First meetings and secret identities

[Tzigone]

Obviously, over the decades, there have been lots of first meetings between different heroes. Do you have particular favorites? Are their any heroes you think should work independently for a while before meeting any other heroes?

I'm fond of Batman and Superman not meeting until there is a Robin. I'm particularly opposed to all the Superboy scenarios where he meets various young heroes before they are heroes. Though I did enjoy some of the stories (Hal's particularly).

I think first we saw of Batman and Superman knowing each other is that they already know each other when on JSA. Similar happens when Green Lantern and The Flash (Hal and Barry meet), as I recall. Is Starro (with Justice League already formed) the first time we see that Barry, Hal, or J'onn know any of the other heroes?

Are there any heroes that you think should meet one-on-one before meeting on teams? I'm a go for Atom and Hawkman (pre-Hawkworld version).

I find Ollie and Bruce well suited to coincidentally meeting somewhere as Bruce and Ollie and then events requiring the costumes to come out.

I have an affinity for Superman immediately trying to meet Wonder Woman, curious as it if she is somehow another surviving Kryptonian, but that may be a bit silly.

Ralph and Barry are a must to meet privately first. And I like Cissie and Bart's first meeting a lot, too.

Then, of course, there's the issue of when they should find out each other's identities. Who should learn each other's identities early v. late? Who has one-sided versions where A knows B's identity but B doesn't know A's? Who should absolutely never learn the other's identity? One issue with the last is the sprawling "families" - Batman may have no desire to tell Gar Logan his identity, but Gar knowing Robin's mean he knows Batman's, etc.

[j9ac9k]

I like the idea (introduced in JLA:Year One I think) that Hal Jordan and Larry Trainor knew each other a bit when they were pilots, but I also like the idea that they never find out that they're Green Lantern and Negative Man - it's not like the League and Doom Patrol hang out much or when they team up there's no real exchanging of identities.

I really liked how O'Neil had The Question meet Green Arrow, then followed it up with another team up later on, showing the growing rapport between the two.

[Lightning Rider]

I'm hungry for some first meeting panels.

[Vakanai]

I kind of like when a hero meets someone else's villain for the first time for some reason. There's always something fun about Flash suddenly running up against a GL villain or one of the GL's having to meet and battle one of Superman's foes and so on.

[Tzigone]

I'm hungry for some first meeting panels.

Is it bad that I kinda want first meeting stories for them set when they actually first met. So set decades ago with the personalities and status quo of what they were around the first time we actually saw them know each other?

I kind of like when a hero meets someone else's villain for the first time for some reason. There's always something fun about Flash suddenly running up against a GL villain or one of the GL's having to meet and battle one of Superman's foes and so on.

I will always love Impulse and the Riddler.

[Vakanai]

Is it bad that I kinda want first meeting stories for them set when they actually first met. So set decades ago with the personalities and status quo of what they were around the first time we actually saw them know each other?

Bad? No. Just means you're way too old and been reading way too many Pre-Crisis back issues lately.

[Jackalope89]

Though more centralized (within the Bat Family);
Jason Todd and Stephanie Brown are both supposed to come from Crime Alley. Kind of a surprise they hadn't met before, if only in passing.
Jason and Damian during Jason's time in the League of Assassins (so many fanfics actually do this in various, yet interesting ways).

For Bruce and Clark meeting... There's a few ways. Like Clark being a reporter and Bruce not only being incredibly rich, but a very public face of a multi-national corporation like Wayne-Tech, it would only be a matter of time before they met outside the costume. Especially depending on where Metropolis is supposed to be.

Bruce and Ollie, yeah. Honestly surprised they don't have more team-ups and what not. You know, with both owning big companies, potential partnerships, charity galas, etc.

[Tzigone]

Bad? No. Just means you're way too old and been reading way too many Pre-Crisis back issues lately.

Actually only started reading DC in 2015. Started with Tim's Robin and spread from there. And I still like a lot of pre-COIE stuff better than later stuff. I'll cop to to being old, though.

