Trying to Please Everyone: Or Converting multiple Pop Culture Utopias into a Timeline.
- Thread starter Marco Incognito
- Start date
Yes, but this time, Sega holds off on releasing the Saturn just a bit longer, allowing the 32x to be supported by Sonic Mars(fitting since the 32x was nicknamed "Project Mars"). Making Sonic Mars the final swan song for the add on console.
History of the DC Universe(The Silver Age): 1956-1970
History of the DC Universe: The Silver Age
The First Appearance of the Silver Age Flash
In the mid-1950s, editorial director Irwin Donenfeld and publisher Liebowitz asked editor Julius Schwartz, a science fiction writer, to create a new version of the Flash to debut in the current run of Showcase. Among the writers hired for this project were Robert Kanigher, John Broome, Penciler Carmine Infantino and inker Joe Kubert, This group chose to create an entirely new Flash rather than use the old one. This new Flash character, Barry Allen, proved extremely popular and Green Lantern went through a similar revival, becoming the science fiction themed space adventurer Hal Jordan. Older heroes were also brought back such as the still running Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman, leading to the formation of the Justice League of America. The Team combined the seven most popular DC characters at the time, including the big three( referred to as the Trinity) Flash, Green Lantern, Aquaman and Martian Manhunter, the latter of which had enjoyed a revival into a series of Pulp style stories set on Mars based on the books of Edgar Rice Burroughs. He would later be given a mortal enemy in the Justice League villain Despero, a mind controlling alien tyrant.
Panel from a 70's issue of Martian Manhunter depicting him in battle with his arch nemesis Despero.
Superman had a greatly expanded cast of characters, with Mort Weisinger introducing Supergirl, Bizarro and Brainiac. For Batman, Jack Schiff introduced Batwoman, Bat-Girl, Ace the Bat-Hound, and Bat-Mite. Batman's stories seemed to be campier in tone, something credited to Schwartz and Infantino. The editor Kanigher introduced Wonder Woman with an entire family of characters and adventures that took advantage of the character's ties to Greek mythology.
The Flash of Two Worlds
In Flash No. 123, released in September 1961, the DC multiverse was introduced in "The Flash of Two worlds". This story by Schwartz, Gardner Fox, Infantino and Joe Giella, had the Silver age Flash, Barry Allen, travel accidentally to an alternate Earth and meet the Golden Age Flash, Jay Garrick. This established the Golden Age adventures as taking place on "Earth 2" and those of the "Silver Age" on Earth 1.
DC's revived success in turn led other companies to be spurred to return to Superhero stories, seeing the return of their two biggest rivals. With Fawcett having jumped ship to the UK following their decline in Superhero comics, where they enjoyed further popularity, this left Marvel Comics under the team of Stan Lee and Jack Kirby to create the "Marvel Age" of Comics with the first issue of the Fantastic Four. DC initially ignored Marvel but their growth became too much to ignore as they eclipsed other surviving companies. A study at the time showed Marvel to be much more successful, this left DC confused as to how the much smaller publishing company was beating them. A meeting was called to examine the competition.The DC Senior staff initially ignored the emphasis on compelling characters and art driven storytelling and instead the belief was that it was the color red or word balloons on the cover, as well as the perceived crude nature of the interior art somehow being appealing to readers. Fortunately smarter heads prevailed, namely Arnold Drake and the young Jim Shooter, who sat in on the meeting, pointing out how absurd the ideas sounded and convinced the staff of DC to push towards focusing on personal dynamics. Drake and Shooter were among the writers to pioneer this approach as they had been the ones who suggested it. Drake created the Doom Patrol series, which focused on a dysfunctional team of outsiders to parallel the Fantastic Four. Paradoxically, Drake would note his belief that Stan Lee plagiarized the Doom Patrol to create the X-Men due to similarities between the two teams, such as both being a team of young people led by a wheelchair bound intelligent Professor. Jim Shooter emulated Marvel's style of writing after studying the style of both companies, in his own series such as The Legion of Super-Heroes, which were introduced in the pages of Superman as a superhero team of teenagers in the 30th Century. The success of the this team would lead to the rise of another team of teenagers.
