Posts tagged know your dcu

Know Your DCU: Doomsday When I posted THIS picture the other day, I was shocked to learn (via your reblogs) that quite a few of you did not know Superman died. However, this did happen in 1992 when I was only 8 years old and when most of you were probably… well not even born. So to answer some of your questions, yes Superman died and Doomsday was the one who killed him. Doomsday is a prehistoric Kryptonian monster, a mindless killing machine with an appetite for destruction, created by the twisted scientist Bertron. The monster stole a ship from the scientist and escaped to another planet, where he went on a killing spree and destroyed all life on the planet. Doomsday did this over and over again to countless planets with no one able to stop him and eventually ended up on Earth. Doomsday started his rampage of destruction in mid-western America, facing and defeating the Justice League. The creature found his way to Metropolis where he went toe to toe with the Man of Steel, where they beat each other to death. Superman was buried (and eventually came back to life) and Doomsday’s seemingly lifeless body was strapped to an asteroid by the (then good) Cyborg Superman and sent out into deep space. Doomsday turns out to be alive and well and returns to Earth. The character has been used by DC writers to show how powerful other heroes or villains are by having Doomsday show up and said heroes or villains quickly defeat the creature (i.e. Our Worlds at War, Infinite Crisis, New Krypton). Doomsday apparently will be going after the Superman family in an upcoming DC multi-issue cross-over series…

Know Your DCU: Doomsday

When I posted THIS picture the other day, I was shocked to learn (via your reblogs) that quite a few of you did not know Superman died. However, this did happen in 1992 when I was only 8 years old and when most of you were probably… well not even born. So to answer some of your questions, yes Superman died and Doomsday was the one who killed him.

Doomsday is a prehistoric Kryptonian monster, a mindless killing machine with an appetite for destruction, created by the twisted scientist Bertron. The monster stole a ship from the scientist and escaped to another planet, where he went on a killing spree and destroyed all life on the planet. Doomsday did this over and over again to countless planets with no one able to stop him and eventually ended up on Earth.

Doomsday started his rampage of destruction in mid-western America, facing and defeating the Justice League. The creature found his way to Metropolis where he went toe to toe with the Man of Steel, where they beat each other to death. Superman was buried (and eventually came back to life) and Doomsday’s seemingly lifeless body was strapped to an asteroid by the (then good) Cyborg Superman and sent out into deep space.

Doomsday turns out to be alive and well and returns to Earth. The character has been used by DC writers to show how powerful other heroes or villains are by having Doomsday show up and said heroes or villains quickly defeat the creature (i.e. Our Worlds at War, Infinite Crisis, New Krypton). Doomsday apparently will be going after the Superman family in an upcoming DC multi-issue cross-over series…

Know Your DCU: Hawk and Dove First, the simple explanation: Hawk and Dove are the superhero duo empowered by the Lords of Order and Chaos to fight for the safety of mankind. Although their beliefs are completely opposite, with Hawk representing war and Dove representing peace, they work together and form a balance between the two. Now, for a little complex history: Hank and Don Hall were the first Hawk and Dove (respectively). They acted as a crime fighting duo and eventually became members of the Teen Titans. Don died fighting in the first Crisis, leaving Hawk without his Dove. This caused unbalance with Hawk growing excessively violent and out of control without Dove’s peaceful influence. Eventually Hank received an ally in Dawn Granger, who became the new Dove and restored the balance. The two would stay a team for a while until… You know what? Let’s skip explaining Armageddon 2001 and just say Hank died. Yup, that’s the best thing to do. Dawn would receive a new partner in her half-sister Holly who became the new Hawk. They fought along side the Teen Titans, albeit briefly. During the Blackest Night, Hank returned as a Black Lantern and attempts to kill the new Hawk and Dove, but only manages to kill Holly. Dove is revealed to posses the “white light of creation”, which is where her peace draws from. Dove helps defeat the Black Lanterns. At the end of the Blackest Night, Hank is brought back to life. Both he and Dawn resume their partnership as Hawk and Dove and join the Birds of Prey. SIDE NOTE: I’d like to give a shout out to the artist who created the Hawk and Dove image on the bottom left. I found it in a Google search, but can’t find out where it originated. If you’re the artist, or know the artist’s website, please e-mail me at dailydcu(at)gmail(dot)com. And as always, e-mail your Know Your DCU suggestions!

