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The Many Loves of Bruce Wayne and Tony Stark • Star Sapphire villain history • Superhero Weddings • Elongated Man & Sue, Aunt May & Doc Ock, Torch & Alicia, Supergirl’s Secret Marriage and more! • featuring a wedding party of your favorite Bronze Age creators

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Green Lantern and Star Sapphire TM & © DC Comics. All Rights Reserved.

Superhero Romance Issue

Volume 1, Number 123 November 2020 EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Michael Eury PUBLISHER John Morrow

Comics’ Bronze Age and Beyond!

DESIGNER Rich Fowlks COVER ARTIST Dave Gibbons (commissioned illustration from the collection of Paul Greer) COVER COLORIST Glenn Whitmore COVER DESIGNER Michael Kronenberg PROOFREADER Rob Smentek SPECIAL THANKS Mike W. Barr James Heath Lantz Cary Bates Bob Layton Chris Claremont Brian Martin Gerry Conway Franck Martini Tom DeFalco Marvel Comics J. M. DeMatteis Brad Meltzer Kevin Dooley Luigi Novi John Drake Dennis O’Neil Mike Dunne John Romita, Sr. Steve Englehart Bob Rozakis Carol Ferris Rose Rummel-Eury Dave Gibbons Buddy Scalera Grand Comics Paul Smith Database Joe Staton Robert Greenberger Roger Stern Paul Greer Ty Templeton Karl Heitmueller, Jr. Eddy Zeno Heritage Comics Auctions Phil Hester Dan Johnson John Kirk

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FLASHBACK: Weddings in the Bronze Age . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 From big events to nearly forgotten marriages, Robert Greenberger crashes comics’ hero-hitchings COVER GALLERY: Weird Wedding Tales . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 These offbeat weddings might swear you off of dating for good!

WHAT THE--?!: The Almost-Marriage of Aunt May and Doc Ock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 A walk down the aisle through The Amazing Spider-Man’s most offbeat love affair BRING ON THE BAD GUYS: Star Sapphire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 Green Lantern’s most mixed-up menace is of two minds on the subject of villainy FLASHBACK: The Romance of Ralph and Sue Dibny . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39 Turns out that stretching isn’t the Elongated Man’s greatest attribute PRINCE STREET NEWS: Kiss Kiss Bang Bang . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46 Cartoonist Karl Heitmueller, Jr. only has eyes for comicdom’s greatest lovers FLASHBACK: The Many Loves of Bruce Wayne and Tony Stark. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49 Comparing and contrasting the Bronze Age romances of Batman and Iron Man IN MEMORIAM: Martin Pasko and Dennis O’Neil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60 FLASHBACK: May–December Love in the Bronze Age . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61 Cupids Claremont and Englehart discuss the controversial Colossus/Kitty Pryde and GL/Arisia love affairs PRO2PRO: Roger Stern and Tom DeFalco . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66 The Johnny Storm/Alicia Masters marriage from the writers who shook up fandom ART GALLERY: Bronze Age Power Couples . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70 Rare illos of some of our favorite superhero sweethearts ONE-HIT WONDERS: Supergirl’s Secret Marriage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73 The bombshell event that was detonated at wake of Supergirl’s tragic death in Crisis BACK TALK . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77 Reader reactions BACK ISSUE™ is published 8 times a year by TwoMorrows Publishing, 10407 Bedfordtown Drive, Raleigh, NC 27614. Michael Eury, Editor-in-Chief. John Morrow, Publisher. Editorial Office: BACK ISSUE, c/o Michael Eury, Editor-in-Chief, 112 Fairmount Way, New Bern, NC 28562. Email: euryman@gmail.com. Eight-issue subscriptions: $89 Economy US, $135 International, $36 Digital. Please send subscription orders and funds to TwoMorrows, NOT to the editorial office. Cover art by Dave Gibbons. Green Lantern and Star Sapphire TM & © DC Comics. All Rights Reserved. All characters are © their respective companies. All material © their creators unless otherwise noted. All editorial matter © 2020 Michael Eury and TwoMorrows, except Prince Street News © 2020 Karl Heitmueller, Jr. ISSN 1932-6904. Printed in China. FIRST PRINTING.

Superhero Romance Issue • BACK ISSUE • 1

by

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Robert Greenberger

A staple in the stories we grew up on since early childhood usually involves a great romance, often culminating in true lovers finding one another and maybe even getting married. They then live happily ever after.

Or so we’re told.

In comic books, marriage has proven to be a tricky affair. It seems the enduring marriages can only happen to supporting and peripheral characters while the protagonists have to love and maybe try marriage. But so often, it never lasts. The Bronze Age of Comics was a time when many of those long-simmering romances culminated in storied ceremonies, but all too few have them have survived retcons, crises, and the vicissitudes of monthly storytelling.

ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE SILVER AGE

As comic books were considered children’s fare (despite the fact that soldiers read them while at war), the Golden Age heroes couldn’t marry their beloveds since that would make them seem… old, like the readers’ parents. Most every hero had a mate, a constant companion, someone who knew their alter ego, most remaining blissfully ignorant.

When the Silver Age launched, the conventional wisdom that comic readers were averaging eight to ten years old was upended.

Heroes could now have steady girlfriends or boyfriends and maybe even date around. Slowly, but surely, the concept of married superheroes was rolled out. They were few and far between, but the readers rejoiced because after a steady dose of Imaginary Stories and fake-outs, these were real.

Without fanfare, editor Julie Schwartz’s revival of Hawkman in The Brave and the Bold #34 (Feb.–Mar. 1961) gave us Katar and Shayera Hol as a married couple from Thanagar, come to Earth on a case.

