Favorite Hero by Year of Debut: Round 4 (1935 - 1941)

[Air Wave]

Moving on to next round with lowest vote-getters eliminated. Vote for your favorites! And to reiterate, you're voting for the character overall, throughout DC history. The year of debut is merely a way to organize them.

[MajorHoy]

Moving on to next round with lowest vote-getters eliminated. Vote for your favorites! And to reiterate, you're voting for the character overall, throughout DC history. The year of debut is merely a way to organize them.

With some characters, I love their Golden Age versions, but hate what was later done with them.

[The Darknight Detective]

Clark, Bruce, Dick, and Arthur for me here. FWIW, my three brothers and I owned the Mego action figures of those four 50 years ago.

[Timber Wolf-By-Night]

Roy Thomas must be feeling a great disturbance in the Force, what with his favorite, Hawkman, coming in dead last.

[Jim Kelly]

Roy Thomas must be feeling a great disturbance in the Force, what with his favorite, Hawkman, coming in dead last.

Roy Thomas was born on November 22nd, 1940. And ALL-STAR COMICS 3 (Winter 1940) went on sale November 22nd, 1940. That was the first issue the Justice Society of America appeared in. Thus R.T. and the J.S.A. were born on the same day.

Granted Roy wouldn't have known that at the time, but he did eventually find out. What comic book fan wouldn't think it was in the stars! And who was the one super-hero who appeared in every single Justice Society story of ALL-STAR COMICS in its original run? Hawkman, of course. The character created by Gardner Fox who was also the writer/creator of the Justice Society. Thomas later became friends with Fox, who gave him his bound volumes of ALL-STAR.

But why was Hawkman in every story? Because he never got his own book. By rights, he should have. He was the next likely candidate for a solo title. But Wonder Woman jumped the queue. And then with the U.S.A. entering into the Second World War and paper rationing, it's likely Max Gaines didn't want to expend so much of his paper quota on another solo book.

If Carter had got his own book, then the Society rulebook made it clear that he would have to give up his active service on the team--just like Flash and Green Lantern (and for that matter, Superman and Batman). Granted Wonder Woman stayed in the book, but through the loophole that Diana was the secretary (whatever that meant, mainly it seemed to mean she signed the forms for the Junior Justice Society), but she wasn't allowed to actively take part in most team adventures until after the war was over.

So this catch-22 made it possible for Hawkman to be the only member in every story (although the Atom came close). The fact that Hawkman was so deserving of his own title, but never got it, and that he was so faithful to the Justice Society, must have made him a favourite. Everybody loves an underdog. And Hawkman was an underdog. He never got to be in the big show. But he came very close.