The original Teen Titans
To appeal to the Teen Market, Teen Titans, an offshoot team of sidekicks, was created. The original roster was Robin(Dick Grayson), Speedy(Roy Queen, formerly Roy Harper), Aqualad(Garth), Kid Flash(Wally West), and Wonder Girl. Wonder Girl was an odd situation. When the book was created, the writers were looking for sidekicks and saw an old issue of Wonder Woman in which the heroine teamed up with her past self(technically a clone of her past self created from a film strip of Wonder Woman when she was younger via magic) and falsely assumed it was Wonder Woman's sidekick. He realized his mistake and wrote the origin of the team as an origin for Wonder Girl was well. Donna Troy was introduced as a young girl who was shipwrecked on Themyscira and raised by the Amazons before being granted similar powers to her. While the Teen Titans series was odd in its first few issues, varying in quality(though the Titans becoming pacifists for a time does not happen ITTL), there were several interesting firsts in the series. Teen Titans #20 introduced DC's first black Superhero in Jericho, though many considered the anti-racism message of the story to be heavy handed(When it came time to introduce Deathstroke's heroic son, Joseph in the 1980's New Teen Titans, no codename was used as his codename was Jericho OTL due to the character of Jericho being made white). The Original Teen Titans, known as the Fab Five, would be split up by Bob Rozakis when he moved Wonder Girl and Speedy to the newly formed Titans West, bringing in Bat Girl(Bette Kane) as a replacement to set up a love triangle between Bat-Girl, Robin, and Harlequin(no relation to the later character of Harley Quinn introduced decades later). This Harlequin was a heroic character who claimed to be the Joker's daughter and then later claimed to be the daughter of Two Face as Duela Dent. Her full backstory was never revealed but she had a habit of claiming to be the daughter of various villains and having a similar gimmick to them while acting as a hero). Speedy and Wonder Girl's relationship was also focused on a little more thanks to them being the most popular characters on the Titans West team spinoff. However, the series began to face low sales even with two teams now existing as Titans West and Titans East and both series were cancelled in 1973. The finale issue had several members departing for various personal reasons(Except for Harlequin, Dick Grayson corners her about who she is, revealing she couldn't be the daughter of Joker or Two Face and she jumps on her Motorcycle and drives off without answering). The remaining members of the team, which happen to be the original founding members, realize they've all aged into their 20's and are no longer Teens. They all say goodbye and part way, walking off in different directions in the sunset.
Ferro Lad's Sacrifice
With the unexpected popularity of Jericho, the pressure was on to introduce more Black Superheroes outside the cancelled Teen Titans. The Legion of Super-Heroes would introduce a Black Superhero in Ferro Lad( OTL DC shot this down due to fear of losing readers in the South). However in an unfortunate case of the "Bury your Blacks" trope(TTL name for a Trope when a Black Character dies in a Horror Movie or early on, this is due to tropes like "Bury your Gays" being less prevalent), Ferro Lad would tragically be killed off soon after his introduction during the Sun Eater Arc(not out of any prejudice but because the writers wanted a death. Any senior members were off the table and Ferro Lad's powers of turning into Iron meant he was the only one physically capable of stopping the Sun Eater from inside it). Ferro Lad was killed, turning into a statue of himself which was kept by the Legion in hopes that he may actually have been alive and revived one day. Another Black character, a woman named Shadow Lass was introduced soon after as a form of atonement for Ferro Lad's death by the authors(OTL her skin was blue but she was originally supposed to be black before being changed for the same reason as Ferro Lad OTL). She was given the backstory of being the sister of Ferro Lad, trying to continue his mission and honor his sacrifice. This was written well enough that it seemed to many it had been planned and so few people complained about its transparency.
In 1966, the Batman TV series starring Adam West aired on ABC and then NBC, leading to a spike in comic book sales. This led to a rise in Superhero programs on Saturday Mornings due to Filmation owning the rights to most of DC's superhero shows. This led to a campy tone being present in several comics, particularly those relating to Batman. Then Editor Irwin Donenfeld intended to introduce a Checkerboard pattern to DC covers but was convinced by Infantino that this was a bad attempt to make DC books stand out and only helped them be passed on for Marvel titles.
