Batman

Years later, Stick would send her to aid the X-Man Wolverine, at a time when he had been physically and mentally regressed to a bestial form. She helped retrain him to the point where he could think and vocalize as a human once more, and spent time with him thereafter as he returned to his normal form, including taking him with her on a return to her ancestral home.

Early years

Batman debuted in Detective Comics #27 (May 1939). Cover art by Bob Kane.

The first Batman story, "The Case of the Chemical Syndicate," was published in Detective Comics #27 (May 1939). Finger said, "Batman was originally written in the style of the pulps"^[14] and this influence was evident with Batman showing little remorse over killing or maiming criminals and was not above using firearms. Batman proved a hit character, and he received his own solo title in 1940, while continuing to star in Detective Comics. By that time, National was the top-selling and most influential publisher in the industry; Batman and the company's other major hero, Superman, were the cornerstones of the company's success.^[15] The two characters were featured side-by-side as the stars of World's Finest Comics, which was originally titled World's Best Comics when it debuted in fall 1940. Creators including Jerry Robinson and Dick Sprang also worked on the strips during this period.

Over the course of the first few Batman strips elements were added to the character and Kane's artistic depiction of Batman evolved. Kane noted within six issues he drew the character's jaw more pronounced and lengthened the ears on the costume; "About a year later he was almost the full figure, my mature Batman," Kane said.^[16] Batman's characteristic utility belt was introduced in Detective Comics #29 (July 1939), followed by the batarang and the first bat-themed vehicle in #31 (September 1939), and the character's origin was revealed in #33 (November 1939). The early pulp-influenced portrayal of Batman started to soften in Detective Comics #38 in 1940 with the introduction of Robin, Batman's kid sidekick.^[17] Robin was introduced based on Finger's suggestion Batman needed a "Watson" with whom Batman could talk.^[18] Sales nearly doubled, despite Kane's preference for a solo Batman, and it sparked a proliferation of "kid sidekicks."^[19] The first issue of Batman was notable not only for introducing two of his most persistent antagonists, the Joker and Catwoman, but for one of the stories in the issue where Batman shoots some monstrous giants to death. That story prompted editor Whitney Ellsworth to issue a decree that the character could no longer kill or use a gun.^[20] By 1942 the writers and artists behind the Batman comics had established most of the basic elements of the Batman mythos.^[21] In the years following World War II, DC Comics "adopted a postwar editorial direction that increasingly de-emphasized social commentary in favor of lighthearted juvenile fantasy." The impact of this editorial approach was evident in Batman comics of the postwar period; removed from the "bleak and menacing world" of the strips of the early 1940s, Batman was instead portrayed as a respectable citizen and paternal figure that inhabited a "bright and colorful" environment.^[22]

1950-1963

Batman was one of the few superhero characters to be continuously published as interest in the genre waned during the 1950s. In the story "The Mightiest Team In the World" in Superman #76 (June 1952), Batman teams up with Superman for the first time and the pair discovers each other's secret identity.^[23] Following the success of this story, World's Finest Comics was revamped so it featured stories starring both heroes together, instead of the separate Batman and Superman features that had been running before.^[24] The team-up of the characters was "a financial success in an era when those were few and far between;"^[25] this series of stories ran until the book's cancellation in 1986.

Batman comics were among those criticized when the comic book industry came under scrutiny with the publication of psychologist Fredric Wertham's book Seduction of the Innocent in 1954. Wertham's thesis was that children imitated crimes committed in comic books, and that these works corrupt the morals of the youth. Wertham criticized Batman comics for their supposed homosexual overtones and argued that Batman and Robin were portrayed as lovers.^[26] Wertham's criticisms raised a public outcry during the 1950s, eventually leading to the establishment of the Comics Code Authority. The tendency towards a "sunnier Batman" in the postwar years intensified after the introduction of the Comics Code.^[27] It has also been suggested by scholars that the characters of Batwoman (in 1956) and Bat-Girl (in 1961) were introduced in part to refute the allegation that Batman and Robin were gay, and the stories took on a campier, lighter feel.^[28]

In the late 1950 Batman stories gradually become more science fiction-oriented, an attempt at mimicking the success of other DC characters that had dabbled in the genre.^[29] New characters such as Batwoman, Ace the Bat-Hound, and Bat-Mite were introduced. Batman has adventures involving either odd transformations or dealing with bizarre space aliens. In 1960, Batman debuted as a member of the Justice League of America in The Brave and the Bold #28 (February 1960) and went on to appear in several Justice League comic series starting later that same year.

"New Look" Batman and camp

By 1964, sales on Batman titles had fallen drastically; Bob Kane noted that as a result "[DC was] planning to kill Batman off altogether."^[30] Editor Julius Schwartz was soon assigned to the Batman titles and presided over drastic changes. Beginning with 1964's Detective Comics #327 (May 1964) — cover-billed as the "New Look" — Schwartz introduced changes designed to make Batman more contemporary and return him to more detective-oriented stories, including a redesign of Batman's equipment, the Batmobile, and his costume (introducing the yellow ellipse behind the costume's bat-insignia), and brought in artist Carmine Infantino to help in this makeover. The space aliens and characters of the 1950s such as Batwoman, Ace, and Bat-Mite were retired. Batman's erstwhile butler Alfred was killed and replaced with Aunt Harriet, who came to live with Bruce Wayne and Dick Grayson.^[31]

Batman #227 (Dec. 1970). An example of Batman's return to a Gothic atmosphere, in an homage to the cover of 1939's Detective Comics #31.^[32] Art by Neal Adams.

