Your first meeting with the DC Characters

[LAWtoyoto 432]

When is the first time you know these DC comics superheroes. For me, here is the list below for my first knowing of each heroes.

Batman = Batman the Animated Series
Superman = DCAU Justice League
Wonder Woman = DCAU Justice League
The Flash (Wally West) = DCAU Justice League
Green Lantern (John Stewart) = DCAU Justice League
Green Lantern (Hal Jordan) = Green Lantern (2011)
Martian Manhunter = DCAU Justice League
Aquaman = DCAU Justice League
Starfire = Teen Titans
Cyborg = Teen Titans
Beast Boy = Teen Titans
Raven = Teen Titans
Nightwing = Young Justice
The Flash (Barry Allen) = Young Justice
Hawkgirl = DCAU Justice League
Metamorpho = DCAU Justice League
Zatanna = JLU
Booster Gold = JLU
Black Canary = JLU
Green Arrow = JLU
Blue Beetle (Ted Kord) = Comics
Green Lantern (Kyle Rayner) = Comics
Lex Luthor = Superman's Return
Lobo = DCAU Justice League
Atom = JLU
Vixen = JLU
Captain Atom = JLU
Fire and Ice = JLU
Gorilla Grodd = DCAU Justice League
Guy Gardner = Batman: The brave and the Bold
Blue Beetle (Jaimes Reyes) = Batman: The brave and the Bold
Cheetah = DCAU Justice League
Giganta = DCAU Justice League
Batgirl = Young Justice
Jason Todd = Comics
Tim Drake = Young Justice
Damian Wayne = DCMAU
Black Lightning = Young Justice
Cassandra Cain = Comics
Katana = Suicide Squad (2016)
Deadshot = DCAU
The Flash's Rogue = DCAU
Arsenal = Teen Titans
Garth = Teen Titans
Bart Allen = Young Justice
Kon-El = Young Justice
Wonder Girl = Young Justice
Donna Troy = Comics
Animal Man = Comics
Justice Society = Comics
Stargirl = DCAU
Hawk and Dove = DCAU
Amazo = DCAU
Dr. Fate = DCAU
Mister Terrific = DCAU
Plastic Man = Batman : The Brave and the bold
Vandal Savage = DCAU

And the list goes on. Here are most of the DC heroes first interaction. Without DCAU, I won't be here with the community by knowing most of the DC heroes.

[Stanlos]

All of those were comics (Justice League) with the exception of the Trinity who I first saw on the syndicated live action shows and then Superfriends. With Superman there was also Superboy with a Haynes guy and a Gerard Christopher

[adrikito]

My first interaction with many was in the Animated world in Batman the Animated Series and DCAU Justice League.

[Digifiend]

DC Rebirth comics for pretty much everyone outside of Batman and Superman, who I knew from the movies. I've read older comics since then, and watched the Young Justice cartoon.

[Jackalope89]

Batman and Robin- Batman 1966 series
The expanded Gotham cast- BTAS
Superman- Fleischer Cartoon shorts on TV.
Wonder Woman- Lynda Carter series.
Flash- DCAU
Green Lantern- DCAU
Hawkgirl- DCAU
...
Outside the Teen Titans cast (which came from the animated series in the 2000s), most were in the DCAU or the comics if not the DCAU.

[Batgrayson]

Bart Allen = Smallville

[MRP]

Batman, Robin, Superman, Aquaman, Wonder Woman, Green Arrow-Superfriends the debut season in '73 (I was 4)
I got my first Batman comics (#250) around the same time, not sure which came first there.

Later seasons of Superfriends probably account for my first encounters of a lot of DC characters but in the '73-76 era I was getting a lot of DC Mego figures and a handful of DC comics. I also got a handful of Viewmaster reels featuring DC characters around that time as well, and it's a bit hazy what came first among all of that.

A few I do remember...

JSA-in the JLA/JSA crossover in JLA #123
Krypto-in my first Superman comic #287
Darkseid-in the pages of Supervillain Team Up (can't remember which issue)

I didn't get a lot of DC comics as a kid (I was more of a Marvel in comics DC on the screen fan as a kid), when I did buy DC books it was usually JLA, Batman, Flash and Green Lantern, but started diving in deep to DC when I was in high school and had my own money to buy comics-turning 16 in '85, so Crisis on Infinite Earths introduced me to a boatload of DC characters I had never encountered before.

