Not every DC debut in the Silver Age was a character who was based on a Golden Age character. This chapter will focus on characters who I feel show the science fiction influence on DC in the Silver Age. These characters aren’t as big a deal as say, The Teen Titans or Supergirl, but I would be remiss if I didn’t bring them up.
Adam Strange is an outer space adventurer who has adventures on a planet named Rand. The stories had a very Buck Rogers/Flash Gordon feel, and were created by Julius Schwartz and Murphy Anderson.
The Challengers of the Unknown are a team of scientists who survived a plane crash. Believing that they “live on borrowed time”, they become a team. They were created by Jack Kirby. That’s right, in 1957–BEFORE he l created his Fourth World concept in the 70’s! (I’ll get to that, folks. 😉)
The Martian Manhunter was a detective who solved sci-fi themed mysteries. He later joined the Justice League of America, and has been a member ever since. He has telepathy, superhuman strength, superhuman intellect, and shape -shifting. He was created by Joseph Samachson and Joe Certa
Metamorpho is Rex Mason, an adventurer who gained his powers from a meteorite. He is able to adopt the properties of any element on the periodic table. He eventually had a sidekick called Chemical Doll, who was his distaff counterpart. He was created by Bob Haney and Ramona Fradon.
The Metal Men are a team of robots who are made of and named after different metals. They can change their shapes and combine with each other. They were invented by Thomas Magnus. The creators were Robert Kanigher and Ross Andru.
Animal Man is a stuntman who encountered an alien spacecraft. He can imitate the powers of any animal that is nearby. He was created by Dave Wood and Carmine Infantino. He was later rebooted by Grant Morrison.
Next week: Fantastic Four
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