The debut of the Batman television series in 1966 had a profound influence on the character. The success of the series increased sales throughout the comic book industry, and Batman reached a circulation of close to 900,000 copies.^[33] Elements such as the character of Batgirl and the show's campy nature were introduced into the comics; the series also initiated the return of Alfred. Although both the comics and TV show were successful for a time, the camp approach eventually wore thin and the show was canceled in 1968. In the aftermath the Batman comics themselves lost popularity once again. As Julius Schwartz noted, "When the television show was a success, I was asked to be campy, and of course when the show faded, so did the comic books."^[34]

Starting in 1969, writer Dennis O'Neil and artist Neal Adams made a deliberate effort to distance Batman from the campy portrayal of the 1960s TV series and to return the character to his roots as a "grim avenger of the night."^[35] O'Neil said his idea was "simply to take it back to where it started. I went to the DC library and read some of the early stories. I tried to get a sense of what Kane and Finger were after."^[36] O'Neil and Adams first collaborated on the story "The Secret of the Waiting Graves" (Detective Comics #395, Jan. 1970). Few stories were true collaborations between O'Neil, Adams, Schwartz, and inker Dick Giordano, and in actuality these men were mixed and matched with various other creators during the 1970s; nevertheless the influence of their work was "tremendous."^[37] Giordano said, "We went back to a grimmer, darker Batman, and I think that's why these stories did so well . . . Even today we're still using Neal's Batman with the long flowing cape and the pointy ears."^[38] While the work of O'Neil and Adams was popular with fans, the acclaim did little to help declining sales; the same held true with a similarly acclaimed run by writer Steve Englehart and penciler Marshall Rogers in Detective Comics #471-476 (Aug. 1977 - April 1978), which went on to influence the 1989 movie Batman and be adapted for the 1990s animated series.^[39] Regardless, circulation continued to drop through the 1970s and 1980s, hitting an all-time low in 1985.^[40]

The Dark Knight Returns and modern Batman (1986-present)

The first issue of Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, which redefined Batman in the 1980s. Pencils by Frank Miller.

Frank Miller's 1986 limited series Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, which tells the story of a 50-year-old Batman coming out of retirement in a possible future, reinvigorated the character. The Dark Knight Returns was a financial success and has since become one of the medium's most noted touchstones.^[41] The series also sparked a major resurgence in the character's popularity.^[42] That year Dennis O'Neil took over as editor of the Batman titles and set the template for the portrayal of Batman following DC's status quo-altering miniseries Crisis on Infinite Earths. O'Neil operated under the assumption that he was hired to revamp the character and as a result tried to instill a different tone in the books than had gone before.^[43] One outcome of this new approach was the "Year One" storyline in Batman #404-407 (Feb.-May 1987), where Frank Miller and artist David Mazzucchelli redefined the character's origins. Writer Alan Moore and artist Brian Bolland continued this dark trend with 1988's 48-page one-shot Batman: The Killing Joke, in which the Joker, attempting to drive Commissioner Gordon insane, cripples Gordon's daughter Barbara, and then kidnaps and tortures the commissioner, physically and psychologically.

The Batman comics garnered major attention in 1988 when DC Comics created a 900 number for readers to call to vote on whether Jason Todd, the second Robin, lived or died. Voters decided in favor of Jason's death by a narrow margin of 28 votes (see Batman: A Death in the Family).^[44] The following year drew more attention to the character, due to the release of the feature 1989 film Batman. In addition to the film's multimillion dollar gross and millions more generated in merchandising, the first issue of Legends of the Dark Knight, the first new solo Batman title in nearly fifty years, sold close to a million copies.^[45] 1993's "Knightfall" arc introduces a new villain, Bane, who critically injures Batman. Jean-Paul Valley, known as Azrael, is called upon to wear the Batsuit during Bruce Wayne's convalescence. Writers Doug Moench, Chuck Dixon, and Alan Grant worked on the Batman titles during "Knightfall" and would also contribute to other Batman crossovers throughout the 1990s. 1998's "Cataclysm" storyline served as the precursor to 1999's "No Man's Land", a year-long storyline that ran through all the Batman-related titles dealing with the effects of an earthquake-ravaged Gotham City. At the conclusion of "No Man's Land" O'Neil stepped down as editor and was replaced by Bob Schreck. In 2003, writer Jeph Loeb and artist Jim Lee began a 12-issue run on Batman. Lee's first regular comic book work in nearly a decade, the series became #1 on the Diamond Comic Distributors sales chart for the first time since Batman #500 (Oct. 1993). Lee then teamed with Frank Miller on All-Star Batman and Robin, which debuted with the best-selling issue in 2005,^[46] as well as the highest sales in the industry since 2003.^[47] Batman was featured in major roles in DC's 2005 company-wide crossover Identity Crisis and 2006's Infinite Crisis. Starting in 2006, the regular writers on Batman and Detective Comics were Grant Morrison and Paul Dini, respectively.

Bruce Wayne

In his secret identity, Batman is Bruce Wayne, a wealthy businessman who lives in Gotham City. Like Superman, the prominent persona of Batman's dual identities varies with time. Modern-age comics have tended to portray "Bruce Wayne" as the facade, with "Batman" as the truer representation of his personality (in counterpoint to the post-Crisis Superman, whose "Clark Kent" persona is the 'real' personality, and "Superman" is the act).

