Trivia Quiz #42: Answers

1. Who caused the crack in the Liberty Bell?

Superboy himself caused the crack in the Liberty Bell:

It's part of one of the nuttiest Superboy stories ever, from Adventure #296. Superboy goes back in time and helps Paul Revere, John Hancock and Ben Franklin complete their most famous actions.

2. I was a teenage hoodlum on Krypton before reforming and becoming a member of the Counter Intelligence Corps in the 30th Century. Who am I?
Dev-Em, who came to Earth in a modified bomb shelter and bedeviled Superboy before going to the future and turning over a new leaf.

3. What civic function did Pa Kent perform?

Pa Kent was a member of the parole board at the state reformatory.

4. Who saved Superboy from certain death at the hands of the Kryptonite Kid?
In an oddball twist, Master Mxyzptlk saved Superboy on that occasion, explaining that he did so because he didn't want to lose his favorite opponent.

5. To stop girls from mooning over him, who did Superboy claim was his ideal girlfriend?
In Adventure #291 (and in Adventure #183), Superboy confessed to having a crush on Cleopatra:


Of course, it is never explained how this doesn't qualify as lying, something that we are assured Superboy would never do.

Michael Rebain was the first to get #2. Anonymous got that question right and was the first to answer #3. And don't try to stump Commander Benson, as he got all five questions right, including being the first to answer #s 1, 4 and 5. Great job! Update: Kate also got #2 right.

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Trivia Quiz #41: Answers

What do they have in common?

1. Stone Boy, the Blob and Metamorpho?
All turned down the opportunity to join one of the superhero teams. Respectively, they passed on the Legion, the X-Men and the Justice League.

2. Batman, Aquaman and Green Arrow?
As usual, my readers came up with one that I hadn't thought of: All were backup features in World's Finest at one point. The intended answer was that all three had caves that they used as their headquarters.

3. Tommy Tomorrow, Congo Bill and the Legion of Super-Heroes?
Ditto with this one. Yes, they were all backups in Action Comics. But they were also bumped to make room for Supergirl. Tommy Tomorrow was bumped with Action #252's introduction of the Lass of Steel, while Congo Bill got the heave-ho in order to expand her feature effective with Action #262. The Legion left Adventure Comics to the Maid of Might in #381.

4. Jimmy Olsen, Robin and Alfred?
They all knew Batman was actually Bruce Wayne. I talked about the big reveal to Jimmy Olsen here.

5. The Joker, the Blue Bowman and the Clock?
All of them had fought Batman originally in different identities. The Joker was the Man in the Red Mask, the Blue Bowman was the Signalman, and the Clock was an ordinary criminal named Kyle.

Jim came, he saw and he conquered all five questions. Michael Rebain got the first four right. Ed got #2 and #3 correct.

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Trivia Quiz #40: Answers

1. Who taught Roy Harper how to use a bow and arrow?
Brave Bow, an Indian chief, taught Roy Harper how to be an archer:


2. Name the three major differences between the Silver Age Mr Mxyzptlk and his Golden Age counterpart.
There are more than three major differences: the spelling of his name (the GA version was named Mxyztplk), the costume, the GA version had a different look and hairstyle, the GA version only vanished for a month when forced to pronounce or spell his name backwards, while the Silver Age vanished for ninety days, and the GA version had a job as a court jester.

3. What souvenir did Batman bring back with him from the planet Zur-En-Arrh?

Batman brought back the Bat-radia:


4. Who was Barry Allen's childhood sweetheart?
Daphne Dean, as I discussed last year.

5. What famous actor was Hal Jordan's appearance patterned after?
Hal Jordan was intended to look like Paul Newman, as Julius Schwartz revealed in the letters page of Green Lantern #3.

Kudos to Scott Nesmith, who aced the test and to Ed, who got #1, #2 and #5 and was on the right track with #3.