Dial H for Hero was a DC comic series about a boy with a mystical device that allowed him to transform into one of 10 humanoid superheroes through the use of a device resembling a rotary dial(a common sight on a phone at the time). Introduced in 1966, the original owner of the dial was Robert "Robby" Reed. Reed lived in the fictional town of Littleville, Colorado, with his grandpa and housekeeper Miss Millie. Reed discovered the dial during a camping trip. While the Heroes Reed turned into were normally original, there was one moment where Reed turned into the hero Plastic Man. Among the original heroes he could transform into were the Squid, Quake-Master, King Coil, Hornet-Man, Shadow-Man, Mighty Moppet, King Kandy, Future-Man, Human Bullet, Super-Charge, the Mole, Mr. Echo, Hypno-Man, the Cometeer and the Human Starfish, among others. In the original series, the origin of the Dial was never given.
The comic series was revived in the 1980s with the added bonus that readers, usually kids, could submit their own Hero that the protagonists could then transform into, receiving prizes, though DC kept the rights unless the original creator came to claim them once they turned 18. Some appeared for only a panel. There were two "Dials" which took the form of a watch and a bracelet. Two children: Chris King and Vicki Grant became the bearers of the dial and both battled villains created by a mysterious figure known as "The Master", who's identity was never revealed by the time the series ended.
Carmine Infantino in 2010
Infantino became the editorial director in 1967, replacing Donenfeld. He had created Silver age characters such as Batgirl and the Phantom Stranger as the artist on Batman. He began to push towards Batman's return to serious storytelling and away from the campy nature of the series, something echoed in the Television series with darker elements introduced such as the show's version of Two Face. Other heroes followed and the tone gradually shifted away from the tone the Silver Age had been known for. Infantino also promised several artists complete freedom, leading to several Comic artists to jump ship from Marvel to DC such as Steve Ditko and Jack Kirby, joining new and rising talent such as Neal Adams and Dennis O'Neil. He also led a change in the power structure of the company, replacing DC editors with artists and writers such as Joe Kubert and Dick Giordano. In 1969, seeing the rising power of DC from its absorbing of Marvel's talent, Warner Bros bought DC.
Cover of the Famous "Green Arrow Kills Charles Manson" Issue, 1969.
Green Arrow reached popularity again when he and Green Lantern were paired up by Neal Adams for a series that involved the two driving across the country on a road trip which actually became quite somber in tone as the two found themselves getting involved in personal issues and helping people in trouble. Green Lantern was doing so because he had spent much time away from Earth that he felt he needed to reconnect with humanity. A guardian from Oa named Ali Apsa accompanied the two, trying to connect with the people the Guardians were protecting, but he would leave to explore other planets after some time. In 1969, Green Arrow had one of his most famous storylines. Oliver Queen set out to rescue Dinah Lance, the new Black Canary. Both her and Queen were drugged while infiltrating a commune led by what is a clear expy of Charles Manson, this being in 1969 after the attempted murders Manson and his followers were famous for that were fatefully averted by Bruce Lee, who was visiting Sharon Tate at the time. In a cathartic sequence, Dinah and Oliver beat up the commune, placing one arrow in Manson's leg and another between his eyes(This comic being written before his capture and arrest). This page can be seen on the website Comics Should be Good as "That one time Green Arrow Killed Charles Manson". Strangely, the Comics Code Authority seemed to have no problem with the story despite the intense and graphic violence breaking several of their guidelines. When the Comics Code Attempted to prevent the release of a Stan Lee story the next year focusing heavily on drugs(specifically Spider-Man's friend Harry Osborn taking them and becoming addicted), despite the Kennedy Administration's Department of Health, Education and Wellness requesting Stan Lee write the story. The story sold so well it undercut the Comic Code Authority and many pointed out the hypocrisy of the Comics Code Authority approving the graphic Violence in the Green Arrow story simply because it was happening to someone who deserved it. This tarnished the legacy of the Comics Code Authority and weakened its power going into the 70's, signifying that the times were changing and the Code was becoming obsolete. It still existed but no one took it seriously and would eventually be forced to completely change.
