The Silver Age Trivia Panel at C2E2 on Sunday, April 26th was a real barn-burner! It was so close that, for the first time ever, the Fan team (l-r back row: Jason Fliegel, Doug Tonks, Mike Chary and far right Mike Sangiacomo) was in THE LEAD at the end of regulation!

Typically, they are significantly behind at that point and try to make up the difference with huge point totals (agreed to by the Pro Team, aka Mark Waid) in the Lightning Round of 10 quick questions that require speed to get the right to answer. Mark often wins that round, and this time was no exception, keeping his winning streak alive at A Whole Bunch to Never.

At the end of regulation, the Fans were winning 560 to 490. In the Lightning Round, Mark took six of the 50-point questions to the Fans’ three (nobody knew what title replaced The Hulk on the schedule), making up the difference. The final score was Waid-790, Fans-710. Whew!

As always, there were great responses and some swings and misses. It’s always interesting to see the panelists rattle off answers I thought were hard (like the real name of Nightmaster) and have “easy” questions go unanswered (like who the Imperial Hydra was). Sadly, nobody knew any Daredevil villains (after the Toss-Up).

Where were the teams’ strengths? Obviously, it can be said definitively, as getting the right to answer the category questions relied on honking in fast with the category Toss-up. But the Fans swept through the categories of The Avengers, Famous Jims (for our late, lamented panelist Jim Caldwell, who died earlier this year), while Mark nailed all the questions in Gotham. The rest were see-saw battles, sometimes with one team taking the Toss-Up and first two category questions and the other team picking up the final one.

On the other hand, the Fan Team almost lost points (at Mark's instigation) when one unnamed member asked me to repeat the three other options in the Real? Or Hoax, Dream or Imaginary Story? category. Oh, the humanity!

How would you do? Below are the questions, with the answers in the first reply. Keep in mind, answering these here is not a whole lot like doing it on a stage on a Sunday afternoon in front of a roomful of fans, where every brain gap leaves no margin for error. Even so, see if you could hold your own with the Silver Age Trivia Teams. And remember Mr. Silver Age's mantra: They're all easy if you know them.

Thanks to my Pal Hoy Murphy and Dave Blanchard for suggesting questions and to Commander Adam Benson, from whom I borrowed some questions from his Deck Log trivia quizzes.

 

1. LETTER COLUMNS

(Dedicated to Jim Caldwell, as his favorite category)

What was the name of the letters column in this title?

T. Amazing Spider-Man

1. Superman’s Pal, Jimmy Olsen

2. Doom Patrol

3. Rip Hunter, Time Master

 

2. FAMOUS FIRSTS

T. Who was the first Inhuman the Fantastic Four met?

1. In what title did Aquaman make his first cover appearance?

2. In Barry Allen’s first appearance in Showcase #4, he is reading a comic book that actually exists in our world. But the cover is different. Who is on the cover of the real version of the comic?

3. In what title were unstable molecules first mentioned?

 

3. THE AVENGERS

T. Whose brain patterns were used to create Ultron?

1. What was the real name of the Crimson Cowl (other than his puppet Jarvis)?

2. Whose brain patterns did Ultron-5 use to create The Vision?

3. What’s the fewest number of members the Avengers ever had and who were they?

 

4. GOTHAM

T. Who teamed up with the Joker to battle the Dynamic Duo in Batman #159?

1. By what name was Mr. Freeze original known, in Batman #121?

2. Who destroyed the Batman logo on the cover of Batman #194?

3. What superhero showed up to help Robin while Batman was on a secret mission in “Robin Dies at Dawn” in Batman #156?

 

5. ANT-MAN

T. What was the name of Henry Pym’s first wife?

1. Who was the first villain Yellowjacket fought?

2. When Henry Pym regained his Ant-Man abilities in Avengers #46, who was he fighting?

3. Who killed Janet Van Dyne’s father?

 

6. ARROW

T. In what issue of JLA did Green Arrow join the team?

1. When Green Arrow infiltrated the Cosmic Fun-House in Happy Harbor in Justice League of America #7 as Oliver Queen, who was his date?