Know Your DCU: Hawk and Dove

First, the simple explanation: Hawk and Dove are the superhero duo empowered by the Lords of Order and Chaos to fight for the safety of mankind. Although their beliefs are completely opposite, with Hawk representing war and Dove representing peace, they work together and form a balance between the two.

Now, for a little complex history: Hank and Don Hall were the first Hawk and Dove (respectively). They acted as a crime fighting duo and eventually became members of the Teen Titans. Don died fighting in the first Crisis, leaving Hawk without his Dove. This caused unbalance with Hawk growing excessively violent and out of control without Dove’s peaceful influence. Eventually Hank received an ally in Dawn Granger, who became the new Dove and restored the balance. The two would stay a team for a while until…

You know what? Let’s skip explaining Armageddon 2001 and just say Hank died. Yup, that’s the best thing to do.

Dawn would receive a new partner in her half-sister Holly who became the new Hawk. They fought along side the Teen Titans, albeit briefly. During the Blackest Night, Hank returned as a Black Lantern and attempts to kill the new Hawk and Dove, but only manages to kill Holly. Dove is revealed to posses the “white light of creation”, which is where her peace draws from. Dove helps defeat the Black Lanterns. At the end of the Blackest Night, Hank is brought back to life. Both he and Dawn resume their partnership as Hawk and Dove and join the Birds of Prey.

SIDE NOTE: I’d like to give a shout out to the artist who created the Hawk and Dove image on the bottom left. I found it in a Google search, but can’t find out where it originated. If you’re the artist, or know the artist’s website, please e-mail me at dailydcu(at)gmail(dot)com. And as always, e-mail your Know Your DCU suggestions!

Know Your DCU: King Faraday Imagine if James Bond existed in the DCU, but his best years were behind him and he found himself in a world full of superheroes where he has become obsolete. That’s King Faraday in a nut shell. Best known for his appearance in New Frontier, King Faraday has been a member of the DCU’s CIA, Task Force X, and current member of Checkmate. He’s teamed up with (and also gone up against) the one and only Batman. Naturally if you pick up a “Spy” comic in the DCU, you’ll probably “spy” Faraday…

Know Your DCU: King Faraday

Imagine if James Bond existed in the DCU, but his best years were behind him and he found himself in a world full of superheroes where he has become obsolete. That’s King Faraday in a nut shell.

Best known for his appearance in New Frontier, King Faraday has been a member of the DCU’s CIA, Task Force X, and current member of Checkmate. He’s teamed up with (and also gone up against) the one and only Batman. Naturally if you pick up a “Spy” comic in the DCU, you’ll probably “spy” Faraday…

Know Your DCU: Zatara I have to admit, I was struggling to figure out which character deserved to be the first Know Your DCU of 2011 would be. The choice became much easier to make thanks to The Flaming C. Some of you may recall THIS video I posted earlier in the weekere Conan questions just who one one of the most famous magicians in the DCU is. Well that’s what the Know Your DCU article is for, and luckily for Team Coco I’m here to help answer that question. Zatara made his first appearance in 1938 in the same comic book as Superman, Action Comics #1. John Zatara was a traveling stage magician who could also conjure up magic by speaking the desired effects backwards, a trait he managed to pass on to his daughter Zatana Zatara. While on the road, he’d occasionally fight some crime or the occasional Hell spawn demon. He trained his daughter Zatanna in all things magic (both physical and metaphysical), how to work the stage, and how to fight off threats from the underworld (literal, not criminal). Zatara died during the first Crisis, sacrificing himself to Hell to save Zatanna’s life. Currently, his magician nephew Zachary uses the name Zatara for his stage/superhero persona.

Know Your DCU: Zatara

I have to admit, I was struggling to figure out which character deserved to be the first Know Your DCU of 2011 would be. The choice became much easier to make thanks to The Flaming C. Some of you may recall THIS video I posted earlier in the weekere Conan questions just who one one of the most famous magicians in the DCU is. Well that’s what the Know Your DCU article is for, and luckily for Team Coco I’m here to help answer that question.

