I think there are plenty of ways to retroactively add someone, regardless of what "sphere" they operated in (space, magic, street, etc). The world is a big place, not all the heroes know each other. And if you're introducing a new hero who was a PoC or female or some other demographic that the 1940's marginalized (which is basically everyone) it'd make sense for this character to avoid the spotlight and try to remain unnoticed.
Hell, such a hero might not even be seen as such by the public. You think if a black man started wearing a cape and saving people in 1942 that people would cheer for him? Or do you think they'd label him as a villain who probably started all the trouble just so he could make himself look good?
Since we're on the topic, I really did enjoy what Cooke did with John Henry in New Frontier. That was sad, but well done.
That's a cool idea. I always liked the concept behind Triumph, but DC never really did him justice.Actually, Triumph might be a good idea come to think about it. Maybe you could retcon the retcon and have him become a forgotten Golden Age character, too. That poor bastard just can't catch a break being stuck in a time loop at the dawn of various heroic ages, but doomed to be wiped from history again and again.
Hmm....you know, I wonder if you could take a Triumph who debuts with each new heroic age, only to be forgotten, and tie that to Pariah; destined to watch worlds die and never be able to save them. Could be interesting, if Pariah was, I dunno, a future version of Triumph or an alternate reality version or something.
Or maybe that's a bad idea, I'm still working through my coffee and just spitballing.
I don't think anyone is confused about that. But the trait could easily cross over from the New52 version to the classic one.
Now, I haven't read a ton of Allan's classic stories. I know he was married (twice) and dated around a bit but have never actually read the pages. All I have is his modern appearances to judge things by. And in those appearances, I could believe he was a closeted gay man. His wife is rarely mentioned, seen even less, and doesnt appear to be any kind of motivator for Allan. Whether he had a "grand true love" in the Golden Age ala Lois Lane or not, for the past twenty-some years his love life has barely been a factor.
I put more stock on modern interpretations than ones from seventy-plus years ago, though I still value the older material of course. But if there's a popular JSA member who's original history would "fit" the idea of a closeted LGBT person better than Allan? Then that's where the change/s should be made. But it should be a Golden Age character who still matters. No one is going to care if the Golden Arrow was gay. But Hourman or Sandman or Jim Corrigan? That'd be a change worth making.