II:  The Golden Age of Heroes

Overview | 1938-1941 | 1942-1945 | 1946-1951

Introduction

In this section, more than any other, events listed are likely to have unchanging, reliable dates that correspond to their original publication—yet paradoxically, everything that we know to be canonical for the current DCU must again (as in the preceding section) have been established by flashbacks. Thus, I’ve made a particular effort to provide accurate historical citations in this section. The roots of comics history run deep in the World War II era, and they deserve our respect, even if many of those original stories have now been significantly retconned.

Overview↑ top 

In the end, despite the reliance on flashbacks, the result contains a suprising level of detail. A brief overview of the highlights, as an aid to comprehension, would look as follows:

1938 Winter The Sandman debuts Autumn The Crimson Avenger debuts The Flash gains his powers	1944 June The Allies invade German-held France Solomon Grundy first appears
1939 Winter Green Lantern debuts Sept World War II begins Autumn Hawkman debuts, followed by the Spectre, Phantom Lady, and Starman	1945 Feb The JSA confronts the Stalker and his agents May The war in Europe ends Aug The war in the Pacific ends
1940 Many more heroes appear, including Dr. Fate and the Atom Nov The Justice Society of America forms	1947 Black Canary debuts The Injustice Society forms
1941 Autumn The Seven Soldiers of Victory form Dec The U.S. enters WW II The All-Star Squadron is formed	1948 The second Injustice Society forms; Black Canary joins the JSA Oct The SSOV are lost in time
1942 Feb The Freedom Fighters form Apr The Young all-Stars are created July Wonder Woman III appears from the future and joins the JSA	1950 June The Korean War begins Wonder Woman returns to the future
1943 Vandal Savage first fights Green Lantern The Blackhawks save New York Sept Allied forces reconquer Italy	1951 Autumn The JSA is forced to disband

As for the details that give it life… read on!…

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