Conclusion to Jack Kirby's New Gods
In 1970, Jack Kirby moved from Marvel Comics to DC, at the tail end of the Silver Age of Comics. This demonstrated a problem which Stan Lee later admitted. He was excellent at throwing out ideas and having them realized, but with both Ditko and Kirby having left for the distinguished competition, he found his ideas slowing down. Kirby as promised by Infantino to anyone who left Marvel for DC, was given complete control. Kirby introduced New Gods to DC. This was followed by Mister Miracle and The Forever People(OTL Kirby originally conceived what would become the New Gods as part of his Thor series before he left Marvel, here he finished the Thor series but went to DC, making the New Gods slightly different). Through the New Gods, Kirby introduced the villain Darkseid and the dueling worlds of Apokolips and New Genesis, both of which would become mainstays of the DC Universe. It was also Kirby's idea, since the series was more serialized, to release reprints of issues in bigger collector editions, giving birth to the Graphic Novel and creating a practice that is now industry practiced. Sales did not meet DC's expectations but due to the contract Infantino had promised to entice Marvel writers to leave, Kirby was given enough freedom to continue the series for however long he liked, a choice which would pay off as the series concluded in the 1970's. What helped keep the series afloat was a deal with Kenner Products to make toys of DC Superheroes, starting with Kirby's creations, boosting their popularity further. Had this been the 80's, the New Gods would have gotten a TV show to sell the toys as well. Other characters introduced by Kirby during his time at DC before his return to Marvel include Kamandi, who was introduced in the pages of DC's Planet of the Apes licensed series(OTL he came into existence because DC failed to get the rights to make Planet of the Apes comics), Etrigan the Demon, and OMAC.
The First Appearance of the Silver Age Flash
In the mid-1950s, editorial director Irwin Donenfeld and publisher Liebowitz asked editor Julius Schwartz, a science fiction writer, to create a new version of the Flash to debut in the current run of Showcase. Among the writers hired for this project were Robert Kanigher, John Broome, Penciler Carmine Infantino and inker Joe Kubert, This group chose to create an entirely new Flash rather than use the old one. This new Flash character, Barry Allen, proved extremely popular and Green Lantern went through a similar revival, becoming the science fiction themed space adventurer Hal Jordan. Older heroes were also brought back such as the still running Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman, leading to the formation of the Justice League of America. The Team combined the seven most popular DC characters at the time, including the big three( referred to as the Trinity) Flash, Green Lantern, Aquaman and Martian Manhunter, the latter of which had enjoyed a revival into a series of Pulp style stories set on Mars based on the books of Edgar Rice Burroughs. He would later be given a mortal enemy in the Justice League villain Despero, a mind controlling alien tyrant.
Panel from a 70's issue of Martian Manhunter depicting him in battle with his arch nemesis Despero.
Superman had a greatly expanded cast of characters, with Mort Weisinger introducing Supergirl, Bizarro and Brainiac. For Batman, Jack Schiff introduced Batwoman, Bat-Girl, Ace the Bat-Hound, and Bat-Mite. Batman's stories seemed to be campier in tone, something credited to Schwartz and Infantino. The editor Kanigher introduced Wonder Woman with an entire family of characters and adventures that took advantage of the character's ties to Greek mythology.
The Flash of Two Worlds
In Flash No. 123, released in September 1961, the DC multiverse was introduced in "The Flash of Two worlds". This story by Schwartz, Gardner Fox, Infantino and Joe Giella, had the Silver age Flash, Barry Allen, travel accidentally to an alternate Earth and meet the Golden Age Flash, Jay Garrick. This established the Golden Age adventures as taking place on "Earth 2" and those of the "Silver Age" on Earth 1.
