Predecessors Iron Man

Gigantor (One of Iron Man's more notable predecessors)

You think Iron Man was really original, don't you? Well, you're wrong. Iron Man had similar predecessor.

The first "Iron Man" was a real person: Lou Gehrig. He worked for the Ironman Batteries and was called Iron Horse, because he never got hurt in a baseball game. Illness made him too weak to play.

The second "Iron Man" was a Japanese cartoon character, who was known as Gigantor. He was originally called "Tetsujin" ("Iron Man"). He kinda looked like the original Iron Man.

Iron Man's next predecessor was Rocketman. He was a serial hero with an atomic-powered jet pack and a helmet that looks likes the original Iron Man's.

Stan Lee created a robot that was kinda a prototype-Iron Man that appeared in I Became A Human Robot!

Before the appearance of Stan Lee's Iron Man, there was a story called Man of Iron, which had the similar "iron lettering" Iron Man's logo.

References:

http://www.dialbforblog.com/archives/422/

http://blogs.lubbockonline.com/hero/files/2007/06/gigantor.jpg

Firebreather

Character Overview

Duncan Rosenblatt (full name is Duncan Xeres Absalom Wu Fan Cassius Draco Draconus Quetzelcoatl Gondwana Mjarl Khan Belloc-Rosenblatt Jr.) is a teenager with average teenage problems and one not so average problem: he the son a divorced "normal" human mother, who wants him to live a normal life; and a 300-foot dragon, who wants him to conquer the world and become king of monster. Duncan and his mom move a lot.

Firebreather Vol. 1 # 1-4

Duncan was having his first day another school, but both the principal and a bully named Troy are picking on him. To make this worst, his father was putting him through brutish training. Troy decides set up Rosenblatt by hiding a gun, this causes Duncan to question if should be in human society. When he gets home, he discovers that a monster destroyed his house and kidnapped his mom. He tracks the monster to Monster Island and burned it with his flame, but kept it alive. Belloc (his dad) comes and attacks the monster. Duncan figured out that his dad set this up to test him! He then threatens his father to kill him if he endanger his mother again. As Duncan leaves, Belloc says "That's my boy".

Firebreather: The Iron Saint (One Shot)

Duncan and his class are in London and hear about a suit of armor (the "Iron Saint"), created to kill monster. Duncan stays behind and the suit seemly comes to life! Actually, Mr. M (the guide) was wearing it and wanted to kill Duncan (his dad destroyed Mr. M's home), but the suit is ineffective, due to it cannot harms humans or the suit will be destoryed and Duncan is half one.

Powers and Abilities

Duncan has superhuman strength and durability. Like any dragon, Duncan can fly and (of course) breathe fire.

References:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Firebreather

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/1/14/Firebreathertpb.jpg

Spectre

Golden Age Version

Jim Corrigan was cop that was murdered. But, his spirit was denied entrance into the afterlife. He returned to Earth as a undead being and was assigned to be a superhero by "The Voice" (God?). As the Spectre, he was seeking bloody vengeance against Corrigan's murders. He founded the Justice Society of America.

Silver Age Version

This version was some what rewritten from his Golden Age counterpart. He was still an avenging spirit, but he was also nearly omnipotence.

Bronze Age Version

Again, the Spectre was some what rewritten. Here, he used his power in gruesome ways, giving "poetic-justice" to criminals: melting him like wax, turning them to glass and then shoving off a cliff and etc. Many fans were unease by this version of the Spectre, so a reporter called Earl Crawford (who also found the Spectre disturbing) was introduced. He fought in the Crisis on Infinite Earths.

Modern Age Version

This version had both elements of an avenging spirit and a brutal police man. It's revealed the Spectre wasn't actually Jim, but a fallen angel. He possessed Hal Jordon's dead body to stop the fear-entity Parallax. In the Day of Vengeance storyline, he was tricked into causing havoc among magic-users. Later, the Spectre got a new host (he left the Hal Jordon body): Crispus Allen. In Blackest Night, a Black Lantern ring turned Crispus into a zombie (with the Spectre still in it!), but Hal Jordon (somehow alive) saved him.

Powers and Abilities

The Spectre can do almost anything, when he has a host. However, he's venerable to strong magic and needs a host.

References:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spectre_(comics)

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/0/0d/Morefun52.png

http://dc.wikia.com/wiki/Aztar_(New_Earth)

White Martians

Despite being the "sister" race of the Green Martians, the two are polar opposites.

History

Eons ago, the White Martians savagely tried to take over the Earth. But, their peaceful counterparts, the Green Martians, trapped them in the Still Zone (Phantom Zone), for the choas they caused on Earth. Eons later, the White Martians escaped. Eight of their Martian leaders posed as superheroes, calling themselves the "Hyperclan". But, the Justice League figured out their plans and stopped them. Despite that their memories were erased and were turned into "humans", the Hyperclan tried to cause havoc, but the JLA stopped them and trapped them in the Still Zone.

Powers and Abilities

All the White Martians have flight, super strength, telepathy and the force-blasting "Martian Vision". They can also shape-shift. Some White Martians possesses unique abilities not possessed by the rest of the race. Like Green Martians, exposure to fire removes their powers.

References:

The DC Comic Encyclopedia

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/3/38/Jla57.jpg/250px-Jla57.jpg

Flash

Barry Allen and Jay Garrick Flash

He (or they) are the fastest man (or men) alive.