Zatara made his first appearance in 1938 in the same comic book as Superman, Action Comics #1. John Zatara was a traveling stage magician who could also conjure up magic by speaking the desired effects backwards, a trait he managed to pass on to his daughter Zatana Zatara. While on the road, he’d occasionally fight some crime or the occasional Hell spawn demon. He trained his daughter Zatanna in all things magic (both physical and metaphysical), how to work the stage, and how to fight off threats from the underworld (literal, not criminal). Zatara died during the first Crisis, sacrificing himself to Hell to save Zatanna’s life.

Currently, his magician nephew Zachary uses the name Zatara for his stage/superhero persona.

Know Your DCU: Bat-Santa Oh Bat-Santa. You see boys and girls, one time Batman dressed up like Santa Claus. It ended poorly. That is all. MERRY CHRISTMAS EVE EVERYONE!

Know Your DCU: Bat-Santa

Oh Bat-Santa. You see boys and girls, one time Batman dressed up like Santa Claus. It ended poorly. That is all.

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVE EVERYONE!

Know Your DCU: Detective Harvey Bullock Harvey Bullock is a former corrupt Gotham City police officer, who left his crooked ways after being influenced by Jim Gordon. Bullock and Batman never see eye-to-eye, with Bullock disliking Batman’s methods as a vigilante and blaming him for the criminals Batman inspired. However, his devotion to Jim Gordon causes Bullock to ally himself with The Dark Knight from time-to-time. Since it’s the holiday season, check out my favorite Harvey Bullock episode of Batman: The Animated Series (from the 4th season when it was part of the Batman/Superman show) titled Holiday Knights, to do so CLICK HERE.

Know Your DCU: Detective Harvey Bullock

Harvey Bullock is a former corrupt Gotham City police officer, who left his crooked ways after being influenced by Jim Gordon. Bullock and Batman never see eye-to-eye, with Bullock disliking Batman’s methods as a vigilante and blaming him for the criminals Batman inspired. However, his devotion to Jim Gordon causes Bullock to ally himself with The Dark Knight from time-to-time.

Since it’s the holiday season, check out my favorite Harvey Bullock episode of Batman: The Animated Series (from the 4th season when it was part of the Batman/Superman show) titled Holiday Knights, to do so CLICK HERE.

Know Your DCU: Detective Chimp Bobo T. Chimpanzee was a one time carnival act; a chimp who dressed like Sherlock Holmes and solved “mysteries” based on clues. That all changed one day in Florida when Rex the Wonder Dog took Bobo to the fountain of youth where he gained an ability to speak, super levels of intelligence, and immortality. Bobo became known around the DCU as Detective Chimp. As a detective, he rivals Batman. At such a high level, it is only natural that Detective Chimp started his own superhero team: Shadowpact. Honestly for a talking/smoking/magical chimp that is a recovering alcoholic, he is sinfully underutilized…

Know Your DCU: Detective Chimp

Bobo T. Chimpanzee was a one time carnival act; a chimp who dressed like Sherlock Holmes and solved “mysteries” based on clues. That all changed one day in Florida when Rex the Wonder Dog took Bobo to the fountain of youth where he gained an ability to speak, super levels of intelligence, and immortality. Bobo became known around the DCU as Detective Chimp. As a detective, he rivals Batman. At such a high level, it is only natural that Detective Chimp started his own superhero team: Shadowpact.

Honestly for a talking/smoking/magical chimp that is a recovering alcoholic, he is sinfully underutilized…

Know Your DCU: Ragman Ragman as a character always felt like someone who would be more at home in the Vertigo imprint then his place among the DC Universe. When Rory Regan (one of the few Jewish heroes in the DCU) dawns his suit built with patches made from the souls of evildoers that he has punished and absorbed, he becomes the Ragman. He operates in Gotham City, sometimes crossing paths with those other heroes that live there. He is currently a member of Shadowpact (although I’m not so sure what their deal is currently). Ragman’s powers are pretty dark stuff. He can draw upon the physical powers of the corrupted souls that make up his suit and can increase his strength, speed and stamina. When he defeats an enemy, he absorbs them with the suit, which adds a new rag. Ragman can kinetically control the suit, which will also materialize whenever he is in danger, and teleport him to wherever he’s needed.