DC's revived success in turn led other companies to be spurred to return to Superhero stories, seeing the return of their two biggest rivals. With Fawcett having jumped ship to the UK following their decline in Superhero comics, where they enjoyed further popularity, this left Marvel Comics under the team of Stan Lee and Jack Kirby to create the "Marvel Age" of Comics with the first issue of the Fantastic Four. DC initially ignored Marvel but their growth became too much to ignore as they eclipsed other surviving companies. A study at the time showed Marvel to be much more successful, this left DC confused as to how the much smaller publishing company was beating them. A meeting was called to examine the competition.The DC Senior staff initially ignored the emphasis on compelling characters and art driven storytelling and instead the belief was that it was the color red or word balloons on the cover, as well as the perceived crude nature of the interior art somehow being appealing to readers. Fortunately smarter heads prevailed, namely Arnold Drake and the young Jim Shooter, who sat in on the meeting, pointing out how absurd the ideas sounded and convinced the staff of DC to push towards focusing on personal dynamics. Drake and Shooter were among the writers to pioneer this approach as they had been the ones who suggested it. Drake created the Doom Patrol series, which focused on a dysfunctional team of outsiders to parallel the Fantastic Four. Paradoxically, Drake would note his belief that Stan Lee plagiarized the Doom Patrol to create the X-Men due to similarities between the two teams, such as both being a team of young people led by a wheelchair bound intelligent Professor. Jim Shooter emulated Marvel's style of writing after studying the style of both companies, in his own series such as The Legion of Super-Heroes, which were introduced in the pages of Superman as a superhero team of teenagers in the 30th Century. The success of the this team would lead to the rise of another team of teenagers.
The original Teen Titans
To appeal to the Teen Market, Teen Titans, an offshoot team of sidekicks, was created. The original roster was Robin(Dick Grayson), Speedy(Roy Queen, formerly Roy Harper), Aqualad(Garth), Kid Flash(Wally West), and Wonder Girl. Wonder Girl was an odd situation. When the book was created, the writers were looking for sidekicks and saw an old issue of Wonder Woman in which the heroine teamed up with her past self(technically a clone of her past self created from a film strip of Wonder Woman when she was younger via magic) and falsely assumed it was Wonder Woman's sidekick. He realized his mistake and wrote the origin of the team as an origin for Wonder Girl was well. Donna Troy was introduced as a young girl who was shipwrecked on Themyscira and raised by the Amazons before being granted similar powers to her. While the Teen Titans series was odd in its first few issues, varying in quality(though the Titans becoming pacifists for a time does not happen ITTL), there were several interesting firsts in the series. Teen Titans #20 introduced DC's first black Superhero in Jericho, though many considered the anti-racism message of the story to be heavy handed(When it came time to introduce Deathstroke's heroic son, Joseph in the 1980's New Teen Titans, no codename was used as his codename was Jericho OTL due to the character of Jericho being made white). The Original Teen Titans, known as the Fab Five, would be split up by Bob Rozakis when he moved Wonder Girl and Speedy to the newly formed Titans West, bringing in Bat Girl(Bette Kane) as a replacement to set up a love triangle between Bat-Girl, Robin, and Harlequin(no relation to the later character of Harley Quinn introduced decades later). This Harlequin was a heroic character who claimed to be the Joker's daughter and then later claimed to be the daughter of Two Face as Duela Dent. Her full backstory was never revealed but she had a habit of claiming to be the daughter of various villains and having a similar gimmick to them while acting as a hero). Speedy and Wonder Girl's relationship was also focused on a little more thanks to them being the most popular characters on the Titans West team spinoff. However, the series began to face low sales even with two teams now existing as Titans West and Titans East and both series were cancelled in 1973. The finale issue had several members departing for various personal reasons(Except for Harlequin, Dick Grayson corners her about who she is, revealing she couldn't be the daughter of Joker or Two Face and she jumps on her Motorcycle and drives off without answering). The remaining members of the team, which happen to be the original founding members, realize they've all aged into their 20's and are no longer Teens. They all say goodbye and part way, walking off in different directions in the sunset.
