DC Chronology Section 3

III. T h e Q u i e t Y e a r s

Section Introduction | 1950s | 1960s | 1970s | 1980s

	History	Notes and References
	1952
	[Jan 2] The second Starman goes missing in action after a year and a day (as David Knight returns to his fate in the future). In his wake, Ted Knight resumes crimefighting with renewed commitment.	Starman v2 #2 <12.94> [establishes duration], Starman Secret Files #1 <4.98> [misprinted as “1951”], Starman v2 #79 <7.01>. (Ted meets his future wife, Adele Doris Drew, on the evening David disappears.) Opal City clearly doesn’t share the era’s prevailing public mood against super-heroes.
	Ted (Starman) Knight—aided by the visiting Jester (and also, secretly, criminals Jake “Bobo” Benetti and the Shade)—defeats a scheme to kill him by the Gambler, the Icicle, and the Fiddler.	Starman v2 #46 <9.98>. The story once again disagrees with the cover [see 1943], which would place this in “1954.”
	Dinah Drake (the former Black Canary) marries her partner-in-detection Larry Lance.	Secret Origins #50 <8.90>. Date approximate; could easily be 1951 or ’53?
	Al Pratt (the former Atom) marries Mary James.	Secret Origins #25 <4.88>. Date approximate, as above.
	Thomas Wayne (son of Patrick; see 1929) does aid work in the Caribbean between college and medical school, and narrowly escapes a communist uprising.	Batman Secret Files #1 <10.97> [text pages]. The reference to Cuban influence is likely an anachronism, but the region was politically turbulent all through this period regardless.
	Martha Kane, crusading young Gotham debuttante, briefly dates one Denholm Sinclair, who has ties to ganglord Cesare Rosetti’s mob (of the city’s notorious “six families”). Sinclair moves on to an affair with the less-affluent but more devious Celia Kazantkakis (see 1983/Year1, 2002/Yr20).	Batman: Family #1 <12.02> [this must necessarily fall 50 years earlier, not 40 as stated, to correspond with events below, but that doesn’t otherwise impact the story]. Rosetti was apparently taking opportunistic advantage of a period when “war broke out” [B:Family #4 <1.03>] between the otherwise more familiar “five families” [cf. 1949, 1960].
	Time-traveler Walker Gabriel competes with wealthy medical student Thomas Wayne for the affections of his girlfriend Martha Kane.	Chronos #1 <3.98> [text page; gives date], DC Heroes SF #1 <2.99>. This is compatible both with the Wayne family history in Batman SF #1, and with this timeline.
	1953
	Vartan Kevork, aka “the Shadower,” kills Dr. Charles (Mid-Nite) McNider’s girfriend Myra Mason. He is not brought to justice for over a decade.	JSA #40 <11.02>; date given in story.
	[Aug] Tiger (see 1945), now a young adult, leaves his mentor Rip (Judomaster) Jagger on a journey through India. Jagger retires to the lost city of Nanda Parbat.	L.A.W. #4 <12.99>
	[Aug] The Unknown Soldier helps the Shah’s forces put down a popular uprising in Iran.	Unknown Soldier v3 #2 <5.97>. Date from historical record.
	The Newsboy Army (see 1951) fragments amidst interpersonal scandal.	SS: Guardian #4 <11.05>, which notes they were active for “a couple of years.”
	[Oct 30] The Spectre condemns the soul of black magician Roger Romaine, aka the Spirit King. (See 1991/Yr9).	JSA #60 <6.04> [postdating Swamp Thing v2 #147 <10.94>, which showed the Spectre active in 1951, previously his latest known Golden Age appearance]. Such flashbacks have repeatedly shortened the duration of Spectre’s imprisonment, below.
	The Spectre becomes trapped in the resurrected body of Jim Corrigan. The ageless Corrigan becomes a detective captain on the Gateway City police force. (See 1965 next.)	Spectre v3 #26 <2.95>; (orig. ShC #60 <1-2.66>, which set this c. 1945, but see above). (Corrigan was physically resurrected in More Fun #90 <5.43>.)
	1954
	Costumed heroes begin to appear overseas. Percy Sheldrake, the Earl of Wordenshire and formerly Squire to the Shining Knight (see 1940), becomes the Knight, with his son Cyril as the new Squire¹. The Wingman protects Sweden²; the Gaucho is based in Argentina³; the Ranger roves through Australia⁴; the Legionary patrols Italy⁵; and France has the Musketeer⁶.	Infinity, Inc. #34 <1.87>. Respective origins/1st apps: ¹(Batman #62 <12-1.51>); ²(Batman #65 <6-7.51>); ^3-6(Detective #215 <1.55>).
	Sally Smart (see 1946) is orphaned—and institutionalized, due to her seeming youth.	SS: Bulleteer #4 <5.06>. Date approximate. She is said to be 24 at the time.
	The Ray’s 8-year-old son Joshua Terrill accidentally kills his mother with out-of-control powers; he is placed in suspended animation by his father, who then retires from costumed heroics.	The Ray #18? <11.95>
	1955
	The wizard Shazam imprisons the Seven Deadly Enemies of Man, but soon after is reduced to an amnesiac state; Ibis the Invincible places a barrier of “temporal relevant suspension” over Fawcett City and retires into a hypnotic sleep.	Power of Shazam #12 <2.96>, described as “15 years” after 1940. The field helps keep Fawcett curiously isolated from the rest of American culture for nearly 40 years, although life does go on.
	Government scientist Dr. Christopher Camel destroys all project records of “Heroville,” a town filled with bioengineered metahumans, hiding it from detection inside a tesseract in Columbus, Ohio.	Adventures of Superman #614 <5.03>
	[Apr 24] J’onn J’onzz of Mars (see 1710) is accidentally teleported across time and space to Earth by Dr. Saul Erdel, who apparently dies when his equipment explodes. Disoriented, the Martian Manhunter begins invisibly following in the footsteps of Denver police detective John Jones, from whom he learns telepathically about humanity.	ZH* [“35 Years Ago”]; Martian Manhunter v1 mini-series #1-4 <5-8.88>, Martian Manhunter #0 <10.98>, etc.; (1st app. ’Tec #225 <11.55>; month/day from 1976 Super DC Calendar). Various retellings differ, but the latest seems the most authoritative—although it misnames Dr. Erdel as “James.” Other accounts that have Erdel surviving, and implanting J’onn with false memories, are apparently superseded, as is SO #35 <Hol.88>, in which J’onn “invented” Jones. Post-Crisis, this was set in 1955 until ZH’s change—which seems arbitrary and unnecessary, as J’onn would still predate the rest of the Silver Age. At any rate, ZH’s dating is impracticable, as it cannot accommodate other necessary events [see 1958, ’59]. This could theoretically be as late as 1957, but there seems no compelling reason not to stick with the date of publication, often heralded as the true beginning of the Silver Age.
	1956
	When Det. John Jones is killed in the midst of a case, the shape-changing J’onn J’onzz assumes his identity to finish the job and see justice done.	MM #0, which states that J’onn covertly tailed Jones “for the next year” after his arrival.
	Sally Smart, aka Sally Sonic, is corrupted by ex-con British “hero” Vitaman.	SS: Bulleteer #4. Date approximate.
