Wonder Boy is the name of two fictional characters who have appeared as
superheroes in comics published by
Quality Comics
Quality Comics was an American comic book publishing company which operated from 1937 to 1956 and was a creative, influential force in what historians and fans call the Golden Age of Comic Books.
Notable, long-running titles published by Qualit ...
and
DC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. (doing business as DC) is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery.
DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, with thei ...
. The original was an alien who appeared in ''
National Comics''.
The second was a time-traveler from an alternate future who appeared in ''
Team Titans
A team is a group of individuals (human or non-human) working together to achieve their goal.
As defined by Professor Leigh Thompson of the Kellogg School of Management, " team is a group of people who are interdependent with respect to info ...
''.
History
As most of the stories with him in them were only six pages long there was never much revealed about him other than that he was known for: having the strength of a thousand men, a girl friend named Sally Benson and a tendency for bombastic speeches.
Deciding to help the people of Earth fight crime and evil (most specifically Hitler) his first act shortly after getting out the meteor and hearing about Hitler was to swim to Europe and bash a few fascists, he was soon called Wonder Boy by the public at large, otherwise he had no other name or a secret identity, and apparently never wore anything but the costume he was "born" wearing.
Quality Comics
Wonder Boy was a fictional
Quality Comics
Quality Comics was an American comic book publishing company which operated from 1937 to 1956 and was a creative, influential force in what historians and fans call the Golden Age of Comic Books.
Notable, long-running titles published by Qualit ...
character and
superhero who first appeared in ''
National Comics'' #1 (July 1940), in the story "The Boy from the Meteor". The character was created by writer
Toni Blum
Audrey Anthony Blum (c. January 12, 1918 Note: The Social Security Death Index lists no Toni Blum, Audrey Blum, or Audrey Bossert born 1918. – 1972 Bails, Jerry and Hames Ware, eds"Blum, Toni"at ''Who's Who of American Comic Books, 1928-1999'' o ...
and artist
John Celardo.
With "the strength of a hundred full grown men", the nameless Wonder ''Boy'' fell to Earth from the planet Viro, destroyed when it "collided" with a star. Finding himself in
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
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,
Illinois
Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rockf ...
, he joined forces with Sgt. Crane of the
Army Air Corps Army Air Corps may refer to the following army aviation corps:
* Army Air Corps (United Kingdom), the army aviation element of the British Army
* Philippine Army Air Corps (1935–1941)
* United States Army Air Corps (1926–1942), or its p ...
and began using his superhuman abilities to fight the
Nazis
Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in N ...
,
Axis
An axis (plural ''axes'') is an imaginary line around which an object rotates or is symmetrical. Axis may also refer to:
Mathematics
* Axis of rotation: see rotation around a fixed axis
* Axis (mathematics), a designator for a Cartesian-coordinat ...
spies and big-city crime. Cheering him on from the sidelines was sweetheart Sally Benson, an earth girl.
Wonder Boy last appeared under the Quality Comics banner in ''National Comics'' #26 (November 1942), in an untitled story. The character reappeared two years later in Elliot Publishing Co's ''Bomber Comics'' (along with several other characters that originally appeared in ''National Comics''). The circumstances behind the move are unclear. In 1955, he was one of the characters to be used by
Ajax-Farrell Comics in ''Terrific Comics'' #16 and ''Wonder Boy'' #17 and 18. The character has not reappeared outside reprints since. Another refugee from the
Golden Age of Comic Books to turn up in ''Wonder Boy'' #17 was
Phantom Lady
Phantom Lady is a fictional superheroine, one of the first such characters to debut in the 1940s Golden Age of Comic Books. Originally published by Quality Comics, the character was subsequently published by a series of now-defunct comic book com ...
.
DC Comics
Team Titans
The second Wonder Boy debuted in ''
Team Titans
A team is a group of individuals (human or non-human) working together to achieve their goal.
