Characters who had different origins in the Golden Age...

[superduperman]

This is a thread for characters who are the same characters but have completely different origins than their modern day counterparts. Like Green Arrow whose GA origin had nothing to do with an island. Or Aquaman whose father taught him to breathe underwater instead of being born an Atlantean. Keep in mind, characters like Superman and Batman don't count because the basic elements of their history are the same. Superman still came from Krypton in all versions, ditto Batman's parents death. Flash and Green Lantern don't count either because they were completely different characters back then. Hawkman might count in that he was Carter Hall in both incarnations just got there differently. Power Girl could also be considered one in that she came from Krypton originally and then when the universe was rebooted she came from ancient Atlantis.

[the illustrious mr. kenway]

I think Black Canary could control birds instead of just her voice.

what was GA's origin then?

[LifeIsILL]

Yeah Aquaman's Golden Age origin really surprised me.

His dad discovered Atlantis and decided to live down there, and then taught Aquaman to breath underwater.......wtf.

I think they were trying to be different from Namor.

[Jim Kelly]

Power Girl wasn't actually around in the '40s so she doesn't make the grade. Lots of Batman's classic villains--Catwoman, Penguin, Riddler, Two-Face--have had changes to their origin stories. The Joker's origin as the Red Hood seems to have stuck.

Lois Lane's origin story has been fiddled around with. Not that she had an origin story in the '40s, but I think she was supposed to have grown up in Metropolis. And she must have had a married sister (that we never saw) because she had a niece named Susie Thompkins. Her younger sister, Lucy, wasn't added until the '60s. All the stuff with her dad being in the army is a modern alteration.

[bat39]

I think Green Arrow and Aquaman are the only characters who really fit all the criteria laid out by the OP.

That's probably because they're the only Golden Age characters who stayed the same in the Silver Age but had their backstories completely reinvented. The other Golden Age characters either stayed completely the same with cosmetic tweaks (Batman, Superman etc.) or were completely reinvented into new characters from the ground up (Flash, Green Lantern etc.)

[Buried Alien]

During the Golden Age, the butler Alfred Pennyworth did not serve the Waynes from before Bruce's birth, but didn't meet Bruce and join the household until after Batman and Robin had been established in operation for some time.

I think this status quo was maintained until the COIE reboot.

Buried Alien (The Fastest Post Alive!)

[DGraysonWorldsGreatestSpy]

Batman & Robin discover Atlantis too in 1943, however its referred to as the Atlantis Empire, is non-meta human. They also had their own version of the 31st century with no legion of superheroes.

[superduperman]

I think Black Canary could control birds instead of just her voice.

what was GA's origin then?

A bunch of thugs kidnap Oliver Queen and force him to fly to a certain plateau where a treasure is buried. Meanwhile Speedy was already living there when his families plane crashed there and he was raised to survive by an Indian named Quoag. They both escape the thugs with their expertise in archery (which Oliver already had) and decide to become super-heroes when they get back to civilization.

[superduperman]

During the Golden Age, the butler Alfred Pennyworth did not serve the Waynes from before Bruce's birth, but didn't meet Bruce and join the household until after Batman and Robin had been established in operation for some time.

I think this status quo was maintained until the COIE reboot.

Buried Alien (The Fastest Post Alive!)

He was also something of an amateur detective in his early appearances and looked nothing like the thin, proper, British butler he is today.

[superduperman]

Power Girl wasn't actually around in the '40s so she doesn't make the grade. Lots of Batman's classic villains--Catwoman, Penguin, Riddler, Two-Face--have had changes to their origin stories. The Joker's origin as the Red Hood seems to have stuck.

Lois Lane's origin story has been fiddled around with. Not that she had an origin story in the '40s, but I think she was supposed to have grown up in Metropolis. And she must have had a married sister (that we never saw) because she had a niece named Susie Thompkins. Her younger sister, Lucy, wasn't added until the '60s. All the stuff with her dad being in the army is a modern alteration.