2. Who did Green Arrow discover had been replaced with a spy in JLA #5?

3. Who did Green Arrow fight in his first adventure with the JLA in his new costume?

 

7. FANTASTIC FOUR

T. What color is the logo on Fantastic Four #1?

1. Who did the FF fight when Reed and Sue returned to their alma mater in FF #36?

2. Where did the Watcher send the Human Torch to retrieve the Ultimate Nullifier in FF #50?

3. Who revived the original Human Torch?

 

8. THE FLASH

T. Who was the first rogue The Flash fought?

1. Who was the first Rogue to be featured on the cover?

2. What did Eobard Thawne use to replicate Barry Allen’s appearance so he could marry Iris West?

3. Name the three Earth-2 villains the two Flashes fought the first time they teamed up in The Flash #123.

 

9. SHIELD

T. Who did Nick Fury help defeat in his one known adventure as a CIA agent in FF #21?

1. Who was the Imperial Hydra?

2. What is Val’s full name and title?

3.  Who did Jasper Sitwell fight in his first adventure with SHIELD?

 

10. DAREDEVIL

T. Who was the first villain Daredevil faced (in Daredevil #1)?

1. What villain did Foggy Nelson battle when he dressed up as Daredevil to impress Karen Page in DD #18?

2. What villain did Matt Murdock go off to fight rather than renounce his Daredevil identity and announce his engagement to Karen Page in DD #58?

3. While he was dying of radiation poisoning, Daredevil received help from The Black Panther to help rescue Karen Page from what villain in DD #52?

 

11. FAMOUS JIMS (for Jim Caldwell)

T. Who drew the quest for Mera that began in Aquaman #40?

1. What FBI agent joined SHIELD to battle the Yellow Claw?

2. Name the four Legionnaires that Jim Shooter created in Adventure Comics #346.

3. What was Nightmaster’s real name?

 

12. IS THIS JIMMY OLSEN COVER STORY? OR IS IT A HOAX, A DREAM or an IMAGINARY STORY?

T. Jimmy dons “The Helmet of Hate!” and tries to kill Superman with a red kryptonite ray in SPJO #68.

1. Jimmy agrees to be a test subject for a group of scientists from Jupiter and turns into a green scaly Jovian in “The Jimmy Olsen from Jupiter!” in SPJO #32.

2. Jimmy becomes “The Merman of Metropolis!” in SPJO #19.

3. Jimmy marries Lois Lane and Superman flies them off on their honeymoon in “The Wedding of Jimmy Olsen!” in SPJO #21.

 

13. BEHIND THE SCENES AT MARVEL

T. By what name did Stan Lee so often erroneously refer to Bruce Banner that he made it part of his name?

1. The first issue of what comic book was running so late that Stan and Jack created the Avengers (using existing characters) to take its place in the publishing schedule?

2. What name was almost given to the Black Panther?

3. What was the name of the character created by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby that they claimed was the basis for Spider-Man?

 

14. VILLAINOUS FIRST WORDS

T. Watch how easily I drain the energy from these men…just as I’ll drain your super-powers into my body, Superman!

1. The swampland is mine! I have warned the world! But you dared to invade my domain! And so…you are doomed!

2. It was a lawman who doomed me to be a half-metal freak for life! But I’ll have my revenge against all lawmen…everywhere!

3. Come in, Flash! I have been expecting you! Don’t bother to look to your friends for help or information, Flash! Only I can release them from this trance, which is why you won’t dare attack me! However, I’ll tell you what you want to know.

15. SUPERMAN ACTION-ABLE TRANSFORMATIONS

T. What caused Superman to gain an ant head in Action Comics #296?

1. What caused Superman to grow a lion’s head in Action Comics #243 (and in Superman #165)?

2. What caused Superman to become “The Superman of the Future!” in Action Comics #256?

3. What caused Superman to become “The Oldest Man in Metropolis!” in Action Comics #251?

16. PAIRS

T. Which two heroes were the first to team up in The Brave and The Bold?

1. What two artists received spotlight issues in DC Special?

2. Who were the first two villains to team up to battle Thor in Journey Into Mystery #103?

3. What two villains are skulking on the cover of Detective Comics’ anniversary issue #387, in which Batman is talking with Robin and showing the covers to Detective #327 and Batman #1?

 

17. THE LEGION

T. Name two of the three members of the Justice League mentioned by the Legion.

1. What material can block Ultra Boy’s ultra-vision?

2. What Legionnaire besides Superboy and Supergirl (and not counting Jimmy Olsen, Pete Ross or Lana Lang) was born in the 20th Century?

3. Which member is shown to be a staff writer for the Legion Bulletin?

Thanks to Commander Benson, from whom I stole these questions from his Deck Log #159!

 

18. TITLED VILLAINS

Who was the villain in the story with this title?

T. “Spider-Man Goes Mad!”

1. “Menace of the “Atom” Bomb!”

2. “Calamity on the Campus!”

3. “Danger in the Air!”