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Trivia Quiz #39: Answers

1. What did Dick Grayson and Kathy Kane have in common? (No, not that!)

Both Dick and Kathy were circus performers before they teamed up with Batman.

2. Who was Bat-Boy?

Bat-Boy was Midge Merrill, a circus performer who took up crime-fighting to avenge his acrobat pals who were killed in a fire set by mobsters to cover their stealing of the gate receipts. He teamed up with Robin in Batman #90 to catch the murderers of his pals. His "shtick" was that he used baseball bats filled with unusual items (including webbing) to thwart his enemies.

3. Who was Batman Jones?

Batman Jones was a youngster whose parents had named him after the Caped Crusader. This was first mentioned in Batman #92 (June 1955):

The thread was later picked up in Batman #108 (June 1957). It turned out that young Master Jones, inspired by his namesake, was studying detecting as a career and was actually pretty good at it:

But his threat to become a permanent addition to the cast ended with that story as well, as Batman Jones decided that what he really wanted was to become a stamp collector.

4. Who was Mr. Marvel?
Mr Marvel was an alien gambler who had wagered that he could lure Robin away from Batman, and who posed as the new superhero in Gotham City. At first it appears that he has succeeded, but then at a critical moment Robin disarms MM and reveals that he only joined the new guy because Batman's life was threatened.

5. Who was the Eagle?
The Eagle was Alfred, the butler.

In one of Dick Sprang's last stories in Batman #127, Alfred trips over some wires, shines a light on one of those alien jewels that Superman was always bringing back from outer space, and gains (temporary) super-powers.

6. What did Commissioner Gordon like to have every evening? (Golden Age reference).

Commissioner Gordon liked to have a rub-down (massage) every night, which his son, Tony, gave him. Permission to say "Ewwwww!" granted.

Darius Smith got #3 right. Michael Rebain correctly answered #1. Blaze Morgan got #1, #2, #4 and #5. Ed was on the money for #1 and #5. The Strange Sr. Mulder hit the target with #1, #3, #4 and #5.

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Trivia Quiz #39 Answers and Prize Awarded!

Wow, once again my readers amazed me with the depth of their knowledge, and three correspondents got all the answers correct, which meant that I had to go with my predetermined tie-breakers.

#1. What color was the Joker's suit?
I had decided prior to the contest to accept purple as the color, since I believe I have mentioned that color a few times myself. However, this was the tie-breaker, as while researching the Joker's history I discovered that it was a very distinct shade of purple:


#2. Who was the son of the Joker?
Although he was never named specifically, in the story The Son of the Joker, he was described as the Joker's protégé.

#3. What crime boss willed his fortune to the Joker?
William "King" Barlowe willed his fortune to the Joker in The Joker's Millions (Detective #180). However, it turned out to be a trick, as Barlowe had placed a large amount of phony money and jewels with only a small amount of the real stuff as a gag on the Clown Prince of Crime.

#4. It is well-known that the Joker appeared in a story in the Golden Age which also featured the Catwoman, and another story where he teamed up with the Penguin. Who was the next super-villain to team-up with the Joker?
Lex Luthor teamed up with the Joker in the appropriately-named "Superman and Batman's Greatest Foes" in World's Finest #88.

5. Who was Gotham City's police commissioner in the 21st century?
Gotham City's police commissioner in the 21st century was Commissioner Rekoj, a descendant of the Joker who was as good as his ancestor was evil.

6. How did the Joker get his distinctive appearance?
In Detective #168, it was revealed that the Joker had gotten his bizarre look when he jumped into a vat of chemicals at the Monarch Playing Card Company to escape the Batman.

7. Was there a Bizarro Joker?
This was a tricky one and all my correspondents got it right for the wrong reason. There was a Bizarro Joker in the modern age, as revealed in DC Comics Presents #71. However, even before that the Joker was an honorary Bizarro. From World's Finest #156:


8. Who was the Joker's diminutive sidekick in the Silver Age?

Gagsworth A. Gagsworthy, better known as Gaggy, was the Joker's vertically challenged person of hench:


Aaron of Silver Age Gold, and "Jim" got all eight answers correct, as did Commander R. A. Benson, but only Commander Benson got the bonus point for coming up with "lavender" as the color of the Joker's suit, so he wins the tee shirt.