To the world at large, Bruce Wayne is often seen as an irresponsible, superficial playboy who lives off his family's personal fortune (amassed when Bruce's family invested in Gotham real estate before the city was a bustling metropolis) and the profits of Wayne Enterprises, a major private technology firm that he inherits. However, Wayne is also known for his contributions to charity, notably through his Wayne Foundation charity.^[72] Bruce creates the playboy public persona to aid in throwing off suspicion of his secret identity, often acting dim-witted and self-absorbed to further the act.

Skills, abilities, and resources

Unlike many superheroes, Batman has no superpowers and instead relies on "his own scientific knowledge, detective skills, and athletic prowess."^[73] Batman is physically at the peak of human ability in dozens of areas, notably martial arts, acrobatics, strength, and escape artistry. Intellectually, he is just as peerless; Batman is one of the world's greatest scientists, engineers, criminologists, and tacticians, as well as a master of disguise, often gathering information under the identity of Matches Malone. He is regarded as one of the DC Universe's greatest detectives. Rather than simply outfighting his opponents, Batman often uses cunning and planning to outwit them. In Grant Morrison's first storyline in JLA, Superman describes Batman as "the most dangerous man on Earth," able to defeat a team of superpowered aliens all by himself in order to rescue his imprisoned teammates.^[74]

Elektra

Introduction

According to Marvel Comics, Elektra is the world's most lethal woman and one of Marvel's most cold-blooded characters. She has killed more men than just about any other Marvel character, apart from the Punisher, while remaining one of the most popular heroines in the Marvel Universe.

Family and early life

Elektra was born on the Greek island of Crete in the Aegean Sea to Hugo Kostas Natchios and his wife Christina Natchios. She had an older brother named Orestez Natchios. (In Greek language the name should be Oρέστης - i.e. Orestes with Latin alphabet).

Two contradictory accounts of her family history have been given in various issues. In Elektra: Root of Evil #1-4 (March - June, 1995), it is stated that her father was an aspiring diplomat who eventually managed to gain his first assignment as an ambassador to an unspecified country. However, Hugo and his wife had grown apart. Christina had begun a series of extramarital affairs with no apparent interest in keeping them secret, resulting in personal humiliation for her husband. Popular opinion in diplomatic circles stated that a man unable to control his wife had no business deciding on the fate of the world. When Christina became pregnant for a second time, Hugo was certain the child was not his own.

Hugo confided to his adolescent son that his mother was a whore who was shaming their family. Orestez promised his father that Christina would never again shame them. Hugo failed to understand the meaning of these words. On August 13 of that year, the couple was on holiday in the Aegean Sea. They were located by a helicopter which opened fire on them both. The assassins left them for dead. The couple was taken to a nearby hospital. Christina gave premature birth to Elektra and then died. Hugo recovered from his wounds.

Orestez had hired the assassins in order to indirectly commit matricide. He was horrified by the idea of unintentional patricide and ran away from home. Hugo was the only family left to Elektra. At first, Hugo had no intention to raise this "bastard" child. However, a paternity test confirmed the child to be his own. Hugo was not sorry for losing Christina. He was grateful, however, for her giving him a daughter. He arranged for a beautiful headstone to be placed on her grave. Images of the Erinyes on the headstone implied however that Christina was responsible for her own death.

Hugo grew to adore Elektra. He nicknamed her his "Little Amber" and showered her with gifts. Her favorite gift was a pet dog of her own, named Agamemnon, continuing the pattern of Hugo naming members of his family after the Atreidae. The dog was killed when a nine-year-old Elektra was assaulted by kidnappers. The men were all killed by Orestez, who had grown into an accomplished martial artist after leaving home. He did not explain his presence there. He briefly acquainted himself to his little sister and then left again.

But Orestez had a lasting effect in her life. He advised his father that Elektra needed to learn self-defense. Hugo hired a sensei to teach her the martial arts, beginning her acquaintance with fighting. According to the Daredevil film, Elektra's father hired a new sensei every year, to ensure her skills in the martial arts. The issues were scripted by Dan Chichester and drawn by Scott McDaniel.

Activities as an adult

Hugo Natchios is known to have eventually served as a Greek ambassador to the United States. 19-year-old Elektra first attended Columbia University, New York City, New York. There Elektra met Matt Murdock, the man who would become Daredevil, who became her boyfriend.

A year later, 20-year-old Elektra and her father were kidnapped by terrorists. Matt wore a mask for the first time and started a rescue attempt. Elektra used the distraction to strike down some of the terrorists. However, one of the defeated men fell out of a window. The police assumed the terrorists had started throwing their hostages off the window. They opened fire and killed the man closest to the window: Hugo Natchios, right in front of his daughter's eyes.

Elektra lost faith and hope. She quit Columbia and returned to the study of martial arts. Stick, a member of the benevolent organization called the Chaste, recognized the darkness in her soul and attempted to train her himself, but she ultimately sided with the Hand, a sect of mystical ninja, who trained her as an assassin. She later broke away from them and became an independent agent, and in this role she again encountered Matt Murdock, who was now active as Daredevil. She battled Daredevil in order to force him to help her capture the criminal Alarich Wallenquist, and Daredevil saved her from being killed by Eric Slaughter.^[2] She soon learned of his double identity, and although the pair worked together to fight the Hand, they also came into conflict frequently.