Know Your DCU: Ragman

Ragman as a character always felt like someone who would be more at home in the Vertigo imprint then his place among the DC Universe. When Rory Regan (one of the few Jewish heroes in the DCU) dawns his suit built with patches made from the souls of evildoers that he has punished and absorbed, he becomes the Ragman. He operates in Gotham City, sometimes crossing paths with those other heroes that live there. He is currently a member of Shadowpact (although I’m not so sure what their deal is currently).

Ragman’s powers are pretty dark stuff. He can draw upon the physical powers of the corrupted souls that make up his suit and can increase his strength, speed and stamina. When he defeats an enemy, he absorbs them with the suit, which adds a new rag. Ragman can kinetically control the suit, which will also materialize whenever he is in danger, and teleport him to wherever he’s needed.

Know Your DCU: Power Girl Okay, when it comes to continuity anomalies, Power Girl takes the cake. Since the first Crisis, Kara Zor-L has had her origin changed several times and none of them had made any sense what so ever. So, in an effort to keep things simple, like I’ve done with most KYDCU articles, I’ll be telling you her history in a very concise way so it makes sense when you pick up a Power Girl comic. Following the Crisis on Infinite Earths, Karen Starr (AKA Power Girl) believes herself to be the cousin of Superman, but it is revealed to her she is not. She goes on being a hero, possessing all of Superman’s powers, and joining the Justice League Europe. After this, Power Girl ended up as a key member of the Justice Society of America, feeling very much at home with the older characters. Just before the Infinite Crisis, Power Girl crossed paths with Psycho Pirate, a villain who is the only person living with a memory of the pre-Crisis days. He reveals to Kara her true origin, that she was the cousin of the Earth 2 Superman before the multiverse was destroyed. Following Infinite Crisis and the return of the multiverse, Power Girl attempts to return home to Earth 2, but that particular universe no longer exists. Power Girl has come to peace with this and is making a life on Earth 0…

Know Your DCU: Power Girl

Okay, when it comes to continuity anomalies, Power Girl takes the cake. Since the first Crisis, Kara Zor-L has had her origin changed several times and none of them had made any sense what so ever. So, in an effort to keep things simple, like I’ve done with most KYDCU articles, I’ll be telling you her history in a very concise way so it makes sense when you pick up a Power Girl comic.

Following the Crisis on Infinite Earths, Karen Starr (AKA Power Girl) believes herself to be the cousin of Superman, but it is revealed to her she is not. She goes on being a hero, possessing all of Superman’s powers, and joining the Justice League Europe. After this, Power Girl ended up as a key member of the Justice Society of America, feeling very much at home with the older characters.

Just before the Infinite Crisis, Power Girl crossed paths with Psycho Pirate, a villain who is the only person living with a memory of the pre-Crisis days. He reveals to Kara her true origin, that she was the cousin of the Earth 2 Superman before the multiverse was destroyed. Following Infinite Crisis and the return of the multiverse, Power Girl attempts to return home to Earth 2, but that particular universe no longer exists. Power Girl has come to peace with this and is making a life on Earth 0…

Know Your DCU: Wally West Like the hero himself, here is the fastest Know Your DCU: He is Barry Allen, the second Flash’s nephew. Became Kid Flash. Helped form The Teen Titans. Barry Allen died. Wally became The Flash. Joined the JLA. He died. He came back, not dead, with wife and two kids. Returned to being The Flash. Barry Allen returned. Wally shares the title of The Flash.

Know Your DCU: Wally West

Like the hero himself, here is the fastest Know Your DCU:

He is Barry Allen, the second Flash’s nephew.

Became Kid Flash.

Helped form The Teen Titans.

Barry Allen died.

Wally became The Flash.

Joined the JLA.

He died.

He came back, not dead, with wife and two kids.

Returned to being The Flash.

Barry Allen returned.

Wally shares the title of The Flash.

