Welcome to our coverage of “Who’s Who!” For this summer, we’ll be focusing exclusively on the 26-issue 1985-1987 series, without any of the updates. Those will, hopefully, follow next year.
For those that don’t know, “Who’s Who” was DC’s ambitious plan to catalog all of their major and minor characters in a way that could both be collected by fans and, in a piece of information I didn’t know until reading the forward to the recent omnibus, something to offer companies looking to license their characters for various opportunities. This is not quite a total rip off of “The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe,” as that was more of a role-playing game accompaniment, and was never went quite as comprehensive as “Who’s Who.” The ‘statistical’ inspiration of “TOHOTMU” was more or less eschewed here, as well.
This is a weird book to cover, as it isn’t particularly reviewable, so I’ve decided on this approach: I will point out highlights from each issue, and then share my favorite line from each entry, with some commentary from yours truly.
But first, the pronunciation guide:
Best overall entry: The Atom II
To me, this entry gives the full “Who’s Who” experience. You get some great Gil Kane art that highlights both the ‘classic’ and current look of the character. There’s a solid biography that gives you a really good sense of who the character is and, most importantly for a book like this, it is full of just the best comics weirdness. This entry spills the tea on Ray Palmer’s failed marriage in a way that feels very 1985. If you read this entry and like it, “Who’s Who” is the book for you.
Best non-character: All-Star Squadron Headquarters
When I was a kid, first reading “Who’s Who,” this is the stuff I lived for. There’s nothing I enjoy more than the thought of someone being paid to determine where the gym would be in a 40 year old superhero HQ that hasn’t been seen in decades. I always wanted to know all the mundane details of superheroes’ lives, and so entries like this are a joy.
Marquee character: Aquaman
Each issue was focused around a bankable character, hoping to entice the world to pick up the issue. This issue’s is clearly Aquaman, but this is an overall very Atlantean issue, with entries on Atlantis, Aqualad, Aquagirl, and Arion. This issue also reminded me that, pre-“Crisis,” Atlanteans could only be out of the water for an hour at a time, which makes Aquaman’s origin almost impossible.
Most obscure character: Aegeus
This Wonder Woman supporting character had appeared in just 5 comics before this issue was published. Post-“Crisis,” he appeared in just one issue of “Wonder Woman.” Shockingly, he appeared in eight (8!) issues since “Flashpoint,” however, including two issues of “Justice League of America” written by Steve Orlando, and six issues of Meredith Finch’s forgettable run on “Wonder Woman.”
Most incomprehensible entry: Auron
Just try reading that. If done incorrectly, every entry in this book could’ve read that way. Thankfully, it didn’t.
Most bizarre entry: Atari Force
These characters are among the very few that weren’t reprinted in the omnibus, because of the characters being owned by Atari. I’ve actually always had a morbid curiosity about these characters, but haven’t read anything featuring them.
Top three pieces of art:
3. All-Star Squadron
Just some classic Golden Age goodness here, drawn by Jerry Ordway.
2. Abra Kadabra
Carmine Infantino and Frank McLaughlin give us the perfect depiction of this shitty magician, as well as a great image of Kadabra turning the Flash into a wooden puppet.
1. Angle Man
Another obscure Wonder Woman villain, Angle Man gets the nod because he’s doing the Jim Carrey as the Riddler thrust here. Nice work, José Delbo and Romeo Tanghal!
Best lines/details per entry:
Abel: A devout coward, Abel possesses no powers save for a vivid imagination and a gift for telling stories that could chill the spine of a corpse.
Continued belowBrian’s commentary: LOL, a devout coward. Putting that in the quiver.
Abnegazar, Rath. And Ghast: A billion years ago, Abnegazar, Rath, and Ghast inhabited Earth, using their magical powers to spread evil over the planet’s pre-human population.
Brian’s commentary: Imagine how evil pre-humans could’ve been? That triceratops is a nasty motherfucker!
Abra Kadabra: Frustrated by a lack of audience acceptance in his native 64th century, since the super science of that time made his magic tricks seem commonplace, Kadabra stole an experimental time machine and journeyed to the 20th century to become a star.
Brian’s commentary: Maybe David Blaine is really a time traveler?
Adam Strange: Adam must calculate where the next Zeta beam will strike – always below the equator – and intercept it before it’s gone.
Brian’s commentary: For some reason, setting the Zeta beams below the equator is very, very funny to me. “Sorry Adam, I know you’re American, but unless you’re in Paraguay, you’ll never see your wife again.”
Aegus: Occupation: Terrorist
Brian’s commentary: I wonder if this is what he puts on his tax returns, too.
Air Wave I: Sometime after World War II, Jordan traveled from Earth-2 to Earth-1 under as yet explained circumstances.
Brian’s commentary: Well, Palpatine is back somehow!
Air Wave II: He has no specialized knowledge of electronics, nor does he have any special fighting skills.
Brian’s commentary: “He’s basically useless as tits on a bull.”
Alley-Kat-Abra: The explosion sent the meteorites through the dimensional barrier to “Earth-C,” Where one chunk landed in the Mew Orleans home of Felina Furr, while the martial arts instructress was engaged in mystical meditation.