The first to tie the knot were Ralph Dibny and Susan Dearbon, as recounted in The Flash #119 (Mar. 1961), a mere year after the Elongated Man first met the Fastest Man Alive. In “The Elongated Man’s Undersea Trap!” we not only meet Sue for the first time, but they marry according to a newspaper headline, and Ralph reveals his identity to the world. Forever after, they are partners and world-renowned celebrities.

Then, in rapid succession, we had three more high-profile pairings. In 1963, Aquaman met the other-dimensional Mera, beginning a 14-month courtship that culminated in their marriage in issue #18 (Nov.–Dec. 1964) of the Sea King’s title. Their wedding was attended by a handful of the Justice League and Robin, the Boy Wonder.

When Reed Richards finally married Susan Storm in the pages of Fantastic Four Annual #3 in 1965, Stan Lee and Jack Kirby tossed in every hero and villain you could ask for, with the creators themselves trying to attend the affair. This seemed to set the standard for superhero nuptials, as we shall see.

In 1966, Steve Dayton, the millionaire who adventured as Mento, married Rita Farr, actress-turned-member of the Doom Patrol, in Doom Patrol #104. In attendance, in a rare crossover of DC editorial franchises, were Batman, Flash, Superman, Wonder Woman, and Beast Boy’s Teen Titans pals Kid Flash, Robin, and Wonder Girl. The oddest attendee had to be Super Hip, the humorous superhero from the pages of DC’s licensed title starring comedian Bob Hope.

A few months later, Barry Allen and Iris West finally wed, but not before Eobard Thawne impersonated Barry, in the hopes of stealing Iris from him. It gave rise to that wonderful cover where the Flash objects to Barry marrying Iris.

Silver Age Ceremonies A sampling of superhero weddings from the 1960s (although the Silver Age Hawkman and Hawkgirl— later Hawkwoman—were already married when they arrived on Earth).

Elongated Man, Hawkman, The Brave and the Bold, Aquaman, Flash, Doom Patrol TM & © DC Comics. Fantastic Four and Avengers TM & © Marvel.

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Meanwhile, on Earth-Two The Golden Age’s World’s Finest heroes get hitched to their longtime heartthrobs! (left) The wedding of Superman and Lois Lane in Action Comics #484 (by Cary Bates, Curt Swan, and Joe Giella). (right) Bruce (Batman) Wayne and Selina (Catwoman) Kyle say “I do” in the Huntress origin in DC Super-Stars #17 (by Paul Levitz, Joe Staton, and Bob Layton).

TM & © DC Comics.

EARTH-TWO RINGS THEM WEDDING BELLS

The first superhero romance took four decades to evolve into wedded bliss. To celebrate Action Comics’ 40th anniversary, DC editor Julie Schwartz let the Superman and Lois Lane of Earth-II (home to the original Golden Age heroes) finally wed in Action #484 (June 1978). Its José Luis García-López cover cleverly hid Superman’s old-fashioned S-shield, a sure giveaway that this was not the contemporary Action Ace, leading readers to believe this was the “real” wedding. The love affair between this Superman and Lois, though, proved to be the bedrock foundation for the universe, a pivotal element not only in Crisis on Infinite Earths but later, in Infinite Crisis.

Similarly, the long-simmering romance between Batman and Catwoman also resulted in a wedding, although this one was drawn out a bit. According to the splash page in the Huntress’ debut story in DC Super-Stars #17, and Superman Family #211, the pair had married. The exact details went unexplored until Alan Brennert, Joe Staton, and George Freeman delivered the touching “Night of Passion… Night of Fear!” in The Brave and the Bold #197 (Apr. 1983), which turns out to be one of the most reprinted tales covered here.

There were other Earth-Two weddings, right up to the continuity-altering events of the Crisis. Liberty Belle, first introduced in Boy Commandos #1, and Johnny Quick, who first uttered his speed formula in More Fun Comics #71 (Sept. 1941), were regulars in writer Roy Thomas’ All-Star Squadron, and in time they developed feelings for one another. This played out right up to their April

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1, 1942 wedding in issue #50, which later resulted in the arrival of Jesse Quick, a member of Team Flash.

Around the same time, the Golden Age Green Lantern and his frequent opponent since 1947, Harlequin, also admitted their feelings for each other and formally married in Infinity, Inc. Annual #1 (1985), from Roy and Dann Thomas, Ron Harris, Todd McFarlane, Tony DeZuñiga, Dick Giordano, Alfredo Alcala, and Richard Howell. (This was GL Alan Scott’s second marriage; the first was to Thorn—Alyx Forrest—and she is mother to the heroes Jade and Obsidian.)

Another festering romance dating to the Golden Age was also finally addressed just before the Crisis rewrote history. In Wonder Woman #329, Gerry Conway and Don Heck oversaw the final issue of the heroine, resulting in Zeus presiding over the wedding of Princess Diana of Paradise Island and Col. Steve Trevor, USAF. Their on again/off again romance simmered throughout his first crash landing on the island’s shores in 1941 and remains a piece of the lore regardless of reality.

One of the final pre-Crisis weddings was that of Rex Mason and Sapphire Stagg. The adventurer had been altered by the Orb of Ra into Metamorpho the Elemental Man, although the strong-willed Sapphire never stopped loving him. Their romance was frequently interrupted by her domineering father Simon and Java, the resurrected Neanderthal who wanted the beautiful woman for himself. Mike W. Barr and David Ross finally gave them the wedding they longed for in Batman and the Outsiders Annual #2 (1984). While both have been through a lot, they remain active today, just not married.