Know Your DCU: Damian Wayne When Ra’s Al Ghul was introduced to the Batman mythos many decades ago, his mission was very simple: to have Bruce Wayne and his daughter Talia to procreate a worthy heir to the Al Ghul empire. Damian Wayne is the result of that mission, but was kept a secret from Bruce Wayne up until recently. Grown in an artificial womb to keep the pregnancy from “The Detective”, Talia had Damian trained by the League of Assassins and became a formidable martial artist with a background in every form of weaponry. Once he became a pre-teen Talia left Damian in Batman’s capable hands. Bruce, having raised many pre-teen boys already, introduced Damian to the Dark Knight’s world. However, when he met Bruce’s adopted son Tim Drake, Damian took that as a challenge and tried to kill Tim while wearing an old Robin costume. Batman naturally was not happy. Damian went missing for a short time after that, returning to be there as his father faced his final days. After Bruce’s apparent death, Damian wanted to be the next Batman. Dick Grayson, the first Robin, decided it was up to him to become Batman and trains Damian as the new Robin. Tim Drake was not too happy to learn he was replaced, but he has become his own hero in Red Robin. Now, with Bruce back, Damian will stay on as Dick Grayson’s sidekick in the pages of Batman and Robin, much to the happiness of the fans! Damian’s future looks bright with Dick, but there could be some darkness headed his way. It was revealed that he would one day become Batman (well, possibly “a” Batman) in a future filled with new villains and the return of one of Bruce’s former enemies…

Know Your DCU: Damian Wayne

When Ra’s Al Ghul was introduced to the Batman mythos many decades ago, his mission was very simple: to have Bruce Wayne and his daughter Talia to procreate a worthy heir to the Al Ghul empire. Damian Wayne is the result of that mission, but was kept a secret from Bruce Wayne up until recently. Grown in an artificial womb to keep the pregnancy from “The Detective”, Talia had Damian trained by the League of Assassins and became a formidable martial artist with a background in every form of weaponry.

Once he became a pre-teen Talia left Damian in Batman’s capable hands. Bruce, having raised many pre-teen boys already, introduced Damian to the Dark Knight’s world. However, when he met Bruce’s adopted son Tim Drake, Damian took that as a challenge and tried to kill Tim while wearing an old Robin costume. Batman naturally was not happy.

Damian went missing for a short time after that, returning to be there as his father faced his final days. After Bruce’s apparent death, Damian wanted to be the next Batman. Dick Grayson, the first Robin, decided it was up to him to become Batman and trains Damian as the new Robin. Tim Drake was not too happy to learn he was replaced, but he has become his own hero in Red Robin. Now, with Bruce back, Damian will stay on as Dick Grayson’s sidekick in the pages of Batman and Robin, much to the happiness of the fans!

Damian’s future looks bright with Dick, but there could be some darkness headed his way. It was revealed that he would one day become Batman (well, possibly “a” Batman) in a future filled with new villains and the return of one of Bruce’s former enemies…

Know Your DCU: Nemesis This request comes from my girlfriend Geada, who spotted Nemesis in the crowd of an episode of Justice League Unlimited. Thomas Andrew Tresser was a vigilante who ended up working for several secret government agencies in the DCU. Being a master of disguise, Nemesis was a sought after commodity and ended up working for The Suicide Squad under Amanda Waller. He later went on to impersonate Sarge Steel to infiltrate some sort of evil cabal. Nemesis has died several times, but apparently would secretly survive taking the identity of other DCU characters. Most recently Nemesis was working for the Department of Metahuman Affairs with Wonder Woman, but was later kidnapped and reprogrammed by the Global Peace Agency. Right now, he’s probably disguised somewhere in the DCU, or in the multiverse, or even in your own home…

Know Your DCU: Nemesis

This request comes from my girlfriend Geada, who spotted Nemesis in the crowd of an episode of Justice League Unlimited. Thomas Andrew Tresser was a vigilante who ended up working for several secret government agencies in the DCU. Being a master of disguise, Nemesis was a sought after commodity and ended up working for The Suicide Squad under Amanda Waller. He later went on to impersonate Sarge Steel to infiltrate some sort of evil cabal.