Thanks to Melanie of Nerdy Shirts for offering the prize; if you're looking for a cool, yet nerdy shirt, they're your source!

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Trivia Quiz #38: Answers

1. Which of Jor-El's official duties did he hate?

Jor-El hated being Krypton's official executioner. Of course, by "execution" what they meant was putting the prisoner into suspended animation and shooting him into space. It was his distaste for this duty that led to him inventing the Phantom Zone projector (aka Punishment Ray).

2. When the young Jor-El was cramming for his exams, what trick did he use to maximize his study time?

Jor-El used the Time-Stretch Globe.

3. What invention of Jor-El's led to him being elected to the Science Council?

The Phantom Zone projector (aka Punishment Ray) resulted in Jor-El's election to the Science Council.

4. Jor-El was stuck in the Phantom Zone twice when the projector failed to bring him back. What two people repaired the projector on those separate occasions?

The first time, Lara repaired the machine, from which baby Kal had removed a necessary part:

The second time, Lex Luthor (temporarily reformed by a ray that Jor-El had invented) saved him:


5. When Jor-El first got married, where did he work?

Jor-El worked at a missile base.

David got part of #4 correct. Blaze contributed the other part of #4 plus #2 and #5. Michael Rebain gets #3 plus part of #4. I stumped my readers with #1, although Michael Rebain was close.

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Trivia Quiz #38: Questions

This one was done Jeopardy-style with me giving the answers and the respondents supposed to come up with the questions.

1. The Hulk, Captain America and Captain Marvel.

What three characters had Rick Jones as a sidekick in the 1960s?

2. Captain Marvel and Wonder Woman.

The trick to this one is remembering that there was only one Captain Marvel during the Silver Age, and he was the "man of the Kree", not the Big Red Cheese. The question is, "What two superheroes of the Silver Age wore bracelets?

3. Superman, Thor and the Vision.

What three heroes could survive in outer space without a helmet or spacesuit?

4. Quicksilver, Johnny Quick and Dr Fate (among others).

What three heroes could fly? This was a significant difference between Quicksilver and the Flash, as Pietro discovered that by kicking his feet back and forth rapidly, he was capable of flight.

5. 25 trillion miles.

What is the distance from Earth to Rann?


Michael Sensei got #1 right. Lito S also answered #1. Jim Houston got #1, #2 and #5. Michael Rebain also picked up #5, as did Jim. Aaron Bias got #1 right. Blaze answered #1 and #5.

I'm tempted to congratulate myself for stumping you folks on #3 and #4, but looking back I think those two answers were a little too vague.

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Trivia Quiz #35: Answers

1. Who thought Americans were all gum-chewing gangsters?

Hansi's girlfriend, in Hansi, the Girl Who Loved the Swastika.

2. What Daredevil villain does the Batman villain the Masquerader resemble? Update: Resemble is the wrong word here; what I'm looking for is the DD villain that the Masquerader has the most in common with.

Both the Masquerader and the Gladiator started out as costume makers/tailors.

3. Whose favorite dish was Korala Stew?



Hawkgirl, aka Shayera Hol, loved her some Korala Stew.

4. What do the Blue Bowman and the Trapster have in common?

Both villains started out with different names. The Blue Bowman was originally the Signalman of Crime, while the Trapster was initially dubbed Paste-Pot Pete.

5. What happened during the Great Evolution?

This one goes back to one of the very first posts on the blog, about the Martian Manhunter's arrival on Earth in Detective #225:



As you can see, during the Great Evolution, all crime was supposedly wiped out on Mars. However, subsequent Martian Manhunter adventures cast doubt on that historical fact, as several of his stories featured criminals from Mars.

