Pick one issue that sums up a character...

[Hol]

If you had to pick one issue to give to someone who had never read a comic featuring this character which would it be? Which one issue, in your opinion, is not only really good but just captures who they are as a character or team? (btw it doesn't have to be a self contained issue)

For me it is:

Flash #0 - I think this issue perfectly sums up who Wally West is at his core and gives you a nice trip through his history. It also happens to be incredibly well written by Mark Waid and I love me some Weiringo art.

Hawkman (2002 series) #15 - Really well written and happens to give you a history of the Thanagarian and Earth Hawks. Well written and beautiful to look at.

JSA (1999 series) #26 - just love this issue for so many reasons.

Animal Man (1988) #8

JLI (1987 series) #8 - Moving Day! Hilarious issue and absolutely sums up the JLI.

What do you guys have on your lists?

[Adekis]

This is honestly pretty tough for me; there's so much to sum up within not-much-space.

I guess I'd say Mysterious Suspense # 1 for the Question, because it's the only full-issue story that Steve Ditko produced for the character and it has a lot of his trademark waxing philosophical in ways that often seem strange or unusual - as is typical of Ditko. The story is about Vic Sage learning that a respected public figure, Jason Ord, is in cahoots with a known criminal, Max Kroe, and going to great lengths to prove it, despite knowing that because of the guy's squeaky-clean reputation, it makes him look mad to accuse him.

I'm a pretty big fan of Ditko's Question, even though I have a loooot of philosophical and political disagreement with him, because there's not really any other character like him out there. I think that one issue is probably the encapsulation of the Question - even not necessarily the purest introductory point.

Batman... hm, maybe Dark Victory # 13? I think the bit where Joker first shoots Dent, then starts monologuing dramatically about how only HE really understands Batman, going into a spiel about how they're opposites locked in a ceaseless battle - before Robin just knocks him the hell out mid-sentence, is my favorite moment from any Batman comic. It really functions as a critique of the Joker and a really important assertion of purpose - that Robin is the one who truly understands Batman, and Joker doesn't really get it at all.

[Riv86672]

Lex Luthor for me, was nailed by John Byrne in a backup story called “Metropolis 900 Mi.” In Superman #9 of his run on the book.

You can read about it here...:

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.syf...superman%3famp

But yeah, Luthor’s a jerk.

[Adekis]

Luthor is one of the most inconsistently characterized characters in DC history. I agree that that story sums up the early post-Crisis Luthor, who was an irredeemable scumbag - but I don't particularly like that version of Luthor.

My pick for Luthor would probably be Superman # 164, where Luthor is viewed as a hero to the people of Lexor - and then makes it true, by performing a legitimately self-sacrificing action for no other reason than to help save their civilization.

Another candidate is Superman # 416, where Luthor saves the life of a boy who was endangered by his getaway scheme - and again is captured by Superman because of it. This one stands out for a future Superman, who describes Luthor as an old friend of his, after he was eventually reformed by a skilled therapist who helped him to see the error of his criminal ways.

In either case, the message is basically the same - Luthor's not all bad. He has it in him to be every bit the hero Superman is, if only he wasn't such a petty bitch, holding himself back out of a spiteful hate for Superman.

Contrast that to Byrne's Luthor, who I think is basically monstrous, and I think the former is much more interesting.

Oh, and as a final note, the television episode, "Satisfaction" from season 1 of Young Justice the animated series is my favorite encapsulation of yet another version of Luthor - the calculating mastermind archetype. This is very different from either the pre-Crisis or post-Crisis version, and I like it a lot also.

[Riv86672]

Luthor is one of the most inconsistently characterized characters in DC history. I agree that that story sums up the early post-Crisis Luthor, who was an irredeemable scumbag - but I don't particularly like that version of Luthor.

Fair enough.

[Gaius]

Wonder Woman - "The Fifty Second Visit" (Wonder Woman #51)

Hal Jordan - "Flight" (Green Lantern Secret Files and Origins) or "Time Alone" (Green Lantern 80th Anniversary)

Superman - Tough but probably "22 Stories in a Single Bound" (Superman Adventures #41)