	Dr. Thomas Wayne returns to the Caribbean (see 1952) for hurricane relief on the island of Santa Prisca.	Batman: Gotham Knights #34 <12.02>, stating this occurred whilst Martha was pregnant. A criminal haven, Santa Prisca is the birthplace of Bane [see 1997/Yr15].
	1957
	[Feb 19] Bruce Wayne is born to Thomas and Martha Wayne.	Innumerable sources, but no direct retelling. 26 years before his debut as Batman; see 1983/Yr1. The February birthday is a matter of long-standing tradition (1976 DC Cal., Batman Family #11 <5-6.77>, etc.) that has been neither confirmed nor superseded post-Crisis.
	[Mar 25] The U.N. creates the Dome, an international headquarters through which Dr. Mist coordinates the new Global Guardians. (See 1954.)	IInc. #34. The date is clearly intended to coincide with the Treaty of Rome, which established the European Economic Community (aka Common Market, initially including Belgium, France, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, and West Germany).
	Max Mercury reappears (see 1948), and begins operating as Blue Streak.	Flash SF #1 <11.97>
	Calvin “Cave” Carson steals plans for the “Mighty Mole” digging machine from a defunct research project, and begins gathering a team of colleagues to aid in subterranean explorations.	ZH; SO #43 <8.89>—although ZH placed him just “15 years ago.” (1st app. Brave & Bold* v1 #31 <8-9.60>.)
	[Oct 4] The Soviets launch Sputnik, Earth’s first man-made satellite, and thus begin the “space race.”	Historical record; included for context.
	1958
	The original Challengers of the Unknown are active—Rocky Davis, Prof Haley, Ace Morgan, and Red Ryan, adventurers “living on borrowed time”—chasing criminal Darius Tiko through the timestream.	ZH; SO #12 <3.87>, Adventures of Superman* #508 <1.94>—although ZH placed them a mere “13 years ago”! (Their origin/1st app., in Showcase #6 <1-2.57>, was actually in 1956, but that can’t be confirmed as canonical. Tiko 1st app. Challengers v1 #4 <10-11.58>.)
	A crime wave strikes Opal City, deterring Ted Knight’s plans to retire his Starman identity.	Starman SF #1 [“Shade’s Journal”]; date in story.
	[Jun] Explorer Congo Bill becomes Congorilla.	SO #40 <5.89>; (orig. Action #248 <1.59>).
	[Dec] Kal-El’s rocket (see 1938) lands on Earth, near Smallville, Kansas, where he is discovered by Jonathan and Martha Kent. (J’onn J’onzz, having detected the rocket, is a secret witness to the infant’s adoption.)	ZH* [“33 Years Ago”]; Man of Steel mini-series #1 <6.86>, among countless other retellings; re: JJ, MM #20 <7.00>. The month is derived from Superman: Man of Steel Annual #4 <1995> [see 1983/Yr1], in which Clark, during his first full year in costume, looks for information about his rocket in “newspaper records from December, twenty-five years ago.” (After years of “sliding forward,” this has finally moved far enough so that John Byrne’s “Sputnik” reference in Pa Kent’s dialogue is no longer apocryphal!)
	A record-breaking five-month blizzard promptly descends on the Midwest (secretly caused by a Manhunter plot), allowing the Kents to pass the infant off as their own. They name him Clark.	Adv. Supes #436 <1.88>. “Ma Kent’s Scrapbook” in Action #655 <7.90> established the following Feb. 28th as Clark Kent’s “official” post-Crisis birthday (as earlier established in the 1976 DC Calendar and elsewhere). However, the personal history of Kenny (Conduit) Braverman—born on the night the rocket landed, as related in S:MOS #0 <10.94>, etc.—unfortunately supersedes the traditional February birthday, replacing it with the actual landing date in post-ZH canon.
	1959
	Zinda Blake, aka Lady Blackhawk (see 1943), repeatedly risks herself to save first Olaf, then the entire squadron, from the villainous Scavenger.	Implicitly canonical as of her apperances in GG:Warrior #24 <9.94>, #29 <3.95> et seq.; (orig. Blackhawk v1 #133 <2.59>, #140 <9.59>). Note, however, that this can no longer be her “first appearance”; Birds of Prey #75 <12.04> establishes that Zinda was active during WWII, and that a Zero Hour time anomaly bumped her to the present from some unspecified point in the past. (Her last pre-Crisis appearance was in Blackhawk v1 #243 <10-11.68>.) While the status and activities of the Blackhawks in this period remain officially unchronicled, the implied possibility is that they may bear noteworthy similarities to the pre-Crisis accounts.
	Mark Merlin begins a career as an occult detective (see 1984/Yr2).	History of the DCU; (1st app. House of Secrets v1 #23 <8.59>). Date approximate, based on original publication.
	Contacted by Dr. Charles McNider (aka Dr. Mid-Nite), J’onn J’onzz helps root out a nefarious conspiracy (orchestrated by the long-lost Master Gardener of Mars) to render the human population submissive.	Martian Manhunter: American Secrets mini-series #1-3 <10-12.92>. The date is in the story, which is intricately immersed in the cultural issues of the 1950s, and cannot plausibly slide forward.
	“Frank Rock” and Bulldozer (see 1945) go on a covert op to Dinosaur Island (see 1927), visiting the Jurassic with Rip Hunter.	Suicide Squad #10 <8.02>. Possibly apocryphal; even aside from the issue of Rock’s postwar non-survival, the Hunter seen here seems superficially more like his pre-Crisis incarnation than the current canonical version. If this tale is valid, it accounts for “Rock’s” slowed aging; also, Hunter would certainly be from the future, persumably between his rescue from the Stone Age [see 48,000 BCE] and his initiation as a Linear Man [DCU 80-Pg Giant #1 <9.98>].

	1960	Back to top
	Tomaso Panessa arrives in Gotham from Sicily, disrupting the balance of power among Gotham’s “Five Families” of organized crime.	Batman/Huntress: Cry for Blood #1 <6.00>. Date inexact, but stated to be “more than a decade” since the previous reference [see 1949].
	Cave Carson and his team (see 1957) discover a cache of Nazi gold, and become famous as independently wealthy adventurers.	SO #43 <8.89>—the date is a speculative interpretation of the story’s loose timeframe, to dovetail with Cave’s first published appearance (1960).
	1961
	[Winter] The Challengers of the Unknown travel into space, saving humanity from an alien race seeking to judge its worth.	Challengers #16 <5.98>. Dated per the fact that President Kennedy is already in office, but America’s first offical manned space shot (Alan Shepard, in Mercury III, on May 5) is still “months” away.
	Rick Flag, Sr., dies fighting the War Wheel, and Task Force X (see 1951) officially disbands. Argent continues to operate.	SO #14 <5.87>; date in story.
	Congress passes the Keene Act, officially allowing super-heroes to operate with concealed identities again. Several members of the JSA partially emerge from retirement.	SO #14
	[Autumn] At age four, Bruce Wayne first encounters the frightening bat-filled caves under his family estate.	Legends of the Dark Knight #1 <11.89> and Batman #0 <10.94>, among other sources. Season from the story “The Man Who Falls,” in the Secret Origins TPB <89>.
