#hugo danner

[newearth2]

JSA Best of 2025: Part 3 (10–6)

The countdown continues with entries #10–6, a stretch that features more than a few bird-themed heroes and a heavy dose of excitement surrounding the new Superman film. If you missed Parts 1 or 2, be sure to check those out first—then let’s dive back in.

10. The Black Canary Mother–Daughter Relationship

I’m a longtime Tom King fan, so I was especially excited to see him tackle the relationship between Dinah Drake and Dinah Lance in Black Canary: Best of the Best. Given how long both characters have existed, it’s surprising how relatively unexplored their mother–daughter dynamic has been.

The series delivers plenty of strong emotional moments between the two, grounding the superheroics in something deeply personal. And honestly, even if that weren’t the case, the book would still be worth picking up for Ryan Sook’s artwork alone, which elevates every page.

9. Jay Garrick’s Spotlight in DC K.O.

If you’d asked me which Flash would represent the Flash Family in DC K.O., Jay Garrick would not have been my first guess. I would have assumed Wally West—or possibly even Ace West. Instead, DC made the inspired choice to put Jay front and center, and I couldn’t be happier about it.

Jay proves just how formidable he still is, both in DC K.O. and in the pages of The Flash. It’s a great reminder of why he’s endured for so long, and I sincerely hope this isn’t the last time he’s given the spotlight.

8. The Introduction of Absolute Hawkman

Based on what we’d seen of the Absolute Universe so far, I fully expected the first JSA-focused story to center on Alan Scott, Jay Garrick, Hippolyta, or Doctor Fate. Instead, we got Hawkman in Absolute Evil—and what an introduction it was.

After glimpsing him in his later Golden Age mask, we’re shown the grim fates of Wesley Dodds, Ted Grant, and Arn Munro. When Hawkman reemerges, having already taken Green Arrow off the board and setting his sights on the rest of the newly emerged metas, the tone is immediately clear. I cannot wait to see him clash with Superman.

7. The Hall of Justice Mural

I’ve already written extensively about the Hall of Justice mural, but it absolutely deserves a spot on this list. I was thrilled just to see two Justice Society members acknowledged in Superman, and the fact that we got more than Mister Terrific and Hawkgirl in the new DC Universe is incredibly exciting.

The number of JSA and Golden Age ties packed into that mural feels intentional and meaningful, and it’s been a lot of fun digging into each character represented. If you haven’t yet, you can check out the individual profiles I’ve written breaking them all down.

6. Hawkgirl Being an Absolute Badass

Hawkgirl may not dominate the runtime in Superman, but when she appears, she makes every moment count. Her actions play a significant role in the story and feel like they’ll have real consequences for future DCU projects.

The casting of Isabel Merced was spot-on, and it left me wanting much more of this version of the character. Give me more Hawkgirl—and hopefully Hawkman won’t be far behind.

Go read the top of the countdown in Part 4!

[maxwell-grant]

I can probably guess, but how would those individuals getting the Death Note make things worse?

Well,

While she probably should have the book over Light, Emilia is far more ambitious and dangerous that he could be even without the notebook. She's sort of this embodiment of a child's imagination/rebellion in that she's this rebellious firecracker that can do basically anything and has very little respect for grown-ups and very little tolerance for injustice, but she's also egotistical and stubborn and has very little breaks and a very stunted sense of morality, among many other flaws. She's not really that bad, she's a trickster with a big heart trying to make the best of a fiercely opinionated brain and a lease in life she was never supposed to have, she grows for the better but, she did think about cutting off an angel's wings just to see what happened (she later saved the angel by beating Popeye with food poisoning). She held the world hostage with a shrinking spell to try and force the U.S President into ending war forever. Her first appearence had her win a fight by carving out a scorpion's eyeballs with a barbecue spit. Again, she's not evil, but she tends to rejects concepts like "nuance", "social filter" and "not getting to do what she wants right now". She absolutely would have a list planned for the occasion, and there would be a lot of politicians and big shot important folks in there. I'm starting to reconsider my stance on whether she should have the book or not.

The Golden Amazon actually is just straight up evil though. In the first book, she destroys most of England and attempts to rule the world by replacing humanity with synthetic beings, by the second she's leading a secret society of superwomen from the Amazon, and in the following books, while she became an "anti-hero" in the loosest sense possible, that's more so because she succeeds in taking over things and so now has to defend her matriarchy from aliens and saboteurs (I think the books might have retconned some details as they went along but she seems to be either defending Earth so she can rule it or already being it's ruler). She is the Dominatrix of the Solar System, the greatest scientist who ever lived, a cruel, ice cold murder expert superhuman who pretty much doesn't need the Death Note in any way, she really really doesn't need any kind of help in killing/torturing people. The real danger here is her learning about the existence of the shinigami and the shinigami world and deciding she doesn't like death gods in on her territory (existence itself) and deciding to do something about it.