Jason Todd and Stephanie Brown are both supposed to come from Crime Alley. Kind of a surprise they hadn't met before, if only in passing.

When is this established - when Steph is introduced, and every time we see her home from 1992 to 2002 she lives in a little house in the suburbs. Mortgaged, not rented, as I recall (I think I remember Crystal saying Arthur was still on the mortgage, but maybe she said title). But I've seen the "crime alley" thing over and over again in fic. I've asked several times, and so far, no one has been able to provide a source for it (I wondered if it was New 52 or just later post-COIE when I hadn't read, since I like her earlier personality more), and at least one other person has told me it's fanon.

At least one person said they used it (or liked it?) to give Steph more in common with Jason, and that bugged the heck out of me. Firstly, because she's being de-individualized to serve Jason's needs (or, at best, the relationship's needs) and secondly because they had plenty in common already. That I like Steph more than Jason definitely contributes to my dislike of her changed to suit him.

[Jackalope89]

Actually only started reading DC in 2015. Started with Tim's Robin and spread from there. And I still like a lot of pre-COIE stuff better than later stuff. I'll cop to to being old, though.

When is this established - when Steph is introduced, and every time we see her home from 1992 to 2002 she lives in a little house in the suburbs. Mortgaged, not rented, as I recall (I think I remember Crystal saying Arthur was still on the mortgage, but maybe she said title). But I've seen the "crime alley" thing over and over again in fic. I've asked several times, and so far, no one has been able to provide a source for it (I wondered if it was New 52 or just later post-COIE when I hadn't read, since I like her earlier personality more), and at least one other person has told me it's fanon.

At least one person said they used it (or liked it?) to give Steph more in common with Jason, and that bugged the heck out of me. Firstly, because she's being de-individualized to serve Jason's needs (or, at best, the relationship's needs) and secondly because they had plenty in common already. That I like Steph more than Jason definitely contributes to my dislike of her changed to suit him.

Eh, fair enough. My point still stands on Jason and Damian though. Take your pick on pre-Flashpoint or post.

[Adekis]

I like the story where Ted Kord and Vic Sage meet at an art gallery and bond over their distaste for this modern art critic who hates anything that doesn't depict life as ugly and people as inhumane.

[Restingvoice]

My favorite Batman and Superman first meeting is, of course, the Brokeback Titanic
My favorite first meeting between Dick and Clark is in American Alien, where Dick is in training so he Sherlock Scan Clark and Clark X-Ray scan Dick to get him answers question about Bruce

Also from American Alien. Clark and Deathstroke. Deathstroke was hired to kill Bruce but Bruce didn't attend his party, while Clark crashed in, gets drunk, and basically broke his sword and beat him up while drunk
"What the?"
"Ta-dah! Sard borken!"

Damian meeting Superman is definitive Damian
"You must be Damian. I can't express how I feel that I finally meet you"
"Those words are enough"
lolz all the time

Tim and Damian. Also classic Damian
"Ahem. In our world, we call this a handshake"
"Don't patronize me or I'll break your face"

Basically any Damian first meeting, actually.
After spying Jon for a while, he kidnapped him and berate him for killing his cat (Jon's)

Dick meeting Kori in the Teen Titans trailer
"They're attacking her! We must help" - Dick
"...and the fact that she's hot has nothing to do with it" - Wally
and then later they smooch
and in NTT Starfire admitted that no, she didn't have to kiss him to learn the language, but he's cute.

In general
Between Robin and Superman where Robin fanboys over Superman, while Batman is jealously scowling because he expects that reaction, just not that much.
Robin and Wonder Woman, having their jaw drop at the regality, power, and the sexiness

[Tzigone]

and then later they smooch
and in NTT Starfire admitted that no, she didn't have to kiss him to learn the language, but he's cute.

She smooches him. And I'd call it sexual harassment, at best. Lot of that going on in NTT. Mostly Gar. Definitely Roy, when he visits. But Kory does it several times, too. Dislike it from all of them.