The original roller-skating hero. A teenager on the radio. A magical cat. A team formed by FDR. Their sole African-American member. Which are hot, which are not? The Girls of the Hot Squad are on course to take us through Who’s Who #1 in this Hot or Not mini-series which dares to ask if the characters of the DC Universe are any more datable than the ones from the MU!
Featuring permanent panelists Isabel, Nathalie, Josée, and Amélie.
Listen to Episode 2 below (the usual mature language warnings apply), or subscribe to the feed on Apple Podcasts or Spotify!
Relevant images and further credits at: Who’s Hot and Who’s Not ep.2 Supplemental
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Air Wave I: If Clark Kent wears glasses to protect his identity, then perhaps Larry Jordan wears a fake mustache to protect his. Maybe the mustache is just drawn on with an eyebrow pencil?
Air Wave II: This kid’s got the right idea. You should stay in school, because you’ll need something to fall back on, when your superhero career ends prematurely, due to an unforeseen injury. Otherwise, you’ll just end up as another old washed-up superhero making guest appearances on comic book podcasts. By the way, why wasn’t this character part of Infinity Inc.?
Alley-Kat-Abra: I’m a cat person, but I hold no illusions that my beloved cat would rip my throat out and eat me, if he was big enough. So, the idea of a cat wielding magical powers kind of scares me. That being said, I’d give Alley-Kat-Abra a hot rating.
All Star Squadron: My take home message from this discussion was never trust a puffin. I tell you, it’s all because of their beady little eyes.
Amazing-Man: I think he either needs to go with the cape or the shoulder “fins”, but not both. I personally would go with the shoulder fins, because they have a classic sci-fi pulp hero kind of feel to them.
General: The Zeta-Beam discussion during the feedback section was both entertaining and educational.
Thank you for working this miniseries into your (I’m guessing) already busy schedules. The extra effort is much appreciated.
Probably the quote of the episode is “Why do we need cat boobs?” 🙂 If you don’t like how Alley-Kat-Abra looks, don’t watch Animalympics. Brenda Springer & Kit Mambo will drive you nuts.
I should point out (being who I am) that she stole Quasar’s emblem. 😀
I was a little disappointed, Siskoid, that you didn’t mention team name abbreviations to the ladies. “Justice League of America is abbreviated as JLA. Justice Society of America is abbreviated JSA. All-Star Squadron is abbreviated …” (Apologies to Billy D & Herman)
TASS, Gene. THE All-Star Squadron is abbreviated TASS, like the old Soviet news service, right? I mean, what else would it be?
Please check your e-mail, Siskoid.
Oh this is gonna be a great surprise for both the Hot Squad and the listeners in a few weeks. You’re a gem, Isamu!
Impressive podcast most impressive. Using the Dragon type and talk software again this time. My keyboard is still on the fritz. Matt Baker who drew the Phantom Lady cover. But, no there was a 40s Afro American Hero jungle hero Voodah. Mr. Baker co created him with cover-date Fall 1945, on-sale date Sept. 19, 1945. So Voodah was in the 40s. Crown Comics #3. And Voodah was the first known Afro American hero.
http://jessnevins.com/encyclopedia/voodah.html
So though DC didn’t have an Afro American Super Hero. Voodah exsted. Though he’s like the Phantom or Tarzan more than Bat Man, but still he counts. As yeah an Afro American Hero created by an Afro American artist. Whom may or may not have been Gay. Matt Baker… may have been not Voodah. Voodah have a love interest in the comic book who was female. Matt Baker is also the guy whom drew that one issue for EC comics. Where the aliens meet up with a highly intelligent astronaut. Whom makes them befriend earth. The astronaut of course was African American. And that was in the 50s. Sue is cool as amazing man is. He was not the only African-American character in the 40s. And he was retrofitted. Having been created in the 80s. Where Voodah and others were created at the time. Unfortunately in later issues the coloring on the character was changed. Also on the covers he was will just say Miss pigmented. Still, inside the comic book his pigmentation was changed back to the correct coloring.
Which for the 40s was a giant step forward. I am not the biggest fan of the yellow and green coloring. And the boots look kind of weird. The double-breasted bit on his jacket is decent. And the odd half mask thing is interesting. Though I’m not sure why he’s wearing it. It’s not concealing his identity. Jerry Ordway’s a great artist and the character looks cool. The haircuts wrong. This is more of a 80s haircut. He would have the styled back to the side look during the 40s. Like Tuskegee Airmen . If you look at the pictures from that time frame they hairstyle is very different than what is depicted here. Especially for a college athlete. Still him being an important part of the group was kind of cool. It was a decent enough character. Though he is kind of built for a guy that’s 6 foot one and wearing 186 pounds. But it’s a superhero comics so there you go.
The squadron space looks cool enough. Kind of reminds me of the bean in Chicago. Decent enough for a layer. Moving along.