The Black Bat, I mean, Tony Quinn is kind of a piece of shit. He's a scarred and miserable District Attorney turned vigilante serial killer who brands the corpses of the criminals he kills, and unlike The Spider he's not exactly dealing with apocalyptic extreme circumstances to make this behavior less insane, he's just fighting mobsters. Passing the Death Note from the son of a cop, into the hands of a disgraced District Attorney who already decided to go out at night to murder crime with guns and has associates at hand to help him do it is just, well it's not exactly a step up from the threat Light Yagami posed.

El Sombra, look, Djego tried, he truly did. He did a lot of good. If you gave him the Death Note, he'd use it exclusively to kill Nazis and he'd mean it, because that's all he ever did, if you handed him the book during the events of El Sombra and Gods of Manhattan he could have done a lot of good with it. It's just, Pax Omega happened, and what became of him is absolutely not someone who you want to hand something like the Death Note to. He failed, and he failed where it mattered most, and his reward for failure was becoming version 2.0 of everything he hated most and nearly dooming the entire planet. Even if he could have used it to kill Hitler and every member of Untergang, there was no happy ending to the tale of El Sombra. He just failed too profoundly for that to be possible.

The Whisperer, see The Black Bat's deal but times ten, or really just read that editor note above introducing him. The Whisperer is "Wildcat" James Gordon, a handsome young dandy Police Commissioner who, once elected, turned out to be a total maniac asshole (famously burned down an illegal casino as Commissioner, didn't even put on a disguise to do it) and who fights crime by transforming himself into an unrecognizably older persona so he can murder people with impunity. I feel like I don't have to elaborate much here, what's wrong with this guy is fairly brutally self-evident.

The Blue Morpho, because, well how long you've got? Even if you've never watched The Venture Bros and don't know all the horrible things he's done personally, I feel like "cartoon supervillain moonlighting as a dark violent pulp hero in order to kill all the other supervillains in town standing in his way" is fairly self-explanatory. Mr Fitzcarraldo here offed his world's Legion of Doom in one blow pretty much by accident. He's not really out to kill for killing's sake, he just wants to get one guy really badly, but he doesn't really care who he has to get rid of to do that, or even just killing people to solve minor dumb inconveniences like avoiding paying taxi fare or being annoyed by a henchman. He might have the biggest on-screen body count in a show that has Brock Samson in it and only became deadlier as The Blue Morpho, that's no small feat.

Hugo Danner, because there is not a single aspect of Hugo Danner's life that didn't suck and that he didn't find a way to make worse. Hugo Danner was every bad/evil/stupid take on Superman published years before the genuine article. Hugo Danner is the Garth Ennis Superman pisstake that Garth Ennis loved the character too much to actually do. Hugo Danner enlisted in WW1 and only realized he could have ended it single-handedly after he'd already slaughtered thousands and thousands of poor infantrymen with his bare hands and the war ended, and promptly hated himself for being such a colossal idiot. He could not conceive of solutions that didn't envolve "squeezing continents into submission" and punishing all the people too stupid and scared to love him the way he thought he deserved. He hated himself too much to even kickstart plans to create a master race. He got himself killed by cursing the skies and being struck by a lightning bolt on the final page. There's not a lot that the Death Note could have done to save his life from being a shit show, but all he ever did was perpetrate that shit show on others so, yeah, good riddance Danner you stupid bastard.

[crossoverworldtree]

Gladiator Formulae

Art by Earl Norem

Gladiator Treatment Survivor (95-Point Quality)

The most potent human-sized, humanoid beings on a planet are usually Sorcerers, but on earth, there is another contender for raw power out there.  Those who receive the Gladiator Formula injected in-utero, become superhumanly powerful.  More powerful a locomotive, able to leap tall buildings in a single bound, and be mistaken for Kryptonians at first glance.  The Gladiator Formula is the holy grail of the Super Soldier research program.  However, the resources necessary to produce their iteration of the formula are extreme, however. The full formula costs more than 10 T-1 Abrams just to acquire the resources for one injection (about 50 million dollars). The technical skill to brew it and the fact that it is designed to be delivered in-utero are other drawbacks to this formula which limit the number of agents that can be fielded.  Not to mention the ethics of it. 