I included Power Girl because she fit the mold so well. Maybe limiting it to just the GA was too limiting. Hawkman fits it so well his history is a mess! Joker's has always been kind of up in the air. Two Face even had a different name at first! I forgot that! He was originally Harvey KENT! (Ah, my Earth 2 fandom). IIRC, Lucy WAS her married sister in the issue where Lois and Clark are married. Suzy was the flower girl. Catwoman is actually a great example! Unless the Earth 1 Catwoman also had amnesia. Black Canary is an odd one in that the Earth 1 BC was the first one's daughter. Lex Luthor is another villain with different histories. I suppose if we are expanding beyond the GA, Barry Allen Flash might also qualify. The pre-Crisis version's parents were still alive. The death of his mother played no role in his origin.

[the illustrious mr. kenway]

A bunch of thugs kidnap Oliver Queen and force him to fly to a certain plateau where a treasure is buried. Meanwhile Speedy was already living there when his families plane crashed there and he was raised to survive by an Indian named Quoag. They both escape the thugs with their expertise in archery (which Oliver already had) and decide to become super-heroes when they get back to civilization.

I think Ollie's grandpa or great grandpa was a member of the Arrow clan so maybe they could reuse this origin for his grandpa. Other than that it would be step back for Ollie since his origin right now is pretty good.

[Jim Kelly]

The big difference for me between the Mort Weisinger origin story and the later Jack Kirby origin story is that Green Arrow and Speedy were always a team in the Weisinger origin where Olver becomes Green Arrow on his own in the Kirby story. Roy gets his own origin story in the '50s, where he's a fan of the Green Arrow and he tries out to become GA's partner. So in the 1950s story, Green Arrow and Speedy follow the pattern of Batman and Robin. If Green Arrow was Batman with a Bow, this just made him seem even more derivative. At least the '40s origin story gave a different spin on the crime-fighting team.

[Jody Garland]

I think Black Canary could control birds instead of just her voice.

what was GA's origin then?

Black Canary had that power for her first appearance in Johnny Thunder's strip. IIRC, it never appeared again, even in the Golden Age. Nor did she have the Canary Cry- she didn't get that until the JLA/JSA team-up of 1969, the one where they fought the sentient star Aquarius. That's the one where she moved to Earth-One too. She's got a hell of a confusing history, given that it was at least a decade until they established Black Canary II even existed- up until then, everything with her was assumed to be with the original Bc.

[the illustrious mr. kenway]

The big difference for me between the Mort Weisinger origin story and the later Jack Kirby origin story is that Green Arrow and Speedy were always a team in the Weisinger origin where Olver becomes Green Arrow on his own in the Kirby story. Roy gets his own origin story in the '50s, where he's a fan of the Green Arrow and he tries out to become GA's partner. So in the 1950s story, Green Arrow and Speedy follow the pattern of Batman and Robin. If Green Arrow was Batman with a Bow, this just made him seem even more derivative. At least the '40s origin story gave a different spin on the crime-fighting team.

I think the idea of Roy seeking Green Arrow out could be interesting in its own way without being derivative.

Black Canary had that power for her first appearance in Johnny Thunder's strip. IIRC, it never appeared again, even in the Golden Age. Nor did she have the Canary Cry- she didn't get that until the JLA/JSA team-up of 1969, the one where they fought the sentient star Aquarius. That's the one where she moved to Earth-One too. She's got a hell of a confusing history, given that it was at least a decade until they established Black Canary II even existed- up until then, everything with her was assumed to be with the original Bc.

Oh ok, I was hoping earth 2 could have brought that back and done something with that.

[superduperman]

Black Canary had that power for her first appearance in Johnny Thunder's strip. IIRC, it never appeared again, even in the Golden Age. Nor did she have the Canary Cry- she didn't get that until the JLA/JSA team-up of 1969, the one where they fought the sentient star Aquarius. That's the one where she moved to Earth-One too. She's got a hell of a confusing history, given that it was at least a decade until they established Black Canary II even existed- up until then, everything with her was assumed to be with the original Bc.

Black Canary definitely was one of the characters who benefited from the COIE by having everyone placed on the same Earth. By just having her take up her mother's legacy, it removed a lot of problems.