Elektra later first battled the Hand alongside Daredevil and Gladiator.^[3] She then battled Kirigi.^[4] She soon became the chief assassin in the employ of New York City's premier crime-lord, the Kingpin.^[5] She attempted to kill Daredevil after he tried to stop her from terrorizing Ben Urich.^[6] The Kingpin then assigned her to kill Matt Murdock's partner, Franklin "Foggy" Nelson. When Nelson recognized Elektra as Matt's college girlfriend, she was unable to kill him.

Some time after her partnership with Wolverine ended, it was revealed that when Elektra was resurrected by Stone, Elektra's evil aspect had been physically split apart from her in its own body as a consequence of the ritual performed by Daredevil. Her darker half, calling itself Erynys, fought Elektra and was killed by her, thus returning the dark side to Elektra's soul.

Captain America

Early Years and World War II

Steve Rogers was a scrawny fine arts student specializing in industrialization in the 1940's before America entered World War II. He attempted to enlist in the army only to be turned away due to his poor constitution. A U.S. officer offered Rogers an alternative way to serve his country by being a test subject in project, Operation: Rebirth, a top secret defense research project designed to create physically superior soldiers. Rogers accepted and after a rigorous physical and combat training and selection process was selected as the first test subject. He was given injections and oral ingestion of the formula dubbed the "Super Soldier Serum" developed by the scientist Dr. Abraham Erskine. Rogers was then exposed to a controlled burst of "Vita-Rays" that activated and stabilized the chemicals in his system. The process successfully altered his physiology from its frail state to the maximum of human efficiency, including greatly enhanced musculature and reflexes.

After the assassination of Dr. Erskine. Roger was re-imagined as a superhero who served both as a counter-intelligence agent and a propaganda symbol to counter Nazi Germany's head of terrorist operations, the Red Skull. Rogers was given a costume modeled after the American flag, a bulletproof shield, a personal sidearm and the codename Captain America. He was also given a cover identity as a clumsy infantry private at Camp LeHigh in Virginia. Barely out of his teens himself, Rogers made friends with the teenage camp mascot, James Buchanan "Bucky" Barnes. Barnes accidentally learned of Rogers' dual identity and offered to keep the secret if he could become Captain America's sidekick. Rogers agreed, and trained Barnes. Roger met President Franklin D. Roosevelt, who presented him with a new shield made from a chance mixture of iron, Vibranium and an unknown catalyst. Throughout World War II, Captain America and Bucky fought the Nazi menace both on their own and as members of the superhero team the Invaders, which after the war evolved into the All-Winners Squad.

In the closing days of World War II in 1945, Captain America and Bucky tried to stop the villainous Baron Zemo from destroying an experimental drone plane. Zemo launched the plane with an armed explosive device on it, with Rogers and Barnes in hot pursuit. They reached the plane just before it took off, but when Bucky tried to defuse the bomb, it exploded in mid-air. The young man was believed killed, and Rogers was hurled into the freezing waters of either the North Atlantic. Neither his body or Bucky's were found, and both were presumed dead.

Discovery and the Avengers

The Avengers discovered Rogers' body in the North Atlantic, his costume under his soldier's uniform and still carrying his shield. Rogers had been preserved in a block of ice since 1945, which melted after the block was thrown back into the ocean by an enraged Sub-Mariner. When Rogers revived, he related his last, failed mission in the closing days of the war. Rogers accepted membership in the Avengers, and although he soon adjusted to modern times well enough to eventually assume leadership of the team, he was plagued by guilt for not being able to prevent Bucky's death. He also undertook missions for the national security agency S.H.I.E.L.D., which was commanded by his old war comrade Nick Fury. Rogers established a residence in the Red Hook neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York and has discovered that Bucky had been held in suspended animation throughout the Cold War performing assassinations as the Winter Soldier.

Civil War

Recent events have been tumultuous for Captain America. As the passage of the the Superhuman Registration Act drew near, Maria Hill (the leader of S.H.I.E.L.D.) propositioned Rogers and th

e Avengers to join S.H.I.E.L.D. in enforcing the act. When he refused, Hill had her trained "Superhuman Response Unit" attack him. During the scuffle Rogers avoided being tranquilized and managed to escape by lodging his shield in an aircraft and forcing the pilot to fly him to safety. Soon after, at the Baxter Building the Watcher told the heroes who had gathered there about

the Captain's escape. Captain America soon became the de facto leader of the Secret Avengers, heroes fighting against the registration act, much to the consternation of his erstwhile friend Iron Man. While the two made sporadic attempts to reconcile

during the Civil War, the clashes between their respective teams became more and more heated, ultimately leading to a pitched

battle in the middle of New York City. At the end of the battle, as Cap was about to deliver a finishing blow to Iron Man, he was tackled by several emergency workers. Realizing the damage the war was doing to the city and its civilian population, Captain America unmasked and surrendered as Steve Rogers.

