Cities in the DCU - Matching

[Jeff of Earth-J]

Match the city with the character.

CITIES:

1. Blue Valley

2. Calvin City

3. Central City

4. Civic City

5. Cloister

6. Coast City

7. Dos Rios

8. Elmond

9. Evergreen City

10 .Fairfax

11. Farmville

12. Happy Harbor

13. Houma

14. Hub City

15. Ivy Town

16. Keystone City

17. Littleville

18. Middleton

19. Midway City

20. New Carthage

21. Pittsdale

22. Quad Cities

23. Star City

24. Waymore

CHARACTERS:

A. Atom (Golden Age)

B. Atom (Silver Age)

C. Barry Allen's hometown

D. Chris King / Vicki Grant

E. Dick Grayson (Hudson U.)

F. Doom Patrol / Hawkman

G. El Diablo

H. Elongated Man's hometown

I. First JSA HQ

J. Flash (Golden Age)

K. Flash (Silver Age)

L. Green Arrow

M. Green Lantern

N. Hawk & Dove

O. Kid Flash

P. Lois Lane's hometown

Q. Mark Merlin

R. Martian Manhunter

S. Oa (moved there by Appa Ali Apso)

T. Question

U. Robby Reed

V. Snapper Carr

W. Swamp Thing

X. Wild Dog

[The Baron]

A tough one.  This is the best I can do without looking them up.  Wouldn't be surprised if at least a third of the ones I did guess were wrong.

City/Town	Characters	No Clue
1. Blue Valley	O. Kid Flash	C. Barry Allen's hometown
2. Calvin City	A. Atom (Golden Age)	D. Chris King / Vicki Grant
3. Central City	K. Flash (Silver Age)	H. Elongated Man's hometown
4. Civic City	I. First JSA HQ	N. Hawk & Dove
5. Cloister		P. Lois Lane's hometown
6. Coast City	M. Green Lantern	Q. Mark Merlin
7. Dos Rios	G. El Diablo	R. Martian Manhunter
8. Elmond		S. Oa (moved there by Appa Ali Apso)
9. Evergreen City		U. Robby Reed
10 .Fairfax
11. Farmville
12. Happy Harbor	V. Snapper Carr
13. Houma	W. Swamp Thing
14. Hub City	T. Question
15. Ivy Town	B. Atom (Silver Age)
16. Keystone City	J. Flash (Golden Age)
17. Littleville
18. Middleton
19. Midway City	F. Doom Patrol / Hawkman
20. New Carthage	E. Dick Grayson (Hudson U.)
21. Pillsdale
22. Quad Cities	X. Wild Dog
23. Star City	L. Green Arrow
24. Waymore

[Philip Portelli]

5, Cloister      Q. Mark Merlin

8. Elmond       N. Hawk & Dove

9. Evergreen City S. Oa

10. Fairfax              D. Chris King & Vicki Grant

11. Farmville           C. Barry Allen's hometown

17. Littleville            U. Robby Reed

18. Middleton           R. Martian Manhunter

21. Pillsdale (should be Pittsdale)    P. Lois Lane's hometown

24. Waymore                H. Elongated Man's hometown

The Baron said:

A tough one.  This is the best I can do without looking them up.  Wouldn't be surprised if at least a third of the ones I did guess were wrong.

City/Town	Characters	No Clue
1. Blue Valley	O. Kid Flash	C. Barry Allen's hometown
2. Calvin City	A. Atom (Golden Age)	D. Chris King / Vicki Grant
3. Central City	K. Flash (Silver Age)	H. Elongated Man's hometown
4. Civic City	I. First JSA HQ	N. Hawk & Dove
5. Cloister		P. Lois Lane's hometown
6. Coast City	M. Green Lantern	Q. Mark Merlin
7. Dos Rios	G. El Diablo	R. Martian Manhunter
8. Elmond		S. Oa (moved there by Appa Ali Apso)
9. Evergreen City		U. Robby Reed
10 .Fairfax
11. Farmville
12. Happy Harbor	V. Snapper Carr
13. Houma	W. Swamp Thing
14. Hub City	T. Question
15. Ivy Town	B. Atom (Silver Age)
16. Keystone City	J. Flash (Golden Age)
17. Littleville
18. Middleton
19. Midway City	F. Doom Patrol / Hawkman
20. New Carthage	E. Dick Grayson (Hudson U.)
21. Pillsdale
22. Quad Cities	X. Wild Dog
23. Star City	L. Green Arrow
24. Waymore

[ClarkKent_DC]

This is all I've got; some of these cities I've never heard of.