Alter Egos in Attendance Ray (Atom) Palmer and Jean Loring’s wedding, with JLAers in attendance in their secret identities, plus a handy-dandy lettercol key identifying the wedding party, from Justice League of America #157 (Aug. 1978).

TM & © DC Comics.

impersonated Zenobia on their wedding night, hoping to kill him. When he slew the demon, he rescued his bride and they wed, ultimately giving the world Conan II. Another savage of sorts also got married a few years later. Lord Kevin Plunder, better known as Ka-Zar, had taken up with fellow adventurer Shanna O’Neil.

They had shared several exploits before they realized they had fallen in love with one another in the pages of Ka-Zar the Savage, but not before she married Mele of the Botor, only to lose him during a hunting accident.

At one point, it appeared Ka-Zar was dead and the traumatized Shanna traveled to New York, romanced Peter Parker, got institutionalized, and was finally rescued when the not-so-dead Ka-Zar arrived. They returned to the Savage Land and wed in issue #29 (May 1984), courtesy of Mike Carlin, Ron Frenz, and Armando Gil. These pulp adventures weren’t the only unlikely Marvel weddings. Earlier, Marv Wolfman created the Church of the Damned, run by Anton Lupeski. At one Superhero Romance Issue • BACK ISSUE • 13

choice, Namor seizes Black Knight’s ebony blade and slew his own wife.

She did lay some eggs and at least one hatched, with a child being born in Namor Annual #4, only to be killed by Hydra.

Speaking of horrific transformations, it was here that Bruce Banner and Betty Ross, together since 1962, finally wed in Incredible Hulk #319 (May 1986). They had tried it once before, way back in Incredible Hulk #124 by Thomas and Herb Trimpe, but the Rhino interrupted that one.

Here, Banner and the Jade Giant had been separated into two separate beings, giving the scientist a chance at happiness and he seized it. Rick Jones is best man, of course, and the wedding is attended by Hideko Takata of the Hulkbuster program. The Hulk is elsewhere, beating on Doc Samson, while Betty has tried to make her peace with her papa Thunderbolt Ross, who shows up attempting to stop the event, shooting Rick in the process.

Writer/artist John Byrne intended to explore this further but left the series over creative differences, so it fell to writer Peter David to keep them together since Peter’s first wife adored Betty. After their divorce, though, David decided to kill Betty, ending that marriage.

She got better, but they have remained single.

Another apparent mismatch would be a different green creature and a human woman. However, Abigail Arcane is an exceptional woman, falling in love with Earth’s elemental protector, the Swamp Thing. After befriending him in Swamp Thing #3 (Mar. 1973), she falls in love with Matt Cable, marrying Cable, who later dies (and subsequently transforms into Matthew the Raven).

In time, she and the Swamp Thing grow closer until finally she consumes a tuber generated by his body, turning them into true soulmates. This story from Saga of the Swamp Thing #34 (Mar. 1985) was another milestone

When Peter Met MJ 1987’s Spider-Man wedding was a big deal, from live actors portraying Spidey and Mary Jane in a Shea Stadium ceremony to the wedding occurring in both the Marvel comic and the Spider-Man newspaper strip.

TM & © Marvel.

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If you thought the wedding of Aunt May and Doc Ock was wacky, wait’ll you get a load of these mixed-up matchups! Presented here are ten of the most ridiculous romances to stroll down the aisle of your neighborhood newsstand or 7-Eleven—including a handful of kooky classics from the Silver Age, the era where DC editor Mort Weisinger often seemed to confuse his Superman franchise with Girls’ Love Stories.

Jimmy Olsen and Lois Lane in Jimmy Olsen #21 (June 1957) Wonder if the Spin Doctors read this oldie before penning their bouncy Jimmy Olsen love lament, “Pocket Full of Kryptonite”?

Wonder Woman and Mr. Monster in Wonder Woman #155 (July 1965) If you think this cover is odd, ponder the fact that Wonder Girl and Wonder Tot were originally younger versions of Wonder Woman herself.

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Blackhawk and Lady Blackhawk in Blackhawk #155 (Dec. 1960) Their glory days of World War II air battles behind them, the Blackhawks of the Silver Age were reduced to cribbing from superhero tropes.

Jungle Jimmy and Bruna the Gorilla in Jimmy Olsen #98 (Dec. 1966) It’s a madhouse!

Do you think that Jimmy’s loincloth or Superman’s headdress ended up in Olsen’s memorabilia collection?

THE ALMOSTMARRIAGE OF AUNT MAY AND DOC OCK by

Michael Eury

Growing up in the ’60s and ’70s, I witnessed quite a few offbeat weddings, in fiction and in real life.

One of the first issues of Superman’s Girl Friend, Lois Lane I remember buying, late 1968’s #89, featured an imaginary story with the Daily Planet’s heartsick headline-maker marrying—no, not Superman, but Bruce Wayne, becoming “The Bride of Batman!” Tiny Tim, the falsetto-voiced “Tiptoe Through the Tulips” singer who looked like a freaky Tim Burton creation, famously married Miss Vicki in 1969 on Johnny Carson’s show—before a television audience of 40 million.

And when my coolest uncle got hitched, his bride was so nervous she repeatedly flubbed the repeating of her wedding vows, getting so tongue-twisted that she, then everyone in attendance, spontaneously burst out laughing.

By the time I was a junior in high school, I thought I’d seen it all so far as wacky weddings were concerned.

Then The Amazing Spider-Man #131 (Apr. 1974) hit the stands, with its wonky cover by Gil Kane and Frank Giacoia depicting… the bridal-veiled Aunt May, beloved mother figure to one Peter Parker, secretly the Wall-Crawler himself, at the altar with one Otto Octavius, in reality Dr. Octopus, Spidey’s arch-foe.

