Packed with 100+ inventive groupings, hierarchies, and infographics, The DC Comics Book of Lists offers a creative way of looking at both the well-known and obscure histories of the top heroes and villains from the DC Universe across 80+ years. Each entry in this book celebrates another corner of DC's past, present, and future. It revels in the rich tapestry of DC's characters and history. Or histories, for that matter. Each first meeting of Batman and Superman is listed, as are highlights of Hawkman's many reincarnations and Jimmy Olsen's transformations. Harley Quinn’s most peculiar career choices? They make quite a resume. The DC Comics Book of Lists also has a chronological list of artificial intelligence, from the 2nd century to the 823rd—with Metal Men, Brother Eye, and Computo along the way—and a Mount Olympus family tree presents Wonder Woman’s expansive list of relatives. Legacy characters like the Flash and Green Lantern are highlighted, profiling each character to don the mantle, and Suicide Squad members are memorialized in a breakdown of who was killed on each mission. From superheroes and villains with tattoos to the many cats prowling around the DC multiverse, you’ll find a surprise or two on every page. Illustrated with full-color comic book art throughout, each page of The DC Comics Book of Lists presents a new discovery or way of looking at cherished characters.
Release date:
September 28, 2021
Publisher:
Running Press
Print pages:
272
* BingeBooks earns revenue from qualifying purchases as an Amazon Associate as well as from other retail partners.
Welcome to The DC Book of Lists, an exploration of eighty-plus years of DC lore, reorganized into lists, groupings, hierarchies, chronologies, and more. My goal is to celebrate the decades of stories, as well as entertain and inform readers who delight in the minutiae of their favorite stories and characters. I took a holistic approach, examining the entire colorful tapestry of DC, free of the confines of continuity and reboots. All these stories happened and will continue to happen each time someone dives into their back issues or collected editions.
Join me as we appreciate the impossibility of it all. The origin of Batman is well known—the night at the movies, the alley, the robbery, the pearls, the vow to avenge—but examining the sheer number of people with whom Bruce Wayne trained is revelatory in both its grandiosity and its affirmation of Batman’s drive and dedication. It doesn’t matter whether or not any of these mentors exist in the latest continuity; they all contribute to the myth of Batman.
Perhaps the greatest delights in researching and writing this book were the surprises I found along the way. While compiling all the forms of robots and artificial intelligence—Amazo, the Metal Men, Brother Eye, Skeets, Computo, and beyond—I discovered they could be arranged in a meaningful—and even logical—chronology, as though we’re tracing an actual technological advancement. Or when I dove into the many undersea worlds, the vastness of Atlantis and accompanying cities made an impression like never before. There was a richness to the diversity of populations and a thrill to the possibilities of what else could be found beneath the surface of the planet’s oceans.
There’s an additive and cyclical nature to comics, constantly building off what came before. It’s ingrained in DC’s DNA with their multiverse and each new Crisis. What might be daunting—or possibly impenetrable, like Donna Troy’s origin or the various incarnations of the Legion of Super-Heroes—were surprisingly easy to break down into a simple order that allows you to appreciate how the changes further the story, instead of erasing what came before.
Call it a pulse or a rhythm, but in writing this book, I felt tapped into what made DC tick. It allowed me the chance to connect with more than eighty years of storytellers, and I’m excited to share that so you can follow along with the beat.
Or maybe you just want a quick reference to all the races between Superman and The Flash, or a breakdown of all the times Suicide Squad members were killed on a mission. I’ve got that covered too, along with the array of schemes in which Booster Gold and Blue Beetle were caught up, the surprising number of cats prowling around, The Joker’s ridiculous crimes, and everyone John Constantine did wrong (that was a long list). I hope this book will inspire you to look for patterns where you haven’t before and make your own lists, sorting the comics and storylines you love in a way you hadn’t before.
Enjoy!
Bruce Wayne learned from the best. Traveling the globe for years, he studied with dozens of teachers, each imparting to him an invaluable skill.
SERGEI ALEXANDROV: Problem-solving skills and how to build whatever is needed, no matter how impossible it seems.
PETER ALLISON: Olympic-level gymnastics.
AURELIUS BOCH: Toxicology.
THADDEUS BROWN (MISTER MIRACLE): Escapology.
DAVID CAIN: Lethal martial arts techniques that Bruce never planned to use.
MR. CAMPBELL: Electrical skills and proficiency.
CHU CHIN LI: The monk located on Mount Qingcheng shaped much of Bruce’s ideology, in addition to martial arts training and healing practice.
RAPHAEL DiGIORDA: Mastery of archery.
MAX DODGE: Escapology, including locks, chains, and assorted death traps.
WILLY DOGGETT: Tracking in the wild.
RICHARD DRAGON: Kung fu mastery.
HENRI DUCARD: The skill of manhunting and the use of brutality, deception, and cunning.
THE FBI: Writing reports, obeying regulations, analyzing statistics, and dressing neatly. Bruce scored perfect on every exam except gun handling and dropped out after six weeks.
CHRISTIAN AND JESSICA FOX: An extensive bodybuilding routine.
TED GRANT (WILDCAT): Boxing knowledge and skills.
