That was fast!
Philip Portelli pretty much ran the category before I could sit down to dinner. He even provided two acceptable answers to one of the questions. I did say “pretty much”, though. There were two questions that he didn’t take a shot at. However, Fraser Sherman did---and scored! One of them he nailed was what I felt was the toughest question of the Challenge. The other one was . . . shall we say, a little left-handed.
Let me explain. On occasion, not often with this bunch, the correct response to one of my quiz’s questions eludes everybody. But this summer I was left with an unprecedented singularity. We have one question to which nobody provided the answer I had in mind---but to which Mr. Sherman provided a different response, but one that fit the information presented. I’ll elabourate when we get to it.
Incidentally, Mr. Sherman, with regard to your post last month, from the beginning I never prohibited the use of search engines. When the idea was new, I figured some folks wouldn’t be able to resist, and besides, I couldn’t enforce such a limitation, anyway. Aye, now, after all this time, I know I can trust you regular players not to pull up Google---just as I know you guys try not to look at previous posters’ answers. But if a novice should happen to stumble upon one of my Challenges, allowing the use of a search engine might level the playing field against you Silver-Age geniuses.
Curiously enough, the use of search engines may become a lesser evil. The other night, I came up with an idea for a format change, and it took me two hours to fall asleep because I kept thinking up questions to fit it. The new format is such that using a search engine to find the answer can be a liability. I’ve got plenty of time to work out the bugs.
O.K., gang, let’s go ahead and make your answers to this year’s Challenge official . . .
1. Outside of J’onn J’onzz himself, who is the only other regularly appearing DC hero to make an appearance in the “Manhunter from Mars” series? (And no, Zook doesn’t count.)
Mr. Portelli was the first one to answer this correctly. (And just to keep from repeating myself, Philip was the first one to answer all of the questions correctly, except for the two he didn’t attempt; Fraser took the gold on those two.) In the nearly thirteen years the Manhunter from Mars series ran, first in Detective Comics, then in House of Mystery, only one time did any other DC hero appear---and then for only one panel.
In “The Man Who Destroyed J’onn J’onzz”, from Detective Comics # 322 (Dec., 1963), DC fans witnessed a rare circumstance---a villain switching from one super-hero adversary to another. The lead story in Detective Comics # 306 (Aug., 1962) introduces us to Professor Arnold Hugo, a criminal scientist who used one of his devices to enlarge his cranium and brain size. Despite his enhanced intellect, Professor Hugo fails miserably in his attempt to defeat the Batman and Robin.
“The Man Who Destroyed J’onn J’onzz” opens with the announcement that Hugo has escaped from prison. The big-headed bad guy decides to abandon Gotham City and make Middletown his new base of operations. However, that makes him the quarry of both Detective John Jones and his alien alter ego. Hugo fares no better against the Martian Manhunter than he did the Dynamic Duo. And the last panel shows J.J. turning Hugo over to the Batman.
The implication is that Professor Hugo will return to being a Batman villain, but, instead, he becomes the closest thing that the Manhunter had to an arch-enemy (at least, until Faceless came along), coming back to square off against the Alien Ace three more times.
Fraser also knew the answer to this one.
2. What was the title of the last film in which Rita Farr, of My Greatest Adventure/The Doom Patrol, starred?
I thought this one would be tougher, but Philip knew it right off. In “The Furies from 4,000 Miles Below”, from My Greatest Adventure # 88 (Feb., 1964), the Chief persuades Rita (Elasti-Girl) Farr into resuming her Hollywood career by starring in the film The Diminishing Lady.
The real intention of the Doom Patrol’s whiskered leader is to keep Rita from joining the team on a mission which he feels is too dangerous to include her. When Rita discovers this, she is not amused, and she shows the Chief that it was too dangerous---for him, that is---not to include her.
3. Name the explorer who came into possession of a magic belt which gave him the super-power of Legionnaire Duo Damsel.
Every time I put one of these Challenges together, there’s a question which I suspect no-one will be able to answer (I’m usually wrong about that), and this is the one I felt would be the stumper this year. Fraser was the only one to get the correct response, probably by using the “brute force” method.