And the wedding party consisted of the seediest group of gangsters ever assembled for a “holy” event.

What the--?! Readers expected this kind of goofy goings-on at the Distinguished Competition, but not at the House of Ideas! Sure, Marvel’s mightiest sometimes walked down the aisle—usually to suffer matrimonius interruptus thanks to wedding-crashing supervillains— but a kindly matron with a weak heart marrying a mechanical-armed megalomaniac with a black heart?

Who was the matchmaker responsible for this nightmarish nuptial?

Gerry Conway, that’s who! The white-hot Spiderscribe was the third writer to chronicle the Web-Slinger’s adventures in The Amazing Spider-Man, following Stan Lee and a brief, Morbius-introducing stint by

Unholy Matrimony Marvel’s most offbeat wedding of 1974!

Amazing Spider-Man #131 (Apr. 1974) cover

by Gil Kane and Frank Giacoia.

TM & © Marvel.

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Superhero comics are dependent on the existence of a large pool of supervillains for the heroes to battle.

There are even some villains who have alter egos belonging to someone close to the hero they battle most frequently.

However, if you will forgive the pun, very few of them have as many facets as Star Sapphire. This is mainly because the villainess’ primary other identity is Carol Ferris, Green Lantern’s on-again, off-again girlfriend.

We’ll touch on a couple of the other Star Sapphires as we go along, but our main focus will be on Carol and the psychological questions the various portrayals of the character (or is it characters?) have presented. by

Brian Martin

STRANGE KIND OF WOMAN

Carol Ferris debuted as Hal (Green Lantern) Jordan’s boss in his very first appearance, Showcase #22 (Oct. 1959),

by John Broome and Gil Kane. A triangle was quickly formed with Carol attracted to both Hal Jordan and Green Lantern, more so to the superhero.

The arrival of Star Sapphire occurs in Green Lantern #16 (Oct. 1962). Early in the story, Carol thinks about her feelings for both Green Lantern and Hal Jordan, believing it is not possible for someone to love two different people the same way. This simple observation may foreshadow all that is to come for the Star Sapphire character, and maybe Carol herself.

Carol is soon abducted by women from the planet Zamaron, a world populated by an immortal race composed solely of women—all immortal, that is, except their queen, who is always a mortal woman that must look identical to Carol! Since their previous queen has just died, they come to Earth seeking her replacement. Carol is unwilling to go due to her love for Green Lantern, but the Zamarons tell her the lowest of them is superior to any man, and they will have Carol prove that herself. They outfit her with a pink and purple costume (the garb their queen wears when hunting), then use a large pipe organ to fill her with energy that is focused through the gem she sports on her tiara.

The Zamarons compel her to challenge and overcome Green Lantern, but, of course, GL eventually prevails.

Defeated, Star Sapphire is spirited away by the Zamarons, who now feel that since she was beaten by a man, she is unfit to be their queen. They remove all memory of the incident from her mind and return her to where they found her. Green Lantern tracks Carol down and at the same time discovers a star sapphire buried in the sand.

Where it gets interesting is that during her battles with Green Lantern, Star Sapphire is conflicted. Part of her wants to defeat GL, but part of her hopes to lose.

The schism is such that she thinks to herself, “I seem to be two people.” Is Star Sapphire an aspect of Carol’s

Torn Between Two Lovers Jim Starlin illustrates the ultimate romantic triangle on this exciting cover to Green Lantern #129 (June 1980).

TM & © DC Comics.

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personality, or another intelligence entirely? This question is central to examining her entire history.

Star Sapphire returns in GL #26 (Jan. 1964), where we learn that Carol will occasionally feel a compulsion to become Star Sapphire again. The Zamarons left behind that gem to allow her to do so. Carol transforms again and thinks, since Carol wants to marry GL but Star Sapphire wants to be a queen, if she gets GL to agree to be her consort, she can accomplish both.

GL defeats her again, this time finding out it is Carol behind the mask. Probing her mind, he observes that she has no memory of her time in the costume since she is, essentially, “Two people in one.” In Sapphire’s next appearance he expands on this, saying neither persona is aware of the other’s existence! Carol again forgets about Star Sapphire and returns to normal.

THE OTHER WOMAN

In Green Lantern #41 (Dec. 1965), Carol finds herself attacked by forces unknown and seeks out the gem again. Green Lantern becomes involved and soon discovers that the attacker is Dela Pharon of Xanador, a woman the Zamarons chose to become their queen after Carol failed them. Learning of her rival, Dela Pharon heads to Earth to take her out.

Dela makes a crucial mistake when, masquerading as the Carol version of Star Sapphire, she mentions a detail from Carol’s life to GL, a fact that persona would not know. GL realizes who she is, defeats her, rescues Carol, and returns things to the status quo of Carol remembering nothing about Star Sapphire.

These stories show that the disconnection between Star Sapphire and Carol Ferris is a crucial plot point.

And yet we are never given the slightest indication that Dela Pharon and Star Sapphire are separate identities.

WHO ARE YOU?

In Star Sapphire’s next appearance, Green Lantern #73–74 (Dec. 1969–Jan. 1970), by Mike Freidrich and Gil Kane, Carol looks at a sapphire brooch given to her by a suitor and is turned back into Star Sapphire.

Sinestro arrives, revealing he supplied the gem, and they team up to defeat GL. Star Sapphire will not let Sinestro kill GL, however, saying she reserves that honor for herself if she cannot possess him. (Love can at times be close to hat, can’t it?) As the two GL rogues argue, the Emerald Gladiator recovers and triumphs, turning Star Sapphire back into Carol, with Star Sapphire referring to her as “an identity of which I know nothing.” This time, though, Hal reveals to Carol that she is Star Sapphire. Carol runs away crying… and the issue ends. And the matter is basically forgotten in subsequent issues!

