested the character's costume be colored gray & black to make the character look more "ominous." He also suggested replacing the domino mask with a cowl and the wings with a cape. Finger also wanted Kane to change the way Batman's eyes appeared behind the mask and urged him to turn them into white spots. Later Finger admitted that he was influenced by the comic character The Phantom, who also wore a mask with no visible pupils. Gloves were also added so that Batman would not leave fingerprints behind.

Like Superman, various aspects of Batman's personality, character history, visual design and equipment were inspired by contemporary popular culture of the 1930's, including movies, pulp magazine, comic strips, newspaper headlines and even aspects of Kane himself. Notable sources of inspiration were two of Kane's favorite movies, The Bat Whispers (1930), the film was a screen adaptation of Mary Robert Rinehart's mystery novel that featured character named The Bat, a detective who has a secret alter ego known as the Bat. The other movie that influenced Kane was The Mark of Zorro (1920). One might point out that in the movies young Bruce Wayne is often shown to have seen a Zorro movie before his parents were murdered. The character first appeared in Detective Comics #27, published in 1939, and later became popular enough to spawn his own comics. Along with Superman and Wonder Woman, Batman has provided many of the core story arcs for the DC brand since his creation.

Batman is unique for the simple reason that he has no superhuman powers and is an ordinary human relying on intelligence, money, inventiveness, detective skills, martial arts, and fear to defeat his opponents. He currently makes the most money for a single publishing character and is widely considered to be one of the most popular superheroes in all of comics.

In the original version of the story and the vast majority of re-tellings, Batman's secret identity is Bruce Wayne, an American millionaire (later billionaire) playboy, industrialist, and philanthropist. Having witnessed the murder of his parents as a child, he swore revenge on criminals, an oath tempered with the greater ideal of justice. Wayne trains himself both physically and intellectually and dons a bat-themed costume in order to fight crime. Batman operates in the fictional American Gotham City, assisted by various supporting characters including his crime-fighting partner, Robin, his butler Alfred Pennyworth, the police commissioner Jim Gordon, and occasionally the heroine Batgirl. He fights an assortment of villains such as the Joker, the Penguin, the Riddler, Two-Face, Ra's al Ghul,Scarecrow, Poison Ivy, and Catwoman, among others. Unlike most superheroes, he does not possess any superpowers; he makes use of intellect, detective skills, science and technology, wealth, physical prowess, martial arts skills, an indomitable will, fear, and intimidation in his continuous war on crime.

Batman became a very popular character soon after his introduction and gained his own comic book title, Batman, in 1940. As the decades wore on, differing interpretations of the character emerged. The late 1960s Batman television series used a camp aesthetic which continued to be associated with the character for years after the show ended. Various creators worked to return the character to his dark roots, with varying results. The comic books of this dark stage culminated in the acclaimed 1986 miniseries The Dark Knight Returns, by Frank Miller, as well as Batman: The Killing Joke by Alan Moore and Arkham Asylum: A Serious House on Serious Earth, among others. The overall success of Warner Bros.' live-action Batman feature films have also helped maintain public interest in the character.

Character Evolution

Golden Age
During the Golden Age of Comics, when he was first introduced, Bruce Wayne was already the vigilante known as Batman. Batman's first appearance was in Detective Comics #27. In Detective Comics #33, the origin of the character was told. Bruce Wayne was the son of Thomas Wayne and his wife, Martha Wayne. His parents were wealthy philanthropists in the high society of Gotham City. Bruce grew up in Wayne Manor and experienced a privileged life until one fateful night. Bruce and his parents went to the movies and were walking home when suddenly they were confronted by a small-time crook carrying a gun named Joe Chill. At first, Chill demanded Martha's jewellery, but he ended up shooting both of Bruce’s parents. After the deaths of his parents, Bruce swore to rid Gotham City of evil forever. He began an intense mental and physical training and mastered many skills including martial arts, criminology, and escape artistry.

Upon completing his training Bruce realized that his skills alone were not enough to do the job; he needed the criminals to fear him. That was when a bat flew through the window, scaring Bruce. He was inspired by the symbolism of the bat and used this to become Batman. Batman witnesses the death of the Flying Graysons, high-flying acrobats that were killed by mobsters after the owner of the circus refused to pay "protection money" for the crooks to be their bodyguards. Bruce takes in young Dick Grayson as his ward and trains him as his sidekick, Robin. Bruce and Dick first hunt down and defeat Tony Zucco, the crime boss that was responsible for the deaths of John and Mary Grayson. It is never stated why Bruce took in Dick, but it could be due to how Dick lost his parents at a young age just like Bruce. Together the " Dynamic Duo" face off against many enemies such as the Riddler, Scarecrow, Penguin and the Joker.