HARVEY HARRIS: The art of detection and investigation, as well as anger management.
H’SIEN-TAN: The darker side of Taoism, focused on forging a path of power.
MARK JENNER: Stock car racing.
MR. KINGSLEY: Advanced chemistry.
KIRIGI: A variety of martial arts, including karate and ninjutsu, including the vibrating palm strike. Unfortunately, Bruce resisted the master’s important lessons on patience.
THE LAMAS OF NANDA PARBAT: Meditative work, including the near-death practice known as Thögal.
MR. LASALLE: Bodybuilding.
DAN MALLORY: Critical investigative knowledge.
SHIHAN MATSUDA: Tummo meditation and total control of his body.
ARTHUR MCKEE: Maintaining a criminal alias and undercover work.
THE MEMORY OF THE MOUNTAIN: How to encode senses into one’s mind, locking in memories, no matter how many years have passed.
DON MIGUEL: High-speed driving and outrunning the police on the streets of Rio de Janeiro.
ALFRED PENNYWORTH: Acting, makeup, disguises, and vocal mimicry.
QUEEN: Warfare by making Bruce endure a twenty-eight-hour death match against an entire army of men.
PROFESSOR AMOS REXFORD: The difference between justice and law.
THE RHANA BHUTRA: Pacifism, a lesson Bruce never took to heart.
THE SHAMAN OF THE OTTER RIDGE TRIBE: A sacred healing story of a bat that foretold Bruce’s future.
SHAO-LA: The lighter side of Taoism, plus hang gliding.
MR. SHASTRI: Snake handling.
FREDERICK STONE: Explosives.
THE TEN-EYED TRIBES OF THE EMPTY QUARTER: How to fight like a ghost and purge inner demons.
TSUNETOMO: Ninjutsu and sword fighting.
BRUCE WAYNE: Self-taught to identify bullets from the wound they make by shooting bodies in the morgue. Gross.
MR. WEBBER: Handling and utilizing acids.
GIOVANNI ZATARA: Sleight of hand, escapology, ventriloquism, and the world of the occult.
THE ZHUGUAN: This Chinese superhero group taught the value in working as a team as well as throwing lessons that came in handy once Bruce developed Batarangs.
OTHER TRAINING INCLUDED: Learning the French martial art savate from a convicted killer living as a beach bum on an island off Borneo, judo and jujitsu at a Japanese hermitage, hunting and tracking with African bushmen, death-match fighting with Nigerian warriors, employing psychology and how to use the shadows by ninjas, healing arts from monks, using bolas from cattlemen, and using blowpipes from Yanomami hunters.
Amanda Waller re-formed Task Force X with the brilliant idea of using criminals to do the government’s dirty work. The villains would be sent on dangerous missions with high odds of death. If they survived, their prison sentences would be reduced.
MULTIPLE-CASUALTY MISSIONS
The bloodiest missions that depleted the Squad.
MR. 104, PSI, AND THE WEASEL: Deaths: The Doom Patrol and Suicide Squad Special #1 (March 1988)
BRISCOE, FLO CRAWLEY, AND DOCTOR LIGHT: Deaths: Suicide Squad #34–36 (October–December 1989)
ENFORCER, KARMA, AND THE WRITER: Deaths: Suicide Squad #58 (October 1991)
BIG SIR, CLOCK KING, AND MULTI-MAN: Deaths: Suicide Squad #1 (November 2001)
Shot by Deadshot when attempting to bring him back to the team.
THE HUNKY PUNK: Death: New Suicide Squad #21 (July 2016)
Shot in the eye by Rose Tattoo.
CAPTAIN BOOMERANG: Death: Suicide Squad #2 (November 2016) Disintegrated by General Zod’s heat blast.
ALCHEMASTER: Death: Suicide Squad: Black Files #1 (January 2019) Taken down by Sebastian Faust’s beast army.
WITHER: Death: Suicide Squad: Black Files #6 (June 2019)
Her boyfriend, the Gentleman Ghost, was forced to stop her after she was transformed into a demonic creature of death.
MAGPIE: Death: Suicide Squad #1 (February 2020)
Hunted down by Thylacine, a member of the terrorist group the Revolutionaries.
THE CAVALIER: Death: Suicide Squad #1 (February 2020)
Osita, another member of the Revolutionaries, punched her fist right through the swashbuckler’s head.
When Wonder Woman’s immense strength wasn’t enough, she had a vast arsenal at her disposal, thanks to the blacksmith god Hephaestus and other allies.
AMULET OF HARMONIA: A talisman that could transfer knowledge and allowed dimensional transport.
ATLANTIADES’S ARMOR: Armor endowed with the strength of the winged gods, the Erotes.
BATTLE AXE: Wonder Woman has wielded many axes over time, unafraid to inflict massive injury on powerful opponents.
BRACELETS OF SUBMISSION: Forged from the remains of the Aegis—an impenetrable shield carried by Zeus and Athena—the bracelets offered protection and could summon other weapons created by Hephaestus.
BREASTPLATE: Crafted by the Amazon Io in the shape of a bird to honor the goddess Athena.