 

19. VILLIANOUS FIRST WORDS

T. Charging my ring at the battery gives me power for 37 diors—unlimited power! There is nothing I can’t do!

1. I’ll give myself a full charge of electricity tonight—for there’s no telling WHAT I may run into!

2. Enough! Return to Earth’s core! Our mission here is finished! Go!

3. You men are such fools! If you weren’t so blind, you would see that I’m not only more beautiful but more successful than those amateurs! Why, you don’t even know of my crimes they’re so perfect! That’s the only mistake I made—committing such perfect crimes that I haven’t gotten any publicity for them!

20. IMAGINARY STORIES

T. Who watched in horror as Lex Luthor killed Superman in “The Death of Superman!” in Superman #149?

1. What super-name did Lois Lane take when the doomed planet Earth exploded and she rocketed to Krypton to take on a dual identity in Superman #159?

2. Who does Batman team up with to try to kill Superman when he suspects Superman killed Bruce Wayne’s parents in the first Imaginary Story in World’s Finest, “The Clash of the Cape and Cowl” in WF #153?

3. What was the first story to be called “Imaginary?”

 

21. LIGHTNING ROUND

1. How much money did the IRS say Superman owed in back taxes (twice)?

2.  What title replaced The Incredible Hulk when it was cancelled?

3. What was the name of the half-page report on upcoming issues that ran in DC comics?

4. Who was the Big Man?

5. Who was the first member of the Justice League to meet Zatanna?

6. Who named the Avengers?

7. What title featured the first Silver Age appearance of Catwoman?

8. What university did Ray Palmer work at?

9. Who was Barry Allen’s childhood sweetheart?

10. What super-villain offered coffee and Danish to Betty Brant after kidnapping her?

-- MSA

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  • And here are the answers:

    1. Letter Columns

    T. The Spider’s Web

    1. Jimmy Olsen’s Pen Pals

    2. Patrol Postscripts

    3. Destination—Infinity

     

    2. Famous Firsts

    T. Medusa

    1. Brave and Bold

    2. Hawkman (on Flash Comics #13, Jan 41)

    3. Tales to Astonish (#35, "The Return of the Ant-Man!" on page 8 in an explanatory caption. One week later, Reed Richards used them in FF #6. Thanks to my Pal Hoy Murphy for this one!)

     

    3. Avengers

    T. Henry Pym

    1. Ultron-5

    2. Wonder Man

    3. Three (Hawkeye, Goliath, Wasp) in Avengers #49-50

     

    4. Gotham

    T. Clayface

    1. Mr. Zero

    2. Blockbuster

    3. Ant-Man (aka Jumbo Carson)

     

    5. Ant-Man

    T. Maria

    1. Circus of Crime

    2. Whirlwind / Human Top

    3. The Creature from Kosmos

     

    6. Arrow

    T. #4

    1. Bonnie King (aka Miss Arrowette)

    2. Green Lantern (really Dr. Destiny)

    3. Aquarius (JLA #75)

     

    7. Fantastic Four

    T. Red

    1. Dragon Man / Diablo

    2. The Negative Zone.

    3. The Thinker ( in FF Annual #4)

     

    8. FLASH

    T. Captain Cold

    1. Mirror Master

    2. Barry’s electric shaver. No lie!

    3. Fiddler, Thinker, Shade

     

    9. SHIELD

    T. Hate-Monger

    1. Arnold Brown

    2. La Contessa Valentina Allegra de la Fontaine

    3. The Druid (ST 144)

     

    10. DAREDEVIL

    T. The Fixer

    1. The Gladiator

    2. Stunt-Master

    3. Starr Saxon

     

    11. FAMOUS JIMS

    T. Jim Aparo

    1. Jimmy Woo

    2. Ferro Lad, Karate Kid, Nemesis Kid and Princess Projectra

    3. Jim Rook

     

    12.  IS THIS JIMMY OLSEN COVER STORY REAL? OR IS IT A HOAX, A DREAM or an IMAGINARY STORY?

    T. Hoax (by Jim and Superman on the Superman Revenge Squad—Plan J)

    1. Real

    2. Hoax (by Superman)

    3. Dream

     

    13. UNSEEN MARVEL

    T. Bob (Robert) as of FF #28, he was Robert Bruce Banner

    1. Daredevil

    2. Coal Tiger

    3. The Silver Spider

     

    14. VILLAINOUS FIRST WORDS

    T. The Parasite (Action #340)

    1. The Lizard (ASM #6)

    2. Tharok of Zadron of the Fatal Five (Adventure #352)

    3. Despero of Kalanor (JLA #1)

     