CITIES:
1. Blue Valley                O. Kid Flash
2. Calvin City
3. Central City               K. Flash (Silver Age)
4. Civic City
5. Cloister
6. Coast City                M. Green Lantern
7. Dos Rios                  G. El Diablo
8. Elmond
9. Evergreen City
10. Fairfax
11. Farmville
12. Happy Harbor        V. Snapper Carr
13. Houma                   W. Swamp Thing
14. Hub City                 T. Question
15. Ivy Town                 B. Atom (Silver Age)
16. Keystone City         J. Flash (Golden Age)
17. Littleville
18. Middleton
19. Midway City           F. Doom Patrol / Hawkman
20. New Carthage       E. Dick Grayson (Hudson U.)
21. Pillsdale                 P. Lois Lane's hometown
22. Quad Cities           X. Wild Dog
23. Star City                L. Green Arrow
24. Waymore

[Captain Comics]

I don't usually respond to quizzes (as I don't want to spoil it for everyone), but I love matching tests. So I did this one, got them all, and looked up first appearances. Here's what I got.

SPOILER SPOILER  SPOILER  SPOILER  SPOILER  SPOILER 

Blue Valley/Silver Age Kid Flash (Wally West)

This was established as the hometown of the first Kid Flash, Iris West’s nephew, in his first appearance in Flash #110 (Jan 60). It was also later established as the home of Stargirl (Courtney Whitmore) in comics and on TV.

Calvin City/Golden Age Atom (Al Pratt)

I can’t add anything here, except that Al Pratt debuted in All-American Comics #19 (Oct 40). There's a Calvin City in North Dakota, but the 1940s adventures don't seem to be set there.

Central City/Silver Age Flash (Barry Allen)

Established as the hometown of the Silver Age Flash in his first issue, Showcase #4 (Sep-Oct 56). It is widely believed to be a stand-in for Chicago, especially after a Silver Age story showed a map of the U.S. depicting where Barry Allen raced around the country to various plot-specific points, while starting from the tip of Lake Michigan. Later material (like the DC role-playing game) have placed it elsewhere, like Ohio.

Civic City/First JSA HQ

It quickly became Gotham City, and moved around after that. The team is now located in New York City’s Battery Park.

Cloister/Mark Merlin

Established as the hometown of Mark Merlin, later Prince Ra-Man, in his first appearance in House of Secrets #73 (Jun 65). It was later established as being in Vermont. In my head canon, it is a stand-in for Rutland.

Coast City/Green Lantern (Hal Jordan)

Established as the hometown of the Silver Age Green Lantern and Ferris Aircraft in Hal Jordan’s first issue, Showcase #22 (Oct 59).  It is widely believed to be a stand-in for Los Angeles, California. It’s likely that Jordan was stationed at Edwards Air Force Base when he was in the military, an AFB close to Los Angeles.

Dos Rios/El Diablo

This was established as the hometown for DC’s second El Diablo, Rafael Sandoval, in his first appearance in El Diablo #1 (Aug 89). The first El Diablo was Lazarus Lane, who was active in the Wild West. The third is Chato Santana, about whom I know little.

Elmond/Hawk & Dove (Hank & Don Hall)

Elmond has been established as a suburb of Washington, D.C., and the hometown of Hank and Don Hall, the original Hawk & Dove. Hawk & Dove first appeared in Showcase #75 (Jun 68).

Evergreen City/Oa

Evergreen City first appeared in Green Lantern #53 (Jun 67), later established to be in Washington state and widely believed to be a stand-in for Spokane. It was included in Green Lantern: Mosaic #1-18 (Jun 92-Nov 93), which was set on Oa.

Fairfax/Chris King, Vicki Grant

Chris King and Vicki Grant had the H-dial in the 1980s and ‘90s, and their stories were set in a fictional New England town named Fairfax.

Farmville/Barry Allen's hometown

Barry Allen was established in Flash #126 (Feb 62) as having grown up in Farmville, before his family moved to Central City.