He found the answer in “I Lived in Two Bodies”, from Strange Adventures # 166 (Jul., 1964). After parachuting into an uncharted South American valley, explorer Cliff Battles saves the life of the chief of a hidden tribe. In gratitude, the chief gives Battles a magic belt which enables him to split into two equal selves, à la Duo Damsel. Getting out of the valley requires him to separate to avoid the dangers along the way. The tale ends with the implication that this is the launch of a new series---“I’m whole again! But I’d never have made it if I hadn’t become a man with two bodies! The golden belt . . . will I ever need it again?” He does, but only one more time, in Strange Adventures # 203 (Aug., 1967)
4. Who is the only member of the Justice League whose civilian identity is known to Batgirl?
Both Philip and Fraser knew the answer to this one was Ray (the Atom) Palmer, and they correctly identified the source as “Winged Warriors of the Immortal Queen”, from Justice League of America # 60 (Feb., 1968). In that adventure, villainess Queen Zazzala shrinks a half-dozen Justice Leaguers and special guest heroine Batgirl to insect size, putting them under her thrall. After carrying out a trio of missions for the wicked bee-girl, the Atom frees himself from her mental control by enlarging himself to his full size, thus revealing his civilian self to the other heroes.
Philip raised the valid point that, just because she saw Palmer’s face, it didn’t mean that Batgirl knew who he was. After all, she probably didn’t hang around Ivy Town an awful lot. I considered that, Philip, but it was the next issue of JLA which tipped the point in favour that the Dominoed Daredoll knew his name.
The story in JLA # 61 (Mar., 1968) is a tangled mess which kicks off when the Green Arrow resigns from the Justice League. It’s part of an unnecessarily complicated plot on the part of the Emerald Archer to capture the League’s old foe, Doctor Destiny. At one point, G.A. anticipates the Atom being next on Destiny’s hit list, and the archer reflects that it will be easy to keep watch over the Atom because he learnt the Tiny Titan’s secret identity in their previous adventure.
Since Green Arrow would not have recognised Ray Palmer any more than Batgirl would’ve, the inference is that, in the unseen wrap-up of the case with Zazzala, the Atom told the other Leaguers present and Batgirl his real name. Not necessarily to Batgirl, of course, but it was enough for me to make the question valid.
5. Speaking of the Justice League, what villain tackled the JLA in no less than four different identities?
All three of our players---Philip and Fraser and Eric, the Silver-Age Fogey---knew this one. Professor Amos Fortune first took on the Justice League of America in JLA # 6 (Aug.-Sep., 1961).
He tried again with a whole new gimmick, as Mister Memory, in JLA # 14 (Sep., 1962). Fortune went back to his stellaration device in JLA # 43 (Mar., 1966), as the Ace of Clubs, boss of the Royal Flush Gang. He was still leading the gang in JLA # 54 (Jun., 1967), but the crooks wore different card-related guises (supposedly, the new outfits intensified their stellaration powers), and Fortune assumed the identity of Serpent Man.
6. Six years ago, in a Marvel-related Silver-Age challenge, I asked you how far Mister Fantastic could stretch. This year, in a DC quiz, I want to know the Elongated Man’s elastic limit.
Both Mr. Portelli and Mr. Sherman got this one right. Fraser noted the story which I had used as reference---“Peril in Paris”, from Detective Comics # 344 (Oct., 1965). But Philip caught a mention which I had overlooked: “Mystery of the Millionaire Cowboy”, from Detective Comics # 340 (Jun., 1965). Fortunately for me, editor’s footnotes in both tales contained the same information: the Elongated Man’s elastic limit is about one hundred yards.
7. Simon Stagg was never able to do it, but what regularly appearing DC scientist actually succeeded in returning Metamorpho, the Element Man, to his normal form of Rex Mason?
Philip and the Fogey and Fraser all chimed in with the correct answer: Doctor Will Magnus, inventor of the Metal Men, was able to do what Simon Stagg wasn’t; he cured Metamorpho of his freakish condition to become plain old, human Rex Mason, again.