Batman eventually becomes one of the founding members of the Justice Society Of America. Batman continued working with the Gotham City Police Department in fighting crime and is later legally deputized as a civilian police agent. Later Alfred Pennyworth is introduced and serves as his butler. Alfred eventually learns the identities of the Dynamic Duo and aids them in keeping their identity safe. Love interest Vicki Vale debuted during the 1940's as one of the numerous "flavors of the month" for Bruce Wayne. Vicki was created as a mirror of Lois Lane of Metropolis, and she often spent her time trying to figure out the identity of Batman. Whenever she got close to figuring out that Batman was Bruce Wayne, Batman would often trick her into believing he was not Bruce Wayne. (Secret identities nearly being found out was a common occurrence in the Golden Age.) Batman was first shown as a cold-blooded vigilante who was willing to use a gun and kill his enemies to rid the city of crime. But this revolted some readers, who made it clear that they hated the idea of their hero going around killing people. At the same time, DC Comics's new editor, Whitney Ellsworth, was already drafting, and eventually implemented, a moral code for Batman that prevented him from ever killing or using a gun.

Silver Age
During the Silver Age DC Comics introduced the Multiverse continuity to its characters. It established the fact that all the Batman stories told during the Golden Age actually took place on Earth-Two. The Earth-Two Batman marries Catwoman and fathered a daughter named Helena Wayne who grows up to be the Huntress. Earth-Two Batman retires to take the job as Commissioner of the GCPD. Dick Grayson of Earth-Two became a lawyer with his own practice and continued his career as the Earth-Two Robin. Eventually he dies during his final adventure against a criminal named Bill Jensen who had acquired superpowers. Batman's back story was expanded upon to include his uncle, Philip Wayne, who raised Bruce for a while after his parents' deaths. He also had an older brother named Thomas Wayne Jr. who had to be institutionalizes after the death of Thomas and Martha. In addition, it was revealed that his parents' killing had not been chance, but an assassination ordered by gangster Lew Moxon.

As a child, Bruce's father had worn a bat costume (similar to Batman's future costume) to a masquerade party, where he encountered and stopped the mobster. Moxon swore revenge against Dr. Wayne, and hired Joe Chill to orchestrate the "mugging" that would result in their deaths. At some point in Bruce's training, he wears a costume similar to the future Robin's and is trained by Harvey Harris, a Gotham City Police detective. During this time Batman would regularly team up with other heroes to fight evil (these adventures were published in World’s Finest Comics from the 1950's through the 1980's), and many of the team-ups featured Batman, Superman and, occasionally, Robin and led to the formation of the Justice League of America.

After Robin (Dick Grayson) sustains an injury, Batman insists on going without a sidekick. Dick leaves to attend college and moves out of Wayne Manor. Batman primarily works solo but occasionally teams up with Robin and Batgirl. It was during this period where Batman starts becoming a bit darker (partly due to the loss of Robin's presence, but mainly because times were changing in the real world). Violent crimes increase in Gotham and the Joker returns with a darker, more sadistic nature (i.e. he was starting to kill his victims).

The Batman also comes face to face with Ra's al Ghul, the Demon's Head. Ra's has lived for over 600 years and is one of the few people who deduces that Bruce Wayne is Batman. Ra's saw their ideals as being the same, but the two became rivals quickly when Batman realized that Ra's did not value the lives of others as he did. During this time Bruce's older brother, Thomas Wayne, Jr., reappears. Thomas becomes an assassin, but his body was taken over by the anti-hero Deadman. Batman was able to remove Deadman from his brother's body, but Thomas soon dies trying to save his younger brother's life. Batman later quit the Justice League to form his new group called the Outsiders. Batman leads the group for a while, but he eventually quit the Outsiders as well.

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The History of Superman

Origin
Although Superman's origin has been retold many times, the story has remained somewhat consistent throughout. Superman's story tells of his birth as Kal-El to renowned scientist Jor-El and his wife Lara on the alien planet Krypton. When Jor-El discovers that the planet is going to explode, he puts Kal-El in a spaceship heading to the planet Earth, which crashes in a field in the state of Kansas.

The ship and its occupant are found by Jonathan and Martha Kent, a farming family, who take him in as their own. As he grows, so do his strength and his strange and awesome abilities, fueled by Earth's yellow sun. As an adult, he moves to the bustling City of Tomorrow, Metropolis, becoming a field reporter for the Daily Planet newspaper, and donning the identity of Superman.


Creation
Superman was created by American writer Jerry Siegel and Canadian-born American artist Joe Shuster in 1933. Contrary to his current incarnation, he first appeared as a bald, telepathic villain bent on dominating the world. He was called "Super-Man" in the short science fiction fanzine "The Reign of the Super-Man" which was published by the duo in 1933. Siegel and Shuster decided to re-write the character as a hero and took out the hyphen, renaming him Superman and re-imagining him with no resemblance to his earlier incarnation.

Their early attempts to sell the concept of the character were notably unsuccessful. For instance, Siegel attempted to sell the story to Tip Top Comics but it was rejected as too fanciful and not what comic book readers would be interested in. They drew inspiration from heroes across myth and history such as Samson, Hercules, Moses and other, at that time, modern heroic figures including Doc Savage and Buck Rogers. They also changed his motivations from trying to conquer the world to trying to make it a better place, fighting against the injustices like Hitler and Stalin in addition to everyday crime. Shuster and Siegel intended to make the character as colorful and distinctive as they could, drawing inspiration from the outfits worn by space characters in pulp magazines as well as the traditional outfit worn by circus strong-men, which informed the look of almost every superhero thereafter. Being avid movie fans, Siegel and Shuster gave the character the civilian name of Clark Kent, combining the names of actors Clark Gable and Kent Taylor and partly basing the character on Harold Lloyd.