Recipients receive a +15 to Strength, +5 Dexterity, +5 Constitution, +2 Perception, natural armor value of 20, 14 levels of Increased Life Points, Leap 15 (adding 150 horizontally, and 150ft up), Enhanced Speed (+20mph).  They may raise their attributes to Superhuman levels and have up to 10 levels of Hard to Kill. On the negative side, they have Either Obligation (Total) or Adversary 3 depending on if they are working for their creators or not.  They also have a further 2 points of Adversary based on the people who want to take them apart to try and reverse engineer the formula.  Or just want to challenge such potent beings to a fight.

Gladiator Scion/Diluted Gladiator Formula: 45 Point Quality

This is the lesser formula derived from the original.  It costs much less (10 million dollars just for the ingredients!) and has a simpler delivery system (injection into adults), making it more cost-effective. The 40% failure rate with usually lethal consequences, however, is a major problem for the developers. Something of which the world is grateful. Vampire and Biomega Kaijin projects are far more successful for such mad scientists, but there is still a use for these Super Soldiers.  The unscrupulous like to test on random civilians then spin them yarns about being ‘mutants.’  

This also covers those with the Gladiator treatment who interbreed successfully with a normal human (which is no small feat).  This quality also covers the ‘lesser’ children of the Gladiator Treatment Survivors.

This formula grants +10 Strength, +3 Dexterity, +3 Constitution, +1 Perception, an Armor Value of 15, 7 Levels of Increased Life Points, and Leap 6 (+60 Yards horizontal, +70ft vertical).  They may raise their attributes to Superhuman levels and have up to 10 levels of Hard to Kill.

Some people who wish to buy their own supers go to this formula if they can both find someone to make it, and afford it both the ingredient cost, and the expertise to make it.

Both qualities can purchase other supernatural qualities on top of this. Some are stronger, have thicker skin, or are even telepathic.  

[davidmann95]

Just wondered after reading about how Clark grew up reading them: what's Iron Munro's deal?

He’s a post-Crisis invention, the son of Hugo Danner from the novel and major Superman influence Gladiator; while the original story specified any children of his would be normal, in the DC universe Iron Munro inherited his father’s tremendous strength and became a superhero, retroactively taking Superman’s place in 1940s JSA adventures. While the circumstances behind his creation aren’t to my liking, I did enjoy him the one time I read him in Chris Roberson’s chapters of Superman: Grounded, where as you noted he was established as one of Clark’s childhood heroes.

[newearth2]

Breaking Down the Hall of Justice Mural in Superman, Part 15: The Second Half

In this look at the second part of the mural seen in Superman’s Hall of Justice recently shared by James Gunn. You can check out notes on the first half.

This section of the mural begins firmly in World War II. Liberty Belle stands before the source of her power — the Liberty Bell in Philadelphia, PA. Next, Bulletman and Bulletgirl soar in front of a large WWII battleship. It appears similar to the USS Iowa or USS Missouri, though I couldn’t find a direct connection between them and U.S. battleships. However, Bulletman’s first appearance featured him blasting a hole through an enemy vessel, and a memorable story tying him to naval action appears in the 1990s Starman / The Power of Shazam! crossover involving the sinking of the French ocean liner, the Normandie. Beneath them is Max Mercury, previously seen in the mural in his Whip Whirlwind identity. His inclusion here may represent one of his many time jumps.

On the far right of this WWII grouping, TNT and Dyna-Mite stand in front of the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C. Given the late-war setting, this may reference America vs. the Justice Society, where the team is put on trial and, in the end, chooses to disband rather than appear before the House Un-American Activities Committee, which demanded they unmask. This could represent an early turning point in the DCU — the shift from independent vigilantes to government-supervised teams like A.R.G.U.S., Checkmate, and the Suicide Squad. Phantom Lady appears here as well, positioned in front of both the Capitol and the next panel, possibly symbolizing her postwar career as a spy alongside Hugo Danner’s son, Iron Munro.

The scene transitions into the Cold War era with the Atomic Knight, depicted against the backdrop of his post-apocalyptic virtual reality, overlapping with Phantom Lady’s panel. This likely represents the 1950s and ’60s, when Cold War anxieties heavily influenced superhero fiction. Atomic Knight’s background blends into the scene of Freedom Beast, who is shown beside a cheetah — perhaps a nod to his powers of animal communication — and near Wildcat. The cheetah could also be a subtle connection to Wildcat’s feline-themed costume and “nine lives” mythology.