	Kid Eternity (see 1942) is trapped in Hell for the next 30 years.	Kid Eternity v2 mini-series #1-3 <6-8.91>, v3 #1 <5.93> et seq., Who’s Who in the DC Universe v2 <8.90-2.92>.
	1962
	Spy Smasher and C.C. Batson battle Baron Blitzkrieg (see 1942), now working as a Communist agent.	PoS #24 <3.97>; exact date uncertain.
	1963
	Max Mercury and Johnny Quick battle the power-hungry speedster Savitar, who taps into the Speed Force, bouncing himself and Max forward in time.	Flash #109 <1.96>, Flash SF #1; date from the latter.
	On a case in Alabama, J’onn J’onzz participates in a civil rights march under the identity of “Bill Smith.”	JL Quarterly #11 <Sum.93>
	[Nov] Following the Kennedy assassination, Argent goes underground. Andre of the Blackhawks dies as a result of discovering the assassination conspiracy; Blackhawk spends the next five years tracking down the responsible parties to avenge him.	SO #14; Blackhawk Special #1 <92>.
	1964
	A killer vigilante called the Reaper terrorizes Gotham City, injuring the golden age Green Lantern before mysteriously disappearing.	SO #50 <8.90>. Also note Dinah Lance’s birth around this time, and the fact that Jay and Joan Garrick appear in the story. Set 20 years before the Reaper’s return and the events of Batman: Year Two [’Tec #575-578 <6-9.87>; see 1984/Yr2]… although those events may not remain entirely canonical.
	The suborbital LexWing jet invented by Lex Luthor rockets the young entrepreneur to prominence, and he founds LexCorp.	Lex Luthor: The Unauthorized Biography <89>, Superman Villains SF #1 <6.98> [“34 Years Ago”]. Lex was about 21 at this time, as best as can be determined.
	Sandra (Phantom Lady) Knight and Arn Munro (see 1942) work side-by-side for Argent, and soon fall in love. They marry in Monaco and conceive a child… but Sandra disappears, kidnapped by Baron Blitzkrieg, who steals her infant before she escapes.	Damage #6, 8, 11 <9.94, 12.94, 3.95>. Exact dates uncertain (?). Sandra remains undercover for over 30 years, while Arn believes her dead; her appearance in JLA:Year One #12 <12.98> is thus apocryphal. The fate of the baby remains unchronicled.
	In the absence of major superhuman activity, a new breed of young East Coast baby-boomers tries to fill the gap, and begins “fighting crime” in lighthearted imitation of the heroes and villains of the previous generation. The foremost among several teams is the Gotham-based Justice Experience, founded by the Acro-Bat. They remain active until the early 1970s (see 1966, ’71, ’73). Another little-known hero group of the period is Boston’s Echoes of Justice, led by the mysterious White Magician.	Chase #6 <7.98>; the Acro-Bat was the father of series protagonist Cameron Chase. His teammates included the Bronze Wraith [see below], Major Flashback, the Manx, Mister Action, and Songbird. Little else is known about these characters; the date is not certain, but it is constrained by later events [see 1966, 1971]. Re: Echoes of Justice, see Wonder Woman #66 <9.92>. [It’s also conceivable that the Freedom Brigade (including Princess Power, mother of Dumb Bunny of the Inferior Five) was of this generation of heroes—if that group is in continuity at all. See Angel & the Ape v2 #1-4 <3-6.91>; (orig. ShC #62 <5-6.66>).]
	J’onn J’onzz secretly fights alongside the Justice Experience as the apparently-human Bronze Wraith.	MM #17 <4.00>, #20 <7.00>.
	[Autumn] Clark Kent begins kindergarten at Eisenhower Elementary in Smallville, where he meets lifelong friends Lana Lang and Pete Ross.	Action #655. He is five years old.
	1965
	Dr. Fate, Hourman and Green Lantern battle Solomon Grundy. Soon after, Fate and Hourman confront Psycho-Pirate II (Roger Hayden), and Rex reveals his secret identity to his fiancée, actress Wendi Harris.	1st story IInc. #39 <6.87>, Starman v2 #49 <1.99>, both recapping Grundy’s history (orig. ShC #55 <3-4.65>); 2nd story IInc. #27 <6.86> (orig. ShC #56 <5-6.65>), essential to the life history of Rick (Hourman II) Tyler, Rex and Wendi’s son. Note that as with many other ’60s-era JSA-related events, DC has retroactively set these in real time… and that the second Pirate’s debut therefore apparently falls well before other Silver Age villains.
	[Win] On a visit to Metropolis, Bruce Wayne and his friend Tommy Elliot are entranced by a glimpse of Green Lantern battling the Icicle.	Batman #611 <3.03>; date unspecified but a logical fit; season depicted in the flashback. Bruce recalls his parents were killed “soon after” this. Note also that LexCorp Tower is under construction in the background.
	[Spring] Starman and Black Canary team up against the Mist, then Sportsmaster and the Huntress, and have a brief love affair which they mutually decide to end. Just after this, Ted (Starman) Knight learns his wife is pregnant; their first son, David, is born in due course.	Starman Annual #2 <97>; (reflecting B&B #61-62 <8-9 & 10-11.65). David would have been born late in ’65, which dovetails with the timeline in Starman SF #1, establishing him as four years older than Jack (“34 YA” vs. “30 YA”)— albeit not with the reference in Starman v2 #3 <1.95>, stating he was only 29 at his death (while his brother Jack was 27). Also, this story confirms that Dinah Jr. had already been born, a year earlier [see 1964, 1984/Yr2], contrary to Wes Dodds’ recollection in Starman v2 #19 <5.96>.
	Clark Kent surprises his adopted parents by lifting an ox.	Adv. Supes #468 <7.90>; at age six. His strength increases gradually as he grows to adulthood.
	The Spectre is freed from years of mystic entrapment (see 1953), and battles his nemesis Azmodus.	Spectre v3 #2-3 <12.92-1.93>, #26 <2.95>; (orig. ShC #60-61 <1-2 & 3-4.66>).
	Reporters Perry White and Franklin Stern solve the Aryan Brotherhood murders in the American South.	S:MOS #47 <8.95>. Exact year is not certain. Note that Perry is age-contemporary with Lex Luthor, though.
	[Autumn] Bruce Wayne’s parents are killed. He is comforted afterward by Dr. Leslie Thompkins, a friend of the Waynes, who helps Alfred with his upbringing in the years to come.	ZH* [“25 Years Ago”]; numerous other accounts (orig. ’Tec #33 <11.39>). Past accounts of his age at this pivotal moment have differed, but Batman #0 establishes canonically that Bruce was eight years old at the time. Season from Death & The Maidens #1 <10.03>, although earlier accounts again suggest other dates (e.g., Jun 26: Batman Special #1 <84>, Batman #408 <6.87>; Jun 8: 1976 DC Cal.; Nov 25: ’Tec #265 <3.59>, Superboy #182 <2.72>, ’Tec #500 <3.81>). The shooting is said to have occurred at 10:47 p.m. (source??). There are widely varying accounts of earlier events on this day, before the Waynes went to see “Mark of Zorro”; it is probably impossible to reliably determine a single “true” version. Re: Leslie: Batman #0, Shadow of the Bat #0 <10.94>, No Man’s Land SF #0 <12.99>, Gotham Knights #7 <9.00>; (1st app. ’Tec #457 <3.76>).