It has also been stated that Shuster based Superman's looks upon actor Douglass Fairbanks. The pair decided to feature Superman in the then dominant comic-strip format and were finally able sell their creation to Detective Comics, later known as DC Comics where they would produce comic books featuring him for several years. In June of 1938, Superman made his debut in Action Comics #1 and since then he has become not only one of the most famous and iconic super-heroes of all time but also one of the most popular fictional characters ever.

Many comics historians and various scholars have also noted various influences on the Superman character from religion and mythology. Siegel and Shuster were avid fans of science fiction and work such as the John Carter series bare a resemblance to early Superman, as do elements from Jewish religion and mythology (Siegel and Shuster being the sons of Jewish immigrants) such as Moses, and the guardian creature of Jewish folklore, the Golem. Superman was based on 3 people, either mythological or fiction, Buck Rogers, Moses and Hercules. Early in his publication history, Superman, like many heroic characters of the time, was used by the United States government as a tool of propaganda during World War II. It was then that he was first presented as a being who embodied the American ideals of Truth, Justice and Liberty.

Character Evolution

Golden Age
In the Golden Age of Superman, Jor-L, a scientist of the planet Krypton, discovers that his planet is about to explode. He attempts to warn his fellow scientists of this impending catastrophe, but is dismissed as a crack-pot and laughed out of the scientific community. As a last-resort, he and his wife Lara place their infant son Kal-L, in a ship and rocket him into space where he drifts for an unknown amount of time before crash-landing to Earth and is discovered by Jonathan and Mary Kent.

At first they intend to place to him in an orphanage, but relent at the last moment and decide to raise him as their own, naming him “Clark” and treating him as their son. As he matures, great powers began to manifest and before his parents’ deaths, they dub him Superman and urge him to use his powers for the forces of justice. His parents pass on and he moves to Metropolis to begin his career at the Daily Star (later known as the Daily Planet) so that he could hear about trouble as it’s happening. Superman’s time as a hero had him getting directly involved in World War II, carrying Stalin and Hitler to the League of Nations in Geneva to face a trial for their human rights violations.

He also becomes the protector of Metropolis, but, unlike his later incarnations, he’s extremely aggressive and vicious, often murdering his powerless foes, and having little regard for the collateral damage he inflicts. This attitude lasted until the end of the 1940's when new editor Whitney Ellsworth banned the character from killing, even having Superman vowing to never kill anyone ever again and if he did he would retire. Several of the series' supporting characters were introduced in this age, most notably Lois Lane, a fellow reporter who would be Superman's love interest and eventually his wife, and Lex Luthor, the archenemy of Superman. This early version would be retconned into the Superman of Earth-2.

Silver Age
During the Silver Age, DC Comics decided to create two Supermen instead of just updating the Golden Age Superman. To that end, they introduced Superboy, who was a younger version of Kal-El and travels to the future to help the Legion of Superheroes fight evil across the year 3000. Additionally: Supergirl is first introduced as Superman’s cousin during the late 1950s and serves the role of kid sidekick along with the menagerie of super-animals (including Krypto, Beppo, Streaky and Comet).

Many of Superman’s most iconic villains are introduced in this era, and most of them take on a science fiction theme, including Brainiac and Bizarro. Superman also helps find the Justice League of America, marking one of the first pan-label crossover teams in comic book history. During the 1960s, his origin is revealed: Superman was born on Krypton, to Jor-El (a slight change from the Golden Age Jor-L) by Lara Lor-Van. Rejected by the Science Council, Jor-El labors to build a vessel that can transport his family away from the impending catastrophe. The planet’s destruction begins before Jor-El predicted, however, and he can only send his son.

Kal-El’s ship lands in Smallville and is discovered by Jonathan and Martha Kent (an earlier version identified them as Ethan and Sara Kent), who adopt the boy and raise him as their own, naming him Clark (which was Martha's maiden name). Clark discovers his powers while still a baby (See Superbaby) and learns to control them as he matures. Clark convinces his mother to sew him a costume and fights evil as Superboy in Smallville while also becoming a member of the Legion Of Super-Heroes in the year 3000. He is assisted by his pet, Krypto the Superdog, who also escaped Krypton in a prototype rocket launched by Jor-El, and thus had similar powers to the Boy of Steel.

Childhood friends, Lana Lang and Pete Ross, round out his supporting cast and give him a connection to Earth beyond his parents. When Jonathan and Martha Kent both die of a disease for which even Superboy cannot cure, Clark moves to Metropolis and attends Metropolis University, continuing his adventuring throughout his college career. He eventually changes his name to Superman upon graduating with a degree in journalism and gets a job at the Daily Planet soon after ward. Silver Age Superman is famous for being incredibly powerful and for his ability to gain new powers that Superman had never had before.

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