As defined by Professor Leigh Thompson of the Kellogg School of Management, " team is a group of people who are interdependent with respect to info ...
'' #19 (April 1994), in the past along with several other Titans from an alternate future. They assisted the Team Titans on a mission, and afterwards the group decided to remain in the past. Shortly after the mission,
Donna Troy
Donna Troy is a superheroine appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. She is the original Wonder Girl and later temporarily adopts another identity, Troia. Created by Bob Haney and Bruno Premiani, she first appeared in ''The B ...
addressed the
Justice League
The Justice League (also known as The Justice League of America) are a team of superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The team first appeared in ''The Brave and the Bold'' #28 (March 1960). The team was conceived b ...
assembly (led by
Wonder Woman
Wonder Woman is a superhero created by the American psychologist and writer William Moulton Marston (pen name: Charles Moulton), and artist Harry G. Peter. Marston's wife, Elizabeth Holloway Marston, Elizabeth, and their life partner, Olive Byr ...
) and announced the United States government made a deal to allow the future Titans to remain in the past and act as paranormal operatives led by a government-appointed supervisor. During his next mission with the Titans, Wonder Boy teamed with
Aqualad
Aqualad is the name of two fictional comic book superheroes appearing in media published by DC Entertainment. The first Aqualad, Garth, debuted in February 1960 in ''Adventure Comics'' #269 and was created by writer Robert Bernstein and artist ...
,
Terra
Terra may often refer to:
* Terra (mythology), primeval Roman goddess
* An alternate name for planet Earth, as well as the Latin name for the planet
Terra may also refer to: Geography Astronomy
* Terra (satellite), a multi-national NASA scienti ...
,
Mirage, and other Titans for an undersea mission.
During the 1994 ''
Zero Hour'' storyline, the alternate future where the Team Titans originated from is erased from continuity, and all the characters from the alternate future are erased from existence.
Bobby Barnes
In ''Wonder Woman'' #188, writer
Phil Jiminez introduces a non-super powered character named Bobby Barnes (nephew of Princess Diana's then-love interest Trevor Barnes). In the story, Bobby is a fan of Wonder Woman and follows her around for a day. At the end of the story, Wonder Woman presents him with a "Wonder Boy" t-shirt and invites him to
Themyscira for a celebration.
Donald Troy
Donald Troy, also known as Wonderous Boy, is a member of the Earth 11's Teen Justice. The mentee of
Wonder Man
Wonder Man (Simon Williams) is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and artists Don Heck and Jack Kirby, he first appeared in '' The Avengers'' #9 (October 1964). The c ...
, he is the male version of
Donna Troy
Donna Troy is a superheroine appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. She is the original Wonder Girl and later temporarily adopts another identity, Troia. Created by Bob Haney and Bruno Premiani, she first appeared in ''The B ...
/
Wonder Girl
Wonder Girl is the alias of multiple superheroines featured in comic books published by DC Comics. Donna Troy, the original Wonder Girl, was created by Bob Haney and Bruno Premiani and first appeared in ''The Brave and the Bold'' #60 (June/July ...
and was created by Ivan Cohen and Eleonora Carlini, first appeaning in ''DC's Very Merry Multiverse'' #1 (February 2021). In the gender-reversed reality of Earth-11, Troy is in a romantic relationship with the male version of
Raven.
Meet the Earth-11 Super Heroes of 'Multiversity: Teen Justice'
/ref>
See also
* Captain Wonder
* Olympian
* Wonder Man
Wonder Man (Simon Williams) is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and artists Don Heck and Jack Kirby, he first appeared in '' The Avengers'' #9 (October 1964). The c ...
References
External links
International Superhero entry
The Unofficial Wonder Boy Biography
Prism Comics: Wonder Boys
{{GoldenAge
Golden Age superheroes
Comics characters introduced in 1940
Quality Comics superheroes
DC Comics characters with superhuman strength
DC Comics extraterrestrial superheroes
DC Comics LGBT superheroes
DC Comics superheroes