	Lois Lane visits the Daily Planet on a kindergarten field trip, and is inspired by reporter Perry White.	World of Metropolis mini-series #1-2 <8-9.88>, Superman SF #2 <5.99> (the SF timeline compresses her adult career, but is reliable about her early life). Lois is five here.
	1966
	[Summer] J’onn J’onzz revisits Kansas (see 1958) as black farmhand “Josh Johnstone,” hiring on with the Kents to keep tabs on young Clark.	MM #20, stated to be “eight years” after his first visit. Note that he had already been active with the Justice Experience prior to this point.
	1967
	[Summer] Clark Kent discovers he is invulnerable when he’s trampled by a bull and survives unharmed.	MoS #1; at age eight. His other powers develop concurrently but gradually.
	Captain Comet (see 1951) leaves Earth behind to explore the far reaches of space.	ZH [“30 Years Ago”].
	1968
	Mockingbird (aka August Durant) forms the original Secret Six.	Action Comics Weekly #601-641 <1988>; (Secret Six #1 <4-5.68>).
	[May] Court-martialed Air Force Captain Nathaniel Adam disappears in a classified nuclear experiment (“Project Atom”) using salvaged alien technology, and becomes lost in the Quantum Field. (See 1993/Yr11, 1998/Yr16.)	ZH; Captain Atom* #1 <3.87> [month from story reference to “six or seven weeks” since the Apr 4 King assassination]. “25 Years Ago” in ZH, which advanced it to 1969 even at ZH’s publication, another arbitrary and unnecessary change—but “30 YA” in DCHSF #1 [set in 1999/Yr17]. In either case, letting this slide along into the 1970s would badly distort many themes of the Captain Atom series; it’s best left here.
	[Summer] John Constantine (age 15), alienated from his family in Liverpool, lives as a runaway in London, and encounters Roderick Burgess (see 1916).	(Sandman Presents) Love Street #1-3 <7-9.99>, Hellblazer SF #1 <8.00>. The authorities return Constantine to his family shortly thereafter. Note that this story remains set in real time (as do most events from Vertigo-related series, to the greatest extent possible); see 1982 for further discussion.
	1969
	Convicted killer Clifford Zmeck is subjected to an experiment duplicating Nathaniel Adam’s (see 1968). He will later (c. 1994/Yr12) be known as Major Force.	CAtom Annual #1 <3.88>
	“Sarge” Steel serves with distinction in the U.S. Special Forces.	DCHSF #1 [“30 YA,” but it really ought to stay in the ’60s]; (orig. 1st app. Sarge Steel #1 <12.64>).
	Ted (Wildcat) Grant retires from boxing as the undefeated world heavyweight champion.	DCHSF #1 [“30 YA”]. However, Ted Grant’s boxing career must have been somewhat sporadic, for obvious reasons—and especially based on remarks Ted himself makes in All-Star Comics 80-Pg Giant #1 <9.99>. He says (accurately for the real world) that Rocky Marciano was “the only undefeated heavyweight champ”; Marciano held the title from 1952 through ’56 in the real world, and never lost a professional fight. (Presumably the fact that Ted ultimately retired without being defeated doesn’t necessarily mean he’d never been defeated previously in his career.) He also recalls seeing “Sonny Liston in ’62,” when Liston took the title from Floyd Patterson, implying Ted wasn’t boxing then himself. Ted first became champion in 1941, presumably the DCU’s successor (and rough equivalent) to Joe Louis. (Louis was champion ’37-’49 in our world, but defended his title successfully 18 times through 1941 alone, and it takes nothing away from him to suppose he then lost to Ted.) We may further speculate that Ted retired c. 1953 after his loss to Mo Colley [SS: Guardian #4 <11.05>] (whose tragic death then cleared the way for Marciano); returned to boxing in ’56 to reclaim the title after Marciano retired, left again (possibly lost to Patterson?) c. ’60, and returned to win it again in ’67 after Muhammad Ali had his title stripped for draft resistance. (Ted would’ve been 48 years old then, but George Foreman won title fights as late as age 47 in 1995, and Foreman didn’t have reduced aging.) He then retired for good in ’69, allowing Joe Frazier to become champ in ’70.
	[Jun 16] Air Force Lt. Colonel Travis Morgan is shot down by Soviet planes over the Arctic Circle, and discovers the lost world of Skartaris.	SO #16 <7.87>; (orig. First Issue Special #8 <11.75>, Warlord #6 <4-5.77>). The Warlord series always acknowledged its roots in real time, but on the other hand made clear that time flows differently in Skartaris. (On an interesting side note, this date is my birthday!)
	[Jul 20] Apollo 11 lands on the Moon.	Historical record; included for context. Even in the DCU, this is recognized as the first non-metahuman voyage off Earth.
	John Constantine once again runs away to London, narrowly escaping molestation by a priest he hitchhikes with. He begins to study the occult in earnest.	Hellblazer Special #1 <93>, Hellblazer SF #1.
	[Aug 15-17] Rá’s al Ghúl meets and woos Talia’s mother-to-be, Melisande, at the Woodstock Music Festival in upstate New York.	Batman: Birth of the Demon GN <92>. Unlikely as this sounds, it’s presented to Batman as fact by Talia herself. Note, however, that in the same discussion Talia apparently dissembles about the circumstances of her mother’s death [see 1992/Yr10 for discussion]; Melisande actually dies at the hands of Qayin [see 1945], sometime c. the mid-’70s, based on Talia’s status as a “young girl.”
	[Sep 21] Rex (Hourman) Tyler visits Kent (Dr. Fate) Nelson for help with a mid-life crisis—actually the result of sporadic nabbings to the year 85,273.	Hourman #24 <3.01>; story gives precise date. Note that Rick Tyler is shown as an infant.

	1970	Back to top
	The Unknown Soldier serves undercover in Cambodia and Vietnam.	Unknown Soldier v2 #1 <Win.88>, v3 #2.
	Franco Bertinelli, son of Gotham’s top crime boss, falls in love with Maria Panessa, daughter of a rival family.	Batman/Huntress: Cry for Blood #1. Date inexact, but it follows a feud of “ten years” since the previous reference [see 1960]. The young lovers soon marry [see 1983/Yr1].
	1971
	Bruce Wayne departs America to study overseas.	SO TPB, Shadow of the Bat #0 <10.94> [both confirming his age as 14]. He has already learned acting skills from Alfred; on his own he earns a high school diploma by age 17, and then seeks more specialized tutoring. [References through the next several years represent my best effort to sensibly organize the diverse range of training Bruce is said to have acquired, little of which has been told in sequence; the SO TPB provides the best framework. See 1974 next.]
	Inventor Larry Trapp’s girlfriend dies fleeing a battle between the Justice Experience (see 1964) and “the House of Pain.” He sets out to avenge her. As “Doctor Trap,” he methodically kills first Acro-Bat, then the rest of the Justice Experience and many other young heroes, over the next two years (see 1973).	Chase #6; date from the story. (Also note that Cameron Chase is five at this time, and that the JE was active before her birth.) Trapp begins by mentalling disabling the JE’s strongest member, the Bronze Wraith—secretly J’onn J’onzz—leaving him amnesiac and homeless [MM #20; the story mis-names the villain “Trapps”].
