Top 5 Facts about DC Comics
When universes collide, when realities shatter, it could only mean that DC comics is at it again. Welcome to WatchMojo's Top 5 Facts. In this instalment, we're counting down the 5 most interesting facts about DC Comics in the hopes of expanding your knowledge of the publishing house that birthed a Kryptonian legend.
Special thanks to our users Godslayer79, ninou78 and Basheer Rko for submitting the idea using our interactive suggestion tool at http://www.WatchMojo.comsuggest
#5: DC Sued Rihanna over Robyn
Born as Robyn Rihanna Fenty, and with no Batman in sight, Rihanna decided to follow a career of singing rather than crime fighting. But now that she’s trying to use the name Robyn for her new brand of clothing, DC is trying to protect the Dark Knight’s sidekick from the entering the fashion world. DC also took exception a Spanish soccer team’s logo that is strikingly similar to Batman’s. “We’ve been using the logo since 1939,” said DC. “We’ve been using it for 20 years longer than that,” retorted the football club. And the team’s city, Valencia was all like “Whatever, DC, we’ve been rocking the bat since the 13th century.” The team backed down anyway and reverted back to their previous bat design. More recently, DC won their case against Mark Towle, who was reproducing Batmobile-like replicas. Not only did the court rule in favor of DC, but also found "that the Batmobile was protectable as a sculptural work under the U.S. Copyright Act”. Vengeance is the knight.
#4: That Turkey, Batman, Upset Batman, Turkey
Huseyin Kalkan, mayor of Batman, Turkey, tried to sue Warner Bros. and “Batman Begins” director Christopher Nolan over the use of the town's name. The mayor attempted to collect royalties, but he also tried to blame a rash of female suicides in the town due on the massive success of the film. These suicides are supposedly "Honour Suicides" and the mayor’s insinuation was that they were too ashamed that their town’s name was being used in such a manner. And so he sought royalties. It’s too bad DC didn’t sue him for trying to be a cheesy Batman villain. Somebody get the Bat signal ready!
#3: Marvel Icon Stan Lee Wrote a Series for DC
2001’s series "Just Imagine...", allowed Stan Lee, creator of many of Marvel’s most famous characters, to reimagine famous DC characters. Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman and others got redone as wildly different versions, most complete with classic alliterative Stan Lee names like Joanie Jordan and Wayne Williams. He reboots Wonder Woman as Maria Mendoza, a Peruvian activist, who finds an ancient staff that gives her the powers of the Incan sun god.
Lee’s version of the Flash, Mary Maxwell gets her super speed not from a lightning bolt or noxious fumes, but from an injection of hummingbird DNA. Oh, and Batman looks more like more like a bat.
#2: Kryptonite Originated on the Radio
"The Adventures of Superman" was a serialized radio drama that aired on afternoon radio from 1940 to 1951, starring Bud Collyer as Superman, though his identity, much like Superman's, remained a secret until 1946. The show was on three to five times a week, every week, so to give Collyer a break, the producers devised a novel solution: kryptonite. Designed to incapacitate the unstoppable hero, it allowed the supporting actors to take the spotlight for a bit. While Superman co-creator Jerry Siegel had written a story involving a kryptonite-like mineral a few years prior, it was never published. Another milestone on the show was on March 2, 1945, when Superman met Batman and Robin for the first time ever. Hey, someone should make them meet up again!
#1: Superman’s First Comic is Super Expensive
The most valued comic book in history is the first very first introduction of Superman, which sold for for $3.2 million at auction. That’s a helluva lot, but this is the book credited with creating the superhero genre, and there are only about 50-100 copies of this book in existence, and only 2 have been given a 9.0 out of 10 by CGC comics certifying their pristine condition. Nicolas Cage once bought the first 9.0 comic in 1995 before it was stolen from his home in 2000. That's not the only piece of Superman history that sold well at auction: the original cheque of $130 that DC paid to the creators of Superman sold for an impressive $160,000.
Well DC fans, will you side with Robin, or Robyn Rihanna? And how much would you pay for a copy of Action Comics #1? For more multi-verse-shattering Top 10s and crises on infinite Top 5s, be sure to subscribe to WatchMojo.com.