The Flash

The Flash is one of DC comics most endearing heroes for this simple reason; even though he has been given a tremendous gift of super-speed, he is still only human. Superman always could do the incredible tasks of saving the world and managing to rescue Lois Lane from the bad guys... The Flash is always trying to beat the clock. Batman makes detective work look easy, The Flash spends the majority of his day painstakingly analyzing evidence in a lab. Imagine one of the crew of CSI spending the whole day collecting evidence and then trying to stop villains in whatever time he had left of his day: all of this while working in a police station that is hunting down his alter-ego! For those who were not comic book fans, this series is still worth a look. It was ahead of it's time in many ways: X-men, Spiderman, and the upcoming Batman Begins all focus in on the people behind the masks and the costumes to reveal the true character of the Hero.

The Flash’s Powers

The key ability all Flashes share is speed: running fast, thinking fast, kicking and punching fast. They can create whirlwinds with their arms or drill through the ground. They can move back and forth so quickly they become invisible. They can run up the side of a building faster than the pull of gravity, or across water before their feet have time to break the surface. Some have complete control over their molecules, and can vibrate through solid objects. Today’s Flash, Wally West, can also lend speed to moving objects or steal it from them, slowing them to a stop. Unlike the others, he hasn’t mastered the art of vibrating through objects: they tend to explode as he passes through them!

The second Flash, Barry Allen, learned how to travel through time using his control over his molecular vibrations. On his own it was hit-and-miss, so he built the “cosmic treadmill” to help pinpoint destinations. By running on the treadmill, any Flash can set up the right vibrations to travel through time. Wally West is the only Flash (so far) to master time travel without the treadmill, though he avoids it whenever possible.

The Flash Legacy

Four heroes have called themselves the Flash over the years.* The first, Jay Garrick, fought crime in Keystone City during the 1940s. The second, Barry Allen, protected Central City 10–20 years ago and died during Crisis on Infinite Earths. The third Flash, Wally West, started his solo career in New York City before moving to Keystone. He and his family vanished during Infinite Crisis, and Bart Allen took over until his tragic death. Wally was brought back just moments after Bart was killed.

*There’s actually a lot more, if you bring in future and alternate universe stories.

Flash I

Jay Garrick is a scientist. In his college years, a lab accident left him exposed to “heavy water” fumes overnight, and he woke up with super-speed. He fought crime in Keystone City, often with the help of his girlfriend Joan, and was a charter member of the Justice Society of America (JSA). He retired in the early 1950s and married Joan, but would come out of retirement when the need arose. Kept (relatively) young by his powers, he now works with the modern Justice Society.

Current Series: Justice Society of America.

Flash II

Barry Allen was a police scientist in Central City, across the river from Keystone. Working late one night, he was struck by lightning and splashed with chemicals, giving him super-speed. As the Flash, he was a contemporary of Superman and Batman, and a founding member of the Justice League of America (JLA). A year or two into his career, Barry married reporter Iris West. Iris was eventually believed killed by Professor Zoom, but she survived in the 30^th Century. The Flash later killed Zoom accidentally, leading to a lengthy murder trial and Barry being reunited with his wife in the distant future. Just a month later, Barry died in the Crisis on Infinite Earths, sacrificing his life to save the universe. Iris has since returned to the present.

Current Series: None.

Flash III

Wally West grew up in a small Nebraska town, and was a huge fan of the Flash. One day, visiting his aunt Iris, he got a chance to meet his idol. In a freak accident, Barry’s origin repeated itself, and Wally became his teen-aged sidekick, Kid Flash. Wally joined with other sidekicks to form the original Teen Titans, and has been a hero his entire adult life. After Barry’s death, he took on the role of the Flash, first in New York, then in Keystone City. After running through a series of girlfriends, he finally married reporter Linda Park. Wally worked as a mechanic for the Keystone City Police Department until he, Linda, and their infant twins disappeared in Infinite Crisis.

They reappeared over a year later. Their children, Iris and Jai, had developed powers of their own, which accelerated their growth to the physical ages of 10 and 8.

Current Series: Flash, Justice League of America.

Flash IV

Bart Allen, Barry’s grandson, was born in the 30^th Century with a hyper-accelerated metabolism. He grew up in a virtual reality adjusted to match his sense of time, giving him no sense of danger. His grandmother eventually brought him to our present in hopes that Wally would know how to cure him, and his system was shocked to a normal growth rate in early adolescence. At first he took on the name Impulse, and lived with Max Mercury as his guardian and mentor, but since Max’s disappearance, he has lived with Jay and Joan Garrick. A founding member of Young Justice, Bart went on to join the Teen Titans and changed his name to Kid Flash. He spent several years in an alternate dimension during Infinite Crisis and returned as a young adult.

Bart had a brief career as the fourth Flash, during which he moved to Los Angeles. Tragically, he was killed by the Rogues just moments before Wally West returned.

