I had a lot of fun reviewing Superman Family #200 last week, a sort of rebuttal to the brutal peek into the DC future of Futures' End, and a fun story written by Gerry Conway. I hadn't read this issue in some time and forgot just how enjoyable it was.
And perhaps the best part of that review was reliving the mystery of 'who married Kara Zor-El'.
The man in the shadows ... a friend of Lois and Clark's ... potentially a detective ...
I always thought it was Dick Grayson and it seems I wasn't alone reading the comments on the blog and the tweets I got.
Outside of the clues within the story, I included the cover picture in my detective work. Who was present at the anniversary party? Lots of Superman supporting characters. Bruce Wayne.
And then up there in the upper right corner ... Dick Grayson.
Okay, maybe the cover has nothing to do with the story. But it could add some credence to my theory.
To continue the investigation, I looked back at the letter column that covered Superman Family #200. Who did readers back then think Superwoman's beau was back then?
Well, there are some interesting guesses aren't there?
Dick Grayson seemed like a popular pick - even among DC staff!
But look at some of the others? Morgan Edge?? Bruce Wayne???
Anyways, it is interesting that the column says that writer Gerry Conway didn't seem to have anyone in particular in mind with the man in the shadows. But maybe Conway didn't want to reveal who the character was just a few months after the story came out. Maybe he did have someone in mind. Would time loosen his tongue?
So, using the power of social media, I decided to ask Conway himself via Twitter.
I am amazed at the power of social media. It allows someone like me the ability to contact a comics legend like Gerry Conway. And even crazier, that someone like Conway would respond!
I asked Conway who he imagined was the man in the shadows. Did he have someone in mind?
In what is perhaps the best possible answer, Conway said that he simply doesn't remember!
So folks who have theories other than Dick ... your ideas are still alive? And for those of us convinced it is Grayson ... well, we might be wrong.
This issue is probably in dollar boxes or less than $5 at cons. And it is pretty fun.
And the world will never know who this mystery man was.
I recall reading this when it first came out and Dick Grayson was my leading candidate for "Kara's unseen husband". This was funny to me at the time since DC had always posited that a relationship was not practical between Dick and Kara due to their age difference, she was presented for the bulk of the 1960's as a college coed and a "young woman" while Grayson was always depicted as being a good four years younger and still A Kid in High School. However if you notice over the term of the Bronze Age, Grayson "catches up" to Kara agewise making himself a more attractive potential companion in the process...Barbara Gordon could be the Maid of Honor at the Wedding...imagine that.
ReplyDeleteMaybe Mr Malverne became a detective - still a Dick, and a private one at that.
ReplyDelete