Nemesis has died several times, but apparently would secretly survive taking the identity of other DCU characters. Most recently Nemesis was working for the Department of Metahuman Affairs with Wonder Woman, but was later kidnapped and reprogrammed by the Global Peace Agency. Right now, he’s probably disguised somewhere in the DCU, or in the multiverse, or even in your own home…

Know Your DCU: Solomon Grundy As you’re all well aware this Sunday is Halloween, so this week’s Know Your DCU is dedicated to DC Comics’ resident zombie, Solomon Grundy. When Cyrus Gold killed himself, his body ended up in Slaughter Swamp and remained there for several decades until it became reanimated as Solomon Grundy in Gotham City. The mysterious properties of the swamp that caused the corpse to reanimate and become a “Grundy” has been explained by many prominent writers including Alan Moore, Grant Morrison, and Geoff Johns. However, none of them even come close to being similar to the other, so I can’t tell you exactly what caused Cyrus Gold to become the monstrous Solomon Grundy, but let’s chalk it up to magic. Every time Solomon Grundy dies, he is reborn in the swamp with different levels of intelligence and strength. This makes him a very powerful and dangerous DC villain. You may be wondering who his primary arch-nemesis might be, but to be honest almost every hero in the DCU has had to deal with Grundy. First was Alan Scott, who the monster has tangled with more than anyone, but he’s plagued the sewers of Gotham and been a pain in Batman’s side, gone toe to toe with Superman, made the Arrow Cave his home causing trouble for Green Arrow, and even took out the entire Justice League when he received genius level intelligence. I’ll end this article with the nursery rhyme which Grundy received his name from: Solomon Grundy,Born on a Monday,Christened on Tuesday,Married on Wednesday,Took ill on Thursday,Grew worse on Friday,Died on Saturday,Buried on Sunday.This is the endOf Solomon Grundy.

Know Your DCU: Solomon Grundy

As you’re all well aware this Sunday is Halloween, so this week’s Know Your DCU is dedicated to DC Comics’ resident zombie, Solomon Grundy. When Cyrus Gold killed himself, his body ended up in Slaughter Swamp and remained there for several decades until it became reanimated as Solomon Grundy in Gotham City. The mysterious properties of the swamp that caused the corpse to reanimate and become a “Grundy” has been explained by many prominent writers including Alan Moore, Grant Morrison, and Geoff Johns. However, none of them even come close to being similar to the other, so I can’t tell you exactly what caused Cyrus Gold to become the monstrous Solomon Grundy, but let’s chalk it up to magic.

Every time Solomon Grundy dies, he is reborn in the swamp with different levels of intelligence and strength. This makes him a very powerful and dangerous DC villain. You may be wondering who his primary arch-nemesis might be, but to be honest almost every hero in the DCU has had to deal with Grundy. First was Alan Scott, who the monster has tangled with more than anyone, but he’s plagued the sewers of Gotham and been a pain in Batman’s side, gone toe to toe with Superman, made the Arrow Cave his home causing trouble for Green Arrow, and even took out the entire Justice League when he received genius level intelligence.

I’ll end this article with the nursery rhyme which Grundy received his name from:

Solomon Grundy,
Born on a Monday,
Christened on Tuesday,
Married on Wednesday,
Took ill on Thursday,
Grew worse on Friday,
Died on Saturday,
Buried on Sunday.
This is the end
Of Solomon Grundy.
Know Your DCU: Hector Hammond Some of you might be asking “Hector Who?”, but if DC Entertainment has anything to do with it Hector Hammond will become a household name once the Green Lantern movie debuts next summer. I must admit Hammond seems like an odd choice for the antagonist of a blockbuster production, having never appeared in any other DC related media outside of comics. With all that said, that’s what the Know Your DCU column is for, isn’t it? Before looking like the above picture, Hector Hammond was a private consultant for Ferris Aircraft who lead a team of researchers inspecting the (then) recently crashed space craft of Abin Sur. During these events, the sleezeball Hammond (who was a creep before his head began to grow mind you) tried courting Carol Ferris and referred to himself as her boyfriend even though they weren’t dating. Smooth dude. Anywho, you’re probably wondering why his head is ginormous, well it’s obvious really: he was affected by a meteorite, duh (I’m still counting, but so far I can think of 5 DC characters who received powers from meteorites). The meteorite was located in Abin Sur’s reactor and caused Hammond’s head to grow (and continue to grow through the years) as well as given the abilities of mind control, reading thoughts, beyond genius level intellect, and telekinesis. These powers can cause a Green Lantern ring to be virtually ineffective.  When you think about Hammond now, he really is a great GL villain. Smart, ugly, powerful, and can make Hal Jordan powerless. Throw in the fact he is obsessed with Carol Ferris, and you can see why they chose Hammond for the movie. Now let’s see how big his head grows after the movie premieres…

Know Your DCU: Hector Hammond

Some of you might be asking “Hector Who?”, but if DC Entertainment has anything to do with it Hector Hammond will become a household name once the Green Lantern movie debuts next summer. I must admit Hammond seems like an odd choice for the antagonist of a blockbuster production, having never appeared in any other DC related media outside of comics. With all that said, that’s what the Know Your DCU column is for, isn’t it?

