I figure the people on this board read a lot of classic comics. Personally, I read a lot of Essentials and Showcase Presents myself and pick up some other odd comics when we have a local con or something along those lines. However, some things from the "old days" don't necessarily carry over. So, I thought I'd post a thread for all the little bits of canon that have been forgotten or discarded over time that we love for reasons that maybe we can't even understand. Like . . .

- I love that the Teen Titans original mission statement was to help teens in trouble. It gave the original Titans a sense of purpose that a lot of versions of the team don't have.

- I love that the Silver Age Atom's original motivation for being a superhero was that he wanted to catch crooks for Jean Loring to prosecute so that she could further her career as a lawyer and someday marry him. Ray and Jean's relationship kind of got distorted over time, but he originally did it all out of love for her.

- I love what (pardon the pun) "fusion cuisine" the earliest Firestorm comics are. They're very clearly a straight-up mix of Silver Age Spider-Man's soap opera and Silver Age Flash's science fiction.

- On a similar note, I love that Nova used to be an Earth-bound hero in the same mold as Spider-Man or Firestorm. He used to fight guys like Diamondhead, the Condor and the Corruptor all the time. Superhero comics are in a place right now where origin=mission statement. So basically, if you got your powers from some alien whatsis, then you'd better fight aliens. However, superhero origins used to be able to come from anywhere.

- I love that Hank Pym and Janet Van Dyne used to be modeled off of Dashiell Hammet's Nick and Nora Charles with Hank being the homebody scientist and Jan being the adventure-seeking heiress who pushed him into adventures. This is another one where the relationship has gotten a bit distorted.

- I love that Carol Danvers used to think she actually was a Kree soldier when she turned into Ms. Marvel. I know it wouldn't fly today, but it's so weird I can't help loving it.

- I love that the comic book version of the Road Runner used to talk in rhyme. Not sure why.

Anyway, those are some of mine. What bits of past canon that have been lost do you have a fondness for.