Happy Harbor/Snapper Carr

Happy Harbor (and Snapper) first appeared in Brave and Bold #28, the first appearance of the Justice League of America. Initially a generic seaside town, Happy Harbor has since been established as being in Rhode Island. It was, at least retroactively, the site of the Silver Age JLA HQ, and has been used in various fashions since. It is the home base of the eponymous team on the animated show Young Justice.

Houma/Swamp Thing

I don’t remember when Houma was established as the closest town to the Louisiana swamp where Swamp Thing hangs out. But it has been in virtually ever incarnation of the character, from comics to TV to movies.

Hub City/The Question (Vic Sage)

Established as the crime-ridden hometown for The Question, who first appeared (at DC Comics) in Blue Beetle #4 (Sep 86). Hub City is widely believed to represent East St. Louis, Illinois, which, at the time the character was created, was the murder capital (per capita) of the USA.

I do not know if Steve Ditko ever established a hometown for the Charlton version of the character, which first appeared in Blue Beetle #1 (June 67)

.

Ivy Town/Atom (Silver Age)

Established as the hometown for the Silver Age Atom, Ray Palmer, in Showcase #34 (Oct 61). It is widely believed to represent Cambridge, Massachusetts, the home of MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology).

Keystone City/Flash (Golden Age)

Established as the hometown of Jay Garrick, the Golden Age Flash, in his first appearance, Flash Comics #1 (Jan 40). When the Silver Age Flash met the Golden Age Flash in Flash #123 (Sep 61), it was established that Central City and Keystone City occupied the same space on Earth-One and Earth-Two, albeit separated by different vibrational rates. Later, Keystone was established as a “sister city” to Central, existing "across the river.” This implied that Central-Keystone were stand-ins for Minneapolis-St. Paul, which are separated by the Mississippi River in Minnesota.

Littleville/Robby Reed

Established as the hometown of Robby Reed, the first possessor of the H-Dial, who headlined House of Mystery #156-173 (Jan 66-Mar 68). It has since been established as being in Colorado.

Middleton/ Martian Manhunter

Established as the home base of J’Onn J’Onzz during his run in Detective Comics, beginning with issue #225 (Nov 55). It was later established as being in Colorado, and later still as a suburb of Denver.

Midway City/Doom Patrol-Hawkman

Established as the hometown of Katar and Shayera Hol in Brave and Bold #34 (Feb-Mar 61). Widely believed to be a stand-in for St. Louis, Missouri, especially since both have a huge arch monument, and the motto for St. Louis is “Gateway to the West.”

The original Doom Patrol also used Midway City as their HQ, beginning in My Greatest Adventure #80 (Jun 63). Naturally, the writers of the two series weren’t coordinating back then, but later stories established the cities that both strips employed were the same.

New Carthage/Dick Grayson (Hudson U.)

Both the first Robin (Dick Grayson) and Prof. Martin Stein (Firestorm) have been associated with Hudson University in New Carthage, which was established in-series as being in New York state.

I believe this to be a stand-in for Rensselaer Polytechnic University, which is not only on the Hudson River, but is also in Troy, New York. (Troy and Carthage being two rivals of Rome that were destroyed.)

Pillsdale/Lois Lane's hometown

This is probably a typo for Hillsdale, Pennsylvania, which is Lois Lane’s hometown in her current incarnation. She has also been associated with Pittsdale, Pennsylvania.

I believe Pittsdale/Hillsdale to be a stand-in for Pittsburg.

Quad Cities/Wild Dog

In the real world, Midwestern cities Rock Island, Illinois; Moline, Illinois; Davenport, Iowa; and Bettendorf, Iowa, are referred to as the Quad Cities, and share the same media market. When Wild Dog #1 came out in (Sep-Dec 87), it seemed to be playing with this concept.

Star City/Green Arrow

I don’t know when Oliver Queen’s hometown was established as Star City, but it is believed to be a stand-in for Seattle, Washington, the “Emerald City.”

On TV, it was introduced as Starling City, whose name was later shortened to Star City.

 

Waymore/Elongated Man

Ralph Dibny grew up in Waymore, later established as being in Nebraska.

[JD DeLuzio]

Before you finished it, there was still Waymore to do.