A Star is Born (top) The rarely seen Golden Age Star Sapphire! Detail from the splash of late 1946’s All-Flash #32. Art by Lee Elias and Moe Worthman, from a Bob Kanigher script. (center) John Broome, Gil Kane, and Joe Giella introduce the Hal Jordan/Carol Ferris couple in 1959’s Showcase #22. (bottom) Two classic Kane/Murphy Anderson GL covers from the ’60s featuring Star Sapphire.

TM & © DC Comics.

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by

Dan Johnson

When we’re kids, superheroes exemplify everything we wish we could be. We want to be as strong as Superman or as fast as the Flash. Superheroes shape our lives in regard to how we want to live and even what career paths we will take. As we grow up, some of us still look to superheroes to serve as role models. Considering all the things other superheroes can do, Ralph Dibny, the Elongated Man, was able to pull off something so few of his more powerful peers could: he found the love of his life and made her his bride. “There may be more married superhero couples in comics these days, but back in the Bronze Age it was something of a novelty, with Ralph Dibny and Sue (as well as Barry and Iris Allen) being among the exceptions,” notes Bronze Age Flash writer Cary Bates.

“The fact that both marriages eventually ended in tragedy (Iris murdered by Reverse-Flash; Sue raped/killed

by Dr. Light years later in Identity Crisis) doesn’t diminish our appreciation of such relationships. As created by [editor] Julie Schwartz and [writer] John Broome back in the day, Ralph and Sue were a happy couple, and that’s how I wrote them.”

A CLASS(IC) ACT

As a kid reading comics in the 1970s, I loved the Elongated Man stories that would pop up in random issues of Detective Comics, and he was always a favorite of mine in Justice League of America. Also, as a rabid fan of The Flash, I loved it when Ralph would team up with the Scarlet Speedster in Flash’s comic book. Early on, I realized that what I really loved about Ralph Dibny was the interaction between him and his better half, Sue. Their relationship had a charming playfulness and lovingness that took its cues from another famous detective and his socialite spouse.

“I think of Ralph and Sue the same way they were conceived… they are Nick and Nora Charles, played by William Powell and Myrna Loy in the film series The Thin Man,” says artist Ty Templeton, who has worked on several Elongated Man stories, including inking The Elongated Man miniseries by Gerard Jones and Mike Parobeck (Jan.–Apr. 1992). “I’ve had a crush on Myrna Loy since the first time I saw her in a movie, as did most of the planet Earth. [Ralph and Sue are] so obviously based on those characters. They eventually become their own thing, but that’s the basic starting point, Powell and Loy, only with superpowers. [Or they are] Hart to Hart if you’re a child of the ’70s.”

Mike W. Barr, a frequent writer for Elongated Man’s adventures in the ’70s and the early ’80s, has a different take on the characters, with a television couple that actually could have played the Dibnys at the time they were introduced in the pages of The Flash in the early ’60s. “I thought they were adorable,” says Barr.

“Everyone assumes they were based on The Thin Man, but I’ve always thought they were based on the relationship of Rob and Laura Petrie, as played by Dick Van Dyke and Mary Tyler Moore in The Dick Van Dyke Show.”

I Only Have Eyes for Sue From Identity Crisis #1 (Aug. 2004), Firehawk gets an earful from Elongated Man as he gushes over his wife Sue. By Brad Meltzer, Rags Morales, and Michael Bair.

TM & © DC Comics.

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by

John K. Kirk

Can’t Buy Me Love A montage of Batman and Iron Man images featuring our spotlighted heroes and some of their ill-fated romances of the Bronze Age, spoofing a cover logo of DC’s old licensed title based upon the early 1960s sitcom, The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis. A BIG thank-you to designer Rich Fowlks for realizing ye ed’s crazy concept and Photoshopping these images together!

Batman and related characters and DC bullet TM & © DC Comics.

Iron Man and related characters and Marvel logo TM & © Marvel.

Superhero Romance Issue • BACK ISSUE • 49

Vicki Waiting (top) In the Golden Age, Vicki Vale was Batman’s surrogate Lois Lane.

Cover to Batman #79 (Oct.–Nov. 1953). (center) Writer Bob Rozakis brought back Vicki—married—in Batman Family #11 (May–June 1977). (bottom) That marriage was forgotten or sidestepped when Vicki returned in Batman #355 (Jan. 1983).

TM & © DC Comics.

To be sure, there’s nothing common about Tony (Iron Man) Stark and Bruce (Batman) Wayne and the romantic relationships they have managed to accrue in their careers. While neither is really superhuman, they still have a lot of super-traits in common, namely: wealth, influence, good looks, and skills that have enabled them to achieve great things that fall into the superhuman range of accomplishments. Let’s face it— they’re what we’d colloquially consider “catches.” But what is common to these superheroes is that they have failed to commit to their romances. They attract—and are attracted to—women of distinctive types, but Stark and Wayne make poor choices, show weak decision making, or just have bad luck managing the relationships. Both men can’t succeed in achieving committed relationships. This is another super-trait they seem to share in common.

Despite the immense list of high-quality partners available to Stark and Wayne, why is it that neither one of these guys can find a worthy partner to commit to for the rest of their lives? It hasn’t been for lack of quantity, and given that the list of romances available to both these billionaires is fairly long and the Bronze Age scope of this article is limited, I’ve narrowed down the choices that these men to the five most prominent women—in my opinion—for each of these heroes and arranged them into pairings of similar character in an attempt to explain why neither hero can successfully commit to their relationships.