	1972
	Princess Diana is brought to life on Themyscira.	ZH [“25 Years Ago”]—vs. the timeline found in Wonder Woman SF #1 <3.98>, which would place her birth only 24 years before ZH. This correctly makes her 21 at her debut [see 1993/Yr11], just as was indicated in unedited previews of WW #1 <2.87>, not 20—nor 22, as per WW #103 <11.95>.
	Rick Flag, Jr., is recruited for the newly-formed (and ill-fated) covert force called Mission X.	SO #14. Rick is the son of the original Rick Flag of the Suicide Squad [see 1942, ’51, ’61].
	The Ingersoll Amendment to the Keene Act (see 1961) is passed into law, delineating governmental authority over superhuman activity in times of crisis.	SO #14. The Legends mini-series <11.86-4.87> is the only time this law is known to have been put into practice [see 1993/Yr11].
	[Oct-Nov] Botany student Alec Holland meets and falls in love with Linda Olsen Ridge at Louisiana State University.	Swamp Thing v4 #15-19 <7-10.05>. Explicitly set around the 1972 presidential election. However, the remark in #19 placing their deaths “less than a year” after this is wrong; STSF #1 <11.00> places ten years between the two events, and so does this Chronology. [See 1982]. Besides, since ST v2 #147 <10.94> places Holland’s birth in 1951, 1973 would be implausibly early for him to be conducting advanced government research.
	1973
	After a grisly two-year killing spree, “Doctor Trap” (see 1971) is finally apprehended by a group of JSAers—but the lighthearted “second age of heroes” has been forcefully ended.	Chase #6. Starman, Green Lantern, Dr. Mid-Nite, and the Flash emerged from semi-retirement to track him down, according to the depiction in this issue. (Also note Cameron Chase’s remark that “super-heroes didn’t make a comeback for another ten years.”) They are assisted by “the Bronze Wraith,” his memory restored [MM #20].
	The Fiddler, the Thinker, and the Shade trap Keystone City and its residents in hypnotic stasis, invisible to and forgotten by the outside world. (See 1985/Yr3.)	SO #50, Flash SF #1. The date is not completely certain; yet the “1956” from the otherwise quite useful Flash SF timeline—while emotionally resonant—defies plausibility (three decades under the villains’ control?), and contradicts both other known appearances of Jay Garrick [see 1964 and above], as well as the fact that Dinah Lance Jr. (born 1964) had known Jay personally, as she recalled to Barry Allen in JLA:Y1 #3 <3.98> (written, like Flash SF, by Mark Waid!). Keystone’s captivity can therefore fall no earlier than this.
	Rose Canton (aka the Thorn; see 1947), suppressing her villainous alter ego, adopts the identity of “Alyx Florin.” She falls in love with Alan (GL) Scott and they marry, but on their wedding night her dark side re-emerges. Alan thinks her dead in a fire she started, and is unaware that she fled, pregnant with twins.	IInc. #33 <12.86> (referencing orig. IInc. #5-6 <8-9.84> & Annual #1 <85>); the twins, adopted separately, will be Jennie-Lynn Hayden (Jade) and Todd Rice (Obsidian). Alan Scott re-encounters Molly Mayne [see 1949] a few years after this, and marries her in 1993/Yr11. Date determined based on the twins’ ages.
	Oliver Queen, a graduate student at Star City University, begins participating in various civil rights demonstrations.	Green Arrow: The Wonder Year #2 <3.93>. Date inexact, but this is the earliest it can plausibly fall, given his age as established [see 1994/Yr12].
	[Late Autumn] High-school freshman Clark Kent meets the iconoclastic Lex Luthor, a “fellow student” newly arrived in Smallville.	Superman/Batman SF <11.03>, Birthright #7-8 <4-5.04>. Snow is seen, but football season is not yet over. Canonicity is provisional only; this could be an aberrant hypertimeline, and at the very least many details cannot be taken at face value. If this is valid, Lex cannot be only 18, as stated; he must actually be roughly 30. We may speculatively rationalize these events by supposing that a restless Lex, still young-looking and hirsute, already rich but not yet famous outside Metropolis, took a sabbatical in Kansas by hiring a fake father (as shown) and masquerading as a younger man—seeking to pursue controversial research in secret and, perhaps, also seeking to recapture a youth he never really had.
	1974
	Bruce Wayne spends a few months studying under the martial arts master Chu Chin Li in China.	’Tec #599 <4.89>
	Lex Luthor is injured in the explosion of his prototype subspace viewer, and leaves Smallville behind in anger and frustration.	Birthright #8. Canonicity is provisional only; this could be an aberrant hypertimeline, and at the very least many details cannot be taken at face value.
	Fifteen-year-old Clark Kent is kidnapped into the future by minions of Apokolips (see 3001 in Hypertimeline L2), but returns with no memory of the events.	Legion v5 #26-30 <1-4.04>. Date approximate, based on his age. The story incorrectly suggests he knows of his Kryptonian background; he may have learned these details only in the 31st Century.
	[Summer] Bruce Wayne, back in the States, has a brief apprenticeship under detective Harvey Harris, an old acquaintance of Chu Chin Li.	Detective Annual #2 <89>
	Bruce Wayne assists Chicago private investigator Dan Mallory on a kidnapping case.	Bat man Chronicles #6 <Aut.96>. Likeliest placement, but uncertain. Later than Harvey Harris, as mentioned in the story, but Bruce is still young and rash.
	Bruce Wayne leaves the country again to pursue further education and training, and earns a pilot’s license by age 18¹. He spends the next few years in Europe, studying at various prestigious universities, though he never earns a degree². Meanwhile, he seeks private tutoring from the Continent’s greatest experts in such subjects as gymnastics (Peter Allison), toxicology (Aurelius Boch), chemistry (Kingsley), and electronics³. It is likely also during this period that he trains in combat under David Cain—but leaves on discovering that Cain wants him to become a killer⁴.	¹LODK #5 <3.90>; ²S0 TPB, SotB #0; ³Batman #434-435 <6-7.89> [the “X years ago” references therein are spurious, but the overall sequence seems valid]; ⁴’Tec #734 <7.99>, Batman #605 <5.02>. See 1977 next.
	John Henry Irons’ parents die.	Steel Annual #2 <95>. He is 12; see 1980 re: dating his age.
	The Spectre enters a period of renewed focus on human crimes, meting out justice more harshly than ever before… and resulting in Jim Corrigan being killed again (see 1939), and “resurrected” again in turn.	(Adventure Comics v1 #431-440 <1-2.74–7-8.75>.) Corrigan’s relationship to the Spectre was complicated during this period; he believed himself to be alive, yet also thought the Spectre was nothing more than his own ghost.
	1975
	The Icicle and the Mist kill the Golden Age hero the Invisible Hood (see 1941).	Starman v2 #2 <12.94>. Exact date uncertain.
	Slade Wilson first operates as the mercenary Deathstroke, the Terminator, on an unsanctioned mission to rescue his friend Wintergreen.	ZH* [“6 Years Ago,” wildly inaccurate]. This occurs the week after his son Joseph is born (per New Teen Titans v1 #44 <7.84>), and Joe was 18 at his introduction (NTT #42 <5.84>) in 1993/Yr 11. Deathstroke 1st app. (NTT #2 <12.80>) [see 1992/Yr10], but his career always clearly predated that, as confirmed by WWho v2, among other sources. Also see 1980.