Johnny quick,? Kind of shocked on that one. Still, not only is he dating Liberty Bell and later marrying her. They have a daughter together. Jesse quick whom at one point takes over her mother’s identity as Liberty Bell. Though as Jesse quick she’s probably best remembered on the flash TV show. Where she was Dr. Wells daughter. From Earth two. And she dated Wally West. Johnny was decent enough as a character in the Golden age. I mean the comic book not the actual Golden age. But, it is an error that big of a fan. Firebrand is an interesting character. Yes her brother was basically a two-fisted action hero. Though Roy Thomas had interjected that he might have been Gay. Since he had the bodyguard and the see-through pink blouse in the 40s. It’s suggested when firebrand first takes over for her brother. Roy Thomas seems to been kind of an ally. But, in the 80s DC had rejected using him that way. As well as rejecting his idea for Harlequin. Whom was based on the super villain that fought green lantern in the 40s. And ended up marrying him.
No not the character from Batman. This was a different Harlequin. At any rate I think the story was they had a son before he got replaced with obsidian. Whom would of been the openly gay character and part of infinity. But both of these got cut by DC editorial. While Roy Thomas P much had full rain until crisis happened. Thanks Wolfman. Weirdly enough so Marvel also had a super villain named firebrand. Not sure how they got away with it. Probably the same way they got away with having a character name daredevil and Capt. Marvel. Johnny quick and Green Lantern are the two costumes you like? Interesting. I always like tarantula. The hawk masks are kind of weird. But, this is a guy who once were a hawk helm that were on top of his head and it had hawk eyes. And you can see his face under the hawk helmet. As well as the weird yellow mask they just had a hawk on the face of the mask. So the corridors aren’t really known for their great fashion choices. Having worn a Cape I can tell you pretty much both camps you’re kind of got… Like the Superman Cape. Goes there gonna get you by the neck. It goes around for most Capes. So the Adams Cape mask is no worse than anything else. The costume is kind of goofy looking but it’s not going to affect him negatively any worse than anybody else here with a Cape. Hour man’s towel Cape is going to put him in the same predicament. Same with a amazing man’s Cape. Dr. fates and maybe Green Lantern’s. Which has the other problem of his vision being limited by that huge collar.
Airwaves and airways to. After all the shaving I have to do all the time. Airwaves power to pull in body hair he doesn’t want sound like a good power. I’m not the biggest fan of the costume. Though apparently yellow and green with red was popular in the 40s. It’s not the worst custom. Then again his sons costume isn’t that great either. But, his power set is kind of useful. Specifically with the captain videotape character he could turn into. Kind of reminds me of that one videogame character from Spiderman and his amazing friends. Some kid gets the powers to become an energy being. And helps the spider friends fight a villain.
Going back to Johnny quick I’m not sure why he’s flying. As far as I can recall he had the same powers as the flash. Only he had to say a complicated math problem before being able to use them. Not much to say about the Guardian. Since it is just the creators of Capt. America reissuing him in DC comics. Having him stand next this still is kind of funny though. I also don’t have much to say about steel’s costume. It kind of reminds me of the costume Reb brown war in the direct to TV Capt. America movie from the 80s. Shining knight was kind of cool in the star girl TV show. But, that’s all I have to say about him. Plastic man kind of works. I guess that makes this the earth to plastic man. Which makes sense since he and the first firebrand were both in police comics.
The Adams costume kind of looks like a wrestler costume or a strongman costume from the circuses. But, it’s not very practical. Nor am I sure why he runs around in the yellow red in blue. This is the most unclean color-coordinated team I’ve ever seen. It’s other than tarantula Dr. fate robot man. Most of this group looks like they dressed in the dark. Or at least or severely colorblind.
Any rate can’t wait to hear the next episode.
Voodah counts as a hero, but not a superhero (which is what I meant). Just like Lobo is the first black hero to get his own title, but it’s a western. Still, interesting history lesson.
Johnny Quick: He does not have the same powers as the Flash. It’s a different access to the Speed Force (retroactively), but in his case, flight is part of it.
Guardian: On a superficial level, it’s Captain America, but used totally differently because it really was the Newsboy Legion’s strip. He was sort of the superhero in the background of a “kid gang” comic.
Roy didn’t use Plastic Man for long as I think there was editorial grumbling about him not being an Earth-2 character given appearances in Earth-1 comics (and of course, Quality Comics being the home of Earth-X).
But this is all in the far future for the Girls, so I won’t spoil future entries on the show. Shhhh.
Ok the how about Lion Man and Bubba? Lion Man wore a costume on the cover those comics from A. N. C. It was published in 1947. And he’s a collage grad working for the UN. Art by George J. Evans Jr. I guess Orrin Cromwell Evan wrote it. Since he was the publisher. No idea. I am guessing Black Panther was at lest partly inspired by Voodu or Lion Man. I can’t see lion man talking to his superiors from the UN in that getup. And if Doc Savage is sort of counted as a superhero. As is iron Munro. Who were both really two-fisted action heroes. Yes I realize Munro a.k.a. the gladiator the father of iron Munro. Was one of the inspirations for Superman. But, he really doesn’t have a costume or anything. Is just kind of there to fight in the war. Just so happens the wars over before he can get involved. So if they can count I think so can lion man . These even a scientist protecting uranium. And though they don’t say it he seems to be fighting Nazis.