So Superfriends as a kid and Crisis as a high schooler were my big 2 gateways into DC characters.

-M

[Adekis]

In my earliest memories of most of the big deal DC characters, I already knew who they were.

For Superman, my earliest memory was a tape my Grandpa got me for my third or fourth birthday of Fleischer cartoons.
How do I know I already knew who Superman was?
Because I already had Opinions about him.

In "Japoteurs," Superman takes multiple tries to break through a barred door, and I was shocked! I thought, "He's strong enough to do that on the first try! He's Superman!" I was also surprised he couldn't return the meteor in "The Magnetic Telescope" to space under his own power. In both cases, he soon made another, even cooler feat (catching the giant airplane downtown and using his body as a conduit to power the magnet, respectively) and so all was forgiven, but I still must have known enough about Superman to have those opinions in the first place!

Similarly my earliest memory of Batman was "Batman the Movie" starring Adam West and Burt Ward, but I remember asking my Dad what Robin's real name was - which I would only know to do if I was already familiar with Robin!


I do distinctly remember learning who Jimmy Olsen was. I was at my grandmother's, reading an old comic book from the '70s (Jimmy Olsen # 140 iirc) and I remember being like "Who's this Jimmy Olsen dude? Why is he best buddies with Superman?" I must have been about seven. However, once Jimmy and Superman entered the Bottle City of Kandor, I got caught up enough in the stories that it stopped bothering me. Who's Jimmy? A guy who's friends with Superman. Simple enough!

[Kaijudo]

With the exceptions of the characters who appeared on early Superfriends seasons (Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Robin/Nightwing, Green Lantern Hal Jordan, Green Arrow, Plastic Man, Flash Barry Allen, Hawkgirl, Lex Luthor, Gorilla Grodd, Cheetah, and Giganta, plus Captain Cold from the Flash's Rouges Gallery) and Batgirl (reruns of the Adam West Batman series), most of them were introduced to me in comics, in particular Crisis on Infinite Earths (at least the ones who were around in 1985), though I do remember reading some New Teen Titans prior to that.

If you'd had Shazam/Captain Marvel on the list, then it would've been his live-action show on Saturday mornings in the 70s.

[BatmanJones]

I'm 52. When I was about 4 years old Super Friends premiered (1973) and Batman actually scared me. I think it was the ears and the fact that no other SF character covered their face, but that actually drew me to him and I soon discovered reruns of the Adam West series. By the time I was 5, watching SF and Batman '66 reruns religiously and reading as many comics as I could find at dime stores etc, obsessively learning all I could about DC characters.

[justinslot]

Shout out the DC Super Dictionary and my fellow senior citizens who encountered the whole DC roster that way, in all their cake-stealing glory.

[astro@work]

Batman, Robin, Batgirl - reruns of the 60's show
Superman- reruns of the 50's show
Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Flash, Green Lantern-Superfriends show
Teen Titans- back issues at my Dad's barber shop
Justice League, Legion- silver age back issues in my friend's older brothers comic box
JSA- discovered in a double page spread in a giant size JLA comic, and my mind was blown. TWO Supermans????????
Avengers, Fantastic Four, Spiderman- discovered at a drug store when my interest in comics was piqued enough to actually search out where to buy them.

[Jon-El]

I saw this in 1976 I believe. About the same time, I was watching the Super Friends and the episode featured Superman fighting a robot duplicate. It wasn’t really a fight but it got me hooked on the character.

Super Friends was my intro to just about everyone. I saw the Flash and was blown away. I started buying comics. First Superman titles including Superboy & the Legion. That lead to World’s Finest & Justice League. Those led to everything else.

[SJNeal]

Most DC characters I saw for the first time via other merch - lunch boxes, t-shirts, underoos - usually as rendered by Jose-Luis Garcia Lopez.

But I really got to know them via the comics books. Animation, films, etc all came later.

[Digifiend]

Avengers, Fantastic Four, Spiderman- discovered at a drug store when my interest in comics was piqued enough to actually search out where to buy them.

There's an equivalent thread in the Marvel section.