Ferro Lad's Sacrifice
With the unexpected popularity of Jericho, the pressure was on to introduce more Black Superheroes outside the cancelled Teen Titans. The Legion of Super-Heroes would introduce a Black Superhero in Ferro Lad( OTL DC shot this down due to fear of losing readers in the South). However in an unfortunate case of the "Bury your Blacks" trope(TTL name for a Trope when a Black Character dies in a Horror Movie or early on, this is due to tropes like "Bury your Gays" being less prevalent), Ferro Lad would tragically be killed off soon after his introduction during the Sun Eater Arc(not out of any prejudice but because the writers wanted a death. Any senior members were off the table and Ferro Lad's powers of turning into Iron meant he was the only one physically capable of stopping the Sun Eater from inside it). Ferro Lad was killed, turning into a statue of himself which was kept by the Legion in hopes that he may actually have been alive and revived one day. Another Black character, a woman named Shadow Lass was introduced soon after as a form of atonement for Ferro Lad's death by the authors(OTL her skin was blue but she was originally supposed to be black before being changed for the same reason as Ferro Lad OTL). She was given the backstory of being the sister of Ferro Lad, trying to continue his mission and honor his sacrifice. This was written well enough that it seemed to many it had been planned and so few people complained about its transparency.
In 1966, the Batman TV series starring Adam West aired on ABC and then NBC, leading to a spike in comic book sales. This led to a rise in Superhero programs on Saturday Mornings due to Filmation owning the rights to most of DC's superhero shows. This led to a campy tone being present in several comics, particularly those relating to Batman. Then Editor Irwin Donenfeld intended to introduce a Checkerboard pattern to DC covers but was convinced by Infantino that this was a bad attempt to make DC books stand out and only helped them be passed on for Marvel titles.
Dial H for Hero was a DC comic series about a boy with a mystical device that allowed him to transform into one of 10 humanoid superheroes through the use of a device resembling a rotary dial(a common sight on a phone at the time). Introduced in 1966, the original owner of the dial was Robert "Robby" Reed. Reed lived in the fictional town of Littleville, Colorado, with his grandpa and housekeeper Miss Millie. Reed discovered the dial during a camping trip. While the Heroes Reed turned into were normally original, there was one moment where Reed turned into the hero Plastic Man. Among the original heroes he could transform into were the Squid, Quake-Master, King Coil, Hornet-Man, Shadow-Man, Mighty Moppet, King Kandy, Future-Man, Human Bullet, Super-Charge, the Mole, Mr. Echo, Hypno-Man, the Cometeer and the Human Starfish, among others. In the original series, the origin of the Dial was never given.
The comic series was revived in the 1980s with the added bonus that readers, usually kids, could submit their own Hero that the protagonists could then transform into, receiving prizes, though DC kept the rights unless the original creator came to claim them once they turned 18. Some appeared for only a panel. There were two "Dials" which took the form of a watch and a bracelet. Two children: Chris King and Vicki Grant became the bearers of the dial and both battled villains created by a mysterious figure known as "The Master", who's identity was never revealed by the time the series ended.
Carmine Infantino in 2010
Infantino became the editorial director in 1967, replacing Donenfeld. He had created Silver age characters such as Batgirl and the Phantom Stranger as the artist on Batman. He began to push towards Batman's return to serious storytelling and away from the campy nature of the series, something echoed in the Television series with darker elements introduced such as the show's version of Two Face. Other heroes followed and the tone gradually shifted away from the tone the Silver Age had been known for. Infantino also promised several artists complete freedom, leading to several Comic artists to jump ship from Marvel to DC such as Steve Ditko and Jack Kirby, joining new and rising talent such as Neal Adams and Dennis O'Neil. He also led a change in the power structure of the company, replacing DC editors with artists and writers such as Joe Kubert and Dick Giordano. In 1969, seeing the rising power of DC from its absorbing of Marvel's talent, Warner Bros bought DC.
Cover of the Famous "Green Arrow Kills Charles Manson" Issue, 1969.
