History of the DC Universe

History of the DC Universe book 1 (1986)
penciller: George Perez
inker: Karl Kesel
colorists: Tom Ziuko; Bill Wray, and Bob LeRose
cover: George Perez

writer: Marv Wolfman

editor: Mike Gold

Order of Appearance: Doll Man, Black Condor, the Human Bomb, the Ray, Uncle Sam, Phantom Lady, and Firebrand

Supporting Character(s): the full roster of the All-Star Squadron and all other major DC Universe characters!

Overall Summary: 
Post-Crisis, Harbinger records the important events of the revised, combined universe for posterity (and for all readers!)

Plot Summary:
Harbinger sits down to record the history of the new, improved (?) combined Earth. She begins with the Dawn of Time and gets through all of the historical events and characters we as readers may know, concentrating on Earth. She mentions such heroic figures as the Viking Prince, the Black Pirate, the Silent Knight, the Green Lantern Corps, and the original Titans. 

Near the end of the first issue Harbinger notes the explosion of the planet Krypton, which occurred prior to the beginning of World War 2. This begins the age of heroes, starting with Zatarra, the Crimson Avenger, and Hop Harrigan. This is followed by the Golden Age Sandman and one of our favorites, Doll Man. 

 

Harbinger then reviews the debut of all of the Justice Society members, as well as others of that era such as Commander Steel and Black Condor. By late 1941 Earth is protected by dozens of "mystery men." 

When America is brought into World War II, Harbinger tells us about the All-Star Squadron, which is formed by US President Franklin Delano Roosevelt in order to ensure that America is not taken over by the Axis Powers. Among this august group were the six members of the Freedom Fighters, plus pseudo-Fighters such as Red Bee, Firebrand, Miss America, and the Invisible Hood (behind the Crimson Avenger). 

An extra-special gift to us Freedom Fighters fans is a pin-up of our group on the last page of volume 1. Beautiful! 

Volume 2 begins with the end of World War 2 and continues through the present into the future ages, including an introduction of the Legion of Super-Heroes. 

Review: 

This is one of the most beautiful reference books you will ever read. The art by George Perez and Karl Kesel is some of the greatest art ever. If you are a fan of DC characters or of Perez, you owe it to yourself you get this book. 

However, when this came out in 1986, I remember a lot of die-hard DC fans were upset. The Multiverse was gone, along with all of the classic Justice Society "Earth 2" adventures. For us, that included the erasure of a world where the Nazis won World War Two, so our Freedom Fighters' origin no longer exists. For many, it's the equivalent of throwing the baby out with the bath-water. Oh, well....

I do like that in lieu of the actual appearance of Superman, the Destruction of Krypton is now the official "start" of the Heroic Age. In Superman's stead we have four of the earliest DC "mystery men" as the initial super-heroes: Zatarra, who actually made his debut alongside Superman in Action Comics #1 (June 1938); Crimson Avenger & Wing first appeared in Detective Comics #20 (Oct 1938), seven issues before Batman made his debut; Hop Harrigan first flew in All-American Comics #1 (April 1939). 

The Sandman first appeared in World's Fair Comics #1 (April 1939). Doll Man first appeared in Feature Comics #27 (December 1939). Clearly DC was presenting their earliest characters as a replacement for Superman and Batman, who no longer exists in this continuity. 

The two-page spread of the All-Star Squadron always makes me sad when I see it, because for some reasons that I will never understand, Roy Thomas and/or DC Comics decided that this huge array of characters was not sufficient to maintain the book All-Star Squadron. That series ended less than a year after this book, after all-new stories stopped in August 1986. As I say, I don't know what happened behind the scenes, but I will never understand how picking up Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman out of the All-Star continuity would have ruined that book, had it gone on. 

Next Week: Who's Who in the DC Universe!   

Black Condor Moment 

Black Condor gets his own panel. 

Maybe because he's a "mutant"?   

Doll Man Moment

Doll Man shares a page with the original Sandman; 

pretty good company if I do say so myself 

Firebrand Moment

Firebrand gets included in the All-Star Squadron mega-group shot. 

You'll find him behind Hawkgirl on the right, 

hanging out with Zatarra. 

Human Bomb, The Ray, and 

Uncle Sam Moment

The Human Bomb, The Ray, and Uncle Sam are included

in the mega-group shot, too. 

Doll Man gets in on the action, too. 

That's him in the lower right-hand corner.   

Phantom Lady Moment 

Phantom Lady hangs out with her girl-friend Danette Reilly

(cut off) in the All-Star Squadron mega-group shot. 

And attention-hog Black Condor is front and center.  

Best Moment

On the very last page of issue #1, without any special text and no fanfare 

we get THIS beautiful group shot. 

Although I would have preferred the "stars" at the top to be blank, 

I'm not complaining. 

Also Available As: 

Besides the original two issue mini-series, this story has been collected in the following: 

History of the DC Universe Hardcover Collection (1987)

History of the DC Universe Trade Paperback (2002)

CRISIS Deluxe Edition (2015)

CRISIS 35th Anniversary Collection (2019)

DC In the 80s The Experiments (2021)

Freedom of Information

• The Freedom Fighters do not appear in the second issue. 
• Black Condor and Uncle Sam appear on the cover of both issues. 
• The cover of issue #2 is almost the same as #1. The background color changes from maroon to blue, and #2 includes Superman and Batman instead of Darkseid and The Demons Three. 

The Freedom Fighters

assembled by Len Wein