While the personal natures of both of these billionaire playboys is the real reason, I want to break that down further and examine the similarities between the top five girlfriends for both these heroes. Looking at similarities in the relationships with these women, their favorable qualities give way to the choices that drive the heroes away from their prospective partners and the committed lives they can never have.

VICKI VALE AND PEPPER POTTS – DAMSELS IN DISTRESS

The original girlfriends for both of these characters, Batman’s Vicki and Iron Man’s Pepper had the simplest of intentions and the easiest relationship to describe for both Wayne and Stark.

As Vale predates Potts, first appearing in Batman #49 (Oct. 1948), her concept was simply meant to be the flirtatious, sporadically appearing female reporter who got into trouble and needed rescuing, in the tradition of Superman’s Lois Lane.

She was also often the source of plots revolving around Batman’s identity. She was a character who provided a softer side to Batman, who was forced to consider her welfare, manners, and gentle reminders that women shouldn’t involve themselves in affairs they couldn’t handle. Hey, it was the Golden Age! Roughly 20-odd years later, in another comic universe, Virginia “Pepper” Potts appeared in the early issues of Tales of Suspense starring Iron Man—starting with TOS #45 (Nov. 1963)—as a clerical worker who spotted an accounting error, saving Stark Industries an undisclosed fortune and earning her an instant promotion to Tony Stark’s personal assistant.

Despite the decades, roles for love interests in superhero comicbook storytelling really hadn’t changed much. During the course of their close working association, Potts became infatuated with Stark but was also often the center of plots involving her rescue as well as an eventual love triangle with Stark’s bodyguard and driver, Happy Hogan, who she would eventually marry.

The similarities between Vicki and Pepper are plentiful.

First, they’re both redheads. For some reason, superhero men attract redheads like flies to sugar. The examples are too numerous to mention, but the list of redheaded paramours is well-established in comic history. Another simplistic similarity is the alliterative structure of their names, presumably to render their characters simplistic and easy to remember.

However, they were also very subservient characters.

Victims of their original, straightforward character designs, the women characters of the late ’40s and early ’60s comics shared a similar degree of societal roles. They were to be 50 • BACK ISSUE • Superhero Romance Issue

Despite Talia’s exoticness and her unforgettably overwhelming mystique, a commitment to a woman with this degree of family loyalty was something that Bruce Wayne would be unable to manage. Talia is a woman of status who is used to making decisions with or without her partner’s approval for a good greater than her own personal happiness. Of course, coming from a life of privilege, she would recognize that the price for that level of privilege would be her obligation to her family.

Whitney Frost is likewise a privileged heiress to a shadowy underground organization—in her case, the Maggia, the crime families who have often involved themselves in Iron Man’s early career. Though not as mysterious or otherworldly as the League of Assassins, the Maggia had their own aristocracy with Whitney Frost, a.k.a. Iron Man foe Madame Masque, in reality Giuletta Nefaria, daughter of the enigmatic and villainous Count Luchino Nefaria.

Despite Count Nefaria’s preference for a male heir, Whitney Frost proved herself a capable successor to the Maggia throne.

She infiltrated Stark Enterprises a number of times, and seduced S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Jasper Sitwell while at the same time working her charms—despite a disfigured face—on Tony Stark as well.

A capable fighter and criminal mastermind, Whitney was definitely her own woman with her own unscrupulous set of standards. Despite any love she had for Stark, she was not above betrayal or whatever resources she could access to accomplish her goals, regardless of her feelings. Yet, Madame Masque’s privilege was her family obligation or her association with criminals like Mordecai Midas. Despite Tony Stark’s insistence that they could have a relationship, Frost’s status within her family, obligation to Midas, and obligation to her father were impediments that would interfere with any romance she could have had with Stark.

“As the series progressed, we did our best to redefine Madame Masque as someone whose moral compass would have been totally repugnant to Stark,” Bob Layton tells BACK ISSUE. “When we introduced Rae LaCoste, during our second run on Iron Man, it was our intention to have Tony discover that she had assumed bob layton the mantle of Madame Masque and was using her close relationship with Stark © Luigi Novi / Wikimedia Commons. to her sinister advantage. (BTW: Rae would have been revealed to be the long-lost ex-wife of Scott [Ant-Man] Lang, to boot!)”

In Iron Man #116 (Nov. 1978), Frost asserted her devotion to Nefaria over her love for Tony Stark, employing a space-exploration vehicle in combat against Iron Man and fully intending to kill him as he sought to prevent Nefaria from receiving the rejuvenation treatment he needed to extend his life. While not as cold-blooded as Talia, Whitney was still ruthless and prepared enough to end Stark’s life rather than see him oppose her father’s interests.

This was still painful decision for her to make. An explosion from the battle between Iron Man and the Jupiter space-exploration vehicle destroyed the life-support equipment that was keeping Count Nefaria alive. Her father’s death caused Madame Masque to end any hope of a romantic relationship with Stark, and brokenhearted, she sought to exile herself away from him via a self-inflicted punishment for the dereliction of her status as a loyal daughter.

She would return issues from now as the leader of the Maggia to thwart Iron Man and the Avengers.

While these women have immense pedigree and were clearly women of great status and mystique, their positions in their family made them untenable. Commitment to these women could never be possible because their dedication would never be to their lovers.

Daddy’s Girl From the flirtatious Whitney Frost (inset, from Iron Man #1) to (top) the menacing Madame Masque, Count Nefaria’s daughter and Tony Stark weren’t made for other, despite their attraction. (bottom) Pivotal page from Iron Man #116. Cover and interior art by John Romita, Jr. and Bob Layton.

TM & © Marvel.