Green Arrow reached popularity again when he and Green Lantern were paired up by Neal Adams for a series that involved the two driving across the country on a road trip which actually became quite somber in tone as the two found themselves getting involved in personal issues and helping people in trouble. Green Lantern was doing so because he had spent much time away from Earth that he felt he needed to reconnect with humanity. A guardian from Oa named Ali Apsa accompanied the two, trying to connect with the people the Guardians were protecting, but he would leave to explore other planets after some time. In 1969, Green Arrow had one of his most famous storylines. Oliver Queen set out to rescue Dinah Lance, the new Black Canary. Both her and Queen were drugged while infiltrating a commune led by what is a clear expy of Charles Manson, this being in 1969 after the attempted murders Manson and his followers were famous for that were fatefully averted by Bruce Lee, who was visiting Sharon Tate at the time. In a cathartic sequence, Dinah and Oliver beat up the commune, placing one arrow in Manson's leg and another between his eyes(This comic being written before his capture and arrest). This page can be seen on the website Comics Should be Good as "That one time Green Arrow Killed Charles Manson". Strangely, the Comics Code Authority seemed to have no problem with the story despite the intense and graphic violence breaking several of their guidelines. When the Comics Code Attempted to prevent the release of a Stan Lee story the next year focusing heavily on drugs(specifically Spider-Man's friend Harry Osborn taking them and becoming addicted), despite the Kennedy Administration's Department of Health, Education and Wellness requesting Stan Lee write the story. The story sold so well it undercut the Comic Code Authority and many pointed out the hypocrisy of the Comics Code Authority approving the graphic Violence in the Green Arrow story simply because it was happening to someone who deserved it. This tarnished the legacy of the Comics Code Authority and weakened its power going into the 70's, signifying that the times were changing and the Code was becoming obsolete. It still existed but no one took it seriously and would eventually be forced to completely change.
Conclusion to Jack Kirby's New Gods
In 1970, Jack Kirby moved from Marvel Comics to DC, at the tail end of the Silver Age of Comics. This demonstrated a problem which Stan Lee later admitted. He was excellent at throwing out ideas and having them realized, but with both Ditko and Kirby having left for the distinguished competition, he found his ideas slowing down. Kirby as promised by Infantino to anyone who left Marvel for DC, was given complete control. Kirby introduced New Gods to DC. This was followed by Mister Miracle and The Forever People(OTL Kirby originally conceived what would become the New Gods as part of his Thor series before he left Marvel, here he finished the Thor series but went to DC, making the New Gods slightly different). Through the New Gods, Kirby introduced the villain Darkseid and the dueling worlds of Apokolips and New Genesis, both of which would become mainstays of the DC Universe. It was also Kirby's idea, since the series was more serialized, to release reprints of issues in bigger collector editions, giving birth to the Graphic Novel and creating a practice that is now industry practiced. Sales did not meet DC's expectations but due to the contract Infantino had promised to entice Marvel writers to leave, Kirby was given enough freedom to continue the series for however long he liked, a choice which would pay off as the series concluded in the 1970's. What helped keep the series afloat was a deal with Kenner Products to make toys of DC Superheroes, starting with Kirby's creations, boosting their popularity further. Had this been the 80's, the New Gods would have gotten a TV show to sell the toys as well. Other characters introduced by Kirby during his time at DC before his return to Marvel include Kamandi, who was introduced in the pages of DC's Planet of the Apes licensed series(OTL he came into existence because DC failed to get the rights to make Planet of the Apes comics), Etrigan the Demon, and OMAC.
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Sonic the Hedgehog: Modern Sonic Games(2009-2017)
Cover to Nintendo DS rerelease of the Original Sonic Trilogy
Sonic and Sega All-Stars Racing-2010
The Game includes ToeJam & Earl and Vyse as guest characters.
Sonic Generations-2011
Ryan Dummond was brought in to replay Sonic. The game also had a PSP Port. There are also references to Archie Comics, the Fleetway comics, Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog, Sonic the Hedgehog (SatAM), Sonic Underground, and Sonic X. With many other Sonics making cameos and being playable(though most play the same.
Sonic & All Stars Racing Transformed-2012
Includes Bayonetta, though she is toned down for inclusion in the game(OTL this was intended but they couldn't find a way to make. Bayonetta's later inclusion in Smash Bros for Nintendo 3Ds and Wii U proved that it was possible to stay faithful to the character and keep the rating, which Transformed couldn't find a way to do, so her they find a way.
Sonic Lost World-2013
The game follows Classic Sonic instead of Modern Sonic as originally planned with many other elements of the old games returning like the animal friends and classic enemies returning.