Wildcat is pictured training with a punching bag in front of a boxing ring, highlighting both his championship boxing career and his role as a trainer of younger heroes. One of those trainees could be Vibe, who is shown breakdancing — likely representing the 1980s — in front of the same ring. The sequence moves into the 1990s with Gunfire, one of the decade’s most '90s heroes, standing against what appears to be Metropolis. Prominently in the city skyline is the LordTech building, with Maxwell Lord holding an atomic symbol in the foreground.

This mural culminating with Maxwell Lord holding an atomic symbol feels intentional — and perfect. It’s likely the piece was commissioned by Lord himself, especially given that it’s displayed in a building he owns. The composition suggests a timeline where everything leads to him: either he’s the point toward which all metahuman history converges, or he’s been orchestrating much of it from the shadows. I’m eager to see how this plays out. Hopefully, Peacemaker Season 2 will build on these ideas and reveal more about the events hinted at in this mural.

The second half of the mural character profiles are next up starting with: Part 16: Liberty Belle / Elizabeth "Libby" Lawrence-Chambers

[newearth2]

Breaking Down the Hall of Justice Mural in Superman, Part 10: Hugo Danner

Originating in Philip Wylie’s 1930 novel Gladiator, Hugo Danner was a pulp-era superhuman whose feats partly inspired Superman’s creation. Roy and Dann Thomas later brought him into DC continuity through Young All-Stars. Born in the late 19th century with superhuman strength, speed, and resilience from his parents’ experiments, Danner tried to use his powers for good but became disillusioned by humanity’s flaws. He faked his death, retreating to Maple White Land in Brazil, where prehistoric beasts and the isolated Accala people lived. There he sought to create a race of metahumans, the “Sons of Dawn,” by replicating his father’s formula.

His brief return to America resulted in a son, Arnold Munro, raised unaware of his heritage. As Iron Munro, Arnold became a post-Crisis on Infinite Earths stand-in for Superman in retroactive Golden Age stories. Iron Monroe's marriage to Phantom Lady (also on the mural) give Hugo familial links to, the Atom, Starman, and modern-day Manhunter Kate Spencer — making Danner a real-world and fictional starting point for many of DC’s metahumans.

Group Affiliations: Sons of Dawn

Speculation: Danner’s scientific origin makes him the first mural character powered by science rather than magic, creating a contrast that could be thematic in a film. His morally ambiguous “perfect race” experiment could tie into Peacemaker's themes of supremacist ideologies, while his descendants’ ties to multiple heroes make him perfect for an ensemble legacy story.

First Appearance (Novel): Gladiator (1930) by Philip Wylie First DC Appearance (DC): Young All-Stars (1987) #10

Recommended Reading:

Gladiator (1930) – Original prose novel

Young All-Stars (1987) #10–11, 28–31 – DC introduction and expanded backstory

Legend (2005) – Wildstorm adaptation of Gladiator by Howard Chaykin

Next Up: Part 11: Ghost of Flanders / Rip Graves

[newearth2]

Breaking Down the Hall of Justice Mural in Superman, Part 9: El Diablo / Lazarus Lane

Created by Robert Kanigher and Tony DeZuniga, Lazarus Lane was a late-19th-century bank clerk whose life changed when he failed to stop the murder of a fellow clerk during a robbery. Seeking redemption, he tracked the robbers but was beaten, left in a stream, and struck by lightning. Rescued by Apache shaman Wise Owl, Lane was revived through a blend of herbs, ritual, and magic — but cursed to host the Spirit of Vengeance. From then on, Lane’s body slept while his spirit rode at night as El Diablo, a spectral gunslinger avenger.

Later interpretations reveal Lois Lane as a possible descendant. The El Diablo mantle passed in modern times to Rafael Sandoval and later Chato Santana, the latter inheriting the curse directly from Lane in a mystical encounter. Santana’s version appeared in the DCEU's Suicide Squad (2016), but the mural shows the original, complete with his horse Lucifer.

Group Affiliations: Rough Bunch

Speculation: Lane’s magical curse, Western setting, and ancestral ties to Lois Lane give him multiple entry points into the DCU — from supernatural team-ups to time-travel arcs. He could easily fit in a Justice League Dark film, a Booster Gold time story, as a link between Superman’s world and the supernatural, or as his placement by Super-Chief and Max Mercury in the mural suggests he could be connect to Indigenous and Western heroes for a unique historical team-up.