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by

Prince wrote, “Why is age more than a number when it comes to love?” in his song “The Morning Papers” from 1992’s Love Symbol album. While he was discussing his relationship with Mayte Garcia, who was more than half his age at the time, His Purple Majesty probably would have had Green Lanterns Hal Jordan (Boy, that dude got around… must be the ring) and Arisia Rrab and X-Men Piotr “Peter” Rasputin and Katherine “Kitty” Pryde in mind had he looked at the comic books of the Bronze Age more often.

What would a BACK ISSUE salute to superhero romances be without taking a look at these two couples and the ups and downs in their respective relationships?

Well, dear reader, you won’t need to ask that question, because we’ll take a look at these Green Lanterns and X-Men as they work through matters of the heart.

YOUNG LOVE, FIRST LOVE

“The Morning Papers” began with the phrase “He realized she was new to love, naive in every way.” That could describe both Arisia Rrab and Kitty Pryde in a sense. Yet, that isn’t all they have in common. Both are strong,

James Heath Lantz

young female members of popular superhero groups.

Both first appeared in the early 1980s Bronze Age comics, and both fell in love with male teammates who were much older than they. Now, it should be noted that the creators of Green Lantern and Uncanny X-Men at the time initially treated their feelings as, for lack of a better term, a schoolgirl crush. Hal calls Arisia “little sister” in Tales of the Green Lantern Corps #1 (May 1981), while Peter is taken aback by Kitty during moments such as a kiss under the mistletoe in Uncanny X-Men #143 (Mar. 1981).

Writers Len Wein and Chris Claremont ran with the respective crushes well into the mid-1980s.

The relationships between Peter and Kitty and Hal and Arisia blossomed in spite of Hal and Peter’s initial misgivings. This doesn’t stop Kitty and Arisia from flirting. In fact, these superheroic young ladies were the active pursuers. Hal rebuffs Arisia’s advances because he still sees her as too young. This hurts the teenage Green Lantern so much she uses her ring to age herself, even though she’s 28 by Earth standards at the time.

This occurred in Green Lantern Corps #206 (Nov. 1986), while Arisia and Hal were trapped in a cave-in by the

First Kiss (left) When Green Lanterns liplock!

Hal Jordan and Arisia, from Green Lantern Corps #206. (right) When mutants make out!

Piotr Rasputin and Kitty Pryde, from Uncanny X-Men #165.

Green Lantern TM & © DC Comics. X-Men TM & © Marvel.

Superhero Romance Issue • BACK ISSUE • 61

by

Franck Martini

There’s One Weird Thing About This Wedding… …and it ain’t Bashful Benji Grimm!

Detail from the cover to Fantastic Four #300 (Mar. 1987), by brothers John and Sal Buscema.

TM & © Marvel.

66 • BACK ISSUE • Superhero Romance Issue

When it comes to the Fantastic Four, the relationship principles have long been set: Sue and Reed provide the family aspects, Johnny Storm is a womanizer, and Ben Grimm dates Alicia Masters, the blind stepdaughter of FF villain the Puppet Master.

Beyond temporary roster changes, that setup prevailed all along the ’60s, ’70s, and early ’80s, until John Byrne’s Fantastic Four run and the 1984 limited series/crossover Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars. Two key moments put that change in motion: Annihilus attacked the FF headquarters while the team was exploring the Negative Zone and tortured Alicia along with Franklin, Reed and Sue’s son (Fantastic Four #251–256, Feb.–July 1983).

Shortly afterwards, Ben Grimm temporarily left the team at the end of the first Secret Wars to stay on Beyonder’s Battleworld. She-Hulk became the powerhouse of the team starting with FF #265 (Apr. 1984).

Johnny and Alicia’s evolved friendship started with FF #269 (Aug. 1984) and grew into a very strong romantic involvement during the rest of John Byrne’s run. As Byrne explained on his Byrne Robotics online forum, he never clearly defined if Johnny and Alicia were to marry during FF #300 before leaving the book on issue #293 (Aug. 1986): “By the time I left the FF I had reached a rhythm with the characters that I was literally making it up as I went along. Letting the characters ‘tell’ me where the stories were going to go, with very little actual plotting out beyond the issue I was working on. (…) Because of this, I did not know when I left if I would actually have had Johnny and Alicia get married. I suspect not, but I don’t know for sure. The characters themselves had not yet ‘told’ me the way it was supposed to go!”

Roger Stern took over the book as writer with issue #294 (Sept. 1986) and wrote Johnny and Alicia’s engagement in issue #297 (Dec. 1986) and subsequent wedding in FF #300 (Mar. 1987).

Their relationship turned in a sort of love triangle during Steve Englehart’s tenure on the book (issues #304–333, July 1987–Nov. 1989). Sue and Reed had temporarily left the team and were replaced by Ms. Marvel/ She-Thing/Sharon Ventura (Ben Grimm’s then-girlfriend) and Crystal from the Inhumans (Johnny’s former girlfriend from the Stan Lee/Jack Kirby days), whose presence complicated Johnny and Alicia’s story.

The relationship was sidelined during most of Walt Simonson’s run on the book (issues #334–355, Dec. 1989–Aug. 1991), and when new writer Tom DeFalco took over, he quickly changed the status quo by his third issue and created one of the most famous retcons in comic-book history: Alicia had been replaced by a Skrull spy named Lyja and had never really married Johnny Storm (FF #357 and 30th anniversary issue #358, Oct. and Nov. 1991). Lyja would stay with the group until the end of DeFalco’s run and would still be Johnny’s wife in the MC2 dystopic future in the Spider-Girl and Fantastic Five series, both written by DeFalco.