Sonic Synergy-2014
The Original title of Sonic Boom: Rise of Lyric, the game is not directly stated to be a reboot, simply another Sonic Game with a change of style. It was also not a major release but instead released on a third party system, thus butterflying all the technical problems the game suffers due to not being intended to be released on the Wii U exclusive, the source of its OTL problems. Among the plot of the game are Sonic's friends discovering "an ancient land, the backstory for how Eggman and Sonic met, and a story involving past societies of hedgehogs and echidna that were at war. Each character is given more diverse moves such as Sonic being physically the fastest and utilizing spin attacks more, Tails using technology and weapons, Amy's hammer focused attacks and Knuckles being the heavy hitter. Amy is more sassy and adventurous compared to OTL. Sticks does not appear in the game but does in the cartoon(her inclusion was a last minute addition). The game also has a hub world(originally in the fame but cut because the Wii U couldn't handle it). Perci is a tag along on several missions. Cliff is an inventor. Lyric appears in the game more often. There's also a plane level. Sonic also nearly says "Shit" at one point in the game but stops himself. The game was also released alongside a Cartoon series, which was already planned and so is released ITTL
Because of Sega's contract with Nintendo to release one more game for them and it not being Sonic Forces, this carries over to the next game.
Sonic Mania-2017
The plot has Dr.Eggman depressed after the events of Sonic 3 and retires, leading to the Egg Robos rebelling against him. The Titanci Monarch has an Egg Prison hideout. Egg Reviere has more platforms and background elements, being much bigger. The game was released on Nintendo systems due to a contract between the two companies covering one more game.
Sonic Forces-2017
Null Space is a longer level. Perfect Chaos appears as the boss of a level. The DLC Sonic Forces: Looming Shadow has Shadow investigate the cause of Omega's disappearance at Arsenal Pyramid, making it a full stage. Green Hill Zone is also featured and Shadow battled an illusion of Nails. Shadow also fights Infinite and his minions in a boss battle rather than a cutscene. The resistance base is also set in Mystic Jungle. Mephiles also appears as one of the illusion villains(Due to there being no time travel retcon ITTL's Sonic 06' as Mephiles is defeated after being summoned.
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Are there any other countries of interest that you want to cover? @Marco Incognito
Also, what happened to all the OTL presidents that didn't become president ITTL?
Also, what happened to all the OTL presidents that didn't become president ITTL?
What's left to cover in a map sense? I can probably proved a list on the Non Presidents soon.
My idea was that they were taken by Russia during world war 2 due to the Nazis also invading those lands but their occupation was nowhere near as brutal under the Russians as in OTL. If they were occupied Soviet Union style they probably gained independence more gradually. Maybe Lithuania in 1972, Latvia in 89’ and Estonia in 91
Georgia was part of the Russian Empire like in real life and eventually declared independence and briefly fought to earn it in the 1980's. Same with Azerbaijan due to it being part fo the Russian Empire.
Armenia has enjoyed a long period of independence due to the averted Armenian Genocide and not being part of the Soviet Union.
Great!
I know these will be more obscure compared to most of the other topics you have covered, but do you have any ideas on what will happen to Trapped in Time and Tossed Through Alternate History ITTL? Or atleast any other similar games on this site?
They'd exist in some form but how would be difficult to determine at the moment until the world is flushed out a bit more. The former because it requires many different fictional worlds that have differences that would need to be explained first and the latter because of how the various countries would exist ITTL.
Good to know.
Personally, I hope the more talented folks in those games are able to find more opportunities for work ITTL.
I’d have to finish reading trapped in time first but I feel Ike similar timelines could be merged. Specifically the ones that involve ISOTs of fictional elements to the real world. This would include yours just FYI if i do this.
Earth 2.0? That old, ancient work of mine? To be honest, that was just made in reaction to Trapped in Time, in a "imitation is the sincerest form of flattery" sorta way, so I don't mind what happens to it ITTL.
For Trapped in Time, I think Victorian London from 1876 probably most likely still gets ISOTed, as that city came a few decades before the butterflies really started to get flapping in the 1910s and beyond.