	[Apr 29] Olaf of the Blackhawks goes MIA in Saigon, South Vietnam, as the war there staggers to an end.	Blackhawk Special #1. So far as we know, only Blackhawk, Chuck, and Weng Chan out of the original squadron, plus Grover and Paco (and both Lady Blackhawks), remain alive after this point [but see 1984/Yr2]. All save Zinda Blake are presumed dead as of 2004/Yr22, per BoP #75.
	Hal Jordan graduates from college with a B.S. in Aviation Engineering, and enlists in the U.S. Air Force in pursuit of a career as a test pilot.	GL #104 <9.98> [implicit]; (GL v2 #144 <9.81>). This is the latest plausible date that allows for later events [see 1982]. Per USAF regs, commissioning and pilot training require a college degree, and admission to test pilot training (itself a 27-month program) generally requires the rank of Captain, which itself calls for at least four years’ service.
	Lois Lane snags a job at the Daily Planet from editor Perry White (recently returned from Southeast Asia) when she unearths hard-to-get information on business mogul Lex Luthor.	World of Metropolis mini-series #1-3 <8-10.88>, Superman SF #2. Lois is just 15 here. WoM #3 establishes that she’s had the job for five years when Clark Kent first comes to Metropolis [see 1980]. (Note also that Perry’s son Jerry White is born approx. nine months after this, and is at least 16 when he debuts shortly after the Crisis [1993/Yr11]; by the ZH timeline, he could be no older than 12 at that point!)
	[Sep] In Switzerland, the Peacemaker (Christopher Smith) first appears.	Peacemaker mini-series #1-4 <1-4.88>
	[Autumn] J’onn J’onzz returns to Kansas, posing for a year as “Mrs. Klingman,” Clark Kent’s high school civics teacher.	MM #20. This is presumably during Clark’s junior year, as “he knew about most of his powers” by this time, but it explicitly precedes the revelations of his senior year.
	1976
	Mikaal Tomas of Talok III, the blue alien Starman, is left stranded on Earth when he rebels against his race’s invasion force.	Starman v2 #28 <3.97>, #50 <2.99>, Starman SF #1 [“22 Years Ago”]; (1st app. First Issue Special #12 <3.76>).
	[Autumn] During his senior year in high school, Clark Kent learns the full extent of his powers, including flight. After witnessing Clark win a championship football game almost single-handedly, his adoptive father Jonathan reveals the extent of what he and Martha know about Clark’s origins.	ZH* [“15 Years Ago”]; also MoS mini-series #1, among other sources. Moved back cf. ZH to accommodate Superman’s earlier debut date; see 1982/Yr0. Clark doesn’t leave town immediately, however, as implied in MoS #1 and #6; he’s there for the holidays, attending the New Year’s party shown in Adv. Supes #474 <1.91>, and in fact stays to graduate in the spring: Superman For All Seasons #1 <8.98>. This delay also allows his departure [see 1977] to fall five years before his costumed debut, just as indicated in his WWho v2 entry and reaffirmed in ZH (whereas MoS originally set the gap at seven years).
	1977
	The Sea Devilsare active as adventurers (as well as Cave Carson (see 1957) and Sarge Steel(see 1969)).	ZH* [“15 Years Ago”]. Moved back to 20 years pre-ZH so as still to precede Superman’s debut by five years [see 1979 for further details]. Sea Devils origin/1st app: (ShC #27 <7-8.60>).
	[Spring] Clark Kent graduates from high school, tells Lana Lang about his powers, and leaves Smallville to travel the world.	ZH; MoS* mini #1, SFAS #1, etc., again moved back from 15 to 20 years pre-ZH to accommodate his earlier debut; see 1982/Yr0.
	Clark Kent stops briefly in Metropolis, then spends some time in Paris and crosses paths with Lana in Venice—before meeting Daily Planet reporter Ed Wilson, who helps him seek a purpose in life.	Action #800 <4.03>. Clark is familiar with Ed’s reference to a game “last season” in Smallville, placing this during his first few months away.
	J’onn J’onzz battles “far from Earth… against those who would devour her.”	MM #20; details remain unchronicled. Set soon after Clark’s departure.
	Bruce Wayne settles in Washington, D.C., and enters FBI training—but quits after just six weeks, fed up with the paperwork and regulations. He then heads back to the Far East (see below).	SO TPB, SotB #0 (stated to be age 20; somehow he sidesteps the federal age limit of 23, and the required college degree).
	Bruce Wayne begins a year in the Paektu-San mountains of North Korea, studying under Kirigi, trainer for the League of Assassins.	Batman #431 <3.89>, SO TPB. See 1978 next.
	In London, a young John Constantine starts a short-lived punk band called Mucous Membrane.	Hellblazer #11? <11.88>, Hellblazer SF #1.
	While in college, and still working for the Planet, Lois Lane has her first novel published, to critical acclaim.	Superman SF #2 [“13 YA”]; placed here based on her implied age at the time, just 17.
	1978
	The Unknown Soldier finishes a tour of duty in the Shah’s Iran, then resigns from Army Intelligence to become a freelance mercenary.	Unknown Soldier v2 #2 <Hol.88>
	Jim (Guardian) Harper (see 1942) is murdered, but his memories and genetic material are preserved—and eventually restored in a cloned body (see 1987/Yr5, 1994/Yr12).	Superman Annual #2 <88>, Guardians of Metropolis #1 <11.94>, Legends of the DCU #14 <3.99>. The date is approximate (“almost twenty years ago” as of the GoM story, now set in 1997/Yr15).
	Bruce Wayne returns to Europe. He spends some months in France locating, then tracking a terrorist with, Interpol agent Henri Ducard¹. It is in Paris, probably around this time, that he first meets (and saves the life of) businessman Lucius Fox².	¹’Tec #600 <5.89>, SO TPB; ²LODK Halloween Special #3 <95>.
	In London, Bruce Wayne is distracted for several weeks when he finds his own internal anger reflected in the passion of a punk rocker. He leaves in shame, however, when the punk’s rage boils over into the murder of his own girlfriend.	Batman: Fortunate Son GN <99>. The incident is clearly (although loosely) based on Sid Vicious and Nancy Spungen, and it’s interesting but fortuitous that Bruce’s time in Europe corresponds to the real events mirrored here (which actually took place in New York).
	Punk mage John Constantine is hired by an enigmatic young American calling himself “Stanley” (aka “S.W. Manor”) to retrieve the legendary fortune-telling clock of Rasputin, and scams him out of a substantial sum.	Hellblazer #162-163 <7-8.01> [in flashback]. The American is tall, dark, smart, athletic, a non-drinker, an orphan, and very rich… in other words, he’s seemingly Bruce Wayne, in a cleverly ambiguous guest role. What’s more, this story’s real-time setting fortuitously would fit Bruce’s backstory just about perfectly. However, later events [Hellblazer #169-174 <2-8.02>; see 2002/Yr20] reveal that Manor is definitely not Bruce. Whether Bruce ever encountered/investigated this dark parallel of himself is something to ponder, but unlikely ever to see print.