First Appearance: All-Star Western (1970) #2

Recommended Reading:

All-Star Western (1970) #2–5, 7, 10–11 – Original stories

Weird Western Tales (1972) #12–13, 15–16, 19, 32 – Continued adventures

Jonah Hex (1977) #48, 56–60, 73–75 – Western crossovers

Guy Gardner: Warrior (1992) #24 – Time Travel story with the Rough Bunch

El Diablo (2001) – Lazarus Lane gets the Vertigo treatment

Jonah Hex (2006) #11, 24, 45–49 – Modern Western tales

El Diablo (2008) – Chato Santana inherits the mantle

All-Star Western (2011) #2–3 – New 52 appearance

Suicide Squad Most Wanted: El Diablo and Boomerang (2016) – Continued Chato Santana stories

Suicide Squad: Black Files (2019) – Suicide Squad story featuring Chato Santana

Up Next: Part 10: Hugo Danner

[newearth2]

Breaking Down the Hall of Justice Mural in Superman, Part 26: Conclusions

It’s clear that James Gunn and DC Studios took their time selecting interesting—and often obscure—characters for the Hall of Justice mural. Many of these heroes have roots in real-world history or folklore, while others are linked through shared backstories or long-running connections in DC Comics lore. The result is a mural that not only spans decades of publishing history, but also visually reinforces how intertwined these characters are.

As I worked through each entry, I compiled all the recommended readings for every character to see which series featured the most mural heroes. Here’s how the numbers shook out:

All-Star Squadron (1981) — Covers 10 mural heroes across its 70-issue run (11 if you count Hugo Danner in the Young All-Stars sister series)

Amazing-Man

Black Pirate

Liberty Belle

Miss Liberty

Phantom Lady

Sandman

Silent Knight

Super-Chief

TNT & Dyna-Mite

Wildcat

Justice League of America (1960) — Covers 8 mural heroes in its massive 273-issue run

Black Pirate

Bulletman & Bulletgirl

Miss Liberty

Phantom Lady

Sandman

Vibe

Wildcat

Zatara

Starman (1994) — Covers 5 mural heroes in 89 issues

Amazing-Man

Black Pirate

Bulletman & Bulletgirl

Phantom Lady

Sandman

Madame Xanadu (2008) — Covers 3 mural heroes in only 29 issues

Madame Xanadu

Sandman

Zatara

James Gunn has made it clear that if a script isn’t strong enough, the project won’t move forward—so even though these characters now officially exist in the DCU, there’s no guarantee we’ll see them on screen. Some may never appear beyond references or cameos. But that’s part of the fun: the mural isn’t just decoration—it’s world-building in plain sight.

For anyone who’s missed earlier installments, here’s the full breakdown of the Hall of Justice mural so far:

Part 1: Notes on the first half of the mural

Part 2: Sister Symmetry / Madame Xanadu / Nimue Inwudu

Part 3: Silent Knight / Brian Kent / Hawkman

Part 4: Exoristos

Part 5: Jon Valor, The Black Pirate

Part 6: Miss Liberty / Bess Lynn

Part 7: Whip Whirlwind / Max Mercury / Quicksilver / Maxwell Crandall / etc.

Part 8: Super-Chief / Saganowahna / Flying Stag

Part 9: El Diablo / Lazarus Lane

Part 10: Hugo Danner

Part 11: Ghost of Flanders / Rip Graves

Part 12: The Sandman / Wesley Dodds

Part 13: Amazing-Man / William Everett Sr.

Part 14: Zatara / Giovanni “John” Zatara

Part 15: Notes on the second half of the mural

Part 16: Liberty Belle / Elizabeth “Libby” Lawrence-Chambers

Part 17: Bulletman / James “Jim” Barr & Bulletgirl / Susan Kent-Barr

Part 18: TNT / Thomas “Tex” N. Thomas & Dyna-Mite / Daniel Dunbar

Part 19: Phantom Lady / Sandra Knight

Part 20: Atomic Knight / Gardner Grayle

Part 21: Freedom Beast / Dominic Mndawe

Part 22: Wildcat / Ted Grant

Part 23: Vibe / Francisco “Paco” “Cisco” Ramon

Part 24: Gunfire / Andrew Van Horn

Part 25: Maxwell Lord

From Golden Age icons to ‘90s deep cuts, the Hall of Justice mural is both a love letter to DC’s history and a hint at its cinematic future. Whether these characters step into the spotlight or remain hidden in the background, their inclusion makes the DCU feel bigger, stranger, and more alive. And that’s exactly how it should be.