Others to carry the mantle of the Flash Jesse Chambers Main article: Jesse Chambers Daughter of the speedster Johnny Quick, Jesse Chambers became a speeding superhero like her father. She later met Wally West, the Flash, who would ask her to be his replacement if something were to happen to him, (as part of an elaborate plan on his part, trying to force Bart Allen to take his role in the legacy of the Flash more seriously). She briefly assumes the mantle of the Flash, after Wally enters the Speed Force. [5] Unnamed Allen of the 23rd Century The father of Sela Allen, his wife and daughter were captured by Cobalt Blue. He was forced to watch his wife die and his daughter become crippled. As he and Max Mercury killed Cobalt Blue, a child took the gem and killed Allen. This Flash was one of the two destined Flashes to be killed by Cobalt Blue (Eobard Thawne). Sela Allen Sela Allen as the Flash of the 23rd century. Sela Allen is an ordinary human in the 23rd century until Cobalt Blue steals electrical impulses away from her, causing her to become as slow to the world as the world is to The Flash. Hoping to restore her, her father takes her into the Speed Force. When her father is killed, she appears as a living manifestation of The Flash, able to lend speed to various people and objects but unable to physically interact with the world. John Fox John Fox as the Flash. When Manfred Mota resurfaced in 27th century, John Fox, a tachyon scientist, traveled back in time to gain aid from the three Flashes who had defeated Manfred before. He failed to make contact but the time travel left him with superspeed. He used a combination of various previous Flash costumes to create his own costume. After defeating Mota he was sidelined by the invention of speed metal. He began searching the timestream for a time where he could belong, briefly replacing a time-displaced Wally West in the 20th century before finally settled in the year 85,265 where he joined the Justice Legion. In issue #2 of the 2007 Booster Gold series, there is a panel depicting Dr. Thirteen's group breaking the fourth wall by complaining about the Architects' only using popular "fellows" in new comics, John Fox was mentioned by name. Blaine Allen Blaine Allen as the Flash of the 28th century. Blaine and his son lived on the colony world of Petrus in the 28th century. In an attempt to end the Allen blood line, Cobalt Blue injected Allen's son Jace with a virus. Lacking superspeed, Jace was unable to shake off the virus. In despair, Blaine took his son to the Speed Force in the hopes that it would accept him. It took Blaine instead, and gave superspeed to Jace so that he could shake off the disease. Jace Allen Jace Allen gained superspeed when his father brought him into the Speed Force to attempt to cure him of a virus injected into his body by Cobalt Blue in an attempt to end the Allen bloodline. In memory of his father, Jace took up the mantle of the Flash and continued the feud against Cobalt Blue. Kryad After an alien creature invaded Earth, a history buff named Kryad traveled back in time from the 98th century to acquire a GL power ring. He failed, so he tried to capture The Flash's speed instead. After being beaten by Wally West, he went back further in time and used the chemicals from the clothes Barry Allen was wearing when he gained his powers. Kryad gave his life to defeat the alien creature. Alternate versions Tanaka Rei from Legends of the DC Universe: Crisis on Infinite Earths. Art by Paul Ryan and Bob McLeod. In the final issue of 52, a new Multiverse is revealed, originally consisting of 52 identical realities. Among the parallel realities shown is one designated "Earth-2". As a result of Mister Mind "eating" aspects of this reality, it takes on visual aspects similar to the pre-Crisis Earth-2, including the Flash among other Justice Society of America characters. The names of the characters and the team are not mentioned in the panel in which they appear, but the Flash is visually similar to the Jay Garrick Flash.[6] Based on comments by Grant Morrison, this alternate universe is not the pre-Crisis Earth-2.[7] A variant of the Flash - a superfast college student named Mary Maxwell - was seen in the Elseworld book Just Imagine Stan Lee Creating The Flash. Tanaka Rei The Flash of Earth-D, Rei was a Japanese man who idolized Barry Allen, whose stories only existed in comic books. Rei was inspired by Allen to become the Flash, much like Allen was inspired to become the Flash by his idol, Jay Garrick. Allen and Rei met during the Crisis on Infinite Earths when Barry was coming back from the 30th century and arrived in the wrong universe. As that earth was under attack by the shadow demons, Barry called on the Justice League and Tanaka called on the Justice Alliance, his world's version of the Justice League. They built a cosmic treadmill and made an evacuation. The Justice League left, but 39 seconds later, Earth-D perished. Rei made his only appearance in Legends of the DC Universe: Crisis on Infinite Earths.

Sky High

It all begins at a secret school in the clouds like none on earth: Sky High, the first and only high school for kids with super-human powers going through crime-fighting puberty. At Sky High, the student body throw flames with their footballs, study Villainy with their Chemistry and are divided into Heroes and Sidekicks instead of jocks and geeks. It's an out-of-this-world yet completely recognizable place where cool gadgetry, rampant bravery and awe-inspiring magical skills mix it up with parental battles, peer pressure and dating trouble--with explosively fun results. This year's class features some of the best, brightest and most powerfully gifted super-teens ever assembled. And then there's Will Stronghold. When you're the son of the world's most legendary super heroes, The Commander and Jetstream, people expect you to live up to the family name The problem is that Will is starting with no superpowers of his own and, worst of all, instead of joining the ranks of the Hero class, he finds himself relegated to being a Sidekick. Now he must somehow survive his freshman year while dealing with an overbearing gym coach, a bully with super speed and a dangerous rebel with a grudge (and the ability to shoot fire from his hands)--not to mention the usual angst, parental expectations and girl problems that accompany teenage life. But when an evil villain threatens his family, friends and the very sanctity of Sky High, Will must use his newfound superpowers to save the day and prove himself a Hero worthy of the family tradition.

Students

Similar to the Power Rangers series, the students' civilian clothing throughout the film consistently matches particular color schemes, perhaps foreshadowing their future hero costumes.