    15. SUPERMAN ACTION-ABLE TRANSFORMATIONS

    T. Red kryptonite

    1. Circe

    2. Superman (it was a hoax)

    3. A formula from a mad scientist (Prof. Vance)

     

    16. PAIRS

    T. Green Arrow and Martian Manhunter

    1. Carmine Infantino and Joe Kubert

    2. The Enchantress and the Executioner

    3. Joker and Penguin

     

    17. THE LEGION

    T. Superman, Batman and The Flash

    1. Inertron

    2. Mon-El

    3. Duo Damsel

     

    18. TITLED VILLAINS

    T. Mysterio

    1. Mister Memory (aka Professor Amos Fortune)

    2. Diablo or Dragon Man

    3. The Trickster

     

    19. VILLIANOUS FIRST WORDS

    T. Sinestro

    1. Electro

    2. Mole Man

    3. Poison Ivy

     

    20. IMAGINARY STORIES

    T. Jimmy Olsen, Lois Lane and Perry White

    1. Supermaid

    2. Lex Luthor (he kills Batman)

    3. Mr. & Mrs. Clark (Superman) Kent in Lois Lane #19.

     

    21. LIGHTNING ROUND

    1. One billion dollars. (#114 and #148)

    2. Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos

    3. Direct Currents

    4. Frederick Foswell

    5. Hawkman

    6. The Wasp

    7. Lois Lane (#70)

    8. Ivy University

    9. Daphne Dean

    10. Doctor Octopus (in ASM Annual #1)

    So how did you do?

    -- MSA

  • "Unseen Marvel" was the only one I aced.

  • I think I got 45/80 for the first 20 questions and 9/10 for the lightning round (all but #1).

    Thanks fort posting these, Mr SA; it's good to test oneself against them. (And they're tough!)

    Would you mind some quibbles?

    3.3 Didn't all the Avengers other than Captain America quit in #22? Arguably, the answer is one.

    7.2 The Watcher sends the Torch to Galactus's homeworld ("a gargantuan space station") in Fantastic Four #49. In #50 the Torch comes home, and his journey home is partly through "sub-space" (mirroring part of the journey there, but that term is not used in #49). In #51 the Negative Zone is called "sub-space", so you could argue it was the same, but the Negative Zone was not shown to have "bands of un-life".

    8.T Arguably, Turtle Man. But one could argue he doesn't count as he doesn't have a costume.

    13.2 The Black Panther was proposed as Coal Tiger, but it doesn't follow that he almost got into print under that name.

    13.3 Simon wrote he first created a character called Spiderman. Then he remodelled him into the Silver Spider for C.C. Beck, who was interested in getting back into comics, but the character wasn't picked up. Beck drew at least one story, which closely parallels the Fly's origin. Then he remodelled him again into the Fly, whose first stories Kirby drew. I don't think one could describe the Silver Spider as created by Simon and Kirby. Jack Oleck did at least some of the "Silver Spider" writing.

  • 3.3 Welllllll, maybe. When they all walked out, I'd say the Avengers were disbanded, as Cap isn't a team, and he didn't go on to fight anyone as "The Avengers." It's possible that when Cap then walked out in #23, leaving Hawkeye, Wanda and Pietro, they were still the Avengers and/or that he'd really quit, although Hawkeye didn't think he was really gone. It was tough to determine who'd just walked out in a snit and who had actually quit and was gone for good, so it was a trickier question than I thought and came up more places than I expected. Fortunately, I got the answer I was expecting.

    7.2 Hmm, I coulda sworn that it was said he was traveling to the Negative Zone to get it.

    8T. Had someone suggested Turtle Man, I would've told them he wasn't a rogue and let them try again. I suppose if he'd had a costume it might've been a finer point, but everyone understood what was meant by "rogue." I deliberately didn't say "villain," as that's a different question.

    BTW, "arguably" there is a different answer for every question, and we've had some of those in the past (especially on Legion questions.). It's hard to create too many questions without finding *something* to argue over. Fortunately, it doesn't happen much at the panel, as I don't think the audience likes hashing out the technicalities. I've gotten better at annotating exactly what I want in what issue, as events do repeat in later places, and I see where arguments could arise.

    For the Avengers "fewest members," for instance, I probably should have added "in Avengers #49" and made it only about naming how many Avengers were there then rather than opening it to both issue numbers and Avengers member lists.

    13.2 I didn't say it "almost got into print," but I could have said "the first name proposed for the character." There weren't any other possible answers, though. Mark guessed Black Leopard, but that was a name he used LATER rather than earlier. I don't even know what they had in mind with "Coal Tiger" as a name, except, of course, he was black, and all black superhero names had to announce that.