	Bruce Wayne makes his way back to the Far East, learning esoteric arts along the way in India (from Shastri, a snake handler)¹, Thailand, and the Philippines, and studying Taoism under the monk Shao-La².	¹Batman #435; ²LODK #52-53 <10.93>. The sequence becomes more ambiguous at this point, but there’s a lot still left to pack in. See 1980 next.
	John Constantine experiences the harrowing “Newcastle incident,” when a disastrously botched summoning of the demon Nergal leaves a young girl trapped in Hell. Unnerved, Constantine voluntarily commits himself to the Ravenscar mental hospital.	Hellblazer #11 [in flashback]. Date firmly set in real time. John spends more than two years in Ravenscar (with intermittent releases).
	1979
	Dr. Will Magnus creates the Metal Men¹; Rex Mason becomes Metamorpho²; [Aug 10] Boston Brand becomes Deadman³; The Challs remain active (see 1958).	ZH* [“13 Years Ago”]. As with the “Forgotten Heroes” above [Sea Devils et al.; see 1977], these events have been moved back to maintain (insofar as possible) the ZH Timeline’s sequence relative to Superman’s debut. (This set of characters presents a minor dilemma, however, so this placement is definitely a judgement call: one might equally well leave them as dated relative to ZH [i.e., c. 1984/Yr2] with no major continuity problems, or even move them up alongside their contemporaries from when originally published [placing them c. 1985-86/Yr3-4].) Origins/1st apps: ¹(ShC #37 <3-4.62>); ²(B&B #57 <12-1.65>); ³SO #15 <6.87>, (Strange Advs. v1 #205 <10.67>); date, 1976 DC Cal.).
	Sarge Steel is appointed to the U.S. government’s Meta-Human Affairs Committee.	DCHSF #1; notwithstanding that timeline’s “15 YA” label, it lists this as contemporary with Deadman, and five years prior to the JLA’s debut: hence, here. This is apparently the first time the U.S. government took an official bureaucratic interest in the superhuman community.
	Teenage Dinah Lance is trained in fighting technique by Ted (Wildcat) Grant, against the wishes of her mother (the original Black Canary), and manifests her “canary cry” sonic power.	SO #50, Black Canary #1 <1.93>; Dinah is about 15 years old. The young Yolanda Montez (the future Wildcat II, of Infinity, Inc.) also trains under Ted around this time.

	1980	Back to top
	Bruce Wayne studies for several months under the ninja Tsunetomo in Japan.	’Tec #599; date is not at all certain. See 1981 next.
	J’onn J’onzz meets Green Lantern Abin Sur (see 1873, 1882, 1942) when he pursues a killer to Earth.	MM #21 <8.00>. Date inexact, but set “during the time [J’onn] had lost track of the Kryptonian.”
	Joe Wilson (age five; see 1993/Yr11) is muted when his throat is slit by the terrorist “Jackal” before his father, Deathstroke (see 1975) is able to rescue him.	WWho v2 (recapping flashback from NTT #44).
	The young ocean wanderer Arthur Curry Jr. (actually prince Orin of Atlantis, reared in exile by Porm the dolphin and taught human ways by the lighthouse keeper Arthur Curry) meets and loves an Eskimo woman named Kako, but is chased away by her family.	Aquaman SF #1 <12.98>; synthesizing Legend of Aquaman <89>, Atlantis Chronicles #7 <9.90>, Aquaman: Time & Tide #1-3 <12.93-2.94>, Aquaman #0 <10.94>, and Aquaman Annual #1 <95>. He is about 17 at this point. Date is approximate.
	Clark Kent enrolls at the University of Metropolis.	WoM #3 <10.88>. Lois Lane is a major crime reporter for the Planet by the time of this story (see 1975).
	At the University of Michigan, Guy Gardner and John Henry Irons (later to be known respectively as Warrior and Steel; see 1997/Yr15) play together on a championship football team.	Guy Gardner #13-14 <10-11.93>, Sh96 #1 <1.96>, Team Superman SF #1 <5.98> (“12 YA”). Conjecture: Gardner (majoring in education and psychology) is a senior; Irons (majoring in physics and engineering) is a freshman. This placement allows Gardner to graduate, be drafted by the NFL, get injured, and become a social worker in time to meet Hal Jordan in GL: Emerald Dawn II #1-6 <6-11.91> [see 1983/Yr1], while still allowing Irons’ college years to bracket Superman’s debut as indicated in the SF timeline. [Steel Annual #2 <9.95> says he graduated before Superman’s debut, but this keeps him slightly younger.]
	Weng Chan and his fellow surviving Blackhawks (see 1975) start the “Blackhawk Express” air service.	Blackhawk Annual #1 <89>
	The Golden Age villain Rag Doll sets up shop in Opal City as a charismatic cult leader. (See 1985/Yr3.)	Starman SF #1 [“Shade’s Journal”]
	1981
	Bruce Wayne returns to the U.S., seeking additional tutors in a wide range of disciplines. He studies with experts in fields as diverse as car racing (Mark Jenner), explosives (Frederick Stone), archery (Raphael DiGiorda), bodybuilding (LaSalle), and more¹… not to mention acquiring boxing training from Ted Grant².	¹Batman #433-435 [as before, the year references are implausibly “recent,” but the sequence is reliable]; ²JLA #31 <6.99>, All-Star 80-Pg Giant #1 <9.99>. One might add (speculatively) escape artistry from the original Mr. Miracle, Thaddeus Brown. See 1982 next.
	Vandal Savage secretly murders the wife of Al Pratt, steals their genetically-tailored newborn, and arranges for the infant’s carefully supervised upbringing (see 1986/Yr4).	Damage #12 <4.95>. The infant Grant Emerson carries genetic material from 11 JSA members (plus Johnny Quick and Liberty Belle), covertly obtained by Savage. Date based on Grant’s age at costumed debut [see 1997/Yr15].
	In Afghanistan, the Unknown Soldier works in the employ of the CIA, training anti-Soviet rebels.	Unknown Soldier v2 #3 <1.89>
	[Sep 20] Clark Kent first meets mermaid Lori Lemaris; they have a brief and ill-fated romance.	Superman #12 <12.87>; this takes place at the beginning of his second (and final) year in college. (Date: 1976 DC Cal.)
	Bored millionaire Oliver Queen is washed overboard from his yacht in the South Pacific. Finding himself alone on a desert island with killer Nicholas Kotero (see 1988/Yr6), Queen manages to escape to another island. He remains stranded there for months, and teaches himself archery to survive.	ZH* [“11 Years Ago”]; SO #38 <3.89>, GA:TWY #1-4 <2-5.93>, GA Annual #7 <95> [re: Kotero]; (orig. Adventure v1 #256 <1.59>). The same problem presents itself as with several characters above [see 1977, 1979]: there is no clear rationale for ZH’s dates here. The Wonder Year mini-series placed this event in 1972, then 20 years past; ZH moved it up by over a decade, yet still left it prior to Superman’s debut, and left Oliver the same age in the present (“pushing 50,” according to then-writer Kelly Puckett). As above, absent contrary evidence, I have elected to maintain the same basic pre-Superman sequence laid out in the ZH Timeline. However, Ollie’s costumed debut may plausibly still follow Superman’s; see below. (There remains the problem of the encounter in the WY story with Howard Hill, who later left Ollie his bow—as Hill is a real historical figure who died in 1975. Presumably, Ollie must actually have met him at some earlier point in his life.)
