But that means I now have to do the obvious and ask the identity of your favourite DC hero who was created in that self-same decade.
I must admit I have marginally less knowledge of DC's 1970s output than I do of Marvel's, so it's going to be harder for me to come up with suggestions this time round.
I was a huge fan of the 1970s' Spectre, Manhunter and Shadow revivals but none of them were created in the 1970s and the Shadow wasn't even a DC creation, so they don't really count.
On the other hand, DC did give us such idiosyncratic battlers as Swamp-Thing, Kamandi, Mr Miracle and OMAC.
The world of barbarism gave us Claw the Unconquered, the Warlord, Stalker and Beowulf, while the world of Gotham gave us a Man-Bat who wasn't always sure if he was a hero or not.
Admittedly, DC didn't actually create Beowulf, nor was he technically created in the 1970s but I do feel that, like Marvel's version of Thor, he was sufficiently different from the source material to be counted as a new entity.
On the female front, DC gave us Black Orchid, Wonder Woman's sister Nubia, Power Girl, Big Barda and the Thorn.
The Legion of Super-Heroes gave us ERG-1 who quickly renamed himself Wildfire, while Wikipedia tells me the 1970s also gave us the similarly dramatically named Black Lightning and Firestorm.
Of all of these, I think I have to go for the Thorn who I don't remember that much about but I always liked the idea of a heroine who only went into action when she was asleep and thus never knew she was a heroine.
But it does strike me, from the above list, that it seems like thinner pickings than Marvel's equivalents from the same era.
Then again, that could just be down to my ignorance and there may be a zillion and one great characters I've not mentioned here.
Either way, feel free to name your own favourite, in the comments section below, because there's nothing the internet likes better than a heated debate about life-or-death matters.
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9 comments:
My choice is the Huntress of JSA fame. I have become a bit of a Batgirl fan in my advancing years but Huntress was a very moody and charismatic heroine who really hit her stride in early 80s issues of Wonder Woman. I haven't ever warmed to the Mafia Princess version however.
I've already thrown my vote to Erg-1 but I thought Steve needed a bit of a DC comics lesson :D
A lot of the 70s DC characters became better known later. The DC Implosion killing off a lot of titles in a short space of time often after a handful of issues.
A few noteable characters from the 70s:
Power Girl
Huntress
Ragman (currently in Arrow)
Shade the Changing Man
The Sandman (Garrett Sandford. Referenced in Gaimens version)
Mister Miracle (all the New Gods really)
The Warlord
Kamandi
Firestorm
Man Bat
John Stewart Green Lantern
Black Orchid
Plus probably loads more lol
The Creeper actually debuted in 1968, so he's almost a '70's hero. And to me at least, scarier than the Batman.
Etrigan was created in the '70's, but I don't know about his hero status. He's a favorite of mine.
I don't know much about Black Lightning, but he had a great costume.
I liked Ragman, but I think giving him supernatural powers was a mistake.
M.P.
Orion of the New Gods. He rocked my world when I was lucky enough to pick up New Gods #1. He was weird and mysterious and seemed downright dangerous and he was the good guy. Mister Miracle I enjoyed but I was longer in coming to appreciate his sunnier disposition.
Of the non-Kirby creations who I enjoyed in that decade I'd have to say Ragman stood out as something different and memorable.
Rip Off
It does all make me realise how little I really know of 1970s DC. Anything beyond Batman, Superman and horror/mystery comics is pretty much unexplored territory for me.
Warlord is definitely my favorite, followed by Kirby's Fourth World, Jonah Hex, Unknown Soldier, and Swamp Thing.
And though they don't count, 70s versions of The Spectre and Manhunter are the best of the best!
The stupendous OMAC was - and is - my fave 70s comic from either Marvel or DC. Not so keen on the later reboots, but the short-lived, inscrutable original was the business. The only thing like it would be Judge Dredd some years later, only OMAC was by Jack Kirby so better.
New Gods, Mister Miracle, Kamandi... all the Kirby DCs were full of great characters of course.
Also, Swamp Thing - whats not to like about a walking vegetable that thinks its human?
-sean
Warlord for me, Mike Grell did a very fine job on that series.
If I am thinking of the same character, Thorn was created in the 1940s to battle the golden age Flash.
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