[Jeff of Earth-J]

Well that was quick! Let's see how you've done...

Bob scored 15 out of 15 attempted.

Batting clean-up, Philip nailed the remaining nine.

Kelvin, too, scored 100% of those he attempted, 14 out of 14.

And Captain went above and beyond: A+!

"(should be Pittsdale)"

"This is probably a typo for Hillsdale"

Pittsdale was the one I was thinking of (pop. 500). [Corrected in initial post.]

"I don’t remember when Houma was established as the closest town to the Louisiana swamp where Swamp Thing hangs out."

I should know this because I led a lengthy discussion last year, but I don't. I think it was the Saga of the Swamp Thing series, which would probably make it Martin Pasko. Houma was certainly in place by the Alan Moore run.

"I don’t know when Oliver Queen’s hometown was established as Star City, but it is believed to be a stand-in for Seattle, Washington"

I believe it was established (in the Mike Grell series) that he moved his base of operations from Star City to Seattle. 

"Before you finished it, there was still Waymore to do."

*GROAN*

[ClarkKent_DC]

Captain Comics said:

"I don’t know when Oliver Queen’s hometown was established as Star City, but it is believed to be a stand-in for Seattle, Washington"

Jeff of Earth-J said:

I believe it was established (in the Mike Grell series) that he moved his base of operations from Star City to Seattle. 

You're both right.

[ClarkKent_DC]

Captain Comics said:

Hub City/The Question (Vic Sage)

Established as the crime-ridden hometown for The Question, who first appeared (at DC Comics) in Blue Beetle #4 (Sep 86). Hub City is widely believed to represent East St. Louis, Illinois, which, at the time the character was created, was the murder capital (per capita) of the USA.

There also was the sense at the time that Hub City represented aspects of Washington, D.C., then under the leadership of Mayor for Life Marion Barry*, who got busted by the FBI in 1990 for smoking crack cocaine, spent six months in federal prison, opted (then) not to run for a fourth term ... and after he got out, was elected to the D.C. City Council and subsequently did get re-elected as mayor.

* He was so dubbed by the politics columnist Loose Lips in the local alternative press publication, Washington City Paper.

[Philip Portelli]

About Star City, I always thought that it was on the East Coast, being a smaller city, fairly close to Gotham City. Sort of like Hartford, Connecticut or Baltimore, Maryland.

Post-Crisis, it got moved to the West Coast to be nearer to Coast City. Great for his partnership with Green Lantern but one heck of a commute to the Secret Sanctuary! 

[Captain Comics]

That is a heckuva commute! I never thought about that!

I doubt anyone at DC did, either, but the JLA satellite (and teleporters) debuted in Justice League of America #78, cover dated February 1970, while the Green Lantern/Green Arrow team-up began two months later, in Green Lantern #76, cover dated April 1970. So there would have been no commute to JLA meetings during "Green Lantern/Green Arrow," or after, thanks to the teleporters. And before that, the Emerald Archer used the Arrowplane.

As to Seattle/Star City, there was a move at DC post-Crisis to add real cities to the fake ones they already had. So New York was added, despite Metropolis and Gotham City (which was sometimes Boston) already being stand-ins; and Seattle was added, despite Star City already existing in that space; and Washington, D.C., being added, despite Capitol City existing; and Philadelphia, despite Civic City existing; and Chicago, despite Central City; and St. Louis, despite Midway City; and etc. Metropolis was moved to Delaware, and Gotham to New Jersey, according to the DC RPG manual. This dual-city scenario still exists in DC AFAIK.

In some Crisis or other, it was established that Earth-0 (or whatever the central Earth is called) is actually bigger than most Earths, to accommodate all the extra cities/people. Currently, both New York and Gotham have a Batman.

[Philip Portelli]

I think it was in JLA/Avengers where the Avengers realized that the Justice League's Earth had more cities though their world probably had more countries and secret places! 

[Philip Portelli]

The commute to the Secret Sanctuary wasn't that bad since out of the eleven members of the Silver Age Justice League, six were on the East Coast (seven if you count Aquaman). The only West Coaster was Green Lantern and he had his power ring! The Midwest guys were Martian Manhunter (who could fly at super-speed and he had his own teleporter), the Flash (super-speed) and Hawkman (spaceship).