Jay Garrick

Jay Garrick was a college student who inhaled "heavy water" vapors. This gave him superhuman speed. Donning a red t-shirt with a lighting bolt on it and a metal helmet with wings (like that of Hermes), he became the Flash! He manage to keep his alter ego a secret by continually vibrating so fast all photos of him would be blurred. He was a founding member of the Justice Society of America. He became part of the modern continuity.

Barry Allen
He read comics about Jay (Barry and Jay existed in different parallel realities). He became a became a slow cop. One day, he was caring a case of chemicals and was struck by lightning. The chemicals split all over him giving him super speed. He donned a costume loosely based on that of Jay Garrick. He became founding member of the Justice League of America (loosely based on the Justice Society). He died in the Crisis on Infinite Earths.

Wally West

Barry's nephew, he was carrying a case of chemicals and was struck by lightning (like Barry), giving him the same powers. He became Barry's sidekick: Kid Flash. He was a founding member of the Teen Titans. When Barry died, Wally took the mantle of the scarlet speeder.

References:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flash_(comics)

http://images4.wikia.nocookie.net/marvel_dc/images/thumb/8/8f/Flash_v.1_123.jpg/300px-Flash_v.1_123.jpg

Just'a Lotta Animals

The Just'a Lotta Animals was a comic-with-in-a-comic created by Roger Rodney Rabbit (the alter ego of Captain Carrot) that spoofed classic Justice League story lines. It turned out the characters were real! Apparently on Earth-C Minus (as opposed to Roger's reality, Earth-C), the Just'a Lotta is a "real" team. The main members of the team were:

• Super-Squirrel- He has Chiptonian (Kryptonian) powers include super strength, flight and super vision, but is weakened by chiptonite (kryptonite). He has crush for Wonder Wabbit. He is somewhat self-aggrandizing. He is a parody of Superman. He has two enemies: Lex Lemur (Lex Luthor) and Brainy-Yak (Brainiac (?)).
• Batmouse- He has gadgets to fight crime and a sidekick: Boyd the Robin Wonder (Robin). He is a parody of Batman. His arch-enemy is the Porker (Joker).
• Wonder Wabbit- She from Parrot-Eyes Island (Paradise Island), as such she has Animal-Zon (Amazon) powers and tools: super strength, invulnerable bracelets, a see-through plane and lasso of truth. She is a parody of Wonder Woman.
• Green Lambkin- He has a power ring giving him the same powers of his human counterpart (Green Lantern), but has a 24-hour charge limit and the color yellow is immune to his ring. He serves the Goat-Guardians of Uh-Oh (Oa). He is a parody of the Silver Age Green Lantern. He has a foe called Hector Hamhock (Hector Hammond).
• Crash- He is a super fast turtle. He was inspired for heroism by reading comics of the Terrific Whatzit. He is a parody of Silver Age the Flash. He battles Weather Weasel (Weather Wizard).
• Aquaduck- He is a duck that presumably has the powers of Aquaman (who he parodies).

The team has some less-developed members:

• Green Sparrow- Sparrow version of Green Arrow.
• Stacked Canary- Anthropomorphic Canary version of Black Canary.
• Hawkmoose- Moose version of Hawkman.
• Martian Anteater- Anteater from Mars. He is an anteater version of Martian Manhunter.
• Item- Elephant version of Silver Age Atom.
• Elong-Gator- Alligator version of Elongated Man.
• Firestork- Stork version of Firestorm.
• Zap-Panda- Panda version of Zatanna.
• Rat-Tornado- Rat version of Red Tornado.

References:
http://media.comicvine.com/uploads/0/9464/211390-29302-just-a-lotta-animals.jpg
http://media.comicvine.com/uploads/0/9464/211390-29302-just-a-lotta-animals.jpg

Comic Code Authority

Most people think of censorship as being done by outside forces. However, the Comic Code Authority was created by the comic book companies themselves.  In 1954, a book called Seduction of the Innocent blamed comic books for Juvenile Delinquency. Soon, the public turned against comic books. So the comic publishers formed the Comic Code of Authority. However, the code basically destroyed horror comics temporarily. Here were the rules in a nut shell:

• No Vampires, werewolves, ghouls and zombies
• Excessive violence was banned.
• No nudity at all
• "Horror" and "Terror" couldn't be in a comic title, "Crime" could be used to an extremely limited extent.
• No sexual art
• No liquor, tobacco, knives, fireworks or products of "questionable nature" ads
• No drugs at all

If they followed the code, the cover would of the Comic Code Authority "stamp" (seen here). Despite these rules, they approved a comic featuring the most racist comic book character in history: Egg Fu (he is a racist amalgam of every offensive Asian stereotype and egg fu). However despite the fact most comics followed the code some did not, most notably the Underground Comix (which had nothing to do with the naming of this site) and Mad (due to it's magazine format). In 1971, Stan Lee wrote an anti-drug Spider-Man story, but the code disapproved of it, so he did without the code. This lead to minor revisions to the comic code most notably the unbanning of vampires, werewolves, ghouls, but not zombies. So, they were referred to as "zuvembies". By the 21st century, the comic code dropped in power and Archie and DC comics became the only major comic companies to use the code.
References:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comics_Code_Authority
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/d/df/CCA.gif
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/c/cb/Wwoman158.jpg
http://www.comicvine.com/egg-fu/29-24028/