    Nowadays, I think that name is being used for an alternative universe version of BP, so it's probably well known. That's the other problem I run into--thinking something is obscure without realizing that someone went back and dusted it off and made it the centerpiece of some recent comic I never saw. Nothing from the Silver Age stays obscure for long.

    13.3. That's Simon's version, but Kirby's version differs, as is noted in the Wikipedia write-up on Spider-Man: http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spider-Man. It might have said "who Kirby claimed" rather than "they," but that's as far as I'd go in fixing the semantics of the question. Surprisingly (to me, at least), the Fans tried The Fly, and Mark only got the "Silver" part. And again here, there's no other reasonable answer. The Fly is a potentially reasonable answer, but Stan is pretty well on record as trying to avoid a replica of the Fly, especially since he was working with the guy who created Fly.

    Actually, that category went pretty well considering that stuff isn't in the comics, so just reading them or reprints doesn't help at all (reprints don't help with Letters Columns or my occasional Ads category, either). I may use it again, as I figure it's probably interesting to the audience, many of whom may not know all that behind-the-scenes kind of stuff--or do and can see how much more they know than the panelists.

    But this year I asked the audience to answer any questions everyone missed, sometimes taking several guesses, and not many got them right.

    -- MSA

  • I got 56/80 and all 10 in the Lightning Round! Some real toughies here!

    However

    • 6.3 Green Arrow was still in his original costume when he fought Aquarius in JLA #74. In #75, he had his new outfit and attitude and battled his Destructor counterpart.
    • 7.2  I remember Galactus' homeworld, too.
    • 8.T  I agree with Luke. The Turtle had a name and a gimmick and a rematch.
    • 15.1 Superman didn't get a lion's head in Superman #165. That was Proty II mimicking him.
  • 6.3 Yes, but his counterpart, and those of all the Leaguers, were the result of Aquarius's mystic residue that created astral projections of them. So if someone had said "astral projections" without mentioning Aquarius, I would've given it to them, but it was still part of their Aquarius battle. BTW, that mystic reside was what later was said (in JLA #220) to have killed BC and required her previously dead daughter (long story) to replace her when she went to Earth-1 in JLA #74, so Aquarius actually killed her, too.

    Granted, that may be a stretch. But since I do Movie-TV categories every year and GA has a TV show, I have to come up with four GA questions a year, and I've been doing it for several years now. And there are only so many boxing-glove questions his own series can help with.

    7.2 Hmmm, I coulda sworn he got it in the Negative Zone, and I remember looking to see. I don't have the issue right here, but that might've been right too.

    8T. But he wasn't a rogue, he was a villain. And again, I would've made that point rather than say it was wrong. I can ask the judges if Turtle Man qualifies as a second correct answer, but they agree with me, so no.

    15.1 Aw man. I didn't look, I just remembered the cover on that one. That was me overreaching, when one story was plenty for that question. Surprisingly, Mark did not point that out, he just answered correctly.

    I really ought to know better now than to rely on my memory for anything any more. It's never the stuff I don't know that screws me up, because I know to look that up. It's the stuff I think I know but don't. And there's getting to be a lot more of that. That's happening to Mark, too--he couldn't get over the fact that he didn't know where "Danger in the Air!!" was from.

    Whereas I hear that title and the Trickster running through the air pops into my head immediately. And nobody knew how Eobard replicated Barry's face, which I thought was a particularly timely question this year and reasonably easy. Because I loved that scene and never forgot it. As I like to say, They're all easy if you know them!

    I occasionally throw in what we all agree is a 50-point question, just because I think the audience will like it, with few expectations of someone getting it right, although I'm sometimes surprised.

    Discussing it afterward with the Fan team, we agreed on one question that's at least a 50-pointer, in talking about what replaced what in the publishing schedules:

    What did Daredevil replace in Marvel's line-up? Give yourself 50 Bonus Points if you can answer THAT one without Googling it!

    -- MSA

  • Thanks for the thoughtful answers.

    Philip Portelli said:

    15.1 Superman didn't get a lion's head in Superman #165. That was Proty II mimicking him.


    You're right! That means I only got that answer half-right. Another half-point gone...
  • I think I know what Daredevil replaced, but I looked it up. I don't think I ever heard of the title before.

  • I vaguely knew of it, but I had no idea it was still around in 1964. I doubt I ever saw it, but I wouldn't have paid attention even if I had.

    -- MSA

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