Jim got #1 right, while Kyle correctly answered #4, as did Blaze, who chipped in the answer to #2.

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Comics Trivia #34: Answers

What do they have in common?

1. The Silver Age Green Lantern and the Golden Age Flash?

Both battled Star Sapphire.

2. The JSA and the Frightful Four?

Both included a member named the Sandman.

3. The Doom Patrol and the X-Men? (not that they were led by men in wheelchairs)

Both fought the Brotherhood of Evil (actually the X-Men faced the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants).

4. Sea Devils and the Fantastic Four?

Both had the same core team: Smart man, strong man, woman, teenager.

5. Whitey Ford and Frank Sinatra? (Yeah, it's off-topic, but it's one of my favorite trivia bits.

Both were called "Chairman of the Board."

Jim was on the mark with #4, then later added #2 and #3. Lito S. was the first to get #1, and also got #2. Ed O'Toole definitely got #4 and gave some good alternative answers to #3, but I really wanted the Brotherhood bit. Mark popped in with the correct answer to #5, so once again I fail to stump the gallery. Great job all!

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Trivia Quiz #33: Answers

1. What villain was responsible for Professor X losing the use of his legs?

Lucifer was the guilty party as Professor X revealed in X-Men #9

2. What organization did Flash Thompson start?

Flash Thompson founded the Spiderman Fan Club (Forest Hills Chapter).

3. Jeopardy-style: Flash Thompson, Mysterio and the Chameleon. (That's the answer, what's the question?)

Who were the three people who dressed up as Spiderman (other than Peter Parker) in the first 20 issues of Amazing Spiderman?

4. What villain was Professor X's step-brother?

The Juggernaut was Professor Xavier's step-father's son.

5. What position did Professor X play in football?



The Prof was a quarterback in football.

James Murton came, he saw and he kicked major league butt on this quiz, getting all five answers correct. RAB got the first four correct. ShadowWing Tronix got #4, while Jacque Nodell was right on #1 and #4. Sorry Jacque, but while Flash Thompson may be an enemy of Peter Parker, he's a big fan of Spidey! And Ralph C doesn't realize it, but the Chameleon has been in his kitchen; did you really check that meter reader guy's ID carefully?

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Trivia Quiz #32

1. Who failed in his first effort to join the Mystery Analysts of Gotham City?

Private Detective Hugh Rankin was blackballed by Batman in his first attempt to join the Mystery Analysts, although he was later inducted.

2. Who was the first person to graduate at the top of Gotham City Police Academy in all four categories of training: Academic, Physical, Firearms and Overall?

Patrolwoman Patricia Powell was the police academy's finest graduate ever, startling Batman:

In an oddball pair of stories from the very early New Look, Patricia was introduced as a new love interest for Bruce Wayne. She confided in Batman shortly after the awards ceremony, puzzling the Caped Crusader, who could not remember meeting her, but it turned out that they had encountered each other several times, but were always wearing masks at the time: a diving mask and a domino mask at a costume party. But like all of Batman's love interests, she eventually just faded out of the picture.

3. Who did not first re-appear in the Silver Age after a long absence during the New Look period: the Riddler, the Penguin, the Scarecrow or the Catwoman?

I worded this poorly, what I meant to say was that three of those villains returned for the first time in the Silver Age during the New Look period, and one did not. The answer is the Penguin, who first returned in Batman #155, a year before the New Look debuted.

4. According to the Riddler, why do inmates refer to the state penitentiary as "Fiddler's Hotel"?

Because it's a "vile inn" (violin).

5. It is not uncommon for crooks to "die" at the end of a story, but what Batman villain was declared dead three times in the same story?

Deathman died three times in Batman #180; the first two were hoaxes, but the last one was for real as he was electrocuted by a lightning bolt while trying to shoot Batman and Robin.

Michael Rebain got #1, #2, #3 and #5. Ed O'Toole got #2, #3 and #5. And Darkmark90 correctly answered #4. Great job, all!