• Michael Angarano as William "Will" Theodore Stronghold: Will is a freshman at Sky High. His parents are the two most famous superheroes of the day, the Commander and Jetstream. He is anxious at the outset of the film because he has no superpowers yet, which changes when he first develops super-strength and then flight. Near the end of the film when a few other characters battle each other, Will fights with Royal Pain and wins. His clothes are primarily red, white, and blue.
• Danielle Panabaker as Layla Williams: Will and Layla have known each other since first grade, when she told him that she could control (and speak to) plants; they have been best friends ever since. She is a pacifist and a vegan. She also has a crush on Will, which she covered up at the beginning of the film. Layla does not believe in using her plant manipulating power unless the situation demands it (although this seems to conflict with her casual use of her powers at the beginning of the movie, and later-on when she made a flower droop in the Paper Lantern). Her clothes are primarily green and light green. During the final battle she takes on Penny but refuses to use her powers eve n when Penny taunts her because of her pacifist nature; but when Penny hits her, it angers her enough that she invokes her powers and easily defeats Penny by wrapping her up in vines.
• Mary Elizabeth Winstead as Gwen Grayson (Royal Pain / Sue Tenney): A senior at Sky High; Will has a crush on her. Her true name is Sue Tenny. She is a straight-A student and a technopath, and she shows a mean streak towards Will's friends. However, she is, in fact, the Stronghold family's nemesis the Royal Pain, who was laughed off a generation ago as the prototypical school geek despite her skills as a technopath. 15 years before the movie, during a fight with the Commander and Jetstream, her signature weapon, the Pacifier, malfunctioned and exploded, causing her to revert to a baby. Taken in and re-raised by her own sidekick, Stiches, she creates a new identity as Gwen Grayson, and re-enrolls at Sky High, intent on finally putting her nefarious scheme to create an evil academy into action, as revenge against the Commander and Jetstream. She nearly succeeds, but Will's friends stop her minions and Ron Wilson, Bus Driver stops her sidekick from escaping with all of the babies. She fights Will, and almost wins after she punches him through a window, but ultimately is the loser when he discovers he has the power to fly and she is defeated and subsequently arrested. Her clothes are primarily pink, purple and gray. While wearing her Royal Pain armor, Gwen's voice is heavily distorted into a bass tone (performed by Patrick Warburton) similar to Anakin Skywalker wearing his Darth Vader armor.
• Steven Strait as Warren Peace: Warren is the son of an unnamed superheroine and a supervillain known as Baron Battle (whom the Commander put in prison; Warren therefore initially considered Will his archenemy). Warren is the quintessential rebel and a pyrokinetic. Brooding at school but more bearable outside, from the way he interacted with Will and Layla while off-campus. He eventually becomes good friends with Will and the others. He works at the Paper Lantern Chinese Restaurant, and can somewhat speak in Cantonese. His name is obviously a play on War and Peace. It was his aggression towards Will that accidentally allowed the latter to gain, for the very first time, access over his abilities. The two were later paired to a Save the Citizen after Lash and Speed challenged them (and consented by Boomer), knowing that all hell will break loose if those two were in the same team. Things didn't go quite as expected and Warren and Will became the first to defeat Lash and Speed. Warren fights Speed toward the end of the film and wins. His clothes are primarily black, with hints of red. He may also be indestructable as he was able to take at least two superpowered punches from Will, get knocked into a beam and thrown through several walls and pillars and get back up like it never happened, also exclaiming, "You think I can't take a hit?" If that was the case then he may be the first superpowered teen to exhibit more than one supernatural ability before Will. He was last seen taking the hand of a blond-haired girl who appears to have cryokinetic
• Dee Jay Daniels as Ethan: A Hero Support who is friends with Will, he can melt into a small puddle (which earned him the nickname "Popsicle"). He is often the butt of practical jokes, like getting his head dunked in the toilet by Lash and Speed, although he does fight Lash in the climax and wins. His clothes are primarily orange.
• Kelly Vitz as Magenta/Maj: Will's friend whose ability is to shapeshift into a guinea pig complete with purple highlights/streaks in her fur- she has purple highlights in her hair normally. She does not like to be pushed around. She seems to return Zach's feelings for her towards the end of the movie. Her clothes, as well as her guinea pig form, are primarily purple and black. In the final battle she disables the jammer on the gravity drive in her guinea pig form, saving the school.
• Nicholas Braun as Zach Braun: Will's spacey friend, who has the ability to glow - in the dark. His power actually proved useful when he, Warren, Layla, Magenta, and Ethan made their way though the vents since Warren couldn't use his powers to light up their way without igniting the rest of the vicinity and burn them alive in the process. He has a crush on Magenta. His clothes are primarily white and neon yellow. He has known Will since before the movie.
• Malika and Khadijah Haqq as Penny: Gwen's best friend who can replicate herself and is therefore the entire cheerleading team. She, along with Lash and Speed, eventually were a part of Gwen Grayson/Sue Tenny/Royal Pain's plan. In the latter half of the film, she and Layla fight. At first Penny seems to have the uppers hand, trapping Layla into a corner. But she loses when she angers Layla by hitting her, and Layla responds by making the plants outside a nearby window attack Penny and her doppelgangers, where she informs Layla that Royal Pain sabotaged the school's anit-gravity device, which would cause the school to fall out of the sky. She, along with Royal Pain, Lash, and Speed are sent to the detention center in the end. Her clothes are primarily orange and blue. Throughout the film they resemble cheerleading uniforms.
• Jake Sandvig as Lash: One of the resident bullies at Sky High. He and best friend

  

  Speed love tormenting the sidekicks and anyone else with no apparent powers. His superpower is his elasticity and he is, logically, champion of the game Save the Citizen, along with Speed, until Will and Warren break the records. His clothes consistently feature black and white striped arms. He is defeated by Ethan at the end when Ethan tricks him and then flushes his head down a toilet and it gets stuck there.
• Will Harris as Speed: Lash's best friend, who joins him in his bullying and is always his partner in the game Save the Citizen. He, despite being heavyset, has super-speed. His clothes consistently feature black and white, similar to Lash. It takes both Warren and Ethan to defeat him in the end because his super-speed gives him an advantage, allowing him to dodge Warren's fireballs. He loses when Ethan melts in front of him causing him to slip and go sliding down the hall, out of control. Warren finishes him off by hitting him with a fireball, sending him head first into a wall.

