CODEX OMNIVERSA

Libby Lawrence, Pt. 2

In September of 1941, Libby Lawrence was in Poland with her father, Major James Lawrence. Major Lawrence was killed during an air raid by Nazi fighter planes. It was about this time she met Rick Cannon, whom she did not know was an Army intelligence officer and spy for the USA.

Cannon helped her escape to Amsterdam where she told them:

What happened in Poland can happen here!

Hawkman

Weapon collector and research scientist Carter Hall received a package from his college mentor, James Rock, who was on a dig in Egypt. Inside was a crystal knife, transparent and glowing:

After a dream in which he relived the fate of Prince Khufu, Carter took a walk to get some fresh air. As he passed a subway station, people were running from it screaming that the rails were turning blue and the train was on fire. Then…

When he shared how he recognized her, she told him she’d had similar dreams, but thought they were nightmares. He temporarily left her to address the subway situation as…

Johnny Thunder, pt. 3

When Johnny Thunder turned seven, he did not inherit his powers because he didn’t know the magic words. However, in 1939 when he was 23-years-old, he was washing windows and called out to a co-worker:

Say you! Sorry I don’t know your name, but I forgot to bring a sponge… got an extra one?

His co-worker’s belt broke and he fell off the window ledge…

Johnny eventually learned how to summon the Thunderbolt with the magic words (Cei-U), but sometimes had trouble controlling it.

Correction: The Whip

The Rodney Graynor originally reported as The Whip in the Old West was actually the second Whip, fighting for the common man in the 1940s. We’ll hear more about him in the future.

Doll Man

Scientist Darrel Dane successfully developed a serum that caused a mouse to shrink while maintaining its strength. Impatient to find other test subjects, he wondered…

If only I could modify this stuff so a human being could drink it –

He could and he did, shrinking to 6” tall. His fiancée, Martha, whipped up an outfit for him to wear, and in his first adventure, he saved her from a murderous blackmailer.

He eventually learned to control the change through will power and began fighting crime as… Doll Man.

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In 1939, Vin Sullivan had acquired a new character created by Bill Finger and Bob Kane. “Batman” first appeared in the May issue of Detective Comics, with a cover date of May 1939, and sale date of April 18.

Batman, as well as his alter ego, Bruce Wayne, was very different from what we’re used to today. In fact, he disposed of the first villain he fought by pushing him into a vat of acid. This vigilante with a ruthless streak even carried a gun.

The only other familiar character to appear in the first story, “The Case of the Criminal Syndicate,” was Commissioner Gordon. Batman’s origin was told in a 2-page story in Detective Comics #33 (Nov. 1939), “The Batman & How He Came to Be.”

Meanwhile, over in Action Comics #18, also in November 1939, Superman first used a new power: x-ray vision, in a 13-page story known as “Superman’s Super-Campaign.”

At the end of the year, All-American Comics, Inc. published Flash Comics #1, which introduced characters we’ve discussed last week and above: The Flash, Hawkman, Johnny Thunder, and The Whip II. This was just the beginning of an explosion of superheroes that would appear in the 1940s and throughout World War II.

And speaking of World War II, on September 1, 1939, a German battleship opened fire on a Polish military base and Nazi Germany invaded the country, marking its beginning.