	1982	(Or “Year Zero,” if you will.)
	[Winter] Bruce Wayne travels to Alaska and works with detective Willie Doggett. Doggett dies on the case; Bruce’s life is saved by an Eskimo Shaman.	LODK #1-5 <11.89-3.90>, SO TPB. Appearances to the contrary notwithstanding, this is explicitly described as “two years” prior to his first winter as the Batman. Some further specialized training in the U.S. [see 1981] likely takes place in the months subsequent to this.
	John Constantine leaves Ravenscar for the last time.	Hellblazer #129 <9.98>. Date is suspect; may be 1980.
	College student Ted Kord (see 1984/Yr2) studies under archaeology professor Dan Garrett (see 1983/Yr1).	SO #2 <5.86>. Exact date is uncertain, but we know that Ted finished high school c. 1981, as he attends his 15-year high school reunion in 1996/Yr14 [JL Quarterly #7 <Sum.92>]. This corresponds well with his college-student status in JLA: Year One [see 1984/Yr2].
	Niles Caulder creates the Doom Patrol, bringing together the stigmatized “freaks” Cliff (Robotman) Steele, Larry (Negative Man) Trainor, and Rita (Elasti-Girl) Farr.	ZH [“15 Years Ago”]; SO Annual #1 <87>; (1st app. My Greatest Adventure #80 <6.63>). If the DP were kept to the same sequence relative to Superman that the ZH Timeline indicated, as with other early heroes above [see 1977], problems would arise: ZH has the DP created five years before Superman’s debut, and dying a year after that debut—two years before it has the Teen Titans form, thereby totally obliterating Gar Logan’s personal history! There is no logical reason for this drastic distortion, and it is best disregarded. I’ve elected to stick to the actual dates relative to ZH (15 to 9 years prior); it fits better, while still leaving the DP extant at this early point (vs. what original publication might suggest), as required by their presence in JLA:Y1 #5-6 <5-6.98> [see 1984/Yr2]. Note: despite John Byrne’s 2004 “reboot,” the Doom PatrolÕs original history has been confirmed as canonical as of Teen Titans v3 #32 <3.06>: during the events of the Infinite Crisis, the variant is discovered to be a time anomaly, and the team’s history “revert[s] back to normal,” along with everyone’s memories thereof. (Rita and Caulder do remain alive afterward, however.)
	Air Force test pilot Hal Jordan (see 1975) loses an experimental jet while preventing its theft, and is drummed out of the service. He takes a job as a test pilot for Ferris Aircraft.	GL #104. The references to “ten years ago” are clearly inaccurate, but (as vs. references to his costumed debut) they do indicate that Hal joined Ferris fairly shortly before acquiring his Green Lantern identity [see 1983/Yr1]. Note also that Larry Trainor [above] met Hal during his own USAF days, per JLA: Year One #5-6 <5-6.98>.
	Scientist Alec Holland dies in flame in the Louisiana bayou, and is transformed into the Swamp Thing.	ZH [“15 Years Ago”]; (Swamp Thing v1 #1 <10-11.72>). Left at the actual date given relative to ZH, even though his own title later placed this event variously in 1973 [see, e.g., ST v2 #160 <11.95>] and “20 Years Ago” [STSF #1 <11.00>]. Note that while the Vertigo Secret Files timelines adhere closely to real time (an admirable effort, and in keeping with the series they reflect), they also incorporate mainstream DCU events that other SF issues date very differently, and hence cannot be accepted uncritically. I’ve done my level best throughout to reconcile Vertigo-related real time with the compressed time of its DCU roots, sliding selected events forward no more than absolutely necessary. [See, e.g., 1988/Yr6, ’89/Yr7, ’93/Yr11, ’95/Yr13.] This 1982 date is actually not unreasonable, since Holland and his fiancée Linda [see 1972], Prof. Jason (Floronic Man) Woodrue, Pamela (Poison Ivy) Isley [see 1983/Yr1], and Phil Sylvian—not to mention Dr. Jenet Klyburn, Carolyn Woosan (Lady Shiva’s sister), and even Dan (Blue Devil) Cassidy (although he would seem to have been too young)—had all been contemporaries of one another (and implicitly also of Clark Kent!) at U Met [Black Orchid mini-series #1 <Hol.88>, STSF #1].
	Clark Kent graduates from U Met, and spends the summer in Paris.	Adv. Supes #0 <10.94>. Clark has finished his coursework, rather impressively, in only two years [WoM #3].
	[Jul 4] Police scientist Barry Allen has his first date with reporter Iris West.	Life Story of the Flash GN <97>. Set the year before he acquires his powers. He proposes to her in October.
	Buddy Baker becomes Animal Man, gifted with morphogenetic powers under mysterious circumstances with various less-than-consistent explanations.	ZH [“15 Years Ago”]; SO #39 <4.89>, Animal Man #10-12 <4-6.89>; (orig. Strange Advs. v1 #180 <10.65>). As ZH itself openly placed his debut before Superman’s, I could hardly refuse to do so… but (as with the DP) I’ve elected to employ the actual date relative to ZH, rather than to Superman, because it seems to correspond less awkwardly with the roughly real-time history presented in his own title [see 1994/Yr12]—e.g., accommodating the age of his son Cliff. Buddy is only about 19 at this time.
	B’wana Beast debuts, also possessed of animal powers.	Animal Man #1 <9.88>; (1st app. ShC #66 <1-2.67>). Date ambiguous; speculatively synchronized with Animal Man.
	Arthur Curry Jr. (see 1980) happens across Paradise Island in his wanderings, where he meets a young (but mature!) Princess Diana, and offends the god Triton. Not long after, Arthur discovers the underwater city of Poseidonis—where he is imprisoned by the repressive government, until he escapes, triggering a revolt.	Aquaman Annual #1; Legend of Aquaman; Aquaman SF. The apparent span separating these events in Arthur’s life is constrained by Diana’s age in her vignette, which needs to be kept as old as circumstances allow.
	Clark Kent meets young Terri Chung, hereditary Rhana Bhutra of Bhutran, and spends several weeks in her nation, helping her people resist the Chinese.	Superman #118 <12.96> [allusion]; Superman: The Odyssey <7.99>. Date is uncertain, but the reference to “ten years” past (although spurious), the starting point in Paris, and Clark’s increasing openness with his powers, all suggest that this was shortly before his costumed debut. Clark also briefly passes Bruce Wayne in Bhutran during this adventure; Bruce’s presence there is unexplained, but he is described as “a former student” of Terri’s father.
	Clark Kent visits Ghana, West Africa, where he is unable to save the life of a local reform leader, but rediscovers a sense of purpose.	Birthright #1-2 <9-10.03>. Canonicity is provisional only; this could be an aberrant hypertimeline, and at the very least many details cannot be taken at face value. Clark’s references to earning his degree through “visiting student credits” and to being “25… next month” are wrong; the use of e-mail is an anachronism; and the presense of the Kryptonian history tablet is questionable.

Last updated 05/24/2006.

III. T h e Q u i e t Y e a r s

History

Notes and References