This occurred in “Wreck the Renegade Robots”, from The Brave and the Bold # 66 (Jun.-Jul., 1966). Unfortunately, Metamorpho’s cure was a one-time-only deal, and when a jealous Professor Kurt Borian strikes back at Doc Magnus by reprogramming the Metal Men to turn against their creator, Rex Mason sacrifices his newly gained humanity to save the day, by having Magnus return him to his Element Man form.
8. Speaking of Simon Stagg, who was, briefly, his first son-in-law?
This is one of the two questions where I got caught for failing to do my due diligence. Both Philip and Fraser knew the answer I had in mind: millionaire playboy Wally Bannister married Sapphire Stagg in “Jezeba, Queen of Fury”, from Metamorpho # 16 (Jan.-Feb., 1968). The marriage was short-lived, as Bannister turns up dead in the following issue.
Philip, though, did the research I had neglected to do, and he found an earlier instance which fit the parameters of the question. In “Terror of the Telstar”, from Metamorpho # 2 (Oct., 1965), Sapphire is forced to wed Guther Balkan, son of that issue’s villain. Even though Sapphire was an unwilling bride and the legality of the wedding was dubious, and it was never mentioned again, Guther Balkan technically fulfilled the undetailed requirements of my question, as I presented it. So, Philip gets credit for providing a correct answer. Actually, two correct answers.
9. What was Wonder Woman’s favourite television show?
Philip knew this one, and he must have dug deep to find it, for indeed, Adventures of Superman, or the Earth-One version of it, was Wonder Woman’s favourite television show, as we see in “The Channel of Time”, from Wonder Woman # 94 (Nov., 1957).
10. What’s the vital component of Multi-Man’s liquid light formula?
This is the one in which nobody got the answer I had in mind. That is, in “The Thing That Could Not Die”, from Challengers of the Unknown # 60 (Feb.-Mar., 1968), we learn that frozen nitrox is the vital ingredient which makes Multi-Man’s liquid light formula work.
However, Fraser applied some more brute force and came up with a reference which I had, frankly, not known about. In “Multi-Man . . . Villain Turned Hero”, from Challs # 30 (Feb., 1963), Prof Haley states that zenoite and carubium and borium-oxide are “the three principle [sic] chemicals in Multi-Man’s formula for change!”
Now, I could stand on grammar by insisting that I asked for the vital component---singular. But to be that anal-retentive comes too close to making it a trick question. Fraser’s response fits the spirit of the game and is perfectly valid. So, he gets credit for a correct answer. Kudos, Mr. Sherman.
* * * * *
As so often happens, not only do you players learn something new about the Silver-Age DC universe in these quizzes, but I do, as well. And that’s a good thing.
As usual, you guys knocked the ball out of the park, which inspires me to make next year’s Challenge even better.
Replies
I always enjoy these quizzes of yours, Commander, although they do remind me of how little I know about Silver Age DC/Marvel comics. I started reading comics in the mid 1970's, and I've never gone back and "filled in the gaps" of my knowledge of that era. I've read several of the perennially reprinted stories from that time, but there are large swathes of Silver Age comics history that are unknown to me. I feel as though it gives me a referent for how someone who'd only seen the 2005 Doctor Who series would feel if I started quizzing them about the program's earliest years. (i.e., "What was the first episode of Doctor Who to be broadcast on BBC 1?", and so on.)
Thanks to vacation, I didn't even see this quiz until the answers were up...not that it would have made a difference in the scoring if I did! But it sure was fun to read them and learn the answers!
Oh well. Better two than none.
Great quiz again, Commander Adam! I love these every year, and learning a lot about what I don't know! I already can't wait for next year's quiz! Who knows, maybe I can do a little better. And congrats to Messrs. Portelli and Sherman for a great run!
Another great quiz. Thank you. I'm looking forward to the new format you might cook up.
Right off the bat I had four of them (1, 5, 7, 8), but I just didn't have the time to dive into the other six too deeply, although I was pretty certain about #3 pending more research that I never got around to.
Question 10 was the only one I thought I might have a shot at solving. I asssumed the answer would be found in an early Multi-Man appearance. Poring through those stories I came up with the same panel that Fraser found in Challengers #30 which didn't seem to provide the true solution. Who would have suspected the answer was in issue #60 published years after Multi-Man's debut. Pretty tricky Commander.