Brian’s commentary: I just love all the jargon here to say “kitty cat got powers.”
All-Star Squadron: The Squadron answered solely to FDR and the War Department.
Brian’s commentary: “I”m sorry Vice President Truman, we need cannot follow your orders. Patch us through to FDR. I don’t care if he’s getting a handy from his cousin, this is war!”
All-Star Squadron Headquarters: Sleeping Quarters for Guests
Brian’s commentary: I suppose this is necessary, but there wasn’t a La Quinta Inn nearby?
Amazing Man: Naturally athletic, Will Everett trained through high school to enter the 1936 Berlin Olympics. There, he and Jesse Owens proved Adolf Hitler’s racist assertions wrong by winning headlines and gold medals.
Brian’s commentary: Comics don’t do this enough anymore. Why not take actual history and debase it by including superheroes?
Amazo: Amazo had no interest in being revived, preferring his electronic “sleep of oblivion.”
Brian’s commentary: I fucking feel that somedays.
Ambush Bug: The bug has an inability to deal in linear logic.
Brian’s commentary: Sounds like every politician in Washington, amirite?
Amethyst: Since time flows differently between the two dimensions, twenty years passed in the Gemworld, while only thirteen years passed on Earth.
Brian’s commentary: I love, love how comic writers step on their dicks to explain that time passes in such a way that seven years difference exists between Earth and Gemworld. It’s comics! We don’t need the science behind it.
Angle Man: His meticulously planned crimes always had a(n) unique angle to them, a gimmick, an angle that took them out of the ordinary and made them something special.
Brian’s commentary: So he did artisanal crimes then?
Animal Man: Base of Operations: the Grand Canyon
Brian’s commentary: “Hey sure Batman, I’d love to help. Want to meet at my place to plan it out? OK, so just go to the bottom of the Grand Canyon. You can’t miss me”
Anthro: Known relatives: Embra (step-mother)
Brian’s commentary: *Translated from grunts* Embra is NOT my REAL mom!
Apokolips:
Brian’s commentary: Just look at that big, beautiful head atop that Tower of Rage. Actually, not so much of a tower, is it?
Aqualad: Born with purple eyes and thought to be an inferior, young Garth was exiled from Atlantis.
Brian’s commentary: “Thought to be an inferior,” lol.
Aquagirl: But aside from these brief encounters with adventure, Tula’s life was without incident.
Brian’s commentary: This sounds like a line from an obituary.
Continued belowAquaman: After his son was slain during a battle with his old foe Black Manta, Aquaman and company moved to the submerged East Coast city of New Venice, where they currently operate out of the ground floor of an old police station.
Brian’s commentary: His son was murdered by his arch nemesis, and yet more attention is given to exactly which floor in an abandoned police station he hangs out in.
Arak: Resurrected on Earth, Arak is now a mystical Shaman surviving in world only beginning to understand science.
Brian’s commentary: I’m not sure if I understand how the first half of the sentence relates to the second.
Arcane: There are these who claim Arcane is the living embodiment of the purest evil.
Brian’s commentary: “Many people are saying this.”
Arion: Recently, he has become an accomplished swordsman.
Brian’s commentary: I wish more of these gave updates on people’s hobbies. “Animal Man recently started making a tortilla soup recipe that his family calls ‘his masterpiece,’ but Buddy knows he can get it more flavorful with time and patience.”
Arkham Asylum:
Brian’s commentary: Can you imagine what horrors are in the basement and attic? And why isn’t this drawn to scale, COWARDS.
Atari Force:
Brian’s commentary: This is some real colonialism bullshit. “We can’t pronounce your name, so we’re just going to call you the name of a Looney Tunes character. Welcome to America, Foghorn Leghorn!”
Atlantis: While Tritonis has remained fairly secluded over the centuries, Poseidonis has had more public exposure, including a major exposition held several years ago for air-breathing people.
Brian’s commentary: How much did the Poseidonis tourism board pay for this propaganda?
The Atom I: After the JSAs’s breakup during the 1950s, Al Prat retired the Atom from full active duty and now only dons his costume on special occasions or when duty calls.
Brian’s commentary: As opposed to pre-retirement, when he would wear the costume to pick up his dry cleaning or walking the dog.
The Atom II: As the Atom, he battled crime to help his ladylove, Jean Loring, establish herself s a lawyer so she would agree to marry him.
Brian’s commentary: Ladlylove.
Atomic Knight: When his computer-assisted fantasies began reshaping reality and Superman finally uncovered the government experiment, freeing Grayle, the sergeant had to readjust to life in the real world and Marene’s real place in his life.
Brian’s commentary: Don’t you hate it when your computer-assisted fantasies reshape reality?
Atomic Skull: There are two primary drawbacks to this power: one, the seizures which trigger the energy bolts are unpredictable, liable to occur at any time, making the bolts uncontrollable to a certain extent; second, and most important, Michaels’ disease is progressive, and his life expectancy is shortened by every seizure.
Brian’s commentary: Only in pre-“Crisis” DC would seizures be a super power.
Auron: Auron can also seemingly heal those who are injured and at the brink of death…but he, having already been reborn is not permitted to find peace himself.
Brian’s commentary: Auron, heal thyself!