Before looking like the above picture, Hector Hammond was a private consultant for Ferris Aircraft who lead a team of researchers inspecting the (then) recently crashed space craft of Abin Sur. During these events, the sleezeball Hammond (who was a creep before his head began to grow mind you) tried courting Carol Ferris and referred to himself as her boyfriend even though they weren’t dating. Smooth dude. Anywho, you’re probably wondering why his head is ginormous, well it’s obvious really: he was affected by a meteorite, duh (I’m still counting, but so far I can think of 5 DC characters who received powers from meteorites). The meteorite was located in Abin Sur’s reactor and caused Hammond’s head to grow (and continue to grow through the years) as well as given the abilities of mind control, reading thoughts, beyond genius level intellect, and telekinesis. These powers can cause a Green Lantern ring to be virtually ineffective. 

When you think about Hammond now, he really is a great GL villain. Smart, ugly, powerful, and can make Hal Jordan powerless. Throw in the fact he is obsessed with Carol Ferris, and you can see why they chose Hammond for the movie. Now let’s see how big his head grows after the movie premieres…

Know Your DCU: The Riddler The Riddler has been all over Daily DCU this week; we had rumors that Tom Hardy has been cast as The Riddler in the next Batman movie and this week’s episode of Unemployed Sidekick featured a character who was a Riddler parody. With all that said, it was a shocking coincidence when I realized this week’s Know Your DCU character was scheduled to be none other than The Riddler!  The Riddler, formerly Edward Nigma, is one of Batman’s most famous rogues, having been created in 1948 and being portrayed in comics, cartoons, movies, and television (as seen in the above picture being played by Frank Gorshin, who I believe is the embodiment of the character in any medium). You can probably ask any person on the street what The Riddler is all about and they can tell you: he is a Batman villain who leaves riddles for Batman to solve. Pretty cut and dry. In recent history, Edward Nigma has proven to be a bit more formidable of an opponent for The Caped Crusader. He helped orchestrate the entire Hush mystery, and figured out the answer to the best riddle of them all “Who is Batman?”. However following the second Crisis, Nigma lost all memory of Batman’s identity and has become a private eye in Gotham City. His new gimmick? Solving riddles and being a thorn in The Dark Knight’s side. Normally I’d give you an origin of the character, but The Riddler has so many that I don’t know what is canon anymore. I guess that is his own little riddle…

Know Your DCU: The Riddler

The Riddler has been all over Daily DCU this week; we had rumors that Tom Hardy has been cast as The Riddler in the next Batman movie and this week’s episode of Unemployed Sidekick featured a character who was a Riddler parody. With all that said, it was a shocking coincidence when I realized this week’s Know Your DCU character was scheduled to be none other than The Riddler! 

The Riddler, formerly Edward Nigma, is one of Batman’s most famous rogues, having been created in 1948 and being portrayed in comics, cartoons, movies, and television (as seen in the above picture being played by Frank Gorshin, who I believe is the embodiment of the character in any medium). You can probably ask any person on the street what The Riddler is all about and they can tell you: he is a Batman villain who leaves riddles for Batman to solve. Pretty cut and dry.

In recent history, Edward Nigma has proven to be a bit more formidable of an opponent for The Caped Crusader. He helped orchestrate the entire Hush mystery, and figured out the answer to the best riddle of them all “Who is Batman?”. However following the second Crisis, Nigma lost all memory of Batman’s identity and has become a private eye in Gotham City. His new gimmick? Solving riddles and being a thorn in The Dark Knight’s side.

Normally I’d give you an origin of the character, but The Riddler has so many that I don’t know what is canon anymore. I guess that is his own little riddle…