Let's talk about DC Comics' multiverse, as it existed in the Silver and Bronze Age. For those who came in late, we'll need to explain what we're talking about.
Throughout the 1960s and '70s into the early '80s, DC Comics continuity occupied a sprawling multiverse. Adventures contained within most of the ongoing superhero titles were said to take place on Earth-One, home of the mighty Justice League of America. At the same time, an alternate universe included Earth-Two, a world protected by the Justice Society of America. The Earth-Two heroes were (mostly) older, having begun their crusading in the '30s and '40s.
The Earth-One/Earth-Two concept allowed DC to bring back discarded Golden Age characters whose names had been used to create brand-new heroes: The Flash, Green Lantern, the Atom, and Hawkman. Each of these Earth-One figures was a character distinct from his World War II-era predecessor; the Hawkmen shared a look and a civilian name (Carter Hall), but were otherwise different, and the others differed even more sharply from their earlier models.
(Why bother creating an alternate world for all these Golden Age heroes, rather than having them as legacy characters who'd retired before the new generation came along? Well! The very first appearance of the Silver Age Flash in 1956 established that new hero Barry Allen had been a big fan of original Flash Jay Garrick; as a kid, Allen loved reading the comic-book exploits of this [ahem] FICTIONAL superhero. Later, to revive Garrick and his Justice Society compatriots, writer Gardner Fox used the multiverse, with an explanation that comic books published on Earth-One chronicled actual events that took place on Earth-Two. Convoluted? I was able to understand and follow it while I was still in elementary school.)
Earth-One/Earth-Two crossovers became common occurrences, most notably in the annual summertime meetings of the Justice League and Justice Society. The scene ended in the mid '80s, wiped away by the continuity-cleanin' maxi-series Crisis On Infinite Earths. The multiverse has since been revived, but we're dealing today only with the multiverse as it existed before the Crisis.
Preamble completed! For those who came in late.
The Justice League, of course, included these new versions of the Flash and Green Lantern, and later added the new versions of the Atom and Hawkman. The JLA's charter membership also included J'onn J'onzz; the manhunter from Mars had no Earth-Two counterpart.
The JLA's founding members also included Aquaman, Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman, with Green Arrow the first new member added after the team's debut. Unlike Flash, Lantern, Atom, and Hawkman, these five characters had remained in continuous publication since the Golden Age. There was no need (nor desire) to create Silver Age versions.
And, even though Batman and Superman had appeared with the JSA twice in the '40s (cameos in All-Star Comics # 7, full participation in All-Star Comics # 36), one suspects DC editorial wasn't really interested in establishing alternate-Earth incarnations of their two top heroes. No such qualms applied to Wonder Woman; the Earth-Two WW appeared in the JSA's first Silver Age revival in The Flash # 137. Neither Green Arrow nor Aquaman had ever been in the Justice Society--GA had been a member of the Seven Soldiers of Victory (who never interacted with the JSA during the Golden Age), and Aquaman kept entirely to his own adventures--so neither of those uncaped crusaders required specific recognition of an Earth-Two twin at the time.
By the early '70s, all but Aquaman had their Earth-Two counterparts addressed in issues of Justice League Of America. Four years after her 1963 appearance in The Flash # 137, Wonder Woman took part in the 1967 JLA/JSA crossover; the '67 team-up also made references to the Earth-Two Batman (who is described as "in semi-retirement"), as the JSA inducted the now-adult Earth-Two Robin into full membership. (Prior to that, the first direct reference to an Earth-Two Batman was in 1966, in an imaginary story in Detective Comics # 347.) The Supermen of two Earths battled each other in the 1969 crossover, and the 1972 meeting revived the Seven Soldiers of Victory, including Earth-Two's Green Arrow.
(As far as I can recall, the existence of an Earth-Two Aquaman was never formally brought up in the '60s or '70s. The Golden Age Aquaman was finally acknowledged in All-Star Squadron in the '80s, just as Crisis On Infinite Earths rendered the point moot.)
Whew! That takes care of the JLA and JSA. Who's left?
We'll have a look at that in Part 2.
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Carl's new book Gabba Gabba Hey! A Conversation With The Ramones is now available, courtesy of the good folks at Rare Bird Books. Gabba Gabba YAY!! https://rarebirdlit.com/gabba-gabba-hey-a-conversation-with-the-ramones-by-carl-cafarelli/
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