THE CHAINSAW OF TRUTH: Constructed from invisible metal with the Lasso of Truth as a pull cord.
GAUNTLET OF ATLAS: Amplified a person’s strength tenfold.
GELIGNITE GRENADE EARRINGS: Decorative and powerful enough to blow open a steel door.
GOLD ARMOR: Ceremonial armor that invoked the image of a powerful eagle; made by Pallas, an artisan of Themyscira.
GRAPPLING HOOK BRACELET: Came in handy for reaching heights when otherwise powerless.
KANE MILOHAI’S SEASHELL: A gift from the Hawaiian god that expanded into a vessel.
LANSINARIAN MORPHING DISK: A small, crystal, sentient disk, capable of morphing into invisible means of transportation.
LASSO OF TRUTH: Virtually indestructible, it was spun from the Golden Girdle of Gaea and compelled those it bound to tell absolute truth. Also known as the Golden Perfect and the Lasso of Hestia.
MAGNETIC EARRINGS: Touched by the lips of Queen Desira of the planet Venus, these earrings allowed direct communication with the queen from Earth.
SANDALS OF HERMES: Winged sandals use to teleport between Themyscira and the outside world.
SHIELD: A traditional Themysciran shield that offered protection from heavy fire.
SUNBLADE: A flaming sword forged by Hephaestus from some of the strongest metals; initially made for Apollo.
SWORD OF HEPHAESTUS: A sword sharp enough to carve electrons off an atom.
TIARA: Razor sharp, it could be thrown like a boomerang.
Sometimes Clark Kent wasn’t enough, and a new identity needed to be used to get the job done.
THE ALCHEMIST: A modern-day sorcerer who concocted a potion to protect people from danger.
KIRK BRENT: A worker hired by the corrupt Bart Benson Construction Company.
TOMMY BURKE: A Cordell University football player.
RALPH CARLSON: A wealthy Oklahoma oil tycoon.
KENT CLARK: A newcomer to Cyrusville, the town that hated Superman.
JONATHAN CLINTON: A World War II–era reporter.
TOM DALY: A hothead sentenced to six months with the Coreytown chain gang.
DEAD-SHOT DANIELS: Ace underworld assassin.
MARK DENTON: A confident and athletic new student at Rail City High.
HARRY DENVER: A hoodlum working for Dreamorama, a virtual reality racket for criminals.
BRAD DEXTER: A brave reporter based in Chicago.
CHAZ DONEN: An English secret agent working for Spyral.
BARON EDGESTREAM: A long-lost English nobleman.
CAL ELLIS (A.K.A. JOHN DOE): A man sent to an asylum, thanks to Red Kryptonite–inspired mania.
FLYING TIGER: A shark-masked bank robber.
HERCULES JUNIOR: An ancient Greek teen recovered from an iceberg.
IDEAL-MAN: A new Super Hero persona, used to teach Lana Lang and Lois Lane a lesson.
CHARLIE KENDALL: A homeless man living in the slums of Metropolis.
CAPTAIN KENT THE TERRIBLE: The cruelest, deadliest pirate of the sixteenth century.
KENTO THE GREAT: An expert magician and sword swallower.
KLARKASH KENTON: A native of the planet Zor.
PROFESSOR HI LARYUS: The hysterical vaudeville performer.
METHUSELAH: A bearded and robed professional wrestler who ate steel horseshoes like candy.
PROFESSOR MILO: The inventor of the Predictor, a computer that could predict anything.
HORACE MOPPLE: A weakling looking to get fit like Superman.
MYSTO THE GREAT: A stage magician who could conjure Superman out of an empty cabinet.
NIGHTWING: The Kryptonian Super Hero in the bottled city of Kandor.
OLAM THE WONDROUS WIZARD: An all-knowing fortune-teller.
THE OMNI-MENACE: A Super-Villain from the past.
G. G. PREXY: An affluent exporter of goods.
HOMER RAMSEY: The rich investor of oil stocks.
SATAN: The devil himself.
JIM SAUNDERS: Department store salesperson.
ALONZO “THE PENMAN” SCARNS: Underworld con man working for the Mafia.
TIGERMAN: A blundering new Super Hero in striped tights.
ULTRA-SUPERMAN: The Super Hero of AD 100,000.
AMNESIA-INDUCED IDENTITIES
MIKE BENSON: A dockworker who was hypnotized by the villain Master Jailer.
CLARENCE KELVIN: An English reporter hired by the Daily Planet to replace Clark Kent.
ANDY LANG: Superboy posing as Lana Lang’s cousin.
CAL LEWIS: A journalist persona adopted by Superman to uncover his real identity.
BUD MACK: The star pitcher for the Metropolis Titans.
THE MASKED SUPERMAN: A professional wrestler.
MR. PRESIDENT: The president of the United States.
PRINCE POWER: Resident teen Super Hero of the nation of Vala.
SUPER-THIEF (JUD BLAKE): A crime boss in the middle of a spree.
TAG-ALONG: The new member of World War II–era army unit the Easy Company.
JIM WHITE: A lumberjack in love with heir. . .
We hope you are enjoying the book so far. To continue reading...
Please log in to recommend or discuss...