Also Lothar. Whom was Mandrake the Magicians Partner in 1936. He teamed with Mandrake in his strip. In fact Woody Strode almost played him in Mandrake tv show in the 50s. And Lothar was on the 40s radio show. In recent years he was The Phantom. Not a great start, but with Super Human strength and being bullet proof. He kind of counts. Thanx for your time.
As For Plas. Roy didn’t get to do much of what he wanted with Golden age heroes …. Thanx Crisis and WolfMan. I like Crisis. But, had Roy been aloud to do as he wanted it may have been cool. Ah ok.
Ah ok my Bad. Didn’t know Jonny could fly.
Again, not saying there were no black characters, or even heroes. Just no black superheroes. I’ve seen that article that claims Lion Man as a proto-Black Panther, but it’s a reach. Lothar certainly didn’t have his own strip, and was the sidekick of a pulp hero who barely qualified as a superhero himself. With representation so slim, I don’t begrudge anyone claiming such and such a character as the “first black superhero”, but as far as the All-Star Squadron was concerned, Roy Thomas only had access to DC’s pool of characters, and if, say, Lion Man had been among them, he might well have minted him as a mystery man (except no, because he followed the actual publishing dates and 1947 is well after the time frame). I think we can trust that if Roy had had even the most obscure black superhero, out by 1942 at National, All-American, Quality, even Fawcett, he would have found a way to use it.
So while you MIGHT consider Doc Savage a superhero, the real analog here is Tarzan. And you MIGHT consider Tarzan a superhero because he seems to have a super power (talking to animals), but he’s really not. It’s a difference of genre as opposed to modus operandi.
Woo-hoo! Twice the Hot or Not in a month! I’m loving this extra mini-series giving us more Hot Squad challenging my preconceived notions of superheroes every month!
Airwave 1 – Ahhh, the high technology of the radio! Like a Dick Tracy type character, leaning on the new technology of the day to catch crooks. And for that, I enjoy him.
Alley-Kat-Abra – I’m a huge fan of Captain Carrot and His Amazing Zoo Crew so she’s Hot all day long, and I’m not even a cat person!
All Star Squadron – I don’t think I’ve ever read a full ASS (yup, acronym for the win!) storyline. I just have random issues here and there but I did enjoy the idea of ASS (okay, I’m done with this). I think the main reason I never really enjoyed the Squadron too much is because they didn’t have my favourite hero, who is from the Golden Age, Captain Marvel/Shazam! Now, I recognize that in the Golden Age he wasn’t part of the DC family, but when they started this series DC had acquired the rights to the Big Red Cheese. It seems like an opportunity lost…..
Amazing Man – I think there could be so much done with this character for today’s climate and I would love to see more of him. I’m embarrassed to say I always mix him up with ‘Mazing Man so I mistakenly wonder what the Squadron is doing putting this weird child on the team?
Everyone was great as always! Keep up the great work!
Captain Marvel and Mr. Mind crossed over to Earth-2 around the 50s of the book (issue numbers not decade); you should look for that.
As for Amazing-Man, his legacy joined the JSA in the 2000s, so there may be something of interest there.
Thanks for the tips about the character appearances. I had no idea Amazing Man joined the JSA. And I’ve heard nothing but good things about that title so maybe it’s time I finally get around to reading that series! And more Captain Marvel comics I didn’t know about?! That made my day and I am furiously trying to buy them now. Thanks!
I’m getting the guest room ready right now! As long as you all don’t mind sleeping on the floor in super hero sleeping bags surrounded by thousands of action figures.
I’m glad the Girls found both Air Waves hot. I read a lot of those Air Wave backups in Action Comics, so he seemed like a bigger deal than he really was. He really should have joined the Titans, or Infinity, Inc., or something.
The fact that the girls scoffed at the controversial Alley-Kat-Abra heel turn is proof that it isn’t just aging fanboys who have problems with the rather nasty, often mean-spirited comics of today. Why would you do something like that with a humor character? I will never understand the appeal.
As much as I love Jerry Ordway, I’ve always been disappointed that he didn’t draw the ENTIRE All-Star Squadron team. Too bad the Girls aren’t looking at the ’87 update.
I never thought about Amazing Man’s costume looking better without the cape, but I think the Girls are right. Amazing Man got his super hero and civillain names from Sub-Marianer creator Bill Everett, who created a different character of that name for Centaur Publications in the late 1940s. Writer Roy Thomas was paying tribute to his friend and collaborator.
Chris
Centaur’s Amazing Man was John Aman, a name Marvel deliberately revived for the Iron Fist’s fellow immortal weapon, the Prince of Orphans. The layers of homages and multiple continuities are like Inception up in here.