Adults

• Kurt Russell as Steve Stronghold/The Commander: Will's father, Steve Stronghold and his wife, Josie, run the most successful real estate agency in the city of Maxville. As the Commander, he is one of the world's strongest superheroes, displaying super-strength and durability. He is sometimes blinded by his own ego, but when it comes to his family, Steve is always there to support his son. As Steve, he wears glasses to hide his identity (a play on Superman); as the Commander, he wears a red, white, and blue costume. The castle logo on his chest presumably represents a stronghold, in reference to his real name.
• Kelly Preston as Josie Stronghold/Jetstream: Will's mother, Josie Stronghold, and her husband Steve are successful real estate agents. As Jetstream, she can fly and is touted as being an expert in hand-to-hand combat. In addition, she is the classic motherly figure, which Will often finds embarrassing. Just like her husband, she wears glasses as Josie and a red, white, and blue costume as Jetstream. She and her husband run the most successful real estate agency in Maxville.
• Lynda Carter as Principal Powers: The principal of Sky High. She appears to have the power to transform into a comet and back at will, (Her actress comments that "Powers is a comet".) She is a strict, no nonsense teacher who regrettably has to place both Will and Warren in the detention chamber on their first day of Will's freshman year. She also places Royal Pain, Stitches, Lash, Speed, and Penny in the same chamber at the ending of the movie, at which point Powers states "I'm not Wonder Woman, ya know" - a little in-joke to Lynda Carter's role as Wonder Woman in the 1970s). Her primary colors are light blue and white, though she is only seen in her suits and never in her costume. ^[1]
• Bruce Campbell as Coach Boomer/Sonic Boom: The gym teacher at Sky High, also known as Sonic Boom due to his ability to release sonic waves from his vocal cords, which he conveniently uses to bark at any student who doesn't live up to his expectations. His shouts are powerful enough to be heard by the entire school, usually shattering glasses in the process. Principal Powers appears to be the only one completely used to this kind of behavior. He is in charge of Power Placement and supervises "Save the Citizen." He will not hesitate to put his least favorite students in sidekick class. He is mentioned by the Commander as having never "made the big time" as a superhero, which would explain his bad temper. He wears only his gym suit which is dark blue and white.
• Kevin Heffernan as Ron Wilson - Bus Driver : The Sky High bus driver-slash-pilot. Ron is the son of two superheroes, but he does not have any powers. Basically comparable to Hagrid, he develops a sense of camaderie with Will. He feels a great sense of pride in driving the "superheroes of tomorrow" to school. He helps save the day by flying Will to the school when he couldn't fly yet, and knocking out Stitches stopping him from taking off with a busload of babies. At the end of the film, it is stated that he falls into a vat of toxic waste and gains powers (apparently the ability to grow, like Giant-Man) and begins working for the mayor.
• Cloris Leachman as Nurse Spex: A kind and eccentric elderly lady that serves as Sky High's single known nurse. She has the ability of X-ray vision, which she uses to see if Will may possible have any broken bones after Power Placement. She explains to Will that cases like his (where an offspring of two superheroes, or of one superhero and one human, develops no powers whatsoever) are not unheard-of. She tells Will that she does not want to be the one to tell his father that Will has no discovered powers, because he and Will's mom were both such successful and well-known heroes of their time, and still are.
• Jim Rash as Mr. Grayson/Stitches: Royal Pain's bumbling sidekick, and Gwen Grayson/Sue Tenney's "father", who raised her as his own after she turned into a baby. He wears a jester's outfit. A running joke throughout the film was when Royal Pain was ever angered by Stitches, she would grab the sidekick by the throat and choke him, while Stitches would gag out "Uncle, Uncle, Uncle!!" At the climax he attempts to take a bus full of babies away but is knocked out by Ron Wilson: Bus Driver, who says that he (Ron) is the only one qualified to transport super kids.
• Dave Foley as All American Boy/Mr. Boy: The Commander's old Hero Support. He now works as Hero Support teacher at Sky High. Although he takes pride in educating the Hero Support of tomorrow, he always seems depressed that his greatest accomplishment is just being Commander's sidekick (and is shaken to find that the Commander had never mentioned to Will that he had had a sidekick before teaming with Jetstream). Being the former sidekick, he seems to have no extraordinary abilities whatsoever other than enhanced athleticism. He also harbors a long-standing crush on Jetstream.
• Kevin McDonald as Mr. Medulla: The Mad Science teacher, with super brainpower – so much that he is still smarter than the average adult as a baby. This allows him to help the young students to restore himself and the other homecoming attendees to their proper ages. Both McDonald and Foley (above) come from sketch comedy troupe The Kids in the Hall.