A lot of the elements of this era of FF disappeared after the “Heroes Reborn” storyline, which brought back the team to basics. Lyja kept on appearing during “Secret Invasion” (she “replaced” Sue Richards) and during Jonathan Hickman’s run on the book as a member of the Future Foundation.

Alicia and Ben Grimm broke up, yet Alicia remained a supporting character in FF as Franklin’s babysitter. She became romantically involved with the Silver Surfer for a period, tying with elements established by Lee and Kirby in the early FF stories.

A surprising twist took place recently when, following Jonathan Hickman’s Secret Wars, the group was split for a rather long time. Dan Slott relaunched the series in 2018 and Alicia and Ben renewed their relationship and finally got married in Fantastic Four vol.6 #5, or issue #650 of the legacy numbering (Feb. 2019).

BACK ISSUE virtually sits down with writers Roger Stern and Tom De Falco to discuss Alicia, Ben, and Johnny’s love life and their roles in it.

– Franck Martini FRANCK MARTINI: How did you view the Ben Grimm/Alicia Masters relationship from the Lee and Kirby era?

TOM DeFALCO: I thought it was one of the better love stories in comic books.

ROGER STERN: Oh, that was the great tragic love story of the Lee/ Kirby FF. Two lovers who could be together, but were barred from true romance by physical circumstances.

MARTINI: Were you reading Fantastic Four when John Byrne initiated the Johnny/Alicia story, and what did you think of it?

DeFALCO: I was and still am a big fan of John Byrne’s FF, and I was curious where he’d go with it.

My Best Friend’s Girl (top) Writer/artist John Byrne brings together Johnny and Alicia in FF #269 (Aug. 1984). (bottom) Johnny pops the question—and Ben overhears, in FF #297 (Dec. 1986). By Roger Stern and the Buscema brothers.

TM & © Marvel.

Superhero Romance Issue • BACK ISSUE • 67

Kissing Cousin Detail from the Eduardo Barreto cover art which graces an unusual Crisis crossover in Superman #415 (Jan. 1986).

TM & © DC Comics.

by

Eddy Zeno

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With a cover blurb touting “Supergirl’s Secret Marriage,” the story’s official title was, “Supergirl: Bride of—X?” Written by Cary Bates, the editor was Julius “Julie” Schwartz. Interior art consisted of pencils by Curt Swan.

Curt’s inker was Al Williamson.

Though online analyses and comments on Superman #415 (Jan. 1986) are scarce, in July 2008 a person going by the name of “Anj” commented: “Curt Swan is a legend, so any time I can see his rendition of Kara is fine with me. But in its entirety, this issue is not key to any Supergirl collection and might be best forgotten.”

Is the issue forgettable? This writer asked his brother and he had no recollection of the story, but I remember it well.

Newspaper-strip and comic-book artist Eduardo Barreto drew the front wrap of Superman #415. Like a cover idea Batman’s co-creator (the late Bill Finger) might have suggested had it been the 1940s, a giant Man of Steel grasped a landmine-looking device from which sprung an image of Supergirl kissing her mystery mate. With room only to show bust and upraised arms, Kal-El had darkened features. His expression was somber, fitting the mood that the lovers’ image cary bates as captured no longer existed. Supergirl © DC Comics. no longer existed. Readers at the time were aware of that fact before opening the book if they’d been following Crisis on Infinite Earths. The Maid of Might (forgive her politically incorrect but affectionate former nickname) was killed in issue #7 of the 12-issue maxiseries.

SO MUCH PLOT, SO LITTLE SPACE

Silver Age Superman helmsman Mort Weisinger was Cary Bates’ initial comic-book editor; he brought him into the business. At a time when few Superman tales were continued stories, young Cary learned to squeeze dense storylines into a single issue—and sometimes less— if different featured characters shared the same book.

Akin to the challenges he’d been presented with for two decades, the writer was given 24 pages in Superman #415 to explain away a whole other existence in order to bring Kara back to the universe-shattering battle taking place in Crisis. Of necessity, the story was plot-heavy. Still, it presented a final opportunity to give the pre-Crisis Kara IF YOU THIS PREVIEW, Zor-El something she had not ENJOYED known previously.

While CLICK THE starting LINK TOwith ORDER THIS Supergirl had enjoyed many suitors, boyfriend ISSUE IN PRINT DIGITAL Dick Wilson (later Dick Malverne) wayOR back in ActionFORMAT! Comics #256 (Sept. 1959), no intimacy was ever depicted. It was suggested, however, in Superman #415, where we see a single panel where her husband awakened to find an otherwise empty bed.

Gone But Not Forgotten (top left) The heartbreaking Death of Supergirl issue, Crisis on Infinite Earths #7 (Oct. 1985).

Cover by George Pérez. (top right) Kara’s sometimes-boyfriend Brainiac 5 grieves her death in Legion of Super-Heroes #16 BACK ISSUE #123 (Nov. 1985). Cover

by ROMANCES! Steve Lightle.

SUPERHERO Bruce Wayne(bottom) and Tony Stark’s many loves, Star Sapphire history, Bronze Age weddings, DeFALCO/

STERN Johnny Storm/Alicia interview, Elongated Man and Wife, Writer Elliot S! Maggin’s Supergirl swan song, May-December romances, Supergirl’s Secret Marriage &…

May and Doc Ock??Cover With MIKE by W. BARR, CARY BATES, Superman #414Aunt (Dec. 1985).

Barreto.

TM & © DC Comics.

STEVE ENGLEHART, BOB LAYTON, DENNY O’NEIL, & more!

Cover by DAVE GIBBONS. (84-page FULL-COLOR magazine) $9.95 (Digital Edition) $4.99

74 • BACK ISSUE • Superhero Romance Issue

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