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Trivia Quiz #31: Answers

1. True or False: All major comic publishers submitted their comics to the CCA for its approval and seal during most of the Silver Age.

False. Dell, Gold Key and Classics Illustrated were among the larger publishers to ignore the CCA.

2. Name three DC features of the Silver Age (aside from annuals) to debut in their own books with a #1 issue instead of having a tryout.

There may be others, but the three I had in mind were Pat Boone, Captain Storm and Secret Six. Others mentioned in the comments that were right are: Dobie Gillis, Swing with Scooter, Brother Power the Geek and Bomba the Jungle Boy. Ones that are wrong and their tryout issues are: Metal Men (Showcase #37-40), Teen Titans (Brave & Bold #54, Showcase #59), Creeper (Showcase #73) and Aquaman (Showcase #30-33)

3. What was the first DC title of the Silver Age to have a letters column?

Well, every now and then I get surprised by an answer from a commenter. Osgood Peabody noted that Sugar and Spike had a letters column from near its inception, and when I checked, he turned out to be right. The answer I had in mind was Superman, which got its letter page with #124 (September 1958), but now we know that's wrong.

4. What was the original title of the Captain America letters page?

Let's Yap with Cap was the title before Marvel got hip and changed it to Let's Rap with Cap.

5. What DC title called its letters page "Destination Infinity"?

Rip Hunter, Time Master.

Thelonius Nick got #1 right. Osgood Peabody gets #2 and #3 right, with extra credit for outsmarting the quiz-maker. JJ got #4 right. MW Gallagher got #1. Ed O'Toole got #1, #2, #3 and #5.

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Trivia Quiz #30 Answers

1. True or false: Ray Palmer is a professor at Ivy University.

False: Ray is a grad student and research scientist at Ivy U.

2. What retired professor at Ivy invented the Time Pool, by which the Atom travels into the past?

As first revealed in the Atom #3, Alpheus V. Hyatt invented the Time Pool.

3. At what high school did Ray Palmer deliver the commencement address?

Ray Palmer gave the commencement address at Happy Harbor High School, where JLA honorary member Snapper Carr was graduating.


4. Ivy Town had more than its share of criminals. Of the following, who was not a crook:

A. Bates, the caretaker.
B. Clinton, the watchmaker.
C. Phillips, the newspaper reporter.
D. Dudley, the horticultural expert.
E. Elkins, the photographer.

Dudley, the horticultural expert, was another retired professor at Ivy University and not a criminal.

5. What did Jean Loring's father do for a living?

Jean Loring's father was a professor and scientist with no specific details as to the field he was involved in when he was introduced in Showcase #36. Later, in the Atom #21, we learned that he was researching using gravity as an energy source for spaceships, so it appears that his specialty was physics.

Jim kicked major league butt on this question, getting all five correct and even adding some details on the inspiration for Alpheus V. Hyatt. Great job!

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Trivia Quiz #28:: Answers

1. Who told Barry Allen, "You're my best friend, Barry!" and after that story never appeared again in the Silver Age?



Fred Pearson, an actor who played the part of a gorilla in a theatrical production. In the story (from Flash #106), Grodd is the gorilla who's menacing the city, and Fred wonders if he's to blame. Fred does not appear again.

2. What Flash villain was inspired by a competition to represent a game company?

Captain Boomerang was created by the W.W. Wiggins Game Company to advertise their new hit toy boomerangs, but the person they chose to represent the character turned out to be a crook named Digger Harkness.

3. What Flash villain had the reverse name of a famous outlaw?

The Trickster's real name was James Jesse.

4. What Flash villain passed up a lifetime in another dimension with beautiful women waiting on him hand and foot?

The Mirror Master, as discussed here.

5. What college did Barry Allen graduate from?



Barry was an alumnus of Sun City University.

Jim got #2, 3 and 4, as did Michael Rebain. Dan of the Beat Down got all five correct. Great job!

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